Best Two Out of Three

[John B.]

@ BBFanboy, perhaps he can take the night watches on the sludge removal barge.

@Capt. Harlock, yeah, that's what I figured when I thought about it. He was outgunned in two day time battles that went on for a whole number of rounds.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. II Burma Battles (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

"Hi Babe, time for a quick note to let you know I'm still kicking. I know that press boys are calling last week's air battle the Great Rangoon Turkey Shoot but around here we refer to it as the Day of Aces. 19 of our guys made ace in a single day if you can believe that! The intel boys are telling us the Japs lost more than 200 plans!! That's just crazy since we only lost a few more than 10 of our own. The Jap bombers kept coming and we kept shooting them down. Except for one crazy pilot who crashed his bomber onto a B-25 after his wings caught on fire. I hope we don't see any more of that stuff. Off to the new aces party at the O club. With 19 guys buying drinks it may be awhile before I can write again. Love you. Bob" -- 2nd Lt. Bob Crutchly to his wife. August 1943

The fighters did not sweep
I have failed the Emperor
My shame knows no bounds

-- Final Haiku of Col. Fukudoma Commander 4th fighter wing Rangoon.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. II Burma Battles (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

"By early August 1943 our campaign in the Burma/China theater had become a battle of several bridgeheads. We had cleared the Japs out of Burma in short order but to push on into Thailand meant crossing a series of rivers. We had bridgeheads across several of them, but to get troops for these attacks required the expenditure of a LOT of political capital. Basically, the Congress Party in India felt that Indian divisions should only be used to defend India. Winston had to work extra hard to get some of them released to cross into enemy territory. But, they did fight like the devil once they came along. Unfortunately, by the time we got started the Japs had been able to dig in, but, even so, we faced lower quality opposition than we had when they invaded India. The question was, would we be able to break through before reinforcements arrived.

It was a similar situation in China. With supplies flowing in there at last the Kuomintang armies were able to stop the Japanese army from pushing through to Chungking. The Chinese did have two bridgeheads across the Yellow River but whether or not they could get out of those and start to reconquer part of their country was doubtful. We did not have a lot of faith that the Chinese government would not simply sell our supplies to the Japanese or any other willing buyer. Heck we didn't call him Chaing Cash My Check for nothing!"

-- Author's interview of MGen Bernard Fitzsimmons Liason to Allied Supreme Command Burma Theater.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

"I was actually in the Radio room at Pearl on August 26th listening in on the fleet circuit to see if we got anything about the Port strike we had planned for Truk. We'd sent out 8 CVs and 3 CVLs to hit Truk as a diversion for their real target of Eniwetok to check out just what the Japs had there without drawing attention to our interest. We'd also sent out a diversion force of CVEs near Marcus to be sighted and run away to draw any Jap carriers. Anyway, around 8 a.m. with the wind out of the south I heard "Bandits, 11 O'Clock" from the Yorktown II's CAP commander. '11 o'clock' I thought. that would be planes coming in from the open ocean, there are no airfields at 11 o'clock in the area north of Truk when it hit me. Holy S*&T Jap carriers! 'Get me the Duty Officer NOW!!' I bellowed as the combat reports started to roll in."

Cheif Petty Officer Merigold USN Ret.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

If things are going according to plan, it's an ambush.

Unknown American Soldier

We had spotted the American light carrier TF East of Marcus and planned to swoop to the south as it was reeled in by the bait of our merchant TF and lessen the odds against us in the central pacific. Our fleet CVs should make short work of those slow escort CVEs. We did not count on the Americans having baited us with their CVEs to draw us into their trap with their massive carrier task force.

Vice Admiral Nichikowa -- private post war reflections.

We were bearing in on Truk and had no idea IJN carriers were around. When the search plane reports came in around 9 of Jap carriers to the Northwest our TF reacted right away. But, for reasons we've never been able to figure out, the Essex TF did not get the word and suddenly our two main carrier TFs near Truk were separated in range of his carriers and land based air. Not one air umbrella but two separate and thus weaker ones. A real disaster beckoned.

Capt. Frankens USS Yorktown II.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

War is a terrible thing. When we left the ward room the young men under my command were joking about the geisha they had conquered on our last shore leave and in a joyous mood since we were getting off a tremendous coordinated blow at the enemy. This would avenge Wake Island. When I returned that night, so many empty bunks and sad trinkets left from lives that were no more. And yet, as I watched Ensign Yokona press his dive to the very end through the hail of AA and Hellcats to put the bomb right into the Lexington II I knew that terrible fascination that has gripped so many before. And I knew a sense of pride, we took terrible losses, but was this the turning of the tide?

Flight leader Muzuki private letter to his Father 9/15/1943

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

Some of our fighter jockeys were green and it showed when we ran into the Jap CAP. But, our torpedos were working. By the time we left two IJN carriers were blazing and we'd laid some serious pain on at least a BB and a CA.

