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Post by darthdract on Jan 24, 2012 23:53:33 GMT 8
^hahaha
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Post by okla on Jan 25, 2012 1:25:30 GMT 8
Hey Battery,Darth, Fots, or Anybody....Speaking of anti-tank guns,etc...Sometime back when several of us were kibitzing about the three tanks that the Japs were able to land on Corregidor and, maybe, prematurely causing Skinny to decide to meet Homma since we had no effective counter measures to knock out the Nip armor. One respondent to the Forum, if memory serves, replied that the 4th USMC Regt, did, indeed, have a limited number of anti tank rounds. If this is so, what type artillery would they have needed for use against these tanks? I suppose that these projectiles could have just been something they had lugged in from China with no way to use in actual combat. Do any of you guys remember this exchange? I don't think I have reached the point in life that I am hallucinating. This might have happened on Vic's Philippine Scout board, but if so, I betcha the participants were some of the bunch from Corregidor.org Forum. Would appreciate any info that would ease what's left of my mental processes.Cheers....
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Post by darthdract on Jan 25, 2012 1:40:57 GMT 8
From my limited knowledge ragarding Japanese Armor, Japanese tanks are not really that durable,
And is there an M3 variant? for Wikipedia is just wrong
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Post by chadhill on Jan 27, 2012 1:21:46 GMT 8
Right you are, okla. From Howell's "The Battle for Corregidor" p. 238-9:
"As J. Micheal Miller so aptly wrote: Sergeant Milton A. Englin, USMC, commanded a platoon in the final defensive line outside Malinta Tunnel, and was prepared to deal with the Japanese tanks with armor-piercing rounds from his two 37mm guns. As he waited for the Japanese, an Army runner came out of the tunnel shouting, 'You have to surrender and leave your guns intact.' Englin yelled back, 'No! No! Marines don't surrender!' The runner disappeared but returned 15 minutes later saying, "You have to surrender or you will be court-martialled after all this is over when we get back to the States.' Engiln obeyed the order, but destroyed his weapons, instructing his men, 'We aren't going to leave any guns behind for Americans to be shot with!' ".
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Post by okla on Jan 27, 2012 8:36:56 GMT 8
Hey Chad....It is a relief to learn, once in a while, that what remains of my gray matter is still intact. We will never know what might have transpired if the Gyrene gunners had knocked out those Japanese tanks. Most of us would concur that the final results were inevitable, but Homma would have had to wait for a while for final victory and in the mean time more of those little white boxes would have been sent back to the Land of the Rising Sun. Thanks again for digging this info up. I knew I wasn't dreaming (or I think I knew).lol
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Post by batteryboy on Jan 27, 2012 20:58:06 GMT 8
Actually, there is an account that one marine alleged hit one of the landing tanks with a 37mm gun. Its also mentioned in Howell's book. Now let me point out that the Marines on the island were not equipped with the M3 37mm (as shown above) but were armed with the French Model 1916 37mm gun (shown below) There were 20 of them in the island. The ammo of he M3 and the French 1916 37mm CANNOT be interchanged. The former has a longer ammo that can fire at hgh velocity while the latter fired a shorter round but it also had an AP variant. The 1916 model was actually used as a traning gun in the mainland but in the outpost like the P.I., it was a standard weapons issued to the units. I have had previous exchanges in other forums about the capability of the defenders to knock out the tanks that landed on the island in May of 42. In my opinion, a barrage from any of the 75mm batteries can knock out either an M3 or the Type 97 Chi-ha. Both tanks had relatively light armor and even an HE round can cause damage and even disable the tracks of both tanks. I believe the defenders were exhausted and ready to throw in the towel by the time the tanks were reported and Skinny fearing the worst, decided to call it quits.
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Post by okla on Jan 28, 2012 3:12:20 GMT 8
Hey Battery...Thanks for this poop from group. You certainly can be depended on to give us the real deal when it comes to the technical angle. Most folks, I think, don't fault Genl Wainwright for his decision, although, as Lt Lawrence maintained, it might have been a bit premature. the sad end was going to be Japanese victory, whether May 1942 or later that spring or early summer. I suppose nothing really could be gained from holding out a few more weeks, except pride/honor,etc I will never criticize Johnathan Wainwright for anything in the way he performed on Luzon, Bataan or Corregidor. To me he was the American "hero" of that tragic time, not Douglas MacArthur. Just my humble. Thanks again for the nitty gritty. Cheers.
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Post by Clewis on Jan 7, 2014 1:37:58 GMT 8
Does anyone know the number and kinds of machine gun that were in the philippines in Dec 1941
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