Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter, or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen, "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" (from Type 0) was used colloquially as well.

The Zero is considered to have been the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world when it was introduced early in World War II, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range. The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) also frequently used it as a land-based fighter.

This is a tremendous piece of WWII history, a fragment of a Japanese Kamikaze Zero which was shot down by crew of the USS Lyman K. Swenson. The piece comes with fantastic provenance from the son of the sailor who brought it home, Chief Petty Officer Jack Duane Cozzen. The email notes that “They shot the plane down, or helped shoot it down, while it was on a suicide run headed for another ship. It was hit as it went over his ship and pieces of the wing fell on the deck on fire. As part of the fire crew he had to put it out. That’s when he and some of the others picked up the pieces. He had four in all but this was the only one we could find after he passed away.”

The fragment, which measures roughly 4¼ x 2¼ x 1”, is quite bent-up and retains a bit of red paint from one of the “Rising Sun” roundels on the plane. It’s actually two pieces which retain the four rivets keeping them together. The red paint is actively chipping, so this should be handled very delicately.

This is a fantastic fragment of a Kamikaze plane, the first like it we have ever offered. Comes ready for further research and display.