Unauthorized Looks at Pacific War Books
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Explore " nimitz" with insightful episodes like "Unauthorized Looks at Pacific War Books", "Command Review of 1943 in the Pacific", "Special Episode: Bill shows you where Nimitz died, graves, and Spruance grandchildren", "Bloody Betio-Tarawa Days 2-3 and Wrap Up" and "Special Episode: The Nimitz House, a visit with Admiral Spruance's grandchildren, and gravesites" from podcasts like ""The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War", "The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War", "The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War", "The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War" and "The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War"" and more!
Links
1. Mastering the Art of Command – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Victory in the Pacific by Trent Hone, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2022.
“There is a story, no doubt apocryphal, that gamers at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, have many times replayed the 1942 Battle of Midway - but have never been able to produce an American victory.”
– Taken from historian Robert Cowley’s book What If?
“Find better gamers.”
– My response.
In this episode, we look at the celebrated Battle of Midway, in which US naval forces decisively defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy. The prevailing narrative, as portrayed in two Hollywood films, was the plucky and outnumbered Americans were the beneficiaries of good fortune. A deeper analysis reveals that the two sides were almost dead equal in the most important weapons system, carrier aircraft, and the United States had numerous advantages stemming from its massive industrial base. Japan did not lose because it was unlucky or was the victim of an unfortunate confluence of events. The battle itself reveals many of the factors that the United States possessed over Japan in the capacity to wage total war.
Stephen Phillips interviews Craig Symonds, discussing his book Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay.
While the hit and run carrier raids of February and March tested American carrier doctrine to an extent, and the Pearl Harbor raid as well as Indian Ocean raids tested Imperial Navy doctrine also to an extent, this is the very first time that both navies tested each other’s way of doing things, and in the process found things that worked, and things that well…didn’t work. Let’s dig into it…
Talking Points:
• What sets off the battle of Coral Sea?
o Outline Japanese plans for Operation MO
Japanese wanted to seize Port Moresby and all of New Guinea. By doing this, it would provide Japan with both a way to isolate Australia as well as New Zealand from allied supply lines, specifically American supply lines.
• Why Rabaul (Opeation R) wasn’t good enough
This was to be prefaced by the Japanese capture of Tulagi, which is an island we will hear a lot about in the near future. By capturing Tulagi, in the Solomons, the Japanese could patrol the area and the sea lanes to Port Moresby so as to allow their invasion force a free hand.
As part of the Port Moresby invasion attempt, the invasion group was to be covered by two separate carrier groups, one which centered around the light carrier Shoho, and another which centered around the fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku.
o US intel at Station HYPO and fleet radio unit Melbourne, or FRUMEL decrypt Japanese messages to an extent, and in turn believe that the Japanese will strike the area of Port Moresby, or the northern coast of Australia on or about the first week of May.
As a result of this intel, Nimitz deploys the only two carrier task forces at his disposal at this time, those centered around USS Lexington, and USS Yorktown, TF 11 and TF 17 respectively, to stand by the area of the Coral Sea with designs to intercept and destroy the incoming Japanese invasion and support fleets.
• On May 1 the two US CV TFs unite under the command of ADM Fletcher
o May 4, Fletcher detaches CV5 to attack recent Japanese positions on Tulagi
CV5’s attacks are relatively successful, with damage inflicted on enemy positions and shipping in and around the harbor of Tulagi
• US losses are minimal
• By May 6, Fletcher is aware that Japanese CVs are in the area, and the Japanese invasion fleet is not far behind. As a result, he detaches ADM Crace’s cruisers WITHOUT air cover to block the invasion force.
o This is potentially a critical blunder by Fletcher. Crace’s CAs could have been blown out of the water by Japanese CVs, as it was, they were attacked three times by Japanese aircraft and once by MacArthur’s B17s.
Japanese reports stated that they had sunk a BB, damaged a second BB and a CA. Japanese sent no further attacks towards Crace. His vessels survived due to poor Japanese (and American) accuracy as well as his skillful maneuvering.
The sighting of the supposed BBs by the Japanese informed the invasion fleet to reverse course
Still a horrible decision by Fletcher
• First day of the carrier battle May 7
• Early on the morning of the 7th, Japanese launch searches to find US CVs
o Japanese scout planes from Shokaku find US ships and radio ADM Tagaki of 1 CV, 1 CA, and 3 DD.
What the Japanese actually sight is the detached oiler Neosho and her escort DD Sims.
• How did the Japanese pilot screw this up this bad?
• Japanese arrive over oiler and DD, realize their mistake and continue their search, they return and attack and sink Sims and force Neosho to be abandonned
• At 0815 a CV5 SBD piloted by John Nielsen finds the Japanese screening force under ADM Goto, which includes light carrier Shoho.
o An error in Nielsen’s coding made the message read 2 Japanese CVs instead of 1.
