The Imperial Japanese Navy's 1934 specification called for a carrier fighter less than eight metres long with a wingspan below eleven metres. It had to make 190 knots at 3,000 metres, reach 5,000 metres within six and a half minutes of leaving the flight deck, and carry more than 200 litres of fuel. Two 7.7 mm machine guns and a radio receiver completed the requirement. Those figures establish the A5M as a purpose-built fleet aircraft with explicit procurement goals.
Chapter · 0:00-0:47
The 1934 requirement behind the Mitsubishi A5M
The opening requirement defines the speed, climb, dimensions, fuel, armament, and radio expected from Japan's new carrier fighter.