That Time When I Was Suddenly Reincarnated in a Fleet Battle

Chapter 21 - Zero and F4F

"Regarding the aircraft carrier construction plans, the successor to the F4F Wildcat for the fighter planes to be deployed on these carriers is the F6F Hellcat, equipped with a 2.000-horsepower engine, which appeared in the latter half of 1943, followed by the F8F Bearcat in the latter half of 1945. The F6F exceeds 600 kilometers per hour, and the F8F reaches nearly 700 kilometers per hour. In the battles around Midway, older models like the F2A Buffalo and outdated Japanese planes such as the Type 96 carrier-based fighter (A5M) participated, although they did not directly engage with the enemy. However, the operational lifespan of these aircraft is expected to be limited. Furthermore, starting from the latter half of next year, fighter planes with weak engines, around 1.000 horsepower, will be at a significant disadvantage in battles."

"Does this mean the United States is introducing a new fighter plane in about a year? In other words, the superiority of the Zero will only last for another year."

Just the construction plans for the aircraft carriers are shocking enough, but the additional information about the rapid introduction of a new American fighter plane further dampened Admiral Yamamoto's mood. Well, I intentionally spoke in a way that shocked him, but there are points where our perceptions do not align, so I'll point those out.

"Firstly, there is no significant difference in performance between the Zero and the Wildcat as fighter planes. Although the Zero excels in climb rate, top speed, and turning performance, the Wildcat clearly surpasses in descent speed, armament, and defensive capabilities to protect the pilot. As for communication capabilities essential for organized combat, the Wildcat is leaps and bounds ahead. The current difference between the Zero and the Wildcat lies only in the skill of the pilots. The Zero, piloted by skilled and experienced aces with superior vision for enemy detection, maintains an advantage over inexperienced American pilots. Conversely, if the experience is equalized, the power dynamics between the Zero and the Wildcat can easily reverse. In terms of pilot training capabilities, the United States, which can allocate resources generously to training squads without hesitation, is overwhelmingly superior. Therefore, the skill gap between the upcoming Japanese and American rookie pilots is unfortunately expected to be significant."

In the comparison between the Zero and the F4F, I subtly incorporate the importance of the pilots. Unlike the Imperial Army, which suffered a significant blow in losing many senior pilots in the Battle of Nomonhan, the Imperial Navy seemed to lack an understanding of the importance of pilot protection. It wasn't until the large attrition battles in the Solomon Islands that they finally realized the significance, but in the current situation of continuous victories, the sense of crisis might not be that strong. Although the Imperial Army was somewhat inadequate, they had already equipped the Ki-43 (Type 1) fighter with bulletproof armor, which was a significant difference.

Regarding the Zero and the F4F, I said they were evenly matched so as not to offend Admiral Yamamoto, but to be honest, I think the F4F is clearly superior to the Zero as a fighting machine or a fighting terminal. In the Shōwa period, there were many people who believed that the Zero was stronger than the F4F, perhaps because of the influence of the war stories of Japanese aces flying the Zero that took down F4Fs. However, I am somewhat skeptical about this discourse.

I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this rumor, as it is based on my own research, not that of a solid research institute such as a university, but the results of my research on the available data from both Japan and the US showed that the F4F was unfortunately superior in terms of kill ratio. Also, if you read the US war records, you will find that the F4F, which excelled in radio communication, made full use of coordinated tactics such as the Thach weave, and crashed many Zeros in an amusing manner. To be honest, I am not sure how much I can trust these Japanese and American war stories, but the fact that the Japanese war stories often depict Zeros winning and the American war stories often depict F4Fs winning is probably because they are commercial magazines with the goal of making profits.