This is my second entry to the Pacific war challenge. I am aware the challenge is closed, I just didn't want this to stay unuploaded. It has taken many uploads and deletions to get the successor link to work again.

The Mitsubishi G3M was the outstanding weapon of bombing for the Imperial Japanese navy during the first year of the war. The G3Ms development started in 1933 when admiral Isoroku Yamamoto convinced the general staff that a long range land plane was just as important as a carrier based one to support Naval Pacific operations. The program was started, and the first prototype took to the skies in 1934. It showed its aerodynamic and performance excellence and went into production in 1936. G3Ms went into service in 1937 in the second Sino-Japanese conflict. Once Japan went to war in 1941 they took part in all Pacific island operations and were later joined by G4Ms. In their operational lifetimes, 1048 aircraft were created.