MINWARA
The Mine Warfare Association
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| VOICES
FROM THE PAST
"We
agree that the mine warfare conducted by American planes.....produced a very
great strategical effect; it quickly reduced our war potential and hastened the
end of the war." "The
mine warfare coupled with the bombing raids prevented our utilizing our war
strength and completely nullified our plans to the extent of forcing us to
abandon them." "The
results of .... mining was so effective against the shipping that it eventually
starved the country. I think you
probably could have shortened the war by beginning (mining) earlier. "Mine
warfare, in short, was merely another phase of air warfare." "Many
ship casualties thought to be from submarine attack were actually due to
mines." "I
think the planes used in mining were more effective than an equal number used in
bombing." "In
my opinion the main reason for the war's ending unsuccessfully.... was the lack
of cooperation between the scientists and the military.
They (the scientists) got no cooperations." Taken from the consensus of opinion of all Japanese mine experts as presented by Captain Kyuzo Tamura (later Admiral) at the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Conference (1945). The Vice Chairman of the conference was Mr. Paul Nitze, later Secretary of the Navy and Defense, and the interrogator was Commander Tom Moorer, later Chief of Naval Operations and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mine effectiveness referred to was the 12,500 mines planted by B-29s in the Japanese home waters in the final five months of the war. [ Return to History Locker ] |
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