Japanese Bombers Camo

The Japanese had a wider range of bombers. English-language terms for these aircraft derived from Western Allied identification codes, in which female names were given to bombers and male names to fighters. The Japanese Army’s Mitsubishi “Betty,” or Type-1 G4M, was famed for flaming out. It was underarmored, with almost no cockpit protection and mounted highly vulnerable fuel tanks that did not self-seal. Similar problems attended the twin-engine Mitsubishi “Sally” and “Peggy” models, with the latter appearing in small numbers from October 1944. Some thought was given to developing an interoceanic bomber called the “Fugako,” but Japan’s limited aircraft industry could not spare the needed resources. The Japanese Navy deployed several bombers, including the “Kate” torpedo bomber, “Judy” dive bomber, and “Val” altitude or level bomber.