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00:30In the first six months of 1943, nine new aircraft carriers joined the Pacific Fleet.
00:37By January 1944, a single unit, Task Force 58, had six fleet carriers and six light carriers.
00:45It had more aerial strength than the entire U.S. Navy possessed in 1941.
00:51The Navy's growing power would be applied to Admiral Nimitz's strategy of leapfrogging
00:56island by island towards Rabaul, the key Japanese outpost in New Britain.
01:06The way would then be clear to move on to Japan.
01:12United States Army Air Forces adopted another approach.
01:15They created whole new air forces in each theater, as required.
01:26The Bismarck Sea lies between the Admiralty Islands to the north and New Britain and New Guinea to the south.
01:36Japanese sea lanes were regularly patrolled by General George Kinney's B-17s and B-24s.
01:45Every flight was a hazard. Planes were overweight from fuel and bombs.
01:49They were taking off from short coral runways.
01:52It was dreary, dangerous work.
01:55They were flying at the limits of their range.
01:58The patrols lasted as long as 12 hours over the trackless waters.
02:02If the aircraft were damaged by the enemy, getting back to base was problematic.
02:07On December 30th, 1942, reconnaissance photos showed the heaviest concentration of shipping ever seen at Rabaul.
02:19There were 70 merchant and 21 warships.
02:23For the next 90 days, these ships became prime targets for the 5th Air Force.
02:30Attacks were mounted on Rabaul and on convoys being sent to reinforce Japanese garrisons in New Guinea.
02:35The Japanese responded with heavier fighter escorts.
02:50This was just what Kenney wanted.
02:53His goal was to destroy Japanese air power on the ground and in the air.
03:05As Japanese aerial strength declined, General Kenney's forces built up.
03:23By March 1943, he had 114 bombers and 154 fighters, including aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force.
03:31It was a mixed bag.
03:41The most promising planes were the new B-25 C-1 Mitchells.
03:45They had been modified for strafing with eight forward-firing .50 caliber machine guns.
03:49They could sweep in low over land or water.
03:58They could sling a 500-pound bomb with a five-second delay fuse inside a thin-walled merchant ship and blow its bottom out.
04:05Dozens of Japanese garrisons were condemned to slow starvation as Japan's merchant fleet was eradicated by aerial attack, mines and submarines.
04:21But Japan remained determined to reinforce New Guinea.
04:32In early March, the 51st Japanese infantry division was sent down to Bismarck Sea in a convoy of eight destroyers and seven merchant ships.
04:41The weather was bad. The Japanese hoped to make the five-day journey hidden from Kenney's forces.
04:51The American 5th Air Force had a wide variety of aircraft types, all differing in performance.
04:57But they were able to mount a coordinated action on March 2nd that sank all of the transports and four of the destroyers.
05:03General MacArthur described it as the decisive aerial engagement in the Pacific theater of the war.
05:14General George Kenney and his 5th Air Force had created an aerial blockade.
05:20It doomed Japanese troops on New Guinea to fitful resupply by submarines or small barges operating at night.
05:26Kenny honed his weapon in combat. He continually raised performance standards.
05:39It was like a baseball club transforming itself into a World Series winner in the course of the spring season.
05:44There was an increasingly violent argument between MacArthur and Nimitz over the main axis of attack on Japan.
05:56They also argued over who should control the majority of the forces.
06:05MacArthur and Nimitz neither liked nor respected each other.
06:08Their arguments confirmed the wisdom of the decision to limit the Pacific offensive in favor of Europe.
06:17The bickering led to a cutback on the objective to capture a ball and advance beyond the Solomon Islands in 1943.
06:25The bitter losses at Guadalcanal and in New Guinea made it obvious that island hopping tactics should be adopted.
06:31Islands harboring Japanese aviation installations or large troop concentrations would be neutralized by bombing.
06:38Then they would be bypassed and left to starve.
06:42Frontal assaults were to be avoided whenever possible.
06:47The Japanese Navy and Merchant Marine were to be systematically hunted down and destroyed.
06:53The object was to force them to abandon the Bismarck-Solomons line of resistance.
06:57To the southwest, General MacArthur used his newfound air power capability in movements up the New Guinea coastline.
07:05A landing would be made, a perimeter established, and an airfield built.
07:12C-47s would fly in the necessary fuel and supplies.
07:17Within days, P-38s and the new Republic P-47 Thunderbolts would be operating to cover the next landing.
07:29But Allied forces were still subject to threats from Japanese aircraft at Rabaul and WIWAC.
07:34Kenny decided to deal with WIWAC first.
07:41On August 17, 1943, B-24s and B-17s smashed airfields around WIWAC with 200 tons of bombs.
07:49Two hours later, they were followed up by B-25s and P-38 Lightnings.
07:57Japanese planes on the ground were decimated.
