LousianaHorn
Kabong
about the salvage divers at Pearl Harbor and other places. Surreal Im sure esp. going down into the Arizona.
Amazon product ASIN 1591147247
Amazon product ASIN 1591147247
Interesting book.......
- Thread starter LousianaHorn
- Start date
I've read a dozen + books on Pearl Harbor over the years. Saw a program years based on this book. Wish I could see it again.
Very important. Before you read more about Pearl Harbor, you must read the best and a most fascinating book how we broke the Jap Codes:
Joe Rochefort's War by Elliot Carlson.
If you dont read the book, google it and read the summary.
For anyone else interested, the best books on Pearl Harbor are:
Pearl Harbor Final Jugement - Henry C Clausen and Bruce Lee.
The Rising Sun by John Toland.
At Dawn they Slept by Gordon Prange.
Very important. Before you read more about Pearl Harbor, you must read the best and a most fascinating book how we broke the Jap Codes:
Joe Rochefort's War by Elliot Carlson.
If you dont read the book, google it and read the summary.
For anyone else interested, the best books on Pearl Harbor are:
Pearl Harbor Final Jugement - Henry C Clausen and Bruce Lee.
The Rising Sun by John Toland.
At Dawn they Slept by Gordon Prange.
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That was from the capsized battleship USS Oklahoma the day of and next day after Dec. 7.
The battleship USS Arizona sunk quickly after the first wave and only had a couple dozen survivors among a crew of 1100 men.
I've visited Pearl Harbor - Arizona Memorial and Oklahoma Memorial on the shore. Plus the museum on the opposite shore 3 times.
Every time very humbling, moving and sad.
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USS Oklahoma
If I recall correctly, all battleships but the Arizona were re-floated. It took a while before they had the equipment to refloat USS Oklahoma. Some were put back into service, but by then it was clear aircraft carriers were needed, not battleships. Battleships were mainly used to shell islands and defend landing operations.
I won't get into the long time conspiracy about FDR letting Pearl Harbor happen to get the US into WW2.
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The last survivor of the Arizona named Potts died at 102 in April 2023.
Thanks, I will check out these books. By trade, I'm an IT Networking and Security Geek but History, and my wife, are my loves.
Correct me if I am wrong but Joe Rochefort's team broke the Japanese code before Midway. Out of jealousy (?) he was removed from that command and sent to a logistics unit for the duration of the war.
You are correct. The war in the Pacific immediately became a Carrier war.
All battleships after Pearl were salvaged and eventually re-floated months after the battle, except AZ.
Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia, Tennesse, Maryland and Oklahoma. Nevada was the only battleship to get underway and escape getting serious damage.
It was an amazing engineering feat to turn over the Oklahoma and re-float her. But they did it. The Navy tried to tow it to SF or San Diego but somewhere along the way it sank IIRC.
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Yes , Joe and team broke Jap diplomatic codes prior to Pearl. Code: Purple.
We had serious clues Japs would attack but did not know date or where. Philippines, Pearl, Wake, Midway, Australia?
Dont recall exactly re Rochefort later but there was bickering and it was complicated.
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Biggest break for Rocheforts team ? Broke enough codes to surmise the Japs planned to hit Midway.
Admiral Chester Nimitz from Fredricksburg TX took a calculated chance and agreed. Sent the Enterprise, Yorktown & Hornet to attack the 4 carrier Jap fleet at Midway.
It worked! Changed the course in the war in the Pacific. 4 Jap carriers sunk. US lost the Yorktown after 2nd attack by sub on her.
Sorry for the long posts, I am a WW2 history nut....
Admiral Chester Nimitz from Fredricksburg TX took a calculated chance and agreed. Sent the Enterprise, Yorktown & Hornet to attack the 4 carrier Jap fleet at Midway.
It worked! Changed the course in the war in the Pacific. 4 Jap carriers sunk. US lost the Yorktown after 2nd attack by sub on her.
Sorry for the long posts, I am a WW2 history nut....
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Me too. Read some of the books by James Holland. I've finished the Rise of Germany and Battle of Britian. He does not just focus on the military side, but politics, civilians, technology development, etc.
Maybe read a Holland book my dad had about Europe war years ago.
Probably read more books about Pacific theater. Rape of Nanking was disgusting.
Read Band of Brothers before the series. Couple on the Battle of the Bulge. Several books on Hitler and Third Reich, Albert Speer.
Book about B-17's mostly 8th Air Force in Europe: Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski. Fascinating book about creation & evolution of the B17 and missions in WW2.
Never read Mein Kampf.... but on my list.
Probably read more books about Pacific theater. Rape of Nanking was disgusting.
Read Band of Brothers before the series. Couple on the Battle of the Bulge. Several books on Hitler and Third Reich, Albert Speer.
Book about B-17's mostly 8th Air Force in Europe: Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski. Fascinating book about creation & evolution of the B17 and missions in WW2.
Never read Mein Kampf.... but on my list.
