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The final demise of the IJN...

Discussion in 'Naval Warfare in the Pacific' started by brndirt1, Sep 25, 2011.

  1. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    Yamato. I just finished reading this condensed and short, but pretty detailed summary of the demise of the IJN’s battleship Yamato. When operation Ten-Go failed, the Imperial Japanese Navy effectively ceased to exist. It includes eyewitness testimony from some of the Japanese survivors as well as USN reports in its six pages.


    Goto:


    Killing the Yamato
     
  2. Tristan Scott

    Tristan Scott Member

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    For a more detailed analysis of the Yamato's last sortie, and the decision process for Ten-Go, I highly recommend reading Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara. It's an amazing account not only of this battle (he was captain of the light cruiser Yahagi escorting the Yamato during Ten-Go), but of all the battles in which Hara was involved throughout the war.

    The book has been re-published by the USNI:
    JAPANESE DESTROYER CAPTAIN | U.S. Naval Institute
     
  3. syscom3

    syscom3 Member

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    Yes, that book is an excellent read!
     
  4. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

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    I would say the IJN had effectively ceased to exist after Leyte Gulf, even if the limbs of the corpse continued to twitch occassionally. Nor for that matter was Yamato literally the end of the navy; there remained in home waters four battleships, two heavy cruisers, and others. I wonder if there was simply no fuel for them to join the sortie, or if the sacrifice of Yamato was considered sufficient for the navy's honor.

    Japanese Destroyer Captain was one of my first serious war books. Hara had quite a career including participation in many of the Solomons battles.
     
  5. syscom3

    syscom3 Member

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    The IJN was out of fuel. The Yamato's journey was to be a one way trip. Only enough fuel for that. If successful in scattering the invasion fleet, then it was to be run aground and expend the last of its ammunition on shore bombardment.

    And the sortie was not for the navy's honor. It was a planned mission for a task with the hope it could be carried out.
     
  6. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

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    No offense, but do we know that for fact? That there was literally no fuel for Nagato, Haruna, Tone, etc. to join a one-way mission?

    "hope" is the word all right; I expect the Japanese would have been as shocked as the Americans if they had made it to Okinawa!
     
  7. Tristan Scott

    Tristan Scott Member

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    Yes there was no fuel. Japan's fuel supply was in the southern areas she had conquered, that's why in '44 most of her ships were based in Brunei. With the loss of the Philippines there was no longer any possibilty of transporting fuel to the Home Islands. The Yamato and her escorts were to have been given just enough fuel to run in to Okinawa, but the commander of the fuel depot broke that order and gave the ships all the fuel he had in his tanks. It still was not enough to get to Okinawa and back, but that was the mindset at the time for this mission; Very few liked the idea of sending these ships on what seemed like a suicide mission, but the Emperor had asked what the Navy was doing for the effort in Okinawa, so the Navy tried to come up with a plan, any plan that would give them at least the opportunity to do something.

    The Army planned a big air attack on the American invasion fleet on the day of the Yamato's sortie, and it was hoped that the Ten-Go force would draw away some of the planes protecting the fleet. As it turned out this attack caused moderate damage to the Hancock and to the Maryland and heavily damaged a destroyer, but not much else.
     
  8. Messy1

    Messy1 Member

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    I'm very interested in this topic. Cannot wait for everyone's opinion.
     
  9. steverodgers801

    steverodgers801 Member

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    Actually I would say the Mariannas was the end of the effectiveness of the IJN since it was the last time they tried air operations. But for the snafu in communications the IJN would not have even had the opportunity at the transports.
     
  10. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    The article and the post were in reference to the demise of the IJN's Yamato, not the entire service, nor the beginning of the collapse of same.
     
  11. mikebatzel

    mikebatzel Dreadnaught

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    In response to questions about Japan's fuel shortages, I find it quite interesting that in 1945 a full quarter of Japan's fuel supply was some kind of bio-ethonal fuel. IIRC potato based fuels for aviation, and soy based for the navy. Primarily the IJN used this fuel in destroyers but I do remember reading somewhere that Yamato also recieved this type of fuel for her final sortie. Taking into account the food shortages in Japan, the Japanese Empires fuel situation was indeed extremely critical. To use the food needed by the people to continue fighting the war simply boggles the mind.
     
  12. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    I've read somewhere that that was the plan but the fueling crew actually gave her enough fuel to return.
     
  13. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Any ideas at all where y'all might have read this? Was it conjecture or referenced material?
     
  14. mikebatzel

    mikebatzel Dreadnaught

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    Yes Jeff, I have I pdf on the development and sustainability of bio-fuel programs in East Asia which gave the 25% figure, but uploading the file failed. I'll see if I can find it again on the web.
     
  15. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    Don't forget that the Japanese were also sending people out to collect pine-nuts for distillation into an inferior aviation gas as well in the final stages of the war.
     
  16. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Okay, Mike. If you can't get up, let me know and I'll see what the problem is.

    Clint, I wonder how nuts it took to make a gallon of fuel. I'll bet that there were not enough nuts in all of Japan to even get Yamato out of the harbor.
     
  17. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    The pine-nuts, as I understand the process were used for a gasoline avgas substitute fuel only, not bunker fuel for ships.
     
  18. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    That make sense. I was making a rather lame joke.
     
  19. mikebatzel

    mikebatzel Dreadnaught

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  20. syscom3

    syscom3 Member

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    Unless I am woefully wrong, The fuel needed for shipping is a heavy fuel oil. This cannot be the same as pine related distillets.
     

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