DIVE SITE NUMBER 6 :
DEEP MALAPAU ZERO – JAPANESE Mitsubishi A6M fighter
Quite possibly the best know aero plane in Rabaul. The A6M is one of the last of these fighters, which were nicknames “Zeroes “ by allied forces in WWII.
The three propeller blades are intact and it would be easy to imagine firing up the engine and taxing up the sand slope before breaking through into the skies above. The open cockpit is home to sweetlips and many other little creatures. Lots of small shrimps go about their business The fuselage had orange and pink soft coral growing on it and the machine guns are clearly visible at the nose.
Shot down between 1943-1944 and is one of the 300 planes in the area. The Zeros, considered one of the most famous fighting planes of the Second World War, were for a long time the symbol of Japanese air power. They first came into action in China in October 1940 and remained in use until the end of the war in the Pacific, commanded by Kamikaze pilots in their suicide attacks on the American fleet.
The aero plane had a wingspan of 12 meters, was 9 meters long and weighed 1680 kilos when empty. Capable of reaching a maximum speed of 545 kilometers per hour, it was usually armed with two small 20 mm cannons installed in the wings and two 7.7 mm machine guns behind the engine hood. If needed it could also carry up to 120 kilograms of bombs. This plane’s exceptional maneuverability and its range gave the Japanese a distinct air supremacy for the first months of the war in the Pacific.
The three propeller blades are intact and it would be easy to imagine firing up the engine and taxing up the sand slope before breaking through into the skies above. The open cockpit is home to sweetlips and many other little creatures. Lots of small shrimps go about their business The fuselage had orange and pink soft coral growing on it and the machine guns are clearly visible at the nose.
Shot down between 1943-1944 and is one of the 300 planes in the area. The Zeros, considered one of the most famous fighting planes of the Second World War, were for a long time the symbol of Japanese air power. They first came into action in China in October 1940 and remained in use until the end of the war in the Pacific, commanded by Kamikaze pilots in their suicide attacks on the American fleet.
The aero plane had a wingspan of 12 meters, was 9 meters long and weighed 1680 kilos when empty. Capable of reaching a maximum speed of 545 kilometers per hour, it was usually armed with two small 20 mm cannons installed in the wings and two 7.7 mm machine guns behind the engine hood. If needed it could also carry up to 120 kilograms of bombs. This plane’s exceptional maneuverability and its range gave the Japanese a distinct air supremacy for the first months of the war in the Pacific.
