Offered by Over The Blue Horizon and recently obtained in Tokyo is a superb Japanese pictorial -- from the well-regarded Gakken Pacific War Series, Volume 42 featuring the Imperial Japanese Navy TYPE 1 MITSUBISHI G4M BETTY bomber. 

This 182 page, 7 x 10 inch softcover with dustjacket is another great Gakken publication with great, large-format b/w photographs of the stalwart bomber; a multiple-page foldouts (front and back); lots of detail drawings and color profiles; and a number of exceptionally well-done computer-generated illustrations featuring various details of the bomber as well as ‘action’ shots.  Over The Blue Horizon sells numerous books on Japanese aircraft, and we rate this publication to be the BEST periodical available on this aircraft. The Betty was built in greater numbers than any other Japanese bomber in WWII and saw action throughout the entire war.  With its cigar-shaped fuselage, it had a unique appearance, and with fuel tanks that were not self-sealing, it had a tendency to burn when hit.  Operationally, the BETTY achieved much during its first year of combat, devastating Clark Field and participating in sinking the British battleships HMS PRINCE OF WALES and HMS REPULSE on December 10, and they ranged across the vast expanse of the Pacific theater, attacking targets from the Aleutians to Australia. Against limited fighter opposition, the lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks presented little hindrance, and the savings in airframe weight allowed the G4M to attack targets at unprecedented ranges. But as Allied fighter strength increased, the BETTY began to reveal its fatal vulnerabilities. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, died on April 18, 1943 when US P-38 Lightnings intercepted and destroyed the BETTY bomber in which he was flying. Text in this book is in Japanese but the astounding level of illustrative detail helps compensates for the difficulty of translation.  Just look at the accompanying scans and it is readily apparent how very useful this superb pictorial can be. 

Condition of this long out-of-print and difficult-to-obtain volume is VERY GOOD – the dustjacket shows a just a bit of light shelf wear but is otherwise TIGHT, BRIGHT, and exceptionally CLEAN.  Note that Over the Blue Horizon ships from the USA with FREE United States Postal Service (USPS) PRIORITY shipping to USA buyers! eBay charges sales tax for certain states; Over the Blue Horizon charges Hawaii residents state general excise tax. Your purchase will be carefully wrapped to ensure that it arrives in the same condition as described in the eBay listing.  If you are not happy with your purchase for whatever reason, we will work something out -- your satisfaction is GUARANTEED.  Regardless of where you are in the world, buy with confidence from a well-established eBay merchant with a sterling reputation and an exceptionally high customer satisfaction rate.