Get Yamamoto

[Tailspin45]

Finally managed to get the TacPack guns working on the MilViz P-38. I'd happily share what I did to make it work; but after hours and hours of experimenting, the truth is I really don't know what the problem was, or for that matter, how I fixed it.

Anyway, all the effort was the result of recently reading Burke Davis' Get Yamamoto. You'll recall Yamamoto was the Harvard-educated strategist behind of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Codebreakers learned Yamamoto was going to be flying on an inspection tour, and the top brass authorized a mission involving 18 Lightnings (16 P-38s and two spares) to intercept and shoot him down. It would be a year to the day after the Dolittle mission to bomb Tokyo.

Having planned missions to reach an immobile target like a bridge, I knew how hard it is to get the ToT (time on target) right. I knew the chances of success when the target is a moving aircraft flying about 180mph, with an unknown actual takeoff time, would be ridiculously slim. So I decided to try to recreate the mission and fly it myself just to see what it was like.

It was easy enough to set up a flight of two A.I. Bettys and six Zeros from Rabaul to Bougainville at 6,500'. Setting up the same weather and time was simple, too. It was harder to track down the exact flight path of the P-38s.

I plotted the direction and times from several sources on Google Earth; but using the 200mph cruise I knew they used, I simply couldn't get anywhere near the right spot where the intercept happened. When I finally figured out what I had were true headings not magnetic headings, correcting for variation made it work out just right and I was able to plan the flight. But the timing issue remained a mystery and I knew exactly what time the Japanese flight took off, but the WW2 boys didn't.

Airborne in clear skies with 30 miles viz and high cirrus, the flight was just as the pilots told it--a long tedious business, flying in formation at 200' for hours and hours.

 

And I didn't have to suffer sitting in a greenhouse under a tropical sun, but I did have the same problem trying to stay awake with nothing to see but endless waves. Under strict radio silence, they couldn't even tell dirty jokes and I didn't have anyone to talk to either.
 

 

As when sailing, the first sight of land was a thrill, especially when I knew it meant within minutes we'd either see the enemy flight or miss them altogether. But there they were!

 

I assigned myself as lead of the four-ship killer flight (duh), and sent the other 12 up 20,000' to serve as top cover.

 

Unfortunately, at this point the scenario got distinctly unrealistic. The Bettys and Zeros meander along on their merry way, flown by apparently blind pilots, totally unconcerned about the P-38s about to pounce. And pounce we did.

 

I managed to get the two Bettys, but the Zeros magically disappeared, which suited me fine.

 

 

 

The flight home was uneventful at 10,000', except for worrying about fuel. But I landed with over an hour on board thanks to Col. Lindbergh's advice about using 1600RPM instead of the standard 2250.

Another famous figure wasn't there when I landed, but when the 339th boys landed on April 18, 1943 a PT boat skipper named Kennedy just happened to be on the field and joined the celebration. 

 

Lindbergh and Kennedy weren't the only famous participants. The codebreaker that realized Yamamoto could be a target was John Paul Stevens, a future U.S. Supreme Court justice.

[VH-KDK]

Fantastic piece of history, well narrated and some great action shots.

[Jack Sawyer]

Your best yet Tom, I loved the drama and shots.  You should be a writer or director!

[Stillwater]

Amazing navigation and simming work, Tom. Awesome narration, as ever so often from you.

You should take the chance and read more about Yamamoto, indeed a great strategist.

[magic1]

excellent!

[Bermuda425]

Keen bunch of flight history memories!

Time to put on your sweaters folks!

 

 

[BradB]

Explosive set of shots mate !! .

 

Cheers

 

John