Chapter 21 02. Send old friends back to the west

In February 1943, the Japanese devils withdrew from Guadalcanal in embarrassment.At this time, Fifty-Six Yamamoto, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet who had been supervising the battle on Truk Island, was extremely panicked. He personally drew up a combat plan code-named "Operation No. 1", planning to use aviation to launch a Pearl Harbor-style sneak attack. What he is best at - destroying the U.S. troops in the Solomon Islands southwest of Guadalcanal.But Admiral Yamamoto reversed time and space. At this time, the strength of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet is no longer the same as when it attacked Pearl Harbor.Half a year ago, four Japanese aircraft carriers sank in the First World War at Midway Island, and hundreds of outstanding pilots died under the sea.

On April 7, "Operation No. 1" began.The Japanese army dispatched 157 Zero fighter jets and 67 bombers from New Guinea, aggressively heading to the Solomon Islands for a sneak attack, trying to completely destroy the US air force and warships on the nearby sea.Yamamoto Fifty-Six, wearing a white navy uniform to boost morale, came to Rabaul from Truk to perform for the pilots. When the Japanese first dispatched, the U.S. military in the Solomon Islands understood the enemy's situation and prepared F-4U and F-4F fighter jets to meet it.This fighter of the U.S. military is designed to defeat the Japanese Zero fighter.In addition, the U.S. military also dispatched P-38 and P-39 fighter jets from Guadalcanal to assist in the battle.After a fierce battle, the Japanese air force not only did not hit the US military hard, but suffered a heavy blow. 39 Japanese planes were shot down, and other Japanese planes also fled.

On April 11, 12, and 14, Japanese planes once again flew over the Solomon Islands for raids, but were again intercepted by U.S. fighter jets.The Japanese devils have big faces and big eyes, and they have suffered a lot. However, what the Japanese love to do is hide defeat into victory and lie about their military exploits. The returning Japanese navy pilots claimed to have destroyed a large number of U.S. fighter planes and warships in order to ask for credit.Of course, the Japanese have been punished for lying about their military exploits today. We kill devils every day at the Hengdian Film and Television Base, killing hundreds of millions a year, just like what the Japanese did back then.Yamamoto Fifty-Six did not investigate (maybe he didn't want to investigate, he was too eager for a victory to revive the prestige of the Japanese Empire), so he reported the false record to the Japanese headquarters.

On April 16, the "Operation No. 1" planned by Yamamoto Fifty-Six ended. The deceived Emperor Hirohito also sent a congratulatory message to Yamamoto Fifty-Six, congratulating him on his command and seizing the air supremacy of the Solomon Islands.In fact, before Yamamoto Fifty-Six's air strikes on the Solomon Islands, the U.S. military had secretly increased its troops in the Solomon Islands, and Yamamoto Fifty-Six knew nothing about it.In the Solomon Islands air battle, the Japanese Air Force not only failed to seize air supremacy, but lost 66 aircraft. Originally, "Operation No. 1" was over, and Yamamoto Fifty-Six should return to the headquarters on Truk Island, but when the emperor sent a congratulatory message, Yamamoto was a little dizzy. Go to the front line again and preach to the pilots the necessity of seizing air supremacy.

There is a saying that there is God's will in the dark, and Yamamoto is a dead reminder.why?This Ugaki Sen is the backbone of the Fleet faction in the Japanese Navy and is a fanatic fan of large ships and cannons; while Yamamoto is an aviation faction, who believes that aircraft carriers are the bosses, and giant ships and cannons are living coffins.So Ugaki became the chief of staff for Yamamoto, and he talked like farting. Yamamoto almost never accepted his opinions, but this time Yamamoto listened. On April 13, the Japanese joint fleet sent a secret message to the Japanese troops on the islands that Yamamoto was going to inspect, telling them of Yamamoto's plan to inspect the front line.As soon as the telegram was sent out, before the Japanese army received it, the U.S. military received it and deciphered it.As mentioned earlier, before the Battle of Midway, the U.S. military had already been able to decipher some Japanese codes.Although the Japanese army changed the password later, the US military was still able to decipher 15% of the contents of the Japanese army's secret message.

After American experts deciphered the Japanese military telegram, they found that Yamamoto Fifty-Six was going to inspect troops at a frontier airport near Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands. Moreover, the secret message contained a long text and a very detailed description of the itinerary. bright.It stands to reason that the whereabouts of major commanders in wartime, even secret messages, should have a strong sense of security and be concise to prevent them from being deciphered by opponents.Yamamoto’s sealed message is good. At 6:00 am on April 18, General Yamamoto will leave New Guinea in a heavy bomber, escorted by six Zero fighters. General Yamamoto will arrive at Balal Island at 8:00, and then go to Shortland Island, and finally went to Bouin Island. At 3:40 in the afternoon, General Yamamoto returned to Rabaul, and the itinerary was listed.He also told the U.S. military that Yamamoto was escorted by a bomber and six Zero fighters.

At that time, Rear Admiral Jojima, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet in Shortland Squadron, saw the telegram, and said in shock, is the commander insane? How can you send a telegram? You are sending an invitation to the enemy. . The senior generals of the U.S. Pacific Theater Command were ecstatic when they saw this deciphered top-secret telegram.The time has finally come to shoot down Yamamoto's landline and avenge the "Pearl Harbor Incident". This is a gift from the heavens. But General Nimitz remained undecided.Nimitz believes that it seems inappropriate for the dignified navy to engage in assassination.Another factor, he thought more deeply than ordinary people: Can the Japanese find a more capable combined fleet commander?If you kill Yamamoto and come up with someone who can do better than him, aren't you asking for trouble?So Nimitz and his deputy analyzed the situation of all the senior Japanese generals in their possession.In the end, Nimitz's deputy told him that Yamamoto's position in the hearts of the Japanese is unique, as if he stands out from the crowd. He has become an idol worshiped by young military officers. Except for the emperor, no one is as effective as him in enhancing morale. appeal.Nimitz's deputy was very funny and asked him: "General, if you are killed by them, do you think someone in the US Navy can replace you?"

