Vastly fascinating and informative. My father served throughout the Pacific war afloat and I have had a 60 year obsession with all things nautical. Beyond a doubt the best podcast I've ever had the honor and pleasure to pursue.
Hands down, the best history podcast ever. Tremendous detail with excellent perspective. You guys are living encyclopedias and your passion is nonstop. I am so hooked.
This is a GREAT episode. It plugs a knowledge gap that I've had for years. I frequently heard that the days between Pearl Harbor and Midway were the time that there were "a series of nuisance raids" but this is the first time that an explanation found me ... Where? Who? When? With what? etc. This podcast had given me a platform which I can use to continue to fill that gap. Thank you. Great job.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar I found out about your channel after I watched the Midway discussion published by Drach, both of you had the same guest: Jon Parshall, and I searched for more material. I am not telling you your business, but interacting with channels like Battleship New Jersey, and Drach's channel dramatically increases your exposure with people who most appreciate your content. A collaboration or recommendation helps the history community in general, everybody benefits.
31:25 The light cruiser was Katori, which in line with Japanese dismissal of defense in these areas was NOT a fist line cruiser. Indeed it had been laid down as a training cruiser and had a mixed main armament of 5.5" and 5" to facilitate the cadets' exposure to different weapon systems. She was sunk by Iowa during the Truk raid.
Another masterful episode. I hang on every word. And there are so many yet to watch! Well done gentlemen. As the son of a Naval Aviator, I am partial to the airmen, but I appreciated Bill's pride when he plugged the submariners for dragging a future president from the drink. A war hero of a future president. Different services maybe; but one Navy. The undisputed queen of the seas. May it always be so.
Another great program. Didn't know much about these raids, but gotta hand it to Bull Halsey. Air crews are gaining the much needed combat experience to put to good use later. Thanks Seth and Bill!
I must tell you guys that I have thoroughly enjoyed your You Tube version of your podcasts. This history needs to be told over and over again. The current generation, for the most part doesn't know or care about this period of time. A time when the U.S. was emerging as the premier World Power. To Capt. Toti, I'm an ex-sailor. Active duty 1960 to 1963. PO2, also stationed at Pearl Harbor on Ford Island at The Fleet Intelligence Center Pacific. Had to take a ferry or launch to get to the Island back then. I worked at the O-Club on Ford Island as a bartender I my off duty time. Biggest mistake I ever made in my young life was leaving the Navy. At 81 now, I think about that decision almost every day. I sincerely hope and pray you beat the medical problem you are fighting.
Thank you for posting this; I'm so glad I found this podcast. The early carrier raids are what really sparked my interest in the Pacific War back in the day, and I still find them one of the most fun areas to delve into. There are comparatively few sources on them compared to Midway or Guadalcanal or Leyte (The Doolittle Raid being the one exception), so I'm always looking for more info :)
This was a great episode. Thanks!! Bruno and the 58 missions by Bush. I hope and know that we have many more heroes now and into the future. Regards, Steve Bainbridge, Gunnery Officer DD826
Superb work! Great discussion of an operation (well, series of operations) which simply are not given the coverage they deserve. As you guys both said, really important battle, because the first actions for a force are so instructive (quite apart from the strategic "turning ,movement" which Bill so eloquently described). It's interesting to me (a Brit) that the early work of RN carriers is never really talked about - only Bismarck and Taranto get the attention, but the RN had a lot to learn in 1939, because their only real experience was 1917-18 and it was essentially irrelevant by then. The loss of HMS Courageous on 'anti U-boat' patrol - to a U-boat! - was a very harsh lesson. That lesson and the reinforcement work which the Fleet Air Arm had to carry out in support of the Norway operation were vital in helping the RN to develop its carrier doctrine early in the war, and they also had a lot of work to do in 1940-41 reinforcing Malta in the face of a serious air and submarine threat, giving them serious operational and battle experience. Hardly talked about. These are lessons which, like Bill said so truthfully, a fighting force can only learn through battle. So, events like the Gilbert & Marshall islands Raids of 1942 are really important for armchair admirals like myself to hear about, so that we get both a better context for where the great fighting teams of legendary battles like Midway and Taranto were coming from, lest we become too lazy in our judgement (pardon the pun) of the conduct of the later, better-known battles. Loving this podcast - thank you both so much for creating this YT channel.
Recently discovered your podcast. I love it. You are both extremely informative yet humble. This subject is so relevant considering our current world political situation
By the way, another thing that the 2019 Midway movie covered was the almost unbelievably heroic actions of Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class Bruno Gaido, including his subsequent murder by the officers of the Japanese ship that captured him and his compadre.
This exceeded my very high expectations. Maybe because I grew up on the west coast, because many of the WWII vets I knew served in the Pacific ... These early raids fueled the wars course and are so very important. Note, Gato is a legend ...a very brave man. Excellent show.
