DEATH OF AN ADMIRAL
The attack on Isoroku Yamamoto April 1943
Introduction
On April 18th 1943, 16 P38 Lightnings from the 339th Fighter Squadron based at Gualdacanal intercepted and destroyed a Japanese bomber carrying the commander of the Imperial Navy, Isoroku Yamamoto.
G4M Betty bomber - photograph by John Treadaway
G4M Betty bomber - photograph by John Treadaway
G4M Betty bomber & P38 Lightening - photograph by John Treadaway
It was an audacious
operation involving the longest interception flight - 415 miles across open
ocean - ever carried out by the US Air Force.
At the same time, it was to prove controversial both in terms of who
shot down the admiral, and the morality of what was, in effect, an assassination.
The Game
For
Salute 2002, it was decided to stage a partcipation game, reconstructing the actual attack. Given the size of the table, a scale of 1/144
was chosen, using plastic kits from Minicraft, mounted
on clear 'flying' bases.
The basic rule set used was the 'Minimal Aerial Combat' rules by Pete Jones (available via www.FreeWargamesRules.co.uk). These were amended to include aircraft height and to allow for more complex aerobatic moves, giving a more realistic game while still being simple enough for new players to pick up on the day.
Player Aids
Following on from the feedback given some years back from the 'Dogboat' game, it was decided to give each player a 'console' showing aircraft height, damage and proposed movement. The use of removable movement orders avoided any queries about what each player intended to do, and allowed progressive effects of damage to be included.
 Zero fighter- photograph by John Treadaway |
 Zero fighter- photograph by John Treadaway |
The consoles themselves were simply mounted on two layers of A4 card, with the order track cut out from the top layer to give a tray in which the counters could be placed. To allow damage to be recorded using non-permanent marker pens, the consoles were covered in plastic (as used for covering books), while map pins were used to keep track of changing height.
Finally, simple turn and firing templates were made from card, and a wooden move scale was created to help in aircraft movement and combat.
Other Scenarios
Although designed for the Yamamoto attack, the rules can easily be used for any other plane-on-plane action in World War 2, and statistics for a number of other other aircraft are given in the Minimal Aerial Combat rules mentioned earlier.
Similarly, if space is a problem, the rules can be used in conjunction with other scales such as the 1/300th scale aircraft produced by Skytrex or Navwar, ideally, reducing the movement scales (and turn circles and firing ranges) as required to suit the playing area available.
Further Information
If you would like to know more about the actual raid, there are a number of web sites devoted to Yamamoto himself, the 339th Fighter Squadron and the various pilots involved. In addition, there is a very good book available ("Attack on Yamamoto" by Carroll V. Glines, published 1993 by Schiffer Military History, ISBN 0-88740-509-6) covering both the action, and the subsequent debates.