A YouTube video by Bismarck examines the pros and cons of two iconic fighters of the Pacific theater during World War II. It is perhaps one of the best ways to understand the strengths and weaknesses of these two fighters.

Two icons of the Pacific war

The F4F Wildcat and the A6M Zero are two iconic fighter foes of World War II on equal footing with the likes of the Bf109 and Spitfire. In the first two years of the war in the Pacific, these two fighters traded countless blows in several large scale battles that determined the course of the war.

In September, 1CGS announced IL-2: Battle of Kuban and that the follow up product would take the series to the Pacific recreating the Battle of Midway. Midway is perhaps the most famous battle where the Zero and Wildcat fought each other. So this debate is naturally of great interest to sim pilots with their eye on the Battle of Midway.

So which was better?

The Zero, in 1942, had a reputation of near invincibility while the Wildcat was considered outdated and outmatched – yet reputation and actual fact do not always match. Not exactly anyways.

Was the Wildcat versus the Zero an unfair fight? Or were things a little more even. Bismarck takes an objective view of the two fighters to really find out which one is superior.