[2] 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.

[2] 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.

[3] The G4M was officially adopted on 2 April 1941, but the aforementioned problems would prove to be a severe drawback, often resulting in heavy losses; Allied fighter pilots nicknamed the G4M "The Flying Lighter", as it was extremely prone to ignition after a few hits.

The aircraft later served as the mother ship that carried the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a purpose-built anti-ship suicide weapon during the final years of the war.

[4] Of the 2,435 G4Ms produced, no fully intact aircraft have survived, though several airframes exist as unrestored wreckage or in partial states of completion.

In order to meet the Navy's specifications a Mitsubishi team led by Kiro Honjo did not incorporate self-sealing fuel tanks and armor plating to save weight and extend range.

[5] When used for medium- to high-altitude bombing against stationary land targets like supply depots, seaports or airfields, it was much harder to intercept.

The 20 mm cannon in its tail turret was much heavier armament than was commonly carried by bombers of either side, making aerial attacks from the rear quite dangerous for the Allied fighter aircraft.

If G4Ms did not catch fire after being hit in the wings by flak from the ground or by machine gun bullets from enemy fighters, they could remain airborne despite severe damage.

For example, after the attack of the 751 Kōkūtai (air group) on the USS Chicago during the Battle of Rennell Island, three out of four surviving aircraft (of the original eleven) returned despite flying with only one engine.

[5] The first G4M prototype left Mitsubishi's Nagoya plant in September 1939 disassembled and loaded in five ox-drawn farm carts to Kagamigahara airfield 48 kilometres (30 mi) to the north.

The bombers and the reconnaissance aircraft were escorted by 13 A6M Zeros of 12th[clarification needed] Kōkūtai led by the IJN lieutenant, Saburo Shindo.

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.

[6] 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.

[citation needed] After the loss of Okinawa, G4Ms constituted the main weapon of the land-based Japanese naval bomber force.

[N 1] and widened tail horizontal stabilizer wing area, which improved service ceiling to 8,950 m (29,360 ft) and maximum speed to 437 km/h (236 kn; 272 mph).

External differences also included increased nose glazing, flush side gun positions instead of blisters, and rounded tips of wings and tail surfaces.

[19] The wreck of Admiral Yamamoto's G4M1 Model 11 (Serial #2656) tail code 323 were still present at the crash site in the jungle near Panguna, Bougainville Island, with some parts and artifacts recovered and displayed at the museums in Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Japan.