All language subtitles for Air.Warriors.S06E09.Zero.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE[eztv]

Narrator: The japanese
zero is a killer.

Werneth: The zero was
state-of-the-art,

Nimble and deadly in combat.

Murphy: That's all the
pilot had to do,

Was look through this
gun sight right here.

Whatever he had in his
sights, he was gonna shoot.

Grant: Japanese aviators
were elite,

Hand-picked, well trained.

These aviators could cause death

And destruction on
an incredible scale.

Narrator: The japanese zero

Racks up victory after victory,

Heading into a pivotal battle.

Hallion: The stakes going into
midway were enormous.

Narrator: To beat the zero,

America must develop new tactics

And build bigger, faster,
more rugged fighters.

Anderegg: The corsair is an
absolutely beautiful airplane.

Lynch: This aircraft was
designed to be a zero killer.

Narrator: Pitting
muscle against agility,

It's a duel to the death in
the skies over the pacific.

(dramatic music)

December 7th, 1941,
pearl harbor, hawaii.

Japan catches america sleeping.

Grant: At pearl harbor
that morning,

People look up from the
deck of a battleship

And they see japanese
planes at low level.

(aircraft engine thrums)

Narrator: Dr. Rebecca
grant is one of

The foremost civilian experts
on air combat history.

Grant: The sense of shock is
indescribable, overwhelming

That a japanese
attack was coming

On this beautiful,
clear Sunday morning.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: At 7:40am,
the first japanese planes

Swoop in over the
harbor and hammer

Everything in their path.

(dramatic music)

Grant: All around, you
have explosions, strafing,

Fires, oil slicks,
crews desperately trying

To save the battleships
that they're on.

(dramatic music)

On the ground at hickam,
hangars are burning,

Oil is exploding,
planes are taxiing;

It's chaos and devastation.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Leading the charge

Is japan's premier
fighter, the zero.

Grant: The mitsubishi
a6m zero is japan's

Top of the line fighter plane.

It is the dominant
fighter in the pacific

In December of 1941.

The zero is light, it's fast,

And it has a phenomenal
carrier range.

It's the perfect navy
fighter for japan.

Narrator: The zero is
so light and maneuverable,

It can fly circles
around american fighters.

Murphy: This is the
japanese zero,

The most feared airplane at
the beginning of world war ii.

Narrator: Mark murphy
is an international

War bird instructor
and airshow pilot.

Murphy: The greatest strengths
that the zero has,

By far, is its agility.

It's a light airplane.

This air frame is
one of the thinnest

Of any of the combat airplanes.

So the skin is so
thin on this airplane

That our ground
crew is not allowed

To push on this fusillage or
the wings on this airplane

Because if you put any
pressure on that at all,

Well you can see how
light and thin that is,

The skin is actually moving.

On a lot of the other
airplanes during world war ii,

You could push anywhere on
here; not on the japanese zero.

Narrator: Weighing
less than 4000 pounds,

The zero reaches speeds of
over 340 miles per hour.

And when the zero slips
in behind an enemy plane,

It drops the hammer.

(engine roars)

Murphy: One of the deadly
features of this aircraft

Are these two 30
caliber machine guns.

The pilot had to cock the gun,

And they were synchronized to
shoot through the propellor

So they're in-line guns.

That's all the pilot had to do,

Was look through this
gun sight right here.

Whatever he had in his
sights, he was gonna shoot.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Adding
even more punch,

The zero carries two wing-
mounted 20-millimeter cannons.

(dramatic music)

At pearl harbor,
the japanese planes

Hit most of the
american battleships

And pound the airfields.

(engines roar)

And this is just the beginning.

200 miles from hawaii, six
japanese aircraft carriers,

The largest naval strike
force ever assembled,

Launches a second wave.

Grant: December 7th 1941,
the japanese fleet

Under admiral yamamoto is
honed to a knife's edge.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: With the zero and
their highly trained pilots,

Japan believes it can seize
control of the western pacific.

(dramatic music)

Grant: The japanese pilots
embarked with the carrier

Task forces are the
best of the best.

They've been chosen
through an elite system.

Their training includes
everything from gymnastics

To lots and lots
of flying hours.

These japanese pilots
are truly the elite.

Nothing stands in the way
of japan's sea forces.

The only obstacle is the
american fleet at pearl harbor.

What yamamoto wants
more than anything

Is to catch the american
aircraft carriers in port.

Japan knows that they have
to knock the fleet out.

Narrator: The zero pilots
understand the risks are huge,

But when they race
in over pearl harbor,

It's already in flames.

Their job is to finish
off the americans.

Grant: It's up to the
zeros to shoot down

Any american planes unlucky
enough to take to the air,

But the zeros have
another mission

And that is to use their 20
millimeter cannons to strafe.

