Japan
Operation Tsuzigiri: Japan’s Ki-43s vs Allied ATC
by Jon DiamondWhy was Myitkyina such an important objective in the reconquest of Burma in 1943 through 1944 for the Allies and especially among them, Lt. Read more
Japan
Devastating Firestorm: A Gunner in the Superfortress Raid on Tokyo
By Robert F. Dorr & Douglas L. CarterWhen the Boeing B-29 Superfortress crews poured out of the briefing at North Field, Tinian, on the afternoon of March 9, 1945, they were disgruntled. Read more
Japan
Was the 1917 Enfield a Good Rifle Compared to the Springfield?
By Steve LilleyIn director Howard Hawks’s 1941 film classic, Sergeant York, then-Corporal Alvin York, portrayed by Gary Cooper, single-handedly knocks out more than 30 German machine-gun nests and, with little assistance, captures 132 enemy soldiers. Read more
Japan
The Battle of the Coral Sea
By John WukovitsWorld War II was less than six months old when the American public, already stunned by the debacles at Pearl Harbor and Guam, faced one of its darkest moments. Read more
Japan
Perilous Rescue of the SS Cape San Juan
By Eric NiderostThe giant Martin PBM-3R “Mariner” landed with a kind of swanlike grace, its stubby bow parting the waters, transforming them into a series of white and foamy ripples that radiated from the seaplane’s wake. Read more
Japan
Hellfire on the Hornet’s Nest: Flamethrower Tanks at Bougainville
By Steve ZalogaU.S. portable flamethrowers were first used in combat during the Guadalcanal campaign in January 1943. It quickly became apparent that the exposed flamethrower operator was vulnerable to Japanese small arms fire. Read more
Japan
The Birth of the Viet Minh: World War II’s Prelude to the Vietnam War
By John BrownIn the late 18th century, the French established Catholic missions in Indochina, and until the 1820s they enjoyed local protection, but after that persecution began and increased steadily, particularly under Emperor Tu-Duc, who reigned from 1847 to 1883 and wanted to stamp out Christianity. Read more
Japan
U.S. Forces in the Philippines: Too Little, Too Late
by Sam McGowanIn the popular history of World War II, the assertion that the United States was caught unprepared in Hawaii and the Philippines has become widely accepted as fact. Read more
Japan
WWII Planes: The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
By Sam McGowanDuring the first year of American participation in World War II, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (Kittyhawk or Tomahawk to the British) came to symbolize the United States Army Air Corps as it fought a desperate war to hold the Japanese in check. Read more
Japan
How Japanese Aircraft Carrier Construction Was Thwarted
by John W. WhitmanJapan lacked the industrial strength needed to wage a war against the United States. Yet, Japanese military planners seldom considered the limitations to their nation’s construction capabilities. Read more
Japan
Submarine Surgeon on the USS Seadragon
By George Tipton WilsonIn cramped quarters aboard the submarine USS Seadragon, beneath the Pacific Ocean, with enemy warships circling above, 22-year-old pharmacist’s mate Wheeler Bryson (Johnny) Lipes was ordered to perform an emergency appendectomy on seaman Darrell Dean Rector. Read more
Japan
Charles ‘Swede’ Momsen: Submarine Pioneer
By Glenn BarnettIn July 1943, the American submarine USS Tinosa was on patrol in Japanese waters when she came across an unescorted oil tanker. Read more
Japan
WWII Fighter Planes: The Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter
By David Alan JohnsonThe Grumman F4F Wildcat is usually described as chunky, “square,” squat, or stubby—not exactly adjectives that suggest grace or elegance. Read more
Japan
Operation Dovetail: Guadalcanal Rehearsal
By Arnold BlumbergBy June 1942, the military might of Imperial Japan threatened Australia. The string of spectacular Japanese conquests in the South Pacific menaced lines of supply and communication between the United States and its allies and bases in the region. Read more
Japan
Heroes of the Red Duster: The British Royal Merchant Navy
By Michael D. HullNone of the Allied services engaged in World War II was in action longer or suffered a higher percentage of casualties than the British Merchant Navy. Read more
Japan
The Odyssey of the Australian Destroyer HMAS Vendetta
By Glenn BarnettOn October 20, 1941, the Australian destroyer Vendetta weighed anchor in the port of Alexandria, Egypt. After spending nearly two years supporting the Royal Navy in the fight for control of the Mediterranean Sea, the aging engines of the busy warship could no longer give her the speed needed to escort convoys, screen the fleet, or dodge dive- bombers. Read more
Japan
Nazi U-Boats: Rattlesnakes of the Deep
By Herb KugelAmerica was not at war, but American sailors were dying when American-owned ships were torpedoed by German submarines. Read more
Japan
Subhas Chandra Bose: Champion of Indian Nationalism
By Blaine TaylorWhen British diplomat Lord Halifax arrived at the Berghof in the Bavarian Alps on November 19, 1937, he mistook German Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler for a footman and was about to hand him his coat and hat when Foreign Minister Baron Constantin von Neurath hissed, “The Führer! Read more
Japan
Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa)’s Triumph
By Blaine TaylorIt was fated to be the last wartime conference of the Big Three Allies of World War II, but it was the first not attended by the late American President Franklin D. Read more
Japan
Darter & Dace at the Battle of Leyte Gulf
By David Alan JohnsonAs soon as he arrived on the bridge of the submarine USS Dace, Lt. Cmdr. Rafael C. Read more
