The Doolittle Raid: April 18, 1942 (60 Years Ago Today)

USS Enterprise Association ^

[hchutch]

I don't know if Bong was in that flight. I know that Tom Lanphier was the guy who led the four-plane attack section, and he was the guy who brought justice to Yamamoto for Pearl Harbor.

[hchutch]

We'd broken Japanese codes.

Ironically, the intelligence officer who informed Admiral Nimitz of Yamamoto's trip, Edwin T. Layton, was a friend of Yamamoto's prior to the war.

Layton was the person responsible for keeping our heads above water during the first year and a half of the Pacific War, until our intelligence advantage kicked in. He died in 1982, probably the biggest unsung hero of the war.

[Poohbah]

IIRC, the Japanese investigated this incident thoroughly, and concluded that Yamamoto's itinerary was retransmitted not once, but several times, and that fairly low-grade codes were used on some versions. In other words, they convinced themselves that JN-25 was still secure.

An excellent discussion of the intelligence war in the Pacific Theater is John Prados' Combined Fleet Decoded, recently reprinted in trade paper by the US Naval Institute Press.

[hchutch]

I also recommend And I Was There, the memoirs of Edwin Layton. He gives a good account of the codebreaking efforts, and he also provides the best explanation for Pearl Harbor as well.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Great read..thanks...what's curious is what the author might have added at the end..that American pilots successfully intercepted and killed Yamamoto later on in the war, a measure that probably did much to contribute to Japan's loss, and probably helped save thousands of Americans......Sadam..are you listening?

Yamamoto was killed April 18, 1943.

Walt

[Poohbah]

Bong wasn't on the mission, IIRC. The 347th Fighter Group killed Yamamoto; Bong was in the 49th FG.

[Poohbah]

From what I understand, Layton's memoirs may have been selectively edited by his collaborator to be a bit more sensational after Layton passed away.

[WhiskeyPapa]

I don't know if Bong was in that flight.

Bong was not involved in the Yamamoto operation.

The P-38 was/is a great bird. Many German pilots said a well flown P-38 was the toughest Allied fighter. It was the first "energy" fighter that operated well in the vertical and not just in the horizontal turning battles prevalent in WWII. The P-38 late models could also turn tightly as well. It's no accident that the top two American aces flew the Lightning.

Walt

[hchutch]

Edited? Didn't know about that. It did have a LOT of details on the battles over naval intelligence and the emerging SIGINT stuff, that was quite surprising. Pearl Harbor, if one believes Layton, came about due to bureaucratic infighting.

[aomagrat]

Great post!

60th Doolittle Raiders Reunion

[Poohbah]

Yeah, but some of the details may have been...strategically enhanced, shall we say?

Apparently Layton's family wasn't overly thrilled with the final product as published in 1985...

[hchutch]

It was a heck of an airplane. It was the only aircraft capable of taking out Yamamoto on that mission. Its armament was also very suited to the Pacific Theater.

Kelly Johnson's first great design, and not his last.

[Grampa Dave]

You guys are right on top of this.

HCHutch, we had the right people in the code cracking groups and in the OSS including its founder during those dangerous and early days of WWII and right before Pearl Harbor. There were a lot of unsung heroes from then to the end of the USSR.

I have never been a fan of FDR's, but he realized the importance of the secrecy that surrounded our code crackers and what they did. There is no evidence that he ever jeopardized any operations back then, and he helped guard the reality of what had been accomplished re the JN-25 and the Engigma breakthroughs. I'm sure that he learned from his friend Prime Minister Churchill who made some bad intel mistakes after WWI. Churchill was an absolute master of keeping these secrets really secret before and during WWII.

I doubt if history will say the same for Carter, Johnson and of course the Clintoon in protecting the secrets of our people cracking codes and working in secret to protect this country!

[hchutch]

Interesting.

I recall that it helped get Joe Rochefort the medal he deserved from that timeframe. Now, if we can only clear Kimmel's name. The fact is, one person was responsible for Pearl Harbor. His name was Isoroku Yamamoto. Thankfully, Tom Lanphier brought justice to him.

[Poohbah]

I think that Pearl Harbor actually spoiled the Japanese; they never seemed to get away from wanting another perfect op like that, even if their plan to get it relied on the US doing what the Japanese wanted them to do instead of what the US wanted to do.

[shekkian]

Actually Yamamoto was shot down over Formosa.

Anyway, back to the topic, I read Doolittle's memoir,I could never be so lucky again. Incredible read. One of our greatest heroes of the 20th century.

[rockfish59]

So was Ernie Pyle at Ie Shima in 1945.
His books on the war are fantastic.
Geraldo can only wish to report like that.

It's also my birthday!!

[rockfish59]

If you notice that white line on the left side of the deck.
They had to follow that because the wing tip came very close to the carrier island.

[rockfish59]

I always liked Hal Holbrook in 'Midway' when he would say 'YAMMA-moto'! lol!

[rockfish59]

Great movie!
Especially the view from the cockpit flying low over the water and land!