They strafe crewmen on the
decks of the battleships,

They strafe hickam field,

They strafe aircraft
on the ground.

The zeros, with their
guns, are spreading

Death and destruction all across

Pearl harbor and ford island.

Narrator: Americans know
the story of pearl harbor,

From the survivors' accounts.

Ron werneth has heard
the story first-hand

From the japanese attackers.

(dramatic music)

One of his most
interesting interviews

Was zero pilot, iyozo fujita.

Werneth: Lieutenant junior
grade iyozo fujita

Thought that he would die.

(aircraft engines roar)

Narrator: An hour
after the first assault,

Fujita's enemy now
knows he's coming.

Werneth: Fujita-san heard the
order of charge to attack.

Then they started swarming
towards their target.

So in the case of the fighters,

Their target was kaneohe
bay naval air station.

They did two passes but there
was heavy anti-aircraft fire

As well as heavy smoke, so
that obscured the target.

Narrator: A zero flown by
another pilot, fusata iida,

Is hit and begins to leak fuel.

Werneth: So his aircraft was
mortally wounded, leaking fuel,

And so he waved goodbye to
lieutenant junior grade fujita,

And he pointed down, I'm
gonna make my attack,

And then he went
down in the smoke.

And that was it, so in essence,

Lieutenant iida became the
first kamikaze of the war.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: A handful
of american planes

Climb to challenge
the attackers.

Fujita now takes
command of the zeros.

(dramatic music)

Werneth: So fujita-san
was flying

And then he heard from
behind him

Y'know, a rat-tat-tat,
that there's fighters,

And he looked behind
him and there was

Four enemy fighters and
then next thing you know,

It became an aerial melee.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The first
big dogfight between

Americans and japanese
rages all around fujita.

Werneth: And one of the
fighters came in

And did a head-on
run attack at fujita

And that was second
lieutenant gordon sterling.

And initially, fujita said
I'm gonna ram right into him,

And I'm gonna do
what my leader did

In front of me and
sacrifice my life for japan.

But then, just as
that thought occurred,

Sterling pulled up and he had
his clear shot of the belly,

So then he dropped
about 100 rounds

Into the belly of
the curtis b-36,

Which went down and crashed.

Narrator: Fujita wins
one of the first dogfights

Against an american
in world war ii.

But his zero has
taken several hits.

Werneth: His oil pressure's low,
his aircraft is smoking,

And he doesn't even know
if he's gonna be able

To make it back to his carrier.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Once in
sight of the carrier,

Fujita can't wait while
other pilots land.

(dramatic music)

Werneth: So he said, y'know,
I don't have time

For a normal landing,
I'm gonna have to

Make an emergency landing.

So he came right in the
pattern and swooped down,

Flaps down, tail wheel down,
and just as he touched down,

The number one engine
cylinder actually fell off

And he came to a stop.

Narrator: With the
zero flying cover,

Japan has won a
shocking victory.

But that victory is incomplete.

Grant: Yamamoto's plan for
pearl harbor is a success,

With one exception:
He hasn't caught

The carriers in pearl harbor.

(dramatic music)

That means that
the u.S. Still has

Its most important weapon,
their aircraft carriers.

Pearl harbor has proven
beyond all doubt,

Both to the imperial japanese
navy and to the u.S. Navy

That it's the aircraft carrier

That will dominate the
war in the pacific.

Narrator: To win this
war, the american navy

Needs to find a way
to beat the zero.

In early 1941, the
japanese a6m zero

And its pilots seem invincible.

For over a decade,
japan has trained

A cadre of top fighter pilots.

Grant: For the japanese pilots,
the takeaway is confidence.

They've won a huge victory,

The planning has paid off,
and they've seen great success

And the zero has paid off big.

It's a wonderful attack
platform with it's 20mm guns.

The shock to the u.S.
Navy is incredible

And yet, the u.S.
Naval aviators know

That now the war rests
on their shoulders.

They will have to take
the fight to the enemy

From their carrier decks.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: America
still has three

Aircraft carriers
in the pacific,

With more under construction.

And it has a long history
with this weapon's platform.

(dramatic music)

1910, hampton roads, virginia.

For the first time,
a pilot takes off

From the deck of a ship.

It's a fragile, 50 horsepower
wood and canvas craft

But its potential
is clearly huge.

(dramatic music)

In 1922, america
converts a coal ship

Into its first carrier,
the uss langley.

(dramatic music)

In 1932, rear admiral
harry yarnell tests

The carrier's striking power.

During a navy war game,
he launches a mock attack

And takes the defenders
completely by surprise.

The war game's umpires
declare that his planes

Would have sunk every battleship

And destroyed most
of the airfields.

