053 We Killed Yamamoto - The long-range P-38 assassination of the man behind Pearl Harbor, Bougainville 1943

1-977053

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet during WWII, masterminded the most devastating surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and became a marked man in the war that followed. A key intelligence breakthrough enabled the military to pinpoint his location. An elite team was assembled and charged with his execution.

Analyses the origins, implementation, and outcomes of Operation Vengeance, the long-range fighter interception of Admiral Yamamoto's transport aircraft that sent him to his death on 18th April, 1943. Details the role of intelligence work in pinpointing the time and location of Yamamoto's flight, the chain of command at the highest level of the US political and military establishment who ordered the attack, and the technical limitations that had to be overcome in planning and conducting the raid. Also provides a close study of the aerial combat involved in completing the mission, offering a holistic exploration of the operation which avenged Pearl Harbor.