IB HISTORY HL

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

Evaluate the importance of the Zero Airplane in

the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Word count: 1233

Section A: Identification and Evaluation of Sources
This investigation will address the question, “Evaluate the importance of the

Zero Airplane in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941?”, that is, the

strengths and weaknesses of the weapon during the events of December 7,

1941. Japanese aeronautical engineers developed the Mitsubishi A6M, better

known as the Zero Fighter Aircraft in 1940, with the carrier-based model 21

being a protagonist of the attack on Pearl Harbor the following year. The Zero

Fighter had several technological advantages, making it an effective attack

aircraft. This investigation looks at the way the Japanese used these

advantages in the attack on the US Pacific Fleet, while also addressing the

limitations of the weapon for the role it was given in that event.

Several sources were used for the investigation and two of these are analyzed

in detail here. The first source is the testimony of a Japanese pilot Iyozou Fujita

“We don´t have to apologize for the destruction of Pearl Harbor” reported by

Juan Jesús (2019). This is a primary source because it gives us information

from the experiences of a participant in the attack on Pearl Harbor who sat in

the cockpit of the Zero Fighter. This testimony is valuable because it comes

forms the first-hand experience of the event, becoming a primary source. It is

limited because is only one perspective from a pilot of Japan that survived the

attack, not from a neutral perspective or another side. The purpose of this

information is to tell from the point of view of a pilot of a Japanese Zero fighter

plane, relating what the battlefield was like that day in December, to what his

feelings were when facing death and losing some of his comrades. The

limitations of this source are that like the previous source, it only relates the
point of view of a Japanese military man, but not the points of view of both

sides. The value of the content tells about the advantages of the Zero fighter in

the battle against the United States of America. The limitations are that the

content only informs the reader about one point of view of one side of the war.

Another limitation is that is just one testimony, which means that other thoughts

of his partners could be different even though it is not shown in the document

The secondary source is the article, “Pearl Harbor”, on the website,

History.com, published in 2019. This source gives us info about the Pearl

Harbor attack, its impact, and how America sees it from its point of view. This

information aims to inform readers of the events of the day. It does not focus

exclusively on the actions of the Zero fighter.

Section B: Investigation
Since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Japanese military had

been aware of its disadvantage in terms of technology in comparison with the

US and European powers. Therefore, the country began an extraordinary

program of modernization that culminated with the Japanese victory in the

Russo-Japanese war of 1905. Japanese militarism and imperialism drove the

desire to become the dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region, and it was

clear that this could only be achieved through superior military hardware. The

Mitsubishi company was charged with developing a fighter attack aircraft that

would be superior to those of rival powers in the region. The AM5 and AM6

incorporated several features, including the ability to have four machine guns
with two types of armament, two cannons, as well as bombs. This aircraft’s

advanced offensive features sacrificed equally important defensive elements

such as protection for the fuel tank and armor for the aircraft in general, but

thanks to its minimum weight achieved, it could fly faster.

On November 26, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy began its planned attack

on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, departing from Iturup (an island in the Kuril

Archipelago). The surprise factor was that no American knew that this attack

was taking place, so their voyage was maintained in silence for 11 days. The

fleet remained hidden until 3:24 a.m. on December 7, 1941, because Japanese

submarines were sighted by a U.S. minesweeper, but the latter did not notice

what was happening. The first wave of aircraft, comprising the Zero Fighter,

began at 6.10 a.m. In the attack, the element of surprise was a key factor

resulting in favorable numbers for Japan with fewer casualties than the United

States.

The Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft was created by Jiro Horikoshi, an

engineer of the same Mitsubishi company. As mentioned by Smith, editor of

maritime and aviation histories, "His work in the development of the first major

Japanese fighter model was crucial: the A5M or Type 96" (Smith, 2015, pp.23-

24). It was not only a vital element in the war at the national level. In addition, it

became the first monoplane fighter (it had only one wing extending across the

width of the aircraft which is sufficient to fly the aircraft) to be based on aircraft

carriers. The Zero aircraft had certain qualities that put Japan's nautical

advantage over the rest of the world.

Horikoshi's previous success with the A5M led the Japanese government to

create higher expectations and standards for the empire's aircraft, with the Zero

aircraft being planned with a material unlike any other to meet the requirements.