(dramatic music)

Yarnell's target
in this war game?

Pearl harbor, hawaii.

(dramatic music)

While the american navy
ignores the war game's lesson

On pearl harbor's vulnerability,

The japanese navy is
watching and learning.

In 1941, when they
attack pearl harbor,

They follow almost the
exact route and tactics.

After the humiliating
defeat at pearl harbor,

American pilots fear the zero.

Werneth: To put this into
perspective,

Somebody like fujita-san
or his contemporaries

To be combined with a
powerful modern fighter

Like the zero, is an
incredible combination.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: For six
months after pearl harbor,

The u.S. And japanese navies
spar in a string of skirmishes

And fight to a draw at
the battle of coral sea.

(dramatic music)

With each mission, the
zero pilots keep winning

And growing more confident.

Their plane is a pilot's
dream, even today.

(dramatic music)

Murphy: There's about five
of these in the world

That are flying today.

There's a lot of amazing things
about flying this airplane.

One of them is the
acceleration on take-off,

(engine roars)

It just goes like it's
got a rocket engine on it.

It's climbing and climbing
and the angle is so steep.

One of the things that
I'm so appreciative of

Is just how simply it does a
roll or maybe a loop with it;

It's just so light, so nimble,

So effortless to do
those type of things.

(dramatic music)

And it was a deadly combination
for the japanese pilots.

Werneth: So what is really
remarkable with fujita-san,

He said that flying
a zero was like

An extension of his body,

Y'know the wings and everything,

He became part of the zero,
to the point where he could

Even fall asleep on one
of these long missions

And then his number two
and number three men

Had to worry about him

Because the airplane's
flying and he's sleeping.

Narrator: But six
months after pearl harbor,

America is now awake

And laser-focused on
beating the zero.

It's america's turn to catch
japan asleep at the wheel.

Lee: In 1940, american
intelligence analysts

Broke the japanese
code called jn-25,

Which the japanese
used to communicate

With the imperial fleet.

Narrator: Russell lee
is chair of the aeronautics

Department at the national
air and space museum.

Lee: By doing this,
it was a huge break

For the american forces
and it allowed them to,

With varying
degrees of accuracy,

Predict pretty much
exactly what the

Japanese fleet was going to do.

Narrator: Codebreakers
learn of japanese

Plans to invade the
strategically crucial

Island of midway.

Risking all of their
available aircraft carriers,

American commanders decide
to challenge the japanese.

Hallion: The stakes going into
midway were enormous.

Narrator: Dr. Richard
hallion is an author

And aerospace historian.

Hallion: Midway pits two
opposing forces

In the most significant naval
clash of the 20th century;

Indeed, one of the
most significant

Naval clashes of all time.

You have the japanese
fleet built around

Four powerful attack carriers

With highly trained air
crew, excellent aircraft,

Combat tested, riding
a wave of victory

With every expectation
of success.

Opposing them are
three american carriers

With airmen that have
seen too many defeats

That realize that their backs
are now against the wall

And it is on their shoulders
that the survival of midway

And possibly the entire
control of the central pacific,

Perhaps even the hawaiian
islands and australia rests.

We knew where they
were going to be,

We knew that we
could confront them

But there was every expectation

That we might lose that battle.

Midway was a very
close run thing;

There were no guarantees
going into that battle.

(dramatic music)

Werneth: Coming into midway, a
typical japanese pilot

Of course would be confident,
maybe almost too confident

Because up until that time,
they won every battle.

They're flying a
state-of-the-art airplane,

They have excellent training,

Everything was victory,
victory, victory.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: June 4th, 1942.

The battle begins.

Unaware that three
american carriers

Are only 200 miles away,
the japanese launch

Their first wave of bombers
against midway island.

Hallion: They launch punishing
attacks on midway

And it is during that,
that the japanese,

Through reconnaissance,
become aware

That there are american
carriers out there.

They can no longer think
of just attacking midway,

Now they have to
reconfigure the aircraft

And those carriers
to attack ships.

They go from soft target
bombs to armor-piercing bombs.

The decks of the ship
then become littered

With bombs, with supplies
as they trying to

Reconfigure those
aircraft on deck.

Narrator: Just
when japanese carriers

Are most vulnerable,
american torpedo bombers

Close in for the kill.

(tense music)

But zeros swoop in to stop them.

Zero pilot iyozo fujita
is among the first

To attack the slow-moving
torpedo bombers.

Werneth: Fujita-san, he knows
that there's probably

Gonna be guns in the back
and guns in the front,

So he decides to do
a diagonal attack

And with the
performance of the zero,

He can do that attack several
times and repeat, repeat.

