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Operation Vengeance: The Astonishing Aerial Ambush That Changed World War II

by Dan Hampton

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Stan Goldstein said: " Operation Vengeance - Who Really Shot Down Admiral Yamamoto and why

Dan Hampton has done it again. He presents a story that has been told before, but this time he enlivens it with the faces/thoughts of the combatants, the Geopolitics that foretell th Operation Vengeance - Who Really Shot Down Admiral Yamamoto and why

Dan Hampton has done it again. He presents a story that has been told before, but this time he enlivens it with the faces/thoughts of the combatants, the Geopolitics that foretell the event, and the details that are the very heart of the story. From the very first sentence in the Prologue with Lt. Rex Barber sitting in his P-38 with the sweat rolling down his face, to the closing words of the Epilogue you will be pulled along and race through this exciting tale.
Conclusion: buy this page turner and learn/relearn of the heroism of the US Military Fighting man in WWII. The following are some of the salient points that are covered in Dan Hampton’s recreation of an event critical to the outcome of that war.
The actual theme is quite simple… Give a fighter pilot a location, a time and a target and he will do the rest. Having Intercepted Yamamoto’s plan/ETA to visit Bougainville, the not so simple task would be to arrive on time and shoot down the Admiral.
You will learn of the great Strategic planning and leadership capabilities of Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto. He had planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, but realized he had awakened the sleeping giant. In 1943 he accepted the fact that Japan could not win the war. Thus, his goal was to inflict enough pain on the United States, so that they would be glad to come to the table and sign a peace treaty. Yamamoto was unique among the Japanese Imperial staff to learn from his mistakes and change his initial plans. Luckily for the US, The Japanese Imperial Army was running the war, and contained Yamamoto. Japanese Hubris could not accept that the US was a worthy opponent, and would not be vanquished as they had the Chinese and the Filipino’s.
The naval battles up to and including the Guadalcanal saga detail the effort of the US Marines, See-bees and the Cactus Air force to build and maintain Henderson Air Field. Henderson would be the key to allow the Army P-38’s range and tactics to make the intercepts. Although under USN Air operational command. Army Major John Mitchell was allowed to plan and execute the mission -only because Navy and Marine fighters did not have the range to do it. Of the 16 P-38’s he selected Capt. Tom Lanphier and Lt Rex Barber plus 2 others to be in the “Killer Flight” while the remaining P-38’s would be assigned to ward off any Japanese fighters in the area.
Dan writes of the heated discussion as to whether or not to launch the mission. The concern was in doing so they would reveal “Magic” code name for the program that allowed US intercept and decoding Japanese message Traffic. The Japanese believed the US was not smart enough to accomplish it. Dan then also describes the arguments over the correctness of assassinating an enemy leader. You will see that argument still goes on today.
Finally, the mission is launched and you ride along in the hot gondola of the P-38. Switches are set, seat belts tightened and the guns are checked armed and charged. You follow along and quickly search for the maps and flight plan that Dan Hampton has thoughtfully included. Lt Rex Barber makes the kills on both Japanese Bombers (though only one had been expected).
Tom Lanphier returns first and takes credit for the shoot down of the Admiral. Announcing that fact over the air on a unsecure channel Which would enrage Admiral Bull Halsey and result in Medals of Honors being downgraded to Navy Crosses. Dan empirically and mathematically examines the data and concludes that the victories belong to Rex Barber.
As I Review Operation Vengeance by Dan Hampton today, I note it is August 9, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. Dan comments and questions on the number of both American and Japanese lives were saved by the acts of Rex Barber and the dropping of the second atom bomb.

Stan Goldstein ...more "

Aug 11, 2020 10:40AM · see review