Johnny .45
Airman
Has anyone yet arrived at a conclusive decision on whether the G4M2 was fitted with bomb bay doors? I read a thread on J-aircraft a few years ago that surprisingly seemed to conclude that no one knew whether the G4M2 model had bomb bay doors or not. We know that the G4M1 did not, flying either with a fixed fairing over the bomb bay, or removing the doors entirely when bombs or torpedoes were carried. But they were uncertain about the G4M2, although they concluded that they probably did have doors.
Now, it's easy to find photos of the M1 flying without any covering on the bomb bay, while most M2s have some sort of covering. The few photos of M2s with open bays may be Okha carriers, or maybe prepped for torpedo missions. The G4M1 was often fitted with a removable flush-fitting fairing for when they were flying scout missions. You see these flush bellies sometimes on G4M2s, but more often they have the distinct bulged bellies. The only reason I can think of for these bulged bellies is so the fairing can be fit OVER the bombs. If you were covering an empty bomb bay, there would be no need for the bulge, and if you are covering bombs, then there must be a door, right?
My idea is that the entire bulged fairing/door unit was designed to fit over the existing bomb bay opening, probably with simple bungee-style doors that opened under the weight of the bomb. This way they could fly with the cover/doors in place on normal bombing operations, or easily remove the whole thing for when they wanted to carry torpedoes or an Okha, OR they could remove it and fit the old style flush fairing to blank the bomb bay off for when scouting or transport missions were called for. Although I bet in the field they were semi permanent, with certain planes assigned for bombing, others for scouting, and others for torpedo missions, and so they were not changed back and forth constantly.
Or maybe I'm wrong, and the bulged fairing under the G4M2 is just a fairing they developed when they got sick of flying on scouting missions in the G4M1 with that draggy open bomb bay underneath. I have definitely seen at least one flush-belly M1, but that was the Surrender Bomber, and maybe that was a plane that had a permanently faired-over bomb bay, either for full time transport service, or as part of preparing it for the surrender flight.
So has anyone seen any photos or other evidence of bomb bay doors on G4M2s? I've only been able to find one photo taken from beneath that seems to show a dark line dividing the halves of the fairing, which suggests opening doors. I know reference info on the G4M is scarce, but you'd think that there would be SOME sort of data on this.
Now, it's easy to find photos of the M1 flying without any covering on the bomb bay, while most M2s have some sort of covering. The few photos of M2s with open bays may be Okha carriers, or maybe prepped for torpedo missions. The G4M1 was often fitted with a removable flush-fitting fairing for when they were flying scout missions. You see these flush bellies sometimes on G4M2s, but more often they have the distinct bulged bellies. The only reason I can think of for these bulged bellies is so the fairing can be fit OVER the bombs. If you were covering an empty bomb bay, there would be no need for the bulge, and if you are covering bombs, then there must be a door, right?
My idea is that the entire bulged fairing/door unit was designed to fit over the existing bomb bay opening, probably with simple bungee-style doors that opened under the weight of the bomb. This way they could fly with the cover/doors in place on normal bombing operations, or easily remove the whole thing for when they wanted to carry torpedoes or an Okha, OR they could remove it and fit the old style flush fairing to blank the bomb bay off for when scouting or transport missions were called for. Although I bet in the field they were semi permanent, with certain planes assigned for bombing, others for scouting, and others for torpedo missions, and so they were not changed back and forth constantly.
Or maybe I'm wrong, and the bulged fairing under the G4M2 is just a fairing they developed when they got sick of flying on scouting missions in the G4M1 with that draggy open bomb bay underneath. I have definitely seen at least one flush-belly M1, but that was the Surrender Bomber, and maybe that was a plane that had a permanently faired-over bomb bay, either for full time transport service, or as part of preparing it for the surrender flight.
So has anyone seen any photos or other evidence of bomb bay doors on G4M2s? I've only been able to find one photo taken from beneath that seems to show a dark line dividing the halves of the fairing, which suggests opening doors. I know reference info on the G4M is scarce, but you'd think that there would be SOME sort of data on this.