08:20The Japanese later referred to the Black Day of August 17.
08:27150 aircraft and their irreplaceable air and ground crews had been destroyed.
08:45Rabaul became the graveyard of the Japanese naval air force.
08:54Japanese army pilots were drawn off from Rabaul to other battlefields.
08:59They were replaced from the rapidly diminishing pool of Japanese naval aviators.
09:04The carrier admirals protested, but their protests had no effect.
09:09In preparation for the invasion of Bougainville,
09:12General Kinney undertook to kill Rabaul with a series of air raids.
09:23On October 12, 1943, he launched the biggest raid yet seen in the Pacific theater.
09:29349 aircraft, Liberators, Lightnings, Mitchell attack planes and Australian bow fighters.
09:35An attorney and Australian bow fighters.
09:37359 운영
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10:05The airfields around Rebald were smashed with strafing and parafrague bombs.
10:24The attacks were over in minutes.
10:27They destroyed or damaged 152 Japanese aircraft.
10:31They also set off explosions in the fuel and ammunition dumps.
10:35The loss of fuel and ammunition was crucial.
10:39It was even harder to replace than airplanes.
10:53The vice slowly closed on Bougainville.
10:57By October 15th, Major General Nathan Twining, the new air commander in the Solomons,
11:01possessed a striking force of 223 aircraft.
11:06There were 264 fighters.
11:09Among them were the tried-and-true F-4Fs, Bell P-39s and Curtis P-40s.
11:14There were also 163 of the new F-4U Corsairs, 48 Grumman Hellcats and 22 P-38s.
11:30All of these new aircraft had superb performance.
11:38They dramatically outclassed anything the Japanese had to offer in speed, range, armor, and armament.
11:45The gull-winged Corsair was known to the Japanese as the Whispering Death.
11:53It would remain in production longer than any other U.S. fighter.
11:57From 1940 to 1952, 12,500 would be built.
12:02Its huge Pratt & Whitney R-2800 radial engine generated 2,100 horsepower for takeoff.
12:11The Corsair was extraordinarily rugged and versatile.
12:15It could lift huge ordnance loads and deliver them with precision.
12:19Its top speed was 446 miles an hour, and its range was just over 1,000 miles.
12:25For the Marines, the Corsair was a weapon that made the beloved Wildcat seem like a toy.
12:32Flying from land and sea, it achieved an 11 to 1 kill ratio against Japanese fighters.
12:38Some Japanese officers rated it the best fighter they faced.
12:44The Corsair's chief rival, Grumman F-6F Hellcat, was designed specifically to counter the Zero.
12:52It did just that.
12:55By the end of the war, the Hellcat had racked up over 5,000 victories against about 250 losses.
13:07The Hellcat was extremely maneuverable and rugged.
13:11It could take on the best Japanese aircraft in pilots in one-on-one combat.
13:15In just three years, Grumman built more than 12,600 of the F-6Fs, improving them continually.
13:28Not every new American aircraft was an immediate success.
13:37The Curtis SB2C1 Helldiver earned the nickname, the Beast.
13:42It was difficult to handle, and had many mechanical problems.
13:50For a long time, many of its crews preferred the old Douglas Dauntless.
13:54It took months in action for the Helldiver to prove itself.
13:56Even then, it never gained the degree of acceptance given so willingly to the Dauntless and the Avenger.
14:02For the crews in the Pacific, there was an increasing number of creature comforts.
14:10As soon as bases were stabilized, shipping space was found for such items as ice-making machines, fans, and washing machines.
14:18They were luxuries undreamed of in the early days of Guadalcanal.
14:22It was part of an American pattern of making life comfortable.
14:27It could never be eradicated, even under wartime conditions.
14:34Japanese soldiers, who considered themselves lucky if they had rice to cook,
14:39looked on captured American K-rations with awe.
14:46The Bougainville invasion was commanded by Admiral Halsey.
14:50It began on November 1st, 1943, and provoked a sharp reaction from the Japanese.
14:56Japan still felt strong at sea.
14:59In a replay of tactics that had worked well at Guadalcanal,
15:02the High Command sent a powerful group of cruisers and destroyers
15:06to counterattack the American landings at Empress Augusta Bay.
15:10But the Japanese were beaten in a brilliant night action.
15:14Rear Admiral Merrill's outnumbered and outgunned fleet
15:17used radar ranging to sink one cruiser and a destroyer.
15:21The Japanese admiral fled to save his ships.
15:25The Japanese then deployed six additional heavy cruisers to Rabaul
15:29to crush Merrill's forces.
15:33Admiral Halsey responded.
15:34He ordered his carriers and Kenny's bombers
15:37to attack the Japanese fleet in the harbor at Rabaul.
15:40Raids took place on November 5th and 11th.
