Watch the surrender of a I-400 class Supersubmarine.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto called for the construction of 18 of the massive submarines carrying a total of 36 attack planes. The name of the special submarine class was abbreviated to Sen-toku.
The attack planes had to be designed from scratch. The need for speed, range and a decent sized bomb payload required tradeoffs. The wings had to be foldable to fit inside the tube, or hangar, atop the submarine. The design work, testing, and building of the plane was outsourced to the Aichi Aircraft Company.
The I-400 program did have its detractors in the heavily bureaucratic Imperial Japanese Navy. After the defeat at Midway in early June 1942, Japan became more focused on defending the homeland and far less on possible attacks on the U.S. mainland using the large submarines. The death of Yamamoto in mid-April 1943, played further into the hands of conservative Japanese commanders. Cutbacks were ordered in the number of submarines to be built. .
The first test flight of the Aichi attack plane occurred on November 8, 1943. The plane, called Seiran or “storm from a clear sky,” reportedly handled fairly well as the world’s first sub-borne attack bomber. The Japanese began compiling limited available information on the heavily fortified Panama Canal. Their analysis showed that destroying the gate opening onto Gatun Lake would create a massive outpouring of water, destroying the other gates in its path while rushing toward the Caribbean Sea.
After weeks of planning, the Japanese came up with a strategy to attack the Gatun locks at dawn when the gates were closed and presumably the defenses were lax. The planners had nearly a full year to formulate the attack for early 1945. But there were problems ahead because none of the submarines were complete and the planes were not yet in the production stage.
The Japanese labored on, and by the end of 1944 the I-400 and the smaller I-13 were completed and turned over to the Navy. In early January 1945, the I-401 was commissioned and the I-14, the last of the underwater aircraft carriers, was put into service by mid-March 1945.
As an important aside, it should be noted that while preparations for the attack on the Panama Canal went forward, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, vice-chief of the Naval General Staff, floated another idea for the use of the Sen-toku submarines. He suggested arming the Seiran planes with biological weapons to be unleashed against a populated area on the West Coast of the United States.
Dr. Shiro Ishii, Japan’s top virus expert and head of the Army’s notorious 731 unit in Manchuria, was consulted. He recommended that the planes drop plague-inflected fleas, something he had tested with success in China. On the United States with San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego he suggested as targets. The plan was discarded in late March by the head of the Army’s general staff who called it “unpardonable on humanitarian grounds.”
In effect, the Japanese Army, which had led the development of biological weapons and had tested them on Chinese and American captives, nixed the idea of using the weapons late in the war on American civilians, perhaps in the belief that the war was already lost.
I-400 class submarine located off Oahu.
The subs were later scuttled.
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Thanksgiving from: Pacific Paratrooper | Pacific Paratrooper (wordpress.com)
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Walter Alesi – Salem, OH; USMC, WWII,PTO, 5/4th Marines
Norma Bidner (101) – Gibson City, IL; Civilian, WWII, Chanute Air Force Base
Take a moment to honor them.
Robert Black – Boise, ID; US Navy, Chaplain, the Gray Shepard Award, USS Racine
Raymond Cattell (101) – Birmingham, ENG; Royal Navy, WWII, HMS Glasgow & HMS King George V
Benge Elliot – Lamesa, TX; US Army, medical
Levin Ferrin (100) – Phoenix, AZ; US Army Air Corps, WWII, 82nd Airborne Division
Willis Holton – Jacksonville, FL; US Air Force, Korea
Francis P. Martin – Scranton, PA; US Army, WWII, ETO, Pfc. # 33457416, Co D/1/157/45th Infantry Division, KIA (Reipertswiller, FRA)
Walter Nies – Eureka, SD; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, SSgt. # 37307545, Tail gunner, 96 BS/2 BG/15th Air Force, POW, KWC (Stalag Luft 6, GER)
James Rotunno – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, SSgt. # 32204944, Co K/3/157/ 45th Infantry Division, KIA (Reipertswiller, FRA)
Robert A. Wright – Whitesville, KY; US Army, Korea, Pfc. # 15381551, Co C/1/19/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Taejon, SK)
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IJA paratroopers at the ready
This condensed eye witness account was written by BGen. Henry J. Muller, Jr.; courtesy of “The Drop Zone” website and published in “The Voice of the Angels” newspaper, Matt Underwood, Editor.