• Fletcher loses his mind on Nielsen when he lands and clarifies his message
Believing this to be the main Japanese CV force, Fletcher launches everything he has.
• 93 aircraft are flung at Shoho
o 18 F4Fs, 53 SBDs, 22 TBDs from CV2 and CV5
• Lexington Air Group, under Bill Ault arrive over Shoho first
o The SBDs attack first, and score at least 2 bomb hits and the TBDs score 5 torpedo hits
This is the only real successful TBD attack of WW2
• Lex AG executes a hammer and anvil attack and leave Shoho a wreck
Talk about Walt Nelson and Ted Wiebe
• Yorktown Air Group arrive next and continue to pummel Shoho.
o Estimated 11 bombs and 2 more torpedoes
o She is barely afloat as US aircraft leave and is gone by 1135
• Lexington VB2 CO, Bob Dixon sent a prearranged radio signal back to Fletcher that simply said, “Scratch One Flattop”
• Second day of the carrier battle May 8
• Both Japanese and US locate each other almost simultaneously
o US launch first at 0900, Japanese at 0915
Opposing forces actually pass each other on the way to their targets
• US attack Japanese first
o The well-coordinated attack of May 7 gives way to the mess of May 8
US aircraft have trouble finding the targets due to squally weather
• When they do find them, they can’t coordinate their attacks as the previous day
Yorktown aircraft under Bill Burch find and attack Shokaku.
• The ship is moving radically but is still hit with 2 1,000 pound bombs which puts her flight deck out of action.
• Lex Air Group attacks and half of her SBDs find Shokaku and attack, hitting her once, the other half of the attackers from Lex can’t find the ship.
• All TBD torpedo attacks by both Air Groups miss their targets or the weapons fail to explode
• Japanese attack on US fleet
• Enemy is picked up 68 nautical miles away by US radar
o Poorly executed fighter direction operations positioned the US CAP too low to intercept the incoming enemy strike.
• One of the stranger aspects of Coral Sea is that SBDs were utilized as anti-torpedo plane CAP
o The assumption was that the Japanese Kate was as slow and sluggish as the TBD, which was obviously false
One of the anti-VT pilots was Swede Vejtasa
• Talk about Swede’s dogfight against Zuikaku aircraft
• Despite the best efforts of the US CAP, the Japanese break through
o The Kates attack CV5 and miss, yet a hammer and anvil attack against CV2 succeeds
CV2 turned like a whale and could not evade the torpedoes.
• She takes two on her port side, one ruptures her avgas tanks, which eventually seal her fate
o The Vals attack Lex and hit her twice
o The Vals attack Yorktown and hit her severely damaging her as well
• Lexington goes down
o Avgas fumes spread throughout the ship, it is thought that a spark from a DC powered motor ignited the fumes which eviscerated the internals of the ship, starting uncontrollable fires.
The first major explosion kills Lex’s main DC party
IF WE HAVE THE TIME, LET’S GO THROUGH LEX’S DEATH
• Outcome
o Coral sea is technically a draw
Seen as US strategic victory in that it is the first time the Japanese are stopped
• Port Moresby is not invaded, and the Japanese expansion, at least for now, is checked
Tactical defeat for the US Navy
• Losing Lex in exchange for Shoho is not acceptable in any way
o Poor FDO operations stationing CAP too low and out of place contributed to losing Lex
o Poor design (prewar design) heavily contributed to Lex’s loss
o Poor US coordination on the morning attack against Shokaku and Zuikaku allowed both to escape the battle
Sho and Zui would be unavailable for the Midway operation
• Sho due to damage and Zui due to heavy aircrew losses
o What lessons do we learn regarding future operations?
As you know, the nation is going through a process of reviewing Confederate leaders through a clearer lens, clearing away the mythology around them that emerged to justify their actions after the end of the Civil War. I see this as right and appropriate.
But I also think it’s time to contemplate General MacArthur through a clearer lens. And if we do this, we realize:
A lot of this is going to sound like 20-20 hindsight, but in the military we have this thing called the After Action Report or AAR that is 100% 20-20 hindsight. The whole purpose of the AAR is to overcome the fog of war and look back on what really happened so that we can learn from it.
-We’ve harangued the Army Air Corps, as they were called then, enough I guess, lets focus on other commands. What about the Navy? Where was the Asiatic Fleet?
-What was MacArthur’s plan to meet the invaders? What did he want to do?
-Why would that simply not work?
-Talk about the US tanks that ran out of gas trying to get to Lingayen? Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics.
-Mac’s change in strategy from War Plan Orange to “defend the beaches, hit ‘em where they ain’t” was ludicrous.
