I cannot even begin to count the amount of time I have put into this video. Tons of research. Tons of digging into museum records. Hours and hours of searching to try and locate photos of these unknown Japanese pilots. Not to mention that when recreating this attack, we had a major data loss, and had to reshoot the entire April 18th mission. And trust me when I say, you have no idea how hard it is to keep 6 Zeros in a formation this good for this long. But in the end - I think we nailed it. I truly need your support if you guys want me to keep making videos like this, so please consider joining my Patreon here: Patreon.com/TJ3History - thanks everyone!

As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now, for the _rest_ of the story." I had never heard the aftermath accounts before. Thank you.

Another well researched, excellent video. My Dad was flying an F6F Hellcat on several missions over Kyushu in April of 1945 along with so many others. We lost him in 2022 at the age of 101.

I've been to Bougainville, I've been onboard what's left of the wreck of Yamamoto's G4M1. it was one hell of an experience. the tail is almost completely intact, I crawled into the tail defensive position, I tried to imagine being the tail gunner and watching a P-38 lighting almost materialize from the jungle below, pumping rounds into the fuselage, the muzzle flash from it's nose, and tracers whizzing by. it's one of my greatest memories.

I don't remember the resource, but I read that the P-38's made another sortie a day or two later following the same timing and target area to make their attack on Yamamoto look like a 'regular' patrol, and possibly mask the code-breaking that had enabled it.

Yamamoto is an admirable leader. Although he is the one who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor it doesn't make him evil as he was duty bound just like any soldier. He possessed the spirit of the Samurai as he was one himself. After the Pearl Harbor attack and without any carrier kills, he knew defeat was inevitable but he tried his best.

It cannot be overstated about how difficult is to spot an aircraft below your horizon

Older American man here. Kenji Yanagiya had amazing courage. There were skilled and courageous pilots and soldiers on both sides of the Pacific war in WW-II, Japanese as well as Allied. After such a horrifying injury, the courage and skill Kenji displayed in bringing his aircraft and himself back alive, and later serving again in a training role, is nothing short of amazing. As a nation, The Empire of Japan was America's bitter enemy during WW-II, and for good reason, but you have to give credit where credit is due. I am also glad the surviving pilots from both sides of that encounter were able to meet, honor each other, and shake hands as the respectable warriors they were.

Thank you for the story. Sugita's story was so astonishing, exactly the way I would have done myself to redeem my flaw. However, the final survivor managed to get passed all the hatred and met up with Barber and the rest to have a peaceful gathering, is also the ideal way to redeem, putting down the past finally.

The P38s were deadly to the Japanese Zeros. The Zeros were more maneuverable but the P38s were faster and could run away if they got in trouble. Excellent account of the rest of this story.

You did a freaking amazing job on this presentation! I had researched this Operation as an Army Officer as a “planning exercise” for my lieutenants; you certainly did a very good job and I applaud you for your efforts.

That's one thing about studying WW 2 history in the Pacific Theater, the American planes shot down by the Japanese isn't mentioned very much. It's always about the Americans shooting down the Japanese aircraft. The one last Japanese pilot from the Yamamoto escort meeting up with the American pilots after the war for a reunion, was good to see.

Man I’ve been studying this my entire 59 years and what you’ve done is just incredible! Nice job

What a unique take on the Yamamoto ambush. I've not heard 75% of the info here despite being a WW2 buff. Thanks very much.

I'm Australian and Yamamoto, aside from his involvement in Pearl Harbour, planned the bombing of Darwin 6 weeks later. Tomorrow is Anzac Day. It's an annual day of remembrance for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought and died at Gallipoli in WWI. I hope they did get to rest in peace, despite the betrayal and incompetence shown by their General officers.

Some things to note: The video implies that the top flight flew at a higher altitude all the way. All the P-38's flew close to the ocean to avoid Japanese radar. The top flight only went to a higher altitude when the island of Bougainville was sighted. It was the longest intercept of the war and necessitated five changes of course during the flight. The video says that one of the P-38's hit the Betty bomber containing Yamamoto. The implication is that nobody knows which P-38. Almost all researchers have concluded that Lamphier lied about finishing off the bomber, just as he lied about other things. Rex Barber was the only P-38 pilot to hit Yamamoto's plane that day. This is clear because Lamphier's P-38 would have had to defied the laws of physics to turn from attacking the Zeros and shoot at Yamamoto's plane. Also, the reports from the Zero pilots say that only one P-38 attacked Yamamoto's plane. Another reason to believe that Barber was the only pilot to hit Yamamoto that day was that an examination of the downed plane show that all the rounds hitting the plane came from only one direction - the direction from which Barber said he fired. An excellent book about Operation Vengeance and the controversy of who shot down Yamamoto is Lightning Strike by Donald Davis.

