Vanishing Act: The Enduring Mystery Behind the Legendary Doolittle Raid over Tokyo

by Dan Hampton

Overview

From New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton comes the gripping, untold story of a vital secret mission set during the darkest days of the Second World War.

In the dark days after the devastating Pearl Harbor attacks during the spring of 1942, the United States was determined to show the world that the Axis was not invincible. Their bold plan? Bomb Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s, known as the Doolittle Raiders, hit targets across Japan before escaping to China.

The eighth plane, however, did not follow the other raiders. Instead, Plane 8’s pilots, Captain Edward “Ski” York and Lieutenant Bob Emmens, never attacked Tokyo, but headed across Japan to the Soviet Union, supposedly due to low fuel. Yet, this bomber was the only plane on the mission with maps of the Soviet Union aboard. And why did Plane 8’s route, recently discovered in the Japanese Imperial Archives, show them nowhere near their target? Uncovered facts reveal that bombing Tokyo was merely a cover for Plane 8’s real mission, but what was their secret objective? No one, aside from the two pilots and whomever sent them on this mission, truly knew why they were there, nor has the reason ever been revealed.

Until now.

In Vanishing Act, for the first time, New York Times bestselling author and former fighter pilot Dan Hampton definitively solves the final mystery of the Doolittle Raid with never-before-published documents and photographs in exclusive collaboration with Japanese researchers and the Raiders’ descendants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250283252
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/28/2024
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	28,773
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) in the United States Air Force. For his actions during the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and the first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, and numerous other decorations. An alumnus of Exeter College, Oxford, he also holds degrees from Dartmouth and Texas A&M, and is a graduate of the elite USAF Fighter Weapons School. As a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, he discusses foreign affairs and geopolitics, and has also appeared as an analyst on Bill O’Reilly, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Anderson Cooper360. He is the nationally bestselling author of Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing the Demon, Vengeance, Valor, and a novel, The Mercenary.
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Dan Hampton flew 151 combat missions during his twenty years (1986–2006) in the United States Air Force. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, and first Gulf War, Col. Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons School and USAF Special Operations School. A frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs and geopolitics, he has also appeared as an analyst on Bill O’Reilly, Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Anderson Cooper360. He is the nationally bestselling author of Viper Pilot, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers, The Flight, Chasing the Demon, Vengeance, Valor, and a novel, The Mercenary.

Editorial Reviews

03/04/2024

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.”

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Vanishing Act:

“With the determination of a cold case detective, Dan Hampton penetrates the mists of an 80-year-old mystery, revealing the story behind the errant bomber from the fabled Doolittle Tokyo Raiders mission of 1942… It's all there: the technical and operational factors but especially the long-secret geopolitical reasons not even known to Jimmy Doolittle at the time.” –Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945

“Suspenseful...This WWII caper captivates.” –Publishers Weekly

"Intriguing." –Kirkus Reviews

"A fighter pilot himself, Hampton sheds new light on the mission.... revealing [its true purpose] for the first time." –Wall Street Journal

"One of the great mysteries of World War II...for those who are eager to do a deep dive into how the war in the Pacific was prosecuted in its first months." –Booklist

Praise for Dan Hampton:

“A captivating portrait of courage and determination during wartime.” –Publishers Weekly on Valor

"Hampton’s one of the most decorated pilots in Air Force history...We may never see his like again.” -New York Post on Viper Pilot

“Outstanding...A painstaking account [that] succeeds in placing readers in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis.” - Library Journal (starred review) on The Flight

"World War II adventure at its finest.” -Adam Makos, New York Times bestselling author of Spearhead on Valor

"Valor reads like an action/adventure thriller...I could literally not put this book down." -Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author of The Maze

"Operation Vengeance is a whacking great read every bit as exciting as the real mission.” -Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Russia Account

From the Publisher