Originally posted by RobG
For one thing, the Zero had no armour to protect the pilot, so 0.5" machine guns were effective. In the European conflict, 20mm cannon were needed. The attitude of the Japanese military to loss of life was appalling.
That is a very interesting point, RobG. Hopefully everyone will find this interesting as well. In Germany during WWII, the Germany fighter pilots flying the M-109, returned to
their base and complained to Mr. Messerschmidt that the canopy was too low for them to operate the aircraft properly. They claimed they had to hunch over low and this
made it very difficult to be able to turn their heads in any direction in order to spot the American and British fighters that were after them. The designer, Messerschmidt denied
there was any problem with his design and refused to make any adjustments. Which resulted in more kills for the good guys.

) True story.
Tony