Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943

by Bruce Gamble

  We cannot expect much… : Ugaki, p. 316.

  Health of Admiral Kusaka: United States Strategic Bombing Survey, pp. 33–34.

  I had a mysterious fever… : Quoted in Asai, p. 205.

  Their present skill… : Ugaki, p. 316.

  Shortening of Imperial Japanese Navy training syllabus: Prados, p. 540.

  They used to say… : Agawa, p. 342.

  Narrative of Petty Officer Matsunaga: Tsunoda, pp. 159–62.

  Health concerns of Igarashi: Asai, pp. 178–79.

  Joint Army-Navy Central Agreement (Japanese): Morton, p. 637.

  American build-up on Guadalcanal: Craven & Cate, p. 212; also Dunn, “X Attack,” pp. 4–5.

  Admiral Ozawa’s reluctance to contribute carrier planes: Prados, p. 452.

  Transfer of Combined Fleet Headquarters to Rabaul: Agawa, p. 339.

  Outcome of Apr. 1 fighter sweep: Hata & Izawa, p. 428; also Dunn, p. 11.

  Exaggerated claims: Morison, p. 118; Monograph No. 122, p. 47.

  Yamamoto confides in liaison officer: Agawa, p. 340.

  Yamamoto’s relationship with Chiyoko Kawai: Ibid., pp. 59, 341.

  Possibility that Yamamoto had beriberi: Prados, p. 458.

  Preliminary plans for I-Go: Ugaki, p. 321.

  Yamamoto adds strikes to the original plan: Morton, p. 636.

  Statistics of Japanese participation, Apr. 7: Dunn, p. 20; also Morison, p. 120.

  Warnings and alerts to Guadalcanal: Dunn, p. 21.

  Feat of Lieutenant Swett: Tillman, Above and Beyond, pp. 165–66.

  Analysis of Swett’s victories: Dunn, pp. 26–27, 32, 43.

  Actual Japanese losses: Monograph No. 122, p. 47.

  Claims by Imperial Japanese Navy dive-bomber units: Dunn, p. 42.

  Exaggerated coverage in Japanese media: Mainichi Daily News, May 1, 1943.

  Operation Y attacks, Apr. 11, 1943: Ugaki, p. 329; Morison, p. 125.

  Medium bomber attacks, Apr. 12, 1943: Tagaya, p. 70.

  Details of attacks on New Guinea: General Kenney Reports, p. 227; also AWM52 (1/5/51–0335), Air Operations Daily Review, Apr. 11, 1943, p. 2.

  flying in excellent mass formation: General Kenney Reports, p. 227.

  Results of Japanese attacks on Apr. 12, 1943: Gillison, p. 701; also 43rd Bomb Group war diary.

  Interception by American fighters and comparison of claims: Monograph No. 122, p. 47; also Tagaya, p. 70.

  Improved mood at Rabaul: Agawa, p. 344.

  The carrier-based pilots… : Igarashi, p. 209.

  Chapter 27: Death of a Warrior God

  Yamamoto’s decision to tour forward areas: Agawa, p. 346.

  Outline of Yamamoto’s itinerary: Davis, Lightning Strike, p. 222; also Agawa, p. 346.

  What a damn fool thing to do… : Agawa, p. 347.

  If he insists on going… : Ibid., p. 346.

  This is our chance to get Yamamoto ...: Davis, p. 227.

  Nimitz gives approval for the mission: Ibid., pp. 228–33.

  Attack Y-1, Apr. 14, 1943: Monograph No. 122, pp. 43, 48; also Tagaya, p. 70.

  Results of attack Y-1: General Kenney Reports, p. 230; Monograph No. 122, p. 43.

  Today’s operations… a great success… : Ugaki, p. 328.

  Overall Japanese claims compiled on Apr. 16: Ugaki, pp. 329–30.

  more than ten vessels were sunk… : Asai, p. 209.

  Belief in dominance of the Zero: Yoshimura, p. 160.

  While their numbers were small… : Ibid., p. 161.

  Situation report from General Adachi: Ugaki, p. 351.

  Admiral Johima’s protest: Akawa, p. 347.

  Yamamoto’s wardrobe: Ugaki diary, p. 353. A year after the event, Ugaki wrote a highly detailed account of the journey, covering such topics as the weather and his appearance in uniform; also Agawa, p. 360 (details of Yamamoto’s sword).

  Yamamoto and his staff board their bombers: Tagaya, p. 71.

