On March 15, 1943, a Japanese air assault force consisting of 9 Type I land attacks and 26 Zero Type 21 air assault units were preparing to raid Port Darwin, Australia, and the Australian Air Force guarding this place immediately took off 27 Spitfire MK5s to meet the battle, and then the two sides engaged in a fierce aerial battle, but after the war, the Spitfire fighters that defended the London sky in the Battle of Britain were actually exchanged by the Japanese Zero 21, and 4 Spitfires were exchanged by the Japanese Zero 21. The MK5 was shot down, while the Japanese lost only 1 Zero 21.
Spitfire and Zero in the air battle in northern Australia
If only 1 battle does not explain the problem, in the next 4 months of fighting, the Spitfire defeated the Zero, and in the short period of four months, Japan shot down 27 Spitfire MK5 fighters of the Australian Air Force at the cost of 5 Zeros, with an exchange ratio of 1:5.4.
So why did the Spitfires, which defeated the German BF109 over London, lose to the Zero-21 in the South Pacific? Is it a gap in the performance of the aircraft?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the performance comparison of the Spitfire MK5 and the Zero 21</h1>
In terms of top speed, the Zero 21 uses a 940 hp Rong 12 engine, the maximum speed can reach 533 km /h at an altitude of 4550 meters, while the Spitfire MK5 uses a 1650 hp Merlin water-cooled engine, the top speed can reach 603 km / h at 6300 meters, no doubt in terms of horsepower and speed, the Spitfire MK5 model is more than the Zero 21 type. In addition, in terms of high-altitude performance, the Merlin engine used by Spitfire also has good high-altitude performance.
The famous Merlin engine during World War II
In terms of climb performance, especially the instantaneous climbing ability that determines the outcome of the air battle, the Zero 21 weighs 2421 kg, the Spitfire weighs 2943 kg, and in terms of power ratio, the Spitfire exceeds the Zero type's 0.37 kg/hp at 0.56 kg/hp. Factors affecting climb performance are also wing load, air resistance and propeller diameter, these three aspects in addition to the wing load zero dominant, Spitfire has a good aerodynamic shape, semi-spindle head, in the air resistance and propeller diameter are dominant.
In terms of dive performance, although the Spitfire is not as good as the German Bf109 on the European battlefield, it is successful in the face of the Zero type with low body strength and poor dive performance.
This has always been the traditional advantage of the Zero in terms of maneuverability, thanks to the smaller wing load, the Smaller Turning Radius and the low-altitude, low-speed fighting capabilities.
On the weapon system, the Spitfire is equipped with 2 20 mm cannons and 4 303-inch Browning machine guns, which are comparable to the Zero firepower. In terms of protection, the Spitfire was britain's first combat aircraft to use an all-metal bearing skin, with cockpit armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, which was also superior to the Zero in terms of protection.
In terms of comprehensive performance in all aspects, the Spitfire is superior in speed, climbing, dive, and protection, while the Zero is superior in low-altitude and low-speed fighting, circling, and in general, the Spitfire is more advanced in technology than the Zero, so what is the fundamental reason for the failure of the Spitfire?
As we all know, the most critical factor in determining the outcome of a war is still people, let us analyze it from the perspective of pilots' combat experience and the air combat tactics they adopt.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the comparison of pilot training levels and combat experience between the two sides</h1>
First of all, look at the pilots flying the Japanese Zero, involved in the offensive operation against Australia is the Japanese 202nd Naval Air Force, their predecessor is the elite 3rd Air Force, with a very high level of training and rich combat experience, they generally have more than 1000 hours of flight experience.
Japanese Navy 202nd Air Force
It is necessary to mention the training system of Japanese pilots, in Japan only a good education, received rigorous training, the best people can become fighter pilots, which is also the key to Japan's ability to sweep the Pacific Allied forces where the war begins.