15:49They destroyed the aerial opposition
15:50and mauled the enemy fleet so badly
15:53that the heavy cruisers were never again sent to sea.
15:56The Japanese were badly shaken by the loss
16:17of so many experienced air crews.
16:20They withdrew their ships and remaining aircraft
16:22600 miles north to a truck.
16:28On Bougainville, the ground battle
16:31followed the Guadalcanal scenario.
16:3327,000 American troops formed a perimeter
16:36around the beachhead.
16:42Inside this perimeter, an airfield was soon built.
16:45Japanese forces were miles from the invasion site.
16:54They had great difficulty in coming to battle
16:56via the jungle trails.
16:59Often, they resorted to traveling down by barges at night.
17:09In the end, an uneasy stalemate grew
17:12as the Japanese remained concentrated in the area
17:14in the south around of Bougain.
17:17There, they spent much of their time
17:19growing food to survive.
17:21The battle continued well into 1945.
17:25Some Japanese troops, sick and malnourished,
17:28held out until the end of the war.
17:30In a six-month period,
17:32from October 1943 to March 1944,
17:35the Bismarck Archipelago had been isolated
17:38thanks to effective cooperation
17:39of land, sea, and air forces.
17:41The Japanese air force at Rabaul
17:43had been destroyed.
17:48By January 1944,
17:51the fast carrier force of the Pacific fleet
17:53had reached an undreamed-of level of strength.
17:57There were four Essex-class carriers,
18:00six light carriers,
18:01and the old tried-and-true Enterprise
18:03and Saratoga.
18:06There were enough other ships
18:08to provide an effective anti-aircraft screen
18:11or to take on the Japanese combined fleet
18:13if necessary.
18:17As his strength built,
18:19Rear Admiral Mark Mitcher
18:21became confident enough
18:22to go in harm's way,
18:24confronting Japanese island-based aircraft.
18:31In the early months of 1944,
18:37the Americans struck Kwajalein,
18:39the world's largest coral atoll,
18:41with one of the most complicated
18:42amphibious operations in history.
18:49Once again,
18:51there was no Japanese aerial resistance.
18:54The incredibly swift manner
18:55in which the Americans
18:56gobbled up the Gilbert and Marshall Islands
18:58unnerved the Japanese,
18:59they were left without time
19:02to prepare their next line of defense
19:03in the Marianas adequately.
19:17The defense of the islands
19:18came to be regarded in Japan
19:20as buying time
19:21to delay the invasion
19:22of the Japanese mainland.
19:24In effect,
19:26the Japanese high command
19:27had exchanged one illusion
19:28for another.
19:30At the beginning of the war,
19:31the Japanese had hoped
19:32that a series of stinging defeats
19:34would bring the Allies
19:35to the negotiating table.
19:38Now they hope to secure
19:40a negotiated peace
19:41by making the prospect
19:42of an invasion
19:43too costly for the Allies,
19:45given that everyone,
19:46man, woman, and child,
19:47would resist,
19:49even if they only had
19:50bamboo sticks as weapons.
19:51In New Guinea,
19:56in March 1944,
19:58the 5th Air Force
19:59cleared the way
20:00for General MacArthur
20:01to leapfrog
20:02along the northwest coast.
20:04Between March 11th and 16th,
20:06General Kenney's bombers
20:07dropped 1,600 tons of bombs
20:09and fired a million rounds
20:11of ammunition.
20:13The bulk of the Japanese Air Force
20:14was left as derelict wrecks.
20:16But by late March,
20:19the Japanese had scraped
20:20together 351 aircraft.
20:22They stationed them
20:23at three air bases
20:24near the port of Hollandia.
20:26The Americans knew
20:27that the Japanese
20:28anti-aircraft defenses
20:29were heavy.
20:30A new strategy was followed.
20:34On March 30th,
20:35liberators escorted
20:36by P-38s
20:37plastered the airfield
20:38with 120-pound
20:40frag cluster bombs
20:41and 20-pound
20:42fragmentation bombs.
20:44Anti-aircraft fire
20:45was lighter than expected.
20:47No determined attacks
20:49came from the Japanese fighters.
20:51The attack was repeated
20:52the following day
20:53with similar results.
20:55209 aircraft were destroyed.
20:57The Japanese flew many
20:59of their remaining aircraft
21:00out of the area,
21:01once again conceding
21:02air superiority.
21:04A three-wave Allied attack
21:06on April 3rd
21:07destroyed Hollandia
21:09as an air base.
21:13Japanese air opposition
21:14in New Guinea
21:15was now negligible.
21:21Japanese ground resistance
21:22on New Guinea continued,
21:24but at last MacArthur
21:25was poised for a return
21:27to the Philippines.
21:28But first,
21:29there were the vital
21:30Marianas Islands.
