It was a few minutes past 7 a.m. on April 18, 1943, when 18 P-38 Lightning fighters of the 339th Fighter Squadron began to take off from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, led by their squadron commander Captain John W. Mitchell. It had only been roughly 18 hours since Mitchell had been given the task of choosing the pilots and finalizing the plan for what would become one of World War II’s most storied air-to-air attack operations. Mitchell’s mission was to kill the mastermind of the December 7, 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.
Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto was the highest ranking officer in the Japanese Navy and was also considered to be their greatest military strategist. He has also been described by many as the third most important person in Japan during World War II behind only Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.
Born on July 14, 1915, John W. Mitchell enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 19 years old in 1934. After completing basic training, he served as artilleryman in Hawaii for four years before being accepted into the Aviation Cadet Program. Mitchell earned his pilot wings and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps on July 26, 1940.
Following the Pearl Harbor attack, Mitchell shipped overseas to Fiji in January 1942. Flying the P-39 Airacobra fighter, Mitchell earned his first aerial victory on October 10, 1942. He assumed command of the 339th Fighter Squadron in November 1942. Transitioning to flying the P-38, Mitchell earned his fifth and sixth aerial victories of World War II and status as an ace just 3½ months later during a single mission flown on January 27, 1943. Mitchell earned two more aerial victories within a week bringing his total to eight enemy kills by early February. Although he would continue to fly combat missions over the next two months, contact with the enemy was minimal. On the afternoon of April 17, 1943; however, whatever perceived lull in the battle rhythm which may have set in with the 339th Fighter Squadron changed abruptly as Mitchell received a very special set of orders.
Three days earlier, on April 14, 1943, American codebreakers had intercepted a coded radio message sent to Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands which indicated that Yamamoto would be making a personal visit to the forward operating base at Bougainville landing precisely at 9:45 a.m. on the morning of April 18, 1943. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, American codebreakers had broken their secret codes several years earlier and were able to easily decipher this message. The first major success using decoded Japanese messages occurred in June 1942 resulting in American victory at the Battle of Midway. After receiving this intercept, preparations for what would become the next major success were soon underway.
Realizing that the Bougainville was close enough to Guadalcanal to afford a slim chance of intercepting Yamamoto’s aircraft, American planners reacted immediately and began to formulate an idea for an attack mission with the hope that eliminating Yamamoto may in turn help to shorten the war. Yamamoto, who had served as the Japanese Naval Attaché’ in Washington D.C. on two previous occasions in addition to studying at Harvard University in the 1920’s, was known to be a very punctual man demanding no less from his subordinates and as such would most likely adhere strictly to the decoded schedule. Not only did the Americans know the exact location and time that Yamamoto would likely be in the air, those also learned the number and types of aircraft which would transport and accompany him.
Ultimate approval authority for the mission came directly from President Franklin D. Roosevelt who upon learning of the details of the intercepted message instructed Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox simply: “Get Yamamoto.” Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., Commander, South Pacific, assigned the mission to the U.S. Army Air Forces. The P-38 Lightning fighters of the 339th Squadron were chosen to carry out the attack as that type of fighter was the only one nearby which possessed the necessary range to intercept and engage Yamamoto’s convoy at a distance of what would be more than 400 miles from Guadalcanal. As the squadron commander, Mitchell was chosen to lead the operation.
After finishing breakfast on the morning of April 18, 1943, Mitchell led a last minute briefing for the pilots who would accompany him to Bougainville. Although he himself held serious doubts about the potential for success of the mission, Mitchell exuded confidence as he interacted with the pilots and ground crews prior to take off. Just as dawn was beginning to break on Guadalcanal, the pilots climbed into their fighters and took to the sky.
The mission began somewhat ominously as immediately after takeoff two of the aircraft were forced to turn back. One P-38 had a malfunctioning drop tank while the other had blown a tire on takeoff. The remainder of the flight from Guadalcanal to Bougainville remained relatively uneventful lasting a little more than two hours.
With Mitchell in the lead as navigator, the P-38’s flew at an altitude of just 30 feet in a circuitous route over the open ocean avoiding contact with any land mass and maintaining complete radio silence. This was done in hopes of avoiding detection by Japanese coast watchers and listening stations. The only tools Mitchell had at his disposal to guide the fighters to Guadalcanal were a map, compass, wristwatch, and his flight speed gauge.
