THE “Y-MISSION”

Introduction

The deliberate planning and killing of high ranking officers has been looked at by some as an unethical action and by others as a tactical advantage. History has examples of both sides of the argument, from the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo having Napoleon within range of his artillery and choosing not to fire to British commandos specifically targeting General Rommel in North Africa. The strategy of war changed during the twentieth century due to the strategic advantage gained from killing key leadership and the improvements of weapon systems.

On the morning of 18 April 1943, 16 Army Air Corps P-38 Lightnings departed from a small airstrip on the island of Guadalcanal to intercept and shoot down the Japanese Commander and Chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, over the island of Bougainville, Solomon Islands. The “Y-Mission” began on the morning of 13 April 1943, when Admiral Yamamoto’s staff administrator, Commander Yasuji Watanabe, sent the admirals’ itinerary for inspecting the front line troops on the islands of Shortland, Ballale, and Bougainville. This message was intercepted by a network of radio intercept stations called NEGAT (U.S radio intercept Washington D.C.), FRUMEL (Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne, Australia), and FRUPAC (Fleet Radio Unit, Pacific; Pearl Harbor). The message caught the attention of the navy’s most experienced cryptanalyst-linguist, Lt. Col. Alva B. Lasswell, who when finished with the initial translation of the message jumped to his feet and with annoyance said, “We’ve hit the jack pot.” Once the message was confirmed, the decision was made to go after the Commander and Chief of the Combined Japanese Imperial Fleet.

The order was passed down from Admiral C...

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