A5M4

This page is about the Japanese fighter A5M4. For the premium version, see Hagiri's A5M4.

A5M4

F1M2

A6M2-N

A5M4

F1M2

A6M2-N

Japan

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Research:4 000

Purchase:2 100

Show in game

Description

The A5M, designated as Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter, was the world's first carrier-borne monoplane, developed by Mitsubishi for the IJNAS in 1934 and adopted in 1936. Being a marvel of early aviation, the A5M, which started out as company designation Ka-14, was a creation of Jiro Horikoshi and his team (the designer that would later develop the famous A6M 'Zero'). Serving the Navy well during the Second Sino-Japanese War, it took part in the world's first aerial skirmishes between monoplane fighters built of mostly metal against Chinese P-26 'Peashooters', where it outperformed the Chinese aerial units by manoeuvrability and robust construction. This early workhorse of the Imperial Navy Air Service was highly favoured by its aircrews and fared well in battle. By 1938, the main rival of the A5M would become the fast and heavily armed Polikarpov I-16 flown by both Chinese pilots and Soviet volunteers.

The A5M4 has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27 and the translates exactly over from reality, leading in monoplane manoeuvrability at the early ranks, allowing the pilot to evade and manoeuvre around their adversaries, as well as a decent airframe that can take a beating from regular munitions. However, it lacks in damage output, being equipped only with two 7.7 mm machine guns.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Max speed

at 2 900 m447 km/h

Turn time12 s

Max altitude9 800 m

EngineNakajima Kotobuki 41

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight2 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 2,900 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	431	421	9800	12.5	13.4	10.0	10.0	325
Upgraded	464	447		12.1	12.3	16.7	12.8

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
558	558	398	369	220	~12	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 280	< 320	< 360	> 324

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,000 m	680 hp	788 hp

Engine performance

Engine
Engine Name			Number present
Nakajima Kotobuki 41 9-cylinder			1
Engine characteristics
Weight (each)		Type	Cooling
350 kg		Radial	Air
Engine power (Stock)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	557 hp		656 hp
Realistic/Simulator	551 hp		650 hp
Engine power (Upgraded)
Mode	Max		Take-off
Arcade	700 hp		799 hp
Realistic/Simulator	619 hp		718 hp

WEP Duration
Arcade		Realistic/Simulator
25 seconds		Infinite

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear558 km/h

Like most Japanese planes, the A5M4 has no armour to protect the pilot and components of the plane. The best way to survive is to turn fight. Join a dogfight, make sure you can see your enemy at all times because it will only take a few good hits to the pilot or components to put this plane out of action.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB144 → 192

RB291 → 389

SB242 → 323

Total cost of modifications4 440

2 680

Talisman cost300

Crew training600

Experts2 100

Aces45

Research Aces110 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 30 / 90 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 300 Cost: 180 50 Radiator Research: 300 Cost: 180 50 Compressor Research: 330 Cost: 200 55 Wings repair Research: 370 Cost: 220 60 Engine Research: 370 Cost: 220 60 Engine injection Research: 720 Cost: 440 120	Airframe Research: 330 Cost: 200 55 EFS Research: 370 Cost: 220 60 Cover Research: 720 Cost: 440 120	type89_belt_pack Research: 300 Cost: 180 50 type89_new_gun Research: 330 Cost: 200 55

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 7.7 mm Type 89 machine gun

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The A5M4 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Type 89 machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Usage in battles

Fighter role, staying low and using the extremely quick turn times to get on the tail on the enemy is essential. Keep an eye on ammo levels and well as your surroundings, this is an extremely weak aircraft in terms of armour. It is relatively fast in a straight line, but not as quick as much of the opposition it will be facing in the game. It is recommended to use speed against biplanes as their turn times are nearly matched if not better than this monoplane.

Realistic battles

The A5M4 can accelerate to 350 km/h in just less than a minutes time from takeoff. Will climb up to 2,500 m in around one minute and fifty seconds time when climbing in a 20-degree angle. Dive speeds are decent as the A5M4 will exceed 550 km/h in an 80-degree angle from just 2,500 m height. Be careful though, once the A5M4 reaches 560 km/h, the plane will violently shake about and if the throttle isn't cut, the plane wings may rip off. Though speed can be gained in the dive, energy is not easily retained, taking only a minute or so to fall to back to the maximum speed of 380 km/h with WEP or 360 km/h without.

Decent horsepower with the typical Japanese light aircraft would give the idea that the plane would be great in the vertical axis dog fighting. With a problem with keeping constant fuel flow as the plane changes the angle on its vertical axis means it is better to stick with horizontal dog fighting which isn't a bad thing as it will outturn most all contemporary aircraft.

