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| IJN 702 Kōkūtai 5th Hiko Buntai |
Aircraft History Built by Mitsubishi at Nagoya No. 3 Works completed during late July 1942. At the factory, painted with green upper surfaces and gray lower surfaces. The fusealge Hinomaru had a white circular border. Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as Type 1 Attack Bomber / G4M1 Model 11 Betty manufacture number 1420. Wartime History Assigned to the 702 Kokutai, 5th Hiko Buntai. Tail number 350 with a white horizontal stripe above the tail number on both sides of the tail. During early May 1943, ferried from Kisarazu Airfield via Tinian to Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. Mission History On September 4, 1943 took off piloted by Yagita and force landed at at Cape Gloucester Airfield (Tuluvu). Afterwards, abandoned at the airfield and was largely intact. Afterwards, this bomber sustained more damage from bombing and strafing. Wreckage During late December 1943, the wreckage of this bomber was captured by U.S. Marines when they occupied Cape Gloucester Airfield. On December 29, 1943 this Betty was photographed showing tail number 350 with a horizontal white stripe across the top of the tail. This Betty was noted by Technical Air Inteligence (TAI) later noted this aircraft as Betty manufacture number 1420. References Air'Tell Research Report "G4M Serial Numbers" by Jim Long Tuluvu's Air War, Chapter X The Aircraft of Tuluvu by Richard Dunn "Photographs show that one of these aircraft bore the tail number 350 with a band above it across the entire width of the tail (both markings apparently white). Though Allied intelligence considered tail markings important and they were included in the “pro forma” checklist as items to be recorded, the TAI team at Cape Gloucester was in this and other instances less than thorough in describing these markings. This instance is noteworthy in that they failed to record an alphanumeric marking something they usually did in other instances. Tail number 350 is apparently one of the September losses (likely Yagita’s of 702 Ku)." Setting Suns page 25 Thanks to Richard Dunn and Jim Long for additional information Contribute
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