The Forgotten Revenge for Pearl Harbor - Lae-Salamaua 1942

[@jackpinesavage1628]

My uncle, who passed away a few years ago, at the age of 90, was a U.S. Navy Lt. j.g., who flew a Corsair fighter off the U.S.S. Hornet (CV-12). When the war was over, he flew a plane to the Navy base in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, climbed out of the plane and was greeted by his parents, his sister and my father, waiting for him. Fair winds and following seas, uncle Keith.

[@gunner678]

Nice story....fair winds indeed to your uncle!

[@eddie-se9ie]

God Bless him. Thank you for his service and post. USN, (retired)

[@jeffreyisaacs5243]

Jack pine Savage that man deserves to be in heaven and just how thankful the American people should be and are so grateful. 😊

[@Edogawa1117]

Jack pine Savage Thanks you to your uncle.What a great man,I hope he had a good life after the war.

[@donogoobo9992]

The Corsair was not the easiest plane to fly. It was a hotrod, and so must have been your uncle. Thanks for his service and the years of his life he gave to prolong our nation. Keep sharing his story, he deserves it.

[@NiSiochainGanSaoirse]

The eloquence of this GERMAN man in a secondary language is at astonishing. He speaks better, almost perfect English with such incredible articulation that it puts the majority of people i know at home in England to shame. Good job squire.

[@jb76489]

That’s the difference between learning a language in a formal setting and learning it colloquially. Second language speakers are always more formal than natives, they don’t know any better

[@felixml919]

@@jb76489 And also that he's, probably, writting a script so he can think long and hard about all the outlandish words and phrases he can put into it.

[@zlatanclovecic1944]

He is speaking fine, but the German accent is unmistakable.

[@justinpyke1756]

Wonderful video! As Bismarck notes, the strategic focus of the Japanese at this point in the war was on the Southern Resources Area. The blow at Lae-Salamaua may appear "small" at first glance, but it had massive strategic implications. Inoue Shigeyoshi had been effectively recycling the same tiny handful of ships, supporting elements, and troops to expand the Japanese defensive perimeter eastward. It may be bizarre to hear, but the areas closest to the Americans were strategic backwaters for the Japanese at this point in the war. With the loss of ships in this strike, the "shoestring" that Inoue had been operating on broke. He was forced to call for carrier support, which brought the period of easy eastward expansion to a close and set the table for Operation MO, resulting in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

[@felixstrong2524]

kool beans

[@gunner678]

Very good point!

[@williamreynolds8210]

Thank you for the additional information!

[@8Maduce50]

Which took away critical carriers for the Japanese attack on mid way which was prompted because of the dolittle raid.

[@fakshen1973]

As with the attack on Tokyo by Doolittle, these raids tied up a lot of resources that would have been pressed like a knife into the belly of the American navy. The Japanese had to put more effort into their defenses else they would be subject to surprise attacks on their assets and fouling any operational plans (can't move troops if the transports your counting on are under water).

[@Me2Lancer]

Thanks for sharing this. My Dad was a Pearl Harbor attack survivor having served aboard USS Raleigh CL7, she was one of the first ships hit that day. An uncle of mine few in Navy aircraft in the Solomon Islands around the time of this battle. He passed away in 1982 and had suffered from shrapnel wounds the rest of his life after air combat.

[@edwardjohnson4237]

at 16:29 that's my grandfather in the gunner seat of 6-T-4. The photo was taken during training runs out of Pearl Harbor.

[@spade3779]

Holy shit, that’s awesome!

[@kenduus2035]

And my Grandad Robbie was on the ground during that air attack cheering them on from directly below! He was on patrol with the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, an Australian unit who witnessed the landing to their north at Lae and their south at Salamaua and then get to watch as the Japanese were attacked...

[@jebsails2837]

Somehow this action eluded me, very glad for the info. My late father served on the Lexington in the early 1930's, and a family friend flew "Buffalo's" with landing gear prone to collapse on hard landings from her. Thank you.

[@richardpcrowe]

I have met and interviewed both Thatch and Sherman for the U.S. Navy film on the history of the aircraft carrier. Very interesting men and heroes of the Second World War...

[@songojune]

Where can the film be viewed?

