proton45
Senior Airman
Thanks Shinpachi, a rare treat to read these...
IJA Secret Intelligence Team at Chofu
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- #202
Excellent Shinpachi, please continue!
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- #204
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- #206
Thank you kaigunair for your reading again
I'm glad you are fine!
A hardship in translation is the difference of military system betweem the east and the west or the past and the present.
For example, when the author writes "Sergeant-major. Our behind", I want to translate "Sergeant-major. Six o'clock" but it is not precise because our former army did not have such 'o'clock' system.
The "Kamikaze" was, as you may know, not our original calling for the special attacker though the almost Japanese use this calling nowadays.
"Special attacker" or "Tokko(*special attack)" or "Tokko-tai(*special attacker team)" was our original calling.
I believe the "Kamikaze" came from "Shinpu(*Devine wind) special attacker team" which was a formal saying. The Chinese character for Kamikaze and Shinpu is same as you may know well.
Please enjoy.
I'm glad you are fine!
A hardship in translation is the difference of military system betweem the east and the west or the past and the present.
For example, when the author writes "Sergeant-major. Our behind", I want to translate "Sergeant-major. Six o'clock" but it is not precise because our former army did not have such 'o'clock' system.
The "Kamikaze" was, as you may know, not our original calling for the special attacker though the almost Japanese use this calling nowadays.
"Special attacker" or "Tokko(*special attack)" or "Tokko-tai(*special attacker team)" was our original calling.
I believe the "Kamikaze" came from "Shinpu(*Devine wind) special attacker team" which was a formal saying. The Chinese character for Kamikaze and Shinpu is same as you may know well.
Please enjoy.
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Thanks for the school Shinpachi. I can better understand what you are dealing with as to the translation delema. Trying to keep it original but also understandable for us in the English speaking world. Thank you!
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- #208
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- #209
Article No.24
Over selfconfidence
===============
Author: Mr. Teruo Miyoshi
For the preparation of regular reconnaissance, not of the special mission, I was checking my radio equipment on the plane but no sound came out from the ear receiver at all. I tapped the chassis a little harder several times but it responded nothing (Mechanical troubles were often recovered by tapping the chassis when I was young).
I asked a ground crew Lance Corporal to call Private A(*name) who was in charge of technology but, if it was a serious trouble, I had to consider replacement of the set.
The current communication equipments are so simple with the printed circuit boards that it is easy to repair by replacing the boards but, in the past, circuit wirings were so complicated that it was not easy to repair. The vibrations of the plane and the impact of landing, above all, were so large that the vacuum tube filaments were often cut to place us in trouble.
As Private A was an expert of that field, he was so quick to find out the cause of trouble that it was very helpful for us.
He was tapping the vacuum tubes to diagnose "Vacuum tubes have no problem. I guess a capacitor has been punctured."
I asked the ground crew leader "When you were checking the electrical system, wasn't there any short circuit?". "My screwdriver's head accidentally touched an uncovered part." he assumed.
A punctured capacitor by overload seemed the cause of trouble.
It was the trouble that would require a big surgery.
As my radio equipment was modified so that it was able to catch the long wave too, there was no spare set. When I was holding my head in my hands, Private A said confidently "Let's check the troubled part and connect new capacitor through the bypass route."
Prepared a couple of leads which had clips on each end to connect a capacitor, he checked the conductivity. Two capacitors sweated. It was a punk by overcurrent of electricity.
Replacement of capacitors were usually soldered to the circuit but, as we had no time, he temporarily connected the leads of capacitors with clips and managed to work.
"In case of the remarkable trouble like this today, it is easy to repair but, in case of the unremarkable trouble which only happens some times, it is hard to find the cause. Such repair requests us ten-year experience."
Years later, I have ever experienced such a trouble on my TV set. It worked well when a technical service man fixed but soon went wrong after he left.
Our partner reconnaissance plane had already taken off.
When any accident happened before sortie, things did not go well without any trouble on the way.
When we were patrolling our airspace and sea in charge minding that matter, English conversation entered my long-wave radio. I was unable to understand what they were talking but it sounded a happy mood with occasional laugh.
There was no alarm before our sortie. Where did they intrude from? They probably had attacked somewhere in Tokyo-Yokohama area without being captured by our radars. Judging from the state of conversation, they seemed just withdrawing after attack.
"OK, we raise the altitude." Sergeant-major said to wait for them at 15,000feet.
Five or six minutes passed. Three planes were observed, like tiny beans, one after another with no formation style far away.
"Keep your eye on them well."
