Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero – Summer of Flight

Experience Warbirds in flight this summer!

From May through September, join the Military Aviation Museum every Saturday at 1 PM for narrated flying demonstrations showcasing historical aircraft and commemorating significant wartime events. Experience the rumble of the engines up close as pilots share what it’s like to fly these incredible machines. Learn about the battles they fought in and the men and women who built, flew, and maintained them during the war! Summer of Flight is included with general admission to the museum and free for members. Events begin at 1:00 PM unless stated otherwise.

The principal American adversary in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during WWII, and the Imperial Japanese Navy’s (IJN) premier carrier-based fighter, the A6M was perhaps better known as the ‘Zero’. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries completed A6M3 c/n 3148, the specific aircraft which the Museum has obtained, during September 1942. Although the Allies officially referred to the A6M by their code word for the type, ‘Zeke’, the A6M3 variant received its own code name of ‘Hamp’. Even so, Allied pilots often simply referred to them as Zeros. This name derives from the IJN’s designation for the aircraft as a Type ‘0’ Carrier Fighter (for the last digit in Imperial Year 2600, when the aircraft was first designed).