Operation Vengeance - by Dan Hampton (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Operation Vengeance is colorful, intimate, eye-popping history, delivered at a breakneck pace. I loved it." -Lynn Vincent

The New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot delivers an electrifying narrative account of the top-secret U.S. mission to kill Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese commander who masterminded Pearl Harbor.

In 1943, the United States military began to plan one of the most dramatic secret missions of World War II. Its code name was Operation Vengeance. Naval Intelligence had intercepted the itinerary of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, whose stealth attack on Pearl Harbor precipitated America's entry into the war. Harvard-educated, Yamamoto was a close confidant of Emperor Hirohito and a brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might. On April 18th, the U.S. discovered, he would travel to Rabaul in the South Pacific to visit Japanese troops, then fly to the Japanese airfield at Balalale, 400 miles to the southeast.

Set into motion, the Americans' plan was one of the most tactically difficult operations of the war. To avoid detection, U.S. P-38 Lightning pilots had to embark on a circuitous, 1,000-mile odyssey that would test not only their skills but the physical integrity of their planes. The timing was also crucial: the slightest miscalculation, even by a few minutes--or a delay on the famously punctual Yamamoto's end--meant the entire plan would collapse, endangering American lives. But if these remarkable pilots succeeded, they could help turn the tide of the Pacific War--and greatly boost Allied morale.

Informed by deep archival research and his experience as a decorated combat pilot, this gripping piece of military history, Operation Vengeance, focuses on the mission's pilots and recreates the moment-by-moment drama they experienced in the air. Hampton recreates this epic event in thrilling detail, and provides groundbreaking evidence about what really happened that day.

Operation Vengeance includes 30 black-and-white images.

Operation Vengeance puts you in the cockpit for one of the most daring missions of the war, revealing:

• A Top-Secret Mission: The electrifying true story of how U.S. Naval Intelligence intercepted Admiral Yamamoto's itinerary and scrambled to plan an impossible long-range aerial ambush.
• High-Stakes Aerial Combat: A gripping, moment-by-moment recreation of the dogfights and drama experienced by the American pilots, written by a decorated combat aviator.
• WWII Aviation History: A deep dive into the legendary P-38 Lightning fighters and the incredible skill required to fly a 1,000-mile mission entirely over open water to a precise, unforgiving timeline.
• The Architect of Pearl Harbor: A fascinating look at Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the Harvard-educated, brilliant tactician who epitomized Japanese military might and became America's most wanted man.

Review Quotes

"Colorful details, no-nonsense prose, and meticulous research make this an essential retelling of Yamamoto's death." - Publishers Weekly

"Satisfying. ... Vivid and engaging. ... [Gives] credit where it's due." - Kirkus Reviews

"A brilliant read. ... Riveting. ... Hampton's story and the amazing details he offers puts the reader right inside of the cockpit of the P-38. ... An electrifying page-turner." - SOFREP

"The accessible storytelling by Hampton will likely be of interest for aficionados of the period." - Library Journal

"Dan Hampton's vivid writing transported me from an Oregon farm, where a young boy dreamed of becoming a fighter ace, to a top-secret kill mission and an epic moment of American justice exacted high over the South Pacific. Sweeping across much of the Pacific war along the way, Operation Vengeance is colorful, intimate, eye-popping history delivered at a breakneck pace. I loved it." - LYNN VINCENT, New York Times Bestselling Coauthor of Indianapolis

"For seventy-seven years 'Operation Vengeance' has fascinated military historians. At least three previous books have addressed the subject since the 1960s but not until now has the story been told in such detail. Dan Hampton combines an intimate knowledge of military aviation with an eye for detail that removes any lingering doubt: the admiral who planned the Pearl Harbor attack was downed by an Oregon farm boy named Rex Barber." - BARRETT TILLMAN, author of Whirlwind

"Operation Vengeance is a whacking great read every bit as exciting as the real mission."

"In April 1943 the US Army Air Corps assassinated the Japanese Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Yamamoto, the planner of the Pearl Harbor attack. Yet the exact sequence of events, and the credit for the aerial kill, has been shrouded in ego, controversy and bad record-keeping ever since. Dan Hampton takes us flying, clears the fog all these years later and gives credit where it is due. Operation Vengeance is a whacking great read every bit as exciting as the real mission."