九六式艦上戦闘機 Mitsubishi_Navy_Type_96_Carrier-based_Fighter
The [b]Mitsubishi A5M[/b], Japanese Navy designation "Type 96 carrier-based fighter" (九六式艦上戦闘機), was a Japanese carrier-based fighter [[aircraft]] designed by [[Horikoshi Jirou]] and introduced in 1936. The Allied reporting name was [b]Claude[/b].

It was the world's first monoplane shipboard fighter and the direct predecessor of the more famous Mitsubishi [[A6M Zero]], which was largely based on the A5M's design. It is notable for having a fixed undercarriage.

The A5M saw limited use during [[World War II]]. It was considered obsolete by the time of the Attack on [[Pearl Harbor]] and served mainly in the early years of the Sino-Japanese War. The airplane also features in the 2013 anime film [i][[Kaze Tachinu]][/i] ([i]The Wind Rises[/i]), which retells Horikoshi's life.

[[kasuga maru (kancolle)|Kasuga Maru]] notably carries one like a falcon in [i][[Kantai Collection]][/i] as in real life the [i]Taiyou[/i]-class escort carriers were too small to handle newer fighters. 

h4. See also
* [[A6M Zero]]

h4. External Links
* "Wikipedia: Mitsubishi A5M":[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_A5M]
a5m