Enemy planes were approaching to us at ease. Carrier-based Grummans. They seemed being on their way home.
It was impossible for the Japanese pilots to relax and enjoy chats on radio because unnecessary radio despatch was risky until landing home.
Then, I heard a couple of English words in a little exciting tone "It attacks".
They seemed to have discovered our plane. Combat would be one versus three. I told it to my Sergeant-major loudly
"Three enemy planes are flying toward us!"
"Basic rule for air-combat is one versus one. Otherwise they may shoot their friend. Look at how I do. Let them cut my skin to cut their flesh. Let them cut my flesh to cut their bone."
I was deeply impressed by his courage though it was not unusual.
Advantageous opponents of three were approaching to us with no hurry.
"I believe they have attacked somewhere so madly as to forget the rest of their ammunition. Chatting is an evidence they make light of things. If we can buy time by making fun of them, they will crash by themselves with no fuel."
One of them started shooting us from the right-ahead-above(* two o'clock high). Bullets hit somewhere on our plane to scream strange sound.
Our plane rose sharply, looped, took position above the opponents and sent a volley of shots. Bullets hit one of them.
The opponent who was shot had lost both horizontal and veretical tail wings to fall into the state of Dutch roll.
The Dutch roll is a state of flight as if a duck waddles swinging its tail. Aircraft is placed totally out of control.
The word now reminds me of a crash accident of a jumbo jet of Japan Air Lines a couple of decades ago that the cabin air pressure broke the aged rear bulkhead to blow off the rudder and made the plane out of control to crash.
The other two were not shooting us but only circling.
They probably pressed their shooting buttons hard to know all bullets ran out.
Only circling would also run out the fuel sooner or later and be resulted crash into the sea. To have seen the first plane placed in Dutch roll, they might be in a cold sweat.
I believed that they had been driven by youthful ardor so much as to spend all bullets with no cool judgment. "You are in a battlefield until you land" my Sergeant-major once taught me so. If they did not know that basic rule, they might lose their lives as a result.
"Sergeant-major. Don't you shoot?"
"I fight out the enemy who is coming toward but don't shoot unarmed opponents as it's unfair." and he added his murmuring
"Premature kids like you will be killed in action sooner or later. Next time you come, fill up your fuel and bullets to fight. I'll be your opponet then. That's enough today. Go home right away."
I wanted to tell his message to the opponents on radio, if possible.
For Sergeant-major who was confident of his skill and courage, they might have looked nothing but a puppy barking in his feet. In fact, I have ever heard that not a few U.S. fighters crashed from fuel shortage on the verge of landing their mother ships. I think that was because pilot training was not enough and they excited too much on the ground attack to think about later withdrawal.
The pilot of the Dutch roll plane bailed out but whether he was rescued by their submarine fortunately or not was unknown.
All three planes had fallen into their over-selfconfidence. As a result, two escaped crash but I wondered if they were able to return home well. Also, the bailout pilot might have been beaten on the sea surface to lose his life because the altitude was low.
If the falling speed was faster, the pilot would be beaten on the sea and might lose consciousness to be drowned.
Unless he hit the water from his foot, he would have a fracture. In my experience of parachute training, I had the impact as strong as jumping from the roof of the second floor. Therefore, to avoid a fracture, I learned to fall down at the moment my foot hit the ground.
Parachute design for the skydiving today is square unlike the round one of old days. It is so easy to control going forward, circling and halt that you can do a soft landing. It is also much advanced with AAD(Automatic Activation Device) that makes sub-parachute open when the falling speed exceeds at a pre-set altitude and sensor detects it.
In case of air-combat, a shooter's target was normally the cockpit. The fact Sergeant-major aimed at the tail wings was the evidence that he had no intention to kill them. For Sergeant-major of 10-year-career as a fighter pilot, I guess, they were too young to be his opponents.
Sending telegraph to the base "This is xx(*code name). Killed 1 Grumman. We home now. Coordinate xx(*value)", I was impressed with Sergeant-major's courage that he dared to let the two go.
/End of Article No.24
Over selfconfidence
===============
Author: Mr. Teruo Miyoshi
For the preparation of regular reconnaissance, not of the special mission, I was checking my radio equipment on the plane but no sound came out from the ear receiver at all. I tapped the chassis a little harder several times but it responded nothing (Mechanical troubles were often recovered by tapping the chassis when I was young).
I asked a ground crew Lance Corporal to call Private A(*name) who was in charge of technology but, if it was a serious trouble, I had to consider replacement of the set.
