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Posted on 05/20/2004 12:00:18 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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With the Marshall Islands campaign of early 1944, the Marine 4th Division and the Army's 7th Infantry Division moved into Japanese territory for the first time in World War II. The islands, under Japanese control since World War I, offered U.S. forces bases for reconnaissance, combat staging and logistics. They were the next step in the Allied march to the Japanese home islands. 
D-Day in the Marshalls was set for Jan. 31, 1944. On that day, Marines in northern Kwajalein Atoll planned to seize five islands in the vicinity of Roi-Namur, while the 7th Infantry Division hoped to capture four islets near Kwajalein Island. The Majuro Attack Force also targeted four small islands for takeover. All were tactically necessary to the main objectives, scheduled for assault Feb. 1. Combined Navy, Marine and Army forces successfully accomplished all of these missions on D-Day. The islands of Roi and Namur, linked by a short causeway, are so close that they counted as a single target. Roi-Namur was the primary Japanese air base in the Marshalls.  Although many ships of the Northern Task Force were combat veterans, neither the troop transport drivers nor the 4th Marine Division, newly created in August 1943, had combat experience. Additionally, participants in the assault had not been able to rehearse as a unit. This combination of factors made for confusion in the launching of the assault.  "7th Infantry Goes Ashore, Kwajalein Atoll" (1944). Official U.S. Army Signal Corps Photograph, Graflex-Made. Donated by Joseph Garofalo - 121st Seabees, 4th Marine Division. Three days of naval bombardment and air strikes preceded the 4th Marine Division to Roi-Namur. On Feb. 1, ships responsible for fire support and bombardment moved in to extremely close range, maximizing their effectiveness, killing a significant number of defenders, and earning Conolly the nickname "Close-in," along with the gratitude of the troops, who were able to come into the beaches standing up. Navy ships and pilots dropped 6,000 tons of heavy explosives before the Marines set foot on Roi-Namur. Once on the beach, the troops assigned to Roi (the Marine 23rd Regimental Combat Team) advanced rapidly. The Japanese resisted strongly near the airfield's runways, but by late afternoon on Feb. 1 equipment was being landed to repair the airfield for American use. Roi was secured the same day.  Unexploded Jap bomb in crater. There were many of these duds on the island. Picture, George Smith. Capturing Namur, the job of the Marine 24th Regimental Combat Team, proved more difficult. Over half of the assigned transport craft could not be located when it was time to launch the assault. As a result, the timing of the assault waves was off, and units went in piecemeal. Next, the leading waves were halted by tracked landing vehicles that had stopped in the water, throwing everything behind them into confusion. These problems in the water caused a mixup on the beach. Fortunately, the enemy chose not to fight at the water's edge, so the Marines could regroup.  Light tank fires at Jap position on Kwajalein Island as the 7th Division moved in during recent brilliant campaign. Bitter fighting blasted the Japs. Once ashore, the Marines advanced rapidly; at nightfall, only the north shore of the island remained to be captured. The Marines established a defensive perimeter, which the Japanese attacked several times during the night. Fire discipline among the relatively untried troops was not good, and this, rather than the Japanese attacks, posed the greatest danger to the front line. In the morning, the Marines resumed their advance, and by early afternoon held Namur. In the seizure of the northern portion of Kwajalein Atoll, Marine 4th Division casualties were 313 killed and 502 wounded. They defeated an estimated 3,563 Japanese garrison forces, taking only about 90 prisoners. Kwajalein Island was the primary Japanese naval base in the Marshalls.  Two factors combined to make the Feb. 1 landing on Kwajalein among the most perfectly executed of the Pacific theater. First, the 7th Infantry Division trained superbly before it left Hawaii. Second, task force commander Turner was determined that Navy preliminary bombardment, primarily surface, would deliver a thorough pounding to the island's defenders. Turner and his heavy cruisers, battleships and destroyers delivered throughout the engagement, as did Army artillerymen. Four days of struggle were required to subdue the Japanese, but the Army veterans of Attu and Kiska succeeded. Just after 7 p.m. on the fourth day, Corlett, the Army commander, radioed Turner that the island was secure.  