IJA Secret Intelligence Team at Chofu (1 Viewer)

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Here comes Article No.48.
Thank you Wayne, Wildcat and Aaron for pushing me ahead.

**************

Article No.48

Attacking the U.S. military airfields of Iwo-jima (3 of 3)
=========================================
Author: Mr. Teruo Miyoshi


The information was reported to the base commander from the chief of communication room.


As we had been ready for the sally anytime, two planes took off immediately aiming straight at the scheduled airspace where we were to encounter with the Navy planes.


Flying along the coast line of Uchi-boso, we had reached above the ocean.
Nine Navy Type 1 land attackers, forming three formations by the 3, and surrounding twelve Navy Type 0 fighters were visible in front of us.


I sent message to them by the high speed Morse code,
"Fifty and more P51s took off their base. Fly south targetting the coordinates --. Follow thirty miles behind us."
Instant reply had returned "dot-dash-dot(Understood)." I thought the naval radio crew aboard was good skilled.


Distance in a straight line between Tokyo and Iwo-jima was as far as 780miles but our distance would be as longer as about 810miles because we were taking a detour course from the east.


We couldn't relax even a moment for three hours to our final target.
If the P51s were heading for the north on the same route as we flew, this game would be over soon. We had to go south taking care lest we should be found by them.


I contacted with our base to ask,
"This is Plum One. How is their course?"
"We have failed to catch their first coordiantes value."
"Raise the radio volume more and catch it well." I told it in almost order-tone and waited for a while.


"It has been turned out to be the coordinates --" the base reported.
The value was meaning that they were flying about 125miles west of us. The game had not been over yet. We had succeeded in passing each other not being found.


For the rest of the course, we only had to fly lest we should be found by other enemy reconnaissance aircrafts and vessels. I telegraphed that to our Navy planes behind. Usually, it was not easy to tap the straight key by the right hand with the left hand bringing the binoculars but I felt little tiredness that time.


As we had reached the coordinates-- where we were to turn to the west, I told it to our Navy planes behind and we lowered altitude down to the almost sea level in order to avoid enemy's search by the radars and accelerate the speed to the Iwo-jima straightly.


"Critical moment now begins. Take it carefully." Sergeant-Major encouraged me. Courage sprang out. Iwo-jima was visible.


"You may rush. We will observe at high altitude." I telegraphed to the Navy planes and our Army planes raised altitude to 15,000feet.


A vessel which looked like an enemy was seen to the far horizon but it didn't look an aircraft carrier at least fortunately. Our naval bombers were rushing into their respective targets as scheduled and type 0 fighters were giving volleies of gun fires against the anti-aircraft gun positions on the island. Everything was observed clearly.


Explosion of the powder magazine was not observed yet.
It was no sooner I wondered if it might be placed in the underground trench which Japanese Army had constructed than two terrible pillars of fire blew up. Bombs hit the right target.


Holes were observed everywhere on the runways. They would not be useful for sometime. An aircraft under maintenance were burning fiercely.
It was a spectacle I had never seen before.
I reported our base every details of the ongoing situation time to time.


"All bombs hit the targets. We head for the coordinates -- from now." Navy leader told me.
As I replied "Understood", I also sent telegraph to Sergeant N,
"Withdraw. Junction Coordinates --"


We had joined the naval group again.
I checked the number of naval planes. No missings.
I sent report to the base again immediately,
"Attack completed. Our planes all safe." and requested to report us the junction of the P51s who were currently on their air-raid mission above our mainland upon turned out.


There had been fortunately a quite large distance interval with them on our way to the island but unknown on our way back. We couldn't relax yet.


Our base reported,
"P51s junction offshore Izu peninsula. Coordinates --. Concentration time GMT----."
I checked it on the map. They seemed taking the almost same route as they had done.


I instructed our Navy planes,
"Home on the same route as you did. U.S. planes are flying down to the south offshore Izu peninsula." and added,
"Change radio to A3(*radio phone)."


I asked my Sergeant-major,
"Do you have anything to tell the Navy planes?"
"I'm OK. You tell them anything." he was shy and modest about official speech.


Voice of naval Lieutenant junior grade came in abruptly,
"This operation would not have succeeded if there had not been all of your team's support. Thank you very much on behalf of our all crews."
It had been said first.


"It was a hardship for each other. Our two planes drop in Haha-jima island for refueling. We pray the good fortune of war in the future for you all."


It was about 14:00 we arrived at Haha-jima.
As I had left our base at 0700 without taking a breakfast, I was so much hungry before I would say I was tired. Feeling hungry would be an evidence I relaxed at last. I asked a soldier on his cooking duty some rice-balls(*onigiri) and ate them with pickled radish(*takuan).
They were so delicious for me as not to explain in the words.