Henry Muller, US Army
“The time was 1800 hours, 6 December 1944 and at first it sounded like a swarm of bees in the distance. Then it became clear. No paratrooper could mistake the drone of a formation of troop carrier aircraft. Someone outside shouted “AIRCRAFT!!” – then many – “JAP TRANSPORTS!!” – “PARATROOPERS!!”
Japanese paratroopers
“The division staff dashed out of the mess tent looking skyward. By now, a dozen parachutes had opened above us and everyone began firing at them. I even emptied 2 clips from my .45 at the nearest parachutists. Most jumped well beyond our HQ, landing in and about the San Pablo airstrip. Only a few who jumped too soon dropped over us and floated down just north of our perimeter.
Japanese para attack
“There was considerable rifle fire from the vicinity of the airstrip and some from the HQ area. Someone ordered that the generator be shut down as the lights could attract sniper fire. Each section had been required to dig foxholes and trenches around their tents, although rather shallow soil piled on the upper rim provided cover from small arms fire if one kept low.
Col. Douglass Quandt
“During the night, the G-3 Col. Quandt prepared a plan for a provisional battalion of Ordnance and Quartermaster companies, with odds and ends of Service and Administrative troops, to counterattack across the airstrip at first light.
“The firing had subsided, but we had no contact with the small aerial resupply detachment at the strip. So early that morning, Gen. Swing and I, accompanied by his aide and dismounted driver, made our way to the airstrip for a first-hand appraisal of the situation.
“Our counterattack had cleared the field… the Japanese paratroopers had withdrawn into a wooded area north of the strip. They had burned some of our light aircraft along with small stores of aviation fuel and various supplies which were part of our resupply effort for units in the mountains.”
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Gen. Robert Eichelberger
This eye witness account is from General Robert Eichelberger, Commander of the Eighth Army on Leyte as written in his book, “Our Jungle Road To Tokyo”
“There is a memento of this struggle now in the Military Academy at West Point. [General] Joe Swing gave it to me, and I sent it on from the Pacific.
“During the fighting on an airstrip, two ducking and dodging American GI’s – Allen W. Osborne and Eustis A. Jolly – were hand-carrying ammunition to the troops under fire. They noticed a large Japanese flag fluttering in a tree and, being incorrigible souvenir hunters, decided to acquire it.
“Each time they attempted to shinny up the tree, they were met by a fusillade of Japanese bullets. So they changed their tactics. They got an ax from their truck and while still under fire, chopped down the tree. That hard-won Japanese flag now hangs in the West Point museum.
“How can you explain youngsters like that? Despite the calamity howlers they continue to exist. Whatever challenge the future holds, I think Americans can meet it.”
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE !!
🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO OUR TROOPS
I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY THANKSGIVING _ WHETHER YOU CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY OR NOT
I have done a bunch of Thanksgiving posts over the years – take your pick……
https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/?s=thanksgiving
🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃
“TAKE YOUR PICK!”
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Lynn Aas (100) – ND; US Army, WWII, ETO, 17th Airborne Division, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Clarissa Churchill – London, ENG; Civilian, WWII, decoder, Ministry of Information
Kenneth R. Foreman – Mount Orab, OH; US Army, Korea, Cpl., Co A/1/32/7th Infantry Division, KIA (Chosin Reservoir, NK)
Ben Groesbeck – Meridian, ID; US Army, Korea, 187th Airborne Regiment
Juan F. Gutierrez – Sante Fe, NM; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pfc., 200th Coast Artillery Regiment, KIA (Cabanatan POW Camp, Luzon, P.I.)
John ‘Mike’ Lappano – Spokane, WA; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division, Bronze Star
Mariam L. McNally – New Albany, IN; US Womens Marine Corps, WWII
Jimmy Rowland – Prentiss County, MS; US Army, Korea, PTO, Pfc. #14299700, Heavy Weapons Co./19/24th Infantry Division, KIA (Kum River, Taejon, SK)
Edward M. Ryan – NYC, NY; US Army, WWII, PTO, Pvt. # 12026079, HQ Co/1/105/27th Infantry Division, Bronze Star, KIA (Saipan)
Ben Skardon (104) – Walterboro, SC; US Army, WWII, PTO, Bataan March survivor / Korea, Colonel (Ret. 20 y.), 3-Bronze Stars, 2 -Silver Stars
Arthur Talis – Boston, MA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Puget Sound
Minoru “Daddy Mike” Yoneda – San Martin, CA; US Navy, Korea & Vietnam (Ret. 33 y.), / Civilian, Sasebo Naval Base, Japan
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Rakkasans of today.
