Friedrich...

My first interest was in the Pacific War. I had a long interest in US Navy's submarine campaign against Japan (which led me to the U-boat wars of WW1 and WW2 ) as well as WW2 naval aviation.

I have read "The Divine Wind" many times. It has an honored place on my bookshelf. A fantastic book!

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"Angriff, Ran, Versenken!"-Onkel Karl
"Sink 'Em All"-Uncle Charlie

Interesting to see that perhaps not everyone agreed with Mr Roosevelt´s policy (??!)




http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/p...r/j-richdn.htm


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http://www.usna.com/classes/1942/UDT4.htm

“Admiral Richardson Was a True Texas Gentleman”



--- an article written by Rear Admiral Eugene H. Farrell USN (Ret) and published in “The Paris News” of Paris, Texas in the “Guest Column”



A reader of your newspaper, Mr. Desmel Rannals of Honey Grove, sent me a copy of Lee Somerville's column. "Our dead war Heroes not well cared for." In it Mr. Somerville mentioned a native son of Paris and distinguished naval officer, the late James Otto Richardson, and lamented that Paris has apparently forgotten this heroic officer and his family.



Although I am many years junior to Admiral Richardson, I had the privilege of knowing this fellow-Texan and brother officer, as well as his wife, May. Thus, I can confirm much of what Mr. Somerville wrote about him.



Some additional information may be of interest to you and your readers.



Admiral Richardson was born in Texas Sept. 18, 1878, presumably in Paris, though I cannot verify the exact place of birth. He died in his 96th year at Bethesda, MD, Naval Hospital May 2, 1974. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1898 and graduated 5th in the class of 1902. His service to his country and the U.S. Navy had spanned nearly five decades when he retired from active duty January 2, 1947.





In 1939, as the ominous war clouds of Europe darkened our eastern horizon and those of Asia loomed across the Pacific to the west, Franklin D. Roosevelt, then nearing the end of his second term as President, picked two-star Rear Admiral Richardson to be the next Commander-in-chief of the U.S. Fleet, a four-star billet with the rank of Admiral. This extraordinary decision by Roosevelt must have reflected great faith in Richardson's qualifications to assume the highest Fleet command in the Navy, because in doing so he passed over all eligible three- and four-star Flag Officers. He took command January 6, 1940.



As Mr. Somerville indicated, Richardson's tour as CINCUS (acronym for the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet) was short-lived. He was ordered to base the Fleet at Pearl Harbor, vice California, ostensibly as a deterrent to Japanese strategic ambitions in Southeast Asia. The Fleet lacked ammunition, fuel, material supplies and personnel to fight...to be a deterrent in fact. Richardson knew this and he knew that the Japanese knew it.





Besides being a non-deterrent, he reasoned, the Fleet was geographically vulnerable, 2,000 miles closer to the potential enemy. Throughout 1940, he sent numerous letters and dispatches to Washington pointing out the flaws in Fleet combat readiness and requesting the resources to rectify them. He emphasized them all to Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox during the latter's visit to Hawaii....all to no avail.



Then he made two trips to Washington to apprise President Roosevelt of the situation and seek his intercession to bring the fleet up to fighting trim or, failing that, return it to its West Coast, less vulnerable bases. Roosevelt did neither.



Political considerations dominated Roosevelt’s thinking. He clung to the illusion that keeping the Fleet in Hawaii would discourage Japanese aggression. Moreover, it was election year and he was more interested in his political image as a peace guarantor than in preparing the nation for self defense.



When his second eye-to-eye appeal to Roosevelt was rebuffed, Oct. 7, 1940, Richardson tried to shock the president by telling him bluntly that the senior officers of the Navy did not have the trust and confidence in their civilian leadership for the successful prosecution of a war in the Pacific. Roosevelt was shocked all right, but he did not change his policies. Instead, he changed the command of the Fleet to a new incumbent, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, and history recorded the results.

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Soviet Tu-4
In late 1944, three B-29's had to land in Vladivostok. At the time the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan. The crews were briefly interned, and then permitted to "escape." But the B-29's stayed behind.

