Get Yamamoto! Pearl Harbor Must Be Avenged

Written by Elbert L. Watson

Jan 16, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Things lately had not been going well for Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind Japan’s infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. As commander of Japan’s Combined Fleet, Yamamoto was recognized as his country’s most capable naval strategist. His smashing of America’s Pacific Fleet  raised Japan’s hopes to complete her bloody Southeast Asian conquests and stretch her dreams of empire almost to our shores. Indeed, during the first six months of the war thrust upon America, Japanese forces appeared unbeatable as they swept victoriously throughout Southeast Asia and the Solomon Islands. Now they were preparing to move on Australia and New Zealand. The downing of Yamamoto is dramatically recreated in this painting "Rendezvous Over Bougainville" by Artist Shigeo Koike. Fortunately, at that critical moment American intelligence (code-named "Magic") broke the Japanese code. With this information in hand, what was left of our Pacific Fleet pulled itself together in time to win the critical battle of Midway, June 4-7, 1942. This victory against Yamamoto’s powerful naval forces was quickly followed up by more big wins at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Having lost four of his carriers, one heavy cruiser, and some top pilots at Midway, Yamamoto, now found himself playing defense in his cramped headquarters at Rabaul. To make matters worse, he was no longer able to mount an attack on such strategic places as Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, or New Guinea. America had shown it could take a punch, even one well below the belt, and strike back----hard! In an effort to boost sagging Japanese morale following these setbacks, Yamamoto in April 1943 decided to take an inspection tour to some forward positions in the South Pacific. Bougainville in the Solomon Islands would be his first stop. Little did he suspect that "Magic" had intercepted and decrypted his entire schedule for the upcoming trip. "Magic," in fact, knew the specific details of his arrival and departure times, the sites he would visit, as well as the number and types of aircraft that would transport and cover him during the trip. He would utilize two medium ("Betty") bombers from Rabaul to Ballale Airfield, located on an island near Bougainville. Six Mitsubishi Zeros would escort him. So the next time Yamamoto would come calling, America would be quite ready to give him a welcome the likes of which he could not have anticipated. To put it bluntly, the admiral was in for a big surprise, not unlike the one he sprang on unsuspecting young Americans at Pearl Harbor. Known for his punctuality in  keeping his appointments, Yamamoto’s trip would make him easy prey. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto The United States Navy saw an opportunity to remove Yamamoto permanently from the scene and, hopefully, shorten the war. Consequently, an ambitious and highly dangerous plan to intercept and shoot him down was approved at the highest levels of government, all the way up to President Roosevelt himself. The mission could not be carried out by the Navy alone; it would take the cooperation of the Army Air Corps. Major John Mitchell, commander of the Air Corps 339th Fighter Squadron on Guadalcanal, would be tapped to carry out the mission. Mitchell, a 28 year old Mississippian, was plenty savvy and knew his way around. He was valedictorian of his high school class, attended Columbia University, and was already a seasoned three year veteran. His highly trained squadron flew the sleek, new P-38G "Lightning." In December 1942 he teamed up with several  pilots who had served with him in the 70th Fighter Squadron, among them Captain Tom Lanphier, and Lieutenants Rex Barber, and Doug Canning. They were among the best pilots serving in the Pacific at that time. On the morning of April 17, Mitchell, accompanied by Lanphier, was ordered to an underground bunker where he met with Admiral Marc Mitscher and other top naval brass stationed on Guadalcanal. The two pilots entered a crowded room where they were shown a document marked TOP SECRET. They could hardly believe their eyes, for before them was the precise outline of Yamamoto’s inspection trip scheduled for the next day. The order was signed by non-other than Navy Secretary Frank Knox: SQUADRON 339 P-38 MUST AT ALL COSTS REACH AND DESTROY. PRESIDENT ATTACHES EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO MISSION. There it was, laid out clearly for all to see! Yamamoto would soon be on his way once again, this time to his own date with destiny. The 339th would have the pleasure of meting out revenge for the assault on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Mitscher gave Mitchell and Lanphier the responsibility to work out the details during the night. Starting with the fact that Yamamoto was well-known for meeting his appointments on time, Mitchell figured that a "Betty" bomber would make about 180 mph, or three miles per minute. This would place the intercept point on Bougainville approximately 45 miles, or 15 minutes, from the admiral’s landing at Ballale Airfield. Calculating the total distance from Guadalcanal to the intercept point at 436 miles, Mitchell planned to fly his squadron at 198 mph a few yards above the Pacific’s white topped waves in order to avoid any detection by Japanese radar or coast watchers.  