Talk:Battle of the Bismarck Sea

message: The article currently indicates that the destroyers Yukikaze and Asagumo picked up and delivered survivors from the first attacks on 1 March to Lae. But we are told that Lae was the destination of the convoy. Why didn't the entire convoy proceed there, and what was the remainder of the convoy doing while the two destroyers headed for Lae? 203.198.237.30 04:27, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  The disembarkation of survivors at Lae 

message: The speculation on the reasons for brutality, at the end, seems out of place. I haven't looked, but I bet we have a whole article on the subject, and should refer to that rather than duplicate unsourced guessing here. Stan 13:46, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: You do realize that answers.com mostly mirrors us, right? Generally its articles are old versions of WP articles. Stan 18:36, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't think a discussion about the reasons behind any of the possible war crimes in this battle is appropriate for this article.  Other Wikipedia articles already exist that go into war crimes and atrocities and analysis on why they occurred.  I believe the article should just state what happened, without any analysis. Cla68 19:51, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Japanese brutality during WW II was deliberate and originated in the medieval Bushido code which the Japanese military dictatorship of the 1930s instilled its men in. Japan was also not a signatory of any of the then-current Geneva conventions.  Thus for the Japanese military authorities such behaviour was perfectly normal.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.149.53.180 (talk) 09:08, 2 March 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Brutality 

message: My father F/L Edward Boxall was a member of the RAAF 100 Squadron. His log shows that the time he took off from the Gurney airfield at Milne Bay was 0325 hours. He was apparently the first squadron member to sight the Japanese convoy in Huon Gulf during the dark early hours of 3rd March. He records dropping flares, not bombs. I have put a newspaper article with his photo and the story of sighting the convoy "by the light of a fitful moon" on my website (sorry down at present)
I dont suppose this is of much interest to anyone else, let me know. Bingiyogi 07:02, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I was going to check it out, but the link isn't working ... SkipSmith (talk) 05:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  RAAF 100 Squadron 

message: I looked up the page number in Fire in the Sky for reference 1 (it is page 591).  However, the entry on that page states that Japanese casualties were 5000 more than were lost by either side in any naval battle off Guadacanal, not simply 5000.  Does anyone know the actual casualty figure for the Japanese?  SkipSmith (talk) 05:14, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: The CombinedFleet.com article on the battle states that 3,000 troops were killed and backs up this claim by giving very precise numbers on how many troops were actually rescued by the escorting warships.  So we apparently have a disparity in numbers between two, at least, reliable sources.  I think the infobox should therefore state 3,000-5,000 as the casualty number with an explanation in the footnote. Cla68 (talk) 06:32, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: That's a good idea, at least for now.  When I have a chance I'll try to track down some other sources and clear this up. SkipSmith (talk) 01:21, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: FWIW, the Japanese-language Wikipedia version of this page states that Japanese losses were "around 3000 military personnel".220.29.92.15 (talk) 16:04, 27 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Japanese Casualties 

message: I don't have a clue where you are getting your information, because much of it is wrong. It is well-documented that the B-25s and A-20s that carried out the skip-bombing and strafing attacks were from the 3rd Bombardment Group, more commonly known as the 3rd Attack Group. The B-25s belonged to the 90th Bombardment and the A-20s to the 89th. Where anyone would get the idea they were with the 405th is beyond me because there have been numerous accounts of this battle ranging from General Kenney's memoirs to the late General John "Jock" Henebry's book. Jock Henebry was one of the B-25 pilots. Somebody needs to get their act together because as this page is currently written, it is full of errors and disinformation. SamMcGowan (talk) 18:13, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  B-25s and A-20s 

message: First, I am calling the act of Allied forces in bombing and strafing Japanese shipwreck survivors in the water a "war crime" because German military personnel were found guilty of war crimes and executed as war criminals for firing on Allied shipwreck survivors following other military options. If firing on shipwreck survivors is a war crime when the Germans do it an objective student of history can only conclude that it is also a war crime when the Allies do it. In the absence of that we are dealing with victors' justice.
Second, the main entry gives two reasons for the decision by the Allied command to commit this act. One reason given is that the Allies forces were avenging the victims of a Japanese war crime -- the members of an Allied bomber crew who were fired on by a Japanese fighter pilot while they were in their parachutes or after they landed in the water. The other reason given is that the Japanese survivors were close enough to land that they would probably be able to save themselves unless they were killed in the water. The second reason is sound military reasoning -- but imagine the reaction of an Allied war crimes tribunal if a German or Japanese defendant had tried to use it as justification for firing on Allied shipwreck survivors. 
Does any one care to advance the claim that war crimes are only committed by the side that loses? (71.22.47.232 (talk) 02:26, 10 December 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Can you please identify reliable sources (per WP:RS) which labels this a war crime? Also, are you proposing any changes to the article based on these sources? - its unclear from your post. Nick-D (talk) 10:16, 10 December 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: This article describes some actions committed by Americans as "war crimes". Nowhere in this article are any Japanese actions called "war crimes". Why is that?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.32.20.245 (talk) 16:04, 12 September 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Which Japanese actions during the battle are you referring to? Hawkeye7 (talk) 20:16, 12 September 2011 (UTC)