In 1947, at a parade in Moscow, the Tu-4 flew over; it was an exact replica of the B-29. In the early years of the Cold War, the Tu-4 gave the American military planners fits, because it was the first Soviet airplane with the capability to drop nuclear bombs on the Unied States.

http://www.acepilots.com/planes/b29.html



http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/bomber/tu-4.htm

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Facts on bombing Japan 1945:

On the night of March 13/14, eight square miles of Osaka went up in flames. On March 16/17, three square miles of Kobe were destroyed, and on March 19/20 in a return visit to Nagoya, three more square miles were destroyed. This destructive week had killed over 120,000 Japanese civilians at the cost of only 20 B-29s lost.

On April 7, 153 B-29s struck the aircraft engine complex at Nagoya, destroying about 90 percent of that facility. Five days later, 93 B-29s destroyed the Nakajima factory at Musashi. The Japanese aircraft engine industry essentially ceased to exist after this time.

On June 5, the B-29s attacked Kobe with such effectiveness that the city was crossed off the target list as not worth revisiting.

In late March of 1945, the 313th Bombardment Wing began a series of mining operations against Japanese ports. Nearly 13,000 acoustic and magnetic mines were placed in the western approaches to the narrow Shimonoseki strait and the Inland Sea as well as in the harbors of Hiroshima, Kure, Tokyo, Nagoya, Tokuyama, Aki, and Noda. The mining operation was extremely successful and brought Japanese coastal shipping to a standstill by April. In May, merchant vessels were ordered to break through the line of mines, and 85 of them were sunk. These mining efforts were so effective that the postwar Strategic Bombing Survey credited the B-29 with 9.3 percent of the total Japanese shipping losses during the war.

By mid-June the B-29 raids were essentially unopposed by Japanese fighters. In late June, B-29 crews felt sufficiently confident that they began to drop leaflets warning the population of forthcoming attacks, followed three days later by a raid in which the specified urban area was devastated.

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevo...s/b029-10.html

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On the morning of the 13th the former Yangtse river steamer Li Wo, skippered by Lieutenant T.S. Wilkinson, RNR, whose ship was part of the general exodus of small craft from Singapore ran into the Palembang invasion force. Li Wo armed with a 4 inch gun and two machineguns fired at the Japanese transports setting one on fire and damaging several others. All the while the Li Wo was under fire from the escorting Japanese cruisers. This action continued for an hour and a half until the Li Wo ran out of ammunition. Wilkinson then rammed the nearest damaged enemy transport before his small ship was destroyed. Wilkinson received a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only VC awarded in the Netherlands East Indies Campaign.

http://www.info-indo.com/indonesia/h...stindies12.htm

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The ritual of Seppuku

Seppuku was usually carried out in a secluded courtyard or garden. The soon-to-be-dead samurai would usually be kitted out in a nice, white kimono (to symbolize purity, and perhaps enhance the drama of the act). Before him would be a wooden tray (which would have been crafted for this specific occasion, and later would be destroyed) upon which is a sheaf of washi paper, ink, a cup of sake, and a short knife called a tanto. To start the ceremony, he would drink the sake, preferably in two gulps. One gulp was considered gauche, and three was considered to be miserly. Two gulps showed the correct combination of contemplation and determination. Next, the samurai would take the paper and ink and compose a fitting poem, typically in the waka style (a waka is a 31 syllable, 5 line poem in a 5-7-5-7-7-7 structure.) After composing the poem, he would then procede to the main event.


The samurai would open his kimono, sometimes removing the top portion entirely, thus exposing his belly. He would then take the tanto knife, its handle wrapped in clean white rice-paper, and place it against the left side of his lower abdomen. When ready, the samurai would insert the dagger into his belly and quickly slice across, from left to right, thus opening his abdomen. The cutting of the abdomen was considered significant, because in Buddhist tradition, the lower abdomen (called the hara in Buddhism) is the center of a person's consciousness. It was believed that cutting the hara would end a person's life quicker. After the initial cut, truly badass samurai would re-insert the tanto in their midsection and make a second cut, this time upwards, towards the sternum, creating a cross in their lower torso. This second cut was considered an act of the most sheer bravery, not only because it required an insane amount of stamina and strength, but because it allowed your innards to spill out. This more extreme form of seppuku was called jumonji giri.

