Dear ALL, Here is Article No.37.
Please enjoy
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Article No.37
SPY
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Author: Mr.Teruo Miyoshi
It was late spring of 1945 when the cherry blossoms season was almost over.
In those days, ordinary citizens were threatened by a range of daily air raids and enjoying the cherry blossoms was little affordable.
Search order was issued -
[The enemy task force is heading to the north at 440miles offshore the Boso Peninsula. Search its scale. ]
Before take-off, I checked the communication room and knew that staff didn't catch the radio wave yet any from the U.S.military. I asked Communication Sergeant to inform us, if he was successful to catch the V-codes and to deciphere other communications, of the outline of the B29s numbers and their junction with the Grummans immediately. The V-code was always dispatched from B29 to identify herself before making formation and Grummans would fly to escort the B29s.
Even based on our past experiences only, we were able to estimate the junction like "near the coordinate ---" but if we were successful to catch their radio communications, it would help us to specify the precise point. We had already clarified what the value of "coordinate" which U.S.military was using meant almost precisely. Therefore today's mission was very important in order to measure our performance and to check whether it would be reliable or not in the future.
After take-off, I transmitted message to the base "Use A3(*communication by voice) of ---KHz longwave. Send in broadcast style. We use ---KHz shortwave".
"How about we transfer the captured American messages as they are to you immediately?" the base replied.
"You are knowing I'm not good at English. Who are you?"
"I'm Sergeant ----. I've just made fun of you. Now the mission starts. OK?"
"Oh, Sergeant. Sorry. When the base sends Japanese translation, voice of a cold staff is not welcome. Over "
(Note by the author) Voice of a cold staff sounds unclear as the +/- amplitude(swing) of audible frequency is so large.
Sergeant had arranged two private soldiers who were in charge of translation and a communication soldier who was to send our plane the translation. The base communication room would now look as if it had been changed to a perfect SPY Team. Sergeant would be very busy.
Even when such communications were going on between our plane and the base, my Sergeant-major was silent and single-minded to continue the maritime reconnaissance.
"Visible! Enemy task force of a few ships. Two aircraft carriers are included" I shouted.
I immediately reported the situation to the base, but the junction with the B-29s was unknown yet.
We could still estimate the general junction by considering both the distance between the Mariana Islands and the Japaese mainland and the flight range of the carrier-based escort fighters but this time the 'general' made no sense because we had to verify if the value of "coordinates" would coincide with the point that we predicted. I was much tensed up.
Our plane was circling on the clouds so as not to be seen from the enemy ships but they would have already captured us on the radar screen.
"The communication between the B29s and the task force has begun" the base announced.
"B-29s ---miles south of the task force, altitude 30,000feet, direction ---, estimated junction 'coordinates' ---"
It seemed successful to catch the "coordinates" which U.S.military defined for themselves.
Thinking the passage of time, the carrier-based escort fighters would take off in ---minutes soon.
Unlucky to us, the sky was getting clear and we had no clouds to hide.
"Don't check the carrier-based fighters. Check the numbers and route of the B29s. I check the carrier-based fighters" said Sergeant-major.
The carrier-based fighters were taking off one after another and began circling above us. Making up the formation of about ten fighters, they seemed waiting for the B29s.
"Take care. One of the fighters has received attack-order" the base warned us.
Enemy seemed to have catched our plane on the radar and issued the attack-order.
Through the binoculars, one fighter on the rear-end of formation was observed leaving the formation.
It would be attacking us but, fully loaded with 250kgx2(*500lb?x2) bombs plus gun bullets, it couldn't be accelerated.
I had never seen such a slow Grumman before.
"OK. Let's pull it around and tire" said Sergeant-major. We had ascended to the maximum altitude with full throttle.
The fighter was chasing us desperately but the distance was not shorten.
When the rest Grummans of formation were heading to the scheduled point("coordinates"), our Grumman was desperatively persistant. I guessed the pilot obeyed his order strictly but would be irritating himself now because he was unable to catch us.
"Hey, why don't you stop chasing and chase your formation. or going to be lost in the sky?"
When Sergeant-major murmured with bitter smile, the B29s formation had composedly appeared in the far and higher altitude.
Approximately 50 or more.
"Junction's 'coordinates' of B29s and carrier-based fighters is ----" the base announced.
We ignored the Grumman and headed to the coordinates in a hurry.
"Advise me if that Grumman gets closer to the shooting range. I'll opponent"
Seregeant-major continued saying,
"You may know.. the order within the formation is decided by ranks and experiences. Staying on the rear-end, he would be the newest comer and eager to distinguish himself a.s.a.p"
The "coordinates" we aimed at had got closer.
I reported the base the numbers of B29s and Grummans along with their flight direction and estimated "coordinates".
Our base was successful to catch and decipher their attack target, junction and junction time.
"We launch jamming from now. Change the frequency to ---KHz" the base announced.
I plotted the U.S. military's "coordinates" value on the map. The error was less than 2miles which might be ignored in the sky. I told Sergeant-major "We have done it. It's perfect"
"Well done. It's worth the hardships... By the way, how is he who was chasing us?"
Looking back, I found no shadow of aircraft.
"If he readlly wanted to carry out his attack-order precisely to shoot down my plane, he must have dropped all bombs and reduce the weight first. Remember those who are unable to judge situation properly are never useful in the battle field"
/End of Article No.37
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Hoping American patriots have no wrong feeling about this article,
Shinpachi