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Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and undertook many of its
changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the
commander-in-chief during the decisive early years of the Pacific War and so was responsible for
major battles such as Pearl Harbor and Midway. He died during an inspection tour of forward
positions in the Solomon Islands when his aircraft (a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bomber) was shot
down during an ambush by American P-38 Lightning fighter planes. His death was a major blow to
Japanese military morale during World War II.
To boost morale following the defeat at Guadalcanal, Yamamoto decided to make an inspection
tour throughout the South Pacific. On 14 April 1943, the US naval intelligence effort, code-named
"Magic", intercepted and decrypted a message containing specific details regarding Yamamoto's
tour, including arrival and departure times and locations, as well as the number and types of
planes that would transport and accompany him on the journey. Yamamoto, the itinerary revealed,
would be flying from Rabaul to Ballalae Airfield, on an island near Bougainville in the Solomon
Islands, on the morning of 18 April 1943.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox to "Get Yamamoto."
Knox instructed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of Roosevelt's wishes. Admiral Nimitz consulted
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander, South Pacific, then authorized a mission on 17 April to
intercept Yamamoto's flight en route and shoot it down.
A squadron of P-38 Lightning aircraft were assigned the task as only they possessed the range to
intercept and engage. Eighteen hand-picked pilots from three units were informed that they were
intercepting an "important high officer" with no specific name given.
Yamamoto's last photo alive (April 18, 1943)
On the morning of 18 April, despite urgings by local commanders to cancel the trip for fear of
ambush, Yamamoto's two Mitsubishi G4M fast transport aircraft left Rabaul as scheduled for the
315 mi (507 km) trip. Shortly after, 18 P-38s with long-range drop tanks took off from Guadalcanal.
Sixteen arrived after wave-hopping most of the 430 mi (690 km) to the rendezvous point,
maintaining radio silence throughout. At 09:34 Tokyo time, the two flights met and a dogfight
ensued between the P-38s and the six escorting A6M Zeroes.
First Lieutenant Rex T. Barber engaged the first of the two Japanese transports which turned out to
be Yamamoto's plane. He targeted the aircraft with gunfire until it began to spew smoke from its
left engine. Barber turned away to attack the other transport as Yamamoto's plane crashed into the
jungle.
The crash site and body of Yamamoto were found the next day in the jungle north of the
then-coastal site of the former Australian patrol post of Buin by a Japanese search and rescue
party, led by army engineer, Lieutenant Hamasuna. According to Hamasuna, Yamamoto had been
thrown clear of the plane's wreckage, his white-gloved hand grasping the hilt of his katana, still
upright in his seat under a tree. Hamasuna said Yamamoto was instantly recognizable, head
dipped down as if deep in thought. A post-mortem of the body disclosed that Yamamoto had
received two gunshot wounds, one to the back of his left shoulder and another to his left lower jaw
that exited above his right eye.
To cover up the fact that the Allies were reading Japanese code, American news agencies were
told that civilian coast-watchers in the Solomon Islands saw Yamamoto boarding a bomber in the
area. They did not publicize the names of most of the pilots that attacked Yamamoto's plane
because one of them had a brother who was a prisoner of the Japanese, and U.S. military officials
feared for his safety.
This proved to be the longest fighter-intercept mission of the war. In Japan, it became known as
the "Navy A Incident". It raised morale in the United States, and shocked the Japanese who were
officially told about the incident only on 21 May 1943. The death of Yamamoto was a major
psychological blow for the Japanese nation which had been told of victory after victory even after
Midway and Guadalcanal. It also forced the Japanese government to acknowledge that the
Americans were quickly rebuilding their military capacity and had begun going on the offensive.
course of their official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the media is in the public
domain.
Yamamoto held several important posts in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and undertook many of its
changes and reorganizations, especially its development of naval aviation. He was the
commander-in-chief during the decisive early years of the Pacific War and so was responsible for
major battles such as Pearl Harbor and Midway. He died during an inspection tour of forward
positions in the Solomon Islands when his aircraft (a Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" bomber) was shot
down during an ambush by American P-38 Lightning fighter planes. His death was a major blow to
Japanese military morale during World War II.
To boost morale following the defeat at Guadalcanal, Yamamoto decided to make an inspection
tour throughout the South Pacific. On 14 April 1943, the US naval intelligence effort, code-named
"Magic", intercepted and decrypted a message containing specific details regarding Yamamoto's
tour, including arrival and departure times and locations, as well as the number and types of
planes that would transport and accompany him on the journey. Yamamoto, the itinerary revealed,
would be flying from Rabaul to Ballalae Airfield, on an island near Bougainville in the Solomon
Islands, on the morning of 18 April 1943.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox to "Get Yamamoto."
Knox instructed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz of Roosevelt's wishes. Admiral Nimitz consulted
Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander, South Pacific, then authorized a mission on 17 April to
intercept Yamamoto's flight en route and shoot it down.
A squadron of P-38 Lightning aircraft were assigned the task as only they possessed the range to
intercept and engage. Eighteen hand-picked pilots from three units were informed that they were
intercepting an "important high officer" with no specific name given.
Yamamoto's last photo alive (April 18, 1943)
On the morning of 18 April, despite urgings by local commanders to cancel the trip for fear of
ambush, Yamamoto's two Mitsubishi G4M fast transport aircraft left Rabaul as scheduled for the
315 mi (507 km) trip. Shortly after, 18 P-38s with long-range drop tanks took off from Guadalcanal.
Sixteen arrived after wave-hopping most of the 430 mi (690 km) to the rendezvous point,
maintaining radio silence throughout. At 09:34 Tokyo time, the two flights met and a dogfight
ensued between the P-38s and the six escorting A6M Zeroes.
First Lieutenant Rex T. Barber engaged the first of the two Japanese transports which turned out to
be Yamamoto's plane. He targeted the aircraft with gunfire until it began to spew smoke from its
left engine. Barber turned away to attack the other transport as Yamamoto's plane crashed into the
jungle.
The crash site and body of Yamamoto were found the next day in the jungle north of the
then-coastal site of the former Australian patrol post of Buin by a Japanese search and rescue
party, led by army engineer, Lieutenant Hamasuna. According to Hamasuna, Yamamoto had been
thrown clear of the plane's wreckage, his white-gloved hand grasping the hilt of his katana, still
upright in his seat under a tree. Hamasuna said Yamamoto was instantly recognizable, head
dipped down as if deep in thought. A post-mortem of the body disclosed that Yamamoto had
received two gunshot wounds, one to the back of his left shoulder and another to his left lower jaw
that exited above his right eye.
To cover up the fact that the Allies were reading Japanese code, American news agencies were
told that civilian coast-watchers in the Solomon Islands saw Yamamoto boarding a bomber in the
area. They did not publicize the names of most of the pilots that attacked Yamamoto's plane
because one of them had a brother who was a prisoner of the Japanese, and U.S. military officials
feared for his safety.
This proved to be the longest fighter-intercept mission of the war. In Japan, it became known as
the "Navy A Incident". It raised morale in the United States, and shocked the Japanese who were
officially told about the incident only on 21 May 1943. The death of Yamamoto was a major
psychological blow for the Japanese nation which had been told of victory after victory even after
Midway and Guadalcanal. It also forced the Japanese government to acknowledge that the
Americans were quickly rebuilding their military capacity and had begun going on the offensive.
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