And this group of Australian Air Force Spitfire pilots also have a lot of history, they are not native to Australia, they are all experienced in the British Air War, North Africa and Western Europe air war elite, air combat experience is also quite rich. At the repeated request of Australia, the RAF Fighter Command directly allocated 3 squadrons from the active duty troops to Australia, and they also had Lieutenant Colonel Clive Caldwell, known as the "Ace of the Desert", as the commander, and had entered Australia to begin high-intensity training.
"Desert Ace" Clive Caldwell
Judging from the training level and combat experience of the pilots on both sides, it can be said that the two sides are on an equal footing.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the tactical comparison of air combat between the two sides</h1>
The air combat tactics of the Japanese Zero pilots are based on the maneuverability of the Zero fighter, because the Zero has superior low-altitude and low-speed fighting and circling, so the Japanese pilots will do everything possible to drag the opponent into the fight in the air battle. The Americans also recognize this, they generally avoid fighting with the Japanese aircraft, if the Japanese aircraft bite the tail, they choose to get rid of or avoid through high-speed dive.
U.S. and Japanese pilots were extremely knowledgeable about each other's tactics
But the Spitfire pilots from the European battlefield did not think so, and they arrogantly thought that in Europe they had defeated the German BF109 with excellent piloting skills and excellent aircraft performance, and it should not be difficult to defeat the Japanese Zero, which was not as good as the German BF109. Therefore, they did not even pay attention to the tactics used by the Japanese aircraft and the countermeasures of the American army introduced to them by the American fighter pilots, but they copied the set of their European treatment against the Germans in Europe to the South Pacific.
On the European battlefield, the Spitfire and BF109 are different characteristics, the Spitfire has its own characteristics in the maximum flight speed, firepower, especially horizontal maneuverability such as small turning radius, has an advantage in circling, while Bf109 has an advantage in range, armor and vertical mobility such as dive performance, German fighters often use D&Z tactics that is, high-speed approach, one-hit disengagement, and British fighters use its flexible turn to easily shake off German aircraft and grasp the battlefield initiative.
In the South Pacific, when the Spitfire pilots faced the Zero, which was lighter than the Spitfire, the wing load was smaller, and the turning radius was more aggressive, they still used the circling fighting tactics of the European battlefield, that is, they tried to fight horizontally with the "Zero" at low speeds, and this was exactly what the Zero pilots wanted, and the Spitfire naturally became the target of the Zero with stronger circling fighting performance.
In addition, in addition to the British Isles, they have radar lines along the coastline, and these radars have a detection distance of more than 100 kilometers, they know very well where the German aircraft will come from, how many German aircraft there are, so as to calmly intercept the German fighters, and the Spitfire pilots in the South Pacific do not have these radars and no information advantage. As for the traps that are often transferred into Japan, Japan always takes the lead with high-altitude and high-speed Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft, one is to reconnoiter Australian intelligence, the other is to lure spitfire attacks, just when spitfire attacks the Ki-46 reconnaissance aircraft, the Zero hidden in the direction of the sun or in the clouds will suddenly kill and fire at the Spitfire fighters.
A chain of radar off the coast of the British Isles
In general, in the South Pacific theater, the Spitfire did not have the advantage of information difference on the European battlefield, coupled with the fact that the most critical Spitfire pilots did not play the spitfire high-altitude high-speed performance advantage, but instead fought with the zero at low altitude and low speed, which was better at zero, which caused the excellent performance of the spitfire to play a bad record.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > summary</h1>
Through analysis, the Spitfire is undoubtedly better than the Zero in the main performance indicators, and the pilot training level and combat experience of both sides are relatively rich, and what determines the victory or defeat is the spitfire's bad tactics, they seriously lack the understanding of the Zero performance and the tactical choice for the Zero, but arrogantly follow the experience and tactics of the British and German battlefields, to short hit the enemy long, this is the root cause of the failure, coupled with the south Pacific battlefield, they do not have the information advantage of the British Isles, They also often fell into the trap of the Japanese, which made the high-performance Spitfire lose to the Zero.