The zero was a sorry excuse for an interceptor because of its light construction. It had one thing running for it, in the interceptor role, and that was the range, which gave it a long loiter time. Its armament was rather light for interception duties as well, with small machine guns in the nose, and 20mm cannon, one in each wing, carrying only 60-100 rpg, depending on the model. That was far too light for anything with two engines, and a sturdy construction, much less anything with four engines. THe light construction and lack of armor or self sealing tanks was the ultimate demise as an interceptor for the zero. This allowed the zero to be taken down very, very easily by the gunners on bombers, or to the guns of escorts. Therefore i cant see many people, if any, thinking the zero as an interceptor, but its great qualities as a fighter early on cemented its place in my poll.