By any standard it would be a stressful mission. Since the distance was well beyond the range of F4F Wild-cats and F4U Corsairs in Guadalcanal’s "Cactus Air Force," the nickname given to American aircraft stationed on Henderson Field, the P-38G was selected because its drop tanks under the wings carried enough fuel to enable the hardy aircraft to easily reach Bougainville and return to base. The entire squadron of 18 "Lightnings" was selected for the mission. All of the pilots were utterly fearless and reliable men. One flight of four planes, led by Lanphier, was dubbed "Killer Flight," while the remainder, including two spares, would soar to 18,000 feet once contact was made to act as cover should any of the 75 Japanese fighters on nearby Kahili Island get involved, as expected. Should any of these planes engage the "Lightnings," the possibility for success would be greatly diminished. In a word, pinpoint timing was essential to successfully completing out the mission. The P-38s roared off Henderson Field at 0725 on April 28, a Palm Sunday and the first anniversary of the famous Doolittle Raid over Tokyo. Unfortunately, two planes had to drop out, one because of a flat tire on take off and the other when the drop tanks failed to feed fuel to the engines. Though this was by far the longest fighter-intercept mission of the war, Mitchell had calculated correctly his arrival time---actually one minute early at 0934---just in time to see Yamamoto and his entourage come into view in a light haze hovering across the distant sky. One can only imagine what emotions gripped the hearts of each man on the mission. A moment of destiny was at hand! Pearl Harbor would be avenged! Flying only 50 feet above the ocean’s choppy waters, Mitchell quickly brought his men into a close formation, selected a course parallel to the Japanese aircraft, and went into a sharp power climb. At 4,500 feet, he radioed Lanphier: "O.K., Tom, he’s your meat." "Roger" came the confident reply. Mitchell continued his climb to position himself and the other planes to engage the enemy, if necessary. Accompanied by his wing man, Rex Barber, Lanphier locked onto the two "Bettys" at approximately their three o’clock position, slightly below them. Seeing the American fighters coming on fast, the enemy bombers began a rapid descent toward their landing strip at Ballale. Suddenly three Zeros appeared on the right side of the "Bettys" in an effort to get behind Lanphier and Barber. Aggressively, Lanphier broke 90 degrees to the left and shot up to meet one Zero head on, while Barber turned to the right onto the tail of the lead bomber, the one which carried Yamamoto. He opened fire directly into the aircraft’s right engine and fuselage until the "Betty" was smoking heavily. Very likely Yamamoto was killed by one or more of these bullets. Fatally stricken, the hapless bomber abruptly lost speed and rolled to the left. As the right wing came up, Barber in a hard right turn almost collided with the "Betty," which he last saw in a glide angle skimming across the jungle’s tree tops. Barber soon faced yet another challenge as the pursuing Zeros made a vicious assault on him. Only his skillful piloting, ample luck, and maximum engine power enabled him to escape their clutches. As he looked over his shoulder, he saw a plume of black smoke rising from the jungle where the "Betty" went down. Spotting the second bomber flying low off the water just as it was attacked by two other "Lightnings," Barber finished it off and it crashed into the water.  Meanwhile, the planes flying the highest cover briefly engaged reacting Zeros without making any kills. The fierce, one-sided air battle barely lasted four minutes. With the mission accomplished, Mitchell broke off contact and ordered the squadron back to Henderson Field.  Not one Japanese plane on Ballale was able to take to the air. The crash site was located the next day deep in the jungle of Bougainville. Despite being thrown clear of the plane, the admiral’s body,  reportedly, was still seated upright in his seat under a tree, his white gloved hand firmly gripping the hilt of his samurai sword. As Lanphier came in for a landing he broke the mission’s tight security policy and radioed: "I got Yamamoto." He related to the ground crew gathered around him that when engaging the escorting Zeros he shot the wing off one. Then he flipped upside down as he circled back toward the bombers and saw the lead bomber just below him. Coming out of a right angle turn, he fired and blew off the "Betty’s" right wing, causing it to crash. Obviously, his story contradicted that of Barber’s Initially, Lanphier was credited with taking down Yamamoto, but other pilots on the mission questioned his claim against that of Barber. Years later, the Air Force, trying to strike a  middle ground, awarded "half kills" to the two pilots. The heated controversy continued throughout the lifetimes of both men and, indeed, simmers up to the present day. (Lanphier died November 26, 1987 and Barber July 26, 2001). Despite the controversy that swirled around who shot down Yamamoto, the daring mission itself remains one of America’s highest moments during World War II. All of the young men who went aloft that day on such a dangerous venture played important roles in helping turn the tide of the Pacific War. Even at this late date they deserve to be saluted---and remembered. -------------------------------------------- Elbert L. Watson is a professional historian who specializes in World War II and the War Between the States. He can be reached at