What is left of fuel storage tanks. Photo taken by George Smith. In the seizure of Kwajalein Island and surrounding islets, Army casualties included 173 killed and 793 wounded in overcoming an estimated 4,823 Japanese garrison troops. Of these, most were killed or committed suicide; approximately 174 were taken prisoner. The capture of Majuro, intended for use as an air and naval base, occurred without loss of American lives. Early intelligence reports proved erroneous; when Marines from the V Amphibious Corps Reconnaissance Company landed on Jan. 31, they found no Japanese on any of the islands slated for preliminary attack.  The night of Jan. 31, a Marine platoon landed on Majuro Island itself. All but one Japanese had escaped. The 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry Regiment did not land on Majuro until Feb. 1; then, with an influx of garrison troops, it began converting Majuro into a U.S. air and naval base. The speed with which Kwajalein Atoll fell allowed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, to move up the timetable for the seizure of Eniwetok Atoll, code named Operation Catchpole.  Catchpole came under the overall command of Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill. The V Amphibious Corps reserve, made up of the 22nd Marine Regiment (reinforced) under Marine Colonel John T. Walker and the 106th Infantry Regiment(reinforced) under Army Colonel Russell G. Ayers, provided the ground forces. On Feb. 18, 1944, the Marines landed on Engebi Island, supported by naval gunfire and by shore-based artillery placed the day before on three adjacent islets. Engebi, which contained the atoll's airfield, was secured that day.  On Feb. 19, the 106th Infantry faced a tougher situation on Eniwetok Island, but after two days of fighting and help from the 22nd Marines' 3rd Battalion, Eniwetok, too, was taken. The 22nd Marines also seized Parry on Feb. 21, closing the action in the atoll. In Operation Catchpole, Marine casualties were 254 killed, 555 wounded; Army casualties were 94 killed and 311 wounded. About 3,400 Japanese died and 66 were taken prisoner.  U.S. forces bypassed four remaining Japanese bases in the Marshalls (Jaluit, Maleolap, Mille and Wotje), cutting them off from reinforcement. After the war, it was learned that of approximately 13,700 Japanese left at these bases, 7,440 died from bombing, disease or starvation. The capture of the Marshall Islands moved American reconnaissance and land-based strike aircraft within range of the both the Carolines and the Marianas, and opened new bases for the U.S. Navy. It caused the Japanese navy to evacuate Truk Island in the Carolines, which was the bastion of Japanese air and naval power in the Central Pacific.  Feels real good to capture the atoll after intense fighting. The rapid victories in the Marshalls gave added momentum to the Central Pacific drive. The low number of casualties--under 3,000 combined for Marines and Army--shows that the lessons that the Marine 2nd Division paid such a high price for at Tarawa were put to good use. Surface and air bombardment and naval gunnery improved in strength and accuracy. Tactics against heavily defended atolls had been changed and improved. The Marshalls assault forces had more and better transportation to the beach as well.
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As I recall, it was Frank Jack Fletcher's decision to retire from the scene so he could "refuel" the carriers that lead to Turner's decsion to back off. With out any air support from the carriers the transports would have been toast.
Notice that this was Fletchers last combat assignment. Nimitz, who had served in the Personnel Buruea prior to the start of WWII had Fletcher eased out to a stateside command after Guadacanal, never to serve in a combat capacity again.
Bonus points, the Connie flew over the house this morning, didn't get to see her cause of the cloud deck, dang nab it, but the house sure vibrated.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Amazing story today Sam, thank you.
You're getting very good at being first. :-) Good morning Iris7.
Each offensive revealed the same theme....The Japanese were going to make a fight of it....even if we *knew they were starving.
Japanese inter services relations is a study in itself.
Officers treated their lower ranks like dirt...humiliation,physical abuse.
Officers horded the best food..the remaining food for themselves...
By the time a U.S. soldier ever sets foot near a Japanese soldier...the Japanese one has been put through the meatgrinder by his own..and hs been out their on the fly with little medication against all those nasty Island type diseases and viruses.
