Authors: Bruce Gamble
This is our chance to get Yamamoto ...
: Davis, p. 227.
Nimitz gives approval for the mission: Ibid., pp. 228–33.
Attack Y-1, Apr. 14, 1943: Monograph No. 122, pp. 43, 48; also Tagaya, p. 70.
Results of attack Y-1:
General Kenney Reports
, p. 230; Monograph No. 122, p. 43.
Today’s operations… a great success
… : Ugaki, p. 328.
Overall Japanese claims compiled on Apr. 16: Ugaki, pp. 329–30.
more than ten vessels were sunk
… : Asai, p. 209.
Belief in dominance of the Zero: Yoshimura, p. 160.
While their numbers were small
… : Ibid., p. 161.
Situation report from General Adachi: Ugaki, p. 351.
Admiral Johima’s protest: Akawa, p. 347.
Yamamoto’s wardrobe: Ugaki diary, p. 353. A year after the event, Ugaki wrote a highly detailed account of the journey, covering such topics as the weather and his appearance in uniform; also Agawa, p. 360 (details of Yamamoto’s sword).
Yamamoto and his staff board their bombers: Tagaya, p. 71.
Positioning of formation: Ugaki, p. 353. Riding in the second plane, the chief of staff trailed the lead bomber in standard echelon formation on the left. Ugaki wrote that he “could clearly see the commander in chief in the skipper’s seat,” a reference to the aircraft commander’s position on the left side of the cockpit. On this day, Chief Petty Officer Kotani served as both commander
and
chief pilot. He therefore occupied the right-hand seat, which made the left seat available to Admiral Yamamoto as a special privilege.
POWs at Ballale: Wall,
Kill the Prisoners
, p. 115.
First raid on Ballale: Hammell,
Air War Pacific
, p. 124.
Lieutenant Jacobson’s concerns: Jacobson, “Julius, His Story,” p. 33.
Mitchell’s pinpoint navigation: Davis, p. 254.
Bogeys, ten o’clock high!
: Canning, “The Yamamoto Mission,”
dougcanning.com/yamamoto1943.html
.
It got noisy for a while
… : Ugaki, pp. 353–54.
Mitchell considered
a magician
: Jacobson, p. 33.
Mitchell’s radio call to
skin ’em off
… : Canning.
Instructions to get Yamamoto
at any cost
: Sherrod,
History of Marine Corps Aviation
, p. 139.
I cannot understand why
… : Jacobson, p. 34.
Maneuvering by Lanphier and Barber: Davis, pp. 259–62; also Canning.
Barber’s first gunnery pass: Davis, pp. 261–62.
The first plane was staggering
… : Ugaki, p. 354.
The enemy P-38 rapidly closed in
… : Ibid.
Crack-up of second bomber: Davis, p. 269.
a big hole in his throat
: Ugaki, p. 357.
Fate of Lieutenant Hine: Davis, p. 269.
I got Yamamoto!
: Lanphier, quoted in Davis, p. 276.
This indicates to me
… : Canning, interview with author, Apr. 10, 2009.
The disappointing and shocking report
… :
Naval Air Group 204
, pp. 185–86.
Evidence of fire at crash site: Agawa, p. 355.
a burned-out hulk
: Ibid., p. 358.
This alone would have killed him
… : Ibid., p. 362.
News releases in Japan:
Mainichi Daily News
, May 21 and May 23, 1943.
Funeral procession and imperial address: Ibid., June 6, 1943.
Processional banner slogan: Ibid.
“
Fleet Admiral Yamamoto
” lyrics: Ibid.
Details of new Joint Cheifs of Staff directives: Morton, p. 641.
Epilogue
“
Rabaul My Love
” lyrics: Translated by Herbert S. Kadowaki from a cassette recording of
Songs of War-Time Japan 1937–1945
. (A teenager during World War II, Setsuzo Kadowaki lived with his grandmother in Kyoto, Japan.)
Selected Bibliography
Agawa, Hiroyuki (translation by John Bester).
The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy
. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979.
Alcorn, John.
The Jolly Rogers: History of the 90th Bomb Group During World War II
. Temple City: Historical Aviation, 1981.
Asai, Tatuzou.
The History of Air Group 705
. Tokyo: Naval Air Group 705 Association, 1975.
Birdsall, Steve.
Flying Buccaneers: The Illustrated Story of Kenney’s Fifth Air Force
. Garden City: Doubleday, 1977.
Bloomfield, David.
Rabaul Diary: Escaping Captivity in 1942
. Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications, 2001.
Bowman, Alice.
Not Now Tomorrow
. Bangalow, NSW: Daisy Press, 1996.
Bowman, Martin.
B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Pacific War
. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2003.
Brosius, J. W.
The Marauder: A Book of the 22nd Bomb Group
. Sydney: Halstead Press, 1944.
Byrd, Martha.
Kenneth N. Walker: Airpower’s Untempered Crusader
. Maxwell AFB: Air University Press, 1997.
Bullard, Steven (translator).
