Five weeks later, a search party found the aircraft, and it was decided to move it to San Diego for repair and evaluation. Above, a U.S. Navy ground crew poses with the restored Zero.
The results were distributed to USAAF squadrons a few months later, with these recommendations:
1. Never attempt to dog fight the Zero.
2. Never maneuver with the Zero at speeds below three-hundred (300) miles
per hour indicated [airspeed] unless directly behind it.
3. Never follow a Zero in a climb at slow speeds.
The whole document makes interesting reading today, though you may need a magnifying glass to follow the text. To download it, click here. You'll need the free Acrobat Reader in order to view or print it.
A tip of the virtual hat to Rich Leonard, who passed the document along to me.
Question? Comment? Newsletter? Send me an email. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
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Posted June 2019. Websites © 1997-2019 Daniel Ford; all rights reserved.