G3M

G3M

The Mitsubishi G3M (九六式陸上攻撃機, Kyūroku-shiki rikujō kōgeki-ki, as Type 96 land-based attack aircraft "Rikko"; Allied reporting name "Nell") was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II. The Yokosuka L3Y (Allied reporting name "Tina"), was a transport variant of the aircraft manufactured by the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal. The G3M bomber saw extensive use in the Pacific War. Attacks by G3M and G4M bombers resulted in the sinking of the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, the first time capital ships actively defending themselves were sunk solely by air power while in the open sea. G4Ms and G3Ms also sunk the heavy cruiser USS Chicago in an air attack during the Battle of Rennell Island. In order to maintain the speed and high-altitude performance of the G3M with a heavy payload, it lacked any form of defensive armour or self-sealing fuel tanks. This trait was maintained in the G3M's successor the G4M. The vulnerability of these bombers to fighters and surface gunfire earned them the unofficial nickname of "one shot lighter" or "the flying lighter" by Allied fighter pilots.

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