Chapter 28 One‧Three codes were deciphered, and Chief Yamamoto was crushed to pieces

All things rest When our plane lowered its height and flew close to the virgin jungle, the enemy planes launched an air battle with our escort fighter jets, four times the number of our enemy planes, and ruthlessly approached the huge Type I land attack plane.My plane quickly made an evasive turn of more than 90 degrees.The No. 1 machine turned to the right, and the No. 2 machine turned to the left. The two machines separated, and the distance between them increased.After making two evasive turns, I looked to the right to see how engine one was doing.oops!At a distance of about 4,000 meters, aircraft No. 1 rubbed against the primeval dense forest, spewing smoke and flames, and slowly fell southward and downward.I thought in my head: It's over!The flight staff officer was standing in the aisle diagonally behind me, and I pulled his shoulder to signal him to pay attention to the officer's plane.This is our forever farewell to him.

This process only takes about twenty seconds.Due to the attack of the enemy plane, our plane made another sharp turn, and the officer's plane was no longer visible.I eagerly waited for the horizontal position to be restored, and my mind was filled with apprehension for the outcome, however predictable its inevitable outcome.When I looked again, the landline had disappeared without a trace, and I saw black smoke rising into the sky from the primitive dense forest.Ah, it's over! At that time, Lieutenant General Ugaki, the chief of staff who was flying on the No. 2 plane, wrote the above about the death of the combined fleet commander Yamamoto in the battlefield log "Zhanzao Lu" on April 18, 1943. describe.This event was one of the most dramatic events of the Pacific War.

This incident brought great shock and consternation to the Japanese people, and made people deeply feel the seriousness of the war situation.At that time, our navy called this incident a Class A incident (the death of Commander Koga was a Class B incident), but the conclusion of the investigation was a kind of accidental theory: It is impossible to understand our intentions without deciphering the telegram of Commander Yamamoto's plan of action, which is theoretically impossible.In short, many people judged this incident to be an accidental encounter in combination with other broadcasts and reports of the enemy.

However, shortly after the end of the war, on September 14, 1945, Domengsha (Note: In October 1945, it was reorganized as Kyodo News Agency, the largest news agency in Japan.) The Washington Telegraph quoted the US Department of War as saying reported the following: According to information from Secretary of the Navy Knox, the Army's P｜38 Lightning Fighter Squadron, in order to ambush Chief Yamamoto's plane on the way, flew from the airfield on Guadalcanal Island on April 18, 1943. take off.Since Commander Yamamoto is known for his strict timing, we devised an ambush plan with exact location and timing.When Commander Yamamoto, escorted by six Zero fighter jets, arrived at Kaili Airport on Bougainville Island in a Type 1 land attack plane at a speed of 200 miles per hour, P｜38, who had been waiting there for a long time, rushed forward. Shoot it down in one fell swoop.

This time is exactly the same as the scheduled time.The Commander's plane caught fire and fell, because it was flying so low that no one on board was able to parachute to escape.Almost at the same time, another plane carrying the commander's staff was also shot down by P|38. If it is not accidental, then what kind of information did they obtain to formulate this careful ambush plan?Is it straight forward code breaking?Or is it the sum of intelligence and reasoning like the Battle of Midway?Or is it spy intelligence? Two Hidden Words of Japan and America The news of Commander Yamamoto's death in battle also aroused various speculations in the United States. Some people thought it was an airplane accident, and some said that Yamamoto was cut open because of the unfavorable situation of the war.All in all, one point of view is unanimous, that is, the death of Chief Yamamoto brought the greatest benefit to the Allies (and the greatest loss to the Japanese).

At that time, Americans hated Commander Yamamoto more than they hated Hitler.This is because Yamamoto was the chief culprit in planning the attack on Pearl Harbor, and he also arrogantly threatened to wait for the White House to make peace with the United States, which greatly aroused the hatred of the Americans.For all Americans, Yamamoto is simply the embodiment of the aggressor.After the war, people realized that the hatred of Chief Yamamoto was too harsh and inappropriate, and people discovered that there was a tragedy behind the secrets of Japanese politics and war.The so-called tragedy is that Chief Yamamoto had to fight a war that he didn't want to fight, and he had no certainty of victory.

In the course of the war, however, people did not see it that way.Among them, Halsey, the fierce general nicknamed the bull, and others believed that Chief Yamamoto was the third giant after Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Tojo.It is said that when receiving the report that Yamamoto’s plane was shot down as planned, an admiral clapped his hands and applauded. Seeing this situation, Halsey immediately said viciously: What good is that!I think it would be best to put that guy (referring to Chief Yamamoto) in chains and lead him down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, and you kick him from behind!