  Positioning of formation: Ugaki, p. 353. Riding in the second plane, the chief of staff trailed the lead bomber in standard echelon formation on the left. Ugaki wrote that he “could clearly see the commander in chief in the skipper’s seat,” a reference to the aircraft commander’s position on the left side of the cockpit. On this day, Chief Petty Officer Kotani served as both commander and chief pilot. He therefore occupied the right-hand seat, which made the left seat available to Admiral Yamamoto as a special privilege.

  POWs at Ballale: Wall, Kill the Prisoners, p. 115.

  First raid on Ballale: Hammell, Air War Pacific, p. 124.

  Lieutenant Jacobson’s concerns: Jacobson, “Julius, His Story,” p. 33.

  Mitchell’s pinpoint navigation: Davis, p. 254.

  Bogeys, ten o’clock high!: Canning, “The Yamamoto Mission,” dougcanning.com/yamamoto1943.html.

  It got noisy for a while… : Ugaki, pp. 353–54.

  Mitchell considered a magician: Jacobson, p. 33.

  Mitchell’s radio call to skin ’em off… : Canning.

  Instructions to get Yamamoto at any cost: Sherrod, History of Marine Corps Aviation, p. 139.

  I cannot understand why… : Jacobson, p. 34.

  Maneuvering by Lanphier and Barber: Davis, pp. 259–62; also Canning.

  Barber’s first gunnery pass: Davis, pp. 261–62.

  The first plane was staggering… : Ugaki, p. 354.

  The enemy P-38 rapidly closed in… : Ibid.

  Crack-up of second bomber: Davis, p. 269.

  a big hole in his throat: Ugaki, p. 357.

  Fate of Lieutenant Hine: Davis, p. 269.

  I got Yamamoto!: Lanphier, quoted in Davis, p. 276.

  This indicates to me… : Canning, interview with author, Apr. 10, 2009.

  The disappointing and shocking report… : Naval Air Group 204, pp. 185–86.

  Evidence of fire at crash site: Agawa, p. 355.

  a burned-out hulk: Ibid., p. 358.

  This alone would have killed him… : Ibid., p. 362.

  News releases in Japan: Mainichi Daily News, May 21 and May 23, 1943.

  Funeral procession and imperial address: Ibid., June 6, 1943.

  Processional banner slogan: Ibid.

  “Fleet Admiral Yamamoto” lyrics: Ibid.

  Details of new Joint Cheifs of Staff directives: Morton, p. 641.

  Epilogue

  “Rabaul My Love” lyrics: Translated by Herbert S. Kadowaki from a cassette recording of Songs of War-Time Japan 1937–1945. (A teenager during World War II, Setsuzo Kadowaki lived with his grandmother in Kyoto, Japan.)

  Selected Bibliography

  Agawa, Hiroyuki (translation by John Bester). The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979.

  Alcorn, John. The Jolly Rogers: History of the 90th Bomb Group During World War II. Temple City: Historical Aviation, 1981.

  Asai, Tatuzou. The History of Air Group 705. Tokyo: Naval Air Group 705 Association, 1975.

  Birdsall, Steve. Flying Buccaneers: The Illustrated Story of Kenney’s Fifth Air Force. Garden City: Doubleday, 1977.

  Bloomfield, David. Rabaul Diary: Escaping Captivity in 1942. Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications, 2001.

  Bowman, Alice. Not Now Tomorrow. Bangalow, NSW: Daisy Press, 1996.

  Bowman, Martin. B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Pacific War. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2003.

  Brosius, J. W. The Marauder: A Book of the 22nd Bomb Group. Sydney: Halstead Press, 1944.

  Byrd, Martha. Kenneth N. Walker: Airpower’s Untempered Crusader. Maxwell AFB: Air University Press, 1997.

  Bullard, Steven (translator). Japanese Army Operations in the South Pacific Area: New Britain and Papua Campaigns, 1942–43. Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 2007.

  Chihaya, Masataka (translator). Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941–1945. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991.

  Christy, Joe, and Jeffery Ethell. P-38 Lightning at War. London: Ian Allen, 1978.

 
; Clairingbould, Michael. Forty of the Fifth: The Life, Times, and Demise of Forty U.S. Fifth Air Force Aircraft. Kingston: Aerothentic, 1999.

  ———. The Forgotten Fifth: A Photographic Chronology of the U.S. Fifth Air Force in World War Two. Hyde Park: Balus, 2007.

  Clayton, James. The Years of MacArthur: 1941–1945. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.

  Cook, Haruko, and Theodore Cook. Japan at War: An Oral History. New York: The New Press, 1992.

  Cox, Douglas. Airpower Leadership on the Front Line: Lt. Gen. George H. Brett and Combat Command. Maxwell AFB: Air University Press, 2006.

