I've been reading some WWII history today, and I thought I'd share some tidbits with you.
The mastermind behind Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor was its naval chief, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. He had done some schooling for a few years in the U.S. and knew our ways well; he also spoke fluent English.
He had advised against the raid on Pearl Harbor, estimating correctly that Japan could never overcome the massive resources of both the U.S and Britain. However, he was overruled and then did his duty to plot the very successful attack.
The U.S. was determined to kill him, and was even advised against it by our British allies, believing it would viewed as an assassination. The legal minds in the U.S. thought otherwise, and viewed him simply as an enemy combatant.
In 1943, it was top secret that we had broken the Japanese codes, and this was never discovered by the Japanese until well after the war was over.
In Mid-April of 1943, we intercepted a message that Yamamoto was to visit his troops on Bougainville in the Pacific Ocean on April 18. President Roosevelt was advised of this, and gave Admiral Nimitz, our top naval officer in the Pacific, the go-ahead to get Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was to fly in a twin-engine "Betty" bomber to Bougainville, and the exact time of his arrival was disclosed in a coded message which we intercepted.
The Navy did not have planes that could make the round trip to Bougainville, so the U.S. Army Air Corps was given the assignment. They had P-38 twin-engine fighters, which with fuel drop tanks could do the job, with time to spare for engagement over Bougainville. Quite a number were dispatched for a "meeting" with Yamamoto, who was always fastidiously punctual for his meetings.
Two "Betty" bombers left for Bougainville, one carrying Yamamoto, and the other acting as decoy. The two bombers were escorted by a good number of Zero fighter aircraft.
The P-38s were ready and waiting, but were surprised by there being two bombers, and the large number of Zeros. We attacked both bombers, which split in different directions when they realized we were there.
Army First Lieutenant Rex Barber got behind the Yamamoto bomber and let loose with cannon and 50-caliber machine guns, striking the fuselage and the right engine, which burst into flame. He got so close that debris from the burning bomber struck his P-38, and he veered away at the last moment.
Yamamoto personally took two .50 caliber slugs, one through a shoulder, and the other one striking him in the mouth of his turned head, and exiting his skull on the other side, killing him instantly. The bomber nose-dived into the ground and broke up. Yamamoto was 59 years old at the time of his death.
The event raised U.S. morale incredibly, and we viewed it as just retribution for Pearl Harbor. The Japanese took the event hard, and their successes in the Pacific came to a roaring halt.
This was a major event of the war, and Navy crosses were first handed out to the participants (even though they were Army guys), fearing that the Medal of Honor might tip the Japanese that we had prior knowledge of Yamamoto's location. Lt. Barber was later given the Medal of Honor, as were others in the group. Only one P-38 was destroyed by Zeros, and its pilot was never recovered.
Here's an artist's perception of the encounter, made to be accurate in every detail.
Thought I'd share the story with you.
John
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto
First Lt. Rex T. Barber is on the viewer's right.
The mastermind behind Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor was its naval chief, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. He had done some schooling for a few years in the U.S. and knew our ways well; he also spoke fluent English.
He had advised against the raid on Pearl Harbor, estimating correctly that Japan could never overcome the massive resources of both the U.S and Britain. However, he was overruled and then did his duty to plot the very successful attack.
The U.S. was determined to kill him, and was even advised against it by our British allies, believing it would viewed as an assassination. The legal minds in the U.S. thought otherwise, and viewed him simply as an enemy combatant.
In 1943, it was top secret that we had broken the Japanese codes, and this was never discovered by the Japanese until well after the war was over.
In Mid-April of 1943, we intercepted a message that Yamamoto was to visit his troops on Bougainville in the Pacific Ocean on April 18. President Roosevelt was advised of this, and gave Admiral Nimitz, our top naval officer in the Pacific, the go-ahead to get Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was to fly in a twin-engine "Betty" bomber to Bougainville, and the exact time of his arrival was disclosed in a coded message which we intercepted.
The Navy did not have planes that could make the round trip to Bougainville, so the U.S. Army Air Corps was given the assignment. They had P-38 twin-engine fighters, which with fuel drop tanks could do the job, with time to spare for engagement over Bougainville. Quite a number were dispatched for a "meeting" with Yamamoto, who was always fastidiously punctual for his meetings.
Two "Betty" bombers left for Bougainville, one carrying Yamamoto, and the other acting as decoy. The two bombers were escorted by a good number of Zero fighter aircraft.
The P-38s were ready and waiting, but were surprised by there being two bombers, and the large number of Zeros. We attacked both bombers, which split in different directions when they realized we were there.
Army First Lieutenant Rex Barber got behind the Yamamoto bomber and let loose with cannon and 50-caliber machine guns, striking the fuselage and the right engine, which burst into flame. He got so close that debris from the burning bomber struck his P-38, and he veered away at the last moment.
Yamamoto personally took two .50 caliber slugs, one through a shoulder, and the other one striking him in the mouth of his turned head, and exiting his skull on the other side, killing him instantly. The bomber nose-dived into the ground and broke up. Yamamoto was 59 years old at the time of his death.
The event raised U.S. morale incredibly, and we viewed it as just retribution for Pearl Harbor. The Japanese took the event hard, and their successes in the Pacific came to a roaring halt.
This was a major event of the war, and Navy crosses were first handed out to the participants (even though they were Army guys), fearing that the Medal of Honor might tip the Japanese that we had prior knowledge of Yamamoto's location. Lt. Barber was later given the Medal of Honor, as were others in the group. Only one P-38 was destroyed by Zeros, and its pilot was never recovered.
Here's an artist's perception of the encounter, made to be accurate in every detail.
Thought I'd share the story with you.
John
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto
First Lt. Rex T. Barber is on the viewer's right.
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I read about this quite a few years ago and they way they addressed this and deflected the Japanese from thinking we were reading their coded messages was that they kept sending P-38 patrols out there for some weeks after the shootdown mission, to make it seem like just a normal assignment of patrol areas to the P-38 squadrons. They weren't about to jeopardize reading the Jap's messages by doing bonehead moves like sending out just 1 patrol on the day that the top Jap brass was supposed to be visiting and then stop.
