Taylor
Why was your unit chosen for this mission over any other on Guadalcanal?
Barber
We were the only ones who had aircraft with the range to get up there to Bougainville, where the Admiral was scheduled to land. The way our unit commander Colonel John Mitchell, then a major, planned and then flew the mission, it was 425 miles over open water---and an extreme range for us at that!
The Navy men wanted Adm. Yamamoto to be shot down on the sub-chaser in the water after he had landed from his Betty bomber and was en-route to Shortland Island. Major Mitchell stated that Adm. Yamamoto should be shot down in the air, which would almost guarantee his death. If he was strafed on a boat at sea, he might jump in the water and thus survive. Admiral Marc Mitscher gave Mitchell the go-ahead on that basis and that was that.
Major Mitchell selected Lieutenant Tom Lanphier to lead the flight of four P38s designated as the "Killer Section." Besides Lanphier, it included myself [Colonel Rex Barber] and Lieutenant Joe Moore and Lieutenant Jim McLanahan. All total, we had 16 P-38s---four for the "Killer Section" and 12 to fly top cover.
It was expected that the Japanese would send up an Escort of Honor for Admiral Yamamoto from Kahili Fighter Base, but of course, they didn't.
All total, it took us two hours and 25 minutes to get there. Almost immediately, Doug Canning---who was Mitchell's wing man in the top cover flight---broke radio silence just as we were reaching the Bougainville coastline to call out, "Bogies 11 o'clock high!" They were there, all right, just as scheduled, at approximately 3,500 feet above us on a direct course to Ballale Island Air Strip. We could see them because they were silhouetted against the sky, but they couldn't see us because our planes were camouflaged against the water in olive drab paint.
The attack began when Mitchell signaled for Lanphier to take the "Killer Section" to the interception, while Mitchell and the remaining 12 P-38s started their scramble for altitude to protect the "Killer Section". We started our climb to intercept the two Betty bombers and the six Zeros---which were above and behind them. Lanphier's line of interception was about 90 degrees to the Bettys line of flight. Lieutenant Besby Holmes signaled that he could not drop his external tanks, so he and his wing man, Lieutenant Ray Hine, left us and circled along the coastline while Holmes attempted to jettison the tanks.
Meanwhile, the Bettys started to nose down, starting their letdown to destination approach altitude. I was on Lanphier's right wing when suddenly the Bettys markedly increased their rate of descent. Next, the six Zeros suddenly nosed over in a steep descent and jettisoned their external tanks also. We had evidently been sighted. Lanphier and I were approaching the Bettys from approximately 90 degrees and still climbing to get to an altitude at least level with the bombers. The three Zeros closest to the Betts and on the right side, would catch the Betts about the same time as we would turn in on our firing pass. Thus, we would be perfect targets for the Zeros.
Just before we would break right to fall in behind the Bettys to open fire, Lanphier broke approximately 90 degrees left and started a head-on pass into the oncoming Zeros. This was a wise maneuver on his part, as it allowed me an opportunity to attack the Bettys without the momentary concern of Zeros on my tail. I banked sharply right to fall in behind the Bettys and, in so doing, my left engine and wing---for a second---blocked the two Bettys from my view. As I rolled back, there was only one Betty in front of me. by this time we were no more than 1,000 feet above ground, and the Betty again increased his dive in an attempt to get to treetop level. My turn had carried me slightly left of the Betty and a little above and less than 100 yards behind. I opened fire, aiming over the fuselage and at the right engine. I could see bits of engine cowling flying off. Also, as I slid over to get directly behind the Betty, my line of fire passed through the vertical fin of the Betty. A piece of the rudder separated. As I moved right, I continued firing into the right engine, which began to emit heavy, black smoke from around the cowling. I moved my fire back along the wing root and into the fuselage, then on into the engine, then back into the fuselage. By this time, I was probably no more than 100 feet behind the Betty and almost level in altitude. Suddenly the bomber snapped left, and as it rotated, I almost struck the right wing. The Betty had slowed rapidly as it snapped left. I looked over my left shoulder and the Betty appeared to have rolled up about 90 degrees, and black smoke was pouring from the right engine. I believe that it crashed into jungle, although I did not see it crash, but the black smoke certainly indicated fire.
Taylor
This, in your opinion, was the bomber carrying Admiral Yamamoto. In a detailed investigation backing up your story, author George Chandler states, "One of these bullets killed Yamamoto, entering his left jaw and exiting the right temple of his head." Where were the Japanese fighters by now?
