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The US Government requests that Eire breaks off diplomatic relations with the Axis powers. German diplomats in Ireland are one of the few sources of intelligence left to the Germans
Raymond Spruance is promoted to full Admiral after the success of the American campaign in the Marshall Islands.
The Quiet Admiral, A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Thomas B. Buell. This is widely considered to be the best biography of Spruance, currently available in this reissued edition. Buell nicely contrasts Spruance with Halsey, his co-commander of the combined third and fifth fleets from 1944, as well as looking at his handling of Midway, the battle that made his name.
February 21, 1945: USS Saratoga, Candidate for Toughest Ship of World War II
On February 21, 1945, while supporting the US invasion of Iwo Jima in the Pacific, the US aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) was struck by 3 Japanese suicide planes known as Kamikaze. Not only did Saratoga survive those devastating hits, she was also hit by 5 aerial bombs, and suffered extensive damage, 123 men dead and 192 wounded. Thirty-six of her 70 aircraft were destroyed, and the battle was not yet over!
Digging Deeper
Only 2 hours later, the Japanese returned for another attack on the stricken ship, and Saratoga was hit again, and again refused to go down. Not only did the big ship not sink, the highly trained and courageous damage control parties put out the fires and the carrier was able to recover 6 of her planes that had been flying during the attack. Saratoga was sent back to Bremerton, Washington, for repairs, and ended the war as a training carrier.
As you can tell by the designation “CV-3,” the Saratoga was the third US aircraft carrier (after the USS Langley CV-1 and USS Lexington CV-2). Laid down in 1920 as a battle cruiser, the Saratoga was converted to an aircraft carrier while still under construction, a fortunate change mandated by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 that sought to reduce and control the number of large warships (specifically battleships and battle cruisers, but ignoring the new type of ship, aircraft carriers). Stretching 888 feet long and with a beam of 106 feet, the Sister Sara displaced 43,746 tons fully loaded. She was also heavily armed, boasting 8 X 8 inch guns (in 4 twin mounts) and 12 X 5 inch guns (mainly as anti-aircraft guns) as well as numerous smaller guns, an armament worthy of a heavy cruiser. The Saratoga carried between 70 and 90 aircraft, a healthy complement for those days, and was manned by a crew of 2791. (The 8 inch guns were removed after a refit in 1942.) The Saratoga and her sister ship, the Lexington, were considerably larger than the Langley that preceded them and the USS Ranger that followed, and was even 64 feet longer and with nearly double the displacement of the 3 Yorktown Class carriers that followed the Ranger.
Although the survival of the Saratoga despite terrible damage during the Iwo Jima action would be enough to get this tough ship mentioned among the most resilient of ships, she had also been torpedoed in January of 1942, and again months later, and obviously survived both of those attacks (in August 1942 in the Guadalcanal campaign). Saratoga survived a minor collision with the oiler, USS Atascosa in 1943, and was rammed by an escorting destroyer in October of 1944. In fact, the Saratoga was 1 of only 3 US Aircraft carriers that were in service from the first day of World War II to the last. Even then, this mighty vessel was not done!
Used as a training ship in 1945 after repair, the Saratoga served as a troop transport bringing fighting men back to the US after the war in the Pacific ended. Deemed obsolete after the war, the Sara Maru was designated for the ignoble duty as a target ship for the new nuclear bomb technology. Incredibly, she survived her first nuclear bombing in 1946 (Operation Crossroad) when an airburst atom bomb (test “Able”) of 23 kilotons failed to sink the Saratoga and some of the other ships in the test.
Participating in a second nuclear attack test, Saratoga was more heavily damaged by the underwater detonation of the atom bomb, a test that showed such use of a nuke was more effective against ships than an airburst (as even battleships were sunk in this second test, known as “Baker”). Even then, it took 7 ½ hours for the mighty carrier to sink, and without the benefit of damage control parties.
USS Saratoga (CV-3), the fifth US Navy ship to bear that name, had proven to be a tough customer indeed, although much of that credit needs to be shared with her effective and heroic damage control parties and crew. Sister Sara rightfully belongs in the pantheon of great ships, and was a tough cookie indeed. Question for students (and subscribers): What other ships do you consider among the toughest, most resilient of World War II? If you have a favorite tough ship or an interesting story of the toughness or survival of a World War II warship, please share it with your fellow readers in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
The featured image in this article, a photograph of Saratoga after having been hit by a kamikaze, 21 February 1945, is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.
