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Sanders (Rear Admiral Eddie R.) Personal Papers
SDASM.SC.10122  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Preferred Citation
  • Related Materials
  • Scope and Contents

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
    Title: Rear Admiral Eddie R. Sanders Personal Papers
    Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10122
    Physical Description: 0.18 Cubic Feet 1 box, 12.5 x 10 x 2.5.
    Date (inclusive): 1907-1992
    Abstract: During September 1942, World War II Rear Admiral Eddie R. Sanders was a Lt. Commander at NAS Anacostia working as a test pilot. Early that month he received orders to precede to NAS San Diego to examine and test fly a recently capture Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter, the first to have been captured intact by US forces. His evaluation of the aircraft helped Allied forces develop tactics to overcome the “Zero,” as the A6M2 was called by the Allies.

    Conditions Governing Access

    The collection is open to researchers by appointment.

    Conditions Governing Use

    Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    The materials in this Collection were donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

    Biographical / Historical

    During September 1942, World War II Rear Admiral Eddie R. Sanders was a Lt. Commander at NAS Anacostia working as a test pilot. Early that month he received orders to precede to NAS San Diego to examine and test fly a recently capture Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter, the first to have been captured intact by US forces. His evaluation of the aircraft helped Allied forces develop tactics to overcome the “Zero,” as the A6M2 was called by the Allies.
    As such, Sanders was the first Navy pilot to conduct extensive flight tests of a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 fighter plane, doing so first on September 2, 1942.
    The downed, “Zero”, was recovered by the U.S. Navy on June 4, 1942, in the Aleutian Islands Alaska. It was brought, largely intact, to the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego, California for inspection and repair. It was then put into operation and tested over San Diego’s air space. Eddie Sanders took less than one month to compile his significant findings.
    Noteworthy contributions, discovered by Sanders, included the Zero’s capabilities in the areas of maneuverability, aileron control and sudden altitudes climbing limits, along with short turning radius noted within various given speeds and temperature ranges.
    The implementation of Sanders’ combat recommendations are often described as an important turning point in the Pacific Theater

    Preferred Citation

    [Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum Library & Archives”]

    Related Materials

    Related SDASM Resources: Mitsubishi Zero Collection
    Secondary Sources:
    Bueschel, Richard. A6M1/2-2N ZERO-SEN in Japanese Naval Air Service. Atglen,Pennsylvania, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.:1995.
    Hallion, Richard. Test Pilots: The Frontiersmen of Flight. Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press. 167
    Nohara, Shigeru. A6M Zero in Action. Carrollton, Texas. Aircraft Number 59 Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc.: 1983.
    Rearden, Jim. Koga’s Zero: The Fighter that Changed World War II. Missoula: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, Inc.: 1995.
    Lane, Fred, Debunking the myth: the rise and fall of the Zero, first published in NOCN 84, March 1, 2011. Posted Saturday 30 July, 2011. http://www.navalofficer.com.au/debunking-the-myth-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-zero/

    Scope and Contents

    1 box, 12.5 x 10 x 2.5. The collection contains one flight book. Two separate photographs of the captured and restored fighter are also included along with one art print of a D1-108 Zero. Also in the set are four separate news clippings (one duplication), referring to the acquisition and purpose of testing the captured Zero. There are two separate magazine articles; one with reference to Eddie Sanders and his recollection of the test and its results, while the other talks about the famed fighter plane.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero Fighter) Zeke (Ben, Ray) Family
    Flight testing
    World War, 1939-1945
    World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Area
    Test pilots
    Sanders , Rear Admiral Eddie R.
    Naval Air Station North Island (Calif.)