Allied Air Dominance in the Pacific: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea March 2 - 3 1943
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- Опубликовано: 8 авг 2021
- On the 28th of February 1943, 16 ships departed Rabaul to make the 3 day voyage to the Japanese base at Lae. On board were almost 7,000 Japanese soldiers. By March the 3rd, all that was left were 4 badly damaged destroyers that were running north; the rest of the Japanese ships were sitting on the ocean floor.
A truly decisive moment in the air war, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea would change the course of the New Guinea campaign. In a crushing display of air power by the allies, one of the largest reinforcement convoys the Japanese despatched had been utterly destroyed by the 5th Air Force. From this point on in the war, supplying forward Japanese positions would be a crippling challenge. The Allies had shown that, in the South West Pacific, their dominance of the air mattered more than Japan’s control of the sea.
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Grateful to see this comprehensive account of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Thank you so much.
My late Dad was a survivor of this battle, and he often talked about his experience of this horrific event. My father served as aide to Hatazo Adachi - General of the Japanese 18th Army and was on board the Tokitsukaze with Adachi on that fateful transport. Dad talked about the unbelievablly deafening roar of bombs scoring hits on the vessel/destroyer, and the columns of black smoke from the Japanese transport billowing up above the Bismarck Sea.
The destroyer sinking, He found himself on a raft with 20+ other men. Subsequent runs by the Allied squadrons returning to the scene to straffe the life boats and men in the water cut his raft to pieces. He recalled being out at sea for 5 days, clinging to a fragment of the raft with other men, taking turns on and off of it. If the survivors didn't succumb to their wounds, the sharks would have a go at them. I remember my Dad telling me that the sharks were more terrifying than the actual bombing they had survived.
A passing Japanese Navy destroyer rescued my Father and 6 other men from that little piece of wreckage. He recalled the remarkable scene as they were being pulled up onto the deck of the destroyer - Japanese sailors beating their Army comrades with their fists and open hands- to keep them alive. My father recounted how so many of the survivors died upon reaching deck of the destroyer. The decks were littered with corpses from the men who seemed to just give up living after reaching refuge on the decks (its hard to imagine but this is one of those things about the realities of war, I suppose).
I think I recall my father telling me that they were taken to Rabaul to regroup before eventually heading to Lae. I believe subsequent transfers of General Adachi and his staff were done with submarines.
Less than 4000 men of the Japanese 18th Army from the original 45,000 would eventually survive the war and return to Japan. Most of these men perished from starvation and tropical disease, as they took to the jungle to hide and evade the Allied forces (their supply lines had been cut off early in the campaign). My father passed more than a decade ago but more than any other account of his experiences of that horrific War, he regarded the Battle of the Bismarck Sea to be most prominent. There are many photos and videos of my Dad out there. In the pictures of the the surrender of General Hatazo Adachi at the airstrip in Wewak (Kiarivu), my father is seen standing next to him. I should note that I wouldn't be here today to share this, if it wasn't for the mercy of the Australian Army whose field surgeons quickly and mercifully saved my Dad's life when his appendix burst (shortly after the surrender ceremonies).
Holy shit, what a family history. Is that him there? upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Hatazo_Adachi_signed_surrender.jpg
@@hypohystericalhistory8133 Yes! That is indeed my (late) Father - Fred Kazuo Iwama, standing next to General Adachi. Dad often spoke about his experiences in New Guinea to us (his 3 sons) and especially about how he negotiated the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Army to Australia there on that dusty airstrip near Wewak. He, followed his General in handing over his family’s sword to Generals Blakeney and Robertson. We (his sons) didn’t know the significance of these events at the time; we thought he was kind of like a ‘Walter Mitty’, making up some fantastic stories, but a visit that I made to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra years ago confirmed and validated all of those fantastic stories.
I’d like to think that many of your subscribers had relatives (fathers and grandfathers, uncles, etc) present on that same airfield when my Dad was there. The Australian army were there in full Dress, lining the airstrip, witnessing the victorious event and watching the Japanese humiliation.
I have a lot of his stories in my memory, about his perspective on the war in New Guinea, including General Adachi’s conversations with his Staff Officers about how to manage the surrender of the Japanese 18th army, negotiation with Aussie soldiers in a jungle clearing at Kiarivu and Adachi’s conflicted thoughts and acts right up to the time of his suicide while waiting for his trial for war crimes. Surrendering was something almost unheard of in the Japanese military and Adachi was exceptional for the degree of compassion he had for his men. He surrendered because his troops were already decimated and in deplorable condition (many accounts of the 18th Army cannibalizing corpses to stay alive), and he didn’t want to compound the suffering. The General, too, was in very poor condition.
The photos of my Dad in the surrender scenes show him looking relatively healthy but in actuality, his face, arms and legs were bloated from Beri Beri, Malaria, and a whole host of other infections. He was also in the process of losing all of his teeth. And as I mentioned earlier, he had appendicitis and his life was saved by some quick thinking and acting Australian Army surgeons.
I also want to mention that my Father was a Canadian citizen and a Christian. He was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and had been studying at a Methodist University in Tokyo (Aoyama Gakuin University) at the start of the war. That’s how he got his first name - ‘Fred’. Because he was fluent in both English and Japanese, he was conscripted into the Japanese Imperial Army to serve as Aide to the General of the 18th Army. And he couldn’t return to Canada - because the Canadian government was incarcerating all Canadians of Japanese descent into concentration camps away from the coast. And being a Christian, he (told us that he) had no appetite nor interest to die for the Emperor. He found himself headed to the jungles of New Guinea. He was shipwrecked twice on the way (including the Bismarck Sea!) and lived all of the horrors that all men who go to war live.