21:36The United States
21:38now lived by the rule
21:39no inadequate measures.
21:41The armada dispatched
21:42against the Marianas Islands
21:44was immense.
21:46The 5th Fleet
21:48had seven battleships,
21:4921 cruisers,
21:51and 69 destroyers.
21:53Admiral Mitchell's
21:54four carrier groups
21:55had 15 aircraft carriers
21:57and almost 1,000 aircraft.
21:59The islands of the Marianas,
22:08Guam, Saipan,
22:09and Tinian,
22:10controlled the sea lanes
22:11of the Central Pacific.
22:13American success
22:14in the Marianas
22:15would sever Japan's
22:16jugular vein.
22:17Also,
22:18the Boeing B-29 bomber
22:20would have bases
22:20within range
22:21of the Japanese mainland.
22:22Command of the Japanese fleet
22:26was given
22:26to Vice Admiral
22:27Ozawa Jisaburo.
22:30Only six months earlier,
22:31his force
22:32would have been overpowering.
22:34His battleships included
22:35the two largest
22:36and most powerful
22:37ever built.
22:39But they were
22:40one war out of date.
22:43After so many defeats,
22:45Japan was thirsting
22:46for a victory.
22:48Ozawa had 100 aircraft
22:49based in the Marianas.
22:51The Japanese aircraft
22:52had a range advantage
22:53over the Americans.
22:55Ozawa hoped
22:55to catch the Americans
22:56napping,
22:58giving them
22:58a one-two punch
22:59with his land-based
23:00and carrier-based aircraft.
23:02But misfortune
23:03stalked the Japanese.
23:05Half their plan
23:06was destroyed
23:07by Admiral Mitcher's
23:08Task Force 58.
23:14Task Force 58
23:15included 470
23:17Grumman Hellcats,
23:18199 Grumman Avengers,
23:21as well as Douglas SBDs,
23:23Curtis Helldivers,
23:24and even three
23:25Vought F-4 U-2
23:27Night Fighters.
23:33At 1,300 hours
23:35on June 11th,
23:36Mitcher sent
23:37211 Grumman Hellcats
23:39to hit airfields
23:40at Guam,
23:41Saipan,
23:41Antinian.
23:4681 Japanese aircraft
23:48were shot down.
23:50Another 29
23:50were destroyed
23:51on the ground.
23:52But this carnage
23:53was only a prelude
23:54to what would become
23:55known as
23:56the Great Marianas
23:57Turkey Chute
23:58a few days later.
24:01On June 15th,
24:03four carriers
24:03under Rear Admiral
24:05J.J. Jocko Clark
24:06struck Iwo Jima
24:07and Chichijima.
24:08They were the Japanese
24:10mustering points
24:11for staging
24:12to the Marianas.
24:14Clark launched
24:14his Hellcats,
24:15Avengers,
24:16and Helldivers
24:16from 135 miles
24:18south of Iwo Jima.
24:2538 zeros
24:26intercepted
24:27the Americans.
24:2828 of them
24:29were shot down.
24:30The Americans
24:44then proceeded
24:45to strafe
24:46the airfields,
24:47fuel dumps,
24:47and small vessels.
24:48On June 15th,
25:03Saipan was invaded.
25:05Before the day
25:05was out,
25:0620,000 Marines
25:07were on shore,
25:08complete with
25:09their artillery.
25:16Admiral Spruance
25:18issued orders
25:18for the complete
25:19destruction
25:20of Ozawa's fleet.
25:21He told Admiral
25:22Mitcher
25:22that the carriers
25:24should be
25:24knocked out first.
25:29Meanwhile,
25:30the Japanese
25:31launched their own
25:32attack.
25:32The American
25:33Hellcats fell
25:34on the aging
25:35Zeros
25:35and shot them
25:36out of the sky.
25:37only a few
25:48Japanese aircraft
25:49broke through
25:50to the fleet.
25:51Withering anti-aircraft
25:53fire claimed
25:5317 more victims.
25:56Only one bomb
25:57hit was scored
25:57on the battleship
25:58South Dakota.
25:59Of the 65
26:00attackers,
26:01between 40
26:02and 60
26:03were destroyed.
26:04It was the
26:05greatest single
26:06day's victory
26:07in the Pacific
26:07War,
26:08and more
26:09was to come.
26:10Late the
26:11following afternoon,
26:12American aircraft
26:13finally located
26:14the Japanese fleet.
26:19Spruance
26:20ordered an attack.
26:21The light carrier
26:36Hiryu was sunk.
26:38The Zuikaku,
26:38veteran of so many
26:39battles,
26:40took a direct hit
26:41but survived.
26:43Two light carriers,
26:44the Junyo
26:45and the Chiyoda,
26:46were damaged
26:46by bombs.
