Hasegawa 01452 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero Fighter Type 52 Zeke

The A6M Zero Type 52 was a Japanese Navy fighter plane that served during World War II and the Pacific War. The Zero Type 21, feared by its enemies as a high-performance aircraft, began to lose speed and armament to the newer enemy fighters by the 1943s . The Type 52 was developed following the Type 32 and Type 22.

To improve speed, the wings were shortened to 11 meters, the cowling (the engine cover) was redesigned , and a single thrust exhaust (an exhaust pipe that used the engine exhaust to generate some thrust) was added. This allowed the Zero Type 52 to reach a maximum speed of 590 km/h, 25 km faster than the Zero Type 22's maximum speed of 565 km/h. A total of approximately 6,000 Zero Type 52 aircraft were produced, and the planes served until Japan's defeat in the Pacific War.

Hasegawa's A6M5 Zero kit with markings for 3 aircraft - one from the 653rd Flying Group flown by the Group Commander from the carrier Zuikaku (see box art), one from the 261st Flying Group and one from the 253rd Flying Group flown by W.O. T .Iwamoto.