A6M "Zero"

The most famous Japanese aircraft of WWII, codenamed "Zeke" It first saw action in China in late 1940 and quickly became the unmatched ruler of the air until 1943. It was extremely light and agile but had weak weapons and no armor. It carried two 7.7mm machineguns in the engine cowling and two 20mm cannons on the wings.

It could easily destroy anything the allies had until the F4U "Corsair" and F6F "Hell Cat" appeard in 1943. From that point on it lost its place as the dominant aircraft of the Pacific and by 1945 the Zero was outclassed and outdated.

It came in many variants, most of them improving the engine.