Just after 9:30 a.m., the mountains of Bougainville were spotted emerging from the haze in front of the aircraft. In an amazing feat of navigation, Mitchell had led his attack force directly on target within a few minutes of when Yamamoto’s plane was scheduled to arrive. The P-38’s immediately began to climb towards an attack altitude.
At 9:34 a.m. the radio sounded: “Bogeys. Eleven o’clock. High.” The P-38’s released their drop tanks and headed for the convoy which consisted of six Japanese Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” fighters accompanied by two Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bombers. The Japanese fighters engaged the attack flight and one Zero was immediately knocked out of the sky by the P-38’s as the bombers took evasion action and scattered. Sighting one of the bombers flying just above the jungle below, the P-38’s pounced and strafed the aircraft from above sending a fusillade of bullets into the right engine. One P-38 pulled in behind the bomber and continued to pour fire into the right engine until it began to smoke before strafing across the body of the aircraft and targeting the left engine. The bomber’s right wing lurched up before the aircraft turned over and spiraled into the jungle below. This was the aircraft which was transporting Yamamoto. Japan’s greatest military strategist was dead.
With another bomber still in the air, the P-38’s shifted their attack targeting the second Betty sending it into the ocean. The fighters then regrouped and returned to Guadalcanal where they were greeted by celebratory ground crews.
The wreckage of Yamamoto’s aircraft was found by the Japanese the following day in the jungle on Papa New Guinea. An autopsy revealed that Yamamoto had ultimately been killed as a result of two .50 caliber bullet wounds. Lt Rex Barber is credited with firing the fatal shots that took down Yamamoto and his aircraft. Also credited with shooting down the second Japanese bomber in the formation, Barber earned his fourth and fifth aerial victories of World War II and status as an ace during the operation.
Regarding the success of the mission, Barber later commented: “All of us trusted Mitchell and his planning. All of us knew of the various variables in the picture and we were apprehensive if we would find the bomber or not. When we hit it right on the button we could hardly believe it. We were elated.”
Shortly after completing the mission, Mitchell and the rest of the Yamamoto mission pilots were sent stateside as a precaution lest they be shot down, captured, and forced to divulge the secret of how they knew just when and where Yamamoto’s convoy would be. Mitchell would serve in both the United States and in Europe before returning to Pacific in May 1945. He would go on to earn another three aerial victories against the Japanese while assigned to Seventh Air Force as the commander of the 15th Fighter Group from July to November 1945. As a result of many of his aerial victories having occurred while he was assigned to or under the operational control of Seventh Air Force, with 11 total aerial victories during World War II, Mitchell is recognized by many as being the second highest scoring fighter ace to have served with Seventh Air Force during World War II. Major Robert Moore is considered the leader for Seventh Air Force with 12 total aerial victories while also serving with the 15th Fighter Group.
Describing the operation years later, Mitchell commented: “Our chance of completing this mission was really one in a million. We flew 435 miles over water without a checkpoint in sight from the time I took off until I got there. All I had was my air speed indicator, my compass, and my watch. I had no radio help at all. It turned out that I got us there exactly at the right time. Exactly on the minute Yamamoto was supposed to be there. Fortunately for us but unfortunate for him, we said good morning to each other about 15 minutes before he was going to land and we shot him down.”
Following World War II Mitchell served in a variety of staff and command positions in the United States in Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, and Alaska.
During the Korean War, Mitchell assumed command of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Suwon Air Base on June 13, 1952. Piloting the F-86 Sabre, Mitchell earned four aerial victories over North Korea against Communist MiG-15 fighters. He remained commander of the 51st until May 31, 1953.
After Korea, Mitchell served in Hawaii and Michigan before retiring from the Air Force at the rank of Colonel on July 31, 1958. Mitchell flew a total of 240 combat missions during World War II and Korea earning 15 total aerial victories and status as a triple ace. During his 23 year military career, Mitchell earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, the Legion of Merit, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and a Bronze star among many other decorations and awards. He is one of just 11 Airmen in American history to have been awarded the Navy Cross.
John W. Mitchell passed away on November 15, 1995 at the age of 80 years old.
