Reference post #124.
The A6M was NOT a weak airplane and its wings did not break off easily. U.S. fighters were stressed to 8 g's with a safety factor of 0.5, for an ultimate load factor of 12 g's. The A6M was stressed to 6 g's with a safety factor of 1.0, for an ultimate load factor of 12 g's.
This means that the U.S. fighter could sustain 8 g's many times with no damage. If loaded to over 8 g's, the structure would take it, but could be damaged beyond continued use. You'd expect structural failure at anything over 12 g's. For the A6M, it could sustain 6 g's many times without failure but could be damaged at loads over 6 g's. Again, you'd expect structural failure at anything over 12 g's.
The A6M was not and IS not flimsy, weak, or poorly made. It is a good, solid airplane that, like all other airplanes, has limitations. The A6M was designed to excel at dogfighting at speeds of 180 - 290 mph, and it did that job VERY well. Since the designer didn't have a 1,500+ hp engine to work with, he had to make design choices to get good performance. In the case of the A6M, that meant lighter structure and no armor, resulting in a plane that was good at dishing out punishment, but not so good at taking it. That was acceptable to the Japanese military.
When the same designer had a more powerful engine, he came up with the J2M Raiden. It was a match or better for most late-war Allied fighters in ceiling, armament, climb, and maneuverability. It was was slightly slower than most late-war U.S. fighters, but could still catch a B-29, something that many other Japanese fighters could not do. They just never got to built very many of them.
, Jeff