I think your central point here that the importance of these raids has not been properly appreciated is spot on. Well done. With respect to Pye and his decision to cancel the relief expedition I think history has shown he made the right call. Saratoga by herself was not in a position to take on Car Div 2 and it’s almost certain given the limited speed of advance of the transports that they would have arrived too late to make a difference. Furthermore Pye had been advised that Wake was a liability and as such he would have properly judged that it wasn’t worth losing a carrier over. Yes the effects of the recall were terrible to morale. But the effects of pressing forward and losing Saratoga and multiple other ships would have been far worse. This is in fairness seen with the benefit of hindsight. Furthermore that Nimitz ultimately sidelines Pye is a good indication that histories judgement of him was largely accurate. But in this case I think he made the right call.
There were no tenants. The crew lived aboard but weren't charged rent. One of the tenets of writing is know the meaning and spelling of the words you use. These men risked their life. Show them the minimum respect they deserve. How hard is it to use a dictionary and check your spelling? The Mirsubishi Nell waa the bomber type that sank the English BB KGV and Battle Cruiser Repulse at the beginning of thd war near Singapore.
If Pye had continued, without support, and been hit and or sunk the IJN would have added greatly to the Pearl Harbor raid effects on the USN's ability and time necessary to recover.
@@johnspurrell1200 Agreed - very much the point Jet Driver was leaning into. And yes, the range of the G3M was a horrible surprise to the Allies - the RN especially. At the Gilberts, where they were flying on a short-range defensive mission, not so much. The reports of the bombing accuracy though, even against a big ship, from twin-engine level bombers is quite a surprise to me. Kudos to those pilots; they must have been really pressing their attacks hard.
It is always a pleasure to see acts and comments rehearsed in prior battles so they can be repeated in later holywood films. The gunner leaping into the rear seat and practicing shootibg at an attacking Nell, launched from a land base, not the twin engine bombers launched from carriers and used in the film Midway, I was surprised to not see or hear "Don't give up the ship," or even "We have not yet begun to fight" in the Midway film.
Great episode on a "less-emphasized" period of the war. Very well done. Time constraints being what they are, fully understand the focus on Big E's Marshalls raid as "representative", not faulting that at all. There were, however, some other significant episodes from this early raids effort. Lexington attempted to raid Rabaul, but aborted the attack due to the "calculated risk" principle...her air-defense effort in fending off a large attack by G4M's, however, on 20 Feb was quite notable. This is the action in which Butch O'Hare gained fame and won the Medal of Honor by almost singlehandedly destroying a formation of Betties which otherwise would have reached Lexington unimpeded. Yet another unwelcome, unexpected reverse for Japan in very-early 1942. Likewise the Lexington-Yorktown March raid against Lae/Salamua deserves recognition; an overland raid launched from the Coral Sea to the northeast coast of New Guinea. It was a hell of a piece of airmanship to go over the Owen Stanleys at rather extreme range (and therefore, again, completely unexpected by Japan). I've don't recall reading a historian explicitly connect the dots on this, but I've long wondered if this raid perhaps helped goad Japanese decision-making toward "dang it, we have to do something about Port Moresby, sooner rather than later". Thus precipitating Operation MO and the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Effective simulated combat? Sure: 1) paintball 2) child custody hearing... thanks you guys, have read em all (Hornfisher, Symonds, Frank, & of course, Toll's trilogy) but these conversations you guys engage in are as good (and better) than Drach!!! It's rich, makes me glad I pay for RUclips
This is the information I have been looking for since High school in 1970,... Since high school had very little ww2 pacific history taught... PR2 USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA 42 VA 87 1972/76
Thank you very much for this most excellent presentation! Were the results of the hit-and-run battles known by the folks back home? And if so, was there a general increase in morale?
Again very interesting .. I knew had the worlds top navy at this time but was clueless on how weak we were in so many ways ... I have to think our commanders were beyond what Japan had and this helped greatly.
It is important that we still "Remember Pearl Harbor." Great job, gentlemen. I agree about the importance of these raids, and I'm happy that the 2019 Midway movie highlighted them. You all may well have had something to do with that, via your writings. Who knows.
Thankfully the US fleet command got smart, lol. Thanks for the awesome early Pacific war history, I never knew about this! @54:30, Crazy but I have a autographed photo of me and Bush from the early 2000s, I can see it on my mantle now. I met him on a carrier during Navy reserve training. I think it was the Enterprise CVN 65, if you can believe that, lol.
I thank God for the brave men of The Greatest Generation. With their sacrifice they gave us the freedom we enjoy today. May God bless them forever and ever. Amen.
