Interesting Military Facts & Stories You Discovered

Harlock

I should have expected that really
There is the legend of Sadaaki Akamatsu

Sadaaki flew for the IJN in WWII but doesn't appear to have deployed on carriers spending his time either in China or the mainland. The stereo type of the Japanese military at the time is either cruel sadists or stoic obedient men of honour, Sadaaki on the other hand was a hard drinking womanising rogue who had only a casual relationship with discipline.

He didn't stay in the barracks with the other pilots prefering to spend his evenings in th elocal brothel where he had an alarm wired up. One famous story has him driving maniacally from his brothel during an alert, saki bottle in hand, leaping straight into his fighter in a kimono. While he was known for exageration it is a fact that he scored 27 kills and was a man of extraordinary bravery. He was promoted several times and immediately busted back down to Junior Lieutenant for his wacky ways.

While he flew a few aircraft he became best known for flying the Raiden, a rather stubby interceptor build for bomber hunting. It had excellent acceleration and rate of climb plus heavy armament, but was very sluggish and getting into a dogfight was considered suicide. It was best used as a pure bomber interceptor.
Sadaaki however didn't get the memo and managed to bring down ten P-51s in the Raiden, plus five B-29s.

While many srories about him are a bit tall, one true story was when he was jumped flying a solo mission by 75 Mustangs. Instead of running he turned toward and charged the entire group head on somehow surviving and escaping into the sky behind the formation, taking at least one fighter with him.
Unfortunately all that debauchery did catch up with him and he died in 1980 a penniless alcoholic. Never the less he did survive incredible odds during the war and made quite the name for himself, albeit one muddled in fact and fiction.
 

PeaceMaker 03

Well-known member
When the Pentagon, acts like bratty kids fighting over a toy.

2003 173rd Airborne does the first masstac parachute assault in decades into Northern Iraq,(with some other branches in support), to secure the field landing strip. Then Cargo aircraft start air landing, to include a BN size armor/mech unit.

Pathfinder, Recon, Army and USAF SOF forces are already on the ground so Army says no combat parachute jump badge.

Meanwhile, the USAF element has already pinned combat awards for the jump right on the DZ.

Army tells USAF not a combat jump. USAF responds with a giant raspberry. “this is a combat jump”.

Months of wrangling back and forth, Army cuts orders for a combat jump because the USAF has already issued them and refused to recall the orders.

Yes, we had friendly and allied forces on the ground. Most of people that jumped in did not know about the friendlies on the ground, other than linking up with partisans and some SF.

So much so a new private who almost had his 6th jump be into the combat zone refused to jump at the door.
 

PsihoKekec

Swashbuckling Accountant
The version I heard is that the leadership of 173d already knew that the airfield has been secured before they started gearing up the troops and could simply told them not to put on the parachutes and have the planes land instead. But combat drops look good on resume...
 

PeaceMaker 03

Well-known member
The version I heard is that the leadership of 173d already knew that the airfield has been secured before they started gearing up the troops and could simply told them not to put on the parachutes and have the planes land instead. But combat drops look good on resume...


Well that would explain why most of my platoon was kicked off the jump. Including three SQL, 5 TL, most of the privates and both gun teams.

Only jumpers from my platoon: LT, PSG, 1-SQL, 3- TL, and a few Joeys.

The person who took my slot was the Mess SGT, according to the manifest.

All of the bumped jumpers from my platoon, were filled by dirt and from Area Support Command, (ASC),basically post support organization.

And they all jumped and then hopped on the first airland back to Europe. I am sure most did not even have jump orders.

The BDE Commander was shaking hands of paratroopers walking Up the ramp of the aircraft.
He recognized one of the ASC guys and pulled him off the jump. So not sure what drug deals happened but the commander of the airborne operation did not know it was in play.


It worked out I was in charge of Airland #2, and made me really popular because I had all the vics on my aircraft. I added a duffle of coffee and Copenhagen, everything the Aveano PX had in stock.

Something to make up for being bumped off the jump. Besides coffee and a wisperlight international came in handy when it hit freezing every Night while living in a hole in the ground.

Suns up means coffee was going...... Does wonders for moral after a night of sleet and mixed rain pulling perimeter security while living in a whole in the ground for weeks.
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
Here's a fact that was originally considered conspiracy bullshit but got proven right by the British Admiralty back earlier last decade: the Lusitania was carrying war cargo, illegal by the rules of war at the time, and the various admirals of the time did so just to get the US involved. It showed up on SB a while back but my google-fu is shit.

Also, the life of Admiral 'Semper Iratus' King:


Also, the man who -once he discovered the entire Mk14 situation- brought BeuOrd to task.
 

PsihoKekec

Swashbuckling Accountant
He was also partially responsible for the Second Happy Time, because he absolutely refused to consider British advice on submarine countermeasures, preferring to learn everything the hard way.
 

Knowledgeispower

Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
He was also partially responsible for the Second Happy Time, because he absolutely refused to consider British advice on submarine countermeasures, preferring to learn everything the hard way.
About that. King wasn't running the Atlantic Fleet by that point someone else was and he kinda had most of his focus on the Pacific at the time
 

bintananth

behind a desk
Here's a fact that was originally considered conspiracy bullshit but got proven right by the British Admiralty back earlier last decade: the Lusitania was carrying war cargo, illegal by the rules of war at the time, and the various admirals of the time did so just to get the US involved. It showed up on SB a while back but my google-fu is shit.
Slowing to 15kts without zig-zagging or escorts while carring 173 tons of ammo when you've been told there's an enemy sub in the area is just asking for it.

Blowing your fog horn to let everyone nearby know where you are was a giant "please kill me" sign with bright blinking arrows pointing right at you just in case you somehow weren't spotted.
 

ATP

Well-known member
Slowing to 15kts without zig-zagging or escorts while carring 173 tons of ammo when you've been told there's an enemy sub in the area is just asking for it.

Blowing your fog horn to let everyone nearby know where you are was a giant "please kill me" sign with bright blinking arrows pointing right at you just in case you somehow weren't spotted.

True.And thanks to Lusitania propaganda many people do not belived when during WW2 germans really started genociding people.I read,that in 1939 not only ukrainian and belarusian,but even some jews in Poland welcomed germans.Becouse they belived,that they are germans from WW1.
Well,those who survived welcomed soviets in 1944.And again were mistaken.
 

Bacle

When the effort is no longer profitable...
Founder
Slowing to 15kts without zig-zagging or escorts while carring 173 tons of ammo when you've been told there's an enemy sub in the area is just asking for it.

Blowing your fog horn to let everyone nearby know where you are was a giant "please kill me" sign with bright blinking arrows pointing right at you just in case you somehow weren't spotted.
True.And thanks to Lusitania propaganda many people do not belived when during WW2 germans really started genociding people.I read,that in 1939 not only ukrainian and belarusian,but even some jews in Poland welcomed germans.Becouse they belived,that they are germans from WW1.
Well,those who survived welcomed soviets in 1944.And again were mistaken.
...can we get a source about the Lusitania slowing and blasting it's fog horn.

I buy it carrying war material covertly, partly as a Brit ploy to get us into the war.

But slowing when you know a sub is around, when you are without escorts, and blasting the fog horn is a whole other level of conspiratorial actions.
 

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