[@datadavis]

In brain

[@boatrat]

Commendations both to Mensch1066 for choosing such an intriguing historical episode for the topic, and to you Bismarck for your overall excellent summary of this regrettably obscure event. Some of us marginally-educated warbird enthusiasts, now have a bit better perspective on a neglected but pivotal sector of the War. And that "First Team" book also sounds like a valuable recommendation in its own right. Good work all around. Even your video-game aircraft visual aids, were far more enjoyably compelling than I would have expected.

[@CorsetGrace]

"The First Team" is the complete story of U.S. Naval aviation from December 7th thru August of 1942 and is an incredible read.

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

@@CorsetGrace The followup is right behind it on Bismarck's bookshelf, "First Team at Guadalcanal".

[@patrikfranzen4459]

Tack!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thank you!

[@laurencetilley9194]

The Australian 6th, 7th, and 9th infantry divisions made up the bulk of ground forces during the battle of Lae-Salamaua . Milne Bay and along the Huon Peninsula, Finschhafen, the Markham and Ramu Valleys and through the Owen Stanley ranges in the Finisterre mountains. The US 5th air force did a brilliant job during the New Guinea Campaign and had air superiority. well before Lae-Salamaua begun. Well done, great research :)

[@SEEININFRARED]

I thought you did a fantastic job on telling the story of that attack on the Japanese in Lae-Salamaua. I remember studying that back in the day, and I had no idea that anyone else would have done so either. That was an attack that was pretty much buried in the pages of the history of battle of WWII. Thanks for bringing such an important story to light for others to take in.

[@kenduus2035]

And my Grandad Robbie was standing right there on the beach and watching and cheering as it happened! I was really pleased to find this video after I had researched about my Grandad Robbie and learned about this event in WWII.

[@seth1422]

The Hudson was American-built, but it was never used by the US armed forces. It was an early war (‘39-‘40) stopgap adaptation of a commercial airliner exclusively for the British / Commonwealth market. A random US naval pilot in 1942 could very easily never have seen one before.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Yes that was also my hypothesis however I need to look more into the ID training the pilots received at this point. Theoretically they should have known the Hudson

[@echoesofthedead]

We Americans, we're VERY myopic at the early stages of the war. The usarmy air Force shuffled as many aircraft to everywhere else than "here". Not to mention the Aussies were desperate for anything they could fly against the Japanese... period.

[@seth1422]

I did a little reading, and discovered that in 1941 the USAAF *did* actually take a fair number of Hudsons (like 400 operational) for a short while before they were phased out for better types. They were used almost exclusively for costal defense. The Hudson didn’t have the range for Pacific work, so the US used their Hudsons much like the British, focused on anti-U-boat work in the Atlantic / Gulf of Mexico. Which would explain why the PTO Navy pilots had never seen them before.

[@jimbobjones1858]

Contributing factor could have been that the RAAF still used the standard RAF roundel with the red centre which could have been confused with the Japanese "Meatball". US aircraft (Navy and Army) insignia at the time still had the red circle within the white star, and only did away with this a month or two after this encounter. As a consequence maybe?

[@Dave_Sisson]

It wasn't just the Hudsons. The Australians built 400 Bristol Beaufighter light bombers during the war and used them extensively against the Japanese. Apparently there were many cases of them being fired on by Americans who were unfamiliar with non American aircraft. I'm not sure if this was due to poor training or loss of concentration in battle?

[@rockyblacksmith]

It's worth noting that switching the torpedos for bombs might not have been that much of a loss of damage potential, considering that the notorious unrelyability of the Mark 13.

[@kevintucker3354]

Horrible for the torpedo bomber pilots who risked their lives many times for no reason at all. I don’t know for sure but have heard that this torpedo failed as much as 80% of the time.

[@rockyblacksmith]

@@kevintucker3354 There is a great video by the YT channel Drachinifel on the Mark 14 torpedo (which the Mark 13 was derived from) detailing all the problems in development. Appropriately titled "Failure is like Onions". Well worth a watch (and generally a recommendeable channel).

[@eshuut9049]

“They noticed the presence of some very strange looking aircraft which they didn’t recognise.” It was flying upside down.

[@bluefoxy6478]

Yes, dispite being made upside up until it was given to the aussies.

[@1911Zoey]

@@bluefoxy6478 lol

[@bluefoxy6478]

Literally send the thing that you will know that will be turned upside down by the aussies, upside down, so when they get it, it will be upside up!

[@RoanokeTechZen]

@@bluefoxy6478 The Hudson looked upside down when it rolled out of the factory.

[@rabbi120348]

@@bluefoxy6478 What do you expect from people who walk on their heads??