All this is happening
in the blink of an eye,

Y'know, combat
action takes seconds

And he goes to the formation,

Gets several kills
during the first time,

Banks up, turns around, comes
back and does it another time.

I believe all together,
he does it three times

And then in the end,
between just himself

And one other pilot,

They're able to knock down
seven american torpedo bombers,

All in just a couple of passes.

Narrator: The
americans drop only

A handful of torpedoes
and they miss their mark.

Fujita and the other zero pilots

Shoot down most of the bombers.

With the zero, japan again
seems on the verge of victory.

Hallion: When the battle opened,
it goes against us

And it looks like it may have
a very bleak outcome indeed.

The air attacks on
midway destroy most of

The aircraft forces that
we have on the island

And the aircraft that we send

Aloft are shot
out of the sky.

The attacks that
we send initially

Against the japanese fleet,
lumbering torpedo planes,

Are shot out of the
sky at low altitude.

The japanese fighters
absolutely destroy them

And at this point in the battle,

It's looking like the
united states may lose

And lose very, very badly.

Narrator: Zeros have crushed
the american torpedo bombers

And japanese aviators prepare
to strike the u.S. Fleet.

(dramatic music)

June 4th, 1942.

After reducing midway
island to a smoking ruin,

Japanese airplanes refuel to
attack the american fleet.

(engines roar)

But as the zeros try to
sweep american fighters

From the sky, they run up
against a new type of warrior.

Lieutenant commander
john "jimmy" thach

Leads one squadron
of navy fighters,

Flying the grumman wildcat.

Anderegg: Jimmy thach was
a navy fighter pilot,

A highly experienced guy.

Narrator: Dick anderegg
flew over 4000 hours

In fighter jets and was
director of the air force

History and museums program.

Anderegg: It's been
my experience

As an air force
fighter pilot

All of my life, that the
ones that are the best

Are the ones that study the most

And thach was a good
example of that.

Thach studied the
adversary and he knew

What the advantages zeros
had over his wildcats

And so he devised tactics
to accentuate the advantages

That they would have and
minimize the disadvantages

The wildcats would
have against the zeros.

Narrator: Thach's
slower, less agile wildcat

Seems impossibly
outmatched by the zero.

Anderegg: The mitsubishi
zero was a very light,

Very agile, quick turning,
fast and fast climbing fighter.

The strengths of the
wildcat was that it was

A rugged airframe, could
take battle damage.

Narrator: With six
50 caliber machine guns,

It can also dish it out.

(dramatic music)

Before midway,
thach spends hours

Devising ways to
counter the zero.

Anderegg: He did this by
using matchsticks

On his kitchen table at night,

Over quite a period
of time of laying out

If I have a wildcat
here and a wildcat here,

And a zero shows up here,
what are we going to do?

(tense music)

Narrator: Thach
wants the wildcats

To fly in teams of two or four.

They spread out and scan
the sky behind each other.

Then, when a zero latches
onto one wildcat's tail,

They counter-attack.

Turning toward each
other, the lead plane

Draws the zero right in front
of the second plane's guns.

If the zero survives or
doesn't break off its attack,

They cross back and try again.

Anderegg: If one airplane
was attacked,

They could turn towards
each other in a weave,

Which would bring the attacker
in front of the wingman,

And if that didn't work then,

As they came apart
they could weave again

And this was constantly
being an effort

To make the attacker
commit to one of them,

Which would leave
free the wingman,

Or the flight leader if the
wingman was under attack,

To then in turn
attack the attacker.

Narrator: This tactic became
known as the thach weave.

At midway, thach uses
it against the zero

For the first time.

Anderegg: On June 4th of 1942,
thach himself was able to

Test in combat the actual
tactics that they were using.

When a zero latched onto
thach's wingman's tail

Committed to that wingman
and they started their weave,

Thach was actually
able to then convert

Behind the attacking
zero and shoot it down

And this was a great
confidence builder for him

And for all the other pilots
who had been practicing

This weave tactic
prior to combat.

Narrator: With
the thach weave,

Wildcats go toe-to-toe with
a zero and hold their own.

And by tangling with the zeros,

Thach's wildcats distract them
from an even greater threat.

Thousands of feet above
the dueling fighters,

The japanese zeros
fail to spot another

Group of bombers,
sbd dauntlesses.

Lee: Sbd stands for
scout bomber douglas.

The sbd wasn't a
particularly fast airplane

And so some navy pilots
nicknamed it slow but deadly.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Led by lieutenant
commander c. Wade mcclusky,

Two squadrons of sbd dauntlesses

Launch from the
carrier enterprise.

(dramatic music)

Lee: It carried a crew of two;
the pilot and a gunner.

The dauntless was designed

To carry out
dive-bombing attacks.

