KingHart wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 11:29 pm
Sir,
If you would simply answer the questions regarding your plan, it would not be necessary for them to be repeated.
No. It evidently has to be repeated over and over and over.
Betty bombers. Let's once again look at your plan for the Betty bombers:
1 - The Japanese did not have an airfield on Eniwetok in December 1941. The airfield was only started in December 0f 1942, and was first used in November 1943. Please explain how you plan to conduct long-range air operations on an atoll with no airfield. There was an airfield on Roi-Namur, and one bomber unit (Nells) and one fighter unit (Claudes) were based there on 7 December. I point this out to try to show you that names are not "chrome", but actually important details in any plan.
My plan was to expand Eniwetok prewar. But you are right about Roi-Namur!!!! Thanks for that! Distance to Oahu = 2443 miles. To Maui = 2535 miles. And no prewar expansion required! Plan just got that much more doable!
2 - The distance from Roi-Namur to Maui is 2500 miles, as I stated in my previous post. The maximum range of the Betty, unloaded and unarmed, is 3176 miles. The extended combat range of the Betty is, however, only 937 miles, with a normal combat range of 748 miles. By the way, these quoted range figures for the Bettys come from a source that you yourself said was an unmatched authority - Gary Grigsby.
Even Gary can be wrong. Unamed the Betty can do 3749 miles. Fully armed 3132 miles. Sorry, I'm not going to repeat the links.
3 - Thus, as I said, your planes are arriving with no ammo or bomb load, having flown all night, having used at least 80% of their fuel, and having no certainty of there being anywhere for them to land. The idea is, to use your favorite term, "clueless".
2535/3749 = 67.6% of their fuel. Tons of range left.
US "cluelessness":
1 - An inexperienced Army lieutenant saw the radar, and believed it to show the flight of dive-bombers due in from Enterprise. A mistake, yes. But certainly not proof that the US was unprepared or "clueless".
2 - The sub was tracked, fired upon, and sunk. Not sure how that is a "clueless" response.
3 - Not sure what "ultimatum warning" you are referring to; given that the Japanese bungled the reception of the 14-point diplomatic missive that was supposed to be delivered prior to the raid, thus insuring the US public would view the raid as an unforgiveable sneak attack, it would seem to be the Japanese who were "clueless".
4 - All ships had ammo for the AAA, within 10-15 minutes of the attack Japanese planes were being targeted.
5 - Please provide any proof whatsoever that Washington could not believe the reports of the attack. Shocked, yes. Stunned into disbelief, no.
6 - The planes on Clark Field were being refueled when a delayed Japanese attack caught them on the ground. Had the attack been delivered as planned, all US planes would have been airborne. That the Japanese got lucky does not make the US "clueless".
Excuses for why they were clueless. Irrelevant.
Midway invasion:
1 - As I asked before, where is the invasion force during the raid? It is 1300 miles from Pearl Harbor to Midway; where do you sync up at?
2 - What ships are being used to transport the invasion force? It is 2500 miles from Japan to Midway; how are you refueling both KB and this Midway invasion?
They synch up at Midway. The very same ships that would have taken them to Luzon can take them to Midway.
Maui invasion:
1 - What do you mean by "ground crew ships"? Previously, you have stated that the only naval forces involved were the historic KB force and 12 APDs. Where do the ground crews ride? Where is all the fuel and bombs for the Bettys? Where is all the fuel for all these ships coming from?
Sorry, I'm just not going to repeat this over and over.
2 - As before, where is the invasion force landing on Maui? How can 2000 Japanese soldiers be landed on an island with a population of 47000 and no one notices?
2400 soldiers. They are guided by pathfinders who had months to scout and prepare. Maui is huge with a very long coastline. Its is in the middle of the night on a weekend at peacetime.
3 - What is the timeline for the landing and for the capture of both the airfield and port?
The landing is when the APDs get there from 100 miles out at dusk - about midnight. They then have about 8 hours to get into strike position. The strike takes place when the raid begins.
4 - Just who are these "pathfinders" you keep referring to? How many are there? How and when did they arrive on Maui? How do the various Japanese forces communicate with the "pathfinders"?
Japanese infiltrated or recruited agents. They communicate just how all pathfinders do - radios, signal lights, and, eventually, face to face.
Communications:
1 - Japanese radios were notoriously poor, to the point that some pilots actually removed prior to taking flight. Note that Fuchida, the Pearl Harbor strike leader, did not use his radio to talk to other pilots; the famous "Tora, Tora, Tora" signal was meant for Admiral Nagumo back on the Akagi, not for the planes. He used flares to signal the attack.
2 - The problem with using radio to communicate is that the enemy can intercept the signals. This the US did far better than the Japanese. Why, then, would the Japanese use coded radio transmissions to relay word of an abort, especially when the entire Japanese war offense depends on this raid?
And we can't have any risk, can we!? What does "Tora! Tora! Tora!" tell any US intercepter?
Luzon:
1 - Please explain why you believe the Japanese would totally ignore the US forces on Luzon, and instead invade Midway and attempt a suicidal invasion of Maui? How could your plan possibly benefit Japan's war aims?
Once the air assets on Luzon are destroyed, it is neutralized. It's far in the Japanese rear. The invasion of Maui has huge payoff - well worth the tiny risk. Delaying US response by two years definitely benefits Japan's war aims.
2 - You are using 6 battalions in your Maui and Midway invasions. That represents roughly 1/3 of the land forces assigned to attack Luzon. 2 of the battalions will be lost at Maui, and the other 4 stranded and starving on Midway. How do you plan to replace these forces?
?? Too nonsensical to even reply to.
3 - How do you plan to proceed with the invasion of Borneo without first having at least attempted to neutralize the US forces on Luzon? You are aware, that sizing the oilfields on Borneo and in the East Indies was the whole point of Japan going to war?
What can ground forces on Luzon do about anything if their air assets have been destroyed? Once their air assets have been destroyed Luzon is neutralized for quite a while.
