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| IJN ? Kōkūtai |
Aircraft History Built by Mitsubishi at Nagoya No. 3 Works during May 1943. At the factory, painted with green upper surfaces and gray lower surfaces with black on the top of the nose and engines. The leading edge of the wings had a yellow identification stripe. Delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as G4M1 Model 11 Betty manufacture number 4698 (4798). Wartime History Assigned to an unknown Kōkūtai (Air Group). No known markings. This bomber was fitted with rubber on the lower wings to protect the fuel tanks. During 1943, disabled and abandoned on the southern end of the runway at Kahili Airfield (Buin) on Bougainville. The rear of the aircraft was destroyed by a bomb and the right wing was heavily damaged. Nearby bomb blasts caused the fuselage skin to deform. Wreckage The front half of this bomber remains in situ standing on its landing gear. Sometime before the middle 1970s, a tree impacted the rear cockpit causing the nose to angle downward. The left engine is intact and the right engine is removed from the mount. The rear of the aircraft and the right outer wing was destroyed by bombing. A fuel drum is located between the left engine and the nose. Several bomb craters are nearby to the left and right of the bomber. Justin Taylan adds: "On April 14, 2023 during our visit to this bomber, we located the Mitsubishi stencil on the inside of the right landing gear door for the right engine. The stencil reads: Mitsubishi 4798 right. It is possible the actual manufacture number for this bomber is 4798, not 4698. Or, this was a replacement part with manufacture number 4798." References Pacific Aircraft Wrecks page 64 (upper) Contribute
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