Assisting the doomed would be a person known as the kaishakunin ('The Officer of Death'). It was the job of the kaishakunin to lop off the samurai's head after he had opened himself up.



http://www.destroy-all-monsters.com/seppuku.shtml

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General Herbert Lumsden was liked and respected by Winston Churchill and in 1944 he was sent to join the staff of General Douglas MacArthur. On 6th January 1945 Lumsden was observing the bombardment of Lingayen Gulf on board New Mexico when it was hit by a kamikaze pilot. Herbert Lumsden died from his injuries and was buried at sea.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWlumsden.htm

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Erich, happen to know if the Japs got any help with their night fighters from the Germans?






A bit different system than the Germans had?!

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How do you say Schrägemusik in Japanese?

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There is an ass in my avatar.

Japan and oil

http://www.star-games.com/exhibits/s...shortfuse.html

Japan's crude oil production within her border for 1931 was 291,000 kiloliters; 1933 was 330,000 kl, 1935 was 268,000 kl, and 1937 was 335,000 kl. These amounts represented roughly less than 0.1% of US production, 0.5% of Russia, and 1.6% of the Netherlands from the Dutch East Indies (1).


Japan's dependency on America for its oil and oil products was a predominant 67% of total oil imports in 1935 (2,310,000 kl), 74% in 1937 (3,530,000 kl), and 90% less than two years before the Pacific War broke out in 1939 (4,450,000 kl) (2) !

In November 1938, Japan's Prime Minister at the time, Fumimaro Konoe, issued a statement that Japan was going to establish a new order in Greater East Asia. This angered the US, especially President Roosevelt to no end. After a long and thorough consideration, on 26 July 1939, the 1911 US-Japan Treaty of Commerce and Navigation was unilaterally abrogated, to take effect six months later. This was a clear signal of United States intentions to continue applying economic pressures on Japan in retaliation against Japan's insatiable advances in the Far East.

This action by the United States shocked many Japanese leaders, one of them being then Finance Minister Sotaro Ishiwata. On 5 August 1939 he reported to the Emperor his opinion regarding the effects of the abrogation of the treaty :

"It is a great blow to our access to scrap iron and oil. Although there is room for further imports during the next six months, what happens after that? There will be great difficulties Japan will have to face. Unless the strength of the Army and Navy is reduced to one third of its present size, there is no way Japan can keep going."

and more on the site...

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[quote]Originally posted by Kai-Petri:
[QB] Japan and oil

http://www.star-games.com/exhibits/s...shortfuse.html

Great site Kai, some real good information regarding Japan's oil situation prior to the start of the war.

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Bill Murray
Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Hello Bill. Happy new year. Just got a book titled The Stragglers. About Japanese left on variouc Islands after war was over. Written by E.J. Kahn Jr 1962. Haven't read it yet, but thought it might be of interest.

Thanks for the info Chrome, looks like it might be of interest. If I remember correctly, there was a Japanese soldier who was located still holding out in the Philippines in the mid to late 70's. I have also read about rumors that another was still around the Vella Lavella area in the late 80's but never heard whether that rumor was resolved or not. There was also a story in an Austrailian newspaper last year around this time stating that the Japanese were sending another team back to the Philippines based on the rumors of a group of holdouts that were living in the mountains outside of Manila. But again never heard anything regarding the story afterwards.

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Bill Murray
Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Wow. Yes I did read about the cat who held out til 74. Amazing. One Japanese mentioned that after his 16 yrs on Guam, he could remain calm about anything. It is easy to raise ones standard of living, but much harder to lower it said he. He & another survivor had their bodies checked over rather vigorously. Their teeth were in surprisingly good shape, better than average Japanese civilian of same age. Their back pay for 16 yrs of service worked out to about 100 dollars! A movie was made about them in Japan. They were hired as advisors.

The loss of the destroyer Hayate was the first loss of a Japanese warship in World War II (at Wake island).

The Hayate charged the island only to suffer a hit in her ammuntion magazine that split the ship in two "like a folding jackknife"....

http://www.epinions.com/content_168364445316

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1942

Japan began construction of the 5,223-ton I-400 class of submarine aircraft carrier, each of which carried three dive-bomber seaplanes. Designed for attacks against the Panama Canal and the West Coast of the United States. Twelve were planned; only two were built, and did not see any useful service.