187th RCT
US troops in Afghanistan give thanks.
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day,
My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away;
I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe,
Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck;
The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan,
They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home.
Truly and honestly, from way down deep,
They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast.
These holidays are remembered by one and all,
Those happy days we can always recall.
The ones in the future, will be happier, I know
When we all come back from defeating the foe.
_______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Army turkey
US Navy turkey?
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Holland ‘Dutch’ Chinn (100) – brn: CHI; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI, mechanic
Denzel Clouse – Terre Haute, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO / Treasury Dept.
Edward Debrowski – Donora, PA; US Navy, WWII, 2nd Class Petty Officer, USS Shannon
Julia Garcia – San Francisco, CA; Civilian, WWII, welder
Harold ‘Hal’ Jackson – Davenport, IA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, pilot
Thomas Ligotti (105) – Buffalo, NY; US Army, WWII, ETO, 70th Engineers
Jennings Mitchell – Athens, AL; US Merchant Marines, WWII, Academy graduate
Eugene O’Thomas – Detroit, MI; US Army, WWII, Signal Corps
William Sawyer – Bleffton, IN; US Army, WWII, ATO, Medic (Ret. 20+ y.)
Ronald Webster – Roxbury, KS; US Army Air Corps, WWII, CBI
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From: Pacific Paratrooper
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The Thanksgiving Day card GP Cox received from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day,
My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away;
I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe,
Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck;
The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan,
They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home.
Truly and honestly, from way down deep,
They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast.
These holidays are remembered by one and all,
Those happy days we can always recall.
The ones in the future, will be happier, I know
When we all come back from defeating the foe.
_______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
Thanksgiving
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Navy
Army
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Donald Archer – Omaha, NE; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-25 navigator
John Boone – Summerville, SC; US Army, WWII, ETO, light mortar, Co. I/319/80th Division
Juan Borjon Jr. – Morenci, AZ; US Army, Spc., 11th Airborne Division
WWII Memorial poem at Arlington Cemetery
Don Dyne – Kelseyville, CA; US Navy, WWII, PTO / Korea, radio tech.
Adolph J. Loebach – Peru, IL; US Navy, WWII, USS Oklahoma, KIA, (Pearl Harbor)
Donald McElwain – Holyoke, MA; US Navy, WWII, PTO, Ensign, LST
Frank Merritt – Broxton, GA; US Army, WWII, PTO
Charles G. Ruble – Parker City, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, TSgt., 441st Troop Carrier Group, KIA (Germany)
Elmo Sepulvado – Zwolle, LA; US Army, WWII, ETO
Gerald N. Wilson – Camden, MI; US Army, Korea, Cpl., 1st Calvary Division, KIA
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WWII vs Afghanistan
Stanley Collins, US Navy: “I was on submarine duty in the Pacific in the year 1943. We were in the area off the cost of the Philippines. I remember having a complete turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. While the turkeys were cooking, the submarine took a dive. We went down too steeply and the turkeys fell out of the oven onto the deck. The cook picked them up and put them back into the oven — and we ate them, regardless of what may have gotten on them as a result of their fall. That meal was so good!”
Ervin Schroeder, 77th Infantry Division, 3rd Battalion, I Company, US Army: “On Thanksgiving Day, we made our landing on Leyte Island in the Philippines very early in the morning. We therefore missed our dinner aboard ship. Somewhere down the beach from where we landed, the Navy sent us ham and cheese sandwiches. My buddy happened to get one of the sandwiches and brought it back to our area. I was complaining to him for not bringing one back for me when he started to have stomach cramps… At this point, I shook his hand and thanked him for not bringing me a sandwich.”
Bill Sykes of Plymouth, Combat Engineers and then 1095th Engineer Utility Company, Command SoPac, US Army Engineers 1942-1945:
“The Thanksgiving dinners were served on trays. (My first one, with the Combat Engineers, was served in mess kits. That doesn’t work too well.) They had cranberry sauce, stuffing, the whole thing. It was a good meal. But the feeling of Thanksgiving wasn’t there. The meal was there, but the feeling of Thanksgiving wasn’t. I guess you couldn’t have Thanksgiving when you were overseas. There wasn’t much to be thankful for. It was sad. Although, I guess there was some thankfulness, at least you were still alive!”
