Mitsubishi A5M "Claude"

A5M “Claude.”

The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter, experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-Shi Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi Ka-14, was a WWII-era Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. The Type number is from the last two digits of the Japanese imperial year 2596 (1936) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy.

It was the world's first low-wing monoplane shipboard fighter to enter service and the predecessor of the famous Mitsubishi A6M "Zero". The Allied reporting name was Claude. 

 

A5M.

A5M.

A5M4 Model 34.

A5M “Claude.” Note wheel covers have been removed.

A5M4 Type 96 “Claude.”

Navy Type 2 Training Fighter (A5M4-K).

Mitsubishi A5M4 fighters over China, 1930s.