On 18 April 1943, P-38G Lightnings flew one of the most precisely planned long-range interception missions of the Pacific War. Their target was an aircraft carrying Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of Japan's Combined Fleet and a central figure in planning the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The P-38 Relic
The relic associated with Operation Vengeance comes from a wartime P-38 hydraulic/oil-system component recovered from an aircraft hangar in Los Angeles in 2020. The unrestored material provides a direct physical connection to the Lockheed fighter type selected for the mission because of its exceptional range.
P-38 Lightning material used for the relics associated with Operation Vengeance.
The Intercept Over Bougainville
American intelligence had learned Yamamoto's inspection itinerary and planned an interception timed to meet his flight near Bougainville. P-38s of the 339th Fighter Squadron flew hundreds of miles at low altitude over open water to avoid detection before climbing to attack the Japanese formation.
The engagement destroyed both Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” bombers in the formation, killing Yamamoto. The exact allocation of credit for shooting down his aircraft became the subject of a long-running dispute among participants, particularly Rex Barber and Thomas Lanphier. The mission itself, however, remains a striking example of intelligence, navigation and long-range fighter operations working together.
Operation Vengeance focuses on the moment the P-38s reached their target after the difficult over-water intercept.
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