[@Inquisitor6321]

Great video! Thanks! And thanks for explaining the design flaw of the Lexington class carriers with ONE elevator leading to logistics problem when launching a strike. Launching the readied fighters to circle around until all attack aircraft were launched and land those fighters - refuel them and launch them again. What a logistics problem!! I learned something. Thanks again!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

You're welcome! The one working elevator was a surprising issue I didn't know about either before researching this. The second one not working was a kick in the teeth.

[@markfryer9880]

The US Navy still does deck shuffles like that to this day according to some carrier docos I have watched. The wisdom of doing so is for you to decide.

[@GilVincent]

Even today, the launch sequence is heavily influenced by the "deck spotting", where you park the planes after the previous recovery. In this case, the F4Fs were spotted last (ready to be first to launch) in order to be scrambled in the event the Task Force was discovered and attacked en route. Today's angled deck carriers have more deck space, providing more maneuvering room for shuffling the aircraft.

[@treyriver5676]

A small victory is far better than a small defeat and learning from a small victory and applying what is learned is how to make future actions large victories.

[@kalbs89]

Interesting, I had never heard of this mission. Thanks Bismarck, great presentation.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

[@Thatonedude227]

Military Aviation History It’s kind of weird. This seems like a fairly big attack to have never heard of.

[@jasmorris1286]

An old neighbour of mine was part of recon team on the ground he part of special z force group. He explained the shock on the Japanese knocked them about pretty bad. He also was part raiding party he said. To Frank, you were amazing!

[@cannonfodder4376]

Never heard of this attack. But fantastically explained, the top notch educational content I am happy to be a patreon for.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks for the support, very much appreciated

[@the_black_douglas9041]

Thanks for this wonderfully detailed video. Patreon subbing now. I am putting together the pieces of my great uncle’s service as Lieutenant D.S.Hicks in the Australian 2/5 Independent Company (subsequently renamed Commandos) in the area around Lae/ Salamaua in 1942. The 2/5 took part in a famous night raid, in conjunction with the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles, on an enemy base at Salamaua on 28 June 1942. Armed only with Bren guns, sticky bombs, a 3” mortar and their wits, they killed 120 enemy for 3 injured allies. They also shot an enemy pilot, running for his plane in pouring rain and pitch black night, who was carrying a briefcase of sensitive documents containing vital strategic information. The documents were run over the mountains and through the jungle by foot and resulted in an allied change of Naval strategy. There is an excellent rare book called “Commando, Double Black” by Andy Pirie for anyone interested in their little recognised efforts.

[@dancolley4208]

Very interesting presentation about a little known part of WW2. In addition, the narrator did an excellent job. He covered the issues in what I thought to be a complete manner with out droning on so much that I wanted to hit the next video. Nice job, my friend. Well done.

[@teddyduncan1046]

I have to mention that I appreciate your videos. I had an uncle who arrived later in the Pacific war as a mechanic on the B-29's.

[@od1452]

I've read about the air war in the Pacific for decades... and I've never heard of this. Thanks Doc.

[@richardhyser666]

I believe Jimmy Thatch invented the thatch weave tactic which was how the wildcats flew together as two to take on the zeros. Until hellcats came on the scene. He really had an impact early on.

[@oddballsok]

no...that was his brother George Thatch.

[@jimd1944]

Actually, It was a John Thatch who developed the tactic which, was originally called the "Beam Defense" and, later named the Thatch weave. The principle of this maneuver has been used by the Navy ever since and, during my time, was called "Combat spread" or, Loose Deux.

[@CorsetGrace]

John "Jimmy" Thatch conceived the tactic as the war broke out. In fact, he tested it over Hawaii by having Army P-40s try to attack his two plane formation. In a two plane formation each flies perpendicular to each other about 200 to 300 yards apart and each pilots scans the sky in front and behind his wingman. When an enemy tries to swoop in on an element, the other pilot would see this and immediately turn towards his wingman. Since the wingman would see this turn because he was always looking in that direction, he would then turn in as well. If the enemy pilot attempted to follow his target he would suddenly find himself head on with a guns blazing Wildcat coming at him from in front and slightly below. The Army Air Corps pilots accused Thatch of cheating. Thatch and his squadron used this tactic to their advantage in Midway not only shooting a few Zeros down but confusing the Japanese pilots who chased after Thatch's pilots trying to get kills when they should have been defending their fleet.

