B-17 Flying Fortress launching Nazi V-1 Buzz Bombs
The Pulse Jet propelled JB-2 ( Jet-Bomb) “Loon” aka V-1 was built by Republic, Jeep and Ford. They were also launched from fold-able ramps since 1944 and even from a submarine. Intended for massive application in the case of an invasion of Japan’s Homeland, their operational use never materialized.
In post-war experiments, the JB -2 became the testbed and forerunner of the first US made Cruise missile, the Martin MGM-1 Matador.
All combat scenes were flown from the cockpit with Force Feedback Wingman Joystick under full realism conditions. The action was recorded, played back using IL2 view control commands and captured for later viewing using FRAPS screen capture program. The screen capture segments were finally edited with Wondershare Filmora progrmam for sharing on our channel.
IL2 Forgotten Battles Video Game of a German He 111 medium bomber on a torpedo mission from Feodosiya to Kerch on the Crimean Peninsula; not that far from Sochi Russia (where the Olympic Winter Games took place and the Germans and Russians battled so long ago). All scenes recorded by Fraps; the computer screen capture software.
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Wikipedia
Top speed: 400 km/h
Length: 18 m
Wingspan: 23 m
First flight: February 24, 1935
Introduced: 1936
Engine type: V12 engine
Manufacturer: Heinkel
IJN Yamato, a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), was the first battleship of the Yamato class, the largest and most powerful battleship in naval history. It was named in honor of the Yamato Empire, the first historical name of Japan.
Yamato was designed to fight against several ships simultaneously. The IJN’s intention was to create a fleet of “impregnable and unsinkable castles” in the sea to counter the almost infinite production capacity of the United States Navy (USN), but these ships entered into combat when supremacy in naval battles no longer belonged to battleships. Their place had by then been usurped by aircraft carriers.
HIJMS Yamato running trials in 1941
It was originally planned to build four battleships of the Yamato class, but only Yamato and its twin Musashi were completed and put into service. The third battleship, Shinano, was finished as an aircraft carrier to compensate for the Japanese losses at the Battle of Midway, and the fourth Yamato-class ship, Construction No. 111, was canceled at an early stage.
Construction and Early Service
The invasion of Manchuria by Japan in 1931 led to the breaking of the Washington Naval Treaty, signed in 1922, which had limited the size and power of warships. The IJN was now free to produce large warships, and finalized Yamato’s design in 1934.
Japanese battleship Musashi.
Yamato was constructed completely in secret, and the facilities where it was assembled were camouflaged. Yamato-class battleships stayed unknown to U.S. forces until the ships were used in combat against them. On August 8, 1940, Yamato was finally launched in Kure.
On February 12, 1942, Yamato became the flagship of the Combined Fleet of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, and served in that role until February 11, 1943, when Yamato was replaced by its twin, Musashi, as flagship of the Combined Fleet.
Yamato running machinery trials off Bungo Strait (outside Sukumo Bay) on 20 October 1941
A Castle in the Sea
The battleship was equipped with nine 460mm guns, the highest amount of firepower ever available on a warship. For protection, it had nearly 16 inch thick steel armor on its sides, and nearly 8 inches of armor on the deck.
The final configuration of the secondary battery was six 155mm guns, twenty-four 127mm guns, and one hundred and sixty-two 25mm anti-aircraft guns. It also had two catapults with a crane for seven Mitsubishi F1M2 reconnaissance seaplanes.
Its length was 839 feet (256 meters) and it weighed 71,659 tons. It had 12 boilers and was powered by four steam turbines connected to four three-bladed propellers, and could attain a maximum speed of 28 knots. Yamato could carry 2,332 sailors.
Yamato Near Completion.
Not so Invulnerable
On August 28, 1942, close to the Japanese naval base located at Truk, Yamato was attacked by the American submarine USS Flying Fish (SS-229) with four torpedoes. Yamato managed to evade them all.
Yamato ariel photo
On December 25, 1943, the USS Skate (SS-305) launched four torpedoes at Yamato from a distance of just over 6,560 feet, causing an explosion near the stern and opening an 82-foot hole in its hull. 3,000 tons of water entered the ship, much more than expected. Yamatomanaged to reach the port at Truk and was repaired with assistance from the repair shipAkashi.