Your account of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea is the best, most thorough account of it that I’ve ever come across. It is a gift to me in that your work gives me valuable context that form the backdrop to my dad’s memoirs. I think that anyone who is connected to this battle has been honored. Thank you for your important and meaningful work.
I have so many questions for you. Seriously, I cant even start to ask here. Do you have an email adress? Would it be ok if I emailed you? If you area worried about posting it in a public forum i'll delete the post as soon as I see it.
My grandfather was not present at Wewak; he was at Tarakan in Borneo fighting other young Japanese men when Adachi surrendered.
Adachi always struck me as a very capable general; one who was more concerned with the welfare of his men then many other commanders of the war. I think many other Japanese generals would have simply stood and fought to the death at Lae rather than saving his command. I dont think he should have been sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, either.
I just want to say, if you read contemporary Australian histories of the war with Japan, as much as we were bitter enemies in 1942 and 1943, all of them show an extremely high level of respect for the Japanese soldier; their fighting spirit was quite literally unparalleled. Many Australians, after fighting Italians and Germans, were absolutely shocked by the utter commitment of the Japanese fighting man. The Japanese were the best defensive fighters in the world.
@@hypohystericalhistory8133 Reading yours and Michael's posts was fantastic.
My dad flew in the Battle of Bismarck Sea. He was a 20 year old tech sgt. B-17 top turret/flight engineer in the 65th squadron of the 43rd heavy out of 7 Mile Airfield (AKA Jackson Field. )
God Bless him for his service.
John Cooper on wives computer. My dad, also John Cooper, was also a tech sgt. and top turret gunner/flight engineer on a B25 named the Jersey Bounce. Dad flew on 45 missions and was also in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Dad was one of just a handful of survivors from his original group as they had no fighter escorts when they got to PNG. Dad was in PNG from about June of 42 to December of 43 when he was sent home. He was a Purple Heart vet having been hit in the arm while in aerial combat. When he reached San Francisco he called my Mom and said get ready to get married. Just before Xmas they had a huge wedding and wedding reception in Rochester, NY and in October of 1944 my twin brother and I were born. Dad was stationed at Wright Patterson AFB at the time of our birth. Dad was always our hero. He was special.
...And the flip side: My Uncle Jack was on a B25 in the 5th AF, part of the "Air Apaches". Unfortunately, his plane was shot down and he was captured by the Japanese. While I have not yet tracked down any of his squadron or personal history via military records, the family was told he was beheaded by his captors. I have seen the Air Apaches official squadron book (I believe my cousin has possession of it right now) which allowed me to track down as much info as I have so far.
War is hell, as those B17 crewmembers who were machine gunned while hanging from their parachutes (not to mention the Japanese soldiers attacked in their lifeboats) know all too well.
Thank you for this history.
@@davidbrooks1156 Its funny that Americans use names of tribes that they destroyed-exterminated It sounds like German JG 1 "flying Jews" or KG26 "Fighting Gypsies" and so on
@@JohnSmith-mb8hi Will you feel any better after they apologise for the 2,000th time or will you ignore it like the first 1,999 apologies?
Great Documentary. We in the US do not get a lot of history of our Allies during WW2. I would love to see more on Australian and New Zealand. Thanks again.
So would we mate.🇦🇺
Did you see this? This was when the Japanese were turned around.
ruclips.net/video/pToxEa30KdU/видео.html
Unfortunately for geo-political reasons discussions of the main aspects of the Dutch East Indies and of New Guinea on the Pacific War have been discouraged in the US since the 1940s and 1960s respectively; as Mr Orwell alluded in his novel, for benefit of the elite the public's perception of friends and foes had to be changed.
We read about major battles and turning points and heroes rumors of other minor battles, but not much about "the war" in general. Even now, in SE Asia, it's mostly photo ops and how "terrible" we are. But, enough of that. Great video of a battle I only new the name of.
Too true. Fellow Yank here. We only really ever hear about what the Americans did over there and it gives a slanted perspective. Our allies were extremely important in the Pacific war and they don't get enough credit in American historical records.
This is the most detailed and comprehensive account of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea I have seen on youtube.
All too often Australia is portrayed as very much the junior partner in the Pacific war. It is nice to see just how big and strategically important our contribution was particularly in the early and middle phases of the the conflict.
@HarryP457, I had no idea that Australia fielded so many divisions in the Pacific to make up a third of ground forces.
Like wise with the size of the Aussie air force.
@@OneLeatherBoot agreed
@@OneLeatherBoot: Mind you, the Commonwealth Boomerang and Brewster Buffalo were nowhere near as capable as the Spitfire and the Curtiss P-40. The Aussies used the Buffalo and Boomerang mainly earlier in the war, before Britain or the U.S.A could spare large numbers of Curtiss P-40's or Spitfires.
@@NobleKorhedron The Boomerang was slow, but it could our turn anything. Sometimes that’s an advantage against the Zero
This American is being schooled by all this information.
Stunning report. Thank you so much. No loud music, no computer voice, well spoken English easy to understand. What's not to like?
Yet another highly professional production. The quality of the research, clear presentation and graphics make these productions some of the best documentaries of these campaigns I've seen. Please keep up the great work.
That has to be one of the most successful battles of the second world war. Thousands of soldiers, tons of supplies and several hard to replace ships destroyed for a cost of a handful of aircraft and pilots. In terms of cost effectiveness, it has to rank pretty highly.
K/D ratio of 281 to 1
Air Supremacy for the win. It's unbearably difficult to accomplish anything when your foe dominates the sky. In those days, bad weather was Japan's only chance, and there's just not enough of that in the vast S. Pacific.
Battle of Cape Matapan is probably in the lead on that scoreboard
@@Bjarkigd1 True.
@@Bjarkigd1 2,303 to 3
ruclips.net/video/b8I2HavEEPE/видео.html
Battleships w/ radar > Cruisers w/o radar ...
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I was pleased to hear the skip-bombing history lesson.
My father-in-law (a Canadian) fought with the RAF in the India/Burma theatre, in 1943/44.
They used the skip-bombing but with B-24 Liberators, which were notorious for heavy control effort.
They also flew with a British crew configuration - only pilot, no co-pilot. 50 feet off the deck in a Liberator without a co-pilot would have been just crazy.
We owe these men a tremendous debt.
Between General Kenny and Pappy Gunn, the 5th Air Force became a potent flexible weapon that brought the Japanese Army and Navy Air forces to their knees. Many innovations by Pappy Gunn ended up being Major Force multipliers. The 5th Air Force did more with less because of his genius. They adopted aircraft to the specific kinds of missions that they had to fly making them much more potent. He also straightened out the maintenance issues that the 5th Air Force had prior to his taking over that responsibility in the ground echelon. There were a lot of unique problems fighting in New Guinea. Because of the dank humidity, weird things would happen to electrical systems. The type of insulation used on The wire would play host to all kinds of mold and fungus that would short them out. The 5th Air Force was at the end of the very long supply chain. New Army Air corps aircraft were prioritized in this order in 1942 Europe, later North Africa and then the Southwest Pacific. If you really want to get to the bottom of the priority list you would have to go to the China Burma India, CBI theater. They got the dregs of everything.
To the author of this video I would like to thank you for just going to the effort of making it let alone the extremely high quality of it. The battle of the Bismarck see is one of the most forgotten critical battles of World War II. This is when the advocates for bombing aircraft were proven right. Going all the way back to General Billy Mitchell, they were all vindicated in this battle. Thank God for their foresight and their stiff necks to fight for what they believed in.
Well this makes my day. Thanks mate. Stuck in a tractor for the next 8 hours this will help
The highest of praise.
This is a great channel. The strategic and tactical descriptions are very well done. The maps, photographs and personal accounts contribute mightily.
Absolutely yes!
There are numerous streets in Heidelberg West in the North East of Melbourne that are named after the towns in these areas and built and settled after WWII.
I myself lived in Wewak Parade for a number of years in a house that had originally been built by Housing Commission Victoria and it was made using precast concrete panels from the Holmesglen Precast Factory. The Holmesglen Factory site was built originally to build and assemble the Australian Tank, the Sentinel Mk III. The tank was never produced there as the war finished before the plant was ready. The site is now home to Holmesglen TAFE College and is where I did my Carpentry Trade Schooling in the mid '80s. There were rumours of a Tank being buried in the grounds but nothing was ever found. Just across the creek and golf course from Holmesglen is another former Housing Commission estate where the streets are named after Allied aircraft flown by Australians during WWII.
These are parts of our history, a glorious military history, that have simply been forgotten, lost between America's obsession with MacArthur and our obsession with Kokoda.
@@hypohystericalhistory8133 i cant like that "obession with kokoda" comment enough. To a lesser extent our ww1 history is a bit like that, it has been populise to the point it has almost become "We landed at Gallipollli.... something something Lone Pine...something The Nek...something Withdrawel. Later on some other stuff happened and then the war ended"
@@bushyfromoz8834 Not only are significant parts of Australia's campaigns in WW1 and WW2 forgotten but in some cases whole wars have been forgotten. When was the last time you heard a detailed account of the battles fought by Australians in the Korean War?
@@blokeabouttown2490 never, but my grandfather was at Kapyong, so I've done a fair bit of reading around that.
I did my trade ticket ta holmesglen it takes a good 15 minutes to walk to end to end
19:50. Thank you for mentioning that Kenney heard about skip bombing on his way to Australia. I know of at least one book where they claim the Americans developed the technique. My father was trained in skip bombing in the RAF in 1941 by the people who developed and first used it in 1940. Training entailed flying at very low altitudes (about 10 feet off the 'deck'), dropping your bomb, then listening to the expletives coming from the top gunner of the Blenheim IV (who wasn't briefed on this) as he stares upwards at the bomb you just dropped. Of course, since my father was the navigator/bomb aimer, his vantage point in the nose of the plane must have been rather hairy as well.
Correct. The RAF innovated the tactic.and General Hap Arnold brought it stateside where the 5th AAF developed their version of the tactic.
A similar tactic was used by the Dam Busters in dropping their spinning bombs.
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Sensational video. The Beaufighters hitting those Japanese destroyers is some of the best war footage ever filmed. Absolutely excellent presentation. Looking forward to more.
Truely a beautiful thing to watch.
Taken by Damien Parer who provided excellent war footage of Kokoda and the battles around Buna and Gona.. He was Australian and won an Oscar during the war. Attached to an American unit he was killed on Peleliu.