[@nitehawk86]

@@CorsetGrace Correct, John Thatch's nickname was "Jimmy".

[@wacojones8062]

Very good presentation. My dad served in New Guinea as a hospital ship medic part of an 8 enlisted and one officer platoon. They picked up wounded at Milne Bay, Buna and Finschhafen and also served in station hospitals as needed two trips out and back from San Fransico.

[@donchichivagabond1578]

Using an excerpt from the actual battle planning is genius! Great job. Cant wait to see the evolution of this channel.

[@philipcobbin3172]

My father served on the AO-49 chasing Haulsey's task force in the Pacific. High speed oiler...steam turbines on that looks like an oiler...but they had to run with the big dogs so as to refuel them. Thanks for the video

[@ralphcoppola7979]

Your careful research with broad perspectives is greatly appreciated. The manner in which you intertwine graphs and videos is excellent.

[@nmk8475]

Love the IL-2 footage! Really gives a new visual dimension to the battle! Gotta give props to those Japanese pilots who dared to fight the American planes with recon biplanes hahaha - that must have took balls

[@richardpcrowe]

I interviewed Jimmy Thatch for a Navy historical film on the aircraft carrier. He was one of themost interesting men I have ever met. He explained his famous "Thatch Weave" on film!

[@richardkirk5098]

That move changed air to air combat. He left a big footprint.

[@rodparsons6719]

THACH , not "Thatch".

[@johntripp5159]

While serving in HMAS Moresby in 1967 on a surveying and bottom plotting mission we lost one Kiowa helicopter which flew into a cloud containing a mountain, it took the crew three days to hike back to Wewak. Day four the captain went flying and sight-seeing over the local airfield. He never made it, while gaining altitude the pilot banked right and the captain felt himself in danger of falling so he jammed his foot to brace himself resulting in a gyro landing right alongside, scratch two Kiowas. No life like it, LEM Tripp R48618 because some folk weren't there.

[@Me2Lancer]

Thanks for your well researched documentary of this engagement and our first revenge following Pearl Harbor. My dad was aboard USS Raleigh CL-7 in Pearl Harbor during the attack where she took a torpedo hit and an aerial bomb an hour later. This event occurred about the same time as our breaking of the Japanese Naval code JN-25. This represented the maximum expansion of Japanese forces with the Battle of the Coral Sea and Guadalcanal soon to follow. One of my uncles took shrapnel during this battle which he had until his death. By June of 1942 the US would score a major victory at Midway in the north Pacific.

[@alanbeel9871]

Thanks for what You do. Please keep up the great work.

[@harrisionstan3773]

Thank you so much! I lived in Lae from '64 to 71, and while I knew the Tenyo Maru was sunk by American planes, but didn't know the details. When we arrived there, you could drive a speedboat between the cargo derricks and the deck. By the time we left, all you could see was the bow rails, on only then at low tide. I do have some photos if you're interested.

[@Theogenerang]

The old Lae airstrip is still there, albeit with a traffic roundabout in the middle of it. As for the Owen Stanleys you have only a handful of routes between the Gulf of Papua and the Morobe region. Light aircraft often stop flying these ranges around noon and the hills are still littered with wrecks.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

Isn't Lae now a small local airport? Also fun fact, Lae airfield was the base for Saburo Sakai and his squadron for awhile. His squadron consisted of mostly aces, kind of like the WW1 Flying Circus, except its in this tiny bare-bones airstrip with not a lot of planes and personnel. There was one incident where Sakai, Ota nad Nishizawa did several loops over an enemy airfield as a stunt after a bombing raid. They didn't get fired upon. An American bomber the next night dropped a note as a response to their stunt. They got in trouble to say the least.

[@Theogenerang]

@@neurofiedyamato8763 Lae airstrip started as a mining support strip before the war and shut down fixed wing operations around 1987. All fixed wing operations moved to Nadzab airport further up the Markham Valley. There is still a small memorial to Amelia Earhart on the northern side of Lae airstrip but the airport itself has now been reduced to a road and garden plots. Nadzab is just as interesting as it designed for RAAF Mirage fighters but was only used by light Army, RAAF and PNGDF aircraft before becoming a civilian airport.

[@allangibson8494]

@@Theogenerang Nadzab was built during WW2 - it is also the final resting place of the only Piper Cubs ever operated by the RAAF (they were destroyed by a grass fire).

