well that is all good! I am trying to read more about the theature and what they did. I would agree that they did seem to get second billing or even well the srcaps.
I'd say the scraps, ancient aircraft from Europe were sent out there. And the men there were the greatest because they made do with it, and achieved a lot.
A certain Japanese general said the Chindits were his biggest problem.
The RAF out there were using Vildebeest for Gods sake.
I admit i need to read up on the RAF in the PTO an other non-Europe theatures, but that sounds like a one hit wounder.
I have to agree that the men in these units did a lot with nothing. Just read a little about the flying tigers in China, or the Black Sheep, a bunch of cast off and trouble makers. But Pappy was a great Ace!
Plan -D, I looked it up a bit and I would agree that they were a sorry sight against anything that flew. But what I read was they were out of survice by 1940, but that might not be the case out side of the ETO. Thanks for the photo it is a nice one.
They were supposed to be out of service by 1940 but those in Burma, India and Singapore had a severe lack of planes, and they were still using them in 1943. Sitting ducks if any Japanese planes were in the air.
I would think that the Flak would have ripped them appart as well. The Japonese had just as good AA as the Germans, but that was about it. The war planners thought that they could win because they had better spirit. Now that might have been but the arms they were using were just not as good. Only at the begining can a case be made otherwise.
Not with ground heavy weapons and armour though, the Japnese armour was always poor (Tanks were just crap). The Vildebeest was credited for quite a few successful raids, but it was just crap.
Well ok I will agree that the tanks were poor, but they just needed to dig out a mountain and place the guns in caves. Why use a tank when you have to slog through jungle and over mountains. It is one thing to use them in the nice open spaces in Europe, just thunk Kursk, but another to have confind space like the PTO. Also getting the tanks to station takes a lot. But I think the tankers in the Headgerows had a little taste of what the GIs had to deal with in the Pacific. 8)
Sorry, the Pacific Theature of Operations, just like ETO is European theature of Operations. I tend to use the letters and forget that some might not understand them. The Pacific and Asia are two areas of the war I am interested in. 8)
Well, I know exactly where I would have been, 475th FG Satan's Angels in the Pacific. I've even done a couple drawings of what my plane would have looked like.
I'm not sure that the lank of a serious tank hurt the Japanese that much. The Marines never used that many tanks for any of the invasions and many of the ones used were destroy even without other tanks to oppose them. Tanks are best when they have room to maneuver and that just wasn't the case of the small, heavily vegetated islands of the Pacific.
I find some of the response's a bit disturbing. If you ever get a chance to serve on anothers land and in combat I surely do not think you will find it "cool" . In any case most likely you should think upon your chances of survival and how good it would be with the undertanding that you do not know the outcome of the war.