Posted on 12/07/2018 6:50:20 AM PST by JLAGRAYFOX
Just a recalling of the "devastating" Japanese "sneak" attack on the USA Naval base located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
America was stunned, set back and unprepared, but, the USA military responded quickly with the B-24 bomber, bombing attacks on Tokyo, the aircraft being launched from the USN Aircraft Carrier "Yorktown", The Battle of the Coral Sea, and then the devastating defeat of the Japanese at the battle of Midway Island, where the USN destroyed four (4) Japanese aircraft carriers that changed the course of WWII in the Pacific Theater of Operations. All three of these brilliant USA attacks came in the arly months of 1942!!! Amazing!!!
God bless and keep all of our brave USA Military folks, especially the Army Air Force and Navy Seamen & Pilots. America remembers and, never forgets!!!
As I recall the “strike north” faction got their wish in 1939 with an attack on the Soviet Union. At first it succeeded, but then the Soviets reorganized themselves and chased the Japanese out. The Japanese really got their fingers burned with the Soviets. From then on the Japanese would have nothing to do with the Soviets no matter how much the Nazis implored them.
It was just a matter of days after concluding the nonagression pact with the Japanese that the Soviets felt confident to attack Poland.
70 year threads from DEC 7-8 2011, courtesy of Homer:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2817099/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2817271/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2817661/posts
I have just noticed that Fox News Channel has given coverage a few minutes ago through Anchor, Bill Hemmer who recognized the anniversary of the Japanese Pearl Harbor Sneak Attack on Sunday morning, 12/07/1941, He highlighted the attack and praised, saluted and honored, both the men & women of the USA military that responded, defended, survived, were wounded or killed during this devastating raid on the forces of the USA and the people of and on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Thanks, FNC!!!
The Japanese attack on the Philippines came 10-12 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor due to the fact that it was night time in the P.I. when it was dawn in Hawaii. The Japanese planes took off from Formosa in mid-morning after being grounded by fog, striking Clark and other airfields around noon. Saburo Sakai’s “Samurai” has a good account of the attack from his view as a member of it.
Excerpt from https://history.army.mil/brochures/pi/PI.htm —
The duty officer at U.S. Asiatic Fleet headquarters in Manila first received word of the Pearl Harbor attack at 0230 on 8 December 1941, but a full hour passed before Brig. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s chief of staff, heard the news from commercial broadcasts. He immediately notified MacArthur and all commanders that a state of war now existed with Japan. MacArthur ordered his troops to battle stations.
Despite this warning, when the Japanese pilots of the 11th Air Fleet attacked Clark Field nine hours later, they caught two squadrons of B-17s lined up on the field and a number of American fighters just preparing to take off. The first wave of twenty-seven Japanese twin-engine bombers achieved complete tactical surprise and destroyed most of the American heavy bombers. A second bomber strike followed while Zero fighters strafed the field. Only three P-40s managed to take off. A simultaneous attack on Iba Field in northwest Luzon was also successful: all but two of the 3d Squadron’s P-40s were destroyed. The Far East Air Force lost fully half its planes the first day of the war.
The Japanese success in the Philippines hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor has sparked controversy with much finger-pointing that has endured to this day. General Brereton later wrote that he repeatedly sought permission before the attack to launch his B-17s against the Japanese aircraft in Formosa, but General Sutherland denied his requests and also denied him access to MacArthur. MacArthur later insisted that he was unaware of Brereton’s request, adding that such a move would have been ill conceived anyway because USAFFE lacked intelligence concerning likely targets. For his part Sutherland claimed that he had ordered Brereton to transfer his bombers away from Clark Field to the relative safety of Mindanao to the south; Brereton countered that he could not have fully complied with the order because of the impending arrival of a new bombardment group from Hawaii. Officers stationed at Clark Field later disagreed about whether their installation had even received warning of the approaching aircraft as the attack was about to start.
With air superiority ensured, the first Japanese amphibious landing took place at dawn on the small northern island of Batan on 8 Dec.... [not the Bataan Peninsula]
Also the book “December 8, 1941, MacArthur’s Pearl Harbor” by William H. Bartsch.
Sky Pup!
Looks like a little Cub.
I’m not a Pilot,
But my Friends Are
and That looks like Fun.
see my post # 47
What a treasure those posts were.
Why, now they wouldn’t have to sneak. Nancy Pelosi would welcome them with a high school marching band on the harbor.
Ultralights and hang gliders is super fun. I am not that fond of paragliders, because you can't fly them in the mountains on days when the wind picks up, and all that swing back and forth makes me a little airsick. Unfortunately, my current life insurance policy doesn't cover me when flying any of those types of aircraft these days. So I am “stuck” flying a normal plane these days... : (
I started out hang gliding. I flew the Skypup by accident the first time. It came with a trailer and had never been flown by the guys who built it, who were both in their 80s. I took it to a rural airport that didn't have much air traffic. I was just trying to “hop” it, but I ended up a 100 feet in the air in a flash and drifted over the planes on the ramp, so I had to fly around the pattern. I wasn't even wearing a helmet and hadn't fastened my seatbelt... not that a plane made 90% of Styrofoam insulation would give a lot of protection.
Fortunately, I had hundreds of hours flying hang gliders so the altitude didn't make me nervous. But I really had not researched the proper way to land it, so I landed it like a hang glider... I cut the throttle and glided in and let my speed bleed off just above the pavement until it felt like it was about to stall. Then I gave it full up elevator. This created a rough landing, but it didn't cause any damage. All I needed to do was keep bleeding off speed just above the pavement until I couldn't keep the main wheels off the ground anymore. That is a recipe for a smooth landing every time with a Skypup. It is the easiest plane that I have ever flown, although our Cherokee with it's very wide tricycle gear is almost like a car with wings and can be landed by almost anyone with minimal instruction.
Thanks for the ping and your comments. I didn’t know a lot of that information.
Thanks for resurrecting those.
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