Little Participation in Battle
Yamato‘s war record was short. The ship reached an operational level on May 27, 1942, just in time to be part of the great fleet that departed two days later for the Battle of Midway. The battleships, sailing 300 nautical miles behind Admiral Nagumo’s aircraft carrier attack fleet, did not participate in the following combat. Admiral Yamamoto exercised general command from Yamato‘s bridge. The Battle of Midway was disastrous for Japan’s aircraft carrier forces, with 4 carriers sunk and 332 aircraft destroyed.
Yamato and Musashi anchored in the waters off of the Truk Islands in 1943
During the decisive combat in Guadalcanal from November 13-15, 1942, Yamato stayed inactive, anchored at Truk. From June 19-23, 1944, Yamato was part of the 2nd Fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Kurita, and was an escort for Vice Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa’s Mobile Fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
This battle was called the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” by American pilots, and the Japanese lost 3 aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft. The only significant contribution of Yamato was to cover the rear of the battered Imperial Japanese Navy. However, Yamatomade the serious mistake of firing at Japanese aircraft that were returning to their bases, destroying and damaging some of them.
Yamato hit by a bomb near her forward gun turret in the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
Overall, Yamato spent its short life mainly as an escort ship or transporting troops and supplies, and being repaired or working up its antiaircraft artillery at the naval base on Truk. Yamato‘s only participation in combat was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Operation “SHO-GO” – The Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Japanese high command designed Operation “SHO-GO” (Victory) as a counterattack to the U.S. landing on the island of Leyte. The plan involved the sacrifice of an aircraft carrier decoy fleet, commanded by Ozawa, to attract the U.S. Third Fleet away from the San Bernardino Strait while the main Japanese fleet attacked at Leyte Gulf.
Invasion of Leyte, Philippines, 20 October 1944. Giant Seagoing “Freight Cars” Unload War Cargo on Leyte.
According to the plan, the Central Force of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita would then penetrate Leyte and destroy the forces that had been landed by the enemy.
With this objective, five battleships, among which were Yamato and Musashi, and ten heavy cruisers departed Brunei in the direction of the Philippines on October 20, 1944.
Japanese cruiser Chokai, Atago class, starboard view
The Japanese fleet was divided into three squads that would attack from different directions. From Borneo would come Force A, commanded by Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita. From Nagasaki, Force B would attack under Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shimay. Finally, from Singapore, Force C would sail under Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura.
The separate Ozawa fleet that was destined to be sunk by the enemy was composed of the last 4 aircraft carriers that were left to Japan, along with aircraft, 4 cruisers, 8 destroyers, and Yamato and Musashi.
Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita
The Battle of Leyte Gulf: Battle of the Sibuyan Sea
The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, October 23, 1944, was the beginning of the end for the Yamatos.
After 6 waves of bombing by aircraft from the American carrier USS Essex, Musashi was sunk without ever showing what she was capable of. Yamato was also the victim of this bombardment, being hit by two bombs, but suffered very slight damage thanks to its armor.
During the battle, Kurita’s flagship IJN Atago was sunk, so he transferred his command to Yamato.
USS Princeton explodes at 15:23
The Battle of Leyte Gulf: Battle off Samar
In this battle, Yamato used its main guns for the first and last time. Its victims were the escort carrier USS Gambier Bay (CVE-73) and the destroyer USS Hoel (DD-533), which were part of Task Unit 77.4.3, also called “Taffy 3,” of the Seventh Fleet of the United States Navy. “Taffy 3” had stayed near Leyte to provide close support to the invading troops, and was composed of 6 small escort carriers, some 400 aircraft, 3 destroyers, and 4 destroyer escorts. Additionally, Yamato opened fire on enemy aircraft.
The ships of 77.4.3, although armed with only 127-mm guns and torpedoes against the 460-mm guns of the Yamato, had the advantage of support from FM-2 Wildcats and TBM Avengers from their escort carriers. The aircraft attacked so fiercely that the Japanese fleet soon realized that it should retreat.
Atago, Takao class heavy cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy at Yokosuka Naval Base.
