A6M2B Zero TYPE 21 KAGA, 1/72

The American military discovered many of the A6M's unique attributes when they recovered

 a mostly intact specimen on Akutan Island in the Aleutians. Flight Petty Officer Tadayoshi Koga

was losing fuel and hoped to make an emergency landing but the Zero flipped over and the pilot's neck

 was broken. 740 Model 21s were completed by Mitsubishi, and another 800 by Nakajima.

 Two other versions of the Model 21 were built in small numbers, the Nakajima-built A6M2-N "Rufe" floatplane

(based on the model 11 with a slightly modified tail), and the A6M2-K two-seat trainer of which a total of 508

were built by Hitachi and the Sasebo Naval Air Arsenal.