The Japanese Imperial Navy; They Are Enroute...

The Japanese Imperial Navy; they are enroute...

 

The Japanese Imperial Navy; they are enroute...

Lou Marconi On this day in 1941, the Combine Japanese Fleet receive Top-Secret Order No. 1: In 34 days time, Pearl Harbor is to be bombed, along with Mayala, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines.

 

Relations between the United States and Japan had been deteriorating quickly since Japan's occupation of Indochina in 1940 and the implicit menacing of the Philippines (an American protectorate), with the occupation of the Cam Ranh naval base only eight miles from Manila. American retaliation included the seizing of all Japanese assets in the States and the closing of the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. In September 1941, Roosevelt issued a statement, drafted by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, that threatened war between the United States and Japan should the Japanese encroach any further on territory in Southeast Asia or the South Pacific.

The Japanese military had long dominated Japanese foreign affairs; although official negotiations between the U.S. secretary of state and his Japanese counterpart to ease tensions were ongoing, Hideki Tojo, the minister of war who would soon be prime minister, had no intention of withdrawing from captured territories. He also construed the American "threat" of war as an ultimatum and prepared to deliver the first blow in a Japanese-American confrontation: the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

And so Tokyo delivered the order to all pertinent Fleet commanders, that not only the United States—and its protectorate the Philippines—but British and Dutch colonies in the Pacific were to be attacked. War was going to be declared on the West.

Lou Marconi The Battlecruiser Kirishima(IN THE ABOVE IMAGE) was designed by British naval engineer George Thurston. She served during both World Wars, and was the third launched of the four Kongo class battle-cruisers. She was among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built.

Laid down in 1912 at the Mitsubishi Shipyards in Nagasaki; the ship was approximately 728 feet long and 101 feet wide, had a top speed of 30 knots, and had a crew of 1,360 officers and men. Kirishima was heavily armed with eight 14-inch guns, 16 6.1-inch guns, eight 5-inch guns, and numerous smaller caliber anti-aircraft guns. Kirishima was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Haruna.

Ron George WW2 ships are beautiful but deadly works of art

Lou Marconi Ron George~~~the artist perspective is EXACTLY what I was trying to convey. Look at the 'lines'. Obverse the exquisite grace of this stately mass of steel weaving and slicing through the waves. the 'brutalistic-construction-theme' of its body-mass is that of a well-framed male-danceur as he springs extensions across his dance-floor.

Ron George British treaty cruisers from 1930 and the famous HMS Hood are considered yacht like.

Ron George The original USS Houston also was a beautiful ship with a yacht like bow

November 3, 2014 at 2:56pm 

 On this day, December 6th, 1941, President Roosevelt—convinced on the
basis of intelligence reports that the Japanese fleet is headed for
Thailand, not the United States—telegrams Emperor Hirohito with the
request that "for the sake of humanity," the emperor intervene "to
prevent further death and destruction in the world."
The Royal Australian Air Force had sighted Japanese escorts,
cruisers, and destroyers on patrol near the Malayan coast, south of Cape
Cambodia. An Aussie pilot managed to radio that it looked as if the
Japanese warships were headed for Thailand—just before he was shot down
by the Japanese. Back in England, Prime Minister Churchill called a
meeting of his chiefs of staff to discuss the crisis. While reports were
coming in describing Thailand as the Japanese destination, they began
to question whether it could have been a diversion. British intelligence
had intercepted the Japanese code "Raffles," a warning to the Japanese
fleet to be on alert—but for what?
Britain was already preparing Operation Matador, the launching of
their 11th Indian Division into Thailand to meet the presumed Japanese
invasion force. But at the last minute, Air Marshall Brooke-Popham
received word not to cross the Thai border for fear that it would
provoke a Japanese attack if, in fact, the warship movement was merely a
bluff.
Meanwhile, 600 miles northwest of Hawaii,
Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet, announced to his
men: "The rise or fall of the empire depends upon this battle. Everyone
will do his duty with utmost efforts." Thailand was, in fact, a bluff. Pearl Harbor
in Oahu, Hawaii was confirmed for Yamamoto as the Japanese target,
after the Japanese consul in Hawaii had reported to Tokyo that a
significant portion of the U.S. Pacific fleet would be anchored in the
harbor—sitting ducks. The following morning, Sunday, December 7, was a
good day to begin a raid.
"The son of man has just sent his final message to the son of God,"
FDR joked to Eleanor after sending off his telegram to Hirohito, who in
the Shinto tradition of Japan was deemed a god. As he enjoyed his stamp
collection and chatted with Harry Hopkins, his personal adviser, news
reached him of Japan's formal rejection of America's 10-point proposals
for peace and an end to economic sanctions and the oil embargo placed on
the Axis power. "This means war," the president declared. Hopkins
recommended an American first strike. "No, we can't do that," Roosevelt
countered. "We are a democracy and a peaceful people."

December 6, 2014 at 12:05am · Like

     

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