Japan 1945 - Quite Amazing ...

[Mark Allen M]

https://www.facebook.com/16347425401050 ... 5425457443

[Mark Allen M]

Another related LIFE series.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Radio.WW2/p ... 1936458795

[JohnB]

Can you give a brief description, some of us don't like to click on unknown sites (as opposed to a commercial (Smithsonian or something) or government site?

[Mark Allen M]

The links are from a very familiar facebook page that hosts many, many LIFE archive series. One of the best sites for history out there. Don't know what to suggest to you if your hesitant to open the links other than the fact that I've been posting links on WIX for quite some time and I wouldn't remotely consider putting anyone who frequents the WIX forums in harms way with a bad link. If your hesitant I suggest don't open them and move on to something else, but if you want to see some amazing LIFE archive photos of Japan from the air right after the war, roll the dice and take a chance I suppose. I can vouch that the links are perfectly fine, but it's up to you. It takes far far too long for me to post more than 5 photos anymore as I only host on and use Flickr and flickr requires work to post photos.

[Craig59]

Some of the photos clearly show the effects of the Lemay Fire-bombing campaign. As brutally devastating as it obviously was, it was also quite necessary. I believe I've mentioned here before that my late fathers squadron, VMB-433, was preparing for the invasion of the mainland. Their PBJ top turrets had been removed and rocket racks installed under the wings so they could go in at low-level and provide close-air support to the ground troops and Marines. Any invasion would have proven a slaughter on both sides.

Thank you for the link, Mark.

[Richard W.]

All those poor Raidens.

Wish they had saved more and smelted less of them.

[sandiego89]

Can you give a brief description, some of us don't like to click on unknown sites (as opposed to a commercial (Smithsonian or something) or government site?

Several dozen overhead shots of Japanese airfields, industry, ships and shipyards, and bombed out cites. About a dozen with intact Japanese aircraft lined up at airfields, even a runway with dazzle paint job! A partially sunken Battleship and an aircraft carrier than somehow survived. All new to me. Very interesting.

I know many are reluctant to click on Facebook, but often you do not need a facebook profile to just look. Facebook is becoming an increasingly popular and safe place for many special interest groups, forums etc... and it wont' give you cooties...

[Richard W.]

They don't make it easy for us non FB members though.

Big "Join Facebook!" ad obscures half the screen for me. haha

[John Dupre]

I have long thought that one of the keys to Germany's and Japan's defeat in the air was the catch as catch can nature of thier training programs. While the USA and the UK designed and implemented entirely new huge training programs to turn out pilots, navigators, gunners and mechanics it seems the Axis powers just tried to run more people through thier prewar system with very little expansion or streamlining of the system until it was too late. Sabura Sakai related how his brother washed out of flight training prewar with more hours than a graduate would have had in 1944. I have seen Germans brag about how many light trainers they flew in aerobatic practice before ever seeing a 109 or 190. Yet American and Commonwealth pilots by 1944 while only flying 4 or 5 types could report for combat with 400 to 600 hours total time 2 to 3 times thier opponents. Germany could have turned most of Poland into an Empire Pilot Training School and Japan might have done the same in Korea or China.

[sandiego89]

I have long thought that one of the keys to Germany's and Japan's defeat in the air was the catch as catch can nature of thier training programs. While the USA and the UK designed and implemented entirely new huge training programs to turn out pilots, navigators, gunners and mechanics it seems the Axis powers just tried to run more people through thier prewar system with very little expansion or streamlining of the system until it was too late. Sabura Sakai related how his brother washed out of flight training prewar with more hours than a graduate would have had in 1944. I have seen Germans brag about how many light trainers they flew in aerobatic practice before ever seeing a 109 or 190. Yet American and Commonwealth pilots by 1944 while only flying 4 or 5 types could report for combat with 400 to 600 hours total time 2 to 3 times thier opponents. Germany could have turned most of Poland into an Empire Pilot Training School and Japan might have done the same in Korea or China.

Good point, and likely follows their thoughts of a short war. The plan was to steamroll the opposition with very good equipment, and well trained crews. Their plan may have worked if it had turned out to be a shortish war, but it wasn't. After the highly experienced crews were mostly lost, they lacked the capacity and as you say methods to train new crews.

[sandiego89]

I have long thought that one of the keys to Germany's and Japan's defeat in the air was the catch as catch can nature of thier training programs. While the USA and the UK designed and implemented entirely new huge training programs to turn out pilots, navigators, gunners and mechanics it seems the Axis powers just tried to run more people through thier prewar system with very little expansion or streamlining of the system until it was too late. Sabura Sakai related how his brother washed out of flight training prewar with more hours than a graduate would have had in 1944. I have seen Germans brag about how many light trainers they flew in aerobatic practice before ever seeing a 109 or 190. Yet American and Commonwealth pilots by 1944 while only flying 4 or 5 types could report for combat with 400 to 600 hours total time 2 to 3 times thier opponents. Germany could have turned most of Poland into an Empire Pilot Training School and Japan might have done the same in Korea or China.

Good point, and likely follows their thoughts of a short war. The plan was to steamroll the opposition with very good equipment, and well trained crews. Their plan may have worked if it had turned out to be a shortish war, but it wasn't. After the highly experienced crews were mostly lost, they lacked the capacity and as you say methods to train new crews.

[shrike]

I have long thought that one of the keys to Germany's and Japan's defeat in the air was the catch as catch can nature of thier training programs. While the USA and the UK designed and implemented entirely new huge training programs to turn out pilots, navigators, gunners and mechanics it seems the Axis powers just tried to run more people through thier prewar system with very little expansion or streamlining of the system until it was too late. Sabura Sakai related how his brother washed out of flight training prewar with more hours than a graduate would have had in 1944. I have seen Germans brag about how many light trainers they flew in aerobatic practice before ever seeing a 109 or 190. Yet American and Commonwealth pilots by 1944 while only flying 4 or 5 types could report for combat with 400 to 600 hours total time 2 to 3 times thier opponents. Germany could have turned most of Poland into an Empire Pilot Training School and Japan might have done the same in Korea or China.

Good point, and likely follows their thoughts of a short war. The plan was to steamroll the opposition with very good equipment, and well trained crews. Their plan may have worked if it had turned out to be a shortish war, but it wasn't. After the highly experienced crews were mostly lost, they lacked the capacity and as you say methods to train new crews.

The "Short War" hypothesis works for Germany, but not for Japan. Japan had been waging war on the Chinese mainland for quite a while before escalating to the BIG war in the Pacific.
On the other hand, the airwar over China was the JAAF, who had the training and attrition problem brought home to them in the border skirmish with the USSR in Mongolia (Khalkin Gol - THE most important 20th Century battle no one has heard of), while the war in the Pacific was waged mostly by JNAF. The internal political divide between Army and Navy is the driving force behind the Japanese war aims, so Not Invented Here, or 'The Army lost face, we should ignore them' probably explains that too.

The demand by Hitler to supply Stalingrad by air at all expense probably also contributed. Pilots, aircraft and fuel were diverted from the training programs to support that lost cause that may have made a difference.