[@khaccanhle1930]

I was in Sulawesi, quite a ways west of New Guinea. During the rainy season, the evaporated water would come off the sea and hit the mountains and unload on the windward side. The updrafts and windshear was treacherous. Light planes needed usually about 10,000 feet to be sure to avoid the drafts from the mountains. It wasn't fun on the stomach.

[@garynew9637]

Watched horse races there in the 70 s

[@dylanmilne6683]

Brilliant production Biz. I really like the sound effects and visuals from 1946. Your presenting is getting good

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks!

[@rickniland46]

Enjoyed your video very much. I was not aware of this operation and your report of it was very well done. In 1966 I was a patrol officer stationed in Lae and made patrols down the coast to Salamaua and saw a lot of the effects of the the war - bomb craters and rusting army equipment. Later I was stationed in Garaina and walked over the Owen Stanleys to Tapini. A few years later I was in charge of Woitape patrol post and during a search for a missing aircraft we came acros the remains of a Dakota that crashed during the war.

[@Jupiter__001_]

The sound effects that you put on really bring the photographs to life. Great video ;)

[@spitp51]

I haven't seen Il 2 1946 for a while. Perfect video as always!

[@S2Sturges]

Wonderfully narrated, with such a lot of great detail, and expertly composed video! Thank you, I truly enjoyed this!

[@danielheistg9385]

Thank you . This was fascinating. Minor tech for your info, Lae is one syllable, pronounced just like lay. And Guinea is 2 syllables. My heart is always in Lae. I was born there and lived there until I was 14.

[@firefightergoggie]

Credit where credit is due. The Japanese Nakajima E8N pilots had guts. Really enjoyed the video. Refreshing to see something historically relevant on Facebook.

[@1racemate]

but we took them out

[@shelbythomas]

Facebook?

[@bdphourde]

An outstanding presentation! Great research and story line and narrative! I had never heard of this battle! My Dad, 2 years later, had set up an Air-Sea Rescue Group and was operating out of airfields along the coast near Port Moresby and later, others. I wonder if they ever used captured airfields.

[@michaelmonfils2642]

Sad how many young lives were lost and wasted early in the war due to defects with the Mk 13 torpedoes. Torpedo missions were hazardous enough already; those were some very brave aircrews (on both sides). Such losses in personnel and materiel would be considered scandalous today. And yes, "First Team" is an excellent book, probably the favorite in my entire collection.

[@carloharryman]

Depends on which flag you serve under I suppose...

[@13stalag13]

The Mk 13 was aerial, the Mk 14 for ships and Subs. They both had the same problem with the firing pins.

[@EneTheGene]

Well, if the torpedoes had worked they would have killed even more people.

[@rolandfelice6198]

As always, a very enjoyable video Bismarck. Your presentation style is very easy to follow and quite animated, which is often lacking in so many video contributors. Kudos and I'll always look forward to your output.

[@tekanger975]

Totally exceeded my expectations. I enjoy learning of WWII events that normally excape mention.

[@arnaudn.5675]

Video quality is improving release after release, great job !

[@patrickmacconnell4364]

How and why the first successful large scale raid by America after Pearl Harbor is basically forgotten is a mystery. Thanks for this Bismark!

[@kenduus2035]

Because it was so brief and so few people were there to see it and war elsewhere was far more active! My Grandad Robbie, Lieutenant Gilbert Stuart Tasma Robertson, was one who did see it first-hand. He was on the ground on patrol with the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR) when the Japanese landed at Lae and Salamau (he was right between them) and watched and cheered on from the beach in the Huon Gulf as those air attacks happened.

[@m3497]

Outstanding video! Enjoyed the detail of your analysis (judged with my limited knowledge). Keep up the great work! I'll be back for more.

[@lyntwo]

They flew with what they had. The American pilots were told that the planes could be replaced, they could not. The overall naval aviation system had experienced pilots share tactics and experiences learned with new pilots and with the training system. But these were the men who held the line.

[@fazole]

Most people don't know how important the experienced enlisted Naval Aviators were early in the war. Congress had not approved enough money to recruit and train commissioned Naval Aviators, so the USN trained enlisted.

[@mikemcguire1160]

About a year later there was another very significant air/naval battle in the same area, the Battle of the Bismark Sea. The Japanese attempted to reinforce Lae with a division moved from Rabaul in eight transport ships escorted by eight destroyers. When the smoke cleared the USAAF and the RAAF had sunk all eight of the transports and four of the destroyers. I would love to see your treatment of this.

