[Milsurplus] Japan's Pearl Harbor Blunders

[Jim Haynes]

Well I guess in war things go wrong more often than they go right.

The piece reminded me of one I read recently reminded me of something
I was reading a few nights ago.  Was talking about emergency use of
plain language on the radio, and the writer says

"The 'Emergency Plain Language' rule was employed on many occasions
during World War II, although possibly not often enough.  The first
occason was in late 1942 to recall an air-strike against a French
port in Africa which had capitulated minutes after the strike had
been launched.  It was successful.  (It should be remembered that
voice radio was almost invariably in plain language.)  Another occasion
that comes to mind, and which is well documented, occurred during
the Battle of Leyte Gulf.  Several of Admiral Kinkaid's frantic
calls for help to Admiral Halsey were broadcast in plain language
while Halsey's reply that the battleships were coming was also broadcast
in plain language.  Admiral Kurita's flagship monitored these
plain-language transmissions and Kurita broke off the attack and
retired - with victory in his grasp.  If Kurita had pressed on, his
fleet would have annihilated the American transports and supply
ships off Leyte, and it in turn would have been annihilated by
Halsey's battle-wagons.  It therefore may be concluded that this
rule saved the transport fleet and thousands of American lives."

This from Dundas P. Tucker - Rhapsody in Purple - a New History
of Pearl Harbor edited and annotated by Greg Mellen, Cryptologia
6:3, July 1982 and 6:4 October 1982.

jhhaynes at earthlink dot net