Flag World War II in the Pacific    
    Menu to The Early Years            

    TABLE of CONTENTS
      Between the Wars
    •     The End of WWI leads to WW2
    •     Authorized Ship Construction, 1931-45
    •     Before We Were In, 1932-42
    •     Belligerent Acts before we were in.
      The Early Years     Homefront: U.S.1941 , 1941 , 1942 , Population
    •     Attacks and Threats on U.S., 1939-45
      • Relocation of Enemy Citizens   140KB     Loyalty Statistics     News     Timetable     Pictures     Germans     Murals
      • Atrocity
      • Fugos, the Balloon Bombs of WW2  [off site]
    •     Pearl Harbor :   Countdown   |   Attack   |   First Days
      • Pearl Harbor Attack Fleet, - Japanese activity till destruction.
      • Pearl Harbor Submarine Attack Force - Over thirty Japanese subs were there.
      • U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor
      • U.S. Fleet NOT at Pearl Harbor
      • Aircraft at Pearl Harbor
    •     Pacific War, 1942 :     Jan , Feb , March , April , May , June , July , Aug , Sept , Oct , Nov , Dec. Jan'43
      • Raids in the Early Months , Jan-April. Carriers show their presence.
      • Battles of Java Sea , Jan-Feb. Allied Asian fleet destroyed.
      • Coral Sea , May 7-8 .   Japanese stopped.
      • Midway June 4-6 .   Decisive victory.   And, narrative.
          A good website with the colorful story of the Battle of Midway
      • Battle of Savo Island , Aug 9. U.S. loses screening force in 32 minutes.
        • Savo Update - Corrections to naval history.
        • Guadalcanal - The first days.
      • Battle of Eastern Solomon Sea , Aug 24. Air battle. US outnumbered 2:1; Jap fleet withdraws. [more off site]
      • Submarine Attacks , Aug-Sept
      • Battle of Cape Esperance , Oct 11. US wins cruiser fight, sort'a.
      • Battle of Santa Cruz , Oct 25. Both air arms weakened.
      • Naval Battles of Guadalcanal , Nov 12-15. Turning point.
      • Battle of Tassafaronga , Nov 30. US cruisers outfought.
      • Grand Strategy
      • Animation - [off site].
    • 1943. Both Navies rebuild while marines and soldiers fight in the jungles. Marines take the Gilbert Islands.
    • 1944. Central Pacific retaken, MacArthur moves north. Japanese carrier. Marines take the Marshalls. Then the Marianas with the enemy air fleet decimated in the Philippine Sea "Turkey Shoot" and the Japanese battle fleet is destroyed at Leyte Gulf in the return to the Philippines. B-29 bombing starts from the Marianas.                           , Oct - Nov , Dec'44
  • 1945. Iwo Jima supports bombing of Japanese industry. Okinawa taken as a base for the invasion of Japan in the Fall. Kamikazes show resistance as the home islands are approached. The remaining Japanese fleet is destroyed in the shipyards.
        Jan , Feb , March , April , May , June , July , Aug , Sept , Oct - Dec , 1946
  • The Final Months
    • Suicide Attacks.
    • Iwo Jima
    • Okinawa
    • Surrender, 1945, the final days.         Hiroshima         War End
    • Speeches
    • Operation Downfall : Olympic, Coronet - planned invasion of Japan.     short , long
    • Magic Carpet, GI Bill
    People
    • Vice Adm Frank Jack Fletcher - Task Force Commander
    • Fletcher's Battles       Midway artical
    • Fletcher Aftermath
    • "The Days of Fletcher" -- Andrés Lazarús del Castillo releases here the introduction to his new book.
      LOS DÍAS DE FLETCHER --   bookstores
    • Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher -- the first Adm Fletcher
    • Admiral Thomas C. Hart
    • Admiral J. O. Richardson
    • Bauer, USN
    • Charles Lindberg, civilian technician
    • Corpsmen with Marines
    • Gerald Ford
      Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John Kennedy were commissioned Navy officers before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford soon joined and received Navy commissions in 1942. George Bush was commissioned in June 1943 during naval flight training. James Carter graduated from Naval Academy in 1946.   Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower were Army officers. Ronald Reagan was Army Air Force captain. William Clinton was draft dodger. George W. Bush was fighter pilot. What will our next president be?
    Ships:
    • Ship Types 1942 and 1945 - Brief description of ship types early and late in the war.
              Types Named - how ship types were named. And IJN.
      Lists. Brief Descriptions.   Pictures, Links. Notes
      Fleet Carriers Carrier History Fleet CarriersCV/CVL
      Escort Carriers Escort Carriers Escort CarriersCVE
      Battleships Battleships Battleships BB
      Cruisers Cruisers Cruisers CA,CL
      Destroyers Destroyers, etc.DD/DE
      Submarines 1941  
      Auxiliary Ship types notesSpecial Ships
    • Carrier Movements - Pacific, 1942
    • British Lend-Lease Escort Carriers
    • Japanese Carriers and Seaplane Carriers - with Chronology.     Naval Aircraft
    • Japanese Battle Fleet.     Destroyer Losses.     I-400
    • British Pacific Fleet - TF 57 . Ships
    • Lend Lease - 2nd draft.   DDs for Bases
    •     Ship Names         USSR Ship Names
    • U.S. Warship Count, 1945.
    • Ship Losses by year.     Carriers Sunk

    Namesake Ships
    •     USS Parle, DE-708 - more detail on my ship: the last WW2 DE.

    Naval Air
    • Naval Aircraft Types, 1942       Aircraft at Pearl Harbor       Brewster F2A Buffalo
    • Naval Aircraft Lists, 1942         Naval Air History                 Early Flying Machines
    • US Army Air Corps                    Pearl Harbor Defense             Pearl Harbor Pilots

    Reference Section:
    • Maps. -- overview
    • Dud Torpedoes
    • First Usage
    • Jet Aircraft Development - over 2,000 jets before war ended.
    • Photos -- all generations

    Essays
    • Ideas that did - and didn't - work
    • Be Prepared.  One must fight with what is on hand.
    • Stories of some who were there.
    • Stories from Readers.
    • Basic English : international language
    • Rabaul Historical Society - Requests info on Jap subs.
    • Bits and Pieces
    • FDR Conspiracy
    • Population Mix of the USA
    • FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions ← Find your ship ; your father ; citation.
    • Q and A
    • About this website and citation.
    • Miscellaneous, Subsidiary Pages - that you might have missed.
      • I was almost 15 years old when the Japanese soldiers walked into Malang.
        From now on I was a slave for the Japanese Army."
      • "On the morning of December 7, 1941, I was eleven years old. These are
        my memories of the bombing and the days that followed." - Yvonne's story.
      • "As we approached our landing site, White Beach, our LST grounded on a sandbar
        some 20 yards from shore." -- Larry's story, Tami Air Field, Hollandia, DNG, 1944.
    World War T (Terrorism / Today )    
  • Fleet News
  • US Fleet Ships with pictures,
  • How the Iraq War was Fought
  • Editorials & References

    • WWW WW2PACIFIC.com      
    About this page: WW2 - Menu to World War II in the Pacific, the early years.   These are some areas in which I find an interest and that seem little known or of possible help in understanding the period.
    Last updated on December 7, 2007   -- Population, FDR conspiracy, Midway2, G.Ford. I-400.
    Contact us at
    URL: http://www.ww2pacific.com/ww2.html