I-400 Update.........

[Goose]

Since the subject of Japan's WWII I-400 aircraft carrier submarines came up a week or so ago, I ordered, and have received a book by John Geoghegan, titled "Operation Storm", Japan's name for the I-400 sub program. I'm about 1/4 through the book.

If anyone is interested, the book was billed as a page-turner, and it is. It's hard to put down. The book starts when Admiral Yamamoto got the idea for a bomber-carrying submarine a couple of weeks after Pearl Harbor. He reasoned that Japan would never be able to launch an all-out assault on the U.S. Mainland, but was convinced that if Japan could randomly bomb a few choice areas of the U.S. the people would be ready to bargain out of a war. He was wrong.

Japan already had submarines carrying float recon planes, so one of these planes did two missions of dropping incendiary bombs into the forests of Oregon in hopes that huge forest fires could be started that would detract from the war effort. These failed. The first two bombs landed in a forest, but failed to start fires because the forest was too wet. The U.S. had no knowledge of the second two bombs landing. They may still be somewhere in the forests in Oregon.

December 7, 1941 was my 7th birthday, so I remember some of the main events of WWII, including when the A-bombs were dropped, but I can recall few of the lesser details.

Just thought I'd pass this along if anyone is interested. I've always been interested in WWII history, and our daughter has a degree in History with WWII being one of her main interests, although she was more interested in Nazi Germany.

 

[37chief]

Japan bit off more that they could chew when they bombed Pearl Harbor. It took a few years, and a lot of Americans, but we won. As for the bombs dropped in the forest I thought they were from balloons Japan launched from the mainland. I was around then also, but was being spoon fed by Mom, and don't remember a thing. Stan

 

[chuck2015]

(quoted from post at 14:04:50 01/04/18) Japan bit off more that they could chew when they bombed Pearl Harbor. It took a few years, and a lot of Americans, but we won. As for the bombs dropped in the forest I thought they were from balloons Japan launched from the mainland. I was around then also, but was being spoon fed by Mom, and don't remember a thing. Stan

Yeah Japan bit of more than they could chew and you are right..it took america a while to ramp up...after that Japan had no chance.

 

[Bruce(OR)]

Oregon's rainy season usually starts around Sept, labor day weekend and runs through May, memorial day weekend at the least. I am 20 miles northwest of Portland and while Portland is about 120 foot in elevation, I am up at 1200 ft. I have seen snow on the 4th of July and usually this end of the state gets a non stop 30 day break from the rain once a year. Maybe.
People in California lay on the beach to get tanned. In Oregon, they rust.
It rains enough that the rain here is pasteurized. It flows from pasture to pasture. . . .
Oregon has a UFO. It comes out once a year. It's called "The Sun".
Oregon actually has a town named "Drain".
We also have a town called "Boring".
Native Oregonians are reputed to have been born with web feet and a corresponding water mark going up the legs to show the length of time in the state.
It has been determined that New York actually gets more rain fall in a given year. We do however claim about 300 cloudy days per year.
After awhile in this area, you no longer have a need to look up because it is just one large gray cloud that stretches from horizon to horizon. The rainfall type is the annoying type. Beach mist mostly and while you might not feel the rain upon you, everything around you is soaking wet.
More people are moving here but that is alright. All that cloudy soggy weather has the highest depression rate and very quietly, a greater self inflicted ends to the depression.
Oregon might not be the end of the earth but it is close.
Oregon beaches, while some of the most beautiful in the world are mostly enjoyed in the car with the heater going.
My wife once said to me, "Let's go to the beach!" I, in turn, opened the fridge and stuck my head in. She then asked me what I was doing and I told her that I was getting warmed up to go to the beach.

There was a state governor Tom McCall who was said, ?Come visit, don?t stay?. ?I urge them to come and come many, many times to enjoy the beauty of Oregon. But I also ask them, for heaven?s sake, don?t move here to live.?
That was 1971 and the feelings are still the same.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Good update Goose.
Yes, that book is very good. I read it about 6 weeks ago. Got it at the library.
It's amazing the determination those guys had. Despite all the setbacks, lack of materials and the realization that they could Not affect the outcome of the war they still pushed it forward.
Great narrative about I-401 vs USS Segundo at the end. But I won't give it away.

 

[led]

I thought that 2 people going on a picnic were killed by one of those bombs in Or.
Led

 

[Ultradog MN]

That might have been one of the baloon bombs they sent over that killed those people.

 

[led]

You are correct! I had the wrong bomb.
Led

 

[oldtanker]

Couple of you guys mentioned that Japan "bit off more than it could chew". Culture can make a huge difference in political decisions. The Imperial Japanese Staff knew that the US was not prepared for war and that we had strict isolationism laws on the books. They also knew we had rejected the idea of stepping into help in Europe other than "Lend Lease". Using these facts along with intel about strengths and other information they decided that the American people would not fight. They honestly thought that strikes against US possessions in the Pacific would cause the US to sue for peace allowing them to have their way in the Pacific and Asia. They violated a simple thing taught in tactics. Never judge what a potential adversary or an enemy will do based on what you think will happen, judge them based on worse case scenario. Yamamoto told them that he not only thought the idea was bad but that if they went with the idea of attacking US possessions he could give them "6 months of victories". He told them that if the US didn't sue for peace by then they would loose. Right after the attack on Pearl Harbor was when he was supposed to have made the "sleeping giant" comment.

Rick

 

[Goose]

I've mentioned the A-bombs. I remember the day the news came out on them. An aunt and uncle came over to our place, along with their 7 kids, and we all talked about it. I couldn't have known then that 16 years later I'd be on a team assembling the damned things. But, that's another story.