-He had nowhere near the resources to do this. Ironically, it was the Japanese that succeeded in “hitting ’em where they ain’t.”
-Needs to be said: Gen Short pilloried for loss of Hawaii with no warning. Mac had warning and received Medal of Honor.
-Once the Japanese landed on Luzon in their main assault on December 22, they advanced rapidly, running over most resistance they came across. The largest amphibious invasion in history, to that point, was wildly successful. Another large landing occurred and now the Japanese had two armies advancing on Manila.
-With such numbers on the American and Filipino side, why did this happen?
-Admiral Hart was one of the first leaders to publicly say that the Philippines were indefensible.
Why was this a surprisingly common thought?
- ADM Hart was Annapolis classmate & friend of Mac’s older brother. Knew Mac well, called him Douglas. Said “Douglas is certain about a lot of stuff that just ain’t so, and is an effective talker, which leads to danger.” Maybe hint at our MacArthur episode?
-Let’s talk about the ineffectiveness of the Cavite submarines that were sortied by Hart
-Staring defeat in the face, what did Mac Arthur do next?
-How did the American forces do in the defense of the Bataan Peninsula?
-Despite their very good showing and heavy casualties inflicted on the Japanese, did they actually have any hope of rescue?
-March 11, MacArthur leaves. By May, the Philippines are surrendered to the Japanese. Over 90,000 Americans and Filipinos are captured.
-How is this news reacted to in the US?
-What does this do to American morale, both in the military and at home?
https://williamtoti.com
Interservice rivalry between the US Navy and the US Army was a major factor in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. While such rivalry is common in all militaries because each service has to compete for funding and stake out a unique identity and mission, some scholars argue that in the case of the Pacific Theatre, the rivalry was so problematic that it led to inefficiencies in the conduct of the war. They attribute this rivalry to the powerful service interests and to personality problems. MacArthur stands out as one of the key personalities that played a role in this rivalry – but what exactly was his relationship like with the US Navy during WWII? Was there a US Navy anti-MacArthur cabal at work as he claimed? Did his personality alienate his naval counterparts? Was he the reason for a divided command in the Pacific? Join MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams for a discussion of these questions.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClark
Facebook: @MacArthurMemorial
www.macarthurmemorial.org
***Chapter 1 of The Lucy Castle Story PREMIERS FRIDAY JULY 30th 2021 at 7 PM EST***
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---> Leicestershire, England; May 30th, 2021: Lucy Castle's Tic Tac UFO encounter over Great Britain was just the beginning of her story. <---
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Cover art courtesy of Lucy Castle.
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1962 KCBS documentary "The Silent Thunder" looks back on the Pacific Theater during World War 2. Reporter Fred Goerner interviews a number of people, including Pacific Fleet Commander in Chief Admiral Chester Nimitz. He also visits Tinian Island, the launching point for the atomic bomb attacks on Japan.
FAST MOVERS’ AND TRANSMEDIUM VEHICLES – THE PENTAGON’S UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA TASK FORCE:
https://thedebrief.org/fast-movers-and-transmedium-vehicles-the-pentagons-uap-task-force/
Somewhere in the Skies: 'Fast Movers', Transmedium Vehicles, and the Pentagon UAP Task Force:
https://play.acast.com/s/somewhere-in-the-skies/fastmovers-transmediumvehicles-andthepentagonuaptaskforce
LEAKED PHOTO SURFACES OF PURPORTED UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA:
https://thedebrief.org/leaked-photo-surfaces-of-purported-unidentified-aerial-phenomena/
Leaked UFO Pentagon photo: Mysterious object that US intelligence admits could be ‘alien':
Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready:
COVID-19 bill started a 180-day countdown for UFO disclosures:
https://nypost.com/2020/12/29/covid-19-bill-started-a-180-day-countdown-for-ufo-disclosures/
UAP Task Force to Provide Report to Senate Intelligence Committee:
https://thedebrief.org/uap-task-force-set-in-motion-with-passage-of-intelligence-authorization-act/
CIA releases UFO ‘Black Vault’ documents early: How to see them online:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/cia-releases-ufo-black-vault-documents-early-how-to-see-them-online
UFOs: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Collection:
https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/ufos-the-central-intelligence-agency-cia-collection/
UFO documents released by CIA are 'real-life X-Files,' expert says:
https://www.foxnews.com/science/cia-release-ufo-documents-real-life-x-files
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In 2004, U.S. navy pilots encountered multiple fast-moving UFOs off the coast of San Diego, California. While this story is now widely known, due to the government declassifying and releasing videos of this unidentified aerial phenomena, one detail from the USS Nimitz incident has often been overlooked – eyewitnesses also spotted a UFO under the surface of the ocean.
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