About Author
Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
This Day in WWII History: Feb 21, 1944: Tojo makes himself "military czar"
On this day, Hideki Tojo, prime minister of Japan, grabs even more power as he takes over as army chief of staff, a position that gives him direct control of the Japanese military.
After graduating from the Imperial Military Academy and the Military Staff College, Tojo was sent to Berlin as Japan's military attache after World War I. Having earned a reputation for sternness and discipline, Tojo was given command of the 1st Infantry Regiment upon returning to Japan.
In 1937, he was made chief of staff of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria, China. When he returned again to his homeland, Tojo assumed the office of vice-minister of war and quickly took the lead in the military's increasing control of Japanese foreign policy, advocating the signing of the 1940 Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy that made Japan an "Axis" power.
In July 1940, he was made minister of war and soon clashed with the prime minister, Prince Fumimaro Konoye, who had been fighting for reform of his government, namely, demilitarization of its politics.
In October, Konoye resigned because of increasing tension with Tojo, who succeeded him as prime minister. Not only did Tojo keep his offices of army minister and war minister when he became prime minister, he also assumed the offices of minister of commerce and industry.
Tojo, now a virtual dictator, quickly promised a "New Order in Asia," and toward this end supported the bombing of Pearl Harbor despite the misgivings of several of his generals. Tojo's aggressive policies paid big dividends early on, with major territorial gains in Indochina and the South Pacific.
But despite Tojo's increasing control over his own country--tightening wartime industrial production and assuming yet another title, chief of staff of the army, on February 21, 1944--he could not control the determination of the United States, which began beating back the Japanese in the South Pacific.
When Saipan fell to the U.S. Marines and Army on June 22, 1944, Tojo's government collapsed.
Upon Japan's surrender, Tojo tried to commit suicide by shooting himself with an American .38 pistol but he was saved by an American physician who gave him a blood transfusion.
He was convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal and was hanged on December 22, 1948.
Adirondack Boys
The first owners who built the lodge and outbuildings that now comprise Penwood, William Bedell Sylvester and Helen Seymour Sylvester, built the camp over a period of years starting in 1901, but some documentation shows that work may have begun as early as 1897.
Known as Burnt Point in 1893 on surveyor maps, the Sylvesters renamed the property Seymour Point after Mrs. Sylvester’s maiden name. Mrs. Sylvester came from a politically prominent and wealthy family. Mrs. Sylvester’s relative, Horatio Seymour, had been Governor of the State of New York from and was the candidate for President of the United States against Ulysses S. Grant.
1. The Camp
2. The Wood Shed
3. The Boathouse
4. The Lean-to
5. The Garage
6. The Pump House
7. Workers barracks for the crew and storage of building supplies.
Treated hemlock bark shingles were used as the exterior building material on some of the buildings, including the main lodge. Some of the camp’s original furniture was manufactured in the workers’ barracks, including the large dining room table with multiple leaves seating 10 at its greatest size, dining room chairs, a large credenza for the dining room, end and side tables, footstools, umbrella stand, and custom bookshelves in the living room. In addition, each bedroom has a custom built chest of drawers, writing desk, cabinet and luggage rack. The largest bedroom had two luggage racks. All of the furniture was designed in the arts and crafts style and had signature details matching the rustic aura of the camp. Canvas wall covering separates the distinctive beam construction of the downstairs. The canvas was originally a light brown color but was repainted white when Syracuse businessman Albert and Dorothea Rosenthal Gordon acquired the property in 1953.
According to local stories, the three story boathouse was used as quarters for the Sylvester family servants and guests, and there was a small gasoline engine driven sawmill on the ground floor. Mr. Sylvester proudly sported a large launch, which he generously used to pick up neighbors and transport them to church and other places on the lake. He also planted spruce trees that fill the property.
In 1939, according to Bobbette Rosenau, whose family rented Seymour Point from the Estate of James Horatio Seymour, after the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester, and whose family had a camp on Fourth Lake, The Boulders, now owned by Lorraine Rosenau Alexander and Ben Alexander, the boathouse burned down. A fire truck came to put out the fire and broke the dock when it drove out on to it to douse the flames. The camp and other buildings were saved, but the magnificent boathouse was destroyed. It was never rebuilt in the grand style in which it was originally constructed, with a large wrap around porch on the upper level, several slips for boats, and quarters upstairs for guests and servants.
21 February 1944 - History
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