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2006-07-16 16:12:59 · 5 answers · asked by icecube99701 4 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
The kill ratio was 1 to 1.5.
Most people mistake the kill ratio over all aircraft to the ratio over just other fighters.
The best fighter of WW2 was the corsair, which had 11 kills to every loss against all types of aircraft. Its kill ratio for the zero was about 2:1.
2006-07-17 14:10:51 · answer #1 · answered by Doggzilla 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've read anything from 10:1 to 14:1
Zero was smokin' great aeroplane. Outstanding turn radii and fast climber.
But...she couldn't take a lot of damage, had unsealed fuel tanks, and no pilot protection and could not sustain inverted flight.
The japs never had the opputunity to come out with updated Zeros unlike the Americans whose Fighters got better and better throughout the war. ( from the P-40 and P-39 to the Corsair and P-47 and P-51)
By the end of the war the Zero was hopelessly outdated and no match for high powered and well defended American fighters.
2006-07-17 01:40:27 · answer #2 · answered by helipilot212 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At first it wasn't so hot because they had a really smokin' Mitsubishi motor in the Zero and we couldn't catch 'em. Then we improved our aircraft and our tactics and by the end of the war the Japanese were lucky if they could crash a plane into one of our ships. At a guess I'd say the ratio would be about 10/1 in favor of the Allies.
2006-07-16 23:18:00 · answer #3 · answered by synchronicity915 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Among the other problems, the Japanese had a fly-until-you-die mentality with their pilots. When pilots were killed or captured, they could not be easily replaced.
The U.S. had a different strategy. When you proved yourself in air combat, you often received the opportunity to return stateside for training new pilots.
As attrition took place with their senior pilots, the Japanese were placing less-skilled pilots into the cockpit. These less-skilled pilots, flying airplanes that were becoming outdated were overmatched.
The Marianas "Turkey Shoot" was the eventual outcome. On the first day of fighting, the US lost 23 while the Japanese lost 10 times that.
2006-07-20 12:41:33 · answer #4 · answered by Jon T. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To helipilot212's answer:
In the So. Pacific in Oct/1942, zeros actually tried to land on OUR CARRIERS, when they were running out of fuel.
Our guys waved them off, and the zeros got wet.
2006-07-23 10:34:46 · answer #5 · answered by Par'o 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