What were the various "super weapons programs" of World War II???

Keeping the position of Emperor did not mean keeping Hirohito on the throne. You are confusing the position and the man. The Japanese Communists and the Soviets had agreed to keep the position of Emperor, but replace Hirohito with Crown Prince Akhito(sp?), once the Japanese communists came into power.

 

I know what it meant. However, had he been deposed, our occupation might have been a lot harder proposition. The fact that he stayed on the throne was of great importance to the success of that occupation. I believe Douglas "McGod" realized that and backed keeping Hirohito in place.

 

Don't look now, but your making an argument that the Hirohito was kept on the throne for reasons other than Kamikazes & Expected Casualties.

 

All of the above!

 

E

Except Hirohito was not kept on the throne because of Kamikazes and Expected Casualties...

 

[Sorry for the delay, but I had to travel to another town for medical reasons.] Wasn't he? Then why was the Imperial Palace not bombed? In 1945 we could have taken out the Palace very easily or for that matter, planted Little Boy or Fat Man right on it if we wanted to. If that wasn't a signal we would be willing to keep the emperor in place, I don't know what is. It was a small concession in return for perhaps a couple of hundred thousand American lives. I believe some of our planners though our casualties could be 10 times that much. (I doubt it, but that was their estimate.)

 

I believe the Imperial Palace fell into the category of important cultural landmark that damage was to be avoided unless tactical realities demanded it.

 

The logic does not match your argument. You see, Dolittle's Raiders could have just as easily bombed the Imperial Palace, but Doolittle expressly forbade such action. Thus, such a policy would have already been in place by 1942...Predating Kamikazes & Estimated Casualties of invading Japan by two years. Therefore, Kamikazes & Estimated Casualties of invasion still have no bearing on the matter.

Proof please.

The decision to keep the Emperor came after the surrender of Japan, not before.

Casualty estimates varied greatly depending on who was doing the estimating. Giangrieco(sp?) has done a good bit of work reviewing the casualty estimates & his article should still be online.

 

D. M. Giangreco.

http://theamericanpresident.us/images/projections.pdf

More recent is his Hell to Pay, Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947, Naval Institute Press.

 

Lewis just made the Christmas list.

Larry, have you looked at Robert Maddox's Hiroshima in History - The Myths of Revisionism? Kind of short, but fires some interesting salvos.

Rich

 

Re: Dolittle's Raiders: I don't doubt Dolittle wanted every precious bomb his planes carried to go to military targets of importance, not a pile of stones.

 

Wonder if the Germans could have created the surface-to-air missile...Rheintochter...

1/35 ‘Rheintochter’ German R-3p Surface-to-Air Missile - AK Interactive | The weathering #Brand

 

Didn't Germany develop a series of SAM's, none of them of great success, but a credible achievement. Still a evolution of existing technology from much earlier.

 

If the Emperor's Palace is simply "a pile of stones", then why would we waste a "precious" Atomic Bomb on it, or a "precious" B-29 raid.

Your defeating your own argument.