This link is a newsreel of the Battle ruclips.net/video/Kxu2trrFhHE/видео.html
Beaufighter was an exceptional aircraft sadly ignored by history. P38 had a fantastic climb rate but a low compressibility speed making high speed dives pretty nasty until dive brakes were fitted
For more, I'd recommend everyone read 'Whispering Death' by Mark Johnston. The book title might seem to make it just a eulogy of the Beaufighter, but it's much more. It's a detailed history of RAAF operations throughout the entire S/E Asian and Pacific War, triumphs and failures, warts and all. The book also narrates the toxic relationships among RAAF commanders and the resentment of high handed US and British allies. Excellent video as usual.
Mega Fauna, thank you. My brother fought in WW II and he was at Normandy..
Where can I find more videos about similar actions
@@robertdorsey9631 this guy is really good in my opinion, check it out
ruclips.net/channel/UCOQ-WpDxp4P1pOJ4Kbc1i2w
Livery For Evermore is the channel name I believe, the link just goes to their main page
@@vonitadustylgreen2914 Mt father was one of Marshal Tito's boy soldiers. My mum spent most of the war being shunted around Germany on a refugee train. She was just a little girl, aged 9 at war's end. She watched Dresden get flattened & her father was used to burn bodies for over a week. According to my father's youngest brother, who my sister had a chat with in 1989 when my old man was still alive, my father had some very good reasons for being as mad as he was. Killed 5 Italians in a bunker & took charge of a Breda M90 heavy machine gun which he laid claim to and operated for the rest of the war. ''They wanted to take it off me and give it to some other bloke.'' said my old man of the incident in 1985. ''I killed 5 men to get that gun. As far as I was concerned it was mine.'' He apparently had two bullets left in the old Luger they'd given him along with a satchel charge of explosives (nobody expected him to do it and live). He was pointing the Luger at his mates as he said it. It weighed 95 pounds. Nobody argued.
Lotsa good stories came out of that war. My old man's European pub mates would tell me stories sometimes.
Of course Blamey wold be blame free.
My father was an Armourer/fitter with 30 Sqd RAAF . He loved the Beaufighter with a passion.
I remember as a young kid watching war films on a Sunday afternoon, he would say that they should make a film about the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Of course I had no idea as he never talked the battle itself just that it was an amazing and important victory for the Allies. I’m so glad that in recent years books and videos like this are telling the story
My grandfather was a navigator on a beaufighter of 30 sqd and is on the battle roll of the Bismark sea battle.
I've read his flight log where he details missions during the battle, including a B17 tail gunner opening up on them as a beaufighter flight from 30 sqn approached from below and behind the formation of US bombers. HE actually writes that luckily the tail gunner was a poor shot!
Likely your father and my grandfather knew each other!
From Africa, Europe and the South Pacific the Aussies punched above their weight. They were integral to victory over Japan with their considerable contributions on land, sea and air. Despite some early hiccups the Aussies and the Americans forged together to become a formidable foe to the Japanese empire. The US had no better ally in the Sourh Pacific.
Ironically the US Army & the Australian Army co ordinated better than the US Army & Marines !
Why do people dislike this? This is good stuff, enjoyable. Thanks for your efforts mate 👍
Haters gonna hate I guess. I always wondered who these people are, even before I started making videos. I’ve probably only disliked a video once or twice in my 10+ years watching RUclips. But if you look at every video made by everyone, even your favourite channels, they have dislikes. Even Drachinifel, his videos get dislikes; WTF?
@@hypohystericalhistory8133, never give a toss about the dislikes, as it is still engagement on your channel, which is good for the YT algorithm.
Infact, a higher % of dislikes will often see YT promote a video more due to "controversy".
Absolutely love your work and the old maps, but maybe work on reducing the numbers of "thus" as a minor observation (not a criticism).
Once you've finished with the extensive Pacific war, I'd love to see you tackle other Aussie conflicts post WW2. Korea, Borneo, Malaysia, Vietnam, East Timor, Gulf War 1
I'd love for you to reach out to Indy and co currently doing the @WorldWar2 week by week on YT with your great research + videos and to help address the myth that the Pacific was "only Americans".
Maybe a couple of specials with them? Benefits both channels.
Having said all that, I'm now going to see if you have a patreon.
@@hypohystericalhistory8133 There are people who, as kids, take great pleasure in tearing the wings off butterflies. When they get older they take to disliking brilliant videos...
@@hypohystericalhistory8133 I had a feeling you enjoy listening to Drachinifel as well. 😎
When talking of Australian efforts in the pacific PLEASE remember the brave "coast-watchers" !!
Well researched, well written and well delivered. great topic thank you.
I agree it was well researched and a really great program, I love the fact that someone here at Hypohisterical History took the time to do this the right way and I thank you.
But one important item was not mentioned, the B-25 Mitchells using skip bombing tactics were also using a brand new 5 second delay impact fuse on the 500lb. bombs. This fuse was being used in combat for the very first time, but not the last and was used for the rest of the war with great success against Japanese shipping for the rest of the war by the Australians and Americans Starting with this battle.
The "Skip Bombers" would use these 5 second delay fuses at low-level with the tactics as mentioned in the video to avoid getting caught in the explosion of their own bombs while hitting their targets as they flew at just over ships mast top height. This is an important detail.
For detailed reference to the battle and the 5 second delay impact fuses please read the book "The Battle of the Bismarck Sea" by Lawrence Cortesi (Copyright 1967)
@@deathwalkerfalcon-hawk3969 Most interesting, thank you. These little refinements made a huge difference.
