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The Mitsubishi G3M, also referred to as Bomber Assault Navy Type 96 (九六式陸上攻撃機) according to the nominating convention "long" (name identification ally: Nell) was a twin-engine medium bomber wing ground-based developed by the Japanese company Mitsubishi Jūkōgyō aviation in the early thirties.

Introduced in 1936 he served in the Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu, the air component of the Imperial Japanese Navy before and during World War II, used both during the Second Sino-Japanese War that during the Pacific War. After the war, some specimens captured operated in the Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia, the Indonesian Air Force.

The Imperial Japanese Navy issued, in 1933, a series of specifications aimed at modernizing, with fully national concept cars, the entire first line of marine aviation, has embarked who deployed on the ground. Among the specifications issued there was one in particular that concerning a twin-engine bomber autonomy based on the ground, who had a great interest. Just a few years ago Japan had signed the Washington Treaty, which limited the tonnage of aircraft carriers that each signatory nation could enter into service. With this also limited in a rather drastic number of the boarded attack aircraft. Japan, an island nation with vital commercial and military interests in the Pacific Ocean, felt particularly that this limitation was not possible to get around that by using land-based bombers. For this reason the specification was issued on the Bomber Attack Navy Experimental 7-Shi, which gave rise all'Hiro G2H or Type 95. This plane, however, it developed by the technical office of the Eleventh Naval Air Technical Arsenal of Kure ( Dai-Juichi Kaigun Kokusho (Hiro), Hiroshima prefecture), was a failure, although some of its characteristics were good. Meticulously all Japanese engineers were not discouraged, and the following year, under the direction of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto at that time head of the aviation office Technical Division of the Imperial Navy, is back to work, this time entrusting the task not more to a Naval Arsenal, but to a firm which was established Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In order for that company could work in complete serenity Admiral Yamamoto demanded and obtained that the contract was given without any competition concern and not a prototype bomber, but a twin-engine airplane equipped with the maximum possible autonomy, however, devoid of any military equipment.

The development of an experimental aircraft that was entrusted to the design group headed by engineers Sueo Honjo, Tomio Kubo and Nobuiko Kusabake. Their creation, called Ka.9, maintained the positive features of the previous Type 95, which the engines Hiro Type 91 liquid cooled and the type Junkers wing. The prototype, from high-clean aerodynamic lines, the fuselage had a really minimum section and retractable landing gear, an innovative feature of the time, not only for Japan. The capacity of its tanks was 4 200 liters, which was obtained with the normal range of 4 400 km and a maximum of 6 050 km away. The prototype, flown for the first time in April 1934 by test pilot Yoshitaka Kajima, showed a very good behavior in the air, showing that they have high stability and excellent maneuverability. Given the quality of the project it was decided to draw a twin-engine bomber capable of transporting over long distances a 800 kg payload. Simultaneously, the Nakajima Aircraft Company KK had presented its own twin-engine long range project called LB-2, that its engineers had obtained from the DC-2 at that time manufactured under license in Japan. Yamamoto, however, was watching and competing project was rejected. Mitsubishi had therefore the green light to proceed with the development of Ka.15.

The new aircraft maintains the wing and d of the KA9 engines, although with some modifications of minor importance, and had a completely new fuselage, larger diameter to accommodate the three retractable turrets. There was no cargo bombs, but only the joists under the central fuselage section. The two central beams could be combined with a heavy torpedo from 800 kg or a bomb of 800 or 500 kg, or two bombs of 250 or 100. lateral joists could be docked eight bombs 60 kg. The reach truck, comprising two individual single-wheel hydraulic legs in motion, was of simplified type and easy to maintain. The tail wheel was fixed. The capacity of the tanks, because the greater structural weight had been limited to just 3,805 liters, which still allowed great autonomy.

The engines were two Hiro Type 91 liquid cooled and disbursing 750 hp at takeoff and 600 hp continuous. It was a powertrain facility for its fuel efficiency but too limited power, and soon, as soon as they became available, they were replaced by more powerful engines. The first prototype of Ka.15 was completed in record time and carried out its first flight in July 1935 in Kagamigahara always piloted by chief test of Kajima company. Since the first flight of its characteristics proved excellent: just the pair of wooden quadripala fixed pitch propellers MW 116 with inline engines gave some problems and in one case it was held responsible for a flying accident in which was destroyed the second prototype. For the rest of the non-test flights began in light drawbacks noteworthy, indeed showed that the 3rd and 4th prototype, propelled with radial Mitsubishi Kinsei 2:03 to 680/790 hp were faster and better behaved, also thanks to the metal three-blade propellers variable pitch Hamilton Standard CS16. In all, in the space of a year, 21 prototypes were built, that differed from the first in several details.