26:48The Japanese
26:48lost at least
26:4965 Zeros,
26:50as well as
26:51other aircraft.
26:59Ozawa's force
27:00was now
27:01a hollow shell.
27:03400 planes
27:04had been shot
27:04down or lost
27:05on the three
27:06sunken carriers.
27:08An entire
27:09second generation
27:09of naval aviators
27:11was killed.
27:12The battle
27:13for Saipan
27:14ended on July 9th.
27:16Admiral Nagumo,
27:18who had begun
27:18his nation's war
27:19so brilliantly
27:20at Pearl Harbor,
27:21was the island's
27:22commanding general.
27:24He committed suicide.
27:34Guam and Tinian
27:36were liberated
27:36by August 12th, 1944.
27:39It had been
27:39a long and bloody campaign.
27:42More than 600
27:42Japanese aircraft
27:43were destroyed
27:44at the cost
27:45of 65 U.S. Navy
27:46planes.
27:48The almost
27:4810 to 1 victory
27:49ratio showed
27:50how markedly superior
27:51U.S. aircraft,
27:53pilots,
27:53and tactics
27:54had become.
28:01Work began
28:02immediately on
28:02Saipan
28:03to create runways
28:04for the Boeing
28:05B-29s.
28:06At last,
28:07the home islands
28:08of Japan
28:08would be within range
28:09of bombing raids
28:10from bases
28:11in the Pacific.
28:17Japan strained
28:18every fiber
28:19to resist
28:20the American advance.
28:22Increasingly,
28:23it found itself
28:24relying on the
28:24spirit of Gyouksai,
28:26meaning the
28:27crushing of jewels,
28:28which implied
28:29that the proud
28:29Japanese people
28:30would prefer death
28:31to defeat
28:32or surrender.
28:32The idea
28:37of Gyouksai
28:38combined
28:39with the
28:39irresistible
28:40force
28:40of the
28:40American
28:41onslaught
28:41to create
28:42a climate
28:43in which
28:43the extreme
28:44measure
28:44of suicide
28:45attack
28:45became logical.
28:47It was
28:47already apparent
28:48to any
28:49Japanese pilot
28:50that he could
28:51not live
28:51through combat.
28:53It was only
28:54a small step
28:54to decide
28:55that a suicide
28:56flight
28:56that could
28:57take out
28:57a valuable
28:58ship
28:58could be
28:59far more
28:59useful to Japan.
29:02Toquotai
29:14was portrayed
29:14to the
29:15Japanese people
29:16as a totally
29:16voluntary effort
29:17by patriots
29:18who became
29:19war guards.
29:21But the
29:21program became
29:22increasingly
29:22a psychological
29:23confidence trick.
29:26Many of the
29:26early kamikaze
29:27pilots felt
29:28that they were
29:29following the
29:29proud Bushido
29:30warrior tradition.
29:31Many others
29:33were tricked
29:33into volunteering
29:34and then
29:35kept in the
29:35cores by a
29:36combination
29:37of social
29:37pressure
29:38and military
29:38orders.
29:44In defending
29:45the Philippines
29:45against the
29:46return of
29:46General MacArthur,
29:48the Japanese
29:49staked everything
29:49on the likelihood
29:50of a climactic
29:51sea battle.
29:55The Japanese
29:56plan was called
29:57Victory One.
29:58An American
30:04carrier attack
30:05began on
30:06October 12,
30:071944.
30:08In three days,
30:09four carrier
30:10groups flew
30:112,498 sorties.
30:17Admiral Fukudome
30:19Shigeru reported
30:20that more than
30:21500 of his
30:22planes had been
30:23shot down like
30:23so many eggs
30:24thrown against
30:25the stone wall
30:26of indomitable
30:27enemy formations.
30:36General MacArthur's
30:38promise to return
30:39to the Philippines
30:39began to be
30:40fulfilled on
30:41October 17, 1944.
30:44American troops
30:45began to land
30:46on A-Day,
30:47October 20.
30:48They met
30:49little opposition
30:50as they moved
30:51inland and began
30:52improving airfields
30:53at Dulag
30:54and Tacloban.
30:54In the meantime,
31:01the Japanese
31:02Operation Victory One
31:04lumbered along.
31:05Its 64 ships
31:06were about to be
31:07pitted against
31:08216 American
31:09and two
31:10Australian Navy
31:11ships.
31:13On October 24,
31:15a Japanese
31:16Judy dive bomber
31:17slipped through
31:18the American
31:18Hellcats
31:19and put two bombs
31:20into the light
31:21carrier Princeton's
31:22torpedo storage
31:23area.
31:30The explosion
31:31sank the Princeton
31:32and damaged
31:33the cruiser
31:34Birmingham.
31:35The Americans
31:36responded with
31:37a furious attack
31:38by 259 aircraft.
