Hagiri's A5M4

Hagiri's A5M4

Hagiri's A5M4

Japan

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Naval aircraft

Purchase:250

Show in game

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

Description

The Hagiri's A5M4 is a rank I premium Japanese fighter with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). This aircraft was introduced in Update 1.31. The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of Japanese pilot Matsuo Hagiri, who used the A5M4 during his time in the fighter squadron on the Sōryū aircraft carrier.

The Allied reporting name for this aircraft was "Claude".

General info

Flight Performance

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

Matsuo "Mustashio" Hagiri sitting on the wing of his A5M4 W-102.

Matsuo "Mustashio" Hagiri sitting on the wing of his A5M4 W-102.

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	558	420	~12	~4

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 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

• No armour
• Non-self-sealing fuel tanks (2 in each wing)
• Oil cooling systems located in prone position (in each inner top part of the wing)
• Open cockpit

Armaments

Offensive armament

Hagiri's A5M4 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.7 mm Type 89 machine guns (500 rpg=1000 total)

Usage in battles

The Hagiri's A5M4 is to be used in a 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	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine
IV		Engine injection	Cover
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great turn time
• Good visibility (in cockpit view)
• Low stall speed
• Fixed landing gear makes landings easier
• Has combat, takeoff and landing flaps

Cons:

• Terrible survivability (open cockpit, no armour, and fuel tanks are not self-sealing)
• Fixed landing gear creates more drag
• Poor gun cooling; easily jams
• Suffers from fuel starvation problems (RB/SB)

History

In-Game Description (A5M4)

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 maneuverable 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 armor 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.

Encyclopedia Info

An all-metal single-seat fighter with an open cockpit and unretractable landing gear, it was the first carrier-based monoplane fighter in the world. Its prototype got off the ground for the first time on February 4, 1935.

This aircraft, with the tail number W-102, was part of the fighter squadron based on the aircraft carrier Souryu, of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

It was piloted by Matsuo Hagiri, a Japanese ace and test pilot who shot down 13 enemy planes. Hagiri was among the first sortie of Zeroes that accompanied the bombers during the Chongqing air raid.

Matsuo Hagiri

From https://warthunder.com/en/news/495--en:

Japanese ace pilot Matsuo Hagiri of the Imperal Japanese Navy.

Matsuo Hagiri was born in Shizuoka Prefecture on the southern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu in November 1913. After finishing school he worked briefly as a fireman before joining the Enlisted ranks of the Imperial Japanese Navy. A gifted aviator, Hagiri was streamed onto single seat fighters after the excelling during the notoriously harsh and competitive training regime of Japanese naval aviators. He graduated from flying training in 1935; by 1939 he had risen through the ranks to become a Petty Officer – 1st Class and flew the Mitsubishi A5M4 fighter as part of the carrier Soryu’s embarked fighter squadron. Soryu was stationed in home waters for training after a busy period of operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In August 1940 Hagiri joined the 12th Ku - his unit were shortly to equip with the new Mitsubishi A6M ‘Zero’ – a move which was met with some resentment at first by some pilots as the older A5M4 was able to outmaneuver the newer fighter in a variety of scenarios during mock dog fights. Hagiri was one of the pilots selected to transport the first batch of new Zero fighters across to Hankow, China for operational use.

However, Hagiri persevered and on August 19th 1940 was one of the pilots who flew with the 12th Air Group in the historic combat debut of the legendary fighter. The mission, led by Lieutenant Tomotsu Yokoyama, involved twelve A6M fighters escorting a bomber force to Chunking. Whilst the Japanese aircraft were not engaged in air-to-air combat the Zero did stun the world by establishing a new record for the longest distance escort mission flown by a single engine fighter at over 1000 nautical miles. However, when the Zero saw its combat debut the next month with Japanese naval pilots claiming 27 Chinese I-15s and I-16s shot down without loss in a single engagement, Hagiri – like his peers – found a new found confidence and respect in his aircraft.

By now a confident and flamboyant character (he grew a long, waxed moustache giving rise to his nickname ‘Mustachio’) Hagiri joined three other pilots from his unit in a dangerous prank on October 4th, 1940. The four Zero pilots flew to the Chinese airbase at Taipingsze, Chengtu where the four Japanese pilots landed, jumped out of their aircraft and attempted to vandalize a row of parked Chinese aircraft and set fire to the base command post. The alarm was swiftly raised and the four Japanese pilots were forced to sprint for their Zeros, bullets whistling past them as they fled. However, Hagiri still managed to find an opportunity to break away from his comrades and engage three Chinese fighters alone, shooting down two of them before heading for home. By the time Hagiri was rotated out of combat and returned to Japan he had shot down seven Chinese aircraft. With the outbreak of hostilities against the British Commonwealth and the United States, Hagiri was employed in Japan as an instructor.

The next busy period of operations for Hagiri came in July 1943 when, now promoted to Warrant Officer, he flew as part of the 204th Air Group in the Solomon Islands. On September 23rd Hagiri flew as part of a twenty seven aircraft Wing to intercept a combined American/Australian bombing raid against Kahili Airfield in Papua New Guinea and its surrounding anti-aircraft defences. Hagiri shot down two F4U Corsairs of the US Marine Corps (possibly three, according to some sources), but was so severely injured that his treatment required him to return to Japan. After recovering, Hagiri remained in Japan as a test pilot. However, he did see combat again when, along with several other test pilots, he was involved in defensive operations against American bombing raids on the mainland, during which he claimed two B-29 Superfortresses destroyed. In April 1945 he was wounded again by defensive fire from a B-29; this would be Hagiri’s last flight.

Matsuo Hagiri is credited with between thirteen and fifteen victories; he passed away on January 15th 1997.

Media

• 

  Japanese aviators pose in front of Matsuo Hagiri's A5M4, Hagiri is seated in the center.

Hagiri's A5M4 (Patch 1.31 New Plane) (Iwo Jima) [BaronVonGamez]

A5M4 vs P-51D [-Juno- TakaLeon]

Super Hagiri - entry #20 - Hagiri's A5M4 [Harry Haller's Flight Diary]

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

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)