WM, you may enjoy this book, which came out earlier this year. It has the added bonus of featuring my uncle in one chapter.
Amazon product ASIN 168451262X
More reading material for me. Thanks mc.
Looks interesting. Will buy it. What is your Uncle's name? Chapter?
THAT was a terribly bloody mission.
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True. The book goes into a lot of detail and is not an easy read due to the content. Even in 1943, the Germans were desperate to stop the Mighty 8th and the Brits, Poles, Free French, etc.
In the end, the 8th took a beating and, at the end of the war, came through on top. Go Air Corps!
John Wolff - don’t recall the chapter.
US - "Midway was the turning point in the Pacific"
Japan - "Guadalcanal was the turning point in the Pacific"
The Marines get the glory (and they've earned it with blood), but the Battleship Washington effectively won that battle. It turned into a battle of supply. Whose Navy could supply their ground troops with food and ammo--that would be decisive. And it was very much up in the air, with Japan usually holding a slight numerical advantage in ships.
The IJN bloodied us up pretty bad in a night battle at Savo island (just N.W. of Guadalcanal). That caused Adm Halsey to bring in the big guns--Battleships Washington and South Dakota. In comes Japan, again at night, with an escort of a Battleship (Kirishima), 4 cruisers, and 9 destroyers, covering their convoy of supplies--and with the intent to shell Henderson Field. They f'ckd our destroyers up (as they often did) with better torpedoes than Detroit could make. That left Battleships Washington and South Dakota as all that was left. At which time, South Dakota started having massive electrical system problems which put it out of commission. So it's the Battleship Washington vs. the heart of Japan's regional surface fleet. U.S. Adm. 'Ching' Lee waited until Japan's ships closed in, then his Battleship Washington blasted Battleship Kirishima out of the water in very short order. Next Washington rapidly laid waste to a destroyer. At this point, the IJN had seen enough, turned tail, and were never able to effectively supply Guadalcanal again.
"The tide of the Guadalcanal campaign was turned by one new American battleship, the USS WASHINGTON (BB-56,) CAPT Glenn B. Davis, commanding, in a brutal and near-run battle the night of 14-15 Nov 42. With the battleship USS SOUTH DAKOTA (BB-57) on fire and out of action, and the four screening destroyers sunk or crippled, WASHINGTON was the only ship left of Rear Admiral Willis “Ching” Lee’s Task Force 64 that entered Ironbottom Sound the evening of 14 Nov 1942, in a last ditch effort by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey to halt yet another major effort by the Japanese to bombard Henderson Field and land more reinforcements on Guadalcanal (it was a last-ditch effort for the Japanese too.)
Washington single-handedly took on a Japanese force of one battleship (Kirishima), 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 9 destroyers. In a matter of minutes, Washington pummeled Kisishima with around 20 hits by 16 inch shells and over 40 hits y 5 inch shells, which caused Kirishima to sink after midnight.
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I believe that Ian Toll's - Pacific Crucible documented the above. Tensions ran so high among the crews of South Dakota and Washington - One Ship took a lot of damage and the other much less (don't remember which) that they could not take shore leave together.
Three books in the series if you are interested. If I recall, one of the books covers the sad tale of the Sullivan brothers on the Juno.
Three books in the series if you are interested. If I recall, one of the books covers the sad tale of the Sullivan brothers on the Juno.
South Dakota -- Her Electrical system was afu. At the critical time in the battle, there were many electrical shorts, and breakers were tripping all over the ship, incapacitating South Dakota. Massive electrical failures, and they couldn't timely fix them. S. Dakota was a sitting duck and could not fight back.
Washington -- Played it smart, letting the Battleship Kirishima and other IJN ships reveal themselves (night battle) by firing on the (nearly worthless S. Dakota). Then Washington opened fire and blasted the best IJN surface ship in the theatre out of the water in minutes. A destroyer followed shortly thereafter. The Washington (and it's gunners, drilled by Ching Lee) won that battle (and ultimately that campaign). You could also say that the Washington saved the S. Dakota's bacon that night.
Check out the YouTube video.
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Perhaps the E-Div Chief on the South Dakota later found himself on a supply ship out of Alaska, or something...South Dakota -- Her Electrical system was afu. At the critical time in the battle, there were many electrical shorts, and breakers were tripping all over the ship, incapacitating South Dakota. Massive electrical failures. S. Dakota was a sitting duck and could not fight back.
Washington -- Played it smart, letting the Battleship Kirishima and other IJN ships reveal themselves (night battle) by firing on the (nearly worthless S. Dakota). Then Washington opened fire and blasted the best IJN surface ship in the theatre out of the water in minutes. A destroyer followed shortly thereafter. The Washington (and it's gunners, drilled by Ching Lee) won that battle (and ultimately that campaign). You could also say that the Washington saved the S. Dakota's bacon that night.
Check out the YouTube video.
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1. Command of the seas, and winning the big naval battles: The Carriers
2. Destruction of Japan's supply lines (oil, food, metals, rubber, transport of men) and their ability to wage war: The Submarines
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