It could carry a 500 pound
or a 1000 pound bomb,

Slung right beneath the cockpit

On the outside of the airplane
between the landing gear.

The dive bomber was
the world war ii

Precision attack platform.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Mcclusky's
mission is to find

And take out the
japanese carriers.

Grant: So when mcclusky
forms up his group,

He's still 175 miles from
the last known position

Of the japanese fleet.

They fly towards that position

But when they
arrive, empty ocean.

Mcclusky makes
the most important

Decision of the battle

Narrator: Low on fuel,
mcclusky can give up the hunt

And return to the carrier,

Or he can keep searching
for the japanese fleet

And risk having to ditch
his plane in the pacific.

Grant: The whole battle
of midway turns on

This decision by this one man.

Mcclusky decides to
continue the hunt.

He flies seven more minutes
and then he sees it,

A japanese destroyer heading
north at flank speed,

Catching up with the fleet.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The
destroyer leads mcclusky

Right to the japanese fleet.

(dramatic music)

Grant: Mcclusky catches
the japanese carriers

With the zeros out of position.

That means mcclusky can
start the dive bombing runs

Without being
challenged by the zeros.

It's the best possible
moment for him to attack.

Narrator: Half
of the dauntlesses

Dive on the carrier akagi
and the rest attack the kaga.

Grant: So now for mcclusky,
his world narrows down.

He pitches the dauntless
over into a 70 degree dive.

In his sights, the kaga
gets bigger and bigger

As mcclusky aims for
the center island

Of the japanese
aircraft carrier.

(dramatic music)

He dives and dives and
dives, the bomb is released,

And he pulls up and away.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Bombs smash
through the two carriers' decks.

Both erupt in flames.

(dramatic music)

And more dauntlesses
are on the prowl.

Grant: A few minutes later, dive
bombers from the uss yorktown

Attack the third
japanese carrier,

Setting it on fire as well.

That's three japanese
carriers down.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Still the
dauntlesses aren't done.

Later that day they destroy
the fourth japanese carrier.

(dramatic music)

But the battle isn't over.

The japanese hit back.

(dramatic music)

Their bombers repeatedly
strike the uss yorktown,

Leaving it a smoldering wreck.

Hallion: It was a hard and
indeed, brutally fought battle

With tremendous
losses on both sides

But at the end of the day,

Japan had lost four
aircraft carriers,

A cruiser the next day.

The war from that point on
was a very different war.

Narrator: Compounding
the japanese loss,

A zero crash lands
1800 miles away

On the american
island of akutan.

Nearly intact, it becomes
an intelligence bonanza,

Unlocking some of the
zero's greatest secrets.

American test pilots
determined that

While it's light
and extremely agile,

The zero doesn't turn
well to the right,

It can lose power
in a steep dive,

And its controls become harder
to handle at high speeds.

With this new
intelligence on the zero,

American pilots are now
trained to exploit its flaws.

(aircraft falls and explodes)

Grant: The battle of midway
is bad news for the zero

Because american
aviators have now learned

The tactics to use
against the zero

And just as important,
they've learned

That they want faster, heavier
and highly gunned airplanes.

Narrator: Fortunately,
american designers

Have been developing
beefy, rugged fighters.

The next generation
f6f grumman hellcat

Is heavily armored but
as fast as the zero.

(dramatic music)

And a second
muscle-bound fighter,

The f4u corsair, is even faster.

Anderegg: The corsair is an
absolutely beautiful airplane.

Its strengths were
that it was fast,

A huge engine, 2000 horsepower.

Narrator: The
corsair is america's

First single-engine
fighter to reach speeds

Of over 400 miles per
hour at sea level.

Lynch: This is the
mighty f4u corsair,

One of the most
powerful and lethal

Aircraft of world war ii.

(tense music)

Narrator: Charlie
lynch has over 2000 hours

Flying experience in
world war ii war birds.

Lynch: It combined great speed
with hard-hitting armament,

Good armor protection,

Self-sealing fuel
tanks, and good range.

This aircraft was designed
to be a zero killer.

The pratt & whitney
double wasp r-2800 engine

Was 18 cylinders, two
stage supercharger

And produced 2000 horsepower.

In order to harness the
tremendous power of this engine,

Hamilton standard propeller,
the largest of its time,

Was fitted to the aircraft.

This propellor is over
13 feet in diameter.

In order to have enough
clearance for the propellor,

They wound up creating
this bent wing design.

This allowed for a
shorter landing gear

But maximized the
clearance of the propellor

Off the carrier deck.

This was an elegant
solution to a very

Complex engineering problem.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Heavily
armored, the corsair

Weighs almost three
times more than the zero.

