Page Two
CLOUDBUSTER
Saturday, November 4, 194^
CLOUDBUSTER
Vol. 3—No. 8
Saturday, Nov. 4, 1944
Published weekly under the supervision of
the Public Relations Office at the U. S. Navy
Pre-Flight School, Chapel Hill, N. C., a unit
of the Naval Air Primary Training Command.
Contributions of news, features, and cartoons
are welcome from all hands and should be
turned in to the Public Relations Office, Navy
Hall.
CLOUDBUSTER receives Camp Newspaper
Service material. Republication of credited
matter prohibited without permission of CNS,
War Department, 205 E. 42nd St., N.Y.C,
Lieut. Comdr, James P. Raugh, USNR
Commanding Officer
Lieut. Comdr. Howard L. Hamilton, USNR
Executive Officer
Lieut. Leonard Eiserer, USNR
Public Relations Officer
Editor: Orville Campbell, Ylc
On the Lighter Side ...
In the Spring, and almost any other time, a
young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of one
dame thing after another.
^ ^ ^
A well-built girl is like a three ring circus;
a guy does not know where to look first.
^ ^ ^
First Aerial Gunner: “What’s the last word
in Jap planes?”
Second AG: “Jump!”
^ *
Short story of the week:
“Wilt thou?”
She wilted.
^
One good way to pay off the national debt
would be to raffle off a discharge every day.
^ Jji
GI: “A paratrooper is a soldier who climbs
down trees he never climbed up.”
:i! * •
After all, the Constitution grants every
guy the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of
r^e Second Battle of the Philippines
By Lt. (jg) William Shanahan, USNR
There can be no doubt that the Second Battle
of the Philippines was an epic sea fight on the
scale of Trafalgar and Jutland. While the
enemy’s naval power has not been annihilated
as some enthusiastic commentators claim, the
Japanese have suffered losses which will af
fect both the course and the length of the war.
And it is reassuring to note that the battle
was no mere triumph of material, for at one
time units of the Seventh Fleet were outnum
bered. This instance and the resourcefulness
shown throughout the fighting testify to the
legendary skill of the English-speaking peo
ples in sea warfare.
The battle has brought into sharp focus the
reasons for which sea power is employed. For
the command of the sea around the Philippines
we have risked a great naval battle in waters
and under conditions favorable to the enemy.
That our challenge was met in great force
was an indication that the enemy realized the
strategic value of Philippine water for the
communications and the defence of the Japan
ese Empii’e.
Heretofore the enemy has not risked more
than small detachments to dispute the com
mand of the sea which we obtained around his
outlying atolls and island bases. To prevent
the capture of the Philippines which would
cut off Japan from the Indies the Imperial
Navy struck at the forces guarding the com
munications of our expeditionary force. Their
well-timed attack began after we had com
mitted ourselves to a full scale operation by
putting a quarter of a million men ashore on
Leyte. If this attack had been successful the
Japanese would not only have inflicted losses
on our fleet, but would have been able to de
stroy our ground forces which would be left
without logistic support.
The skill and daring with which the Japan
ese plan was executed should warn us that
other hard battles may be expected. And it is
well to remember that the resources in ships
remaining to Japanese are approximately aS
great as those risked in this great battle. Ja
pan’s carrier strength has been seriously weak
ened, however, and her fleet must depend even
more on shore-based aircraft.
All the shortcomings of this type of air sup|
port were evident in the Philippine operationSi
In the Island channels the Japanese expected
to work with land-based aircraft, some oi
which was apparently under army commandj
The organizational weakness of this arrange
ment placed the Japanese at a very great dis
advantage when faced by well-coordinated
ship and plane attacks. This again drives
home the lesson that ship and plane must fight
together, be directed by the same command)
and be independent of the immobile shore base^
of land aircraft. |
1
In the first and second battles of the Phil'j
ippines our carriers and battleships fought to-|
gether in a great fleet action for the first time-
Aircraft carriers were the only capital ships
used in the Coral Sea and at Midway but i^
the Philippines “flattops” working witl^
“floating gun platforms” carried out the les
sons learned in previous operations against
island strongholds. Our successes against
both shore and naval targets confirm the iiW'
portance of aircraft as the striking arm of the
fleet. Some, enemy capital ships have beefl
sunk by gun fire but most of the damage to
the enemy fleet has been inflicted by air at'
tack.
The strategic implications are equally clear*
The United States Navy has won command
of the seas on the approaches to the Asiatic!
stronghold of the enemy; the combined offen
sive power of the British and American fleet
will carry the war to the islands of Japan.
happiness, thought the yeoman as he chased
her down another block.
* ^ *
“Aren’t you getting tired of this bachelor
life all the time, Bill?”
“Certainly not,” replied Bill. “What was
good enough for my father is good enough for
me.”
^ ^ 9{c
Telegram received by parents of a Seabee
in New Guinea: “Natives here have never seeH
American Seabees. Never heard Americal'
slang. Never played poker. Money order fo^
$500 follows,”
!j! *
They parted at her doorstep
And she whispered with a sigh;
I’ll be home tomorrow night, dear,”
And he answered, “So will I.”
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