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  G4M1 Model 11 Betty Manufacture Number 6119 Tail 359
IJN
751 Kōkūtai

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Brian Bennett 1979

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Dorian Borcherds 2008

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Justin Taylan 2015

Aircraft History
Built by Mitsubishi at Nagoya No. 3 Works during late November 1943. At the factory, painted with dark green upper surfaces and gray lower surfaces with the upper portion of the nose and inside of each engine cowling painted black. The leading edge of the wing had a yellow recognition stripe. The tail turret was a later model redesigned with a wider field of view. Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as Type 1 Attack Bomber Hamaki / G4M1 Model 11 Betty manufacture number 6119.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 751 Kōkūtai (751 Air Group). Tail number 359.

Mission History
During late 1943 or early 1944, this bomber made a successful wheels down landing into kunai grass south of Kavieng inland from Balgai Bay.

Fate of the Crew
The entire crew survived the landing and were aided by local people to return to base.

Wreckage
Sometime after the crash, likely due to grass fires, the center section burned destroying the cockpit area. The tail and engines remained intact. The machine guns and cannon were removed from the bomber sometime after the war. Sometime during 2008 to 2015, the propeller blades were removed by local people.

Dorian Borcherds visited the site in 2008:
"The wreck looks like the plane was quite severely strafed whilst on the ground. The guys from the village say they  did a survey they say 15 years. The guns were taken before. One of the other chaps in the village had a 7.7mm projectile on a necklace, he said there used to be lots around the wreck. They picked these up next to the plane."

Justin Taylan visited this aircraft during 2013:
"Sometime prior to my visit, the propeller blades were removed by locals and sold for scrap metal."

References
Air'Tell Research Report "G4M Serial Numbers" by Jim Long
Thanks to Brian Bennett and Dorian Borcherds for additional information

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Last Updated
April 13, 2024

 

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Betty

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