Talk:Zero Fighter Model 52C (601 Air Group)/@comment-28911627-20171011112519/@comment-27633922-20171011115439

A6M5c, Model 52丙 (Hei, c) - Armament change: One 13.2 mm (.51 in) Type 3 machine gun was added in each wing outboard of the cannon, and the 7.7 mm gun on the left side of the cowl was deleted. Four racks for rockets or small bombs were installed outboard of the 13 mm gun in each wing. Engine change: Some sources state that the hei had a Sakae 31 engine .  In addition, a 55 mm thick piece of armored glass was installed at the headrest and a plate of armor was installed behind the seat. The mounting of the central 300L drop tank changed to a four-post design.  Wing skin was thickened further. The first of this variant was completed in September 1944.   Because of the gain in weight, this variant was used mainly for intercepting B-29s and special attack.

As you can see this plane wasn't designed very well designed for dogfighting and ended with drastic maneuverability problems due to the extra weight added from all the extra components mentioned above.