Corrected entry: The F-14 shoots down a Zero with a Sidewinder missile. The Sidewinder is a heat seeker designed to home in on jets. The Zero's air-cooled piston engine would not have been hot enough for the missile to lock onto.
Grumpy Scot
20th Jun 2003
Correction: There are a number of different models of the Sidewinder missile. Testing of the seeker head is done on deck before takeoff using a special flashlight type device that it can scan. The Sidewinder missile could lock on to a car engine, or even a dark colored tent on a hot summer day. Anyway, point being, at that close of range, the seeker head could have easily tracked the Zero engine.