Navy bombarment...air opps...their surroundings turned into a landscape like the moon,.....yet after all..they would fight...give the U.S. soldier no quarter day or night.
Cowardly Islamic types of today cannot hold a candle to the Japanese combatant of WW-2.
The Jihadi say they will kill you......but much is just talk.
The Japanese guy was silent....like a spirit of death ...hunting you
Good morning Aeronaut.
Good morning EGC.
Good morinig Mayor. We should hit 72 degrees today!
Good morning feather.
Good morning Valin.
We were just watching the History Channel show on the 101 Highway and they talked about saltwater getting into concrete and finding it's way to the rebar and destroying the bridge stability. hmmm. No rebar in the pillboxes. Now I'm confused. :-(
It hit the target from 7,000 miles away? Amazing.
Cool flag-o-gram, thanks PE.
Hiya Sam
You're very welcome miss Feather.
Certainly.
Have been reading *In Harms way,...by Doug Stanton.
I was suprised to learn that USS Indianapolis was not the Navy's first choice for the Top Secret mission.
Crusier USS Pensacola ....moored beside Indy at Pier 22s in Mare Island was chosen.
Indy was weeks away still under refit.
That changed after Pensacola suffered engine failure during sea trials.
The Navy yanked McVay [Captian of the Indy]...in for an early morning brief..and dumped the whole 9 yrds on him...."We know your ships not ready.....but your going"!
Possibly the last photo of USS Indianapolis...preparing to leave Tinian after delivering atomic bomb components, circa 26 July 1945.
It's nearing midnight, July 30th 1945. The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis is steaming along at about 17 knots on its way to the Philippines after delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian Island, the very bomb that will be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Through a series of incredible bureaucratic blunders and ineptitude, the "Indy" will soon enter history as the U.S. Navy's greatest sea disaster of WW II. Seen here from the Japanese submarine commander's view, the "Indy" is lined up for a perfect shot from the submarines 'long-lance' torpedoes. Of a crew of over 1,100 men, approximately 800 survived the two torpedo strikes and entered the warm Pacific waters. For 5 days and 4 nights, these survivors endured the tropical sun, thirst, hunger, and worst of all, a mass shark attack. Of the over 800 men that went into the water, only 320 survivors were pulled to safety.
Three thousand casualties and the "historians" called it "easy." The New York Slimes today would call it a disaster and send reporters looking for any poor little Japanese prisoners that might have been "abused."
If the drone boats had 'moon pools' in them with depth charges inside said moon pools, they could have depth charged the coral instead, and thus cut channels through it with their own destruction.
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Air Power |
Resembling as it did a G4M Betty which had been put on a slimming diet, the Japanese Army’s Ki-67 Hiryu (Flying Dragon) was nevertheless the best Japanese twin-engined bomber of the Pacific War. It compared favorably with Allied contemporaries, but despite its official classification by the JAAF as a heavy bomber, it was more in the class of the American B-26 Marauder. Had the Peggy, as the Allies called her, been available before the coming of Allied aerial superiority, the Pacific War’s history might well have been different. Sadly for the Japanese, the plane was forced to fly with young crews fresh out of training school in most cases, and even those veterans who were lucky enough to fly the Hiryu had to operate her under almost suicidal conditions against swarms of high-performing enemy fighters.
Late in 1940, even as Nakajima’s Ki-49 Donryu was undergoing test, the Army Air Staff was drafting specifications for her future successor. The Japanese Army was still preparing for an ultimate showdown with the Soviet Union, and thus wanted a tactical “heavy” bomber. Mitsubishi was therefore instructed to build three prototypes to meet the following requirements: (a) an operating altitude of from 13,125 feet to 22,965 feet; (b) a maximum speed of 342 mph; (c) a radius of action of 435 miles with a 1,102-lb. bombload; (d) a maximum bombload of eight 220-lb. bombs, three 551-lb. bombs, or a single 1,102-lb. bomb; (e) a crew of from six to ten men, depending on the mission profile; (f) a defensive armament comprising one 7.7mm machine gun in each of the nose, port, and starboard positions, and a 12.7mm gun in each of the dorsal and tail positions; and (g) two engines chosen from the following types-the Mitsubishi Ha-101, Nakajima Ha-103, or Mitsubishi Ha-104.
