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[HusarderLuft]

Some planes were equipped with automated fire extinguishing systems.

two of the planes I can think of at the moment are for example the IAR-81C and the A6M5b Zero and onwards .... (I quote from the book: The A6M5b had improved armor, automatic fire-extinguishers in the main fuel tanks and a slab of bullet-proof glass behind the windscreen. A small increase in firepower resulted from substituting the 13.2-mm Type 3 heavy machine-gun for one of the rifle caliber weapons ahead of the windscreen....)
I will provide the source(s) and scan the pages and diagrams If I have to.

[HundertzehnGustav]

the book... that is usually "the bible"... so yea, would be nice to know what book you are talking about.

[HundertzehnGustav]

Info on B-29 fuel tanks and associated systems:
http://www.sun-inet.or.jp/~ja2tko/eng/ok_b29.museum2.html
have fun reading all that...

[HusarderLuft]

the book... that is usually "the bible"... so yea, would be nice to know what book you are talking about.

It's also on Wikipedia and a bunch of other sources on the web- just type A6M5b fire extinguisher...

Also a plane that catches fire as fast as the Zero - needs those

[HundertzehnGustav]

well they did not bother with proper armor, maybe the extinguishers were manual on the first series (A6M5 -21?) that were launched against Hawaii...

[HusarderLuft]

Throughout the war the need for long range had been manifest, but whereas at the start the A6M had been supreme in this regard, especially after its experienced pilots had learned correct long-range cruise techniques at high boost pressure but low crankshaft revolutions, by 1943 the Sakae 21 had resulted in smaller fuselage tankage (in part rectified by adding two small 45-litre/9.9-Imp gal tanks in the outer wings) and appreciably higher fuel consumption. Crucial need to keep weight down precluded heavier armament, though the Type 99 cannon was improved through several versions with a longer barrel and higher muzzle velocity, rate of fire increased from 490 to an eventual 750 rounds per minute, and a 125-round belt in place of the original 100-round drum. The greater muzzle velocity had the possibly important effect of extending the effective range (typically from 12,624ft to 3,281ft, this was one factor where the A6M could have scored over the US fighters that relied on the 12.7-mm (0.5-in) Browning.

In practice, Japanese pilots lacked the shooting skill to open fire accurately at long ranges, and at normal air-combat distances the much more rapid rate of strikes from the typical US armament of six 12.7-mm (0.5-in) guns proved decisive. When fitted with the long-barrel belt-fed cannon the A6M5 became the A6M5a, available from production in the spring of 1944. Within weeks the A6M5b, was coming off the line, and this partly rectified one of the type's gravest shortcomings, lack of protection. The A6M5b had improved armour, automatic fire-extinguishers in the main fuel tanks and a slab of bullet-proof glass behind the windscreen. A small increase in firepower resulted from substituting the 13.2-mm Type 3 heavy machine-gun for one of the rifle caliber weapons ahead of the windscreen.

Hundreds of A6M5a and A6M5b fighters took part in the great battles around the Marianas and Philippines in the summer of 1944, but the first major engagement of the A6M5b was such a slaughter at the hands of F6Fs that US pilots called it 'The Marianas Turkey Shoot'. To a considerable degree this was because of the superior skill of the American pilots.