The majority of these victories took the form of A6M5 Zero-sens, the most-produced model of the final Mitsubishi fighter - some 6000 were built from late 1943 through to war's end. The A6M5 reached front-line units just as the Hellcat was making its combat debut, the new version of ...
5 Oct 1943Ensign Robert W. Duncan of US Navy Squadron VF-5 became the first F6F Hellcat fighter pilot to shoot down two Japanese Zero fighters in a single engagement. 15 Aug 1944Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, began. On the same day, Saint-Tropez, Var, France was cap...