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Mitsubishi G4M (Betty).
The infamy of this bomber almost matches that of Zeros. The main base bomber of the Japanese navy is an aircraft of remarkable characteristics, made according to Japanese traditions: a great flight range (over 6000 km), powerful bomb and torpedo weaponry (1000 kg of bombs or a single torpedo with a range of 3000 km), and fairly high maximum speed (452 km/h). But those characteristics were reached by the reduction of the aircraft weight, the absence of armor and tank protection, and the absence of heavy defense weaponry: a single 20mm gun installed at the rear was clearly not enough.
Hardly meeting any resistance at the beginning of the war, the aircraft achieved remarkable results: it participated in the destruction Prince of Wales and Repulse, took part in defeating the US air forces at the Philippines, was engaged in every operation to capture the Isles of the Indonesian Archipelago. But as soon as the US fighters were able to get at the G4M bombers, the situation changed drastically. The flaws overweighed the merits, and the Japanese aircraft poured from the sky. The Japanese pilots called the bomber Hamaki (Cigar), and the American ones: Lighter or Fiery Betty.
Another reason for this bomber to be famous was that it played a part in the death of the Japanese military genius Admiral Yamamoto Isuroku. On April 18, 1943 US Air Force successfully accomplished a special operation with the goal of terminating the Japanese United Navy Commander-in-Chief. 18 P-38 fighters under Major D. W. Mitchell’s command easily accomplished the task destroying the bomber with the Japanese admiral on board.
To improve Betty the Japanese installed protected tanks, more powerful defense weapons, even equipped them with the sea target detection radars, although they still had flaws. But the time was lost. Even the attempts to create an anti-ship unit consisting of Betty aircraft with external kamikaze bomb failed, because at the end of the war American aircraft dominated in the air, and wouldn’t let Betty approach their ships.
Mitsubishi G4M in the "Pacific Storm"
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