[Pistolshot]

Intelligence on Operations AF and AO gave the U.S. 2 distinct results.

1) The destruction of Japanese naval projection by sinking of 4 carriers.

2) The crash landing on one of the Aleutian islands of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero in repairable and flyable condition.

The first is well known, but the second enabled aircraft designers to create the aircraft to specifically kill the Zero. The F6F Hellcat.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Who could forget “Hellcats of the Navy” ?

[ClearCase_guy]

It's interesting to think how different times are now. I can't imagine an enemy plane being recovered now, reverse-engineered, a new American design being created in response, and then manufacturing facilities being set up to put that design out into the field in substantial numbers.

It could take decades to do that now.

[RinaseaofDs]

Your post is why I love this forum. Item 2 is something I didn’t know.

Many thanks.

[Little Ray]

The Corsair was in development and the Lightning was deployed before the US had an example of a Zero to play with. Both were excellent Zero killers. There is some truth that the F6F was designed to pit its strength’s against the Zero’s weaknesses.
However, well before the Hellcat or Corsair became available, American aviators had developed tactics to deal with Zero, like the “Thach Weave.” They fighting on even terms or better using Wildcats and P-40s. By the time the Corsairs and Hellcats became available in large numbers, the balance had already tilted in favor of the Allies.

A good book on this is Fire In The Sky: The Air War In The South Pacific by Eric M Bergerud.