Great episode, although I wish you wouldn’t have left the charges of cowardice against admiral Pye unanswered. If we are going to laud Nimitz for espousing a doctrine of calculated risk, then we should apply the same for everyone. Pye knew he had one carrier with a tiny escort and that there were already at least one and very likely several Japanese carriers standing off wake island before we even got there. The prudent thing to do was to withdraw, especially because losing Saratoga would cut one of Nimitz’ legs off before he could even take up his new post. In hindsight we can see Pye was correct because Sara would’ve been 1v2 with the crack aviators of Hiryu and Soryu
Really excellent presentation about a poorly understood campaign., Great discussion. One more example of how Admiral King was usually correct and does not get the credit he deserves. Your focus here was that these raids forced the Japanese to divert resources to upgrade the defenses of their many island bases. It would be nice to have some facts and figures on this, but I suppose that no one has worked up the numbers. But this is a very valid point as well as capturing Yamatos' attention leading to Midway. One other very important impact was real battle experience for the pilots and crews which I think you do not give enough attention to. At this stage of the war, the performance of the Japanese carriers outclassed the American carriers. And they had better fighters and torpedoes planes, better-trained pilots, as well as a torpedo that actually worked. Yamamoto had good reason to think that Kido Butai would come out better in a fleet engagement. These raids were a vital part of raising the combat effectiveness of the American carriers for the inevitable showdown when it finally came at Midway.
I am amazed with the intellect and tactical depth of flag commanders, who used the fleet that they had, brilliantly. Nimitz was a genius and he had a handful of genius's in his command. For a over matched navy, he used everything to great effect and with absolute fearlessness. My dad was at Pearl harbor 12/7/41 with the 19th inf. for months they were digging trenches on the beach..
Agreed! Nimitz was the man, no question about that. My uncle, Harold F Willard was a submariner, sorry don't remember the boat, but on December 7th he was with a buddy on Diamond Head and they watched the whole attack unfold. They couldn't get back to their sub because the local police had the roads closed and the MP's were telling everybody to get into their houses and not to come out! He felt guilty about not getting back to his boat for years and years. Not that it would have done much good though. RIP Uncle Harold❤.🇺🇲⚓️💯👍
Listened to this for the 2nd time. The impact of these raids on the Japanese is still not fully appreciated. All of the invasions descrbed below were carried out by the IJN 4th Fleet, which had very limited resources. 1. The fight put up by the Wake Island Marines caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Rabaul to be delayed by 12 days. As a consequence the planned transfer of the South Seas detachment to the Dutch East Indies was cancelled since it would have arrived too late. 2. The 1st raid on the Marshalls and Gilberts cuased the subsequnt IJN invasion of Gasmata to be delayed by an additional 8 days. 3. The attempted raid by Lexington on Rabaul [not described in the video] caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Lae and Salamaua to be delayed by an additional 5 days. 4. The raid on Marcus Island caused the subsequent IJN Indian Ocean raid to be delayed by 5 days. 5. The raid on Lae and Salamaua caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Port Moresby to be delayed by an additional 6 weeks to late May after the Indian Ocean raid has been completed. 6. Yamamoto's planned invasion of Midway forced the Port Moresby invasion to be advanced to early May, causing it to be provided with an inadequate support force. That led to the Battle of the Coral Sea, which caused the 3 participating IJN carriers to miss the Midway operation. While the presence of these carriers may not have changed the ultimate outcome, their absence certainly did not help. One ship damaged at Kwajalein was the Tokiwa, formerly an armored cruised laid down in 1898 and a participant at Tsushima in 1905. The light cruiser that was damaged was Katori, flagship of the 6th Fleet (submarines). It was actually a training cruiser and was incapable of engaging in serious combat. Probably not worth the bomb that it received.
This is rarely given more than a couple of paragraphs in most history books, but the Marshall and Caroline island raids were essential to future air operations. Its why Enterprise performed so well at Midway, in comparison to Hornets poor showing.
The hit and run raids had a few functions. First, gaining combat experience. Second unbalance Japan's offensive plans Third, USN morale Fourth home morale.
After WW2, one of my salesmen was a Wake Japanese POW camp survivor. He hated vehemently both the Japanese and the U.S. NAVY with equal portions of animosity. If the Navy had made it to Wake, they would have had the Japanese in a crossfire betwixt the shore batteries and the US fleet.... When was the only time this ever happened before in American history? Yorktown? A pie in the face....It flies in the face of reason.... Fie on it,.... Pye not on it...A Pye in the Sky etcetcetc ...My other friend was a Battaan Death March survivor. The Japanese treated him better than the rest of the other prisoners coz he had lotsa curly bright red hair. You can see him in one of the old color utube films videos here of the Death March. He was ok physcically but his head was all screwed up. He practically lived in my aunt`s restaurant She fed him free for the rest of his life. I miss him dearly. Yea i know i am an old sucker.... i can remember blackouts and aluminum pot curb collections in Connecticut in 1943-45. I still got them ration stamps and WW2 war posters..
Thank you for an excellent report of of life during WWII. I remember my folks telling me about the rationing of Everything, and that if you needed a product and you didn’t have the correct ration coupon, you couldn’t get it, unless you paid extra $ for it on “ the Black Market”....which was many times the same store, from a back room and separate bag , and that the owner had paid more for it from his supplier, so you had to, also . It was wrong and against the law and spirit of rationing, but people are what they are :.. ( people)
The Saratoga was first hit in Jan.42 What caused her to be in repair for 5? months? Was she being upgraded? Or was she so badly damaged as to require 4+ months of repair????
