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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 80 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Pacific War
| The Japanese diplomatic message which severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. contained how many parts? | The Pacific War-Part I
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14. This message was being translated from Japanese to English at the Japanese Embassy while bombs were dropping on Pearl Harbor.
| On September 24, 1941 the Japanese Foreign Ministry sent a message to the Japanese consulate in Honolulu requesting reports on ships at anchor in Pearl Harbor. What was this message called? | The Pacific War-Part I
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Bomb Plot Message. Officials never appreciated the significance of this message.
Akagi. All four of these aircraft carriers were later sunk at the Battle of Midway.
The Purple Code. This code was broken by Army Signal Intelligence in 1940.
JN25. This code was broken repeatedly by cryptanalysts at OP-20-G.
Station Hypo. Station Cast was at Corregidor in the Phillipines. The 'H' in Hypo stood for Hawaii.
| Who was Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet Intelligence Officer at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? | The Pacific War-Part I
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Edwin T. Layton. Rochefort was commander of the Combat Intelligence Unit at Pearl Harbor. Layton remained at this post for the entire war. He was the only one of Kimmel's staff officers retained by Nimitz.
Lexington and Enterprise. Saratoga was on the west coast for repairs. Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway and Enterprise was conducting search operations west of Hawaii.
Basic U.S. Navy War Plan. There were five 'Rainbow' plans. Each assumed different alliances and strategies. 'Rainbow 5' assumed alliances with Great Britain and France, a 'Europe First' strategy, and a strategic defensive in the Pacific until the defeat of Germany.
Kichisaburo Nomura. Nomura was a retired admiral. Saburo Kurusu had been the ambassador to Nazi Germany. Prior to the outbreak of hostilties, Kurusu was sent to Washington as a special envoy.
Osami Nagano. Nagano studied law at Harvard. He died while on trial for war crimes in 1947.
Harold R. Starke. Starke was relieved as CNO in 1942 and became Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe.
Joseph C. Grew. Grew began his diplomatic career in 1905. He was sponsored by Teddy Roosevelt because he had shot a Chinese tiger.
Walter C. Short. Short was relieved of command after Pearl Harbor. He retired in 1942.
| Who were the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, respectively, at the outbreak of the war with Japan? | The Pacific War-Part I
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Henry L. Stimson and Frank Knox. Stimson served as Secretary of War throughout WWII. He had also held that post in the Taft administration (1911-1913). Like Stimson, Knox was also a republican. Knox was a newspaperman by trade and rode with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders in Cuba.
| Pearl Harbor was the headquarters of the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. On December 7, 1941 who held that post? | The Pacific War-Part I
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Husband E. Kimmel. Kimmel was found guilty of dereliction of duty. He published his side of the controversy in his book 'Admiral Kimmel's Story' in 1955.
Montana. Work was started on a battleship to be named USS Montana for World War One, and in World War Two a Montana-class was also begun, but in both cases the wars ended before the ships were built and christened. Plus there never was a battleship named for Alaska or Hawaii.
| How many U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and escort carriers were sunk in World War Two? | World War Two Pacific
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Twelve. Five fast U.S. aircraft carriers, the Hornet, Lexington, Princeton, Wasp and Yorktown. Six escort carriers the Bismarck Sea, Block Island, Gambier Bay, Liscome Bay, Ommany Bay and St. Lo. Plus the navies first carrier the USS Langley sunk in the battle of the Java Sea, for a total of twelve U.S. carriers sunk in World War Two.
| Which battle holds the distinction of being the biggest aircraft carrier engagement of World War II? | World War Two Pacific
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The Battle of the Philippine Sea. Much larger than the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea combined, the Battle of the Philippine Sea was the largest carrier duel of World War Two. The Allied fleet had fifteen carriers against the Japanese fleet strength of nine, overall fleet sizes were the Allies 112 ships, the Japanese 55 ships.
| Which was the first Japanese aircraft carrier sunk by the U.S. Navy in World War Two? | World War Two Pacific
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Shoho. The Battle of the Coral Sea was the first naval battle in which opposing forces fought solely with carrier aircraft, the Shoho was sank on May 7, 1942.
| Which U.S. submarine is credited with sinking the largest aircraft carrier in the Japanese fleet? | World War Two Pacific
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USS Archerfish SS-311. The largest aircraft carrier of any navy, became part of the Japanese fleet on 11 November 1944, when the Shinano (with a thirty-centimeter-thick deck over concrete) went on-line. However, this ship recorded the briefest period of sea duty of any major ship in the war. The U.S. submarine Archerfish SS-331 torpedoed her and she sank on November 29 in the Kumano Sea. The sinking of the 59,000-ton leviathan was the largest submarine kill of World War Two.
Laohokow, China, 1945. Laohokow, China, was captured near the end of March 1945. The U.S. Fourteenth Air Force destroyed anything of value prior to withdrawing, to deny Japanese use of the base.
USS Harmon DE-72. A mess attendant killed saving his shipmate's life during the Guadalcanal campaign, Leonard Roy Harmon was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and was the first black to have a ship named in his honor. His mother christened the destroyer escort USS Harmon DE-72 on July 25, 1943.
Leyte Gulf. The Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Japanese lost thirty-four ships, including four aircraft carriers and three battleships. The U.S. lost six ships, including one light aircraft carrier (USS Princeton) and two escort carriers (USS Gambier Bay and USS St. Louis).
| 'The Battle of the Philippine Sea' was one of the largest air battles of the Pacific War. In it, Japanese carrier air power was destroyed. What is the more popular nickname of this battle? | World War II - Pacific Theater
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The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. It was called the '...Turkey Shoot' because the Japanese carrier and land-based pilots, with very little training, were slaughtered at a ratio of almost 10:1 by the better-trained US Navy pilots, now flying the Gruman F6F Hellcat, a great air-superiority fighter. The 'Zero' was no match for it.
| Which US Admiral was completely fooled into leaving the San Bernadino Strait unguarded when he raced North to engage a decoy force of Japanese carriers during the Battle of Leyte Gulf? | World War II - Pacific Theater
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Adm. William 'Bull' Halsey. 'Bull' Halsey, probably the most agressive Admiral in the US Navy at that time, was fooled into pursuing a group of Japanese carriers that had no planes. He was supposed to guard the invasion fleet which was anchored in Leyte Gulf. Halsey's actions allowed the Japanese super battleship Yamato and several cruisers and escorts to attempt a serious attack on the invasion force. US Task Force 17, consisting of DD's, DE's and 'jeep' Carriers, so confused the Japanese admiral, that he turned back, thinking that he'd run into Halsey's Third Fleet.
| Gen. Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his pledge ('I shall return.') to the Filipino people when he stepped ashore on which Philippine island in October 1944? | World War II - Pacific Theater
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Leyte. US Navy and Army forces landed in Leyte Gulf (southeast of Luzon) in October, 1944.
| What was the nickname used by the Marines to describe the parade of Japanese warships that nightly bombarded Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in October 1942? | World War II - Pacific Theater
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The Tokyo Express. Beginning in October 1942, Japanese battleships, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers cruised along the north shore of Guadalcanal, plastering Henderson Field with 5-, 8-, 12-, and 14-inch shells. They almost succeeded in knocking out the airfield.
Grumman F4F Wildcat. The F4F Wildcat was the principal fighter used by both Naval and Marine aviators in the first year of the war. The Japanese Zero could do almost everything better than the Wildcat -- except dive -- and the Zero lacked sufficient armor and self-sealing fuel tanks.
Henderson Field. Henderson Field was named after a Marine fighter pilot who died defending the island of Midway from fierce Japanese air attacks on June 4, 1942.
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