75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

[gimpy117]

after I posted I looked up a documentary, and according to it, the last one WAS found and it was in a bunch of debris that was scooped up after the explosion in the west lock in 44'



the assumption, assuming this documentary has any validity, is that the 5th sub made it in, fired, and hid in the west lock for a time before scuttling underwater knowing that there was little chance of escape due to the naval base being on alert. there it lay until the west lock had a large accident and was picked up when items from that disaster were quickly removed to save face and get the west lock operational

[nikimcbee]

http://i-16tou.com/

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

http://i-16tou.com/

Fascinating!

The conning tower hatch was found to be unlocked (without a special wrench, it could only be unlocked from inside), and no trace of the crew within. Only a set of coveralls and a pair of shoes (now on display at a shrine on the grounds of the JMSDF Officer's Candidate School in Eta Jima, Japan) were found inside. It has not been proven but indicators suggest that the crew abandoned their sub in quiet waters up against the O'ahu coastline. At that point, they vanished from history. It is possible that the crew drowned while making their way to shore, or that they were shot by US patrols and their bodies dumped in a common grave. But was there another possibility? Could they have possibly escaped from their sub and made their way ashore; if so, what then? On one of the charts recovered from Sakamaki's boat,marke a house in Pearl City near the PAA Clipper landing, owned by Dr. Yokichi Uyehara, was described as "Uyehara sanitarium rakuzanso ("happy mountain retreat"). Nearby, a "boat landing" and a "white man's house" are marked for the submariners' information

this map was instantly recognisable as an escape and evasion map. Why else would a submariner need to know how to get around O'ahu on foot? On the back of one of the charts, there is an interesting handwritten notation. Under the heading, "Articles to carry when escaping," two methods for leaving the sub are detailed: first, when alongside the mother sub; second, when going ashore. If the crew was going aboard the mother sub, they were to wear their service uniform. If going ashore, then they were instructed to go naked (the assumption here is that they would strip down to their traditional undergarment, the fundoshi)....It also helps to explain the set of coveralls found in the sub raised from the Keehi Lagoon (spare coveralls were not carried aboard the midget subs, so someone left without their clothes). Those crewmembers were evidently following their escape directions. I asked Vice Admiral Kazuo Ueda about the reasoning behind the instruction to go ashore naked and his response was that it would make it easier for the crew to blend in with the Japanese population on the island.

Well I've mellowed with the years and good submarining is good submarining! Those torpedo tubes are empty and 'rusticle' data indicates they were fired. And, if the rooster-tailing midget sub #5 in my video post above-probably torpedoing the USS West Virginia- made it to the West Loch to lay low after sending a 'success' signal 12 hours after the attack; and the crew later unlocked their hatch and abandoned their coveralls for a mile swim to shore and then, in their skivvies to Dr. Yokichi Uyehara's 'happy house' in Pearl City....we have a pretty cool movie plot here! & < 1 unexploded sub 1000lb torpedo was recovered inside Pearl. Airborne torpedoes were 500 lbs....One dud and one hit on the USS West Virginia imho. For the record: Dr Urehara was a Tokyo medical school grad and 1917 immigrant to Hawaii, whose 1930 purchase water-front home directly on Pearl Harbor had been a meeting place for visiting Imperial Navy Japanese officers. Letters were found in his home reminding him of his duty to his 'mother country'. He was arrested in Feb 25, 1942 by the FBI, having fled to his hospital's basement after the attack.....No details of the outcome are recorded.

[Commander Wallace]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Had it not been for FDR, violating the Constitution, taking powers not his, seeing the real situation of the world and doing what was necessary, we probably would have sat out the war and watched the Nazis take over Europe and appeased Japan to do whatever we had to to stay out of war.

To my mind, Roosevelt was a hero, doing what heroes do: ignoring the rules and doing the right thing in spite of them. Imagine having to fight both the Germans and the Japanese five or ten years later. And the would have happened.

Thank God Roosevelt made the decisions to pay the price of victory while we could still afford it.

Credit also the defiant Spirit and leadership of Winston Churchill and the skill of their Pilots, Spitfire pilots included for " holding down the fort " until the U.K was able to take the offensive. It was always Churchill and Roosevelt and their respective countries who were the leadership of the allies.