While the Zero fighter Type 21 enjoyed a rapid advance in the early stages of the war, by 1943 it had become inferior in terms of speed and firepower to the new, advanced fighter planes of the U.S. Army and Navy that were appearing one after another .
Following the Type 32 and Type 22, the Type 52 was developed. Its wingspan was shortened from 12m in the Type 21 and Type 22 to 11m, the cowling was redesigned, and a thrust-type single exhaust pipe was installed to improve speed. As a result, its maximum speed was 565 km/h, 25 km/h faster than the Type 22.
Furthermore, the Type 52A was produced, which replaced the 20mm machine guns in the wings with belt-fed Type 99 Model 2, Type 4 20mm machine guns and
thickened the wing skin to increase the dive speed limit . However, the Navy's demands continued, resulting in the Type 52B, which strengthened the right side of the 7.7mm machine gun in the nose with a 13mm machine gun, and the Type 52C, which added 13mm machine guns to the outside of the 20mm machine guns on both wings of the Type B. Approximately 6,000 aircraft of the Type 52 series were produced by Nakajima and Mitsubishi and continued to fight until the end of the Pacific War.
