KI-43 ?

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IIRC the Ki-43 wasn't recognized by the Allies as a discrete type, separate from the "Type 0", until late 1942 or perhaps even into 1943.
Hi
A Mitsubishi Navy S-97 was being 'identified', which appears that it was in reality an 'OSCAR', from December 1942:

From a February 1943 publication:


OSCAR appears in an April 1944 publication:

And also in TM-E 30-480 of 1 October 1944:

Others may have other material to add.

Mike
 
Hi
A lot was shared by Mitsubishi with Nakajima as the latter company also built 'Zeros', at least according to Jiro Horikoshi in his book 'Eagles of Mitsubishi, The Story of the Zero Fighter', page 101 last paragraph:
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Mike
I have the book. Issuing a manufacturing license is not the same as offering up your chief designer. I don't have to tell you that, it's obvious. The comment was tongue in cheek.
 
Nakajima built more Type Zero fighters than Mitsubishi did.

Mitsubishi built 4,002.
Nakajima built 6,867.
Hitachi built 272.
Sasebo built 236.

A6M5 came in A6M5a (Kou - belt-feed, not drum-feed, cannons), A6M5b (Otsu - armored windscreen, fuel tank fire extinguishers1 x 7.7 mm and 1 x 13.2 mm cowl MG), and A6M5c (Hei - more armor on windscreen and pilot's seat, 3 x 13.2 mm MG + 2 * 20 mm cannons) models. A6M5 total is 5,703.

Total of 11,377 includes wheeled and A6M2-N Rufe seaplanes, A6M1 through A6M8. Total of A6M7 (490) and A6M8 (2) is 492.
 
Well, like evry Japanese fighter it was made out of rice paper...
It's interesting that japanese WW2 airplanes are regarded as flimsy ( nuuumannn I know not by you) when it seems that they could withstand more damage than they are credited (not saying that they were inmune or rugger than Allied aircraft).

This quote is from the Osprey book Spitfire Aces of Burma and the Pacific.

Flight Lieutenant 'Witt' Wittridge tells Andrew Thomas:

'Letting the speed fall back to near the stall whilst still about 2000 ft above him, I dropped down with a rush at low speed, turned well inside the Jap, fired my weapons and then banged on full throttle so as to re-establish my speed advantage. Moments later the "Oscar II" hit a hillside ten miles from Palel.

'We had a look at the wreck on the ground with some Gurkhas — it was riddled with holes, and it was a wonder that it stayed up as long as it did.'
 
It goes back to the war when all the allied aircrew were told that the Japanese were myopic and their aircraft flimsy etc.
In fact many of the skins on the A6M series are no lighter than the skins on most of the Spitfire. Due to a different type of construction the Spitfire has very heavy wing leading edge skins and the fuel tank cover is also heavy because it is frameless.

EDIT I worked on a couple of Ki-43s and they did not strike me as flimsy but I do not know how thick the skins and structure are as I had no need to know.
 
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It's interesting that japanese WW2 airplanes are regarded as flimsy ( nuuumannn I know not by you) when it seems that they could withstand more damage than they are credited (not saying that they were inmune or rugger than Allied aircraft).
It,s not the Ki-43, but Drachinifel,s latest wednesday video is interesting in this context:


The air attacks themselves begins around 40:40. While no detailed information on the heavily damaged aircraft is given, it is at least clear that very early pacific war G4Ms - and G3Ms - did not always light up or disintegrate at the first hit from AAA fire.
 

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