Seth, Technical question (this is a nit pick): you mentioned that as the bombers came toward Roi, the AAA opened up 27:08. Was it AAA or just AA? (AAA is Automatic Anti-Aircraft) It certainly wasn't radar guided. I expect you will school me on something.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Ah! You have indeed schooled me. I just suffered voluntary death by acronym. I don't see this as competition, but as education. I learned something. Thanks.
If memory serves, the SBD's did have a technical issue in these raids. The temperature change diving from altitude to lower altitude fogged their bomb site.
Effects far exceeding or being the reverse of actual damage done to whom seems to have been common in 1942. This was the first such instance. It's interesting that relative newcomer Nimitz realized his fleet's need to gain battle experience through "minor" raids.
Just a question Im not sure where to post a question like this one Anti-Aircraft weapons to fend off dive bombers,torpedo bombers,fighters and Kamikaze There were the 40mm pom-poms,1.1in rube goldberg guns,20mm guns and .50cal Why didnt the U.S.Navy use a Vulcan Gun? A multiple barrel,rapid fire gun in 20mm? 25mm? For 'close in' aircraft attacks against American ships? Multi barrel guns were not a -new idea..just curious and thinking out loud
@13:54 "and Bloch says 'if you take my carriers...and hit these far flung Japanese bases, well that leaves Hawaii wide open.' And to a point, he's right." I disagree. I think the biggest reason the Pearl Harbor raid was successful is because of surprise. By January of 1942, we were expecting an attack, could have constant CAP, and could presumably scramble ships prior to an incoming attack. Also, a second raid would have to deal with counter attacking land based aircraft. At this point, the air corps still believed that B-17s bombing at 10,000 feet was a viable anit-shipping strategy. A second raid could have done more damage, but Japan likely wouldn't have surprise, and would be fought from the outset. That's not to say it would have gone well for us, but I don't see how admiral Bloch had a leg to stand on at the time.
Idk if you guys read the comments this far out but I was wondering if Bill had a source or a reference to the story he told about Halsey promoting the man to Chief for laughing at him. I'm writing a paper on Halsey for a class at my University on Bill Halsey and would love to put that in it. Thanks for all you do and the hours of entertainment!
Sirs, I very much appreciate anx enjoy your work, but, you cannot both have your pie and eat it, (if you will forgive the levity). Would the saving of Wake have been good for moral if a carrier had been lost, particularly at that juncture?
Glide bombing was not a happy thing for Japanese AA Fire control, which like the British HACS, but unlike American or german aa fire control was designed to engage targets flying at a constant altitude.
It seems that a turning maneuver is not tied geographical proximity to the enemy. The USN attacked in the northern edge of Japanese influence while the bulk of the Japanese fleet was far south of the Marshall Is. and the Gilbert Is. The US Navy turned the Japanese while not even being close to them. A very interesting tactical move. Maximized the risk vs. benefit equation.
Great job. 1942 is, to me, the most compelling part of the Pacific war. Love the discussions you are presenting.
Vastly fascinating and informative. My father served throughout the Pacific war afloat and I have had a 60 year obsession with all things nautical. Beyond a doubt the best podcast I've ever had the honor and pleasure to pursue.
Hands down, the best history podcast ever. Tremendous detail with excellent perspective. You guys are living encyclopedias and your passion is nonstop. I am so hooked.
Wow, thank you!
This is a GREAT episode. It plugs a knowledge gap that I've had for years. I frequently heard that the days between Pearl Harbor and Midway were the time that there were "a series of nuisance raids" but this is the first time that an explanation found me ... Where? Who? When? With what? etc. This podcast had given me a platform which I can use to continue to fill that gap. Thank you. Great job.
You guys did a very good job and hope your channel grows because you put a lot of work and effort into it.
Thank you very much. The best way for the channel (and podcast) to grow is by word of mouth from listeners like you. Please spread the word!
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar I found out about your channel after I watched the Midway discussion published by Drach, both of you had the same guest: Jon Parshall, and I searched for more material.
I am not telling you your business, but interacting with channels like Battleship New Jersey, and Drach's channel dramatically increases your exposure with people who most appreciate your content. A collaboration or recommendation helps the history community in general, everybody benefits.
@@rtqii Well said. I like Seth & Bill and I think too few people are aware of them and their work.
@@AndrewGivens I agree.
This is fantastic, this part of the war I never read.
31:25 The light cruiser was Katori, which in line with Japanese dismissal of defense in these areas was NOT a fist line cruiser. Indeed it had been laid down as a training cruiser and had a mixed main armament of 5.5" and 5" to facilitate the cadets' exposure to different weapon systems. She was sunk by Iowa during the Truk raid.
Fantastic presentation! Thank you!
Thank you too!
Best episode yet. I thought I was up to speed on early war goings on but apparently not. Nicely done
Another masterful episode. I hang on every word. And there are so many yet to watch! Well done gentlemen. As the son of a Naval Aviator, I am partial to the airmen, but I appreciated Bill's pride when he plugged the submariners for dragging a future president from the drink. A war hero of a future president. Different services maybe; but one Navy. The undisputed queen of the seas. May it always be so.