The current communication equipments are so simple with the printed circuit boards that it is easy to repair by replacing the boards but, in the past, circuit wirings were so complicated that it was not easy to repair. The vibrations of the plane and the impact of landing, above all, were so large that the vacuum tube filaments were often cut to place us in trouble.
As Private A was an expert of that field, he was so quick to find out the cause of trouble that it was very helpful for us.
He was tapping the vacuum tubes to diagnose "Vacuum tubes have no problem. I guess a capacitor has been punctured."
I asked the ground crew leader "When you were checking the electrical system, wasn't there any short circuit?". "My screwdriver's head accidentally touched an uncovered part." he assumed.
A punctured capacitor by overload seemed the cause of trouble.
It was the trouble that would require a big surgery.
As my radio equipment was modified so that it was able to catch the long wave too, there was no spare set. When I was holding my head in my hands, Private A said confidently "Let's check the troubled part and connect new capacitor through the bypass route."
Prepared a couple of leads which had clips on each end to connect a capacitor, he checked the conductivity. Two capacitors sweated. It was a punk by overcurrent of electricity.
Replacement of capacitors were usually soldered to the circuit but, as we had no time, he temporarily connected the leads of capacitors with clips and managed to work.
"In case of the remarkable trouble like this today, it is easy to repair but, in case of the unremarkable trouble which only happens some times, it is hard to find the cause. Such repair requests us ten-year experience."
Years later, I have ever experienced such a trouble on my TV set. It worked well when a technical service man fixed but soon went wrong after he left.
Our partner reconnaissance plane had already taken off.
When any accident happened before sortie, things did not go well without any trouble on the way.
When we were patrolling our airspace and sea in charge minding that matter, English conversation entered my long-wave radio. I was unable to understand what they were talking but it sounded a happy mood with occasional laugh.
There was no alarm before our sortie. Where did they intrude from? They probably had attacked somewhere in Tokyo-Yokohama area without being captured by our radars. Judging from the state of conversation, they seemed just withdrawing after attack.
"OK, we raise the altitude." Sergeant-major said to wait for them at 15,000feet.
Five or six minutes passed. Three planes were observed, like tiny beans, one after another with no formation style far away.
"Keep your eye on them well."
Enemy planes were approaching to us at ease. Carrier-based Grummans. They seemed being on their way home.
It was impossible for the Japanese pilots to relax and enjoy chats on radio because unnecessary radio despatch was risky until landing home.
Then, I heard a couple of English words in a little exciting tone "It attacks".
They seemed to have discovered our plane. Combat would be one versus three. I told it to my Sergeant-major loudly
"Three enemy planes are flying toward us!"
"Basic rule for air-combat is one versus one. Otherwise they may shoot their friend. Look at how I do. Let them cut my skin to cut their flesh. Let them cut my flesh to cut their bone."
I was deeply impressed by his courage though it was not unusual.
Advantageous opponents of three were approaching to us with no hurry.
"I believe they have attacked somewhere so madly as to forget the rest of their ammunition. Chatting is an evidence they make light of things. If we can buy time by making fun of them, they will crash by themselves with no fuel."
One of them started shooting us from the right-ahead-above(* two o'clock high). Bullets hit somewhere on our plane to scream strange sound.
Our plane rose sharply, looped, took position above the opponents and sent a volley of shots. Bullets hit one of them.
The opponent who was shot had lost both horizontal and veretical tail wings to fall into the state of Dutch roll.
The Dutch roll is a state of flight as if a duck waddles swinging its tail. Aircraft is placed totally out of control.
The word now reminds me of a crash accident of a jumbo jet of Japan Air Lines a couple of decades ago that the cabin air pressure broke the aged rear bulkhead to blow off the rudder and made the plane out of control to crash.
The other two were not shooting us but only circling.
They probably pressed their shooting buttons hard to know all bullets ran out.
Only circling would also run out the fuel sooner or later and be resulted crash into the sea. To have seen the first plane placed in Dutch roll, they might be in a cold sweat.
I believed that they had been driven by youthful ardor so much as to spend all bullets with no cool judgment. "You are in a battlefield until you land" my Sergeant-major once taught me so. If they did not know that basic rule, they might lose their lives as a result.
"Sergeant-major. Don't you shoot?"
"I fight out the enemy who is coming toward but don't shoot unarmed opponents as it's unfair." and he added his murmuring
"Premature kids like you will be killed in action sooner or later. Next time you come, fill up your fuel and bullets to fight. I'll be your opponet then. That's enough today. Go home right away."
I wanted to tell his message to the opponents on radio, if possible.