Simulator mode procedures

Hands-off carrier take-off (Auto engine control): Ignite engine, flaps: raised, elevator trim: 6% up, aileron trim: 0%, rudder trim: 21% right, WEP throttle, hands off controls until the plane lifts off the carrier.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• A5M for Carrier-based fighter:
  • Arrestor hook
  • Strictly air-to-air role
  • Extremely manoeuvrable
    • Excellent turn rate
  • Very short takeoff distance

• Common Navy plane construction:
  • Excellent manoeuvrability
  • Nose mounted armament

• A5M specific:
  • Good visibility (In cockpit view)
  • Low stall speed
  • Fixed landing gear makes landings easier

Cons:

• A5M for Carrier-based fighter:
  • Slow
  • Low dive speed, and easily compressed in a dive

• Common Navy plane construction:
  • Poor offensive armament: 7.7 mm Type 89 MG
  • Fragile, little armour, and no self-sealing fuel tanks

• A5M specific:
  • Exposed pilot
  • Fixed landing gear creates more drag
  • Suffers from fuel starvation problems (RB/SB)

History

Archive of the in-game description

A single-seater, carrier-based, all-metal monoplane fighter with an open cockpit and fixed landing gear. The world's first carrier-based monoplane. A prototype of this fighter first flew on February 4, 1935. After extensive adjustments, the fighter was commissioned by the Japanese navy and designated carrier fighter type 96 (A5M). Mass production began in the fall of 1936. In 1938, the fine-tuned A5M4 (model 4, later re-designated the model 24) variant was launched. This model had several new features: a new, more streamlined cockpit canopy with improved visibility, advanced fairings, and a radio transmitter. Since bombers often had to operate in the dark, the plane had landing lights and lights for flights over the open seas at night. The plane was equipped with a film camera near the left of the landing gear. The power plant was a 9-cylinder radial air-cooled Nakajima Kotobuki 41 with a rated capacity of 795 horsepower. The plane had a two-bladed (later three-bladed) wooden variable pitch propellor, the Sumitomo VDM. Later planes began to use the Kotobuki 41KAI engine (which had roughly the same power), a design designated as model 34. The A5M's armament consisted of two fuselage-mounted synchronous 7.7mm Nippon-Seikosho type 89 model 2 (Vickers "class E") machine guns with 500 rounds of ammunition each. Two 30-kg type 97 bombs could be carried under the wings. Under the fuselage, an additional 160-liter fuel tank could be carried. Later, this fuel tank was increased in size to 210 liters. The A5M fighter saw action over China from September 1937 to September 1941. It was also active early on in the war in the Pacific, used for some time to defend Japan and the Marshall Islands. Afterwards, it was used for training missions and flight school. In 1945, the remaining A5M fighters were used for kamikaze missions. Overall, the A5M met the contemporary requirements for a fighter. It was stable and manoeuvrable and was easy to control. However, the fighter's construction did not easily allow for upgrades, and it quickly became obsolete. Its armament was poor, its armour non-existent, its fuel tanks not self-sealing, and its wings overly weak. Production of the A5M ceased in 1941. A total of 1,095 A5M fighters (of all variants) were produced.

Notable pilots

• 

  Iwamoto's first combat experience was in 1938 when flying against Chinese I-15 and I-16 fighters.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the A5M4 on live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  Graphic of the A5M4 player will see after completing the first battle in the airplane

Videos

The Shooting Range #65 - Pages of History section at 06:46 discusses the A5M4.

See also

Related development

• Hagiri's A5M4

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Ki-27 otsu
• F2A (Family)
• P-26 (Family)
• G.50 (Family)
• I-16 (Family)

External links

• [Wikipedia] Mitsubishi A5M

Mitsubishi Company (三菱商会)
Fighters	A5M4 · Hagiri's A5M4
	A6M2 mod. 11 · A6M2 · A6M3 · A6M3 mod. 22 · A6M3 mod. 22Ko · A6M5 · A6M5 Ko · A6M5 otsu · A6M5 Hei · A6M6c
	A7M1 (NK9H) · A7M2
	J2M2 · J2M3 · J2M4 Kai · J2M5 · J2M5 (30 mm)
Hydroplanes	F1M2
Interceptors	Ki-83 · Ki-109
Bombers	G4M1
	Ki-21-Ia · Ki-21-I hei · Ki-67-I Ko · Ki-67-I otsu
Jet Fighters	Ki-200
Captured	▃A6M2 · ␗A6M2
See also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Post-War)