text: In German acticle there is a chapter about U.S. pt boats firing at Japanese soldiers in water with life vests referenced with Nathan Miller: War at Sea. A Naval History of World War II. Oxford University Press, New York u. a. 1996, , p. 369. --Cvf-ps (talk) 00:19, 4 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  The Allies' War Crime at the Battle of the Bismarck Sea 

message: The article says, "Kenney read this Ultra intelligence in the office of the Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area, General Douglas MacArthur, on 25 February."  However, Ultra refers to the decoding of the German military codes.  While the Japanese naval codes were sometimes readable (the Japanese kept changing them throughout the war, and then the new code would have to be broken), this was never part of Ultra, a largely British operation specifically focused on the Germans.
CarlFink (talk) 13:48, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Didn't that term already exist a few months before the Pearl Harbor attack?50.111.9.62 (talk) 04:26, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, the usage of 'Ultra' in Wikipedia articles (as sigint from breaking the German codes) doesn't match the way the word is now used by historians. Nick-D (talk) 22:53, 19 March 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: However, the Ultra article is correct: Ultra also encompassed decrypts of the German Lorenz SZ 40/42 machines that were used by the German High Command, and the Hagelin machine and other Italian and Japanese ciphers and codes such as PURPLE and JN-25. I'm pretty sure that the code we are talking about was JN-152 but it doesn't say so in my sources. Hawkeye7 (talk) 23:13, 19 March 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ultra? They got info about Japanese naval maneuvers from German codes? 

message: I have seen in other books that this, this, and this photos, labeled as taking place at this battle, actually took place at other locations on different dates.  I will try to confirm that later today and relable the photos if verified. Cla68 (talk) 23:30, 19 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: We aren't using the latter two. (Corvette would have rung alarm bells as there weren't any at the Bismarck Sea.) I am inclined to drop the first if there are doubts. Hawkeye7 (talk) 01:13, 20 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: The ship pictured looks to be a warship, but appears to be too small to be a destroyer and I understand that the smallest Japanese warships present at this battle were destroyers.  I'll look in a couple of picture books I have at home later today to try to verify. Cla68 (talk) 01:17, 20 December 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Photos 

message: I'll check but I am sure 30 squadron (RAAF) was using british made mk1 and mk 6 beaufighters during the battle. They got Australian made mk 21 later in the war.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.225.154.102 (talk) 11:28, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: I've checked the serial numbers of all the aircraft, and they were mark Is and Mark IVs. Corrected the article accordingly. Hawkeye7 (talk) 12:58, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Australian built beaufighters in 30 squadron? 

message: Hello, 
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea is a term in the game theory region of economics. It would be super swell if there was a see also link to this, or a note at the top of the article. 
208.54.35.131 (talk) 15:29, 20 January 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Added a bit. If someone actually writes an article on it I will add it to See Also. Hawkeye7 (talk) 19:31, 20 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Game theory? 

message: I enjoyed the article on the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. I do wonder, unless I missed it, if you would want to add information about skip bombing. I believe this is what you were referring to when you mentioned Mast-high bombing. As I understand it, the skip bombing technique was very successful and played a significant role in the Allied victory during this battle.
Thank you for your consideration,
Rich
rarostron@yahoo.com  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:CE2D:81B0:ED65:1A5B:6424:BBB6 (talk) 16:36, 22 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Skip bombing 

message: "Rabaul staff officer Masatake Okumiya said, "Our losses for this single battle were fantastic." Is that really the right word? I presume he used a Japanese word, and would be curious to know how (else) it might be translated into English. Perhaps it was a word that meant "terrific, horrific", or maybe "unbelievable"? Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:44, 3 March 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Definitely needs to be reworded. Th4n3r (talk) 15:50, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

text: Yes, reword historic quotes. Goooooooo Wikipedia!  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.174.96.50 (talk) 20:39, 18 August 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  "fantastic"? 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified  on Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120113033903/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=471 to http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=471
When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 22:59, 28 October 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090226030631/http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/gen_kenney_reports.pdf to http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/Publications/fulltext/gen_kenney_reports.pdf
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 23:49, 19 May 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Did any of the Allied aircrews refuse to strafe Japanese survivors?  If so, what happened to them? PatGallacher (talk) 19:58, 7 June 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Acting under orders