Julius Jack Jacobson

Jack Jacobson joined the Service in March 1941, and flew his first combat missions in October 1942. Jack Jacobson was John Mitchells regular wingman, and flew in that position on the Yamamoto Mission. Flying P39s and later P38s he saw action at Guadalcanal and in the Solomons, flying a total of 111 combat missions. After leaving the Service in 1946 he rejoined to serve two years in the Korean conflict. Cracking the Japanese naval code, U.S. intelligence discovered the travel plans of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. On April 18, 1943, sixteen Army Air Force P-38 fighters took off to intercept his aircraft. Flying at altitudes of 50 feet or less over 400 miles of open ocean while maintaining radio silence, they arrived at precisely the right moment—a phenomenal feat of navigation. Sixty-two years later, exactly which pilot shot down Yamamoto’s aircraft in the ensuing turmoil of aerial combat remains a controversy. “Jack” Jacobson, one of only three living Yamamoto Mission pilots, flew as wingman to mission leader Major John W. Mitchell. Jack Jacobson passed away on 8th April 2005.

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew