When the Mitsubishi Type 0 series A6M carrier fighter appeared in 1940, no one could believe the performance and agility of the Zero (Reisen- for the Japanese year 2600). The West refused to believe it was better than any land-based plane until Pearl Harbor. Of the 125 Zeros that attacked only 9 were lost. For two years it was hard to beat due to its lightweight construction, speed, firepower (2x 7.7mm MGs + 2x 20mm Type 99 cannons), range (1900 miles), and agility. But then came the Corsair and the Hellcat which swept them from the skies, reducing their role to Kamikaze missions by the end of the war. Mitsubishi did little to improve upon the basic A6M2 and ended up with slightly more powerful but with reduced range versions. Wooden construction and non-self-sealing tanks caused the latter Zeros to burst into flame when hit. More powerful fighters never reached the numbers to replace the Zero, so it stayed in service until the end. The Kyushu Shinden was too late to see any action to save Japan nor were the Japanese jets which were based on German designs transferred by U-boat. A shame... yet the Zero is still Japan's best known fighter ever. Note: the line that reads "no fighter like it in '41" is referring to the Pacific theater and not European where the new Fw-190 appeared ;-D

Zero A6M2: http://ww2total.com/WW2/Weapons/War-Planes/Fighter-Planes/Japanese/A6M-Zero/images/Zero-MtFuji-px800.jpg Incredible Shinden: http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/KleinBernhard/6035.jpg