This year, service members received:
— 9,738 whole turkeys
— 51,234 pounds of roasted turkey
— 74,036 pounds of beef
— 21,758 pounds of ham
— 67,860 pounds of shrimp
— 16,284 pounds of sweet potatoes
— 81,360 pies
— 19,284 cakes
— 7,836 gallons of eggnog
“All of [U.S. Army Central Command’s] food, with very few exceptions, has to come from U.S. sources and moved into the theater,” said Sgt. Maj. Kara Rutter, the ARCENT culinary management NCO in charge. “There are also challenges with the quantity of the food that we’re getting. When you talk about buying 23,000 pounds of shrimp, obviously that affects the entire market.
“We also have to ensure we’re respecting our host nations’ cultures. In some countries, we might not be able to serve certain foods because of cultural and religious considerations.”
Soldiers operating in isolated locations will also receive a hot Thanksgiving meal, Rutter added, thanks to food service professionals in the U.S. who prepared a series of “Unitized Group Rations,” which is “basically a meal in a box.”
“Being away from home during the holidays is very difficult,” Rutter said. “There are a lot of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who frankly are away from home for their first Thanksgiving, and they are doing some difficult things.
“We want them to be able to take a minute, take a knee, and eat the same type of food that their families are eating 9,000 miles away, all while thinking of them at the same time.”
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humor from Afghanistan
Turkey will travel
“And you were whining about sitting next to Uncle Milt!!”
Military turkeys
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Richard Arcand – Chelmsford, MA; US Navy, WWII & Korea, Lt.Comdr. (Ret.)
Robert Browning – Cary, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 194th GIR/17th Airborne Division
Dick Cadic – NJ; US Army, WWII, T-3 Sgt., telegraph
Thomas Fussell – Alamogordo, NM; US Air Force, Vietnam, Lt.Col., fighter pilot
Edward Gould – Christchurch, NZ; RNZ Army # 61449, WWII, 44/8th Army
Norman Kroeger – Hartford, WI; US Navy, WWII, USS New Mexico
Vincent Losada – San Antonio, TX; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, B-17 Bombardier, 487th Bomb Group
Larry McConnell Sr. – Des moines, IA; US Army, WWII & Korea
Walter Shields – Brooklyn, NY; USMC, WWII
Cowden Clark Ward – Fredericksburg, TX; Civilian pilot, founder of “Freedom Flyers”
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Thanksgiving during WWII…
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day, My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away; I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe, Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck; The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan, They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home. Truly and honestly, from way down deep, They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast. These holidays are remembered by one and all, Those happy days we can always recall. The ones in the future, will be happier, I know When we all come back from defeating the foe._______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
Click on images to enlarge.
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Shirley Baltz – Hammonton, NJ; US Navy WAVES, WWII
Sam Cartner – Asheville, NC; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-24 tail gunner
Edward Ferguson – Petersburg, IL; US Army, WWII, Korea
courtesy of Cora Metz poster designs.wordpress.cm/, US Army
William Gray – Kent, WA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, LT., 391/366th Fighter Group. KIA
Charles ‘Hap’ Holladay – Cookeville, TN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, meterologist
Henry Karwas – MI; USMC, WWII, PTO
William Richardson – Ivey, GA; US Army, WWII, 95th Division
Melvin Stone – Portland, ME; US Army, WWII, ETO, 187th Combat Engineers
Mel Tillis – Pahokee, FL; US Air Force
Harold Tor – Huntington Beach, CA, US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO, 11th Airborne Division, Purple Heart
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Thanksgiving during WWII…
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day, My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away; I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe, Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck; The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan, They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home. Truly and honestly, from way down deep, They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast. These holidays are remembered by one and all, Those happy days we can always recall. The ones in the future, will be happier, I know When we all come back from defeating the foe._______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
Click on images to enlarge.
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Elmer Bales – Alliance, OH; USMC, Cpl.
Ray Clontz Jr. – Corvallis, OR; US Army, 11th & 82nd Airborne
Edgar Johnson Jr. – Grand Bayou, LA; US Navy, WWII, CBI
Harold Irwin – Argos, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII
William Legault – Coventry, RI; US Navy, WWII, USS Arkansas
Isaiah McGrue – Boligee, AL; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam, 1st Sgt. (Ret.)
