Wingsy Aircraft 1/48 A5M2b Claude Type 96 IJN Carrier-Based Fighter II (Late Version) (New Tool) Kit
This Product Usually Ships In 2-3 Business Days
WGY-501
The world's first monoplane shipboard fighter and direct ancestor of the famous A6M 'Zero'. The allied reporting name was 'Claude'.
The aircraft entered service in early 1937, soon seeing action in pitched aerial battles at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war. The A5M proved the better of almost every aircraft it encountered. Though armed with only a pair of 7.7mm machine-guns, the new fighter proved effective and damage tolerant, with excellent maneuverability and robust construction.
Mitsubishi continued to improve the A5M, working through versions until the final A5M4, which carried an external drop tank.
Some A5Ms remained in service at the end of 1941 when the United States entered the war in the Pacific. The last combat actions as a pure fighter took place at the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7th May 1942, when two A5Ms and four A6Ms from the carrier Shoho fought against US aircraft that attacked and sank the carrier.
In the closing months of the war, most remaining A5M airframes were used for kamikaze attacks.
The aircraft entered service in early 1937, soon seeing action in pitched aerial battles at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war. The A5M proved the better of almost every aircraft it encountered. Though armed with only a pair of 7.7mm machine-guns, the new fighter proved effective and damage tolerant, with excellent maneuverability and robust construction.
Mitsubishi continued to improve the A5M, working through versions until the final A5M4, which carried an external drop tank.
Some A5Ms remained in service at the end of 1941 when the United States entered the war in the Pacific. The last combat actions as a pure fighter took place at the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7th May 1942, when two A5Ms and four A6Ms from the carrier Shoho fought against US aircraft that attacked and sank the carrier.
In the closing months of the war, most remaining A5M airframes were used for kamikaze attacks.
- Photoetched parts
- 4 different decal options.