Anderegg: In typical american
fashion for design,

The corsair was a big airplane.

There's always that
trade-off in fighters;

Light and agile, maybe
susceptible to battle damage.

You make it heavier,
you'll probably

Take more battle damage
and still survive

And come back to
fight another day.

(engine roars)

Narrator: The navy
has two strong options:

The corsair or the hellcat

And runs them through
a series of trials.

The powerful corsair
proves to be a handful.

Anderegg: It was a very
difficult airplane to land

On a carrier

Because of the
extremely long nose.

If we look, we'll
see the nose is like

From propellor hub to
windscreen is 15 feet.

Narrator: Pilots can't
see the carrier deck

Until they're
almost on top of it

And the early landing
gear is unforgiving.

(dramatic music)

Anderegg: An additional problem
the corsair had,

If you landed too
hard, you could bounce,

And if you bounced,
then your hook

Misses the wire, the cable.

So it was a good
design for carriers

But it was not a great design.

Because of the nose and
the soft landing gear,

It was a very difficult
airplane to land on a deck.

(engine roars)

Narrator: It struggles
with carrier landings

But the corsair is
just too good a plane

For the navy to abandon.

Anderegg: The perfect airplane
for the marine corps

Was the corsair

Because the marine
corps in the pacific

Was doing almost all of
its flying off of runways,

Off of fixed bases,
so they didn't have to

Go on and off the carrier.

Lynch: Flying the f4u corsair
is an amazing experience.

You push that
throttle up with those

2000 horsepower kicking
you in the pants.

(dramatic music)

As you hurtle down that runway,

You begin to appreciate just
how powerful this aircraft is.

For young navy pilots,
flying this airplane

For the first time
must have been

Both exhilarating
and truly scary.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Speed is just one
of the corsair's advantages.

It's also a great gun platform.

Lynch: The corsair packed a
tremendous offensive punch

By incorporating
three 50 caliber

Browning machine
guns in each wing.

It absolutely
chewed through enemy

Aircraft ships and
ground targets.

Narrator: In early 1943,
front line marine fighter units

Start flying the corsair.

It seems almost custom
built for pilots

Like gregory "pappy" boyington.

Grant: Boyington and the corsair
was a perfect match.

Boyington brought a great
depth of experience.

He'd flown a lot
before world war ii

And then his experience
in the flying tigers

Was of great, great value
and all that boyington wanted

Was to get hold of a
corsair and a squadron

And get into combat.

Anderegg: He was pugnacious,
he was hard drinking,

He was profane,
he was a brawler,

He was kind of the
stereotype of what people

Would think about world war ii

Fighter squadron
commanders being

And he was a fantastic
combat leader

Because when he flew, he led,

He didn't send other
people out to do it.

He went out and did the mission.

Narrator: In
the south pacific,

Boyington builds
what would become

One of the most famous
fighter squadrons

Of the war; the black sheep.

Grant: So the black sheep were
pilots who hadn't fit into

Or been assigned to
another squadron.

Boyington suggested
pulling them together

Into one coherent unit, vmf-214,

And they took the name
the black sheep squadron.

Narrator: But it's unclear
how this group of misfits

And their heavy, hard-punching
fighter will fare

Against the light, nimble zero.

(dramatic music)

September 16th, 1943.

The south pacific.

Marine squadron vmf-214, better
known as the black sheep,

Puts its f4u
corsairs to the test.

They're flying
cover in a mission

To bomb a japanese airbase.

(tense music)

Suddenly, dozens of
japanese zeros pounce.

(dramatic music)

Anderegg: Boyington was out in
front of the bombers

And a zero flew right by him,
right out on front of him

And he said well,
thank you very much

And shot him down, so that
was the very first kill.

(dramatic music)

After shooting down
that first zero,

Boyington makes a
hard turn back towards

Where the zeros
and the bombers are

And sees he has a tail advantage
on a zero in front of him.

What he doesn't realize is
how much overtake he has

And when he shoots he
actually barely misses

The flaming wreckage of this
airplane that he shot down,

By his account within 50 feet.

(dramatic music and explosions)

Narrator: The black
sheep and their corsairs

Trade blows with zeros
in a chaotic melee.

Anderegg: He spies a zero diving
down towards the bombers

And he cuts 'em off,
gets on his tail

And when the zero is pulling
up towards the bombers,

That allows boyington to close

By pulling lead and it
gives him a third kill.

Narrator:
Boyington then chases

And shoots down two more zeros.

Anderegg: So by boyington's
account, he had five kills,

So that made him a marine ace

And that gave him the
ace in a day status.

By the time this fight was over

And boyington returned to base,

He had very little gas,
only 10 gallons left,

Which is not much for the
engine the size of a corsair

And very little ammunition,
30 rounds of ammunition left,

So that was a long, hard fight

And he took it right
to the last minute.