Historical notes - I have recreated everything possible here as accurately as possible. First - a couple of the Zeros in this mission actually were the model with clipped wings. But it would have been super difficult for me to ensure they were in the right places in the formation, so I elected to instead keep the task a little more simple with the same model throughout. Next - Yasui Hidaka's name was listed as both Yasui and Yasushi in different sources. So that is why I say it as "Yasushi". Finally - you guys absolutely have to listen to this - This is the 1988 symposium, where I got the audio recordings of Rex Barber and John Mitchell. And my goodness guys - this John Mitchell guy is absolutely hilarious, haha. You guys have to listen to him walk back through this mission. I would have included it if I could, but I just couldn't fit it in. But please give a listen to his portion of the interview: texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1628568/m1/

Only the GOAT could cover Operation Vengence in such an excellent way. Keep up the great work TJ

Gosh. Never has a documentary on WW2 made me so emotional. My respect for mr. Sugita. We often forget our former enemies are also human beings holding their own honor.

I stood by Yamamotos plane in the mid 70's. Story was it took quite a while to find and the admiral was recognized by his red silk sash still sat in his seat. The bush there has a habit of recycling anything organic in rather quick time but silk lasts forever. That's the story I was told anyway.

For future reference when recreating this event, the Zero's flown by the 204th Kokutai were regular A6M3's (or Mod *32* ) with the folding wing tips removed and squared off, as opposed to the A6M3 Mod *22* that were used in this dramatization. (Edit: I should point out that the 204th got Mod 22's at some point, but given how recent the subvariant was I'm not sure if they got any before Operation Vengeance.) Also suffice to say that given the 6 vs 16 odds they were facing, realistically, there's very little they could have done to prevent it.

Saburo Sakai was likewise hit in the head by a Wildcat, in the Guadalcanal Campaign. The .50 bullet did not penetrate his skull, but still caused a severe loss of blood and the permanent loss of one eye. Somehow, despite almost fainting he managed to fly the long distance back to base and safely land his Zero. He would survive the war. But since you're here I guess you all knew this already! 😀

I Am 91- Korean "War" Veteran - Very Excellent Production - We are born in a Country and Fight For that Country - Understood - I Served In Combat and did My Job "Well" Guiding Bombers To Target - I Now have A PTSD Problem - Why? - Because Of the Insanity Of War - War Is HELL ! there Is a "Bond" with War Veterans Of Both Sides - We Did Our Job, and When Its Over - It Becomes History to look back On - Today We Are About To Have World War 3 - How Terrible Is To Be Determined - It Is About Innocent People Of All Sides - Please Pray For Sanity - God Help Us -

How couldn’t I notice you published this video on the anniversary of Yamamoto’s death

Amazing. That was really well done and a great tribute to all those involved on both sides. Taking out Yamamoto and his was an incredible operation and had a detrimental impact on the Japanese Navy.

I was born in 48 (One of the 1st Baby Boomers). My Dad was a RCAF Warrant Officer in WWII. After the War an me about 6 years old around 1954 could identify about every plane by studying thousands of Air Force training cards by silhouette and know the Hp, ceiling, rate of climb and armaments. I'm well educated in WWII history and know Admirals Yamamoto's demise. However; you took it a step further to the point where I feel the personality of the warriors involved and the inhumanity of War - Thank you.

The question, as worded, if serious, belies a fundamental ignorance the tactical situation. The Japanese were bounced on approach by a numerically superior force of aircraft that had a 25-30% speed performance advantage. There was absolutely no way they were stopping it.

The historical detail in this video is top notch, far more than I was expecting. You do a great service to all of the combatants. I salute your efforts.

Thank you from New Zealand. Did not know the full story until your Fantastic account of it all. Excellent work. Let’s honour these brave men.

The navigating the p38s had to do to even cross the path of Yamamoto was unbelievable!

Excellent work TJ this is certainly an untold story that HAD to be told. Those Zero pilots were never at fault, odds were too far against them.

On the America's part, there was some initial confusion when they saw two Japanese bombers, not one. They didn't know which bomber Yamamoto was in. So they shot both of them down. One crashed on land and one in the water. Yamamoto was in the one that crashed on land, no survivors. There was at least one survivor from the bomber that crashed in the water.

Now this is a story worthy of being a great movie.

"Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down You'd treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown." - Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed"

Now this is one of the best untold story what I ever had about the WWII aviation. I feel real sorrow for Kenji Yanagiya, carrying that heavy burden of feeling the guilt for the rest of his life.😔 I would love to here the story of your perspective about the so called "Ghost P-40", which flew from the occupied Philippines to China.

April 18, 1942 was the Dolittle Raid on Japan, Too.

I couldn't imagine the disbelief of those Intel boys when they heard Yamamoto on the wire, they must have keeled over.

I love when former enemies come together and shake hands after the war, you can always see a mutual respect between them because of shared horrors.

As other mentioned, the Zero escort never had a chance. Outnumbered, surprised, and technologically outclassed, the issue was never in doubt. If the Japanese had used better communication and code security, Yamato would have never been intercepted.

15 minutes is a very long combat time.

This taught me something new--thanks. If there had only been the four P-38 Army fighters (OPCON to the US Navy) then the six Zeroes escorting Yamamoto would have gotten more vengeance for Operation Vengeance. Eighteen P38's took off, four assigned to the kill group and the remainder outnumbering the escorting Zeroes more than 2:1. The ambush was almost perfect.

This information of this situation was told perfect. Seeing all those pilots sitting together at the meeting was amazing. All these men were young in battle. Amazing story, thank you.

12:43 with captions on, very funny... "Yamamoto's brain was already smoking" true.

this video alone is worth a subscription, I haven't seen something so detailed in a while!

Nice job TJ3! I don't think those pilots escorting Admiral Yamamoto were guilty of anything. They were simply overwhelmed by superior numbers in an ambush that resulted from the Americans having broken the Japanese naval code. The six zeros were up against sixteen faster more powerful attackers. I have no doubt that they did the best they could.

That ending though, you got me crying a bit.

This was one hell of an operation. Everything needed to happen exactly at the right time as per scheduled. GREAT VIDEO.

I commend your work, and thank you for the time you took to put this labor of love together for us. You did a tremendous job! I have always been in awe of the fact that we were able to pull this daring mission off all without GPS and satellites. The skill of our pilots was incredible, to say the least.

Awesome TJ, keeping up the amazing work, and you bringing such honor to the fallen and dedication to freedom that was paid with amazing graphics. Well done, and honestly him not saving him,probably saved many lives in the future.

What a delightful treat of a wonderful story! Everything was excellent! Thank You!

Amazing that the surviving members were able to meet closing the circle. Can't help but become emotional at their survival, and their meeting in a very changed world.

Marvelous. One other bit... I believe Charles Lindbergh was involved in working out how to extend their range to make it possible.

Excellent job researching the pilots and bringing it altogether in the video. Thank you for your work keeping history alive.

Good video! My dad was US Navy served 20 years helped design the F 14. I joined the Army. Always enjoy your videos. I watched this on April 18th today. Tomorrow is the 19th. The day in 95 which the Murrah Bombing happened. I was an investigator on the event. The truth is sometimes elusive. There's still questions unanswered!

One of the best WWII documentaries that I've watched on KZfaq. Thank you for posting.

Oh yes, You Nailed It! Excellent Video & Commentary. Brave young men on both sides of the conflict. War is terrible, although sometimes necessary. The people involved suffer the most. Let's hope that human beings will learn to deal with their grievances in a more positive and less destructive way in the future.

This looks like some serious research and an exemplary presentation. Thanks for the work

Just a great historical narrative. Did you know special drop tanks were put on the Lightnings?

I'm 66 and this is the first I've heard of this story. Thank you!

not only survived, but shook hands with his ex adversary. the other Japanese Pilot that i know to had this chance is Saburo Sakai, he Shook hands with a Dauntless Gunner that almost shot his eyes and temporarily blinded him.

Phenomenal work. Your videos have gotten better and better! The extra depth you take with what happened to the pilots after gives a refreshing approach to the subject matter and brings their story to life.

Greetings from Australia. The poor bloke in the Lightning who struggled behind. Missing in action. May his last moments be quick and he is at peace with God enjoying his eternal rewards in Heaven. Lest we forget my friend.

Thank you so much for this. I love world war 2 history and heard of this incident. I just didn’t know it in this detail. I just messaged my father and referred him to your channel. He’s also really big into world war 2 history. I think he’s the one who’s gotten me into it in the first place

26:12 His superior Kofukuta Hirofumi actually spent a lot of effort to make him an instructor at Oomura Air Group in homeland as he was promoted alongside Sakai Saburou after recovery in 1944. He actually went there for a while, but due to an unknown reason he was reassigned to 263th April 1944.

