bobogoboom
Posts: 3799
Joined: 2/13/2006
From: Dallas
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Apollo11
Hi all,
quote:
ORIGINAL: mdiehl
Frankly, I think the Zero was a brilliant design. It was a solid performer in the early war, though no "superweapon." Strategically it was ideal.
I think you've hit part of if Chez when you say it was designed as an aggressor with little consideration for defense. But it was also a strategic design. Japan knew that fuel would be a limiting factor, and that imports of almost everything were required to make their weapons of war, and they knew they'd start the war (once the US was in the fray) bereft of sufficient shipping to maintain output.
I know I know the design preceded US entry by years.
But my point is that one could make alot of Zeroes and fly them rather economically and that made the most of the resources to which the Japanese had access. Had it been more defensively designed, adding weight, demanding more horsepower (thereby adding weight), and then fuel (thereby adding weight), so that it came out like some sort of Japanese parallel to the F4F, then I think the early war ability for the Japanese to show up unexpectedly at long range from their own developed logistical sources would have been impaired. Having a heavier, more defensive plane might have slowed down the pace of operations in, say Indonesia.
I agree with this completely as well... (amazing) 
BTW, some sort of "light" protection would have saved many Zero's (and other Japanese aircraft) and pilots for, hopefully, light weight addition: the self sealing fuel tanks and armored plate behind pilot (this would be like 50 kg = 100 lbs)...
Thus, as "ChezDaJez" already wrote, Japan counted on swift war and hoped for negotiated peace - they simply didn't count on USA fighting despite heavy initial looses... grave mistake on Japanese leaders (although many leaders including Yamamoto knew this but fought nonetheless - to me this is similar to Robert E. Lee and CSA in American Civil War)!
We now, of course, know that Japan lost war the very second they attacked Pearl Harbor and that no victories at the beginning would change the final outcome of USA victory (similarly Germany lost the very second they attacked Russia in 1941 - Russia was simply too huge to tackle in quick western like blitzkrieg fashion)...
Leo "Apollo11"
if japan had attacked russian and britian and not attacked the U.S. Do you not think there is a chance they could have won the war?
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