EDUARD #48191 BRASS PHOTOETCH DETAIL SET MITSUBISHI G4M1 BETTY for TAMIYA KIT WW2 IJN LAND-BASED TWO-ENGINE MEDIUM BOMBER ATTACK AIRPLANE

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Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia

The Mitsubishi G4M (or "Type 1 land-based attack aircraft") (Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō) was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty. Japanese Navy pilots called it Hamaki (Cigar), due to its cylindrical shape.

The G4M had very good performance, especially range, which was achieved by its structural lightness and an almost total lack of protection for its crew, with no armor plating or self-sealing fuel tanks. These omissions proved to be its weakness when confronted with American fighter aircraft during the Pacific War.

The G4M was designed for a long range and high speed at the time of its introduction. Consequently, several weight-saving measures were incorporated into the design, such as dispensing with self-sealing fuel tanks and armor, which caused Allied fighter pilots to give it derisive nicknames such as "the one-shot lighter", "the flying Zippo" and "the flying cigar" because of their tendency to explode or catch on fire from any slight damage to the wing fuel tanks after being hit by aerial machine gun fire or ground-based anti-aircraft fire. Similarly, pilots of the Imperial Japanese Navy despairingly called the G4M the "Type One Lighter", "The Flying Lighter" or even the "Hamaki" ("Cigar"). This was partially due to the fact that on many occasions, the G4M was used for low-altitude torpedo attacks on ships during which their performance advantages were negated. The G4M was frequently shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire, and even by small arms. The G4M's relatively large size made it an easy gunnery target, and the predictable approach path required for a torpedo run made for a generally easy interception by Allied fighter aircraft.

When used for medium to high-altitude bombing against stationary land targets like supply depots, seaports or airfields, "ease of interception" was another matter entirely. Using its long range and high speed, the G4M could appear from any direction, and then it could be gone before any fighters intercepted them. The 20 mm cannon in its tail turret was much heavier armament than was commonly carried by bombers of either side, making aerial attacks from the rear quite dangerous for the Allied fighter aircraft. Sometimes, assuming they did not catch fire after being hit in the wings by flak from the ground or by machine gun bullets from enemy fighters, G4Ms also proved to be able to remain airborne despite being badly shot up. For example, after the attack of the 751 Kokutai on the USS Chicago during the Battle of Rennell Island, three out of four survivors (out of 11 aircraft committed to the attack) returned flying on only one engine.

The G4M was similar in performance and missions to other contemporary twin-engine bombers such as the German Heinkel He 111 and the American North American B-25 Mitchell. These were all commonly used in anti-ship roles. The G4M Model 11 was prominent in attacks on Allied shipping in the 1941 to early 1944, but after that it became more and more an easy prey for Allied fighters.

The G4M's baptism of fire occurred on 13 September 1940 in Mainland China, when 27 "Betties" and Mitsubishi C5Ms of 1st Rengo Kokutai (a mixed force including elements of the Kanoya and Kizarazu Kokutais (Air Groups)) departed from Taipei, Omura, and Jeju City to attack Hankow. The bombers and the reconnaissance aircraft were escorted by 13 A6M Zeros of 12st Kokutai led by the I.J.N. lieutenant, Saburo Shindo. A similar operation occurred in May 1941. In December 1941, 107 G4Ms based on Formosa of 1st Kokutai and Kanoya Kokutai belonging to the 21st Koku Sentai (Air Flotilla) crossed the Luzon Strait en route to bombing the Philippines, and this was the beginning of the large-scale invasion of the islands of the Southwest Pacific Theater.

As a torpedo bomber, the G4M's most notable use was in the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse off the eastern coast of British Malaya on 10 December 1941. The G4Ms carried out the attacks along with the older Japanese bombers, the Mitsubishi G3M "Nells" which were doing high-level bombing runs. The battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse were the first two large capital ships to be sunk exclusively by air attack during a war, while in open waters. The bomber crews were from the Kanoya Air Group of Kanoya Kokutai (751 Ku), Genzan Air Group of Genzan Kokutai (753 Ku), and the Mihoro Air Group of Mihoro Kokutai (701 Ku), trained in torpedo attacks at an altitude of less than 30 feet (9.1 m), and in long-range over-ocean navigation, so they could attack naval targets moving quickly at sea. They later carried out an extended series of attacks against U.S. Navy and Allied ships, as well as on land targets during the six month long Battle of Guadalcanal (in the Solomon Islands) in late 1942.

On 8 August 1942 during the second day of the U.S. Marines landing on Guadalcanal, IJNAF's 23 G4M1s conducted a torpedo attack against American ships at Lunga point, Guadalcanal. A total of 18 of the attacking G4M1s were shot down, due to very heavy anti-aircraft fire, and air attacks from Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters based on three American aircraft carriers. In all 18 Japanese crews – approximately 120 aviators– were missing at the beginning of August 1942. More than 100 Japanese G4M1s and their best pilots and crews (with no replacements or substitutes available) were shot down during the subsequent numerous battles on and near Guadalcanal (August to October 1942). In the two days of the Battle of Rennell Island, 29 and 30 January 1943, 10 out of 43 Japanese G4M1s were shot down during night torpedo attacks, all by U.S. Navy anti-aircraft fire. About 70 Japanese aviators, including Lieutenant Commander Higai, were killed during that battle.

Probably the best-known incident involving a G4M during the war was the attack resulting in the death of Isoroku Yamamoto. The G4M with tail number T1-323 - which was carrying the Imperial Japanese Navy Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto - was attacked and shot down by Lockheed P-38 Lightnings from the 339th Fighter Squadron of the 347th Fighter Group, Thirteenth Air Force, USAAF on 18 April 1943.

The G4M Model 11 was replaced by the Models 22,22a/b,24a/b,25,26 and 27 from June 1943 onward, giving service in New Guinea, the Solomons, and the South Pacific area, in defense of the Marianas and finally in Okinawa. Other G4Ms received field modifications resulting in the Model 24j which carried the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Model 11 suicide flying bombs beginning on 21 March 1945, with disastrous results due to extensive Allied fighter opposition.

Following the loss of Okinawa, G4Ms constituted the main weapon of the land-based Japanese naval bomber force, which consisted of 20 Kokutais at the end of the war, including the testing air group equipped in 1944–'45 with the latest version G4M3 Model 34 and 36 which arrived too late to have an impact on the war.

From November 1944 to January 1945, G4Ms were one of the main types of aircraft used in the Japanese air attacks on the Mariana Islands, and plans to use converted G4Ms to land commandos on the islands were developed in mid-1945 and cancelled only at the end of the war.