In the early stages of combat, the air war went extremely well for the Japanese, but that would soon change. As the improved versions of aircraft entered service and as the air tactics evolved, the A6M began to lose its edge over Allied fighters. The only way to turn the tides was to modernise the Zeke and then introduce its successor, capable of holding its own against new U.S. designs, as quickly as possible. 138 archival photographs, 44 colour photographs, 10 colour profiles, scale drawings