Oshkosh Zero

Lionheart said:
Great photos.

Hard to believe that is a real Zero. Amazingly good condition. They were made of Magnesium. Very difficult metal to work with.

Love that yellow and black Fokker D-VIII monoplane! Too bad its not an Oberussel under the hood, but that one is surely far more dependable. :d



Bill
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According to the info I have, Bill, the skin was an aluminum alloy, containing about 90% aluminum, 4% copper, and 6% magnesium. I know pure magnesium burns like you won't believe. I wonder if the Zero's propensity for burning furiously wasn't literally fueled by the magnesium in the skin's alloy?

Ken
 
Sabre livery

Great photos!

That's an interesting paint scheme on the F-86 Sabre. I guess it must be authentic, but I've never seen a livery like that before on a USAF bird.

Any info on it?
 
Great Pics Emil, Oshgosh is one heck of a good time, Didn't make it this year but what a great collection of Planes from every era and every aspect of avaition. Thanks for the post.

S! Rip
 
Ken Stallings said:
According to the info I have, Bill, the skin was an aluminum alloy, containing about 90% aluminum, 4% copper, and 6% magnesium. I know pure magnesium burns like you won't believe. I wonder if the Zero's propensity for burning furiously wasn't literally fueled by the magnesium in the skin's alloy?

Ken
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I'm sure it didn't help. Early Japanese combat aircraft generally lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, so a punctured tank plus incendiary tracer rounds equals big flames. I've read that some U.S. pilots in the Pacific preferred to replace their AP rounds with tracers in order to exploit this weakness in Japanese aircraft.
 
stansdds said:
I'm sure it didn't help. Early Japanese combat aircraft generally lacked self-sealing fuel tanks, so a punctured tank plus incendiary tracer rounds equals big flames. I've read that some U.S. pilots in the Pacific preferred to replace their AP rounds with tracers in order to exploit this weakness in Japanese aircraft.
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.... with API (armoured piercing incendiary) rounds. Yep, this was often done -- a pure load of .50 cal API.

There were hundreds of examples of just a few rounds turning a Zero into an airborne inferno.

Contrary to the view of some folks, it wasn't the Japanese national leadership who drove this. It was the pilots themselves! Not only did they refuse to wear parachutes, but many pilots went so far as to take the radio units out of their fighters and take a hacksaw to the wooden antenna that stuck up from the rear canopy! When later variants of the Zero were adopted with self-sealing fuel tanks and armour, the pilots disliked them! It was because they gave up much in performance.

In addition, the pilots would fasten the lap belt somewhat tight, but keep their shoulder harness very loose so that they could turn around in the seat to see anything behind them.

What is not much known is that if the USN had adopted the same philosophy, the Wildcat and Buffalo would have out turned the Zero! No joke! True!

It was the added weight of the self-sealing fuel tanks, armour plate, and radio that turned the Buffalo into a dog. It was simply over weight. That's why the Buffaloes that the Finnish Air Force used against the Russians were so hot while the one the USN and Marines used in the PTO were death traps.

A few mock dogfights between pre-war Wildcats and Buffaloes (without the protection stuff and radios) showed that each was a very maneuverable fighter. In terms of the difference between the Wildcat versus the Buffalo, the Brewster had less horsepower and suffered more for the weight penalty than did the Wildcat.

In fact, what made the Zero legendary in the eyes of the Allies was the initial, uninformed, view that the Zero accomplished all the known range and performance goals with the same kind of protections systems. Clarie Chennault knew differently, but he was canned from the USAAF as a Captain before the war and no one wanted to listen to this "washed out" fighter pilot! It wasn't until that Zero crash landed in Alaska and was captured intact that the allies were shocked to learn the secret. By that point, Tatch Weave, team tactics, and around twenty rounds of well-aimed API made all the difference in the world!

Ken
 
i wondered the same thing. i know that magnesium, under the right conditions will burn in such a way that you can't put it out, like thermite. pshew, nasty stuff.
 
I believe the only Zero with an original engine is a A6M5. The one in the pictures is a A6M2 with a P&W R-1830. According to Robert Mikesh, when the specifications were being written for the fighter that became the Type Zero, A Commander Shibata argued for better performance over maneuverability. Commander Genda argued for maneuverability. As we can all see, Genda won. Pity for Japan that he won this argument.

- Ivan.
 
Great photos, Emil!

The Zero is based in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:eek:ffice:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fargo</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">North Dakota</st1:State></st1:place>, joint-owned by a number of individuals, and currently for sale. The aircraft is mostly new build, based on remains of a few Zero airframes that were recovered many years ago. The aircraft is powered by an American-built engine - I believe the R-1830 (the EAA's statement that it is an R-2800, is greatly incorrect). The Planes of Fame museum operates the only completely original Zero (i.e. no new-build involved), running an original Japanese-engine. Still, it is amazing to see a Zero-Zero, instead of a Tora-Zero, and the quality of craftsmanship involved in the Dakota-Zero is unbeatable. As Lionheart mentioned, it is a feat within itself, that the people who did the work on it, were able to get the exterior-skins so smooth.
 
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