Really enjoying the in-depth coverage of the New Guinea campaign. This was a major campaign fought in some of the roughest conditions of the entire war This was where we really turned the tide on Japan. Your posts are outstanding and rate right up there with Dan Carlin’s Hard Core History but with pictures.
A wonderfully detailed and dramatic telling of a most important battle. Two suggested additions: 1. I have read that an additional beneficial result of the B-17 attack, prior to the low level bombing runs, was to scatter the Japanese convoy, thus diluting the effect of their combined anti-aircraft fire. 2. The A-20's and B-25's contained numerous nose guns-.50 caliber light-barreled Brownings-that they fired on approach, suppressing what was left of the anti-aircraft fire on the cargo ships and destroyers. These were the brainchild of James "Pappy" Gunn (aptly named), a genius aircraft mechanic who was General Kenny's go-to guy for finding ways to make his air force more effective. Pappy was also responsible for figuring out how to mount those parachute fragmentation bombs in the A-20's and B-25's, for use in attacking the Japanese airfields. I don't think that one can overstress the cooperative skill of the American and Australian pilots in coordinating and carrying out this attack. The resulting loss to the Japanese in their ability to supply their far-flung bases was another real turning point in the war in the South Pacific.
The Aussie built Beaufighters put American 50 cal machine guns in the wings instead of the 303s.
Certainly a better pairing for the 20mm cannons.
I do feel the "Strafing B25s" were inspired by the Beaufighters (Apart from those fitted with a 75mm cannon)
As an American son of a WWII 8th Army Air Corps vet who served on and around B17s, and as a history buff, it's refreshing to see the ANZAC contributions uppermost, or at least mentioned, in RUclips accounts. The story of the 75th Squadron at Port Moresby bravely holding off the Zeros with P-40s, the Milne Bay battles, the coast watchers, etc., get too little exposure in WWII histories as seen from the USA perspective. Nothing but respect for our brothers from NZ and Oz. I want to know even more.
Outstanding series of videos, concerning the campaigns in Papua-New Guinea! Such fine detail! The South Pacific theater has been neglected by documentary producers. Keep them coming! Thanks Mate!
Excellent episode (as usual). Your presentation and research quality are unsurpassed on YT.
Congrats to all responsible for this content. First class work.
The A 20 at 2 seconds in was "Tobias the Terrible" 89th Attack Squadron 3rd Bomb Group, 5th USAAF on a skip bomb run at Wewak against the Japanese Army supply vessel, "Taiei Maru". One motor and hydraulics were shot out on the approach causing Tobias the Terrible to hit the ship's mast with her prop and she went down with her gunner, John L. Bradley. Pilot Lieutenant John Soloc survived after hitting the Taiei Maru amid ship with his payload and was rescued by a Catalina Flying Boat 17 hours later . . . My dad was an A 20 gunner for the 90th and survived the war.
I do appreciate the great detail of the series.
The back and forth from photo images to maps are vital to carry the viewer with the narrative.
The pride in Aussie military traditions and their role in allied campaigns are absent in other video histories.
Our narrator shows restraint in criticism of American leadership where great fault might be elaborated on.
On the other hand, candid profiles of both Australian leadership AND rank and file are downright heartwarming and rightfully patriotic.
Kudos and congratulations.
Well done yet again cobber. I'm a 51 year old Australian secondary history teacher (did 4 years infantry reserves back when) and I've 2 huge bookcases full of military history texts.
Another excellent episode. My wife happened to be listening in too, and her comment to me was that your narration is first class. I agree! So, look out Mark Feldon!
Thankyou my friend, much appreciated
I couldn't help but feel sorry for the Merchant Fleets of all the warring parties. Those unarmed freighters were bombed, torpedoed and strafed mercilessly as they carried the supplies which kept the war going. There never seemed to be enough protection for them and they died mostly in anonymity.
On the transatlantic convoys, the merchant sailors who survived being torpedoed were generally left by the convoys, as stopping was considered too risky.
We still have tw4ts here who think war is glorious.
Most of your merchant ships were not attacked - the only ones you hear about - were the ones that were. Their risk of being attacked varied from place to place and time to time. During the early war years in the North Atlantic - their chances of being attacked were very high - other places at other times - it wasn't that bad.
Early in the war in the North Atlantic - yes - they did not have rescue ships to pick up survivors and the other ships in the convoy couldn't stop - lest they too be lost as well. Later on - dedicated rescue ships were assigned to follow along at the end of the convoys to pick up survivors. Even then though - getting dunked in the North Atlantic in Wintertime was not conducive to your health and many of those who went in the water didn't survive until rescue arrived.
As to Glory ... the glory comes from the sacrifice. The experience of the sacrifice can be horrendous - all the more reason it is glorified. This glorification is recognizing what these people who sacrificed themselves did.
The thing is - the word Glory has a lot of different meanings depending on it's context.
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@@BobSmith-dk8nw I believe Merchant Marines lost about 5000 sailors to U boats in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, one of the lesser publicized theaters of the war that we didn't even start getting a handle on for at least the first 6 months of the declared war. At the declared war's outset oil tankers from Texas Gulf Coast Refineries were constantly targeted at the U Boat Commanders will, often within sight of the coast before Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral King finally began organizing escorted convoys as the British Admiralty had been recommending throughout the declared war.
