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Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy, scheduled an inspection tour of the Solomon Islands and New Guinea.He planned to inspect Japanese air units participating in Operation I-Go that had begun 7 April 1943; in addition, the tour would boost Japanese morale following the disastrous Guadalcanal campaign and its subsequent evacuation during January and February.
The Lockheed Corporation designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by First Lieutenants Benjamin S. Kelsey and Gordon P. Saville for a twin-engined, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at ...
The arrival of the first P-38 Lightnings overshadowed his promotion. The 339th FG became the first squadron in the South Pacific to operate the twin engine fighter and began flying combat missions, which began inflicting even higher losses on the Japanese. While flying the P-38 Lightning, Mitchell shot down five Japanese planes, making him a ...
Flying a Bell P-39 Airacobra, he scored his first victory by downing a Japanese bomber on the 28th. Upon transfer to the 339th Squadron, he began flying P-38 Lightnings and claimed two Zero fighters on April 7. On April 18, Lieutenant Barber figured prominently in the Yamamoto interception, also known as Operation Vengeance.
He was one of the escort fighter pilots of Fleet Admiral Yamamoto's visit to Ballale Base on April 18, 1943. After Yamamoto's death, he was injured and lost his right hand on a subsequent mission to Russell Islands, near Guadalcanal, in June 1943, for which he was sent back to the home islands for treatment and recovery.
Probably the best-known incident involving a G4M in the war came during the top secret mission to intercept the aircraft carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, resulting in Yamamoto's death. On 18 April 1943, sixteen P-38 Lightnings of the 339th Fighter Squadron of the 347th Fighter Group , Thirteenth Air Force , shot down a G4M1 of the ...
Thomas George Lanphier Jr. (November 27, 1915 – November 26, 1987) was a Panama-born American colonel and fighter pilot during World War II who was first given sole credit, then later partial credit shared with Rex T. Barber, for shooting down the plane carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the commander in chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy. [1]
P-38 Lightning, the first fighter to exceed 400 mph (640 km/h; 350 kn), and the aircraft which killed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Holds the record for the longest interception mission of World War II. Constellation family, first family of pressurized airliners. Used in various military roles, including transporting President Eisenhower, and ...