31:40They scored
31:4019 torpedo
31:41and 17 bomb
31:43hits on the
31:43super battleship
31:44Musashi.
31:44On the night
31:51of October 24,
31:52American PT
31:53boats and
31:54destroyers
31:54demolished the
31:55van of the
31:56Japanese
31:56Southern Force.
32:00The next day,
32:02Admiral Kurita's
32:02fleet of four
32:03battleships,
32:04six heavy cruisers
32:05and 11 destroyers
32:07burst upon the
32:08American transports
32:09in almost perfect
32:11execution of his
32:12part of the
32:12Victory One
32:13plan.
32:14Kurita assumed
32:17he had surprised
32:17Mitcher's Task
32:18Force 38,
32:19but in fact,
32:20only three
32:21destroyers,
32:22four destroyer
32:23escorts,
32:23and six small
32:24escort carriers
32:25stood between
32:26the Japanese
32:26and the Allied
32:27Invasion Force.
32:32Rear Admiral
32:33Clifton Sprague
32:34ordered his
32:35forces to attack.
32:37His tiny,
32:38tinny destroyers
32:38and destroyer
32:39escorts raced
32:40in to savage
32:41the Japanese
32:41with torpedoes
32:42and small
32:43gunfire.
32:44The carriers
32:49launched their
32:50torpedo-armed
32:51Grumman Avengers.
32:53Two other
32:53groups of escort
32:54carriers also
32:55launched their
32:55aircraft.
32:59Kurita had to
33:00contend with
33:00253 fighters
33:02and 143 torpedo
33:04planes.
33:05The American
33:06crews flew
33:07sortie after
33:08sortie.
33:08They sank
33:09three Japanese
33:10heavy cruisers
33:11with torpedoes.
33:16Suddenly,
33:17incredibly,
33:18Kurita ordered
33:19his center force
33:20to retire.
33:21It was a monumental
33:22American victory,
33:24the stuff of the
33:25old John Wayne
33:25movies.
33:26But it was a victory
33:27won at great cost,
33:29and there was more
33:29to come in the form
33:30of the first attacks
33:31by the Kamikaze Corps.
33:37On October 25th,
33:39Lieutenant Seiki
33:40led four zeroes
33:41laden with 251-kilogram
33:43bombs through the
33:45American escort carrier's
33:46defensive screen.
33:47A second wave
34:01of five zeroes
34:02broke through
34:02the Wildcat fighters.
34:04One of them
34:05sent its bomb
34:06crashing through
34:06the flight deck
34:07of the St. Lowe.
34:08It set off fires
34:09and explosions
34:10that ultimately
34:11sank the ship.
34:13Not one of the
34:14six carriers
34:14went unscathed.
34:15It was an
34:17inauspicious beginning
34:18for a drama
34:18that would rise
34:19to greater heights
34:20before the battle
34:21for the Philippines
34:22was over
34:22and culminate
34:23in the battles
34:24to come
34:24of Okinawa.
34:30Admiral Halsey
34:31began the battle
34:32of Cape Ngano
34:33on October 25th.
34:35Helldivers,
34:36Hellcats,
34:37and Avengers
34:37savaged the Japanese.
34:43In three waves
34:45of attack,
34:45the Japanese
34:46lost four carriers.
34:48Ozawa made his getaway
34:49with absolutely nothing
34:51to show for the battle.
34:55The Battle of Leyte Gulf
34:57was finished.
34:58So, for all practical purposes,
35:00was the Japanese Navy.
35:02But the U.S.
35:03had been presented
35:04with a new
35:04and apparently
35:05unsolvable problem,
35:07the Kamikaze attack.
35:08The Japanese,
35:18heartened by their
35:18Kamikaze successes,
35:20would harass
35:20the American fleet.
35:22They would carefully
35:23husband their Kamikaze assets.
35:25They would try
35:25to concentrate
35:26on important targets.
35:28Aircraft carriers
35:29were first priority,
35:30then battleships
35:31or cruisers
35:32when possible.
35:32The Americans
35:35developed
35:36new defensive tactics.
35:38Destroyers
35:38were placed
35:39as picket ships
35:40as far as
35:4060 miles away
35:41from the carriers
35:42to provide
35:43early warning.
35:48Combat air patrols
35:50were divided
35:51into three altitudes.
35:53High cap
35:53flew up to
35:5425,000 feet.
35:56Med cap
35:57flew at 10,000
35:58and jack cap
35:59as low as 3,000.
36:03Far-ranging
36:04fighter sweeps
36:05nicknamed
36:06the Big Blue Blanket
36:07were sent deep
36:08into the Philippines
36:09to catch
36:09the Kamikazes
36:10forming up.
36:14The attacks
36:15could not be stopped,
36:17but an inherent
36:17weakness emerged.