Once torpedoed, oil tankers offered little or no time for clearing free of them before they simply exploded. Some German U Boat crewmen said they felt embarrassed about being given praise for something that, at that early time of the war, came without any opposition whatsoever.
@@icewaterslim7260 Yeah. The U-Boats had what they called a "Happy Time" against the British before they got their convoys and escorts going and then had a "Second Happy Time" against the Americans. The US was completely unprepared for war and we paid for it.
Things turned in about March '43. At the beginning of that time the U-Boats were doing very well but then Allied Technology began turning things around.
One thing they got going was High Speed Direction Finding (HSDS or Huff Duff). The way the Wolf Packs worked - was they'd spread out in a line across the path of the convoys and when one of them saw a convoy it would begin to tail it and report it's position back to Germany. The Germans U-Boat Command would then transmit the information to it's Wolf Packs and they would close in for the kill.
HSDS allowed multiple ships and land stations to get a bearing on any transmissions made by U-Boats - which was then reported along with the time and date. In Britain they would take all the reports that had the same time and date - and draw bearing lines from them. Where the bearing lines crossed - that - is where the U-Boat was when it transmitted. They would then send out orders for someone to go over there and look for that U-Boat.
Also - the Arrival of B-24 and PB4Y-1 Liberators served to close the air gap in the mid Atlantic. With air coverage of the Bay of Biscay, the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico U-Boats had trouble operating on the surface to charge their batteries. The Germans tried to counter with Schnorkles and radar detectors but had mixed results.
In addition to the land based patrol planes though the allies began to field a number of Escort Carriers built on Merchant Hulls that could escort convoys and form Hunter Killer Groups.
One thing that was kept secret for a long time was the Fido Homing Torpedo dropped by aircraft. The Germans had fielded an acrostic torpedo that homed in on a ships propellers, which the Allies tried to counter by towing decoys called Nixie but the Germans did not know we had a homing torpedo too.
It got to where we were sinking more U-Boats than they were merchantmen. Of all the U-Boats deployed 70% were lost and the way U-Boats were lost - this was frequently with all hands.
Doenitz pulled the U-Boats back at one point as they tried to come up with solutions. One thing they did was adopt a Burst Communications method where their Radio Signals were recorded by the operator - and then - would be transmitted at a very high speed by the Burst Communication System.
The Germans also developed their Type XXI U-Boats which were much better but they arrived to late in the war.
The best book written on that was Nicholas Monsarrat's Novel - _The Cruel Sea_ based on his war time experiences. A movie was made from the book
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cruel_Sea_(1953_film)
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Those “merchant fleets” in this case were loaded to the brim with soldiers and munitions on their way to attack Australia.
7,000 men is the effective fighting strength of an entire Japanese division which was around 12,000 strong at maximum strength. This was one of the bloodiest victories in history but who has heard of it? ONE day! Two days of prep...
These videos are finally letting me understand, in detail, what the cryptic entries on my father's service record actually mean. He fought from Milne Bay all the way round to the occupation of Rabaul after the war. Thanks.
They sure are cryptic, aren't they!
These programs are by far some of the best and most well balanced histories of WWII I have seen in quite a while. The fair comparisons of of the fighting men of Australia and the United States including the incompetence of Macarthur is extremely refreshing in light of the whitewashing his record has received in the U.S. All in all this is first rate programming.
Outstanding, our US centric history has for years led the perception that the Pacific War was an American war. Most people still think that the Navy and Marine Corps did the majority of the fighting. I knew differently because my grandfather fought along side Australians in the battles in Papa New Guinea as a Washington National Guard junior artillery officer. I knew about the Australian army contributions, but not the large RAAF contributions. Keep up the great work.
Had a great uncle who flew a P-38 out of New Guinea. He really loved that plane.
@hypohystericalhistory Mark Felton level content. I'd say the same thing if this video was 10 years old let alone only 6 hours! You are a pimp. Cheers from CHS USA and thanks!
Yt needs some serious pacific content vs....
I really like the detail you put in your videos. As mentioned previously, this really rounds out the historical participation of all Allies, particularly the Aussie contribution to the success in the Pacific theater. The truth about MacArthur is icing on the cake.
I can't imagine what it would be like to be on the business end of a flight of Beaufighers. They weren't graceful, but they were tough and packed a hell of a lot of firepower. That said, I also can't imagine what it was like to be ordered to hunt lifeboats and rafts. I get the logic, but I feel sorry for the air crew who had to carry it out. More so b/c I don't think the mental health of soldiers, sailors and pilots was something the militaries of the time considered as much as we do today. And it's something that modern nations still fail at too often when it comes to veterans.
Anyway, nicely done video! This is a theatre that doesn't seem to get as much attention compared to Western Europe, the Eastern Front, North Africa and the big Pacific battles with carriers facing off. I'm no Aussie, but I appreciate what you're doing nonetheless.
Your explanation of strategic conditions is far better than other sources which often give a very detailed chronology of events without explaining the reasons why the belligerents acted as they did. It really sets you apart and I think you should lean into it as much as possible.
Nicely done. My dad was with the fifth Air Force eighth photo mapping group, and mentioned Lae, Finchaven and Wewak. He really didn’t want to talk about much about it when I was a young child and pestered him for information, and I didn’t revisit the subject with him when I was in my 20s. My dad, who was a child of the depression and tough himself, thought that the Australian troops were unbelievably tough and mentioned it to me two or three times. One thing not mentioned in the video was how unbelievably difficult and malignant the terrain and diseases were in the theater.
