Spitfire vs Zero
Supermarine Spitfire versus Mitsubishi A6M Zero |
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| Airplane | Supermarine Spitfire | Mitsubishi A6M Zero | ||
| Country | United Kingdom | Japan | ||
| Type of aircraft | Fighter | Fighter | ||
| First Flight | 1936 | 1939 | ||
| Introduction | 1938 | 1940 | ||
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Number built | 20350 | 11000 | ||
Airplanes dogfight compare |
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| Lethality points | 89 | 77 | ||
| Lethality level | High | High | ||
| Firing Time pts (main gun) | 9 | 15 | ||
| Firing Time pts (secondary guns) | 19 | 45 | ||
| Firing Time pts (total) | 28 | 60 | ||
| Main gun Rate of fire (round/min) | 700 | 500 | ||
| Main gun Effective range (yd) | 1900 | 3000 | ||
| Main gun Effective range (m) | 1737 | 2743 | ||
| Turn Radius (No flaps) | 567 | 423 | ||
| Turn Radius (Full flaps) | 450 | 342 | ||
| Speed/Accele./Agility pts | 72 | 125 | ||
| Acceleration (0-150 ft (ft/s)) | 7,30 | 10,10 | ||
| Acceleration (0-150 ft (m/s)) | 2,23 | 3,08 | ||
| Acceleration (250-300 ft (ft/s)) | 19,60 | 18,70 | ||
| Acceleration (250-300 ft (m/s)) | 5,97 | 5,70 | ||
| Wing Loading (lb/sq ft) | 33 | 22 | ||
| Wing Loading (kg/sq m) | 161 | 107 | ||
| Max Power/mass (hp/lb) | 0,312 | 0,257 | ||
| Max Power/mass (hp/kg) | 0,687 | 0,566 | ||
| Min Power/mass (hp/lb) | 0,241 | 0,143 | ||
| Min Power/mass (hp/kg) | 0,532 | 0,316 | ||
| Climb Rate (ft/min) | 3650 | 2900 | ||
| Climb Rate (m/min) | 1113 | 884 | ||
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| Length (ft) | 30,00 | 29,80 | ||
| Length (m) | 9,14 | 9,08 | ||
| Width (ft) | 36,90 | 39,30 | ||
| Width (m) | 11,25 | 11,98 | ||
| Height (ft) | 10,00 | 10,00 | ||
| Height (m) | 3,05 | 3,05 | ||
| Wing Area (sq ft) | 242 | 242 | ||
| Wing Area (sq m) | 22,5 | 22,5 | ||
| Empty Weight (lb) | 6580 | 3700 | ||
| Empty Weight (kg) | 2985 | 1678 | ||
| Max. Take Off (lb) | 8500 | 6630 | ||
| Max. Take Off (kg) | 3856 | 3007 | ||
| Engine Power (hp) | 2050 | 950 | ||
| Engine | 1 × Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 | 1 × Nakajima Sakae 12 | ||
| Max Speed (mph) | 448 | 331 | ||
| Max Speed (km/h) | 721 | 533 | ||
| Max Speed (Mach) | 0,59 | 0,43 | ||
| Max Range (miles) | 1100 | 1915 | ||
| Max Range (km) | 1770 | 3082 | ||
| Service Ceiling (ft) | 43450 | 32650 | ||
| Service Ceiling (m) | 13244 | 9952 | ||
Airplanes armament and equipment
| (A) 8 x 7.7mm Browning machine guns in wings (B) 2 x 20mm Hispano cannons and 4 x 7.7mm Browning machine guns in wings. (C) 4 x 20mm Hispano cannons in wings (E) 2 x 20mm Hispano cannons and 2 x 12.7mm Browning heavy machine guns OR 4 x 7.7mm Browning machine guns in wings. |
2 x 20mm cannons 2 x 7.7mm machine guns |
I would give the Zero the edge,it could easily out turn any allied (or axis) fighter of the time and if the Spitfire pilots that faced it had been used to dealing with 109’s in Europe,which they could mix it with evenly in a close dogfight then they would have had a shock.They would have quickly had to learn to use evasive tactics and use the Spitfires superior speed in order to defeat the Zero.