36:19Even when they
36:20struck a ship
36:20squarely,
36:21the aircraft
36:22often did
36:23little damage.
36:28It was a hard
36:32physical fact
36:33that most
36:34of the planes,
36:35even at the end
36:35of their plunge,
36:36didn't have the mass
36:37required to cause
36:38fatal damage.
36:39They were unable
36:40to reach the terminal
36:41velocity of a bomb
36:42delivered by a dive bomber.
36:49Attacks caused fire,
36:50explosions,
36:51and casualties
36:51on ships,
36:52but the increasingly
36:53expert Navy
36:54damage control teams
36:56were able to save
36:57most of the ships
36:58themselves.
37:03General MacArthur
37:04had returned
37:04to the Philippines
37:05to fight the Japanese.
37:07They had 350,000
37:08troops spread out
37:09over the islands.
37:11The Japanese
37:12General Yamashita
37:13was unable
37:14to resist the onslaught
37:16of American air
37:16and ground forces.
37:18Japanese land-based
37:19air power
37:20was wiped out
37:20early on.
37:26By the fall
37:27of 1944,
37:28the Pacific Theater
37:30was receiving
37:30enough men
37:31and materiel
37:32to wage war
37:33on an unprecedented scale.
37:35The island-hopping strategy
37:36was working perfectly.
37:42On October 3rd, 1944,
37:45the Joint Chiefs of Staff
37:46ordered the B-29 bombings
37:48to be stepped up.
37:49The bases for the B-29s
37:51were to be Saipan
37:52and two others
37:54yet to be acquired
37:54from strong Japanese
37:56defending forces,
37:57Iwo Jima
37:58and Okinawa.
38:03Iwo Jima
38:04was located
38:04in the Bonin Islands.
38:06It was only
38:06four and a half miles long
38:08and two and a half miles wide,
38:10but it was vital
38:11as an intermediate base
38:12for B-29s
38:13and for the new
38:14long-range P-51
38:16escort fighters.
38:17The invasion
38:21was planned
38:22for February 19th, 1945.
38:25Carrier planes
38:26from Task Force 38
38:27struck mainland Japan,
38:29reducing any air support
38:31the Japanese
38:31may have been able
38:32to provide.
38:33Iwo Jima's defenses
38:42were virtually impervious
38:43to bombing
38:44and heavy naval gunfire.
38:46Marine soldiers
38:47had to contest
38:48each pillbox
38:49and each cave
38:50until the final surrender
38:51on March 24th.
38:52Okinawa was 57 miles long
39:02and 12 miles wide.
39:03It was located
39:04strategically
39:05only 350 miles
39:07from the Japanese mainland.
39:08It was also
39:09directly on communication
39:10lines to Formosa
39:11and mainland China.
39:15On Easter Sunday,
39:17April 1st, 1945,
39:1960,000 men
39:20of the invasion force
39:22landed with training
39:23film precision.
39:25The United States
39:26wanted Okinawa
39:27as a springboard
39:28for the invasion
39:28of Japan.
39:30But this island
39:31was just as prepared
39:32for a long defense
39:33as Iwo Jima.
39:37Its 100,000-man garrison
39:39would fight
39:40the most costly
39:41ground battle
39:41in the Pacific Theater.
39:42The Japanese
39:53allowed the invaders
39:54to overrun
39:55three quarters
39:55of the island.
39:57They retreated
39:58to the south.
40:00The retreat
40:00reduced Japanese exposure
40:02to naval bombardment.
40:04It also pinned down
40:05the huge American fleet
40:06of combat vessels,
40:08auxiliaries,
40:08and transports
40:09for air attack.
40:12American carrier
40:25Task Force 58
40:26was positioned
40:27to the north
40:27and carried out
40:28strikes against airfields
40:30on Kyushu.
40:31Task Force 57
40:32of the Royal Navy's
40:34Pacific Fleet
40:34operated to the south,
40:36warding off attacks
40:37from Formosa.
40:39The British carrier's
40:40steel decks
40:41proved invulnerable
40:42to kamikazes.
40:44The Japanese air campaign
40:45to defend Okinawa
40:46was called Kikusai,
40:48or Floating Chrysanthemum.
40:50Its first attack
40:51took place
40:52on April 6th.
40:53The Allies were ready.
40:55250 enemy aircraft
40:57were shot down
40:58even before they reached
40:59the radar picket screen.
41:01The attackers lost
41:02another 55 inbound
41:03to Okinawa
41:04and 171
41:06while making the attack.
41:07In just a few minutes,
41:09476 chrysanthemums
41:11floated no more.
41:21But 180 of the
41:23suicide planes
41:24got through.
41:25They sank a destroyer,
41:27two merchant ships,
41:28and an LST landing ship tank.
41:31466 Americans
41:32were killed.