Chief Engineer Ozawa’s team designed a clean, slender mid-wing monoplane powered by a pair of 1,900-hp Ha-104s. As mentioned before, the prototype looked like a G4M Betty that had been dieting, but aside from that, Ozawa made a commendable departure from previous Japanese design methods. To ease production, the Ki-67 was designed to be built by sub-assemblies from the start, and crew armor and self-sealing fuel tanks were also used from the beginning. Attention to these details rather delayed the operational debut of the Hiryu, but they turned out to be strong assets when the plane had to be built, maintained, and flown under the harsh conditions of the late-war period.
The three prototypes were not completed until December 1942, February 1943, and March 1943, respectively, but Mitsubishi had already been instructed to build additional prototypes and service-test machines. All three prototypes were armed similarly-one 7.92mm machine gun in each of the nose, port, and starboard beam positions, and one 12.7mm gun in dorsal and tail turrets. The first prototype left the earth on its maiden flight on December 27, 1942. It displayed some longitudinal instability and control oversensitivity under certain flight conditions, but overall, the Mitsubishi team and the Army were pleased with the new creation. Although the maximum speed was eight miles per hour slower than the specification called for, the Ki-67 easily met or exceeded every other requirement. Once the service-test machines were modified to improve their handling characteristics, the type was discovered to be both easy to fly and amazingly maneuverable. Without a bombload of any kind, the Hiryu could easily loop and turn tightly, and its controls remained smooth and effective even in dives of up to 373 mph. In addition to increased fuel capacity from 565 gallons to 855 gallons-and the extra tanks were self-sealing, no less-the service test examples had a revised armament. The nose gun was changed to a 12.7mm weapon, the dorsal turret’s gun became a 20mm cannon, and the beam positions became “blisters” rather than flush-mounted windows.
In December 1942, it was suggested that the new aircraft would make an excellent land-based torpedo bomber, and in January of the following year, Mitsubishi was instructed to fit an underbelly torpedo rack on 100 production Hiryus. The 17th and 18th production Ki-67s were used to test the plane’s suitability for this demanding role, and Major Sakamoto of the Army’s Air Examination Department took the two planes and their Army crewmen to the Yokosuka Naval Air Station for trials. The Hiryu proved so successful that Mitsubishi was directed to install torpedo racks on all Ki-67s beginning with the 161st aircraft, and the Army agreed to release some Hiryus for Naval service. The JNAF renamed them the Yasukuni, after the shrine near Tokyo devoted to honored war dead.
The Army, in fact, was so pleased with the new bomber, that additional equipment was being continually planned for it, and actual adoption of the Ki-67 for service was delayed because no one apparently could agree on a standardized configuration for it. Finally, the Army Air Staff was forced by the demands of the war to quit dithering. The design was frozen on December 2, 1943, after one last change was made-the beam guns were changed to 12.7mm weapons-and it was formally accepted as the Army Type 4 Heavy Bomber Model 1 Hiryu (Ki-67-I).
The foolish delay in finalizing the design meant that the first combat use of the Peggy didn’t occur until the series of air-sea battles off the Formosan coast in October 1944. The Army’s 7th and 98th Sentais and the Navy’s 762nd Kokutai (Air Group) scored some hits on the American cruisers Houston and Canberra, but failed to sink either vessel (they were towed out of the battle zone), and all three units suffered heavy losses. But from then on, torpedo-carrying Ki-67s of both services fought side-by-side for the remainder of the war, being particularly active in opposing the American landings on Okinawa. In its original bomber role, the Hiryu was used by the JAAF over China, and Hamamatsu-based Ki-67s, staging through Iwo Jima, made repeated attacks on B-29 bases in the Marianas until Iwo was invaded.