John Osika – Port Vue, PA; US Army, WWII
Willie Rogers (101) – St. Petersburg, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, 100the Air Engineer Sq., Tuskegee airman
Frank Royal (101) – Colorado Springs, CO; US Army Air Corps; WWII, PTO, P-38 pilot, Colonel
Melvin Smith – Walwick, NJ; US Navy, WWII, sub SSR272 Red Fin
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Nov 26
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Originally posted on Pacific Paratrooper:
TO SHOW MY THANKS TO ONE AND ALL… For my previous Thanksgiving posts – CLICK HERE and HERE! What was seen on the home front 1941-42… Thanksgiving during WWII… They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day, My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away; I can see everyone, eating dinner…
TO SHOW MY THANKS TO ONE AND ALL…
What was seen on the home front 1941-42…
Thanksgiving during WWII…
They’re celebrating Thanksgiving on this very day, My thoughts are at home, though I’m far away; I can see everyone, eating dinner deluxe, Whether it be chicken, turkey or even duck; The fellows over here won’t whimper or moan, They’ll look to the next one and hope to be home. Truly and honestly, from way down deep, They want you to be happy and enjoy your feast. These holidays are remembered by one and all, Those happy days we can always recall. The ones in the future, will be happier, I know When we all come back from defeating the foe._______Poem by an Anonymous WWII Veteran
Thanksgiving for the troops 1941-42…..
For those of you who live where there is no official Thanksgiving day – look around – family, friends and life itself is enough to be thankful for this evening and…
TO ALL!
Click on images to enlarge.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Paul Baio – Chicago, IL; US Navy, WWII
Warren Dowling – Arcata, CA; US Army, WWII, Purple Heart
Mary Porter Gens – DE & NJ – US WAVE, WWII
James Hatcher – Lynchburg, VA; US Army, WWII, 157th Reg./45th Div., Bronze Star & Purple Heart
Donald Miller – NPalm Bch., FL; US Army, WWII, Captain
Matt Spagnola – Waupaca, WI; US Army, WWII
George Taylor – Lufkin, TX; US Army, WWII
Lloyd Yingling – Hendersonville, NC; US Army, WWII, PTO, Medical Corps
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Thanksgiving at home hasn’t changed much…
TO ALL MY FRIENDS, READERS AND CASUAL VISITORS –
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!
the turkey gets cooked…
and we look forward to dessert!
Thanksgiving by Rockwell
USS Vulcan at se
Hockey game – 3rd Princess Patricia’s Battalion won 4-2 vs 1st Batt/Royal 22nd Reg. The matches took place “in the sound of heavy guns of the nearby US Army artillery”___Vince Courtnay
anyone with a free minute enjoyed this action
In the field… frien
Click on to enlarge
For Some a Grand Hanukkah
FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE — HAVE A GREAT DAY!
and everyone gets stuffed…
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Two items for our veterans…
two stories for our veterans and volunteers
Please click on to read.
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Farewell Salutes –
Purple Heart
Alfred Bosland – Woodhaven, NY & Delray Bch., FL; US Navy, WWII, Purple Heart, PTO
Wayne Boswell – Okeechobee, FL; US Army, Vietnam
David Jeremiah – Ft. Myer, VA; US Navy, Admiral (Ret.), VChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, CO Pacific Fleet, Cruiser Destroyer Group 8, Destroyer Squadron 24 & CO USS Preble (DDG-46)
Charles Norton, Jr.; Quincy, MA; US Army, MSgt., Korea
Lenard Kramer – Los Angeles, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 navigator
Kathryn Kurka – Custer, SD & Los Angeles, CA – US Army nurse, WWII, India & Burma, 73rd Evacuation Hospital
Martin Reinis – Santa Monica, CA; US Army Air Corps, WWII, B-17 pilot
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Personal note –
I apologize for the disorganization in this post – the format would not cooperate today – perhaps it is on holiday as well. Thank you for coming by.
For another great site – before you make your first toast of the day – http://dshenai.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/interesting-insightful-toasts-for-thanksgiving/
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Smitty - artwork by Priorhouse.wordpress.com/
Our Silent Observer
Jeep crossing
Pacific Paratrooper 