At the time of the famous second "accident" Sino-Japanese, which gave rise to the campaign of China, there were two Kokutai Imperial Navy equipped with G3M: the Kisarazu Kokutai with 24 aircraft and the Kanoya Kokutai with 18 aircraft. These two groups, although still incomplete in ranks, were immediately employed in strategic bombing against China. The July 14, 1937 Airline of Kanoya Kokutai, located in Formosa, They carried the first bombing of the transatlantic history, surpassing in flight over 2000 km of open sea to bomb areas of Hangschow and Kwangteh. The next day it was the turn of Kisarazu Kokutai that bombed Nanking and Shanghai starting from the Japanese metropolitan territory.

Shortly thereafter, conquered the necessary bases in Chinese territory, the bombing could continue with little opposition from the gaunt Chinese fighter, even though there were losses, given that the tanks were not protected. In 1938 and subsequent years, several bombers of the first and second series had been transformed into transport aircraft for both civilian and military uses. The Dai Nippon Koku K.K. He spent many, both for the domestic and for international ones with Korea, China, the island of Formosa, Thailand and the Pacific Islands under Japanese mandate.

Of these civilians specimens, modified were really minimal: was landed the armament and small windows had been added on the fuselage sides that could only accommodate eight paying passengers in addition to the pilots and navigators. To remember the flights Tehran goal and Rome made in the spring and summer of 1939. Memorable was instead flying around the world made from a G3M2 to increased autonomy, sponsored by the newspaper Mainichi Shimbun.

The flight took off August 26, 1939 from Tokyo. To the "Nippon" was the command pilot Yoshida, while the commander was Capt. Nakao. They accompanied them a navigator, a flight engineer, two operators use and a representative of the newspaper. The stages were carried out in Hokkaido, Alaska, Canada, USA, Central and South America, Dakar, Casablanca, Rome, the Middle East, India, South Asia, Formosa, and finally, Tokyo. The total distance covered was 52 860 km in 194 hours flying time.

Japan's entry into the war in 1941 the G3M received by the Americans in the name "Nell" code and was being replaced with modern G4M, although it still represented 60% of the first bombing online. December 10, 1941 G3M made themselves protagonists of their most famous military action. Admiral Phillips of the Royal Navy, starting from Singapore, led his two main units, the old battle cruiser Repulse and the recent battleship Prince of Wales, in a mission that would prove fatal.

The two units represented the last major forces that the Allies could maneuver in the Pacific Ocean sector immediately after the Pearl Harbor disaster. Admiral Phillips deem itself to be relatively safe from the Japanese attacks, since it would not have come close to over 750 km from the nearest enemy bases. The unfortunate admiral had not been warned that the range of Japanese bombers was more than double, made amply demonstrated by the bombings continue on the Philippines in recent days. The British fleet had just moved away from Singapore when it was discovered by a Japanese submarine spying on the movements in the enemy base. The I-56 immediately launched the sighting signal. Immediately flew up strong force composed of 26 G3M2 Genzan Kokutai, 34 G3M2 of Mihoro Kokutai and 26 G4M1 of Kanoya Kokutai, plus a dozen scouts. The planes were armed with hand grenades, 250 kg and partly by 533mm torpedoes. From the first moments of the attack the Prince of Wales grossed a torpedo that the slightest seriously and made her tilt of 13º, while the Repulse suffered less severe damage to a bomb on board. Over the next three hours the two units, and their escort underwent two highly destructive attacks, after which succumbed. According to Japanese sources, the Repulse grossed well over 14 torpedoes to the bomb, while the Prince of Wales was hit by seven torpedoes and two bombs. The smaller ships did not suffer major damage, because the Japanese were concentrated on those more. The loss of life was, after all, fairly small since the escort ships could save about 2,000 of the 3,000 men embarked on battleships.

With that action the British naval power was totally eliminated from the Pacific. The operational use of "Nell" but must extend until the end of the conflict, albeit in less demanding roles, to arrive to transport conversions L3Y1 and L3Y2, derived from G3M1 and G3M2. They were armed with one machine gun Type 92 caliber 7,7mm.