I really wish I knew more about his service. Of late I have become a student of the campaign and really enjoyed this video.
Of course it’s impossible to capture the scope of an air battle photographically, and there are very few images from the Battle of the Bismarck sea. I guess the troops were too busy shooting with their guns to pick up their cameras.
I keep my eyes open Especially for some video from the Beaufighters and the B-25 Strafers Performing their roles in the Bismarck Sea, Barge hunting, and in the destruction of the Japanese air bases up the coast.
Nicely done, and thanks.
There is vision filmed from a Beau fighter by an Australian war photographer called Damien Perar.
Another excellent and extremely well-researched story from you - really enjoying your channel. The Beaufighter would be my favourite aircraft of WWII, so well used by Australian Pacific forces but it certainly had its vices at takeoff and landing which resulted in many accidents. A beautiful aircraft with devastating firepower, perfectly suited for the maritime strike role in the Pacific theatre. And the Bristol Hercules sleve valve engines in them are a thing of engineering beauty.
Time to drop everything to watch this. Keep it up!
Got the maps of operation.
Pictures and background of the planes used.
Leading players of the commanding units.
Objective and outcomes explained comprehensively.
Prior standings in the areas of operation and realised outcomes of so named battles.
I'm really starting to get right into these videos.
I especially like the worded statements collected from the commanding forces.
A real close first hand account of the situation reported.
Keep up the great work and a big Two Thumbs Up 👍👍for all the product being featured. 👏🇦🇺
Your research and presentation is excellent. I thoroughly enjoy this series. My only problem is the speed in which you narrate the videos. No real problem because I watch them again to pick up what I didn't hear the first time or even the second time. Like some of the others that watch these, I really look forward to these.
Put it at .75 speed
@@NathanDudani The speed is not the only problem I have. His material is so informative and interesting, I then get got up thinking about the specifics and miss a lot of what he is saying. Like I said, I don't mind because I really enjoy watching them again and picking up on things that I missed, but thanks for the suggestion, I didn't even think about slowing it down!
I had no problem following everything narrating.
This is a battle no one talks about...thanks
By far the absolute BEST Bismarck Sea Battle video ever viewed by me on RUclips.
This was one of the more important 'air/sea' battles in the war as these planes wiped out a division of japanese soldiers for very little loss of life...when Americans didn't have a large superiority in men and didn't want to pay the high cost of defeating them once they landed. Innovative combat techniques were used. Planes used to each of their advantages and worked around their weaknesses. And the skip bomb and low altitude bombing proved much more successful than 'classic' techniques even though (or because) they were dangerous to the planes too.
Excellent video mate. I'm a relatively new follower but I have binge watched your whole channel. I'm also introducing you to a number of family and friends. We're from a military family.
I loved hearing my Grandfather's stories of WW2 in Europe as a child. He had nothing but great things to say about British, Australian, and even Soviet Soldiers he met. But I always wanted to know Australia's role in the Pacific, and I found the Channel! Thanks!
Hell yeah, no long wait this time. Love your work dude.
I appreciate the notes when Commonwealth/ANZAC aircraft names differ from US names. It's much easier to understand the stories when I know a Boston and a Havoc are the same airframe.
Oz and Kiwis,
HELLUVA job, guys!!!
Thank you for covering the battle of the Bismarck Sea.Very good presentation.
Your presentation is very thorough, including some fine pictures I've never seen before. Well done!
This is the best coverage of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea on youtube. The very best I have seen. Thanks
I really like the way you narrate , the tone , inflection and diction , very good . For me , your style and presentation feels like a synthesis of the “Great Planes “ narrator with a healthy dash of Shelby Foote . I am very proud of the manner in which you have presented this subject matter . This offering brushed up my detailed knowledge of the PTO , at the same time , raised my adrenaline , just very well done , bravo Sir. I am going to sample ALL of your content .
Love this channel!! I bet it explodes with this series your creating.
Knew little about this battle and the devastation it caused. Wow! The thought of strafing runs on Japanese soldiers in life boats brings home the horrors of war. Thankyou for this fascinating video and analysis. Look forward to your future content.
Yes, the brutality of the Pacific Theater of Operations was on another level, for all sides involved.
The thing is, they were only a week from being right back in the fight. Not like they were in the open ocean, they were just a few miles from their bases.
@@CFarnwide The only theatres where the Geneva Convention was mostly honoured were western Europe and North Africa. Even then there were some massacres of prisoners. And I know many allied soldiers after D Day did not accept surrender from SS soldiers.
@@andrewblake2254 Japanese Foreign Minister actually agreed to abide by the Geneva Convention after Pearl Harbour but the military culture in Japan never enforced it on their field commanders or POW commandants in particular.
@@lamwen03 Agree - the Japanese troops were in their boats with weapons heading for shore to continue the fight against Australian soldiers. You cannot consider them to be in the same situation as unarmed sailors of unarmed merchant ships.
Thanks for setting me straight on the B-17 vs. shipping. Always, all I’d heard was how useless it was to try sinking ships with B-17s. Great video in all other respects as well, this battle doesn’t get much play, yet it obviously played a prominent role in things to come.
You have provided this old Marine an entirely new perspective on the War in the Pacific. Thank you. Am anxious to see what’s next. Great job!!
Your series of videos is filling in gaps in my knowledge of south-west Pacific campaigns. Excellent series.
