 The only thing that got really damaged was the pilot. They destroy its light. Play every characteristic to aid you in your recognition. You can only buy the oil cooler. Note the slight nihedral angle and middle tail directly below the engine cowling. Now the fuselage tapers to a point in the rear. It's like a fixing edge of the wing. The rounded tip. See how straight the line is from engine to tail. See how the leading edge of the vertical piece tapers more than the trailing edge. Look how it curves out to a point away. Think you can recognize her? Don't think. Be sure. Watch her. Watch her closely. As we know, that's no zero. That's a P40. But did you know? They don't look alike to you now, do they? Look at the difference in the shape of those noses. The P40 with its deep radiator is oval. The zero is a perfect circle broken only by that oil cooler. Get those undercarriage fairings on the P40. Compare the tail. The tail of the P40 is high. The tail of the zero is middle. Let's look at her from below. Look at the pointed nose of the P40 and the blunt nose of the zero. The leading edge of the wings of the P40 has no taper. The wings of the zero taper back. The tail of the P40 is notched. The tail of the zero tapers into the fuselage, which extends beyond it. Now let's take them in profile. The engine of the P40 is in line. The zero is radial. Note the deep radiator on the P40 as compared to the shallow oil cooler and air scoop on the zero. Next, see how the cockpit canopy on the P40 is much further back from the nose than on the zero. What's more, the canopy on the P40 fits into the fuselage, while the canopy on the zero sits on the fuselage. Now for the tail. The P40 is rounded and curves in toward the nose. The zeros is pointed and curves out away from the nose. No one could possibly mistake them for each other, could they? You think not? Well, let's see. Let's take the case of one pilot. His name was Jimmy Saunders. His story starts on the day when he was flying to a base somewhere in the Far East. I was reporting for duty, sir. Glad to have you with us, Lieutenant. Glad to be here, Major. We can certainly use you. Sit down. Cigarette? Oh, thank you, sir. How was the flight over? Well, I made it, sir, with the help of P40. You like our P40? Oh, yes, sir. It's a nice airplane. Good. Then maybe we can count on you not to shoot any of them down. I didn't have any plans along that line, sir. It's been done, you know. You mean jet pilots? I mean American pilots. Men with as much enthusiasm for the P40 as you have, with an unfortunate lack of ability to tell a friend from an enemy. Excuse me, sir, but how could anybody mistake a P40 for a zero? A great many things can happen when you expect them to prepare for combat. Too many pilots are too anxious to make sure they kill. They start shooting before they're made certain what they're shooting at. If the SAM site's better, they'll let a zero get away. Then they'll knock down one of your own planes. Say nothing of one of your own men. We feel enough to spare around here. Sir, I had no idea. We're not broadcast. It's back. We're open. I don't misunderstand you, Lieutenant. It's not a common occurrence. Most of our men know their planes. Identifications become second nature to them, but they're still adopting their minds. They maneuver close enough to make sure. Of course, there is such a thing as being too cautious. I take the case of the man who drew those silhouettes. See, that's quite a job. He had plenty of time for it. Been following his back for two months. Shot down while he was still maneuvering around, trying to decide if the other plane was a zero or not. He found out. If he'd known his identification, that zero might never have gotten him. Well, he learned his lesson. And to make certain that others would profit by it, he put it all down in those. All right, let's see if you can do your wetting on the zero. Yes, sir. With or without looking? You might as well make it easy on yourself now. It'll be a lot tougher upstairs. Yes, sir. Wings, leading edge tapers, trailing edge tapers, just rounded, slight dihedral angle. You might add to that that there are two 20-millimeter cannons, not at one in each wing. Probably Swiss early gun guns. Yes, sir. It's something I didn't know about, sir. Ah, yes. The wingtips can be folded so as to utilize more space in a carrier. Incidentally, the span is 39 feet 4 inches. All right, go on with the engine. Engine, radio, Mitsubishi version of our Cyclone. That's right. There are twin-row 14 cylinders. Fuselage. Blood nose with a spinner on it. Cockpit canopy sits on the fuselage. Retractable landing gear with faring plates. Say, there seems to be one gear missing, sir. The gears are operated hydraulically as a result the wheels retract alternately. I guess there are a couple of things I don't know about this airplane, sir. Glad to hear you admit it. That's the beginning of wisdom. The wings and the fuselage are in one piece, made of dual aluminum. There's another feature worth noting. The entire fuselage is flush riveted. With the result, there are very