This sentence strengthened Nimitz's determination to intercept Yamamoto. Yes, yes, his status in the Japanese Navy is the same as my status in the US Navy.Then there is no need to worry, just kill him. To be on the safe side, Nimitz specifically asked President Roosevelt for instructions.After Roosevelt held a meeting to study, he also decided to kill this old enemy.The president approved and named the operation "The Avenger." Therefore, Nimitz ordered the relevant troops to intercept Yamamoto in the air, and used long-range P-38 fighter jets to shoot down Yamamoto's plane.At this time, the U.S. military had exactly 18 P-38 fighter jets in Guadalcanal.This aircraft is equipped with 4 machine guns and a 20mm cannon. Unlike most fighter jets in the world at that time, the guns of this aircraft can be installed on the nose (general aircraft guns are installed on the wings) , so it is possible to launch a head-on attack on the Japanese army.Moreover, the range of this aircraft is as far as 1,800 kilometers, which can just fly to Bougainville Island to complete the interception and return.

Major Mitchell, the squadron leader of the 339th Fighter Squadron of the U.S. Army, was ordered to lead 18 P-38 fighter jets to carry out interception missions.Considering the fierceness of this air battle, on the night of April 17, Squadron 339 secretly modified the fighter jets performing the mission, adding an auxiliary fuel tank to increase the range. In the early hours of the next day, 18 P-38 fighter jets of the 339 Squadron took off from Guadalcanal.On departure, there were a few hiccups, one plane had a flat tire on takeoff, and the other had to turn back because the drop tank didn't work.The other fighters took off smoothly, and 16 fighters were enough. Yamamoto only had 6 Zero fighters to escort him.

In order to conceal the attack attempt, the U.S. P-38 formation did not fly directly north, but flew west for a while before flying to the destination, setting up a ecstasy formation.In order to prevent being discovered by the Japanese radar, the P-38 formation flew up to 800 kilometers at a low altitude of only 10 meters from the sea.It can be seen that at this time, the US military pilots are all masters. When flying over the sea, the sea and the sky are the same color, which is very dangerous. A big wave can hit the wings. This flight is 800 kilometers, and there is no air conditioning in the cockpit, and it is on the equator Flying in different regions, the entire cockpit is like a steamer, and the pilots are sweating profusely.

U.S. military intelligence believes that the landline of Yamamoto Fifty-Six is ​​most likely to land in Balal on Bougainville Island.Therefore, Major Mitchell decided to intercept the Yamamoto plane 76 kilometers before landing.Major Mitchell is worthy of being a battle-tested veteran. The interception point he chose is particularly accurate, and it can be said that it is the best position to intercept Yamamoto Isashiro. The P-38 formation flew for two and a half hours, and near the destination, the pilots began to test weapons. Soon, the P-38 formation spotted Yamamoto Fifty-Six's formation.While the U.S. formation spotted the Japanese formation, the Japanese formation also saw the U.S. formation.The Japanese aircraft formation was greatly shocked, and six Zero fighters quickly swooped down to intercept. The P-38 formation was divided into two groups, one part was responsible for dealing with the six Zero fighters, and the other part was an interception squad composed of three P-38s led by Lanfil, which specifically attacked Yamamoto Fifty-Six's plane.The interception team did not expect that there were two bombers in the Japanese formation, because the intelligence said there was only one bomber.In fact, of the two bombers, one is Yamamoto Fifty-Six's plane, and the other is Ugaki Ugaki, the chief of staff of the United Fleet.The commander and the chief of staff are not on the same plane, so that in case of an accident, the two brothers are all finished. God bless America at this time, the bomber that the interception team attacked for the first time happened to be Yamamoto Fifty-Six's landline.Yamamoto was flying a medium-sized bomber at a very slow speed. As soon as it was hit, it burst into flames and finally crashed into the dense forest on the island. Yamamoto Fifty-Six and all the people on board died. Later, when the Japanese army went to search for Yamamoto's body, they found that Yamamoto's body was still well preserved, and he was still sitting on a seat, wearing a grass-green military uniform, holding a saber, and missing two fingers.The important point is that Yamamoto did not fall to his death, but was killed by a machine gun bullet, and he was already dead on the plane.It seems that the American pilots shot very accurately, and Yamamoto was eliminated with a single bullet. The other bomber was also damaged, but it made an emergency landing at sea and did not explode. Ugaki Ugaki, who encouraged Yamamoto to inspect, was on board this plane. He was only slightly injured and survived. The "Flower of the Famous General" withered in the Pacific Ocean. The news exploded over Japan like a thunderbolt from the blue, and the Japanese ruling and opposition parties were shocked.For the Japanese base camp, this was a heavy blow since the outbreak of the war, and it was called a "Class A incident" by the Japanese base camp.Emperor Hirohito posthumously awarded the rank of Marshal Yamamoto, but none of this could bring Yamamoto back to life. After Yamamoto died, his successors Koga Mineichi and Toyoda Fubu were far behind him in ability and status, and the Japanese Navy was even more unable to reverse the deteriorating battle situation, and the combined fleet began to be wiped out step by step.