Another great program. Didn't know much about these raids, but gotta hand it to Bull Halsey. Air crews are gaining the much needed combat experience to put to good use later. Thanks Seth and Bill!
I must tell you guys that I have thoroughly enjoyed your You Tube version of your podcasts. This history needs to be told over and over again. The current generation, for the most part doesn't know or care about this period of time. A time when the U.S. was emerging as the premier World Power. To Capt. Toti, I'm an ex-sailor. Active duty 1960 to 1963. PO2, also stationed at Pearl Harbor on Ford Island at The Fleet Intelligence Center Pacific. Had to take a ferry or launch to get to the Island back then. I worked at the O-Club on Ford Island as a bartender I my off duty time. Biggest mistake I ever made in my young life was leaving the Navy. At 81 now, I think about that decision almost every day. I sincerely hope and pray you beat the medical problem you are fighting.
Thank you for posting this; I'm so glad I found this podcast. The early carrier raids are what really sparked my interest in the Pacific War back in the day, and I still find them one of the most fun areas to delve into. There are comparatively few sources on them compared to Midway or Guadalcanal or Leyte (The Doolittle Raid being the one exception), so I'm always looking for more info :)
So many folks fail to appreciate the impact of those early raids. Among other things, they helped to cement Halsey's reputation early in the war.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar 'early'!
@@davidharner5865 In the Pacific War. Very much so.
Can't tell you how much I enjoyed this episode!!
Thank you!
Please don’t stop! These podcast are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing these.
Glad you like them!
You guys did a fantastic job here...THANK YOU again for your efforts.
Great, well researched, level headed and organized historical review. Getting addicted to these….
I love you guys! I'm learning so much, thank you
This was a great episode. Thanks!! Bruno and the 58 missions by Bush. I hope and know that we have many more heroes now and into the future. Regards, Steve Bainbridge, Gunnery Officer DD826
Superb work!
Great discussion of an operation (well, series of operations) which simply are not given the coverage they deserve. As you guys both said, really important battle, because the first actions for a force are so instructive (quite apart from the strategic "turning ,movement" which Bill so eloquently described).
It's interesting to me (a Brit) that the early work of RN carriers is never really talked about - only Bismarck and Taranto get the attention, but the RN had a lot to learn in 1939, because their only real experience was 1917-18 and it was essentially irrelevant by then. The loss of HMS Courageous on 'anti U-boat' patrol - to a U-boat! - was a very harsh lesson. That lesson and the reinforcement work which the Fleet Air Arm had to carry out in support of the Norway operation were vital in helping the RN to develop its carrier doctrine early in the war, and they also had a lot of work to do in 1940-41 reinforcing Malta in the face of a serious air and submarine threat, giving them serious operational and battle experience.
Hardly talked about.
These are lessons which, like Bill said so truthfully, a fighting force can only learn through battle. So, events like the Gilbert & Marshall islands Raids of 1942 are really important for armchair admirals like myself to hear about, so that we get both a better context for where the great fighting teams of legendary battles like Midway and Taranto were coming from, lest we become too lazy in our judgement (pardon the pun) of the conduct of the later, better-known battles.
Loving this podcast - thank you both so much for creating this YT channel.
Thank you so much for all your podcasts. I keep learning so much!
Great, Great, Great episode. You guys really hit it describing when the fleet returned and what it did for everyone.
Never heard of Gaido until now. Thanks for correcting that deficiency. That man deserves to be remembered.
Recently discovered your podcast. I love it. You are both extremely informative yet humble. This subject is so relevant considering our current world political situation
Simply incredible
Another great and Informative show!! This is an awesome podcast!
By the way, another thing that the 2019 Midway movie covered was the almost unbelievably heroic actions of Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class Bruno Gaido, including his subsequent murder by the officers of the Japanese ship that captured him and his compadre.
But it was a dreadful movie. High school level - amateurish.
@@gsr4535 I knew already that High School in the US was pretty bad, but *this* bad?
As always, just a tremendous job and with passion and flair!
You guys have a great channel. Thanks for putting it together.
I can visualize George Murray's direction of Enterprise in this episode avoiding the bombs and early kamikaze
This exceeded my very high expectations. Maybe because I grew up on the west coast, because many of the WWII vets I knew served in the Pacific ... These early raids fueled the wars course and are so very important. Note, Gato is a legend ...a very brave man. Excellent show.
Fantastic series.
I think your central point here that the importance of these raids has not been properly appreciated is spot on. Well done.
With respect to Pye and his decision to cancel the relief expedition I think history has shown he made the right call. Saratoga by herself was not in a position to take on Car Div 2 and it’s almost certain given the limited speed of advance of the transports that they would have arrived too late to make a difference. Furthermore Pye had been advised that Wake was a liability and as such he would have properly judged that it wasn’t worth losing a carrier over.
Yes the effects of the recall were terrible to morale. But the effects of pressing forward and losing Saratoga and multiple other ships would have been far worse. This is in fairness seen with the benefit of hindsight. Furthermore that Nimitz ultimately sidelines Pye is a good indication that histories judgement of him was largely accurate. But in this case I think he made the right call.