Now there is no evidence that the U.S. Headquarters was looking for an opportunity to retaliate from the beginning, trying to put to death Chief Yamamoto, who was regarded as the chief culprit of the Pearl Harbor incident.But for a country, the loss of its most outstanding commander is an incalculable loss.Chief Yamamoto is such a rare figure, which is a fact recognized by both the enemy and us. U.S. Army Captain Dumas Longfield, who shot down Chief Yamamoto's plane, recorded the scene in the following words: War is a maddening monster, one of the symptoms of which is a murderous feeling of vengeance.The Japanese army's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor aroused a strong desire for revenge in the Americans. First, the target was General Yamamoto Fifty-Six, commander of the United Fleet of the Empire of Japan who issued the first combat order to climb a new mountain.The voice of the Japanese military lingo of ascending the new mountain resonated in the headquarters of the US combat command, which led to the slogan of killing Yamamoto.Yamamoto was a famous card player, his name had been a sensation in the military circles in Washington as early as the 1920s, and no one was worth mentioning to him.Now, it is time to fight to the death with this hateful opponent.The frank generals secretly said not only out of vengeance, but also with a feeling of friendship: kill Yamamoto!

In short, the enemy feared Chief Yamamoto in the Pacific, just as the enemy feared Germany's Rommel, a tough opponent, on the African battlefield. Battle of Revenge At 11 a.m. on April 17, 1943, a telegram (a coded telegram from the Japanese Navy deciphered by Room 2246 of the U.S. Department of the Navy) was placed on the desks of Secretary of the Navy Knox and Chief of Operations Kim .The Secretary of the Navy, who had just returned from a Senate meeting, scanned the telegram.The content is the detailed schedule of Commander Yamamoto's inspection to the front line by plane. It was a telegram of purely routine business, of no strategic importance.Knox and Kim went to the President for dinner as usual.At the dinner table, Knox mentioned the telegram of Commander Yamamoto's action plan just now.Roosevelt had an idea to shoot down Yamamoto's plane and kill this outstanding commander.Knox also believed that he could take this opportunity to get rid of Yamamoto, who the U.S. Navy hated the most, in order to avenge Pearl Harbor.

Therefore, in this summit meeting, unexpectedly decided this amazing battle of blessings from heaven, and gave it an antique name Revenge.In this way, General Arnold, commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, and experts from P|38 were immediately called in.They did a rough calculation of the distance on the chart, and using P|38 on Guadalcanal it seemed that Yamamoto's plane could be captured.Secretary Knox and Secretary of Operations King, in accordance with the President's order, immediately issued an order to Commander Nimitz at Pearl Harbor to kill Yamamoto.This order was then conveyed by Commander Halsey at Noumea to Rear Admiral Mitchell, Commander of Air Forces in the Solomons.

