WOW081 Mitsubishi G4M Betty Bomber

Description

The Mitsubishi G4M was a twin-engine, land-based medium bomber formerly manufactured by the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company and operated by the Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. Its official designation was Mitsubishi Navy Type 1 attack bomber and was commonly referred to by Japanese Navy pilots as Hamaki (“cigar”) due to the cylindrical shape of its fuselage. The Allied reporting name was “Betty”.
Designed to a strict specification to succeed the Mitsubishi G3M already in service, the G4M boasted very good performance and excellent range and was considered the best land-based naval bomber at the time. This was achieved by its structural lightness and an almost total lack of protection for the crew, with no armor plating or self-sealing fuel tanks. The G4M was officially adopted on 2 April 1941 but the aforementioned problems would prove to be a severe drawback, often suffering heavy losses; Allied fighter pilots nicknamed the G4M “The Flying Lighter” as it was extremely prone to ignition after a few hits. It was not until later variants of the G4M2 and G4M3 with self-sealing fuel tanks, armor protection for the crew and better defensive armament was installed that the survivability rate increased for crews.
Nevertheless, the G4M would become the Navy’s primary land-based bomber. It was the most widely produced and most famous bomber operated by the Japanese during World War II and served in nearly all battles during the Pacific War. The aircraft is also known for being the mothership that carried the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a purpose-built anti-ship suicide weapon during the final years of the war. Of the 2,435 G4Ms produced, no intact aircraft have survived.
The Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka was a purpose-built, rocket-powered human-guided kamikaze attack aircraft employed by Japan against Allied ships towards the end of the Pacific War during World War II.

The G4M’s most notable use as a torpedo bomber was in the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse off the eastern coast of Malaya on 10 December 1941. The G4Ms attacked along with older Mitsubishi G3M “Nell” bombers, which made high-level bombing runs. Prince of Wales and Repulse were the first two capital ships to be sunk exclusively by air attacks during a war, whilst in open waters.

Our 1/30 scale model is the one used by Admiral Yamamoto when he was ambushed and killed by American fighters during ‘Operation Vengance’.

Any figures or accessories shown in the photos are for scale reference purposes only and are not included. The price for this model is $1400 plus shipping depending on your location. There is no free shipping on Warbirds due to their large size.