41:33Morale was sharply shaken
41:35by the way the Japanese planes
41:36continued to bore in
41:37even after they were hit
41:39and burning.
41:39On the afternoon of April 8th,
42:03Kikusai 2 was launched.
42:06Most of the Japanese pilots
42:07attacked the radar picket stations
42:08to the north.
42:10They sank a destroyer.
42:38But the intensity of the kamikaze attacks
43:07dwindled as the Japanese
43:08ran out of planes and pilots.
43:11In 10 Kikusai assaults,
43:13there were almost
43:142,000 kamikaze attacks.
43:17There were also
43:176,300 sorties
43:19by fighters and bombers
43:21of the army
43:21and navy air forces.
43:30Kamikaze attack
43:31was terrifying.
43:32It seemed to each
43:33a large sailor on each ship
43:34that the suicide plane
43:36was heading directly at him.
43:47The attackers sank 21 ships.
43:50They damaged 43 others
43:51so badly
43:52that they had to be scrapped.
43:54They put another 223
43:55out of action
43:56for more than a month.
43:57The U.S. Navy's
44:01personnel losses
44:02were greater
44:03than it had incurred
44:04in all wars
44:05before World War II.
44:064,907 officers
44:08and men killed,
44:094,824 wounded.
44:12Most of these
44:13were due
44:13to the kamikaze attacks.
44:14On land,
44:22the fighting
44:23was the most intense
44:24so far experienced
44:25in the Pacific War.
44:26After 11 weeks
44:27of bitter fighting,
44:28the islands were secured.
44:30135,000 Japanese soldiers
44:32had been killed.
44:37The ruthless conduct
44:39of the Japanese overlords
44:40caused 75,000
44:42Okinawan civilian deaths.
44:437,374 American soldiers
44:47were killed.
44:48Both sides
44:49lost their commanders.
44:53Official U.S. government
44:54pronouncements
44:55minimized the effect
44:56of the kamikaze attacks.
44:58In later years,
44:59this would have been
45:00called a cover-up.
45:03The truth was that
45:04the kamikaze attacks
45:05hurt the Navy.
45:06If Japan had been able
45:07to sustain them,
45:08casualty figures
45:09for the war
45:10would have been
45:10vastly increased.
45:13The fanatical Japanese
45:27resistance
45:28and the grievous
45:28American losses
45:29in Okinawa
45:30showed just how high
45:32a price would have
45:33to be paid
45:33for an invasion
45:34of the home islands
45:35of Japan.
45:35There, ranges
45:40would be shorter
45:41and the number
45:42of airfields
45:42from which attacks
45:43could be made
45:44would be greater.
45:45Millions of casualties
45:46would be unavoidable.
45:55With the fall
45:56of Okinawa
45:56and the occupation
45:57of the Philippines,
45:59the strategic hopes
46:00of Admiral Nimitz
46:00and General MacArthur
46:01were now fulfilled.
46:02The way had been
46:13prepared for a final
46:14aerial assault
46:15in Japan.
46:16Now, the hard task
46:17of invasion
46:18would at last
46:18be possible.
46:21The great American
46:22advance through
46:23the South Pacific
46:24has overshadowed
46:25long and hard-fought
46:26battles in other
46:27parts of Asia.
46:28Flying the hump
46:39between India
46:40and China
46:40was dangerous business.
46:42Flying conditions
46:42were abominable.
46:44Aircraft heavily laden
46:45with supplies
46:46for embattled China
46:46would take off
46:48in the dense,
46:48moist heat
46:49of India's
46:49Brahmaputra Valley.
46:52It would climb
46:52to meet turbulence
46:53and icing
46:54over the mountain ranges.
46:57The route
46:57between Dinjan
46:58and India
46:58and Kunming
46:59and China
47:00was called
47:00the Aluminum Trail
47:01because it was
47:02littered
47:02with a wreckage
47:03of 450 aircraft.
47:07The hump operation
47:08carried 650,000 tons
47:10of material to China.
47:12It enabled
47:12the building
47:13of airfields
47:13for B-29s
47:14to attack Japan.
47:16It provided
47:17the means
47:17for attacking
47:17Japanese shipping
47:18in the seas
47:19around China
47:20and Indochina.
47:21and under the same conditions,
47:34the 10th
47:35and 14th Air Forces
47:36supported
47:36the Pacific War effort
47:37and contributed greatly
47:39to the Allies'
47:40relentless march
47:41toward the home islands
47:42of Japan.
47:43to the East
47:44of Japan.
47:45The-
47:45the-
47:48the-
47:50the-
47:50the-
47:51the-
47:52the-
47:52the-
47:53the-
47:53the-
47:54the-
47:54the-
47:55the-
47:56the-
47:56¶¶
48:25¶¶
48:55¶¶
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