Production of the Ki-67-I received the highest-priority rating, but only 698 were built. The parent company, Mitsubishi, built 606 at three different factories; Kawasaki built 91; and the Tachikawa Army Air Arsenal built one. Also, Nippon International Air Industries performed the final assembly of 29 Mitsubishi-built examples. Only one more major change was made: the single 12.7mm machine gun in the tail turret was replaced by a twin-gun mount starting with the 451st example. It was also planned to increase the bombload to 2,756 pounds beginning with the 751st aircraft, but Allied bombings and the December 1944 earthquake, which especially affected engine production, seriously impaired production of this and every other Japanese aircraft.
By the end of the war, several special or experimental versions of the Ki-67 were planned, but only one was actually built-the Ki-109 heavy fighter, described separately. Others that reached the drawing board, and in some cases prototype form, included the following:
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi
Type: Twin-engined Heavy Bomber, Heavy Escort Fighter
Accommodation: Normal crew of six to eight in enclosed cabin; reduced to three for suicide attacks.
Allied Code Name: Peggy
Models: Ki-67-Ia, Ib and Ki-67-II, and Ki-109
First Flight: Early 1943, Ki-109: August 1944
Service Delivery: April 1944
Final Delivery: N/A
Production: 698
Powerplants:
(All Ki-67s except for experimental machines) Two Mitsubishi Ha-104 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, rated at 1,900 hp for take-off, 1,810 hp at 7,220 ft., and 1,610 hp at 20,015 ft.
(16th and 17th Ki-67s) Two Mitsubishi Ha-214 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radials, rated at 2,400 hp for take-off, 2,130 hp at 5,905 ft., and 1,930 hp at 27,230 ft.
(21st and 22nd Ki-67s) Two Mitsubishi Ha-104 Ru eighteen-cylinder turbosupercharged air-cooled radials, rated at 1,900 hp for take-off and 1,810 hp at 24,150 ft.
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 73 ft. 9 13/16 in.;
Length: 61 ft. 4 7/32 in.;
Height: 25 ft. 3 5/32 in.;
Wing area: 708.801 sq. ft.;
Empty weight: 19,068 lb.;
Loaded weight: 30,347 lb.;
Maximum weight: N/A;
Wing loading: 42.8 lb./sq. ft.;
Power loading: 8 lb./hp;
Performance:
Maximum speed: 334 mph at 19,980 ft.;
Cruising speed: 249 mph at 26,245 ft.;
Climb: To 19,685 ft. in 14 min. 30 sec.;
Service ceiling: 31,070 ft.;
Normal range: 1,740 miles; maximum range, 2,360 miles.
Armaments:
Guns:
(1st, 2nd, and 3rd prototypes) One flexible 7.92mm machine gun in each of the nose, port beam, and starboard beam positions, and one 12.7mm machine gun in each of the dorsal and tail turrets.
(4th-19th Ki-67s) One flexible 7.92mm machine gun in each of the beam positions, one flexible12.7mm machine gun in the nose and in the tail turret, and one 20mm cannon in the dorsal turret.
(20th-450th Ki-67s) One flexible 12.7mm machine gun in each of the nose, port and starboard beam, and tail positions, and one 20mm cannon in the dorsal turret.
(451st and subsequent Ki-67s) One flexible 12.7mm machine gun in each of the nose and beam positions, twin flexible 12.7mm machine guns in the tail turret, and one 20mm cannon in the dorsal turret.
Bombload:
Normal: 1,102 lbs.
Maximum: 1,764 lbs.
Torpedo attack: One 1,764-lb. or One 2,359-lb. torpedo.
Suicide attack: Up to 6,393 lbs.
Mentioning Leyte Gulf, I just finished a book called "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" about the actions of the DDs and DEs of Taffy 3. Pretty stirring tale that the 5 or 6 escorts took on the last of the major fleet elements of ther IJN.
Quote of the book was from a chief on the CVE Gambier Bay as a couple of the IJN cruisers were closing in on the carrier. "At a boys, were sucking them in to 40MM range"
The Connie folks have a website it is:
http://www.airlinehistorymusuem.com
If you have an interest in the IJN during WWII look at
http://www.combinedfleet.com
There is an interesting analysis of battleships of WWII on this site as well as all sorts of info on the IJN
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
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