  Craven, Wesley, and John Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II: The Pacific: Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1950.

  ———. The Army Air Forces in World War II: Plans & Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.

  Davis, Donald. Lighting Strike: The Secret Mission to Kill Admiral Yamamoto and Avenge Pearl Harbor. New York: St. Martins (Griffin edition), 2005.

  Department of the Navy. Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to March 10, 1942. Washington: Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy, 1943.

  Department of the Navy, Naval History Division. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Volume VI. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.

  Dorr, Robert. B-24 Liberator Units of the Pacific War. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 1999.

  Ewing, Steve, and John Lundstrom. Fateful Rendezvous: The Life of Butch O’Hare. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997.

  Feldt, Eric. The Coastwatchers. New York: Bantam, 1979.

  Francillon, Rene. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1979.

  Frank, Richard. Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. New York: Penguin, 1990.

  Gamble, Bruce. Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul—Australia’s Worst Military Disaster of World War II. St. Paul: Zenith Press, 2006.

  Gillison, Douglas. Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942 (Series 3, Vol. I, Australia in the War of 1939–1945). Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1962.

  Gorham, J. R., and C. J. L. Hewett. The Torch Bearers: War Service of Shore Old Boys, 1939–1999. North Sydney, NSW: Sydney Church of England Grammar School, 1999.

  Griffith, Thomas. MacArthur’s Airman: General George C. Kenney and the War in the Southwest Pacific. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998.

  Hammel, Eric. Air War Pacific Chronology. Pacifica, CA: Pacifica Press, 1998.

  Hasluck, Paul. The Government and the People (Series 4, Vol. 1, Australia in the War of 1939–1945). Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1952.

  Hata, Ikuhiko, and Yasuho Izawa. Japanese Naval Aces and Fighter Units in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1989.

  Henebry, John. The Grim Reapers at Work in the Pacific Theater: The Third Attack Group of the U.S. Fifth Air Force. Missoula, MT: Pictorial Histories, 2002.

  Hickey, Lawrence et al. Revenge of the Red Raiders: An Illustrated History of the 22nd Bombardment Group During World War II. Boulder, MT: International Research and Publishing, 2006.

  Ichimura, Hiroshi. Ki-43 “Oscar” Aces of World War 2. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2009.

  Iwatani, Fumio. Medium Size Bomber. Tokyo: Hara Shobou, 1976.

  Johnson, Carl. Little Hell: The Story of the 2/22nd Battalion and Lark Force. Blackburn, VIC: History House, 2004.

  Johnson, R. W., and N. A. Threlfall. Volcano Town: The 1937–43 Rabaul Eruptions. Bathurst, NSW: Robert Brown & Associates, 1985.

  Johnson, Stanley. Queen of the Flattops. New York: Dutton, 1942.

  Johnston, George. New Guinea Diary. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1945.

  Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee (JANAC). Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by all Causes. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947.

  Kenney, George. General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949 (Air Force History and Museums reprint, 1997).

  Livingstone, Bob. Under the Southern Cross: The B-24 Liberator in the South Pacific. Paducah: Turner Publishing, 1998.

  Lord, Walter. Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons. New York: Viking Press, 1977.

  Lundstrom, John. The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. Annapolis: Naval Institute, 1984.

  ———. The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1994.

  Manchester, William. American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964. Boston: Little, Brown, 1978.

  Martin, Charles et al. The Reaper’s Harvest: The Story of the Third Attack Group. Sydney: Halstead Press, 1945.

  McAulay, Lex. Battle of the Bismarck Sea. New York: St. Martin’s, 1991.

  ———. We Who Are About to Die: The Story of John Lerew—A Hero of Rabaul, 1942. Maryborough, QLD: Banner Books, 2007.

  McKee, Chris. Field Trip C1: Rabaul Caldera. Canberra: Australian Geological Survey Organization, 1993.

  Mikesh, Robert. Japanese Aircraft Code Names and Designations. Atglen: Schiffer, 1995.

  ———. Moonlight Interceptor: Japan’s “Irving” Night Fighter. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995.

  Minty, A. E. Black Cats. Point Cook, VIC: RAAF Museum, 2001.

  Mitchell, John. On Wings We Conquer. Springfield: G.E.M., 1990.

  Morison, Samuel. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. 6: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, 22 July 1941–1 May 1944. Boston: Little, Brown, 1959.

  Morton, Louis. The U.S. Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific: Strategy and Command: The First Two Years. Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1962.

  Murphy, James, with A. B. Feuer. Skip Bombing: The True Story of Stealth Bombing Techniques used in 1942. Westport: Praeger, 1993.

