Japanese Camo 1 - Mitsubishi G3M

At the time of its appearance, the Nell was one of the world’s most advanced long-range bombers. It participated in many famous actions in World War II before assuming transport duties.

In 1934 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, future head of the Japanese Combined Fleet, advocated development of long-range land-based naval bombers to compliment carrier-based aviation. That year Mitsubishi designed and flew the Ka 9, an unsightly but effective reconnaissance craft with great endurance. It owed more than a passing resemblance to Junkers’s Ju 86, as that firm had assisted Mitsubishi with the design. Now a team headed by Dr. Kiro Honjo developed that craft into the even more capable Ka 15. It was a twin-engine, mid-wing design with stressed skin throughout, twin rudders, and distinctive, tapered wings. Following a succession of prototypes, it entered service in 1937 as the G3M. That year these bombers made history by launching the first transoceanic raids against the Chinese cities of Hankow and Nanking from their home island—convincing proof of Japan’s burgeoning aerial prowess. Moreover, the G3M could also function as an effective torpedo-bomber, adding even greater punch to Japanese naval aviation. By the time World War II erupted in the Pacific in December 1941, the G3M formed the bulk of Japanese naval medium bomber strength. At that time it acquired the Allied designation Nell.

Three days after Pearl Harbor, G3Ms made world headlines when a force of 60 bombers helped sink the British battleships HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales off Malaysia. Several days later, Nells were among the first Japanese aircraft shot down by U.S. Navy fighters at Wake Island. The spring of 1942 then witnessed G3Ms functioning as parachute aircraft over the Dutch East Indies. Within months, however, revitalized Allied forces poured into the region, forcing the slow and under-armed Nells to sustain heavy losses. By 1942 most had ceased active combat operations and spent the rest of the war as transports. Production came to 1,048 machines.