Quote:
Originally Posted by Falcon Jun
One factor that seems to have been overlooked is the fact that the Japanese Zeros who were in the raid in Clark had whatever armor plating in the aircraft removed. This was done to lighten the aircraft and extend its range so that it can reach and attack Clark. Arriving at Clark, they were at the very limit of their fuel reserves so even if the US had tecnically inferior aircraft to the Zero, the Zero would not be able to linger and fight to its full potential. This would have evened out the fight.
I learned about how the Zeros was modified from the autobiography of Saburo Sakai, Japan's leading ace in World War II.
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I thought the Japanese aircraft attacking the Phillpines were army aircraft. Zeros were naval aircraft designs for aircraft carriers & would not have equipped IJA squadrons. The IJA fighters were good designs and their pilots experinced and well trained too, but we must get the details correct.