There were no tenants. The crew lived aboard but weren't charged rent. One of the tenets of writing is know the meaning and spelling of the words you use. These men risked their life. Show them the minimum respect they deserve. How hard is it to use a dictionary and check your spelling?
The Mirsubishi Nell waa the bomber type that sank the English BB KGV and Battle Cruiser Repulse at the beginning of thd war near Singapore.
@@johnspurrell1200 Good point but please don't get mad. After all, you misspelled Mitsubishi. Nobody is perfect!
@@johnspurrell1200 congrats on your Internet jerk of the year award.
If Pye had continued, without support, and been hit and or sunk the IJN would have added greatly to the Pearl Harbor raid effects on the USN's ability and time necessary to recover.
@@johnspurrell1200 Agreed - very much the point Jet Driver was leaning into. And yes, the range of the G3M was a horrible surprise to the Allies - the RN especially. At the Gilberts, where they were flying on a short-range defensive mission, not so much. The reports of the bombing accuracy though, even against a big ship, from twin-engine level bombers is quite a surprise to me. Kudos to those pilots; they must have been really pressing their attacks hard.
Excellent episode gentlemen.
You make it real and express it with the enthusiasm I feel. Can't thank you enough. Be well!
Excellent series. Very well done and informative. I really appreciate the detailed analysis, lacking in most content.
Thank you gentlemen.
Wow great content ,and now I know why I didn't sleep for four years aboard a ssn....thanks bill
Glad you enjoyed it
BRAVO ZULU, for another great brief. On a little known or talked about period of WWII.. Love your channel.
It is always a pleasure to see acts and comments rehearsed in prior battles so they can be repeated in later holywood films. The gunner leaping into the rear seat and practicing shootibg at an attacking Nell, launched from a land base, not the twin engine bombers launched from carriers and used in the film Midway,
I was surprised to not see or hear "Don't give up the ship," or even "We have not yet begun to fight" in the Midway film.
Amazing content! Thank you!
Excellent.
Thank you, your work is fantastic! Catching up on past episodes.
Great episode on a "less-emphasized" period of the war. Very well done. Time constraints being what they are, fully understand the focus on Big E's Marshalls raid as "representative", not faulting that at all. There were, however, some other significant episodes from this early raids effort. Lexington attempted to raid Rabaul, but aborted the attack due to the "calculated risk" principle...her air-defense effort in fending off a large attack by G4M's, however, on 20 Feb was quite notable. This is the action in which Butch O'Hare gained fame and won the Medal of Honor by almost singlehandedly destroying a formation of Betties which otherwise would have reached Lexington unimpeded. Yet another unwelcome, unexpected reverse for Japan in very-early 1942.
Likewise the Lexington-Yorktown March raid against Lae/Salamua deserves recognition; an overland raid launched from the Coral Sea to the northeast coast of New Guinea. It was a hell of a piece of airmanship to go over the Owen Stanleys at rather extreme range (and therefore, again, completely unexpected by Japan). I've don't recall reading a historian explicitly connect the dots on this, but I've long wondered if this raid perhaps helped goad Japanese decision-making toward "dang it, we have to do something about Port Moresby, sooner rather than later". Thus precipitating Operation MO and the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Never gonna pass on the Big E. She’s my carrier.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Effective simulated combat? Sure: 1) paintball 2) child custody hearing... thanks you guys, have read em all (Hornfisher, Symonds, Frank, & of course, Toll's trilogy) but these conversations you guys engage in are as good (and better) than Drach!!! It's rich, makes me glad I pay for RUclips
Drach will be a guest soon...
Love content/details. Keep it up guys.
Enjoyed the discussion, thank you.
awesome work boys
Awesome show about a relatively unknown part of the PTO👍
Loved it! GO NAVY!
Didn't know about these until now.
Awesome job guys!
Loving the series.
Good stuff. Thanks. t
This is the information I have been looking for since High school in 1970,... Since high school had very little ww2 pacific history taught...
PR2 USS Franklin D. Roosevelt CVA 42 VA 87 1972/76
Fantastic series love it.
Glad to hear it!
Excellent podcast!
Thank you very much for this most excellent presentation! Were the results of the hit-and-run battles known by the folks back home? And if so, was there a general increase in morale?
Thank you.
Again very interesting .. I knew had the worlds top navy at this time but was clueless on how weak we were in so many ways ... I have to think our commanders were beyond what Japan had and this helped greatly.
It is important that we still "Remember Pearl Harbor." Great job, gentlemen. I agree about the importance of these raids, and I'm happy that the 2019 Midway movie highlighted them. You all may well have had something to do with that, via your writings. Who knows.
Thank you…
Thankfully the US fleet command got smart, lol. Thanks for the awesome early Pacific war history, I never knew about this! @54:30, Crazy but I have a autographed photo of me and Bush from the early 2000s, I can see it on my mantle now. I met him on a carrier during Navy reserve training. I think it was the Enterprise CVN 65, if you can believe that, lol.
