By December 1941, at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were up to 521 Zeroes active in the Pacific, 328 of them in first line units. The A6M2 Model 21 was the main type the Americans faced during the first stages of the conflict. It was a carrier-borne version with a very long range (2.600 km/1.600 milles) thanks to which they could range much further away from its carrier than expected, appearing over distant battlefronts and giving Allied officers the impression that there were several times as many Zeroes as actually were.
The Zero quickly gained its fearsome reputation, thanks to a combination of excellent manoeuvrability and firepower and could easily battle any Allied fighter opposition in 1941 and early 1942. It proved a serious opponent even for the British Supermarine Spitfire as British and Commonwealth pilots were trained in fighter tactics that were good against German and Italian fighters, but turned to be suicidal against the acrobatic Zeroes. It wasn't as fast as the Spitfire but the Zero could out-turn the Spitfire easily, sustain a climb at a step angle and remain in the air three times longer than the Spitfire.
New tactics to counter the Zero were soon developed by Allied pilots as the traditional turning dogfights were lethal. It was discovered that it was better to swoop down from above in a high-speed pass, firing quick bursts and quickly climb back to an altitude. As the Zero lacked armour a short burst from heavy machine-guns or cannons was enough to shot down its fragile fuselage. These tactics were often employed by the Grumman F-4F Wildcat fighters during the Guadalcanal campaign, through high-altitude ambush, which was possible thanks to a network of Coastwatchers and radar. Such tactics were also used in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre by the American Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers" against both the Zero and another Imperial Japanese Army's aircraft which had similar flying characteristics like the Nakajima Ki-27 and Nakajima Ki-43.
Another important manoeuvre developed by Lt.Cdr. John S. Thach, was the so-called "Thach Wave". In this manoeuvre, two fighters would fly at about 60 m (200 ft) apart. If a Zero latched onto the tail of one of them, the two aircraft would turn toward each other. This way, if the Zero followed his original target through the turn, he would come to a position to be fired by the target's wingman. This tactic was widely used during the Battle of Midway and later during the Battle of Solomon Islands.
Many veteran Japanese pilots were lost in combat resulting in a notable loss of quality, which became a pivotal factor in Allied victories. Unexpected losses of Japanese pilots at the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Coral Sea, dealt a blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service from which it never fully recovered.
Later in the war, when the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, armed with four 0.5 in machine guns and one 20 mm autocannon, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair were introduced in the Pacific Theatre in 1942 and 1943, as each of these two fighters was armed with six 0.5 in machine guns each, the Zero, with its light-powered engine and lighter-armament, was pressed to remain competitive. During this later time, the only positive factor of the Zero was that, in the hands of a competitive pilots, it could out-turn any of them easily and it still was a deadly machine.
Given the problems with aviation engines, in 1945 it was still being manufactured with over 10.000 machines of every variant manufactured by Mitsubishi, Nakajima and Hitachi.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero
2. Signal Squadron - Aircraft in Action 59 - Mitsubishi A6M Zero in Action
3. https://www.valka.cz/Micubisi-A6M-Reisen-Zeke-Zero-t15680
4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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