The A5M fitted Japanese preferences for a light, agile carrier fighter so well that American intelligence expected it to remain the navy's front-line type in 1941. Jiro Horikoshi's earlier 1MF10 prototype had poor handling and performance, but the navy continued funding development after rejecting it for immediate service. Two additional years of work produced a much more successful fighter. The A5M paired a reliable Nakajima radial with an excellent power-to-weight ratio and outperformed most aircraft it encountered over China. It could carry small bombs or a drop tank, received continuing improvements, and served from nearly every suitable Japanese carrier. Its useful service continued through 1945.
Chapter · 53:20-58:45
Patient funding turns the failed 1MF10 into the A5M breakthrough
Two funded development years transform Mitsubishi's poor 1MF10 prototype into the A5M, the first low-wing monoplane shipboard fighter to enter service.