Thank-You
One important thing about these hit and run raids. It allowed the USN to give their aircrews some combat experience.
I thank God for the brave men of The Greatest Generation. With their sacrifice they gave us the freedom we enjoy today. May God bless them forever and ever. Amen.
Great episode, although I wish you wouldn’t have left the charges of cowardice against admiral Pye unanswered. If we are going to laud Nimitz for espousing a doctrine of calculated risk, then we should apply the same for everyone. Pye knew he had one carrier with a tiny escort and that there were already at least one and very likely several Japanese carriers standing off wake island before we even got there. The prudent thing to do was to withdraw, especially because losing Saratoga would cut one of Nimitz’ legs off before he could even take up his new post. In hindsight we can see Pye was correct because Sara would’ve been 1v2 with the crack aviators of Hiryu and Soryu
Agreed. He was working with the info he had, and at that point in the war we couldn't afford to lose a single carrier
Thank you..
Thank you. Adds the human touch to the statistics. .
Really excellent presentation about a poorly understood campaign., Great discussion. One more example of how Admiral King was usually correct and does not get the credit he deserves. Your focus here was that these raids forced the Japanese to divert resources to upgrade the defenses of their many island bases. It would be nice to have some facts and figures on this, but I suppose that no one has worked up the numbers. But this is a very valid point as well as capturing Yamatos' attention leading to Midway. One other very important impact was real battle experience for the pilots and crews which I think you do not give enough attention to. At this stage of the war, the performance of the Japanese carriers outclassed the American carriers. And they had better fighters and torpedoes planes, better-trained pilots, as well as a torpedo that actually worked. Yamamoto had good reason to think that Kido Butai would come out better in a fleet engagement. These raids were a vital part of raising the combat effectiveness of the American carriers for the inevitable showdown when it finally came at Midway.
Thanks
I am amazed with the intellect and tactical depth of flag commanders, who used the fleet that they had, brilliantly. Nimitz was a genius and he had a handful of genius's in his command. For a over matched navy, he used everything to great effect and with absolute fearlessness. My dad was at Pearl harbor 12/7/41 with the 19th inf. for months they were digging trenches on the beach..
Agreed! Nimitz was the man, no question about that. My uncle, Harold F Willard was a submariner, sorry don't remember the boat, but on December 7th he was with a buddy on Diamond Head and they watched the whole attack unfold. They couldn't get back to their sub because the local police had the roads closed and the MP's were telling everybody to get into their houses and not to come out! He felt guilty about not getting back to his boat for years and years. Not that it would have done much good though. RIP Uncle Harold❤.🇺🇲⚓️💯👍
Listened to this for the 2nd time. The impact of these raids on the Japanese is still not fully appreciated. All of the invasions descrbed below were carried out by the IJN 4th Fleet, which had very limited resources.
1. The fight put up by the Wake Island Marines caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Rabaul to be delayed by 12 days. As a consequence the planned transfer of the South Seas detachment to the Dutch East Indies was cancelled since it would have arrived too late.
2. The 1st raid on the Marshalls and Gilberts cuased the subsequnt IJN invasion of Gasmata to be delayed by an additional 8 days.
3. The attempted raid by Lexington on Rabaul [not described in the video] caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Lae and Salamaua to be delayed by an additional 5 days.
4. The raid on Marcus Island caused the subsequent IJN Indian Ocean raid to be delayed by 5 days.
5. The raid on Lae and Salamaua caused the subsequent IJN invasion of Port Moresby to be delayed by an additional 6 weeks to late May after the Indian Ocean raid has been completed.
6. Yamamoto's planned invasion of Midway forced the Port Moresby invasion to be advanced to early May, causing it to be provided with an inadequate support force. That led to the Battle of the Coral Sea, which caused the 3 participating IJN carriers to miss the Midway operation. While the presence of these carriers may not have changed the ultimate outcome, their absence certainly did not help.
One ship damaged at Kwajalein was the Tokiwa, formerly an armored cruised laid down in 1898 and a participant at Tsushima in 1905.
The light cruiser that was damaged was Katori, flagship of the 6th Fleet (submarines). It was actually a training cruiser and was incapable of engaging in serious combat. Probably not worth the bomb that it received.
This is rarely given more than a couple of paragraphs in most history books, but the Marshall and Caroline island raids were essential to future air operations.
Its why Enterprise performed so well at Midway, in comparison to Hornets poor showing.
@45:23 this is huge
Fairly certain SBD’s still had single .30 in the rear cockpit until after Coral Sea.
The hit and run raids had a few functions. First, gaining combat experience. Second unbalance Japan's offensive plans Third, USN morale Fourth home morale.
I love your work. I need your help with a project i am writing. Is it possible to speak to either of you over the phone?