Well done Cobbers! Gave 'em hell with the Beaufighters, my favourite warbird of WWII.
Excellent video! This is a battle that has fascinated me in recent years. One detail you missed was that some of the B25s were modified with four .50 machine guns in the nose so they could strafe as they made their low level bomb runs. One American pilot described how he saw the Japanese infantrymen lined up at the rail with their rifles to try to shoot down his incoming bomber, but the stream of .50 bullets tore them to shreds before they could shoot.
.50's an adaptation by an old hand called "Pappy Gunn"! they were brutal!!
Another excellent production full of rich descriptions and accurate comment. Your documentaries are outstanding and clearly display you passion for the content and the depth of your research. Please keep them coming, if possible, for you continue to shine a light on a forgotten, but very important , corner of the Pacific campaign. Great Work.
Nice video. The very first picture is a 5th A.F. A-20 from the Third Attack Group hitting the ships mast. Another A-20 from the Third is flying at tree top level over a Betty bomber. It's nice to see
anything on the 5th Air Force. My dad was in the photo section in the Third Attack Group and in
his collection of photos are those two pictures. My dad also went up in the A-20 as a gunner for
about 6 missions only because he was there before all the photo equipment arrived. They needed
gunners and he got his orders. Not only was the skip bombing a new tactic, but they also did
parafrag bombing at low altitude. They also field fitted the B-25's and A-20's with 50 cal. guns
when they took the bombardiers out. I guess some Australian's appreciate what little America
could do at that time to help our allies.
Skip bombing was a tactic developed independently in different theaters by both sides. Italian Ju87 Stuka pilots learned how to do it as well on their own. You had to come in at just the right amount of speed and level to drop the bomb just right to skip like a stone across the water with the objective of hitting at the water line.
As the campaign progressed in New Guinea the ventral rear gunner of A20!s was dispensed with bringing the crew down to 3 men. A camera was sometimes fitted in the former gun position and filmed the parabombing and other attacks.
Really enjoyed this whole series, though I started in the middle with this one. So much of this campaign I had not seen before, and the toxic relationships between MacArthur and Aussie generals is an eye-opening perspective
Just dropped in to feed the algorithm and say that I really appreciate getting an Aussie perspective on the lesser-known South Pacific battles. Greetings from America!
Onto Salamaua and Lae! Can't wait for the next video. I was never interested in the WW2 SE campaigns until I saw your Milne bay video and have been so caught up in the ongoing documentaries you have been telling, absolutely brilliant, in-depth and detailed! Thanks for great content.
Excellent job... Best documentary I've seen on this battle....
Your videos are above and beyond bro. Outstanding work and I know a ton of people appreciate it hugely. Keep up the great work.
Can't wait for the next installment. Honestly it's like watching the good version of the history Channel again.
Thanks for the fantastic content! Please keep them coming!
As always, a benchmark presentation of a significant front that gets insufficient coverage. Well done.
This is top shelf! There is so much information to absorb Ive watched it a few times to soak it all in.
Australian & New Zealand's contribution to the successful prosecution of the war in the Pacific should never be overlooked.
The old time diggers were tough as nails, and there was no love lost between Japanese and Commonwealth forces.
Thank you for the hard work , research and quality content , well done Sir .
Once again amazing job in making this video about the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
Excellent work as usual - I really do enjoy your work highlighting campaigns that are somewhat out of the limelight. My Great Uncle flew Beaufighters up there and though I never got to chat directly to him about it this provides a lot of detail on what they did. Keep up the awesome work!
Another wonderful episode. I'm learning new stuff all the time. Thanks.
Execellent, rarely has a military historian been so clear, precise and also at the same time so gripping. You really make the Papua jungle campaigns come to life.
Great presentation and superb narration. Keep these documentaries coming.
One of the things that isn't really talked about regarding the a6m Zero is the armaments that the early to mid War variance carried were flawed. The fuselage mounted 7.7 mm machine guns had a flatter trajectory than the shorter barrel 20 mm cannon in the wings. So if you harmonize again for point of convergence the 20 mm rounds are dropping below the point of aim while the tracers on the 7.7 mm appear to be heading to the Target. Later in the war the 20 mm Cannon were replaced with a longer barrel version that corrected this flaw. But then it was too late
I have throughly enjoyed your series of videos on the war in the south pacific and I hope you can continue to do more.
I'm from TikTok - amazing, thoroughly engrossing content
Fantastic account. Thanks for your time & effort bringing us this story.
This is a great series of excellent depth and substance. You are to be congratulated. Thank you.
Mate you've done it again thank you just brilliant.
This is an excellent series and I am enjoying hearing the Pacific war told from an Australian perspective. Well done.
Brilliant - so comprehensive and told. Thanks mate!
Another great upload. Brilliant stuff!
This is the best documentary of this battle I have ever seen. Great job!
Excellent content. Your writing, style and delivery make your videos very enjoyable to watch and hear. Keep up the exceptional work.
Another superb documentary. What I love about your documentaries is that its in a theatre which I was not familiar with, unlike most of WW2, but most particularly your exciting narration. Reminds me of Braddock VC in the Rover all those years ago.
Well researched and produced, thankyou.
Wow, this was great! Trying to cut back on my subscriptions but, can't pass you up! Keep up the good work! duHg.
Excellent can’t praise this enough detailed and nicely put together well done whoever you are
28:30 what an amazing photo
Excellent documentary! Thanks!
Another fabulous effort. Terrifically told. Excellent!!