Historic background
On Tuesday, that 13. April 1943 about 17:55 radios the commander of the
8. Japanese fleet - vice-admiral T. Sameijima - details for the
inspection-flight of admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.... Because of the
meaning of this communication, the code is used with the highest
security-step. It is called that Adm. Yamamoto at the 18. April at
06:00 o'clock in the morning in Rabaul in a Mitsubishi G3M-Bomber, with
6 fighter-airplanes as escort to the inspection of the Japanese bases
on ball-ale and Shortland, close to the southeast foothill of the
island Bougainville, will take off. Several monitor-groups of the
US-Marine snatch this secret news at the same time and already 14 hours
later the message lies in clear-text on the table of the US-Opponent in
the Pacific - Admiral Chester Nimitz - in Pearl Harbour. The
Pazific-Commander immediately recognizes the unique chance "to turn
off" his biggest and most dangerous opponent..... Yamamotos
destinations lie approximately 650 KM from the next US-Airbase,
Henderson Field on Guadalcanal; the interceptors would have to fly
approximately 1000 KM in the low-flight over sea, to escape the
radar-stations on the Japanese occupated islands. On the base of the
fuel-consumption interconnected with it, only P38-Lightning'ses are
possible. Still in the evening of the 17th April, 4 Liberator-Bombers
land at Henderson Field, with special-addition-tanks for the Lightnings
on board. The operation "Venegance" has begun...
On Sunday, that 18. April 1943 starts under leadership of Maj. J.W.
Mitchell about 07:25 altogether 16 machines; P38 of the 339. and 341
Squadron... The courses of the machines had to would cross in
accordance with calculation about 09:35 ... His accustomed punctuality
becomes an admiral Yamamoto to the undoing. At 09:34 o'clock, the
machine of the admiral explodes in the jungle, the admiral is dead at
this moment. As one finds him, he still holds on his sword embraced.
The winner of Pearl Harbour is dead...... He gets the 12. State-funeral
in the -until then- 1000-year old history of Japan; the second of an
admiral. Only the winner of Tsuschima (1905), Admiral Togo, became
before him this " Honour"... Advance, the performance of the
code-fogeys, that it managed, had gone this " success " to read along
almost 1:1 the Japanese navy-code...... Since no films were available
for the goal-cameras of the P38 to this time, the question is whoever
now scored the crucial hit in this skirmish really, until today
unsolved. Three US-Pilots are possible for it: Barber, Holmes and
Lanphier... since the 18th April 1943 they have been spoken no word to
another...
The scene
My model shall represent the P38 of Capt. Murray J. Shubin in the
morning of the 18. April 1943 at 07:00 o'clock....... at 07:25 o'clock,
he will start with 15 others to the operation " Venegance ". Aim the
action: Shooting down of admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, that itself exactly
decides on inspectiontour - under company a second Mitsubishi
G3M-Bombers and six Zero-fighters. I used the Academy-Kit from 1991
under application of Eduard-Seatbelts and injections for the
shelf-arms, futher some scratched parts ( like Power-Regulator,
landing-gear-retraction, aso.), as well as home-made Decals...... The
palms have originated from leaves of a Benjaminus-Ficus and
pine-branches , the underground was - in his former life - an
acoustics-cover-plate, from which I removed the coating.
Result
A favorable kit, that has been much fun. The manufacture of the Decals was also an interesting learning process.
Happy modelling
Wolfgang Strassmayer
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