Скачать или смотреть Why U.S. Pilots Were Stunned After Inspecting a Captured Betty Bomber

Discover the astonishing true story of the day American pilots examined a captured Japanese “Betty” bomber—and realized just how differently Japan built its war machines. This meticulously researched 12,000-word historical account reveals how the Mitsubishi G4M, feared for its long range and deadly torpedoes, shocked U.S. aviators with its extreme lack of armor, unprotected fuel tanks, and design philosophy built entirely around offensive reach at the cost of pilot survival. Drawing from U.S. Navy intelligence reports, flight test evaluations, and wartime diaries, it traces how American crews—accustomed to rugged, self-sealing, heavily protected aircraft—were stunned that the Betty was effectively a flying fuel tank. Featuring firsthand accounts from pilots who tested the captured bomber and engineers who dissected its weaknesses, this narrative exposes the brutal trade-offs that defined Japan’s aviation strategy. From the cracked paint and thin skin of the captured aircraft to the realization that courage alone was keeping its crews alive, this is the story of how one bomber revealed the fatal flaw in Japan’s airpower doctrine.