Early in the morning of April 7, 1943, with the Pacific theater of World War 2 in full swing, a 22-year old American rookie pilot named James Elms Swett was about to get his first taste of action. His debut mission was to lead a small division of Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters on patrol over the Russell Islands, just off Guadalcanal, recently taken by the US.

Stopping to refuel, he received an alarming message: hurtling towards the American ships docked at the port of Tulagi were 150 Japanese planes, a force equal in size to that of the first wave of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Were it to be successful, it would crush the American presence in the region and turn the tide of the war back in favor of the Japanese.

Without blinking an eye, the young pilot leapt into action. Racing to defend his country’s fleet, his tiny squadron found itself up against a massive group of Japanese Aichi D3A dive bombers, known to the Allies as “Vals”, on their way to destroy the harbor. As the adrenaline kicked in, the plucky first-timer lined up one of the bombers in his sights before bringing it crashing down into the ocean below. Pure chaos followed, and Swett became separated on his own. As the frantic dogfight thundered around him, sharpshooter Swett would have to pull off an epic, almost impossible WW2 achievement to save the American fleet. But first, he found himself staring into the eyes of a Japanese tail gunner ready to fire…


-

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -