Posted on 11/10/2025 11:21:15 PM PST by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas
In February 1944, the U.S. Navy launched one of the most devastating strikes of the Pacific War — Operation Hailstone. Over the skies and seas of Truk Lagoon, the Japanese stronghold once called the “Gibraltar of the Pacific” was shattered in a two-day assault that rewrote naval warfare.
This video tells the forgotten story of how the USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, and America’s radar-guided firepower changed history. Discover how advanced analog computers, precision gunnery, and overwhelming air superiority combined to destroy Japan’s once-invincible fleet. From massive 16-inch naval guns thundering across the ocean to the smoldering wrecks beneath Truk’s lagoon, every moment marked the end of Japan’s naval dominance.
Through declassified reports, survivor accounts, and wartime footage, experience the battle that proved technology, courage, and strategy could outmatch even the most disciplined adversary. This is the story of the strike that broke Japan’s shield — and announced America’s unstoppable reach across the Pacific.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
“The Night the Giants Rode”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyxpSVy7MYo
The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War tells the story of Adm. Willis “Ching” Lee and USS Washington (BB-56) vs Kirishima.
“CHING LEE COMING THROUGH!”
It wasn’t. They still relied on optics. That’s why they had the “pagoda” style masts was for fire control.
Neptune’s Inferno is a good read. The Japanese were excellent ship handlers, but their leadership had flawed strategic planning.
Thanks DDDfD!
Radar ranging was on some US ships quite early; Admiral Willis Lee used them to great effect off Guadalcanal late 1942.
Note the Kirishima near the left edge:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironbottom_Sound#/media/File:Wrecks_in_the_Ironbottom_Sound.jpg
It would have been awesome to be on that ship when it fired. >> I took my dad to visit the NJ here in Philly. He was on the Iowa during Korea. They have a film called “firepower” amazing. and there is a metal housing on the stern of the ship that was dented by the concussion blast of one of the firings.
Drachinifel’s channel on YouTube has a good episode on Admiral Lee.
The “moving sideways” claim isn’t supported by facts - even though various pictures make it *seem* like such movement is real.
Think about it this way - IF the firing of the 16 inchers was strong enough to move the ship sideways, the forces involved would have destroyed the ship.
Damn shame we had to do all that to defeat Japan, only to wind up with Mao Tse-Tung in China.
Use the Brave browser. No ads.
Agree. When this story occurred (before the battle of the Philipine Sea -The Mariana Turkey Shoot-), the US was already winning the war. But it shows what would have happened if Japan had tried to fight a surface battle.
Ever heard of the BISMARCK?
No. Japan had some fortified batteries on Okinawa island and some US destroyers were sunk, some because of Kamikazes. USS carrier Franklin was heavily damaged.
The Bismarck was disabled by a very slow British bomber and could not escape.
Japanese optical rangefinders and fire control systems were superior to American. Their rangefinders had a much wider baseline than ours.
American RADAR rangefinders and fire control systems were the best in the world, bar none, and far exceeded the effectiveness of the Japanese optical systems. We put RADAR fire control on any ship that could support it ... which, by 1944, meant every warship in the fleet.
And saved the South Dakota from getting sunk itself due to all the electrical failures she was experiencing.
Bismarck had radar controlled fire systems but no carriers to help.
Thanks!
There was an old guy at our church that died. After the memorial, somebody asked his son “Any relationship to the Lorantz (?) that invented the radar range finder?”
“That was him - my dad.”
The older gentleman wept a bit. “Your dad saved thousands and thousands of lives. It was a miracle to be able to hit them from so far away and usually on the first shot.”
Thanks. All this happened before I was born, but my dad was in the US Navy in WW2. Ironically, by that time US carriers were dominating, so BB guns were not used against enemy BBs but US designers got it right.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
