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Post by batteryboy on May 27, 2009 8:48:37 GMT 8
Was just going over my Japanese documentary reels on the fall of Bataan and here are some interesting things to ponder. Although a lot of the small arms and equipment that were captured by the Japanese were destroyed or rendered unserviceable, there were items that were captured intact. Despite the claims that most of the ammo dumps were destroyed, the Japanese did capture quite a number still intact. 155mm ammo for the M1917/18 GPF Its one hell of a pile. A 155mm GPF complete with tractor Although most of them were rendered disabled, the Japanese were able to put some of them back to good use. Here are a number of water cooled MGs. A British Bren Gun Carrier (from the cargo of the SS Don Jose) that was requisitioned by the USAFFE A 75mm (British 18pdr M1917) standard field gun for USAFFE and Phil Amy Units. A busted Brit 75mm ...and for those wondering what a 2.95 mountain gun looks like, here is a Vickers 2.95 inch also captured in Bataan And a park full of them Regards,
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Post by okla on May 27, 2009 21:29:36 GMT 8
hey battery....let us not forget that one of the three tanks that made it to shore at corregidor was an american genl stuart type that had been reconditioned by the enemy. i suppose it was one of the several that were left parked on the side of the road near the blown bridge (calumpit? ) on the retreat to bataan. another example of the "murphy's law" syndrome that seemed to plague our forces all thru the campaign, especially during the december 1941 phase of operations...i.e. . tons of rice left at cabanatuan, planes caught on the ground at clark field, blown bridges with our tanks on the wrong side of the river, submarines having literally no effect on japanese troop landings on luzon, etc. the list goes on and on. we did get one break though, with genl homma being hell bent on capturing manila and allowing USAFFE to sideslip into bataan. again, mister truman's 20-20 hindsight quote comes into play. aint second guessing fun? ?
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Post by batteryboy on May 27, 2009 21:39:07 GMT 8
Yes Okla, I even have those M3 Stuarts in actual usage with the Japanese in Bataan and against the US Forces in 1945 during the liberation of Manila
They also captured a few of the 75mm T-12 Gun Motor Carriage Half Tracks (not the M3 GMC as some have pointed out), the M2A2 half tracks and used them against US forces during the liberation. Not to mention the use of the 155mm GPFs by the Japanese as well plus their use of the Bren Gun carriers. The list goes on and on including aircraft such as a B-17D and a couple of P-40s.
more later...
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Post by victor on May 29, 2009 19:32:05 GMT 8
Capture small arms... click for bigger Mostly Enfield 1917's but notice the garands on the upper left.
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Post by rickthelibrarian on Jul 22, 2009 22:38:58 GMT 8
Here's the whole picture (pardon the lousy quality) Others identifiable are British 18-pounder guns, .50 caliber guns on AA mounts, mortars, M1917 HMGs and LOTS of M1917 rifles - probably from a Philippine Army unit. Below is an excerpt from Morton's book showing what the Japanese captured just through February, 1942. Note the 31 tanks. They were caught on the wrong side of a river when the bridge was blown on the way to Bataan. Almost 1/3 of the available tanks, captured in one fell swoop!
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Post by okla on Jul 23, 2009 7:55:47 GMT 8
hey rick....my blood runs cold every time i am reminded about that tank snafu. just think about it. one third of our tanks lost due to no action of the enemy. incredible. the 844 motor trucks captured before the april 1942 surrender of bataan surely includes many civilian models grabbed up in manila area. 844 military trucks captured seems highly unlikely to me. vehicles are too easily disabled or destroyed to be captured undamaged. the 27,417 rifles total puzzles me also. how could the japs have captured that many rifles before genl king capitulated unless these weapons were just being thrown down in panic withdrawals in the retreat from lingayen and other places in the december withdrawals to bataan. i suppose that many individual green PA troops could have surrendered with their weapons in small groups prior to new years 1942. if many of these rifles were taken in captured warehouses, we have another snafu in a long list of such mishaps. murphys law run amok. so much of this during those bleak days in late 1941 and early 1942.
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Post by rickthelibrarian on Jul 23, 2009 10:24:23 GMT 8
Keep in mind that a lot of the Filipino units fell apart at Lingayen and on the way to Bataan. Also, they did capture Manila and several military facilities. Also, that took into account the early battles on Bataan
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Post by batteryboy on Jul 29, 2009 7:11:44 GMT 8
Here is recent find: I was going over the photographs of Justin Taylan's (owner of Pacific Wrecks Website) grandfather, Carl R. Thien, who was with the 201st CIC, US Army. The photos are part of his personal shots that he took while advancing in the Pangasinan province in Jan - Feb 1945. He was able to capture the destruction of the Japanese 2nd Armoured Division and his collection shows a lot of Japanese armour and vehicles destoyed by US raids, attacks and even thru armoured confrontations. Among the series, the photos below caught my immediate attention: What was interesting in the attached photos is the presence of a destroyed early US M2 Half Track that is towing a Japanese 105mm Type 91 Howitzer. Notice how the half track was almost split into half. If you look at the photo of the three US soldiers standing beside the starboard side that is intact (with the burned dead Japanese, notice at the body is a painted over emblem possibly of the 19th Ordnance company. The 19th Ordnance Company, was attached to the Provisional Tank Battalion and the 75mm SPM (T-12s) that arrived in the Philippines. they had with them about 20+ M2 half-tracks (not M3s). The T-12s were M3 half tracks with the 75mm 1897A4 gun mounted. So there you have it. Another proof that the Japanese used captured USAFFE equipment. Cheers,
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Post by batteryboy on Jul 31, 2009 12:10:45 GMT 8
Plus found the use of other USAFFE material such as the 155mm GPF and even captured British equipment that were sent from Malaya and Singapore to the Philippines and used against US forces in 44-45.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2009 16:10:11 GMT 8
Mr. Batteryboy,
Is this M2 half track also the base for the 75mm self propelled guns?
Looking for more captured equipment from you.
Bikbok38
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