Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthias
What are the ranges for the aircraft patroling from japanese held wake island? I've figured that the zero's have a radius of 700 km but I've been engaged by g4m Bettys at 1400 km from the island. How far out will these annoying flies venture?
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The G4M Bettys were renowned for their range. They could fly 2,300 miles (3,700 km) carrying a 1,760-pound (800 kg) torpedo. Even further with a light payload. This came at a high cost of course, no armor to speak of. Carrying over 3 tons of fuel in unprotected tanks, the G4M tended to erupt in a ball of flame after taking a few hits from Allied fighters or antiaircraft guns.
The thing that seems unrealistic to me is using Wake Island as a base for these planes. As an American outpost it never supported more than a tiny squadron of F4F Wildcat fighters and a few PBY Catalina recon flying boats in the lagoon. Given the size of the atoll (3 square miles) I doubt the airstrip could have been enlarged to accommodate the G4M bombers. Not without a great deal of effort, and Japan's construction resources were always sorely stretched.