The Japanese Zero was a light, maneuverable, long-distance flying machine, constructed quickly and cheaply to be replaceable. After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. responded with the Grumman Hellcat, a bulky airplane with big engines and armor plating – but twice the horsepower of the Zero, making it faster and more maneuverable. The Corsair, arriving late in the war, was sleek, temperamental, but very maneuverable – an ideal dogfighter and interceptor of kamikaze attacks.