Yamato left the battle without serious damage. The Japanese lost three heavy cruisers and one light cruiser, but in return sank two U.S. escort carriers, two destroyers, and one escort destroyer.
Fight Until the End
To provide historical context for the next actions by the Japanese: After Germany’s defeat in World War I, its surface fleet was essentially impounded at Scapa Flow, Scotland, while the victors debated what to do with the ships. Eventually, the German sailors interned with the fleet sank their own ships rather than let them be seized and redistributed to other nations.
The Japanese did not want Yamato to have a similar fate or become a war trophy. They preferred a more heroic ending. Accordingly, Yamato would be sent on a final kamikaze mission to Okinawa without enough fuel to return. If Yamato managed to survive the battle, the crew would try to beach it on a nearby island and continue fighting until they had no more ammunition. Then the crew would disembark and join infantry forces on shore in the defense of the island. This plan was called Operation Ten-Go.
The battleship USS Idaho shelling Okinawa on April 1, 1945
Operation Ten-Go was the last Japanese naval offensive of the Second World War. It was carried out by a fleet of ten ships: Yamato at the head, the cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers.
Yamato sailed from the port of Tokuyama at 3:20 p.m. on April 6, 1945 toward the Ryûkyû Islands where the Battle of Okinawa was taking place. At 8:23 a.m. on April 7, 1945, an American reconnaissance aircraft intercepted Yamato when she still had 124 miles to reach Okinawa.
The American fleet followed up with 386 Corsair, Hellcat, Avenger, Helldriver, and Wildcat aircraft, launched from US aircraft carriers.
Yamato sinking from the aft
The battleship was attacked in three successive waves, receiving 8 bombs and 10 torpedoes in a battle lasting almost two hours. The concentration of torpedo impacts on the port side caused the ship to heel to the left, without counterflooding being able to correct it.
Once Yamato capsized, the magazines in its number 2 turret detonated, literally splitting the ship in two with the terrifying explosion, and leaving a mushroom-shaped column of smoke that rose over 3.5 miles. 2,475 members of the crew died, including the captain. 269 sailors were rescued by the destroyers Yukikaze, Hatsushimo, Fuyutsuki and Suzutsuki.
Yamato,Musashi, and Shinano, the 3 largest battleships of the Second World War, were sunk without being able to demonstrate their potential. Their firepower could not rival that of American naval air power.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel was shot down 30 times during his 2,530 missions. He destroyed one battleship, one cruiser, one destroyer, 70 landing craft, 800 vehicles, 150 gun positions, 519 tanks and nine aircraft. His story is simply incredible.
Like so many successful soldiers during World War Two, Rudel showed a great aptitude for adventure, risk and daring from an early age. His first brush with injury came when he was just eight years old as he jumped off a roof with an opened umbrella in an attempt to fly. It earned him a broken leg, but that was small fry in comparison with what would come later on.
Rudel initially came to prominence within the Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 (StG.2), flying Stuka dive bombers in blackout-inducing dives and at speeds that other men would never consider – but when he first joined the force his commanders thought he didn’t fit into the squad of men.
As the son of a Lutheran minister, Rudel didn’t take part in many of the activities that life revolved around for the fighting men. “He doesn’t smoke, drinks only milk, has no stories to tell about women and spends all his free time playing sports. Senior Officer Cadet Rudel is a strange bird,” wrote one of his instructors.
And for a man who spent most of the first half of the war sitting in the backseat of a reconnaissance plane, or not flying at all, the numbers Rudel racked up are truly astonishing.
He flew no combat missions at all throughout the Battle of Britain or the Baltic and Cretan conflicts, and only got his first taste of life in the front seat when he was called on to fight during Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union.
Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” dive bomber with 3.7 cm anti-tank guns under the wings. The aircraft, Hans-Ulrich Rudel’s, is being started with a hand crank. Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0
His first engagement was against the Russians, who were well aware that the enemy was coming and wouldn’t be intimidated by the wailing sound of the dive bomber. To add even more fuel to the fire, Rudel was tasked with ending the Soviet Dreadnought Marat’sreign of terror over the German forces attacking Leningrad. It had been launching shells a full 18 miles onto the Axis positions surrounding the city, and Rudel was a part of the force sent to stop it.