Good video. “Wings Over The Pacific” did interview Kenji and obviously he was ashamed of his failure.

I am surprised he did not have a heaver escort

This video is totally captivating. I love this "both sides" scenario. Thanks for sharing. I will try to contribute to your channel bro. Respect to all pilots on both sides!

Well done! I have viewed every ww 2 air war video I could find, this is one of the best, seldom do you find such detail before, during and especially after the the battle of what happened to the participants, OUTSTANDING!

Out gunned and out numbered , no way that they would have succeeded in protecting Yamamoto

Another outstanding job TJ3!!

This is undoubtedly 1 of THE BEST historical research & presentations I've ever seen. I'm a subscriber now.

Thank you TJ for putting this all together. Many thanks for your efforts!

It is arguable that Yamamoto was Japan's most valuable asset, as he was just one man and also responsible for a number of failed military strategies, Midway being a good example.

Absolutely first rate and absolutely fascinating. I love these deep dive historical videos that spread less known information about WWII. It really fleshes out the historical experience. You have accomplished with this video the best type of historical reportage.

Saburo Sakai was there when Sugita was ambushed. He yelled at Sugita not to take off

TJ certainly outdid himself putting this great video documentary of this key WW II event! Great work!! Jim C.

Outstanding research and delivery. Thank you.

Incredible work and skill must have gone into this video, and it shows. Watched the whole triumph and tragedy of it glued to my seat. Glad that Yanagiya survived to live a long life and hope that he found love, purpose, and redemption. Great gesture to invite him and bring him together with the surviving American pilots at that commemoration event in Texas, not just to celebrate, but also as a sign of reconciliation and (hopefully) closure.

Outstanding documentary quality video. You got every aspect completely correct, including the most salient in assigning proper kill credit to Rex Barber. This sole assignment of the credit for the Betty that carried Yamamoto was still controversial until finally the USAF held another board of review that finally and formally awarded sole credit to Barber. That official report depicted the mission precisely as shown in your video. Well done!

Very well done with this one, coffee and pastry on us

The only thing bad about this operation is that Yamamoto probably didn’t know what happened. He should have been alive and aware for the crash.

Phenomenal recreation for us. We thank you TJ3!!

Interesting story with tangible details webbing this incredible moment in war. Thank you.

It's an excellent job well inquired with beautiful video. Good friends now. Thank you so much.

I’m doing the model of Kenji Yanagiya’s a6m zero thank you for this video. I just wanted to ask if in this mission he used the a6m with tail marks “t2 197” or “t2 169”.

Well done sir. Thank you for your hard work to bring history alive !

Incredible!!! Best video yet. Absolutely loved it. Thank you.

Great job, loved it, I wish young gen z kids would realize where their freedom comes from

Did Japan realize that such a pinpoint intercept could only have been achieved by intelligence? Did they take any steps to determine how the Americans pulled it off. Graphics and information is very good. Well done.

Incredible job. Thank you never heard this side of the story being explained with so much detail. 💪🚀👍

An absolute amazing and incredible work, putting together so many accurate information about this game changer episode of WWII history. I can even see this transformed into a movie, including what happened to the american pilots after the mission.

What made this possible was Charles Lindbergh. Charles Lindbergh had visited the P-38 airfields and flew missions with Bong and others. He suggested changing the manifold pressure on their engines while just cruising. He proved it by flying a mission at his suggested manifold pressure. When he landed his fuel tanks were about half empty while the others were Almost empty. The reason why the manifold pressure was run at higher pressure was they thought the engines would be harmed. But when they took Lindberg’s P-38 engines apart found no damage.

Great video, excellent historical research as well. I'm so tired of the BS stories, lack of research, etc. The Japanese way over estimated their victories, on average of 6 to 1. We Americans, overclaimed around 3 to 1. Rex Barber more than likely shot down Yamato Betty, as well. Regardless, well done.

Amazing research mission, a true historic masterpiece, well done TJ3

A Zero against a P-38, they had no chance.

Hey TJ I'm The first to comment and third to watch ! Love From India!

Very interesting video, thanks for making it. A couple of quick corrections from the beginning - Rabaul is not an island, it is a town on the island of New Britain, which is part of Papua New Guinea. And it is pronounced like Rab-owl, not Rab-awl. I grew up in PNG and cringe every time I hear people misprounce names/places from there. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Great imagery of those beautiful planes. Great content as well. Thank you.

Truly EXCELLENT work!! Fantastic history video!

Extremely well produced. An amazing insightful video more people have to see this literally one of the best videos of World War II that I’ve ever seen extremely informative.