From: Jack (milveh@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Tue Nov 16 2004 - 20:47:44 PST
Yep Patrick, they did have some big guns, and like you
said, its commonly thought they could only fire
seaward. Not true. I quote, "These 15" guns had all
round traverse and could be fired landward. But
equipped only with ammunitions to counter armoured
ships, they were not effective against land troops and
field artillery."
So the British had brilliantly designed the 15 inch
guns to swing around 360 degrees, but failed to order
ammo for a possible land assault! That was just the
begining of the screw ups that eventually caused the
fall of Singapore.
Seems to me there was a cruiser that was heavily
damaged by aircraft that they beached in order to use
the ships guns. Can't find that in my reference
material at the moment. Would have been a good idea,
one of the very few good ideas Waverly had... if my
memory serves me correctly.
"The Imperial Army was convinced of its absolute
supremacy in the war of the Pacific. After the strike
at Pearl Harbor, the flag of the Rising Sun had
obtained easy captures of Singapore, Hong Kong, the
Philippines and Java and Sumatra. The Western fleets
had been crippled, and the Japanese military term
"hakko ichiu", to bring all the corners of the world
under common Japanese control, seemed possible."
http://www.s1942.org.sg/dir_defence2.htm
Another battle in the area was the Java Sea Battle, if
you have an interest in the fall of Singapore, you
should read what happened in the Java naval battle.
The Japanese outgunned and outmanuevered Australian,
Dutch and American warships. It was a rout and it
caused the Japanese to feel invulnerable and almost
cocky-reckless toward future battles with the allies.
In the coming months this was to prove a fatal
mistake.
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