Attack On Yamamoto

by Carroll V. Glines

Well-told story of the successful 1943 American mission to shoot down the plane carrying Japan's great admiral. Also considers the subsequent controversy over which pilot actually shot down the plane. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 1990

About the author

Carroll Vane Glines, who retired from the United States Air Force as a colonel after twenty-seven years of service, is historian for the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders and curator of the Doolittle Library at the University of Texas at Dallas. He has been published in a number of publications and written and co-authored numerous books on military and aviation history.

Reviews

[Al Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book on the assassination of Admiral Yamamoto, the cracking of Japanese Codes, Major Mitchell's meticulous planning of the intercept after learning that Yamamoto would be leaving Rabul with only 6 escort fighters, the miraculous odds of actually intercepting the flight hundreds of miles from the American airbase and the fight itself.

The final 3rd of the book is of no interest to me, and acts as a detective novel on who actually shot down Yamamoto, Captain Lanphier or Lt. Barber.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covers the attack on the flight Yamamoto was in as a passenger. US intelligence had been able to break the Japanese codes and so discovered that Yamamoto would be visiting his troops.

It is not only the attack itself that is covered in this book, but also the intelligence history behind it. A detailed description is given on how the mission was prepared and what took place in the air. On top of this it also covers the controversy that has become a great part of this raid. Who shot down the aircraft Yamamoto was in? For years this debate has been raging, but in my opinion the book proofs who did this.
What the book also covers is the question if it was a wise decision to down Yamamoto and if it can ethically be justified. Is it 'okay' to kill a commanding officer of the enemy forces by a deliberate attack on his life? Yes, soldiers die in combat, but this was a well planned act to hit a specific commander. One can also ask, looking into Yamamoto's life, if it was wise to target him in the first place. What if he had been left alive? He was an admirer of the US and knew what she was capable of ,so might have tried to negotiate for peace when the Japanese war effort went downhill, fast. We will never know what might have happened, but the book does make one think about alternative scenarios.

Probably the best book on the topic.

[Kenneth Nordqvist · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was kind of interesting book,but i missed the personal view of the people involved in this drama.