Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter was a 1943 educational dramatic short produced by the United States Air Force during World War II. Its purpose was to instruct pilots in the Pacific theater about recognizing hostile planes at long distances and avoid friendly fire incidents. Most of the film is taken up with a short play in which a young pilot, portrayed by Ronald Reagan, is ordered on reconnaissance missions of the Pacific and encounters another plane which he can't tell is friendly or not. This plot is interspersed with animated segments illustrating the physical characteristics of the Japanese Zero and how it can be distinguished from an American plane.