I cannot forget the taste, really.


/End of Article No.48
 
You are welcome, Wayne.
I relax now to have completed the three articles translation as a story.
Thank you friend:)
 

Attachments

  • A6M5_640x336.JPG
    A6M5_640x336.JPG
    12.4 KB · Views: 166
Thank you Aaron for your warm words again.
Yes, this story is still very interesting for me as I can see the soldiers' faces in my mind clearly.

Author was writing somewhere that Sergeant-major was tall and his physique was sturdy. He was silent and had an atmosphere that a stranger couldn't say Hello easily. Author once tried to pretend a Sergeant-major after the war. He was considered 'gone mad' to quit soon.

Please look forward to my future translations.
Nice day, friend:salute:
 

Attachments

  • ParticleDance_withCH4_S.JPG
    ParticleDance_withCH4_S.JPG
    18.4 KB · Views: 77
Pleasure is mine, Tao-san:)
Your words "really enjoyed" encourage me for the next translation.
Thank you for reading!
 

Attachments

  • Iwo-jima_S.JPG
    Iwo-jima_S.JPG
    44.6 KB · Views: 87
This article contains two stories - one is about aircraft engines and the other about his encounters with Lockheed P-38 for the second time. I didn't recall untill almost completed translation his first time encounter was described in No.44 which shall be translated on the other day.

Please enjoy.

*********************************

Article No.92

A U.S. military aircraft of losing his way
=============================
Author: Mr.Teruo Miyoshi


A military aircraft engine had as many as twelve to eighteen cylinders a kit generally, though the number was different by the type, and it was quite a hardship for a maintenance soldier to start it smoothly.

Type 100 headquarters reconnaissance plane(*Ki-46 Dinah) of Sergeant N(Nakatani) was equipped with an electric-inertia starter(*a self-starter) on the rear end of the engine but the compression ratio was so high(*7.0) that the crank was heavy to rotate. Then, the maintenace soldier was frequently obliged to rotate the inertia starter by his hands.

This was not unusual because the battery size was designed smaller to reduce its weight for an aircraft and had no enough capacity to cover both the starter and the other electric systems like radio equipments etc. As full activation of the starter had shortened the battery life, hand operation on the inertial starter was exclusively used.

A rolling handle called "Tenpa" was connected to the starter. Flywheel rotation inside the starter was amplified to two hundreds times in speed by the "Tenpa" rotation. When the rotation of "Tenpa" reached 100rpm, that is 20,000rpm of flywheel, the clutch was released by hand to protrude and connected but the impact was so considerable that the starter was often borken. It was broken because the starter was designed vulnerable to protect the engine. I heard so.

Therefore, in preparation for scramble, even when no sortie was expected, a maintenance soldier was to start engine to warm it every two or three hours. From our present point of view, unthinkable know-how was required.
In addition, in case of the radio equipments whose power-supply was designed to rely on the dynamo of the engine, as voltage was unstable and the electromagnetic influence of spark plugs and dynamo was large, noise was generally terrible on the radio phone above all.

"Radio phones of our military aircrafts were little useful" was writen in postwar publications but it was still possible to eliminate most of the noise by attaching 'spark-killers' to the engine and also adopting an independent battery as power supply. By the way, our team's aircrafts were improved so as not to be influenced with the electromagnetic influence.

The upper echelons of our Japanese military would be making light of the radio as an equipment for the military aircrafts. This was true because they did not even know that YAGI antenna had been invented by a Japanese when it had already been put in practical use in Europe and America.

.....................


Now, Sergeant-major and I took off for a regular reconnaissance in early rainy morning on a spring day. Order on that day was -
"Frequent appearances of U.S. fighters on our Shonan region(*west of Tokyo) have suddenly increased recently. As a demonstration of our forces, patrol the off-coast area ranging from Izu peninsula to Irago-misaki of Atsumi peninsula(east of Nagoya). "

The radar which was newly equipped with our aircraft had captured a shadow of a flying aircraft about 60miles ahead. It was heading for the west. Judging from the fact that single plane was flying to the west, it would probably be a U.S.military plane. In addition, it was flying very slow and did not seem heading for any firm destination. If it had been our friendly plane, it should have taken a course along the coastline with the land in a pilot's vision.

I asked the base,
"Any information?"
"We have been intercepting a series of frequent callings by a radio phone for ten minutes. Sender is asking a reply to his accompanying aircraft but no response." our translation soldier reported.

