"3. It is this officer's opinion that the OBB's should be used as radar pickets when their bombardment assignments are completed. Experience has indicated that suicide bombers favor DD's and similar types over the larger, more heavily armored ships. OBB's could be especially fitted out for RP duty and given a small craft A/S and A/A screen. These ships could "absorb" several planes without great loss of life much better than destroyers - as the saying goes, "Don't make a boy do a man's work."

HyperWar: Battle Experience--Radar Pickets & Kamikazes

Erm, I'm thinking they'd be Baka magnets. Thoughts?

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)

I think the DD's and DE's drew so much attention, is because they were the first US ships the Kamikaze's found (generally), and went for them.

Now, any of the OBB's would be able to withstand more damage, and bring a LOT more AA to bear on the attacking craft. Possibly more room to outfit an OBB with a decent CIC and air intercept director for the CV's as well.

__________________
"I love deadlines. I love the 'Whooshing' noise they make when they go by." - Doug Adams

They certainly drew the attention. And I'm thinking the OBBs would draw even more. ("Hey, Tokyo, the first thing we see is a battleship. Send more love!")

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)

Yes, but could you imagine the major efforts were one to take a significant hit in a tender spot? Regardless of the armor, the whole ship was not armored and while the ship may not sink, it still could take damage that woul affect it's ability to fullfil it's mission.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

Taking a Baka to the bridge would hamper the fighting ability of most ships, regardless of size.

A better plan, IMHO, would have been to strengthen the "first line of defense" and use more small boys. Six destroyers, separated enough to present individual targets but close enough to provide mutual support, would have been vastly better than one lone picket. I think the assumption was that the Japanese would fly over the picket and proceed to better targets. They didn't allow for the pilots who just wanted to get it over with and struck at the first target they saw. RP1 needed a squadron of destroyers, not just a single ship.

Another possibility would have been offsetting pickets that would deflect the attacks from the main fleet at Okinawa. Lure them away from their chosen line and into a kill box.

Ah, I love Monday Morning Quarterbacking, it's far less hazardous.

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)

that it is!

That picture of the Aaron Ward always gets me.

I had a patient years ago who's brother was killed when the midship quad 40 was swept over the side.

__________________
Best Regards,
JW

Good point. I was also thinking along a similar line. I was thinking about two DD's in mutual support instead of your six because I preferred to have most of the DD's closer to the heavies and carriers to serve as an AA screen. It's a tough choice and a lot of those lone pickets paid a heavy price.
As for using OBBs as pickets, they can take a lot more punishment, that's true. Given some escorts, they can form the kill box and probably could serve as magnets for those suicide attacks, thus serving as a lure to divert such attacks from the main fleet just like you said.

__________________
That's about it,
Fil

My first Chief was a bosun on the Hugh W. Hadley. He was singled out on the 25th Anniversary of the attack at a formation. He'd never mentioned it to us.

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)

In Potter's bio of Arleigh Burke he discusses this subject. When Burke and Mitscher saw Admiral Kelly Turner's invasion and naval support plan for the invasion of Okinawa, Burke (according to Potter) immediately recognized the vulnerability of the picket destroyers to kamikaze. Burke had spent a lot of time in DDs and must have been sensitive to issues affecting those ships.

Burke approached Turner and suggested that he place more destroyers together on picket duty so that they could be more mutually supportive with AA. Turner replied that he didn't have enough DDs to follow Burke's suggestion, so Burke offered to lend him some of the fast carrier task force's destroyers to help out. Turner replied, "I'll take your destroyers, but not as a loan, if you give me your destroyers they will belong to me and I'll do with them what I will." Upon hearing that, Burke withdrew the offer and departed. Potter implies that the casualties suffered by the picket DDs off Okinawa were unnecessary and due, in part, to Turner's ego and control issues.

Layton concurs in And I was There! regarding Turner. It's scary what a monumental ego combined with considerable power can do.

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)

Doubtless this is a topic for a separate thread, but during my time in the military I had the misfortune of serving under a few machievellian egomaniacs. Their superiors appeared to turn a blind eye to their abuses, because they were so good at accomplishing the mission. In doing so, however, they caused a lot of unnecessary grief to others, especially their subordinates. I think we could include Turner and MacArthur in this category.

I once saw an estimate that decided that New Guinea was "something to keep MacArthur busy." I have wondered the same myself more than once.

__________________
WWII Resources. Primary sources.
The Myths of Pearl Harbor. Demythologizing the attack.
Hyperwar. Hypertext history of the Second World War.
Veteran: USN, 1969-1989
http://www.hyperwar-ghq.com/ (Volunteer coordination site. Want to help?)