Defeating the Japanese Zeros

In the months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, a report from Nationalist China described a mysterious "super fighter plane" used by Japanese forces, said to be faster and more maneuverable than anything in America's arsenal. U.S. intelligence dismissed it as exaggeration, underestimating Japan's capabilities. The plane was later identified as the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero," which dominated the Pacific skies after Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Commander John S. "Jimmie" Thach of the U.S. Navy recognized the threat posed by the Zero and devised a tactic to counter it. With the Japanese preparing to attack Midway Atoll, Thach trained his pilots in the "Thach Weave," a revolutionary formation designed to offset the Zero's superior performance. This tactic proved highly effective in air combat and allowed Thach's squadron to neutralize the Japanese advantage. The battle at Midway became a turning point in the Pacific War. The U.S. Navy's victory, aided by Thach's tactical innovation, crippled Japan's offensive capabilities. After Midway, the Japanese would never win another major battle, while the Americans would never lose one, marking a decisive shift in the war's outcome. AUTHOR: R. J. 'Bob' Gorman is a retired Arizona state prosecutor who, when he was a teenager, took flying lessons from a United States Navy fighter pilot who flew at the epic Battle of Midway. Since then he has done a great deal of research on the air war in the Pacific, and especially the decisive Battle of Midway. This is his first book on the subject. 32 b/w illustrations