PHG Blog

Although Subic is smaller than Manila Bay, this has been an important waterway for the Philippine Islands for hundreds of years. Unsurprisingly, there are many shipwrecks here, stretching back to the Spanish Colonial period. Four of these caught my attention, and I was able to locate them and add them to the Pacific History Guide Google Maps list. The history of these ships match not just the history of the Second World War in the Philippines but Pacific History more generall

The Tsushima Maru 対馬丸 was a cargo ship built for Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) by Russel and Co., Scotland in 1914. The night of the 22nd August 1944, Tsushima Maru was sighted and fired on by USS Bowfin, a Gato-class submarine, near Akusekijima around 10 PM. The ship sank quickly; none of the escorts came to the aid of the survivors in the water. Only 59 children survived the ordeal, they were quickly hidden away and the matter was kept under wraps throughout the rest of war.

Last year I presented an analysis of the Battle of Leyte Gulf for WW2TV, speficially from the perspective of Admiral Kurita Takeo. This is my favorite story of the Second World War, and Kurita is my favorite Japanese admiral to talk about.

Ready for combat by 1905 but too late to take part in the conflict with Russia, the ships were used as training vessels, and were later joined by no. 6 and 7, as Kawasaki Shipyard in Kobe bought plans directly from Holland and built them under the supervision of two of his assistants.

Perhaps best known for his 'sleeping giant' comment issued immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he has been somewhat sanitized in recent scholarship as an anti-war figure (he was not). Yamamoto was fated to preside over a series of quick victories in the early days of the Pacific War, only to be caught up in his own complicated plans at Midway.

The Meiji Emperor, in whose name the Meiji Restoration took place and Boshin War was fought, was on hand to witness six Japanese ships and one french vessel sail together on 26 March 1868. This was the first of 18 fleet reviews, the last of which was in 1940 in Yokohama.

Enomoto Takeaki 榎本 武揚 is one of the founding fathers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and a pivotal figure in the history of Japan. Enomoto was born in Edo, near what is now Taito-ku, Tokyo, in 1836.

Tropes and banners and slogans aside: could we do it again? Do we have the infrastructure, the know-how, frankly, the patriotism to rebuild a shattered fleet and take it to the enemy? Could we bring a broken DDG or LCS up from the mud and have it fighting in six months?

This week we mark the anniversary of the very first seaborne airstrikes in history, which took place near Tsingtao, China, during the...

You often hear the word 'roads' in reference to coastal cities, seaports, or bodies of water. Some of the more famous examples include...

On this day July 12 1918, the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi 河内 exploded and sank in Tokuyama Bay with the loss of more than...

Greetings all, I'm back with another blog post on historic Japan, another step in my mission to connect you with history, where you are....

Greetings all! Last week I took part in a discussion regarding ethical decision-making in my squadron's wardroom. My submission to the...

The city itself traces its roots back thousands of years, and was an important location from the earliest records of record Japanese history. Uraga, a subdivision of Yokosuka, was home to the Tokugawa fleet due to its strategic location at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. In 1720, the Shogunate established the Uraga bugyo 浦賀奉行, officials tasked with administering the port of Uraga and policing the waterways surrounding it, primarily to ensure that Japan remained closed off to forei

On this day April 7th in 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy super battleship Yamato was sunk by U.S. Navy aircraft of Task Force 58 while...

On this day April 6th 1945, the ships of Operation Ten-Go departed Tokuyama. The mission assigned to the super battleship Yamato, light...

This is a fascinating article on the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship (later hybrid carrier-battleship) Ise courtesy of...

Some ships live forever. Here is a breakwater in Kitakyushu, Japan that was partially made by the wreck of IJN Yanagi. Apparently part...

About an hour drive south from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture is Suo-Oshima Island. There are several places...

Comfort For the Fifth Naval Hospital War Veteran Comrades of the bereaved family All former military doctors and medical staff