Mitsubishi A5M4 Type 96

Mitsubishi A5M4 Type 96 Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Summer 1938

The world's first monoplane shipboard fighter and the direct ancestor of the famous Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero', it first flew on February 4, 1935. It entered service in early 1937, and saw action in the Sino-Japanese War. A few A5Ms were still in service at the beginning of World War II. It was given the code name 'Claude' by the Allies.