Vanishing Act

March 4, 2024
A lingering question about one of WWII’s most famous bombing missions gets answered in this suspenseful account from historian Hampton (Valor). Four months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, a squadron of B-25 bombers took flight from a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific and headed for Tokyo. One plane, however, veered north toward the Soviet Union. Hampton debunks the official explanation—that, low on fuel, the plane needed to make an emergency landing. Citing conversations with copilot Bob Emmens’s grandson and with Japanese researchers, Hampton contends Plane 8 had a secret objective: to assess the feasibility of a Soviet airfield for use by American armed forces. He notes that pilot Ed York had a map of the area and describes how York had overseen a clandestine switch to a less fuel-efficient carburetor. The idea, Hampton contends, was that when they landed in the Soviet Union, the low fuel level in their tank would back up their cover story. Recreating the flight with dialogue and loads of technical details, Hampton captures the tension in the cockpit, depicting York as a suave mastermind who through no fault of his own lands himself and his crew in Soviet internment—a 13-month ordeal. Though Hampton sometimes pads the story with superfluous reflections (“With hindsight, Russia’s road to communism seems inevitable based on its recent three hundred years of history”), he still spins a good yarn. This WWII caper captivates. (May)Correction: An earlier version of this review mistakenly referred to the dialogue between aircrew members as “imagined.”

December 6, 2024

For many, Captain Ted W. Lawson's memoir Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, upon which the 1944 movie of the same name was based, brings to mind the iconic image of Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and his B-25 bombers taking off from an aircraft carrier in April 1942 to avenge the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Although it was mostly a symbolic and morale-boosting mission, Hampton (Valor: The Astonishing World War II Saga of One Man's Defiance and Indomitable Spirit) hypothesizes that within this group, Plane 8, piloted by Captain Edward York and copiloted by Lieutenant Bob Emmens, had a different mission: to secretly land in the Soviet Union and test Stalin's willingness to allow U.S. use of Soviet airfields. The book provides a detailed look at the U.S. Army Air Corps of the time, the training of the air crews, and the geopolitical aims of the Japanese, U.S., Chinese, and Soviet governments. Though Hampton's conclusions are persuasive, some listeners might wish for more documentation to support his claims. The narration of Mike Chamberlain, especially when he does American regional accents, is wonderful and adds much to the story. VERDICT An intriguing glimpse into a different side of the storied Doolittle raid. Audiences who enjoy World War II narratives will want to pick this up.--Scott DiMarco

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