few protuberances to cause wind resistance. The length is 28 feet 5 inches. There's a pair of machine guns mounted in grooves above the cowling. They're 7.7 millimeter. And they're synchronized as far as to the propeller. I hope you don't ever get them on your tail. I'm with you there, sir. All right, finish your up. Tail. The leading edge of flat surface tapers more than trailing edge, with the fuselage extending to a point beyond it. Leading edge of vertical piece tapers more than trailing edge. Tail is pointed, curves out away from the nose. I guess that's it, sir. Good enough. As you probably know, there are three types of zeros. One is a single float plane without rigging. All three have slightly varying characteristics. But this is the type you're most apt to handle with, so get the know of it. All of it. Yes, sir. I'll look for the balls of rouge on our wings and fuselage. I wouldn't depend on that if I were you. The jabs have a neat trick of painting all sorts of colors, sometimes even like our P-40s. Coffee? No thanks. Well, sir, how soon do I get a chance to knock one up and down? Soon enough. Don't get any idea if the zero is a push over. With 340 miles an hour top speed, a service seating of 35,500 feet and a normal range of 700 miles by a droppable extra fuel tank, there's not much she can't do. They built her light and maneuverable, threw away the armor protection for the pilot and the self-sealing gasoline tank. He only weighs around 5,200 pounds fully loaded and has a horsepower of over 900. And when you see the speed with which he climbs, you'll appreciate what I'm saying. There's just no use trying to dogfight a zero. That's out. Your best bet is to hit fast. Either the wings are just behind the cockpit. But if you miss, don't hang around. Really, as bad as all that, sir. Seeing is believing. If I were you, I'd pick my word for it. Yes, sir. Now, here's our operation. When you're on your own, you'll do patrol from our base here to these outlying islands. Looks sort of keyed up. Wouldn't you be? Don't expect too much, Lieutenant. Not on your first day. Nor enemy. Now's the time to remember your recognition. As of the deep radiator, round tail curving in toward nose, inline engine, and it's a P-40, who are an air scoop. Point of tail curving out away from nose. Radial engine of stealth airs. Maybe if he got close... Wainting recognition. I don't like to complain, sir, but do we have to fight our own Air Force Two? You've got good cause for complaints. I don't know who's responsible for this, but what I do... Major, I want to... I'm honest reporting, sir. I just want to... What's that? Well, in here it's been telling me that he was attacked this afternoon by one of our planes. Do you, by any chance, know anything about this? I'm afraid it was me. He's afraid? Well, Sonders, what have you got to say to yourself? Not much, sir. From a distance, I was sure it was a zero. Then I held my fire... A little late on your identification, weren't you? Yes, sir. But I did know how far were you from the other plane when you opened fire. I'm not quite sure, sir. We'll soon find out. Have your film developed immediately. Yes, sir. Major, I want to... Take it away, Lieutenant. Get after that film. Yes, sir. Yes, that's it. Hold it. Didn't you look in your sight? I thought I did, sir. You don't seem to be very sure of yourself, Lieutenant. I'm sure of one thing, Major. After I... Look at that airplane! It's closer now, I realize, but even at the distance you started firing, you should have been able to identify it. Look at that deep radiator. The inline engine. That cockpit canopy fits into the fuselage. The tail is round and curves in toward the nose. All right, Corporal. Take it away. There's more film, sir. I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but I have an appointment. You can stay in one if you want to. Coming, Weldon. If you don't mind, sir, I think I'll stay for a few more feet. I want to see how close they came to being wiped out. Carry on, Corporal. I know what a clay pigeon feels like. Hey, wait a minute. That's not me. It's a zero. What? Oh, Saunders. I think Carl Ford called that appointment. Let's hear about this. Well, sir, following my encounter with the Lieutenant here, I was flying along, wondering if I should slip my throat. I felt like a candidate for the Jap Air Force. Getting time to turn for home, not that I was homesick. I had a hunch what was in store for me, but I was no use stalling. I was thinking, that other guy's probably back already, telling the Major how he almost got knocked down by another P-40. I was thinking what you'd tell me when I got back. I saw something. Another plane tried to make a route. Without any future, at least not from Saunders. He seems to have learned his lesson. By a method, I'd hardly recommend putting into general practice, but, nevertheless, he's learned it thoroughly. If every pilot would only realize the importance of identification, and become letter-perfect in the art of identification, that the fewer lives lost and fewer planes destroyed. Son, cigar-shaped fuselage.