Although hardly graceful in appearance, the Zero was fast and highly maneuverable with very good range. Early in the war, it outclassed anything the United States or other Allies could hurl against it, and it was, prior to the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the only carrier-based fighter in any combatant's inventory that was capable of outperforming and defeating land-based aircraft. In early encounters, American pilots learned quite rightly to fear the Zero.

The Imperial Navy issued highly advanced and demanding requirements for a new carrier fighter in October 1937. Whereas the Nakajima Company rejected the requirements as unrealistic, Mitsubishi forged ahead to design an all-metal low-wing monoplane, with a 780-horsepower Mitsubishi Zuisei 13 engine and (ultimately) a three-bladed propeller. In this configuration, the Zero met or exceeded all navy requirements, except for level speed. After Mitsubishi introduced the more powerful 950-horsepower Nakajima Sakae 12 engine, the Zero exceeded all requirements, and full-scale production began.

The aircraft was first deployed in small numbers in China during 1940. By the end of this year, Zeros had shot down 99 Chinese fighter aircraft, with the loss of only two Zeros--and these to ground fire, not the fire of their aerial opponents. At the beginning of the war in the Pacific, Japan had only 328 Zeros ready for combat. Despite these relatively small numbers, the aircraft was instrumental in Japan's string of early stunning victories, beginning with the Battle of Pearl Harbor up to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. While this battle was a tactical victory for the Japanese, it was a strategic defeat, which ended the momentum of the Japanese juggernaut. This was followed by Japan's defeat at the Battle of Midway in June, which included the loss of four Japanese carriers, together with the Zeros (and other aircraft) they carried as well as many of the Imperial Navy's best pilots. This was not only the strategic turning point of the war, but spelled an end to the unchallenged reign of the Zero. The fighter was designed as an offensive weapon, with little armor and no self-sealing fuel tanks. Cast now into the defensive role, it proved increasingly vulnerable, especially as American aircraft improved and American pilots became more skilled. Despite this, Japanese designers continually worked throughout the war to refine the Zero, and it remained a mainstay of the Japanese naval air fleet until the surrender.

While the Zero was the most celebrated Japanese aircraft of World War II, the Allies experienced some confusion concerning nomenclature. The Allies code named the aircraft Zeke beginning in fall 1942, but misidentification of several variants also gave rise to the code names Ben, Ray, and Hamp. Eventually, all these were recognized as variants on the Zeke--yet, amid the confusion, that designation was largely rejected by U.S. military personnel, who universally adopted the English translation of the Japanese name for the aircraft, Reisen, Zero. . .

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