By him doing that, he
established himself

As the leader of his
squadron, who could go out

And shoot down airplanes
with this corsair airplane,

Which is a tremendous
confidence builder

And a big boost
to all the young,

20 year old pilots
in his squadron.

Narrator: Boyington
and his corsairs

Have put the japanese on notice.

Instead of dancing with
the quick-turning zero,

They'll try to make the fight
a heavyweight slug-fest.

Anderegg: So it's not uncommon
for pilots, fighter pilots

Who know they're disadvantaged
in turning ability,

To use hit and run, or
what's sometimes called

Boom and zoom or
smash and run tactics,

Where they get above
the adversary,

Dive on them, and shoot

If they get the kill,
fine, they get the kill

But if they miss or the
guy sees them and turns,

Then they zoom and
trade that altitude,

That air speed for altitude

And then come back
down and try it again.

And what happens now if
they get down in here

And they say oh,
it's time to go home

Or I don't like this,
there's too many guys,

Then they just dive away
and it's way too late

For this adversary to reverse
and come back and chase them.

So this vertical fight and
using altitudes and air speeds

Is exactly what corsairs
did in the pacific

Against the much
more agile zeros.

Narrator: The
zero wasn't built

For this brawling
style of fight.

It's so light and
fragile, a single burst

From a corsair's guns
can tear it apart.

Werneth: The zero was
designed specifically

To be a long-range
maneuverable fighter.

No armor plate, no
self-sealing fuel tanks,

So the goal of the fighter
was to win the air battle.

Pilot's survivability,
that was secondhand.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: The
heavily-armed corsair

Earns the name whistling death,

For the sound it
emits in a dive.

And zero pilot iyozo fujita
comes to fear the plane.

Werneth: Fujita-san
thought the corsair

Was an excellent
aircraft.

Japanese navy pilots knew
what they were up against;

That it was an awesome,
american modern-day fighter.

Narrator: July 4th, 1944.

Fujita is once again
stationed on the front lines.

Werneth: During the summer
of 1944, fujita-san

Was assigned to be
stationed at iwo jima.

There was incoming
american air attacks

And during one of these attacks,

He was flying a late model zero.

Narrator: A squadron of
corsairs races toward iwo jima,

Thousands of feet above
fujita and other zeros.

Werneth: They scrambled and
he couldn't even rise

To meet the threat in time
because it wasn't quick enough.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Then a
corsair screams toward them

At a blistering speed.

Werneth: And a corsair came
out of the clouds

And before he could
even do anything,

The corsair scored successful
hits on the fusillage

And there was smoke and
drive fluid and that was it.

Narrator: Torn
apart by the corsair,

Fujita's zero is
in a death spiral,

Heading straight for the ground.

(dramatic music)

He fights to regain
control of his plane

(dramatic music)

But the american
corsair has inflicted

Too much damage on his zero

(dramatic music)

And he crashes onto the island.

(dramatic music)

Werneth: So he ended up
having to ditch

And land and that
was the end of it.

So the corsair got
him pretty easily.

Narrator: Fujita survives
but he's now fighting

For a very different military
than just three years earlier.

Japan is in full retreat and
its commanders begin to panic.

Werneth: Everything
went nuts as is

What I heard is the
chaotic situation.

So at that time, nobody might've
been thinking level-headed.

Narrator: Desperate,
fujita's commanders

Call for volunteers on a
new and terrifying mission,

Suicide bombers.

(dramatic music)

Named for a legendary
storm that saved japan

From invasion almost
700 years earlier,

They are known as the
divine wind or kamikaze.

Werneth: The average pilot,
they weren't crazy.

They wanted to die for japan,
die for their families,

And make a difference.

They knew that they were
probably gonna be dying anyway

Because they can
see what's going on.

(dramatic music)

Narrator: Zeros, once
the premier dogfighters,

Are now relegated to the
role of manned bombs.

They have the speed to
outrun allied patrol planes

But still thinly armored;

A single hit can send
them down in flames.

(dramatic music)

October 25th, 1944.

An enormous american fleet has
gathered off the philippines

And the japanese command
aims to defeat it,

No matter what the cost.

They let loose the
first group of five

Hand-picked kamikazes.

One zero carrying
a 550 pound bomb

Smashes into the flight deck
of the light carrier st. Lo.

The suicide attack
triggers catastrophic fires

And sinks the carrier.

Emboldened, japanese
commanders race

To turn as many pilots as
possible into kamikazes,

(dramatic music)

Including some in iyozo
fujita's squadron.

Werneth: They told him
to pick 12 men.

Pick 12 of your men to do
these suicide missions.

