Mitsubishi A5M Claude

1936 fighter aircraft family by Mitsubishi; world's first monoplane carrier-based fighter to enter service

The A5M Claude was a Japanese fighter aircraft made by Mitsubishi. It first flew in 1935 and was introduced in 1937. It was the first monoplane (fixed-wing aircraft with one set of wings) that could work from an aircraft carrier.[1] It was similar to the P-26 Peashooter, an American monoplane fighter. It fought in the second Sino-Japanese War.[2] After the Pearl Harbor attacks, it was not good enough to fight against American fighters like the Curtiss P-40 and the F4F Wildcat, so it was replaced by the A6M Zero.

An A5M

Near the end of WW2, many A5M’s were pulled out of retirement to be used as suicidal kamikaze aircraft.

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References

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  1. "History of the A5M Claude". www.netwings.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  2. "Second Japanese War". www.tqnyc.org. Retrieved 2008-06-26.