[@stephenjacks8196]

Billy Mitchell's use of skip bombing is in his courtmartial. Level bomber skips the bomb (like skipping rocks on a lake) which is aimed to explode at ships waterline, below armor belt. Early WW2 US torpedoes were unreliable: run too deep (under ships), magnetic fuse fails (should explode under steel hull), bounces off ships (primary fuse fails), runs out of fuel early (shorter than expected range). US Navy procured torpedoes without testing because it would cost too much. Skip bombing and torpedoes explode below the waterline for the most damage.

[@CaptainGyro]

Outstanding video. Your presentation skills have come a long way.

[@youtubeaddict1234]

Really enjoyed watching this with my standard issue MkI eyeballs!

[@toter-drache]

Great research and presentation , Well done ,Thanks 👍🏻👍🏻

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Thanks !

[@victoriacyunczyk]

The New Guinea campaign is unfortunately largely ignored, despite its massive strategic implications. From diverting resources from Guadalcanal, setting the stage for the Battle of the Coral Sea, to later providing air bases to support operations in the islands of the south west Pacific and even the Philippines. On a related note, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea would be an interesting topic to cover.

[@ChuckJansenII]

USS Enterprise had success at Kwajalein Atoll, the Hornet and Enterprise combining for the Doolittle Raid, Lexington and Yorktown New Guinea at Lae-Salamaua all proved prophetic to Admiral Yamamoto's premonition. Then we get to the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. After Midway, Japanese naval and air superiority was broken. By the time Guadalcanal was concluded, the Japanese Imperial Navy would never be the same. Our losses, USS Langley, USS Lexington, USS Yorktown, USS Wasp, USS Hornet. The US Navy was hurt but not broken. I would be refitted, reinforced and become dominant with the flood began with a deluge of Essex Class carriers and the F6F Hellcat designed to dominate against the Japanese A6N Zero. But even then the Japanese will to fight was not broken. Thank you for bringing this little known raid to the forefront.

[@wfp9378]

Excellent! Anyone interested in this should try to get Carrier Strike by Gary Grigsby which is an operations level game which will place you in the same dilemmas as deciding on which load outs, time of launching a strike, and order of launching from your CVs, or the full on Pacific War (this is by Grigsby as well and FREE from Matrix Games). Both are DOS games and run easily in DOSBOX. Carrier Strike is shorter and more manageable....PacWar is a behemoth but well worth the learn.

[@terrywaters6186]

What is this Dosbox? Is it a way to play the old classics under Windows 10?

[@robertdubois3448]

@@terrywaters6186 Anything that required DOS to run, as far as I know. BTW if you do run an old game be prepared to see it run MUCH faster than you remember. Old games were made for old processors.

[@BudFunOne]

Marvelous piece. You did a fantastic job here. Thank you

[@mcfontaine]

Greatly researched episode. Thank you.

[@georgea.567]

I am really happy you are using IL 2 for the visuals again. In my opinion it looks much better than war thuder.

[@shocktrooper2622]

I love the visuals, and the map information!

[@RLD920]

Excellent video and information. depth of the information is really something.

[@TheAdaaamski]

I could listen to you talk about these second world war operations for days! Very well made video!

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Cheers!

[@karlbrundage7472]

As a veteran US Submariner, I still harbor resentment towards the bureaucratic hacks that made up the BuOrd Torpedo Factory and design organization in the decades leading up to WWII. Every product of this incompetent operation doomed untold numbers of Aviators, Destroyermen and Submariners to death, injury or mission failure because of their hubris and haughty arrogance. They had convinced themselves that the weapons they designed and produced were the best in the world- without actually testing any of them in a "warshot" configuration. Had I been one of my forebears, I would have made it my mission to hunt down every one of those duplicitous mongrels.

[@johnscallan5648]

I heard the story that they used 2 prototype torpedo's for test. One worked and 1 didn't. With a 50% failure rate in test they went into full production. Yikes.

[@KateLicker]

there was one of those 50s/60s submarine war-movies that retold the story re BuOrd and the useless torpedo pistols...don't ask me which name movie, though, because I think I saw ALL of those era movies about USN subs.They showed them dropping the torpedos nose-first from a tower, from a height to simulate the same speed and impact as a live use would impose

[@markfryer9880]

@@KateLicker You would tend to remember seeing that in a movie. Let me guess that the torpedo failed to explode and just became a crumpled mess?