Achieving an aircraft unmatched in its time created with aluminum-type material

called extra super duralumin and as mentioned ". It worked satisfactorily and,

once again, the reputed engineer managed to pull off a project previously

sentenced as impossible." (Horikoshi, 1970, pp. 4-57) thus beginning a legend

for the Japanese military. Horikoshi's previous success with the A5M led the

Japanese government to create higher expectations and standards for the

empire's aircraft, with the Zero aircraft being planned with a material unlike any

other to meet the requirements.

This aircraft achieved its peculiarity concerning the world because of its four

advantages: first its agility, second the extended range of its armaments, third

the experienced military pilots with war blood and the most influential, and four

they underestimated the creation of the same along with the capacity of the

Japanese imperial to create potentially harmful weapons for the war. As a

result, it generated an exclusive advantage concerning the airplane by having a

metallic structure and a retractable train, generating benefits for its weight, and

relieving the airplane by not having armor for the pilot, nor self-sealing fuel

tanks. It has an alignment of aluminum and zinc materials, resulting in light and

extreme firmness. It had a loaded weight of 2410 kg, a maximum speed of 660
km per hour, a range of 3105 km, service chest of 10000 meters. Therefore,

generating an exclusive advantage for the airplane by having a metallic

structure and a retractable train, generating benefits to its weight

Its strengths were that the Zero had an indicated power-to-weight ratio and its

maneuverability of only one wing made it unmatched, it is long-range generated

by its four machine guns of two types, two 7.7 mm machine guns in the cowling

and two 13.2 mm machine guns in the wings: helping in the battle of Pearl

Harbor.

Japanese used to their advantage the artillery they were carrying; they were

victorious in this attack. In the Imperial Japanese Navy, 353 Japanese fighter

planes participated in the attack, including 131 dive bombers, 103 bombers, 79

fighters, and 40 torpedo planes. The fighter planes were a great advantage in

this move. Resulting in more U.S. casualties of 128 aircraft and 2,403

personnel, Japan lost 29 aircraft, 4 mini-submarines, and 64 pilots.

Section C: Reflection
The methods used by the historians that I used were to do exhaustive research

about the topic and at the same time a little broader, look for contexts, policies,

and years, among other things. At the same time, I used the method of the

sources I found, taking into account whether they are primary or secondary and

reliable sources.
I highlight my research on the methods used to find both primary and secondary

sources by having accounts from a military pilot of a Zero fighter plane who

knew firsthand what was going on at the time and had already analyzed

information about the event.

The challenges faced by a historian, unlike a mathematician or scientist, is that

they study the past in detail and it is a sequence of facts, that is to say, that the

knowledge they must have must be too much to understand even a single

subject. In the same way, the difference that characterizes a historian is that he

needs to get reliable information from the past, which is not known origin and

this can influence in a very big way such a fact to change history.

The information that is obtained today was previously analyzed, therefore it is a

very interesting topic to know that our knowledge today about some topic of the

past is the same or even close to knowing the same fact as the people who

were witnessed in that time.

Additionally, describing historical events in an unbiased way is possible. But it

would be achieved in a somewhat complicated way. In this research, I had to

inform myself about historical facts, political positions, and wars, people that

read, whether it wants to or not, unconsciously have a point of view in favor of

some side or ideology. Consequently, the historical document or information is

not placed, but the person in his head already has his decision.

The role of a historian is to transmit information about historical events neutrally

and sensibly therefore that people who receive this information can develop

their points of view apart from how it is transmitted. Also, it is allowing people to

analyze on their own the mistakes from the past to avoid committing them again

in the future, such as wars, and holocausts, among other situations.

Bibliography:
Smith, P. (2015). Mitsubishi Zero: Japan's Legendary Fighter. Barnsley: Pen &

Sword Books.

HISTORY.com. (29 de 10 de 2009). History.

Recuperado el 03 de 06 de 2020, de History:

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor

Aguilera,M. 2022. [online] Estudio del avión Mitsubishi A6M Zero y modelado

en CATIA V5Available at:

<https://biblus.us.es/bibing/proyectos/abreproy/93178/fichero/TFG-

3178+DOBLADO+AG%C3%9CERA%2C+MARIO.pdf> [Accessed 1 February

2022].

Ecured.cu. 2022. Mitsubishi A6M - EcuRed. [online] Available at:

<https://www.ecured.cu/Mitsubishi_A6M> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Aznárez, J. J. (2019).[online] “No tenemos que pedir perdón por la destrucción

de Pearl Harbor.” El País. Available at:

<https://elpais.com/diario/1991/12/05/internacional/691887613_850215.html

?event=go&event_log=go&prod=REGCRART&o=cerradoamf> [Accessed 28

January 2022].