Tourists Brave Bougainville’s Muddy Jungle Trek to Visit a Famed World War II Wreck
A difficult journey inland
The group made its way across streams and through thick vegetation to reach the plane’s remains. Machetes helped clear the route. Their vehicle traveled over a rough track and crossed several rivers. During one crossing, water rose to within a few inches of the windows, despite a dry spell.
Wreckage from a 1943 crash
The wreck is the scattered remains of a Mitsubishi G4M1, known to Allied forces as a Betty. It has lain at the crash site for about 80 years.
The site is where Japanese Navy Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto died in 1943. He was a major figure in the Japanese campaign in the South Pacific and the attack on Pearl Harbor.
How Yamamoto was intercepted
Japan occupied Bougainville in early 1942 as the Imperial Navy advanced into the South Pacific, with Yamamoto in command. In April 1943, Allied forces intercepted and deciphered communications about his travels.
Key points
- Seven Chinese tourists joined villagers and journalists on the journey to the wreck.
- The Mitsubishi G4M1, known as a Betty to the Allies, has remained at the site for about 80 years.
- Yamamoto’s plane was shot down over southern Bougainville in April 1943.
- The Americans named the operation Operation Vengeance.