Rear Admiral Mitchell, who was in charge of the revenge mission, received the following information and orders: Commander Yamamoto will pass Rabaul at the northern tip of New Britain Island in the early morning of April 18, and go to Kaili (called Buyin in Japan) at the southern tip of Buyville Island, the most forward air base in the southeast, but not directly to Kaili Instead, land at Baler Island Airport (close to the south of Bougainville Island), and then take a submarine to Kaili on the opposite shore.The scheduled time of arrival at Baler Island was 9:45 am.Commander Yamamoto led the staff, took a Type 1 land attack aircraft, and was escorted by six Zero fighter jets P｜The 38th Fleet must do everything possible to kill Commander Yamamoto and the staff!Commander Yamamoto was known for keeping time.The president takes this fight seriously.The results are reported to Washington!This telegram may not be copied or preserved.Destroy it immediately after the battle! Time to hunt peacocks Rear Admiral Mitchell, who accepted this important task, once served as the captain of the aircraft carrier Hornet. The ship once dispatched the aircraft group led by Doritel to attack the Japanese mainland and shocked the world in the Battle of Midway Island.Now, he went to the front line of Solomon again, and he was the chief of the experienced air force.His headquarters are in the coconut groves of Tassafaronga.The houses were half buried in the sand, and the floors were covered with muddy water.Rear Admiral Mitchell commands the Air Force, a mix of Army, Navy and Marine Corps. He immediately convened a meeting of several key cadres including Brigadier General Harris, the combat staff officer, to study the operational issues of shooting down Yamamoto's plane.The fighter captain also participated in this meeting.Mitchell glanced at everyone, and said as soon as he opened his mouth: No matter what, we must catch this bird and make a plan for me!This plan must be based on careful calculation of time, distance, speed, and the combat strength of the enemy and the enemy, and there must be no mistakes. The original plan was to take advantage of Commander Yamamoto's submarine to sail away from Baler Island, and to sink the ship together with his men and boats.Lieutenant Longfield, the commander of the sniper team, exclaimed after hearing this explanation: This is too whimsical.I couldn't even tell the difference between a submarine and a canoe.Whether it can be found is not sure.Even if the boat is sunk at sea, the person himself may not die.If you want to do it, let me do it in the air. So, the plan changed.Originally, the local staff believed that this information was probably synthesized based on the legends in the Rabaul area, and the detailed timetable was unreliable. Therefore, it was more reasonable to choose to snipe when Commander Yamamoto landed and changed to a submarine driver. grasp.Of course, those who participated in the attack did not know that the action plan of Commander Yamamoto and his party obtained by deciphering the Japanese code was very accurate.Even Lieutenant Longfield and the others guessed, probably as usual, that the information was obtained by local spies. Therefore, choosing the timing that is neither too early nor too late has become the key to the success of this battle.After repeated research several times, it finally came down to timing.The plan proposed by Commodore Harris, who was ordered to formulate the plan, was in principle agreed by Rear Admiral Mitchell and Commander Halsey.But in fact, among the parties involved, there is not even one percent hope. Longfield and the others thought: The only hope of success is Yamamoto's acclaimed character of strict observance of time.It would be great to bring this habit of keeping time strictly to this front-line inspection.If Yamamoto's landline appeared over the coastline of Bougainville Island at the scheduled time, then the 1% certainty would be an underestimation. Eighteen P|Thirty-eight were selected under the command of Major Michel.Six of them were the sniper fleet captained by Lieutenant Longfield, and the other twelve were the cover fleet.If the Yamamoto plane lived up to its reputation and moved on time, it had to be intercepted about fifty miles north of Kairi.The straight-line distance from Henderson Base to Baler Island is 300 miles, but because the flight must avoid the enemy's search route, it must be calculated as 400 miles.According to the judgment, the encounter will probably be at 9:35.It is estimated that the altitude of Yamamoto's plane is 3,000 meters. Therefore, the sniper fleet should be at an altitude of 3,500 meters, and the cover fleet should be at an altitude of 6,000 meters. The day of April 18 was very humid and cloudy.At 7:25 in the morning, 18 P｜38s parked on the runway with their tails raised, majestic.Only a few knew the purpose of the sortie.Wearing a long-tongued combat cap, Michelle's face was bronze, her mouth tightly shut, and she stared intently at takeoff. No matter how much you pay, you must complete the task for me! The players knew exactly what this instruction meant.They understand that this is a strict order: Even if the fuselage is used to collide with the enemy plane, the purpose must be achieved, and the enemy plane must never be let go in vain. The plane began taxiing.Two planes from the sniper fleet fell behind with tire and fuel system failures. But departure must not be delayed.At 7:30, the sixteen planes that took off immediately formed into formation and flew towards the sky above Bougainville Island.In order to avoid Japanese radar detection, the fleet flew at low altitude over the sea for about two hours.A few minutes before the interception, the sniper fleet and the cover fleet rose to an altitude of 3,500 meters and 6,000 meters respectively.At 9:33, the twin-body demon P | 38 fleet passed the green coastline of Bougainville Island and flew over the forest sea.A minute later, at 9:34, approaching thirty-five miles north of Kairi, two twin-engine planes were suddenly spotted thirty degrees ahead and to the left. Lieutenant Longfield recorded his excitement at the time like this: look!Didn't the Type 1 land attack aircraft show its blurry black body and rush over with vibrating wings?It's as if the meeting time has been agreed upon in advance. He continued with excitement: Our fighting