  Naval Air Group 204 Association. The Record of Rabaul Air Battles. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1987.

  Okumiya, Masatake. Rabaul Naval Air Group. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1976.

  Prados, John. Combined Fleet Decoded. New York: Random House, 1995.

  Prange, Gordon, with Donald Goldstein and Katherine Dillon. God’s Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor. Washington: Brassey’s, 1991.

  Riddell, Jack. Catalina Squadrons: First and Furthest—Recounting the Operations of RAAF Catalinas, May 1941 to March 1943. Murwillumbah, NSW: Print Spot, 1992.

  Rottman, Gordon. Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific, 1941–42. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2005.

  ———. Japanese Army in World War II: The South Pacific and New Guinea, 1942–43. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2005.

  ———. World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study. Westport: Greenwood, 2002.

  Sakai, Saburo. Samurai! Garden City: Doubleday, 1957.

  Sakaida, Henry. Imperial Japanese Navy Aces 1937–45. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 1998.

  ———. The Siege of Rabaul. St. Paul: Phalanx, 1996.

  Salaker, Gene. Fortress Against the Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific. Conshohocken: Combined Publishing, 2001.

  Selby, David. Hell and High Fever. Sydney: Currawong, 1956.

  Sherman, Frederick. Combat Command: The American Aircraft Carriers in the Pacific War. New York: Dutton, 1950.

  Stanaway, John, and Lawrence Hickey. Attack and Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II. Atglen: Schiffer, 1995.

  Stone, Peter. Hostages to Freedom: The Fall of Rabaul. Maryborough, VIC: Australian Print Group, 1995.

  Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter Bowers. United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911. London: Putnam, 1990.

  Tagaya, Osamu. Mitsubishi Type 1 “Betty” Units of World War 2. Botley, Oxford: Osprey, 2001.

  Tibbs, O. E. Production Flight Test Procedure for the Martin B-26. Baltimore: Glenn L. Martin Company, 1941.

  Tillman, Bar
rett. Above and Beyond: The Aviation Medals of Honor. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002.

  ———. Wildcat: The F4F in WWII. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990.

  Tsunoda, Kazuo. The Wing of Shura. Tokyo: Konnichi no Wadai-sha, 1989.

  United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The Allied Campaign Against Rabaul. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.

  Wall, Don. Kill the Prisoners! Smithfield, NSW: Alken Press, 1996.

  Werneth, Ron. Beyond Pearl Harbor: The Untold Stories of Japan’s Naval Airmen. Atglen: Schiffer, 2008.

  Wigmore, Lionel. The Japanese Thrust (Series 1, Vol. IV, Australia in the War of 1939–1945). Canberra: Australian War Memorial, 1957.

  Wilson, David. Seek and Strike: 75 Squadron RAAF 1942–2002. Maryborough, QLD: Banner Books, 2002.

  Woods, Wiley. Legacy of the 90th Bombardment Group: “The Jolly Rogers.” Paducah: Turner Publishing, 1994.

  Yoshimura, Akira. Zero Fighter. Westport: Praeger, 1996.

  Articles

  Claringbould, Michael. “Rabaul’s Ultimate Mystery: The Loss of Brigadier-General Kenneth N. Walker.” Flightpath, Volume 14, Number 1.

  Field, John. “How O’Hare Downed 5 Jap Planes in One Day.” Life, April 13, 1942.

  Gann, Timothy. “Fifth Air Force Light and Medium Bomber Operations During 1942 and 1943.” School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 1992.

  Guttman, John. “Defending Port Moresby.” Aviation History, September 2001.

  Thach, John. “The Red Rain of Battle.” Collier’s, December 5, 1942.

  Thomas, Gordon. “In Rabaul, Under the Japs.” Pacific Islands Yearbook, 1950.

  Thomson, J. P. “The Islands of the Pacific.” National Geographic, December 1921.

  Military Documents—Australian

  AWM A705 (166/1/319 Part 3): Presumption of Death—Casualties in Royal Australian Air Force Units—Minutes (Casualty file regarding Sgt. Thomas Marsh).

  AWM 52 (1/5/51): New Guinea Force Headquarters and General (Air) War Diary, March-April 1942 (Australian Military Forces, Army headquarters, formation and unit diaries, 1939–1945).

  AWM 54 (629/1/11): “The Stubborn Coastwatcher” unattributed document giving an account of Sub-Lt. Cornelius L. Page, RANVR.

  AWM 54 (81/4/194): RAAF Operations From Rabaul, compiled by Sqn. Ldr. W. D. Brookes, February 24, 1942.

  AWM 55 Item 12/32 Part 2: (ATIS Report 46 serial number 93).