[@KateLicker]

I can't remember well enough in detail about it distorting /crumpling, but I guess being dropped it would have had to..the movie showed repeated exercises with failures each time, maybe some modification or trying another pistol, another failure, so on and so forth..not sure if all of this was reconstructed footage by the movie-makers, or borrowed genuine archive footage..but the main combat-plot plank of the movie itself were these torpedoes failing in combat and denying the sub a kill from a good shoot....

[@KateLicker]

I was told another story about torpedoes from an Australian RAAF vet from New Guinea or New Guinea islands area..their torpedoes (intended to be carried by Beauforts) were failing to run too, and it was discovered that someone, allegedly a black US soldier/truck driver whatever, one with a healthy thirst, had figured out how to drain the fuel alcohol out of the stocked torpedoes...ready-made top-hand Shine, right there..not sure the authenticity of the tale, bear in mind, wartime soldiers /airmen(an Erk in Keith's case) /sailors all gossip like teenage schoolgirls..

[@jamesmcginn6291]

Excellent presentation. Even though English is not your first language your diction is excellent and you effectively convey nuance. Thank you!

[@eddiehaskell1957]

Excellent narrating, great photographs and I also enjoyed the recreations. I was reaching for a joystick to direct fire on the biplane. Thanks for the video...

[@asd36f]

That dogfight between the Dauntless dive-bombers and the Nakajima E8N floatplane would be one of the more unusual during the Pacific War.

[@slick4401]

Great video, Bis. Wonderfully done. Thanks a bunch!

[@TomLongusa]

Stumbled into you're channel quite by accident and thoroughly enjoyed this video. More than happy to subscribe and looking forward to viewing more.

[@shootfirst2097]

Refreshing to see young guys interested in history/military history.

[@evanames5940]

Thanks, Learned something I did not know. Well worth the support.

[@christopherg2347]

Navy: "We are doing a party crashing on the Japanese." Army: "We are there too." Australians: "Aye mate, can we come too?" US: "Sure."

[@1racemate]

yes come on over

[@NiSiochainGanSaoirse]

And I flew to papua to slingshot beach pebbles across the waves. Just because... 🤣

[@jacobrzeszewski6527]

USAF: can we join too! Everyone: *visible confusion*

[@kenduus2035]

And on the ground was my Grandad Robbie, on patrol with the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles at the mouth of the Buang River, watching on and cheering! Lieutenant Gilbert Stuart Tasma Robertson watched the landing to their north at Lae and to their south at Salamaua and then the following day stood on the beach and watched this air attack!

[@docvega5465]

An excellent dissertation on the battle!

[@murraystewartj]

Top notch presentation and analysis. Many thanks.

[@WTH1812]

Excellent video, very informative but it fell prey to the weather conditions at the end as an entire volume was shut down by an errant blast.

[@jeffmoore9487]

Just when i thought I had a handle on the PTO, another big pre coral sea operation pops up. Thanks for your careful work.

[@kenduus2035]

Look up the Salamaua Raid as well. Just weeks before the famous Kokoda Track saw Australians with Kanga Force, a combined unit of the New Guinea Volunteer Rifles and the 2/5 Independent Company commandos, attacking and beating the Japanese on the ground for the first time ever in New Guinea.

[@fazole]

A torpedo loaded Devastator had a top speed of 110kts-like a Cessna 172! They had no armor plate or self-sealing tanks and according to Lundstrum, the crew could smell avgas while flying them. They really were not very good.

[@northernlight4614]

Excellent documentary and video.

[@Legitpenguins99]

Imagine having the enemy name your plane simply "dave"...

[@Cutter2506]

It was practice during WW2 that the Japanese fighters were assigned male names. Jake, Paul, George, Dave, Nick, Randy, Tony, Claude, Zeke (for the Zero) , Pete, Jack, Irving, Oscar, Tojo, Frank and Nate. Bombers were given female names : Betty, Val, Grace, Mavis, Emily, Lily, Lorna, Nell, Babs, Sally, Ann, Dinah, Peggy, Kate, Jill, Helen, Judy. Those were either, bombers or seaplanes used as bombers.

[@davidbrennan660]

Was there a convention regarding Army or Navy Airframes in regard to these codenames?

[@Cutter2506]

Not that I am aware of.