For Sergeant-major who was confident of his skill and courage, they might have looked nothing but a puppy barking in his feet. In fact, I have ever heard that not a few U.S. fighters crashed from fuel shortage on the verge of landing their mother ships. I think that was because pilot training was not enough and they excited too much on the ground attack to think about later withdrawal.
The pilot of the Dutch roll plane bailed out but whether he was rescued by their submarine fortunately or not was unknown.
All three planes had fallen into their over-selfconfidence. As a result, two escaped crash but I wondered if they were able to return home well. Also, the bailout pilot might have been beaten on the sea surface to lose his life because the altitude was low.
If the falling speed was faster, the pilot would be beaten on the sea and might lose consciousness to be drowned.
Unless he hit the water from his foot, he would have a fracture. In my experience of parachute training, I had the impact as strong as jumping from the roof of the second floor. Therefore, to avoid a fracture, I learned to fall down at the moment my foot hit the ground.
Parachute design for the skydiving today is square unlike the round one of old days. It is so easy to control going forward, circling and halt that you can do a soft landing. It is also much advanced with AAD(Automatic Activation Device) that makes sub-parachute open when the falling speed exceeds at a pre-set altitude and sensor detects it.
In case of air-combat, a shooter's target was normally the cockpit. The fact Sergeant-major aimed at the tail wings was the evidence that he had no intention to kill them. For Sergeant-major of 10-year-career as a fighter pilot, I guess, they were too young to be his opponents.
Sending telegraph to the base "This is xx(*code name). Killed 1 Grumman. We home now. Coordinate xx(*value)", I was impressed with Sergeant-major's courage that he dared to let the two go.
/End of Article No.24
proton45
Senior Airman
Thanks for the translations...I love history.
Most of my family that can read "old" Japanese are to emotional about the subject to help with translations (like these)...this is indeed a treat for me. Thanks...
Most of my family that can read "old" Japanese are to emotional about the subject to help with translations (like these)...this is indeed a treat for me. Thanks...
- Thread starter
- #211
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Another excellent read Shinpachi. Thank you for your hard work and time.
- Thread starter
- #213
Another excellent read Shinpachi. Thank you for your hard work and time.
Great work Shinpachi, thanks again!
proton45
Senior Airman
For my family, I don't think its emotion over history...I think its a matter of being reminded of unpleasant things. Little details of history bring back bad memories like a flood...people who died, family that never returned, ect...
But thank you from me...
p.s. [edit] Nice picture...very nice work.
Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Thanks Aaron for your post.
I am often afraid of my translation making your people unhappy.
Thank you very much
I am of the opinion that as long as it is true and part of history there is no reason for any animosity towards a person of another country especially when it happened 60 years ago. I do not believe that you yourself can be held accountable for what happened in World War II. I cannot speak for anyone else but myself on this sight when I say you will not offend me by translating this peace of history. I enjoy it very much and I appreciate and commend your time and work. Thank you again.
- Thread starter
- #218
Hi, Aaron,
I am much impressed with your perfect comment about my translation.
It is filled with not only your cool rational way of thinking but warm generousity.
I appreciate it very much.
You may look forward to my future translations.
They are always messages from the past.
Thanks
I am much impressed with your perfect comment about my translation.
It is filled with not only your cool rational way of thinking but warm generousity.
I appreciate it very much.
You may look forward to my future translations.
They are always messages from the past.
Thanks
- Thread starter
- #219
Thanks Wayne, kaigunair for your reading again!
Thanks proton45 for your opinion about history.
That has reminded me of a testimony about the Battle of Shumushu (northern part of Kuril Islands) on August 18, 1945 when the war was over but the island received sudden attacks by the former Soviet Union.
As this will be a long story, I would like to introduce it on another occasion but, if I may introduce it in a word here, the battle scene reminded me of that of Iwo-Jima!
Thanks proton45 for your opinion about history.
That has reminded me of a testimony about the Battle of Shumushu (northern part of Kuril Islands) on August 18, 1945 when the war was over but the island received sudden attacks by the former Soviet Union.
As this will be a long story, I would like to introduce it on another occasion but, if I may introduce it in a word here, the battle scene reminded me of that of Iwo-Jima!
I am of the opinion that as long as it is true and part of history there is no reason for any animosity towards a person of another country especially when it happened 60 years ago. I do not believe that you yourself can be held accountable for what happened in World War II. I cannot speak for anyone else but myself on this sight when I say you will not offend me by translating this peace of history. I enjoy it very much and I appreciate and commend your time and work. Thank you again.
Well said Aaron...well said
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