Japanese Army Operations in the South Pacific Area: New Britain and Papua Campaigns, 1942–43
. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 2007.
Chihaya, Masataka (translator).
Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941–1945
. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991.
Christy, Joe, and Jeffery Ethell.
P-38 Lightning at War
. London: Ian Allen, 1978.
Clairingbould, Michael.
Forty of the Fifth: The Life, Times, and Demise of Forty U.S. Fifth Air Force Aircraft
. Kingston: Aerothentic, 1999.
———.
The Forgotten Fifth: A Photographic Chronology of the U.S. Fifth Air Force in World War Two
. Hyde Park: Balus, 2007.
Clayton, James.
The Years of MacArthur: 1941–1945
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.
Cook, Haruko, and Theodore Cook.
Japan at War: An Oral History
. New York: The New Press, 1992.
Cox, Douglas.
Airpower Leadership on the Front Line: Lt. Gen. George H. Brett and Combat Command
. Maxwell AFB: Air University Press, 2006.
Craven, Wesley, and John Cate.
The Army Air Forces in World War II: The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1950.
———. The Army Air Forces in World War II: Plans & Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.
Davis, Donald.
Lighting Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor
. New York: St. Martins (Griffin edition), 2005.
Department of the Navy.
Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to March 10, 1942
. Washington: Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy, 1943.
Department of the Navy, Naval History Division.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Volume VI
. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.
Dorr, Robert.
B-24 Liberator Units of the Pacific War
. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 1999.
Ewing, Steve, and John Lundstrom.
Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O’Hare
. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997.
Feldt, Eric.
The Coastwatchers
. New York: Bantam, 1979.
Francillon, Rene.
Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War
. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979.
Frank, Richard.
Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle
. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Gamble, Bruce.
Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul—Australia’s Worst Military Disaster of World War II
. St. Paul: Zenith Press, 2006.
Gillison, Douglas.
Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942 (Series 3, Vol. I, Australia in the War of 1939–1945)
. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1962.
Gorham, J. R., and C. J. L. Hewett.
The Torch Bearers: War Service of Shore Old Boys, 1939–1999
. North Sydney, NSW: Sydney Church of England Grammar School, 1999.
Griffith, Thomas.
MacArthur’s Airman: General George C. Kenney and the War in the Southwest Pacific
. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Hammel, Eric.
Air War Pacific Chronology
. Pacifica, CA: Pacifica Press, 1998.
Hasluck, Paul.
The Government and the People (Series 4, Vol. 1, Australia in the War of 1939–1945)
. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1952.
Hata, Ikuhiko, and Yasuho Izawa.
Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II
. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1989.
Henebry, John.
The Grim Reapers at Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Air Force
. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories, 2002.
Hickey, Lawrence et al.
Revenge of the Red Raiders: An Illustrated History of the 22nd Bombardment Group During World War II
. Boulder, MT: International Research and Publishing, 2006.
Ichimura, Hiroshi.
Ki-43 “Oscar” Aces of World War 2
. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2009.
Iwatani, Fumio.
Medium Size Bomber
. Tokyo: Hara Shobou, 1976.
Johnson, Carl.
Little Hell: The Story of the 2/22nd Battalion and Lark Force
. Blackburn, VIC: History House, 2004.
Johnson, R. W., and N. A. Threlfall.
Volcano Town: The 1937–43 Rabaul Eruptions
. Bathurst, NSW: Robert Brown & Associates, 1985.
Johnson, Stanley.
Queen of the Flattops
. New York: Dutton, 1942.
Johnston, George.
New Guinea Diary
. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1945.
Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC).
Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by all Causes
. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947.
Kenney, George.
General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War
. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949 (Air Force History and Museums reprint, 1997).
Livingstone, Bob.
Under the Southern Cross: The B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific
. Paducah: Turner Publishing, 1998.
Lord, Walter.
Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons
. New York: Viking Press, 1977.
Lundstrom, John.
The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
. Annapolis: Naval Institute, 1984.
———. The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994.
Manchester, William.
American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964
. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978.
Martin, Charles et al.
The Reaper’s Harvest: The Story of the Third Attack Group
. Sydney: Halstead Press, 1945.
McAulay, Lex.
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
. New York: St. Martin’s, 1991.
———. We Who Are About to Die: The Story of John Lerew—A Hero of Rabaul, 1942
. Maryborough, QLD: Banner Books, 2007.
McKee, Chris.
Field Trip C1: Rabaul Caldera
. Canberra: Australian Geological Survey Organization, 1993.
Mikesh, Robert.
Japanese Aircraft Code Names and Designations
. Atglen: Schiffer, 1995.
———.
Moonlight Interceptor: Japan’s “Irving” Night Fighter
. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995.
Minty, A. E.
Black Cats
. Point Cook, VIC: RAAF Museum, 2001.
Mitchell, John.
On Wings We Conquer
. Springfield: G.E.M., 1990.
Morison, Samuel.
History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 6: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, 22 July 1941–1 May 1944
. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1959.
Morton, Louis.
The U.S. Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific: Strategy and Command: The First Two Years
. Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1962.