I had instantly understood to hear the report,
"This aircraft shadow on the radar screen is the same one as the radio phone sender."

Raised altitude to 15,000feet, we headed for the west with the full throttle immediately. Target was visible. A P38 Lightning fighter of twin booms.
It was just turning to the east at altitude 15,000feet and approaching to us to encounter.

However, he was not shooting us.
When I was thinking doubtfully "Strange. Why not?", Sergeant-major said
"No bullets after the air-raid on somewhere. Possibly."

In the state of gazing at each other, the two planes were circling. Then, I had happened to think one thing and took contact with our translation soldier of the base to try.

"Can you transfer what I say from now to the U.S.military aircraft by your simultaneous translation?" I asked.
"Yes, I can do it as we have ever done before. I will do it well enough not to be noticed our relay. Over."

I had begun,
"Why are you single plane hovering on the ocean like this?"

P38 pilot,
"......."

"If we had been going to shoot, you would have already been in the ocean now. I want to know why. In cases, we'll shoot or capture you. You have three minutes to think."

Our translation soldier was speaking with a dignified voice as if an experienced senior soldier was speaking. It had brought a little effect.

"I'm searching a missing plane of my team. He didn't come up to the junction. I don't want being captured. You may shoot me now."
replied the P38 pilot.

I imagined that he must be a formation leader.

Sergeant-major said to me,
"OK. He is good. His courage exceeds their ordinary young pilots. He worries about his boy and searching but his efforts will be resulted in vain above such a wide ocean like this. He must be an officer and one of the veterans who have fought through the air combats with the German fighters at the front in Europe. Get me your microphone."

He had begun to talk to the pilot,
"I admire your courage. I neither capture nor shoot. Instead, please let me know your base, squadron, mission purpose today, your name, rank and service number."

The P38 pilot responded,
"My base and squadron are confidential and I can not tell. I am Captain ---. I have led my squadron today to scout the Shonan region and inland. Other four completed mission and have returned home but the youngest pilot's plane is missing. So, I'm searching for him on radio. My guns seem having trouble on wiring."

Judging from his intonation, he did not seem being disturbed. I felt that he deserved a squadron leader.

Sergeant-major replied,
"I understand but cannot guide you not knowing your base. I guess your boy has been downed. The flight-range of P38 is said long but you must know that you cannot search for your boy forever on the ocean. Your base will be Iwo-jima. I'll guide you to the course for the island. I look forward to seeing you again in the sky. Follow me at altitude 15,000 with speed 250miles. Crosswind is strong around here. Take care the drift."

The P38 pilot said,
"I was taught that the Japanese soldiers were as if a devil but I know there is an open-minded one like you today. I request you to guide me to the course."

Sergeant-major asked his final question,
"I want to know one thing. Your General LeMay is adopting a strategy of scorching the Japanese mainland. Your fighters are giving gun-fires against the non-combatants who are trying to escape on the ground with no mercy. Is this tactics also ordered by LeMay?

In the war, attacking the combatants is unavoidable but you are attacking our frightened civilians as if shooting a puppet at a shooting gallery. Do you hate the Japanese so much? Have you imagined such a scene as your parents, brothers and sisters are getting a volley of gun fires from the fighters in the sky? I am not necessarily refusing to understand your grudge against our attacks on Pearl Harbor but a communication delay inside the U.S. Government was a remote cause. What do you think?"

The P38 pilot did not reply soon,
"...... When I was fighting in Germany, I experienced a lot of air combats but ground attacks. I refrain from comments about what you said but I didn't know our fighters carry out such attacks. I have no authority to express my views but I think the war itself is responsible for all the things. I wish this war will be over soon and meeting you again without the uniforms each other somewhere in the future. You have a Japanese Samurai spirit."

Sergeant-major advised,
"Turn 90degrees to the right here. This is the 141degrees east longitude. Go straight to the south and you will reach Iwo-jima. "

"I'll never forget the conversation with you. Thank you and Good Luck." flying parallel, Captain had saluted to us.

This was an experience for me to think 'What on earth is the war?'.


[Note by Author]
The communication by simultaneous translation with the U.S.military aircraft was taken place by way of our base. I have summarized the communication channels in diagram on my word file(*.doc file). If you are interested, please refer.

http://ohanashi.okigunnji.com/tusinkeitou.doc


/End of Article No.92

**********************************

The diagram image is attached for your quick reference.
Shinpachi
 

Attachments

  • diagram.GIF
    diagram.GIF
    17.6 KB · Views: 103
I don't know why but I'm glad to see your American flag.
Maybe I'm having Author's eyes now.

Thank you Aaron for your encouragement, always:salute:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back