situation cannot be said to be very good, it is a disadvantage of four versus eight.However, thanks to God, we won two precious minutes.If the enemy finds out half a minute early, we will definitely be reimbursed in a short time. I turned the fuselage and aimed at the forward direction of Yamamoto's plane and fired continuously.Just when the two planes were about to stagger, I saw the other's right engine catch fire, and then the right wing also caught fire.Once a Type 1 land attack aircraft catches fire, it cannot be saved.And at such a low altitude, parachutes will not help.My nose almost hit the ass of a Yamamoto landline that was stalled by fire. Two Zero fighters bit me tightly and counterattacked me. I could only resign myself to my fate, closed my eyes and pulled up the nose suddenly. Get caught up in purple flames, flares, and splinters.The wing fell off, and the fuselage went into the jungle like a red fireball, leaving two bullet marks on the rudder of my near-death beloved plane At 9:38, the surroundings returned to their original silence. Rear Admiral Mitchell reported to Halsey: The P｜Thirty-Eight Air Force under the command of Major John W. Michel attacked the Kaili area. After 9:30 in the morning, it shot down two Type 1 land attack aircraft escorted by Zero fighter jets in a dense formation. Three Zero fighters were also shot down.My P｜Thirty-eight has not yet returned, and April 18 seems to be our victory day. Satisfied, Halsey immediately called back: Congratulations on your success!There seems to be a peacock among the domestic ducks that have been hunted. However, the battle did not end there.The team members were ordered to keep the secret strictly. Except for Longfield, the other team members dispatched aimlessly around Bougainville Island for several days.This was done to convince the Japanese side that the downing of Commander Yamamoto's plane was not due to a planned battle after deciphering the code, but an accidental encounter. Longfield should be recalled.When he arrived at the airport, he was ordered to go directly to the Ministry of War accompanied by the military police and not to talk to anyone on the way.This is to keep the secret of deciphering the cipher.Lieutenant Longfield was promoted to captain, received a medal, and even received a congratulatory message from the president.But it was not until after the war, on September 1, 1945, that he publicly announced his exploits. Destiny Chief Action Telegram At the same time, the Japanese side comforts and deceives itself with the aforementioned accidental theory. It is said that when an American strategic bombing investigation team came to Japan shortly after the war, a staff officer of the former United Fleet asked a member of the investigation team: How did you get the information on Chief Yamamoto’s plane?The US Navy officer only replied: It was obtained by Didi (radio wave).After talking, he smiled and said nothing more. According to the book "Mobile Force" co-authored by Mitsuo Fuchida and Masaobu Okumiya, the direct cause of Commander Yamamoto's death in action was the information about Yamamoto's inspection issued by the Commander of Shortland Base. telegraph.The telegram used a low-level code, and the content of the telegram was: Chief Yamamoto inspected the Shortland base at 8:40 am on April 18. (Sent on the night of April 14). Morrison said in "A History of American Naval Combat in World War II" that prior to this, from 1942 to early 1943, the Japanese army was forced to use submarines to resupply the Guadalcanal side.As a result, two submarines, the third and the first, were sunk near the coast.In this regard, the U.S. military has carried out diving operations for days, and especially found extremely valuable confidential documents from the No. 1 submarine. The U.S. Navy cipher team that easily deciphered some of the telegrams sent by Chief Yamamoto to inspect the front-line base must start working immediately, trying to find the telegrams related to the chief's actions from the large number of received telegrams.They finally grabbed a copy.It was issued on the evening of April 13th.This fate-determining officer's action schedule issued by the Fleet Command uses a five-digit random number password.Klostermann described this random number code in his book "Aerial Combat": 287432535419839272918367 Cryptographers bury their heads in numbers.In the next hall, specialists from the electronics industry complete the initial computer assembly. The random number table was changed from April 1st, so it is not easy to decipher this code.However, part of the facts have already been grasped through the telegrams from the Shortland base. Using this as clues, the deciphering team worked hard for three days and two nights, and successfully deciphered Chief Yamamoto's schedule from Rabaul to Shortland. The deciphered telegram was reported to Secretary of the Navy Knox just before noon on April 17.Judging from Japan's status and capabilities at that time, it can be said that all of this was theoretically impossible. Not long after the war, when Nimitz, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet at the time, was meeting with reporters, someone asked him: What was the reason for being able to shoot down Commander Yamamoto's plane? Commander Nimitz did not refuse to answer because of state secrets. He replied frankly and seriously: At that time, we were able to decipher all the codes of the Japanese side, and we fully grasped the action plan of Commander Yamamoto on the day when he was shot down. In addition, Nimitz clearly affirmed this in his book "The Great War" published in 1960: Unfortunately for Japan, the United States, by deciphering Japanese radio codes, has mastered the time of Chief Yamamoto's flight to southern Bougainville.Considering the meticulous character of Chief Yamamoto, we dispatched a long-range fighter squadron from Henderson Field, and shot down Yamamoto's plane exactly as planned as it approached the landing field.For the Japanese Navy, the loss of its capable and pungent commander, Commander Yamamoto, was a blow that was almost a disastrous defeat. Therefore, at that time, the Japanese naval authorities believed that the shooting down of Chief Yamamoto's plane was accidental. Unfortunately, the truth has now been revealed, and this accidental theory is nothing more than Japan's unilateral fantasy.