Operation Vengeance: The Astonishing Aerial Ambush That Changed World War II

U.S. Air Force veteran Hampton (Chasing the Demon) delivers a solid account of the mission to take out Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, chief architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor, in April 1943. Aiming to correct the historical record concerning which American pilot actually shot down Yamamoto’s plane, Hampton profiles three members of the fighter squadrons involved in the mission (Maj. John Mitchell, Capt. Tom Lanphier, and Lt. Rex Barber); documents how the breaking of Japan’s secret naval codes allowed U.S. commanders to learn that Yamamoto would be making an inspection tour of several Japanese-held islands, and which type of plane he would be flying in; and details the calculations required to intercept his plane over the island of Bougainville. Though Lanphier was the first to claim the kill, and credit was officially split between him and Barber, Hampton’s research proves that Barber alone brought down Yamamoto. Most recent war historians had already come to the same conclusion, but Hampton’s detailed calculations are definitive. Colorful details, no-nonsense prose (“a carrier with no aviators is just an oversize barge”), and meticulous research make this an essential retelling of Yamamoto’s death. Agent: Robert Gottlieb, Trident Media Group. (Aug.)