General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Helping trapped cremwn on the Kaga
Posted by:
kurt
()
Date: June 29, 2001 06:54PM
<HTML>\"but do not believe they took the trouble to save trapped sailors inside the Kaga carrier\"
Technically correct, but not accurate in tone.
The Kaga was a burning hulk that was clearly doomed, and expected to sink quickly when it was abandoned. Unfortunately not all crewmen were able to flee the ship due to battle damage, flooding, and fire. Such is war. In a stroke of luck, some trapped crewmen, given up as dead by their crewmates, had their way to freedom blasted open by the coup de grace torpedoes. It is not that the IJN crewmates didn\'t bother or take the trouble to help them, but rather that no one thought helping them was possible. Only the freakest of chance miracles allowed them to survive.
The Akagi, though badly on fire, was not sinking, and for a while the Japanese hoped to salvage the vessel - just as the Americans hoped to save the badly flooded and listing, dead in the water Yorktown. Finally, as it became clear that the IJN would have to withdraw from the battlefield, there was no option but to sink the Akagi less it fall into enemy hands. The Yorktown, of course, got a coup de grace from a Japanese submarine.
Japanese had a different ethos of life and death than us Westerners in that war, but they, though often more willing to give up their lives than we would, still valued the lives of their fellow sailors and soldiers, and tried to help those that they could when they could. </HTML>
Technically correct, but not accurate in tone.
The Kaga was a burning hulk that was clearly doomed, and expected to sink quickly when it was abandoned. Unfortunately not all crewmen were able to flee the ship due to battle damage, flooding, and fire. Such is war. In a stroke of luck, some trapped crewmen, given up as dead by their crewmates, had their way to freedom blasted open by the coup de grace torpedoes. It is not that the IJN crewmates didn\'t bother or take the trouble to help them, but rather that no one thought helping them was possible. Only the freakest of chance miracles allowed them to survive.
The Akagi, though badly on fire, was not sinking, and for a while the Japanese hoped to salvage the vessel - just as the Americans hoped to save the badly flooded and listing, dead in the water Yorktown. Finally, as it became clear that the IJN would have to withdraw from the battlefield, there was no option but to sink the Akagi less it fall into enemy hands. The Yorktown, of course, got a coup de grace from a Japanese submarine.
Japanese had a different ethos of life and death than us Westerners in that war, but they, though often more willing to give up their lives than we would, still valued the lives of their fellow sailors and soldiers, and tried to help those that they could when they could. </HTML>
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Capsized battleship(s)
|
Walter M. | 06/27/2001 01:11PM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Michael Lowrey | 06/27/2001 02:11PM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Walter M. | 06/28/2001 10:47AM |
|
Helping trapped cremwn on the Kaga
|
kurt | 06/29/2001 06:54PM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Woody | 06/30/2001 09:27AM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Michael Lowrey | 06/30/2001 10:03AM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Tim | 06/30/2001 11:09PM |
|
RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Walter M. | 07/01/2001 11:20AM |
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RE: Capsized battleship(s)
|
Rainer Bruns | 07/02/2001 12:53PM |