This date in 1942: Zero Discovered in Alaska

[FinishForty]

On this date in 1942, an American patrol plane spotted this a nearly-intact Zero upside-down in an Alaskan bog. The plane was recovered, repaired, and thoroughly tested. Tactics were developed for engaging the Zero and the air war in the Pacific was changed dramatically. The full story is here: http://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/crgis/images/ ... seZero.pdf

A number of airmen I interviewed for my new book agreed that this singular incident contributed to the survival of a lot of American flyers, especially since it happened fairly early in the war.