1942

On September 13, in what may be the most spectacular – albeit unplanned – submarine event of all time, the Japanese I-19 launched a spread of six torpedoes at the aircraft carrier "Wasp." Three hit, sinking the ship. The others continued running for twelve miles, into another task group, where one caused fatal damage to the destroyer "O'Brien" and other send the battleship "North Carolina" to the shipyard for two months. The sixth cruised on, into the unknown.

1944
The largest ship ever sunk by a submarine: the brand-new aircraft carrier "Shinano," 71,890 tons, November 28, by the U. S. submarine "Archerfish."

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Japanese submarines scored a few important victories – the carriers "Yorktown" and "Wasp," and the last American surface warship sunk, the cruiser "Indianapolis" in late July, 1945; overall, however, they sank only about one-fifth as many ships as did the American submarine force.

On the last day of the Pacific war, Japan had only 33 submarines in commission (excluding midgets), seven of which were in the training command. Except for the midgets, the submarine force had become irrelevant.

http://www.submarine-history.com/NOVAfour.htm

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P-61 bags a Superfort

( Splash one Dreamboat )

http://www.flightjournal.com/article...at/splash1.asp

INTERVIEW WITH MAJ. ARTHUR C. SHEPHERD
PILOT: 548TH NIGHT FIGHTER SQUADRON
MARCH 24, 1976

"Concerning our famous June 1, 1945, ‘kill' of a B-29 Superfortress off Iwo Jima: on days when the B-29s were returning from their raids on Japan, we would fly out and give whatever assistance we could. If we saw one ditch, we would call in a Dumbo Sea Rescue plane and direct it to the downed crewmen. While on one of these missions, my R/O, Al Schulenberger, picked up an emergency IFF and directed us in on it. I pulled up on the right wing and tucked in real close. I could not see anything wrong with the aircraft, but the crew was all at the windows waving like mad. At first, we thought they were being friendly, so we peeled off and moved away; but Al continued to receive the IFF, so he directed me to pull in close again.

"This time, I moved in on the left wing and looked down on the nose of the aircraft. The hole in the nose was big enough to drop a piano through! A 90mm had gone right through the pilot's seat, killing him and injuring the copilot. We led them to Iwo. Over the island at 4,000 feet, on autopilot, the crew bailed out without incident. I was just about to ask if I could shoot it down when I was directed to do so. It didn't seem like much of a contest with a ‘sitting duck' flying straight away and me right behind it with four .50-caliber machine guns and four 20mm cannon that were loaded with armor-piercing and incendiary rounds!

"I did not realize that the bomber still had its full load of ordnance, as the first burst from my guns blew the bomb bay doors open. I don't remember how many rounds we pumped into that old bird, but it didn't want to go down. The 20mm shells were ripping big holes in the fuselage and wings. At last, the left wing dropped a little and it started turning back toward Iwo, losing altitude all the time. At that time, I decided to concentrate my fire on the two left engines. When I scored hits on both, the aircraft began a tight left spiral into the ocean. I actually felt sorry for it and wished that the copilot had been able to bring it in. What a magnificent aircraft it was."

—Warren Thompson

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Fighting Squadron 17 was selected to fly the new Vought F4U-1 Corsair, a gull-winged fighter built around a powerful Pratt-Witney 18 cylinder radial engine. Initially, VF-17 was assigned to the carrier Bunker Hill (CV-17), but problems with visibility and landing gear bounce caused the Navy to question the Corsair's carrier-worthiness. The Jolly Rogers worked closely with engineers at Vought to modify the F4U rather than switching to the F6F Hellcat, which they believed to be an inferior fighter. Lt(jg) Butch Davenport of VF-17 helped develop an airflow spoiler on the right wing of the F4U which helped keep the wings level in a low-speed stall; this modification became standard in all later models of the Corsair.

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~clumpkin/jrhistory.html

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According to Thomas&Witts "Enola Gay" the Japanese divers took the radar equipment from the sunken ships Prince of Wales and Repulse and the radar equipment was used to create the Japanese version of proximity fuse by Dr Tsunesaburo Akada.

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