Jeffery Brighton Torpedo Pilot USS Yorktown II

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

It as easy to find the Jap TF with the big columns of smoke rising high into the sky. But, even though outnumbered by our escorts those Jap fighter boys kept punishing us. We added to the fires and did more damage to their wounded carriers. But, I wanted to meet the Captain of that one CV (I found out after the war it was the Taiho). He played his ship like a violin. Plane after plane went in and plane after plane missed until a TBF finally put a 500 pound bomb into it, but it shrugged it off like a drop of water.

1st Lt Albert Zylo personal interview with author.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

While I was monitoring the radio traffic (and phoning in ten minute updates to CINCPAC's secretary) we heard that the Nells were coming in. Those land based torpedo planes can do a real job on unescorted ships but don't fare so well against fighter planes.

Chief Petty Officer Merigold USN Ret.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

Then it was the Bettys. We were making short work of these planes, but it was eating into the CAP's resources and organization. I was starting to get a little worried.

Chief Petty Officer Merigold USN Ret.

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

When we made it back to base I heard that we got in another strike from our Jills. We'd placed a great deal of hope on these new planes to get through to the enemy and score some important torpedo hits. The explosions from bombs look impressive, but ships sink when they get too much water inside of them. For all of our bravery the newer pilots who replaced those we lost at Wake could not score any hits. It was the same story I had seen before. I still know Japan will win this war Father, I just fear that the road to victory will be long and painful.

Flight leader Muzuki private letter to his Father 9/15/1943

[BBfanboy]

Well played! Congrats! Splice the Mainbrace!

[John B.]

@ BBFanboy, it's not over yet! Just I keep having to stop for pesky work before I post everything!

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

By this time our CAP was basically overwhelmed and it seems like the Japs were throwing everything at us all at once. I was coming in on my landing pattern and may have been the only one to see the Jills coming in low over the waves in a perfect formation. I'm a torpedo pilot and I could see that these Jap boys were good, real good. The Ack Ack boys opened up as I pulled away (no one wants to land on a ship under fire) and dropped two of them but they kept pressing on. I looked over my shoulder and my heart sank when I saw the column of water and rising black cloud that said clean hit and secondary explosions.

Jeffery Brighton Torpedo Pilot USS Yorktown II

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

I landed on another CV and the skipper didn't care. They put everything we had into an afternoon strike and so did the Japs. I had never seen so many zeros in the air at one time. But, we pressed on and got a couple of hits on a carrier and a couple of BBs. It was a huge adrenaline rush. But, still, I lost two good buddies that day and I think about them often. Joe was a fighter pilot who used to go drinking with me and had a real way with the ladies. He never came back and no one knows what happened to him. I was glad we got some licks in to pay those bastards back. War is hell, sure but we didn't start it.

Jeffery Brighton Torpedo Pilot USN

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

Our TF was separated from the one with Yorktown II because apparently we did not get the message when they reacted north to fight the Japs. We actually flew over Yorktown II in our afternoon strike and could see planes launching and figured that was a good sign. We found the Jap TF and really plastered that carrier. I'm not sure how any ship could survive when it was a blazing inferno like that. I felt kinda sorry for the swabbies trapped below decks on that ship but I was really happy to make it back to my own ship.

Chip "bomber" Kelly SBC Pilot USN Ret.

[Capt. Harlock]

A rousing read!

[John B.]

An Oral History The Great Asia Pacific War Vol. III Central Pacific Ablaze (Harper Publishing & Co. 1965)

Some armchair admirals have voiced criticism that the next day we did not go hunting for the Jap carriers to make sure that they were finished off. But, they don't really consider that we had lost 88 Hellcats and lots of pilots the day of the battle so our CAP was way down with lots of the pilots tired and demoralized by big losses. We are also just a few hundred miles away from the major Jap naval base in the central Pacific which had already launched multiple strikes the day before with their torpedo planes. We had two damaged carriers but they were able to make decent speed so we rendezvoused and headed north to the oilers and safety. The second day, as you know, we did catch a damaged Jap BB and CA and put them both under the waves but we were able to brush off the strikes from Truk and get away. I met with Halsey when I got back to Pearl and he backed me 100%. The proof was in the pudding in that he kept giving me commands.

R.Adm W. Kitts USN Ret. TF Commander TF 404 August 1943.

[Capt. Harlock]

we did catch a damaged Jap BB and CA and put them both under the waves

I assume that would be Hiei and Mogami?

[John B.]

Cpt. Harlock,

sorry for the delay, I was out of town and unable to post. As you can see, the intel boys have the Kongo and the Akagi going down. I doubt this as there were no reports of the Akagi even being in the battle and all the bomb hits were recorded on the Hiei. The Mogami and the CLAA are in line with the battle reports so those are likely correct.

John