For six months after Pearl Harbor the nimble Japanese Zero-sen plane dominated the Pacific air war. Then, on June 4, 1942 a Zero crashed on tiny Akutan Island in the Aleutians. It lay there for five weeks until spotted by an American plane. Hauled back to California, the Zero revealed its secrets in a series of tests and analyses. Fast, but lacking protection for the pilot as well as a self-sealing gas tank which all U.S. planes had, the Zero lost its predominance for the rest of the war. Rearden tells for the first time in detail the exciting events leading to this crucial intelligence breakthrough, as important as the breaking of the Japanese naval code. An appendix analyzes the vital statistics of the Zero versus U.S. planes.
- ISBN10 081172235X
- ISBN13 9780811722353
- Publish Date 28 April 2018
- Publish Status Transferred
- Out of Print 28 January 2011
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Stackpole Books
- Format Paperback
- Pages 128
- Language English