Pacific War Quiz #1

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

Time for yet another quiz.

1. Name the Carriers in the strike force that hit Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941.Lefty got it
2.Name the first successful surface action carried out by the USN in the war. (Hint: it was during Japan's advance, in early 42)
Lefty got it
3. What ship was known as the "Galloping ghost of the Java coast"?
Lefty got it
4. Who was Japan's highest scoring ace?
Koybayashi got it
5. What secret weapon used by the Japanese navy was so successful that it casued many allied ship losses?
Lefty got it
6. Who was the USN's (not Army) highest scoring ace?
Franklyn got it
7. What was the code name for the US attack on Guadalcanal in August of 1942?
Franklyn got it
8. Name the one eyed Japanese ace who survived combat against 16 hellcats in an old Zero fighter over Iwo Jima in 1944.
Franklyn got it
9. Name the first aircraft carrier sunk in the Pacific war, and in what battle she was sunk.
Lefty got it
10. Who said "Expended 4 torpedoes and one Jap Destroyer" as a battle report?
Case got it
11. What was the largest aircraftcarrier constructed during the Pacific war, and what was it's fate?
Lefty got it
12. What was the name of the sub that sank USS Indianapolis in 1945?
Franklyn got it

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

1. Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu. Shokaku, Zuikaku
2. Have to look up which of several egaements by Adm Hart's far East Fleet (surface elements later operationally incorporated into ABDA Strike Force under Adm Doorman) is considered "first successful: probably the one in the Makassar Strait in Jan 42.
3. USS Houston for one, some similar name was aslo applied to that destroyer sunk in dry dock in java which was then captured by the Japanese and repaired.
4. Saburo Sakai
5. I assume you are refferring to the "long lance" 24" torpedoes (in two versions) which were not particularly secret. We were aware that they had a large "oxygen" torpedo, and had reasonably good estimates on the speed and range of the first version which was mounted most of the heavy cruisers and the first two classes of there modern destroyers (up to Fubuki class IIRC). the additional range and speed of the second version was somewhatof a surprise. More of a surprise was the fast reloading capability on most of the modern destoyers. All this at a price of course. In addition to the usual target hazard of the large torpedo warheads on deck they had the fast reloads there, and the oxygen producing and storing eqipment (the pure oxygen pare of the propellant had to be topped off regulaly. This made for a very large and easily ignight target of the Japaneses DDs.
7 Operation Shoestring
9 If you count the Langly as a CV (I don't, it was an AV at that time) it was first, sucnk while carrying P40s to Java. If you count the battle in the Bay of Bengal in April 42 as being in the "Pacific War" then HMS Hermes. If thoses do not count then the IJN Shoho, sunk at the battle of the Coral Sea in June.
10. Arliegh Burke
11. IJN Shinano, grossing around 60,000 metric tons. Tropedoe by a US sub, USS Archerfish IIRC, while the CV was on its trials (work up) with partial crew and incomplete water tight doors, features, and damage contril equipment. After some hours sunk from progressive flooding.

 

[Franklyn]

6. Medal of Honor winner David McCampbell (34 kills)

8. Wasn't it Sakai? (see question 4 -- he's the only one-eyed japanese ace i can think of).

12. the I-58.

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

4,7,and 10 are incorrect, Lefty, all of Franklyn's answers are correct.

The surface action was indeed a destroyer attack by Hart's Asiatiac squadron.

The Carrier lost I was going for was Shoho, because this is a Pacific war quiz, but technically Hermes is correct, but that is more a "CBI" question.

The Long lance was indeed the secreat weapon, and unlike most such designations, it actually was devastatingly effective and costly to the allies.

Hint for #4: It was a navy pilot, and a friend of Sakai, and he was killed during the war.

No Hint for #7

For #10, it was a submarine skipper and medal of honor winner who said it.

 

[Franklyn]

Originally posted by Alcibiaties of Athenae
all of Franklyn's answers are correct.

woohoo! i'll take war in the pacific for $200, please, alex ...

i think the answer to no. 7 is operation watchtower.

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

Yep, Watchtower is correct, only two questions remain.

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

2. The first USN surface action against the japanese theat I would call a sucees would be the action off Balikipapan in the makassar Strait Jan 23/24 1942 where four of the USN "Four Piper" (end of ww1 vintage) destroyers snuck past a heavy IJN screen and raped a group of transports.

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

Hmm, still two questions remain.

The ace was knicknamed "The Devil"

The Navy officer commanded USS Harder.

Can anyone come up with them?

 

[kobayashi]

Since nobody wants to answer...

Hiroyoshi Nishizawa 87 kills - the devil died undefeated but was killed while onboard a transport plane as a passenger. He wasn't even an officer.

http://usfighter.tripod.com/hiroyoshi_nishizawa2.htm

Shigeo Fukumoto 72 kills

Soichi Sogita 70 kills

Tetsuzo Iwamoto 66 kills

Saburo Sakai 62 kills

As the Japanese did not have a formal system of recording or confirming kills, these is much dispute over the number of kills but these are generally the accepted top five guys. Some times Iwamoto is ranked first.

 

[Case]

Originally posted by Alcibiaties of Athenae
10. Who said "Expended 4 torpedoes and one Jap Destroyer" as a battle report?

According to http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/submar/ss257.txt it was Commander S. D Dealey

 

[Alcibiaties of Athenae]

Excellent guys, both are correct.

Now I can proceed with quiz #2.