Fichier:Mitsubishi A6M2 NASA GPN-2000-001245.jpg

English: A Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Reisen (Allied code "Zeke" or "Zero") at the U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Research Center, Virginia (USA), on 8 March 1943. On 4 June 1942 a Japanese task force launched a strike against Dutch Harbor, Alaska (USA), from the aircraft carriers Ryujo and Junyo. Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga was flying an A6M2 from the Ryujo. On the way back to his carrier, he discovered of bullets had pierced his fuel tanks. Therefore he headed for an emergency landing on the bleak marshes of Akutan Island which had been designated as an emergency landing area. However, the plane flipped over on its back during the landing, and Koga was killed, as he broke his neck. The A6M itself was only slightly damaged. A Japanese submarine failed to locate Koga or his plane but five weeks later an American naval scouting party found the Japanese fighter. The A6M2 was salvaged and shipped back to the USA where is was repaired and reflown, and went through an exhaustive series of tests in order to gain information about its strengths and weaknesses.