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 from 1941 to early 1944, but after that it became increasingly easy prey for Allied fighters. The G4M was first used in combat on 13 September 1940 in
Mainland China, when 27 "Bettys" and
Mitsubishi C5Ms of 1st
Rengo Kōkūtai (a mixed force including elements of the
Kanoya and
Kizarazu Kōkūtai) departed from
Taipei,
Omura, and
Jeju City to attack
Hankow. The bombers and the reconnaissance aircraft were escorted by 13
A6M Zeros of 12th
Kōkūtai led by the IJN lieutenant, Saburo Shindo. A similar operation occurred in May 1941. In December 1941, 107 G4Ms based on
Formosa of 1st
Kōkūtai and
Kanoya Kōkūtai belonging to the 21st
Koku Sentai (air flotilla) crossed the
Luzon Strait en route to bombing the
Philippines; this was the beginning of Japanese invasions in the
Southwest Pacific Theater. , June 1943 In its first year of combat the G4M was a success. They
bombed the U.S. Army air base Clark Field, Philippines, on 8 December 1941. The G4M was instrumental in sinking
HMS Prince of Wales and
HMS Repulse two days later. Nine G4Ms participated in the long-range bombing raid of
Katherine, Northern Territory, on 22 March 1942 (the deepest inland attack on Australian territory during the war at over 200 miles from the coast). Against weak fighter opposition the G4M attacked targets ranging as far as the Aleutians to Australia using its long range, the drawbacks of no self-sealing fuel tanks and armor not presenting themselves as problems at this point. In February 1942, G4Ms from the
4th Air Group, based at
Rabaul,
turned back a raid by the US Navy aircraft carrier
Lexington, but lost 15 of 17 bombers involved in the action. G4Ms later made many attacks against Allied ships and also land targets during the six-month-long
Guadalcanal campaign (in the
Solomon Islands) in late 1942. More than 100 G4M1s and their pilots and crews were lost (with no replacements or substitutes available) during the many battles over and near Guadalcanal from August to October 1942. On 8 August 1942, during the second day of the U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal, 23 IJNAF torpedo-carrying G4M1s attacked American ships at Lunga Point, but the American ships were well-defended by carrier-based
F4F fighters and very heavy anti-aircraft fire. 18 of the G4M1s were shot down while all 18 Japanese crews – approximately 120 aviators – were lost at Lunga Point. In the two days of the
Battle of Rennell Island, 29 and 30 January 1943, 10 out of 43 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 in the war came during
the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto, resulting in Yamamoto's death. On 18 April 1943, sixteen
P-38 Lightnings of the
339th Fighter Squadron of the
347th Fighter Group,
Thirteenth Air Force, shot down a G4M1 of the 705th
Kōkūtai with the tailcode
T1-323, carrying Admiral Yamamoto. In the same battle, another G4M1 carrying Chief of Staff Vice Admiral
Matome Ugaki was also downed by the P-38s, although Ugaki survived. on 8 August 1942, photographed from
USS Ellet 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. This model carried the
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Model
11 suicide flying bomb, beginning on 21 March 1945, with disastrous results due to heavy Allied fighter opposition. After the loss of Okinawa, G4Ms constituted the main weapon of the land-based Japanese naval bomber force. It consisted of twenty
Kōkūtai at the end of the war. This included the testing air group, which was equipped in 1944–45 with the latest version G4M3 Models
34 and
36 - though these arrived too late to affect the course of 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. As part of the negotiations for the
surrender of Japan, two demilitarized G4Ms, given the call-signs
Bataan 1 and Bataan 2, flew to
Ie Shima, carrying the first surrender delegations on the first leg of their flight to
Manila. The G4Ms were painted white with green crosses and were escorted by American P-38 fighters. The G4M's intended successor was the
Yokosuka P1Y Ginga. However, because of production problems, the changeover was only begun by the time the war ended. ==Variants==