And he said no, I can't do
it, it's a waste of men.

What are 12 men gonna do
against 400 landing craft?

It's gonna do nothing, it's
just gonna waste their lives.

So he refused to do it.

But in the end, his superiors
picked those men anyway

And tearfully, fujita-san retold

How he had to still say
goodbye and wave them off,

Knowing that they
wouldn't come back.

Narrator: In the
philippines, kamikaze missions

Start as small,
scattered attacks.

(dramatic music)

But as the allies
approach okinawa,

The japanese furor grows.

They assemble
hundreds of kamikazes.

Knowing they'll have
a desperate fight,

The american navy readies the
fastest planes in its arsenal.

Anderegg: The corsair was very
well suited for this job

Because of its speed.

It could actually run down
these kamikaze airplanes.

Narrator: For two years,
corsairs had been land-based,

Unable to pass carrier tests.

But the navy values the
plane's speed and power,

So keeps trying.

Pilots are trained to look
around the plane's long nose

By approaching the
carrier deck from an angle

And to stop the
corsair from bouncing

Over the
arresting wires,

Engineers rework the
landing gear.

At the end of 1944,
corsairs had been cleared

To fly off carriers and are
ready to take on the kamikazes.

April 16th, 1945.

The uss intrepid is home
to corsair unit vh10

And division leader
philip kirkwood.

The new jersey
native just turned 23

The day before and
he's ready for action.

Vf10 and kirkwood's mission,
stop any incoming kamikazes.

(dramatic music)

North of okinawa,
kirkwood spots three

Enemy planes heading
toward a destroyer.

Few experienced japanese
pilots have survived

Four years of brutal air combat.

By 1945, most are new, young
and practically untrained.

Anderegg: When vf10 encountered
many kamikaze aircraft

North of the fleet, they
immediately attacked

And the kamikaze tactic was
just to go as fast as you could

And go straight ahead
and the kamikaze pilots

Were not trained dogfighters.

I mean, they weren't even
trained to land the airplane.

Narrator: Kirkwood
takes out one

And his wingmen
down the other two.

For the rest of the day,
they chase down kamikazes

That swarm around the outer
defenses of the american fleet.

For kirkwood, it's a race
with the japanese pilots

More than a dogfight.

Werneth: The skill level of
the pilots at that time

Was very poor.

I believe some could barely
fly, towards the end of the war.

Narrator: Diving
through his own ship's

Anti-aircraft fire, kirkwood
takes down two more kamikazes

And chases away many others.

At the end of the day, he's
shot down six kamikazes

And his group, vf10,
claims more than 30 kills.

Grant: American pilots, by
the end of the war,

Had combined ingenuity,
smarts and tactics

And now it was the
american pilots who were

Experienced and the
masters of the air.

Narrator: But
vf10's own carrier,

The intrepid, is
hit by a kamikaze

And will need to return
to port for repairs.

(sirens blare and
things explode)

By the end of the
battle of okinawa,

Japanese kamikazes sink
30 allied ships,

But at a huge cost.

They lose 1500
planes and pilots.

Okinawa is a grim harbinger
of what lies ahead

For the remaining zero pilots.

Werneth: Towards the end of the
war, japan was conserving

As many airplanes and
boats and everything,

To do massive suicide attacks
against american landings.

If an invasion takes
place, we're gonna cause

As much damage as we
can of these invaders

Coming into our homeland.

Narrator: But the
invasion never comes.

September 2nd, 1945.

After american atomic
bombs destroy the cities

Of hiroshima and nagasaki,
japan officially surrenders.

(tense music)

The second world war
is over but the corsair

Fights on for decades longer.

Grant: The corsair,
with modifications,

Was eventually used
from carrier decks.

And it proved its
value by continuing

In combat through korea.

It was really the only one
of the world war ii fighters

That had an almost equally
prominent role in the korean war

As it had had in world war ii.

With new armaments
like its rockets,

The corsair was able to
be an effective support

And close air support
platform in korea,

Just as it had been
in world war ii.

Narrator: 25 years
after world war ii,

These war horses
continued to fight

In central american battles.

In 1969, honduran corsair
pilot, fernando soto,

Shoots down two salvadorean
corsairs and a mustang.

It was the last piston engine
air-to-air combat of all time.

(dramatic music)

A very different fate
awaited the zero.

In 1941, the zero
seemed unstoppable.

Then just four
short years later,

The plane that once struck
fear in allied hearts

Is only valued for
its metal and parts.

By 1946, most zeros
are turned to scrap.

Of the 11,000 produced by japan,

Only five zeros are
airworthy today,

Living reminders
of the agile plane

That once blazed its
way across the pacific.

(dramatic music)