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April 18, 1942 Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle and his group of 16 B-25 bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet CV-8 bound for the Japanese mainland. The attack was in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. One year later, April 18, 1943 Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack was flying to Bougainville Island to make a visit and review the islands defenders. His entire schedule had been intercepted by US intelligence and was known to Admiral Chester Nimitz. Nimitz consulted with Frank Knox, Secretary of the Navy and Admiral William "Bull" Halsey to decide if an attempt would be made to kill Yamamoto. After the decision was made Operation Vengeance, a flight of 18 P-38 fighters, set out from Guadalcanal on April 18, 1943, to find and shoot down Yamamoto. Thomas Lamphier and his P-38 located Yamamoto's plane approaching Bougainville, got in behind him and completed the mission. Yamamoto, the man who planned Pearl Harbor was dead, one year to the day after the Doolittle Raid. |
© 2006 Michael W. Pocock MaritimeQuest.com |
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Admiral Isosoku Yamamoto |