As the Japanese Empire was planning to conquer the Pacific, they realized they would have to deploy their forces to many small islands or atolls where building an airstrip would be hard or impossible. To provide fighter cover for such outposts, they developed floatplane fighters. A6M2N known as 'Rufe' was initially an interim solution which simply modified the famous Zero and replaced the landing gear with floats. The new floatplane fighter was immediately sent to the most unusual of the Pacific campaigns The Aleutian Campaign. How well did this floatplane Zero do in the far north? Check out in this video.

Sources:
John Haile Cloe The Aleutian Warriors: A History of the 11th Air Force & Fleet Air Wing 4,
https://amzn.to/4bjGyai

Krzysztof Janowicz A6M2N Rufe
https://amzn.to/42qNIWl

Brian Garfield ThousandMile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians
https://amzn.to/496NRkm

Report from the Aleutians | 1943 Authentic Colour Film
   • Report from the Aleutians | 1943 Auth...  

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