WWII buffs: live the short life of a kamikaze with this model of the Mitsubishi Zero for MSFS

History buffs have a growing collection of airplanes for Microsoft Flight Simulator, with a variety of models from different time periods. From some of the first flying machines like the Blériot XI to WWII classics like the Spitfire, among others, there’s already a decent – and growing – selection of these historic machines. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of these classics, the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero, one of the finest fighters during World War II.

Bernd Diehl, a German developer who works under the Romantic Wings monicker, appears to have a particular interest in the Pacific theater, especially when it comes to the Japanese war effort during the war. Based on this interest, he has been creating some very interesting content for Microsoft Flight Simulator, both in the form of new aircraft and also some custom scenery. But the highlight of Romantic Wings’ creations has to be the A6M5 ‘Zero’ and its seaplane version, the ‘Rufe’.

This release flew under our radar, since it’s been out for a few months already, but it’s never too late to spread the word about an add-on that many simmers may find interesting. And Romantic Wings surely has a compelling package with its “Legendary Aircraft Pack”, which includes the Mitsubishi A6M5 ‘Zero’, the A6M-N ‘Rufe’, the Suwanose Jima (RJX8) airfield, two aircraft carriers, and much more!

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The whole package enables some interesting historic operations in this region. You can take the Zero for some flights around the pacific islands and even attempt to land in the included aircraft carriers, the AKAGI and the KAGA. This will be a great challenge, since there are no wire traps or tail hooks to catch the Zero, so you need to land at the slowest possible speed and use the brakes to come to a stop on the hardened decks of both carriers.

But there are other ships included in this package. Besides the carriers, there’s also the ‘Kamikawa Maru’ seaplane tender, an interesting spot in the sea to land the Rufe. But the developer has also included other ships like merchant freighters and more.

As for the included airplanes, they come with a selection of nine liveries for the Zero and six for the Rufe, and there’s even the option to have a kamikaze pilot represented in the cockpit, with its infamous headband.

Romantic Wings has a series of videos that showcase the airplanes and the included scenery, where it’s clear that we’re not looking into the most visually impressive add-ons around. The modeling does look rather simple at times, but the developer says the airplanes were built to accurately represent their real-world counterparts, and they do seem quite fun and realistic from a functional point of view. It’s actually quite impressive, knowing how poorly documented Japanese airplanes from this time often are. This is clearly a passion project from Bernd Diehl, who shows a comprehensive knowledge about this period and kindly shares a lot of insight into the development of this project in his videos.

This Romantic Wings Legendary Aircraft Pack for MSFS brings you something unique and rather comprehensive, which we believe will likely please WWII history buffs who have some curiosity about Japanese aeronautical history during this time period. At just €21.95 it’s not an expensive overall package, considering what’s included, so definitely check it out!