Mitsubishi G7M Taizan and Kawanishi K-100

[Cantankerous]

In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued the 16-shi requirement for a long-range strategic bomber with a range of 4,598 miles. Mitsubishi responded with a design for an He 177 lookalike with two Mitsubishi Ha-42 radial engines, the G7M Taizan ("Great Mountain"). The initial Taizan design, however, fell short of requirements laid under the 16-shi specification, so the 17-shi specification was issued in 1942. Kawanishi responded to this new requirement with the K-100 bomber design, which had two Nakajima NK10A radial engines. However, neither the G7M nor the K-100 designs left the drawing board by the time they cancelled in early 1943, partly because the NK10A ran into technical problems during development. Some older sources state that the K-100 was designated the G9K, but this is refuted by the fact that the K-100 was conceived long before the G8N Renzan heavy bomber was conceived and was quickly axed shortly after being envisaged. I've attached these pictures below to get a sense of what the G7M Taizan and K-100 bomber projects looked like.

3-view drawing of the Mitsubishi G7M Taizan strategic bomber project

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Side view of the Kawanishi K-100

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