Most critically, no American fighter based at Guadal Canal had the range to reach Bugganville and return. The Grumman F4F Wildcat had a combat radius of roughly 175 miles. The newer F4U Corsair could manage about 400 m, but only if pilots never deviated from the most fuelefficient cruise settings, never climbed to combat altitude, and never engaged in energyconsuming combat maneuvering.
Only one aircraft in the American inventory could make the journey. The Lockheed P38 Lightning. The P38’s twin Allison V1710 engines, each producing 1,475 horsepower, gave it exceptional range. With standard internal fuel of 410 gall plus two 165gal drop tanks, the Lightning could theoretically fly 1,150 mi.
But theory and combat reality were different things. The mission required flying at low altitude to avoid Japanese radar, navigation with absolute precision across featureless ocean, climbing to attack altitude on arrival, engaging superior numbers of enemy fighters, and returning home with enough fuel reserve to avoid ditching in sharkinfested waters.
Major John Mitchell, commanding the 339th Fighter Squadron, was assigned to plan and lead the mission. Mitchell, a Tacitturn combat veteran with nine confirmed victories, approached the problem with methodical precision. Every calculation had to be perfect. Any error in navigation, fuel planning, or timing would result in either missing the intercept entirely or running out of fuel over the ocean.
Mitchell’s navigation solution was brilliant in its simplicity, but brutal in its demands. He plotted a dog leg course that took the formation west toward the Russell Islands, then northwest on a compass heading of 305°. By staying low, between 10 and 50 ft above the waves, the P38s would remain below Japanese radar coverage.