Barber
The were now three Zeros on my tail---the second light had caught up with me and were firing. I turned to the right, hit the deck and took violent evasive action, heading for the coast. Luckily, two P-38s cam to my aid and cleared the Zeros from my tail. I looked inland and to my rear, and saw a large column of black smoke rising from the jungle. I believed this to be the Betty I had shot down.
Taylor
What about the second bomber?
Barber
As I headed for the coast, I saw Lt. Holmes and Lt. Hine circling over the water at about 1,500 feet, and I also saw a Betty very low over the water and just offshore, heading south. He was so low that his propellers were making waves in the water! Lt. Holmes spotted the Betty also, and he and Lt. Hine peeled off aft it, with Hine flying in very close formation with Holmes. As they approached the Betty, Holmes commenced firing. His initial bullets hit the water behind the Betty. He then "walked" his fire up and through its right engine, which started trailing a white vapor. Lt. Hine also fired, but all of his bullets hit well ahead of the Betty. They then passed over the Betty and headed south. I dropped in behind the Betty and, as I closed in to less than 50 yards, I opened fire, aiming at the right engine. Almost immediately, the Betty exploded and, as I flew through the black smoke and debris, a large chunk of the Betty hit my right wing, cutting out my turbo supercharger inter-cooler. Another large piece hit the underside of my gondola, making a very large dent in it, right under my feet.
Taylor
How does Lanphier's story differ from yours?
Barber
Lanphier claims that---when he peeled off and up to go into the Zeros, he shot down a Zero. next, he says that he rolled his airplane over, looking for the bomber, and saw it flying just over the treetops. He didn't know which one it was, but dived down. It lost its right wing in the descent, then crashed and burned in the jungle.
Taylor
Is there any possible way, in your view, that you both could have shot at and through Yamamoto's bomber on its way down?
Barber
No. His pass at the Zero took him 180 degrees from the way the bombers were going. He says he went up and rolled over on his back, but we were miles down the track by then. There was no possible way that he could've gotten around and back to that bomber before it crashed. He was going the other way! Sixty miles an hour is 88 feet per second. The bombers were going about 375 mph to get away. In his story, he says he made a 90 degree angle off, which means he had not only to overtake the bomber, but get into position to fart firing. He would have to be even with the bomber he strafed when he began firing. He though he was well out of range, and was surprised to the bomber break into flames and start burning---and then the right wing broke off. As Col. Mitchell has said, Lanphier later verified that I did, indeed, shoot down one bomber, but nobody ever verified Lanphier's alleged bomber shootdown. At the time, because of the conflicting stories, we thought we'd shot down three bombers---two that had gone down on land and one in the water. In an interview, however, Kenji Yanigiya, the only known surviving pilot of the six Japanese Zero escort fighters, said there were only two bombers, and the survivors of the second one testified that they were rescued from the water.
Back at Guadalcanal, I landed with almost no fuel. Lt. Holmes landed on the Russell Islands and Lt. Hine did not make it back. When I got out of my P-38, my crew chief shoed me four bullet holes through the blade of my left prop, and three through my right prop---with all holes passing from rear to front. he also later told me that he counted 104 holes altogether, probably 52 hits from rear to front, in and out. thus, the bullets that hit me were from Zeros---confirming my belief that neither Betty bomber had fired at me at all.
Taylor
What happened when you first say Lanphier?
Barber
Back on Guadalcanal, he came down the runway screaming out of the back of a jeep that he had gotten Yamamoto. I challenged this, and he called me a "damned liar!" When we got back to our Operations then, everyone was celebrating, hollering and beating each other on the back. As a consequence, we were never properly debriefed---that is, interrogated after the mission. If this had happened, I've always felt, these contradictions, which have existed all these years, would never have developed.
Taylor
What did the search team find when they came upon the plane in the jungle"
Barber
The leader of the rescue party, when interviewed in 1984, stated, "When we entered the fuselage, we were surprised at it emptiness. There were no seats nor guns," so that means there was no tailgun firing at Lanphier as he said there was---at least not from that plane. Both Col. Mitchell and I are firm in our belief that there simply was no third bomber.
Taylor
What about the apparent contradiction of the right wing separating in air from Yamamoto's bomber as Lanphier claimed?
Barber
On Dec. 15th, 1985, Ross Channon gave the following testimony in a letter after having visited the crash site: "The left wing is about 150 feet from the main wreckage, directly behind. Even at low altitude, if the wing had been shot off, it would surely be further away from the wreckage. The position of the wing is more likely to be where the plane first came into contact with the trees"---or when it crashed, not before. The right wing was in line alongside the fuselage.
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Capt. Ellis M. Zacharias, Sr.