File:58. A6M3 Zero.jpg

A rather battered looking A6M3 Zero fighter flown by Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa during the Solomon Islands Campaign 1943. The Zero was not an ideal suicide plane because of its very light structure which many times prevented it from penetrating a ship’s hull or superstructure, and thus causing its 550 Lb bomb to explode outside the ship (which was bad enough). Fires from ruptured gasoline tanks could also be horrendous. Japanese pilots put great emphasis on maneuverability in their fighters, which resulted in lowered structural strength, no armor plating, and no self sealing gas tanks. Some did not even carry radios. Imperial Japanese Navy photo, Source english wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A6M_Zero