4. Japan’s Most Produced Bomber of the War
The Imperial Japanese Navy’s main land-based bomber of WWII, and Japan’s most produced bomber of the conflict for that matter, was the twin-engine Mitsubishi G4M Betty. A medium bomber, the Betty was the first test flown in 1939, and entered operational service in 1941. The plane’s main assets were speed and exceptional long range – it was designed to fly 2300 miles with a bomb load, and could do 3500 miles without. That made the Betty difficult to intercept when used as a medium or high-altitude bomber.
However, as was the case with Japan’s Zero fighter, the Betty’s speed and range were bought by making the plane as light as possible, at the expense of basic protections such as armor plate and self-sealing fuel tanks. As a result, Bettys easily went up in flames when their fuel tanks were hit, earning them nicknames such as the “flying Zippo” or “type one lighter” by both friend and foe. But if it did not catch on fire – a major if – the Betty was otherwise quite resilient, capable of surviving significant damage.