Mitsubishi A5M

what is it?

The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter (九六式艦上戦闘機), experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-Shi Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi Ka-14, was a World War II-era Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. The Type number is from the last two digits of the Japanese imperial year 2596 (1936) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. It was the world's first low-wing monoplane shipboard fighter to enter service and the predecessor of the famous Mitsubishi A6M "Zero".

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 435 km/htop speed
• range 1,200 kmwithout refuelling
• size 1,671 kgmax take-off weight
• built 1,094made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 91 years ago, in 1935.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,200 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1935-02-04

introduced

1936

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

1,094

role

carrier-based fighter

makers

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

engines

1× Nakajima Kotobuki 41 or 41 KAI

crew

1

length

7.6 m

wingspan

11 m

height

3.3 m

max take-off weight

1,671 kg

top speed

435 km/h

range

1,200 km

ceiling

9,800 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.