In just one month, Rudel had flown 100 missions and had proven his worth as one of the best pilots in StG. 2. For this soldier, hitting the target and making sure ammunition didn’t go to waste was of fundamental importance. Because of this, he developed a tendency to dive too low and fly too close to the ground to make sure the correct target was hit.
“I generally dive to too low a level, to be sure of hitting the target and not waste ammunition,” wrote Rudel in his memoirs. His captain agreed, saying: “This crazy fellow will have a short life.”
The Marat was sitting in the Gulf of Finland, and the Stukas were sent to bring down the beast that had been sending hell and fire into the German forces risking life and limb for Operation Barbarossa. The massive, ship busting 1,000lb bomb released by Captain Ernst-Siegfried Steen missed its mark, but true to form the one carried by Rudel was a hit ad exploded on the aft deck.
Soviet battleship Marat, 1939.
And then in September 1941 a reconnaissance plane spotted the behemoth undergoing repairs in Kronstadt Harbor, which was fortified by a dazzlingly large number of guns – over 1,000 on board ships and on land in total. But that didn’t bother Rudel, who was rarely troubled by such trivial information. He set off towards his target with a new, 2,000lb armour piercing bomb and with the steely determination of a man in his element.
The flak from the anti-aircraft guns was so intense that the Stuka formation broke up, and Rudel was left to tail Steen all the way towards the giant ship. Rudel flew so close to the Marat that he could make out the soldiers on the deck, and his bomb penetrated the deck and exploded in an ammunition store, completely blowing the bow off the ship. It was to be the first of many major successes for the daring, brilliant pilot.
But it wasn’t until 1943 that Rudel was invited to join a new tank busting unit in the Luftwaffe. At this point, the pilot had flown 1,000 missions, and experienced the full horrors of the war in the frozen Soviet Union as Axis and Soviet forces fought their war through the savage and inhumane conflict around Joseph Stalin’s key cities.
German command had come across a new way to completely annihilate enemy tanks. Instead of trying to drop bombs on their heads, they fitted the Stuka’s gun barrels with 37mm tungsten core shells, which were effective from 150 yards. This new weapon would become known as the Panzerknacker, and was absolutely deadly in Rudel’s hands.
Despite the fact that the veteran was shot down by anti-aircraft defences on the first test flight, he made mincemeat of Russian tanks during the huge Battle of Kursk in 1943.
As the German and the Soviet Union armour smashed bits out of each other from a near point blank range, Rudel wheeled behind the enemy lines and approached their tanks from behind – destroying four in his first attack and claiming 12 kills by the end of the first day. At times he flew so low that debris from his kills scored marks in his plane and the heat from the flames scorched the fuselage.
Soviet IS-2 Tank and Troopers.
He was then appointed wing commander and formed a fierce tank hunting squadron, and by November 1943 he had flown more than 1,500 missions and taken out 100 tanks. His backseat gunner, a man called Sergeant Erwin Hentschel, became one of the most successful in the entire air force.
Despite sustaining awful injuries after being shot down and stranded behind enemy lines, Rudel would never stop doing what he was best at, and by 1944 had flown 2,000 missions and destroyed 300 tanks. He was shot down over Latvia, was wounded in the crash landing but was immediately back in the air again.
By February 1945 the war was nearly over, but Rudel was far from finished. He now had over 450 kills and took to the skies with his leg in a cast. After annihilating 13 tanks attempting to cross the Oder River, Rudel was on the verge of passing out due to the pain in his leg – at this point his gunner Ernst Gadermann had to talk his pilot through another crash landing.
Rudel woke up with his right leg amputated, and when the war ended he ordered his group to crash land in an American controlled airfield to avoid the advancing Soviet forces.
After being shot down more than 30 times, and surviving five wounds, Rudel could not turn the tide of battle against the Allied forces. Despite collecting numerous awards, many personally given by Adolf Hitler, Rudel finally met an enemy he could not kill, outrun or outfox. His own Fuhrer.
Rudel died in 1982, aged 66, and was married three times – from which he had three children.