I would like to see more maps 🎯
After WW2, one of my salesmen was a Wake Japanese POW camp survivor. He hated vehemently both the Japanese and the U.S. NAVY with equal portions of animosity. If the Navy had made it to Wake, they would have had the Japanese in a crossfire betwixt the shore batteries and the US fleet.... When was the only time this ever happened before in American history? Yorktown? A pie in the face....It flies in the face of reason.... Fie on it,.... Pye not on it...A Pye in the Sky etcetcetc ...My other friend was a Battaan Death March survivor. The Japanese treated him better than the rest of the other prisoners coz he had lotsa curly bright red hair. You can see him in one of the old color utube films videos here of the Death March. He was ok physcically but his head was all screwed up. He practically lived in my aunt`s restaurant She fed him free for the rest of his life. I miss him dearly. Yea i know i am an old sucker.... i can remember blackouts and aluminum pot curb collections in Connecticut in 1943-45. I still got them ration stamps and WW2 war posters..
Blackouts cos them Nazi subs was comin` into the Sound at night..
Thank you for an excellent report of of life during WWII.
I remember my folks telling me about the rationing of Everything, and that if you needed a product and you didn’t have the correct ration coupon, you couldn’t get it, unless you paid extra $ for it on “ the Black Market”....which was many times the same store, from a back room and separate bag , and that the owner had paid more for it from his supplier, so you had to, also .
It was wrong and against the law and spirit of rationing, but people are what they are :.. ( people)
Are there vids on trhe other raids
The Saratoga was first hit in Jan.42 What caused her to be in repair for 5? months? Was she being upgraded? Or was she so badly damaged as to require 4+ months of repair????
Seth, Technical question (this is a nit pick): you mentioned that as the bombers came toward Roi, the AAA opened up 27:08. Was it AAA or just AA? (AAA is Automatic Anti-Aircraft) It certainly wasn't radar guided. I expect you will school me on something.
I see your point but in WWII it was also labeled AAA. Which stands for Anti-Aircraft Artillery.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar Ah! You have indeed schooled me. I just suffered voluntary death by acronym. I don't see this as competition, but as education. I learned something. Thanks.
@@rcwagon no schooling here. We all learn through the community here.
Dad was on the Yorktown CV5
If memory serves, the SBD's did have a technical issue in these raids. The temperature change diving from altitude to lower altitude fogged their bomb site.
Their intended bomb site was the enemy carrier deck. The plane's bomb sight fogged up not the SBD's target the intended bomb impact site.
Effects far exceeding or being the reverse of actual damage done to whom seems to have been common in 1942. This was the first such instance. It's interesting that relative newcomer Nimitz realized his fleet's need to gain battle experience through "minor" raids.
@48:35 I have never heard this tale wow it proves beneficial to laugh at and mock your commanding officer!
George H. W. Bush: 58 Combat raids duly noted!
Just a question
Im not sure where to post a question like this one
Anti-Aircraft weapons to fend off dive bombers,torpedo bombers,fighters and Kamikaze
There were the 40mm pom-poms,1.1in rube goldberg guns,20mm guns and .50cal
Why didnt the U.S.Navy use a Vulcan Gun? A multiple barrel,rapid fire gun in 20mm? 25mm?
For 'close in' aircraft attacks against American ships?
Multi barrel guns were not a -new idea..just curious and thinking out loud
So Capt Bill, how much did the submarine do?
@13:54 "and Bloch says 'if you take my carriers...and hit these far flung Japanese bases, well that leaves Hawaii wide open.' And to a point, he's right."
I disagree. I think the biggest reason the Pearl Harbor raid was successful is because of surprise. By January of 1942, we were expecting an attack, could have constant CAP, and could presumably scramble ships prior to an incoming attack. Also, a second raid would have to deal with counter attacking land based aircraft. At this point, the air corps still believed that B-17s bombing at 10,000 feet was a viable anit-shipping strategy. A second raid could have done more damage, but Japan likely wouldn't have surprise, and would be fought from the outset. That's not to say it would have gone well for us, but I don't see how admiral Bloch had a leg to stand on at the time.
I believe the Japanese cruiser attacked in this raid was the IJN Katori.
Correct, thank you very much. Sometimes it's difficult to remember everything when you are trying to spit out facts within a story.
@@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWar No worries. You two are doing a great job. I'm enjoying this series immensely. Thank you!
Idk if you guys read the comments this far out but I was wondering if Bill had a source or a reference to the story he told about Halsey promoting the man to Chief for laughing at him. I'm writing a paper on Halsey for a class at my University on Bill Halsey and would love to put that in it. Thanks for all you do and the hours of entertainment!
Sirs,
I very much appreciate anx enjoy your work, but, you cannot both have your pie and eat it, (if you will forgive the levity). Would the saving of Wake have been good for moral if a carrier had been lost, particularly at that juncture?
Seth..what is your background?? Military??
Glide bombing was not a happy thing for Japanese AA Fire control, which like the British HACS, but unlike American or german aa fire control was designed to engage targets flying at a constant altitude.
It seems that a turning maneuver is not tied geographical proximity to the enemy. The USN attacked in the northern edge of Japanese influence while the bulk of the Japanese fleet was far south of the Marshall Is. and the Gilbert Is. The US Navy turned the Japanese while not even being close to them. A very interesting tactical move. Maximized the risk vs. benefit equation.
Agree
42 minutes deserves to be a Short!
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