[@Legitpenguins99]

@@Cutter2506 my point was Dave is such a non threatening name

[@dave623]

🙂

[@skinnykarlos710]

Horizontal bombing, as you put it, is known as "Glide Bombing" and pilots trained in this (P47 Thunderbolts and Typhoons particularly) were exceptionally accurate.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

Again glider training coming in really handy. I recall a pilot of a passenger liner in trouble using a trick of sideways gliding wing first and down, which is not normally used on planes - they simply don't need it, as planes have engines.... usually. But that pilot had experience in gliders / sailplanes.

[@iamrichrocker]

Cmdr. Ault must have been a class act and fantastic leader..and wonder if any of the Academies or Colleges have invited you to give lectures..WW2 holds a fascination still for me and many more..thanks for the analytical break down..must have been quite a job researching editing..bravo..

[@DanielGraybeal1961]

good narrative and in depth analysis

[@MGB-learning]

Outstanding video and presentation.

[@davidstewart5811]

Great video and information about a raid I had never heard of before.

[@mebeasensei]

That ship that sent up the reco biplane, Kiyokawa Maru, had an interesting life. A bullet, or bullets, from one of those planes flooded a machine room. So bad was damage, the ship had to, after dropping its planes off at Rabaul, return to Japan for repairs. And guess what it arrived in time for? The Doolittle raid. From there it had some amazingly dangerous voyages including during 1945 along the Chinese coast, via Korea, Taiwan Even during the Okinawan campaign. Damaged in May ‘45 it went to Kure, where the 38th bombing struck it again on July 24, ‘45. Then it limped to a small bay in Yamaguchi. Rolled over and was eventually struck from the list in ‘46. In ‘48, the American authorities decreed that ships could be salvaged. It was turned over, repaired, brought back into service as a freighter frequenting Seattle and New York for nearly twenty more years! Containerization caught up with all freighters in the ‘60s and it was sold for scrapping in Taiwan in ‘67-‘69. An amazing survivor considering how one assumes everything that floated with that red flag was probably sent to the bottom by wars end.

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

Amazing vid, Glad to see!!!

[@johnscallan5648]

Great video! On a side note, Jim Thatch is credited with coming up with the "Thatch Weave" a defensive manuever for a 2 element fighter group The wingman would fly below and to the right of the leader. If attacked from behind the wingman would slide under and to the left while leader slid over and to the right performing a weave. If the attacker went after the leader he would expose himself to the wingman, thus becoming a target himself. Modern air forces still use the Thatch Weave. Regarding floatplanes, the US navy put floats on a Wildcat. The name? Wildcatfish. snicker

[@ladydeath4437]

The Wildcatfish was put aside because of it's unsufficient speed along with the Folland Spitfire, those were bad concepts.

[@allangibson8494]

I wouldn't describe the weather in the mountains in New Guinea as unpredicable. At 1pm it clouds over, at 2pm it starts raining and at 5pm it stops - EVERY SINGLE DAY... We got 15 meters of rain per year where I was, over 40mm every single day on average.

[@SaviorCross]

Those unreliable Mark torpedoes remind me of the unreliable sidewinder missles used by Phantoms in Vietnam.

[@percynjpn4615]

The first of what might be called "revenge attacks" by U.S. carrier forces were the February 1 raids against the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, led by the Yorktown and Enterprise, Admiral William Halsey in overall command, with Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher commanding the Yorktown group. These raids, though not causing especially severe damage, were a huge shock to the IJN and the General Staff, and provided a very much needed boost to U.S. moral and confidence. (edited for spelling)

[@benerval7]

Very well spoken. It sounds like you know your info and deliver it very well.

[@ladydeath4437]

As a pacific war buffy(I'm not a guy!😉), i didn't know about this battle. Thank you for adding more knowledge about the pacific war and great video btw Bismarck!☺

[@SJQuirke]

Nice one - well done - nice delivery

[@rayo1883]

Very well done and thanks for covering such an obscure engagement.

[@veronicafarnsworth3306]

Great presentation about a significant battle I hadn't heard of. Thanks!

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Thanks. I wasn't aware of that operation. Fire in the Sky is one of my favorite books. I've read it like 7-8 times and wore out my first copy. Touched by Fire is on the ground actions and is also very good. The author decided not to do a volume on the naval war as he thought that had been well enough covered. .

[@just-dl]

Excellent presentation.

[@Duececoupe]

Most excellent video, as always! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻 The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign books are indeed great books, have those myself!