[Don Boose]

Bruno –

The tail cone of the G4M took several configurations. The early models of the G4M1 had a closed tailcone with a narrow slit that only allowed the gunner to raise and lower the 20mm gun. He had to rotate the tailcone in order to fire at an angle. This was very cumbersome, so in many cases the rear of the tailcone was removed to allow the gunner to aim the gun freely. On the Model 24, the tailcone was split to allow a wider field of fire. In the case of the transport (G6M1-L) the tailcone was glazed, but fully enclosed

I hope these images from Osamu Tagaya, Mitsubishi Type 1 Rikko ‘Betty’ Units of World War 2, Oxford UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001, will help.

1. Drawings of the G4M1 Model 11. Page 103.

2. Drawings of the G4M2 Model 24. Page 104.

3. Side views of other G4M variants. Page 105.

4. Drawing of early G4M1 Model 11 tail cone. Detail of Page 103.

5. Photo of G4M1 Model 11 Tail Number 336 of 705 Naval Air Group crashed at Bugmar Beach, New Guinea, June 1943, showing early version of the tail cone. Page 72.

6. Drawing of truncated tail cone. Page 103.

7. Photo of G4M1 Model 11 Tail Number 360 of the 3rd Chutai of 705 Ku flying over Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, New Britain, mid 1943, showing the truncated tail cone. Page 72.

8. Another view of the truncated tail cone. G4M1 Model 11 Tail code. G4M1 Model 11 Tail code Ryu [Dragon] 01, of 761 Ku training near Kanoya, Japan, in 1943. Page 83.

9. Drawing of the G4M2 Model 24 split tail cone. Page 104.

10. Photograph of G4M2a Model 24 Tail Number 763-12 of 763 Ku captured intact at Clark Field, Philippines, in 1945, showing the Model 24 split tail. Page 91.

I look forward to seeing the model, whatever it turns out to be.

Don