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Thumbnail Filmstrip of A6M2-N Zero-Sen/Rufe IJNAS 951st Flying Group Ibusuki, Japan, 1944 1:72 Diecast Images
Mitsubishi A6M2-N Zero-Sen/Rufe Diecast Model
IJNAS 951st Flying Group, JA-101, Ibusuki, Japan, 1944
The A6M2-N floatplane was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, for the purpose of supporting amphibian operations and defending remote bases. Based based on the A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats, a total of 327 were built. The aircraft was deployed in 1942 and was only utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. Such seaplanes were effective at night in harassing American PT boats, and they were very difficult to detect, even with primitive radar. In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. The large float and wing pontoons degraded its performance by about 20% however, enough that the Rufe was not usually a match for even the first generation of Allied fighters.