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Old 22nd July 2014, 14:43
waldo_pepper waldo_pepper is offline
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Re: Japanese aerial exterminating action?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bearoutwest View Post
We are privileged in our viewpoint because we are able to observe our history without needing to be involved. Most of us can ask these questions without needing to make such moral decision ourselves. While not wishing to pass judgement in any way, I’d like to point out several incidences on the Allied side of the ledger – for discussion.
  • Battle of the Bismarck Sea, when Allied airpower destroyed a Japanese reinforcement convoy bound for New Guinea. All the transport vessels and half the escorting destroyers were sunk. The New Guinea land campaign was considered to be on such a knife edge that the prospect of a thousand unequipped Japanese survivors was considered enough of a risk that the Allied fighter bombers (B-25s, A-20s, Beaufighters, etc) were tasked with hunting down and strafing the lifeboats and life rafts.
  • In the memoirs of a USAAF P-47 pilot (I believe it was Herschel Green, though it was a library book that I read it in and cannot confirm for sure…so apologies to Herschel Green if I’m mistaken), there was an instance when he encountered a Luftwaffe ace during a escort mission. The dogfight lasted a relatively long time before Green scored a disabling hit on the Fw190{?}. Green was mentally congratulating the German pilot for his skill, when it occurred to him that this was a very skilled expert, and if he survived over German airspace, would likely return to battle and bring down many more US aircraft. Green made a snap judgement call, fired another burst, and walked his fire across the Fw190’s cockpit as the pilot was half out of the plane.
  • Numerous instances where long-range Allied fighters on sweeps (P-51s, Mosquitos, etc) found themselves over Luftwaffe training airfields and racked up high scores on primary trainers (biplanes, not operational trainers like the Dewoitine 520 or early Bf109s and Fw190s).
I don’t wish to condemn nor condone these actions, just to acknowledge that they did happen. Men in difficult situations, being asked to make instant moral decisions in the height of adrenalin-filled battle chose one course of action.
In my opinion, men on both Allied and Axis sides will make these decisions based on their level of awareness (orders, propaganda, training, personal circumstance). Perhaps the type of training amongst some organisations (e.g. the Waffen-SS, the Japanese Bushido-code of WW2, etc) made it easier to cross that moral line?
One of the best replies I have seen on topics like this.
Thank you.
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