Most successful torpedo attack ever?

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Carl Schwamberger
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#31

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 14 Mar 2011, 18:51

You really have to wonder what it was about the Mogami & crew :?

Carl Schwamberger
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#32

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 14 Mar 2011, 18:58

Possiblly the most important stratigically or destructive might be the attack of a USN S boat that sank a Japanese transport carrying oil extraction & refinery engineers & technicians to the Netherlands East Indies in the spring of 1942. That set back the recovery of oil production in the NEI by several months, complcating & restricting fuel supplies to the Japanese navy & cargo fleet.


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AVV
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#33

Post by AVV » 14 Mar 2011, 19:38

Carl Schwamberger wrote:That set back the recovery of oil production in the NEI by several months, complcating & restricting fuel supplies to the Japanese navy & cargo fleet.
IMHO, sinking of Unryu loaded with Ohkas by USS Redfish was no less important for the Allies.

Best regards, Aleks

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Polar bear
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#34

Post by Polar bear » 14 Mar 2011, 20:11

hi, Carl,
Carl Schwamberger wrote:Possiblly the most important stratigically or destructive might be the attack of a USN S boat that sank a Japanese transport carrying oil extraction & refinery engineers & technicians to the Netherlands East Indies in the spring of 1942. That set back the recovery of oil production in the NEI by several months, complcating & restricting fuel supplies to the Japanese navy & cargo fleet.
was that S-39 sinking the fleet tanker "Erimo" on March, 4 or S-44 sinking the "Shoei Maru" on May, 12, 1942 ?

greetings, the pb
Peace hath her victories no less renowned than War
(John Milton, the poet, in a letter to the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652)

Dave Bender
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Pearl Harbor

#35

Post by Dave Bender » 15 Mar 2011, 00:23

Dozens of Type 91 aerial torpedoes hit the USN batleships. U.S.S. West Virginia alone got hit with 5.

ChristopherPerrien
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#36

Post by ChristopherPerrien » 15 Mar 2011, 09:38

Takao wrote:If the USS Yorktown was the "greatest", then your viewpoint is rather limited...

HMS Ark Royal, IJN Taiho, and IJN Shokaku, could all be considered "greater" than the USS Yorktown.

Then you have the "lucky" Japanese destroyer Shigure, who fought in most of the major naval battles during World War II and was the only Japanese ship to survive the Battle of Vella Gulf, and the only Japanese survivor of Nishimura's force at Surigao Strait. Her luck would finally run out when she encountered the USS Blackfin during late-January, 1945.

As you can see "Greatest" is a rather subjective term.
No, you just have to know what a particular ship's combat record was.

Subjective my butt. Try objective

All your mentions pale in comparison.

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mescal
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#37

Post by mescal » 15 Mar 2011, 16:27

ChristopherPerrien wrote:
No, you just have to know what a particular ship's combat record was.

Subjective my butt. Try objective
Classy ... :roll:

And you overlook some problems :

1) individual combat record are not necessarily 'objective'.
2) two different combat records may not necessarily be compared

And regarding the narrowest combat record (let's say USN Battle Stars), Yorktown is not at the top of the row.
Olivier

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AVV
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#38

Post by AVV » 15 Mar 2011, 17:05

Hello!
mescal wrote:And regarding the narrowest combat record (let's say USN Battle Stars), Yorktown is not at the top of the row.
In such a case, the leader (on the Japanese side) quite well may be Hashimoto's I-58 with sunk Indianapolis (10 Battle Stars).

Best regards, Aleks

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Takao
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#39

Post by Takao » 15 Mar 2011, 17:48

Perhaps, Christopher has confused CV-5 with CV-10...

Objectively, the USS Yorktown flew some nuisance raids against Japanese outposts, and fought at Coral Sea, before being sunk at Midway. Not really that much of a combat record.

Objectively, the HMS Ark Royal, IJN Shokaku, and IJN Shigure all had longer combat records. So, yes ChristopherPerrien, your answer is subjective.


@AAV,

Don't forget the Shinano was also carrying Ohkas. IIRC, 50 of them when she was sunk.

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LWD
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#40

Post by LWD » 15 Mar 2011, 18:38

ChristopherPerrien wrote: ... the Shinao was merely an aircraft supply ship, was not even fitted out, never fought a battle, ....
Just realized this was wrong also. If it was correct how would she have been sunk?

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Takao
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#41

Post by Takao » 15 Mar 2011, 19:02

Probably it was meant to be "a major engagement", not "a battle". But, again, it is subjective, because to the sailors on Shinano and Archerfish, it was a "major engagement". From http://www.ussarcherfish.com/captjoe/captjoe.htm
Fifty-six years had not diminished his memory and strong emotion about that very significant event.

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AVV
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#42

Post by AVV » 15 Mar 2011, 19:45

Takao wrote:Don't forget the Shinano was also carrying Ohkas. IIRC, 50 of them when she was sunk.
Yes, and both her and Unryu were carrying Shinyo suicide boats.

Best regards, Aleks

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Tim Smith
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#43

Post by Tim Smith » 15 Mar 2011, 19:48

Carl Schwamberger wrote:Possiblly the most important stratigically or destructive might be the attack of a USN S boat that sank a Japanese transport carrying oil extraction & refinery engineers & technicians to the Netherlands East Indies in the spring of 1942. That set back the recovery of oil production in the NEI by several months, complcating & restricting fuel supplies to the Japanese navy & cargo fleet.
Wow - what sub and what ship was that? Brilliant job by an ancient S-boat! Oil was Japan's Achilles Heel.

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Ironmachine
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#44

Post by Ironmachine » 15 Mar 2011, 22:25

Tim Smith wrote:Wow - what sub and what ship was that? Brilliant job by an ancient S-boat! Oil was Japan's Achilles Heel.
That was the U.S. submarine Grenadier, which sank the Taiyo Maru on 8 May 1942
.

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Polar bear
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Re: Most successful torpedo attack ever?

#45

Post by Polar bear » 16 Mar 2011, 09:05

hi,
Polar bear wrote:
Carl Schwamberger wrote:Possibly the most important stratigically or destructive might be the attack of a USN S boat that sank a Japanese transport carrying oil extraction & refinery engineers & technicians to the Netherlands East Indies in the spring of 1942. That set back the recovery of oil production in the NEI by several months, complcating & restricting fuel supplies to the Japanese navy & cargo fleet.
was that S-39 sinking the fleet tanker "Erimo" on March, 4 or S-44 sinking the "Shoei Maru" on May, 12, 1942 ?
Ironmachine wrote:
Tim Smith wrote:Wow - what sub and what ship was that? Brilliant job by an ancient S-boat! Oil was Japan's Achilles Heel.
That was the U.S. submarine Grenadier, which sank the Taiyo Maru on 8 May 1942
.
USS Grenadier was far from being "ancient", she belonged to the 6 boats comprising GAR-class and had been commissoned May 1, 1941, just one year before its great success.

greetings, the pb
Peace hath her victories no less renowned than War
(John Milton, the poet, in a letter to the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652)

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