War Junkie

Ghost Ships

2005-09-02T16:58:00.000+08:00

In line with its vision to equip itself with the best of electronic warfare, the SAF has once again upgraded its steel workhorses. This time, an entire ageing fleet of missile gunboats to state-of-the-art frigates which are, quite literally, invisible to the untrained eye. With a total of 6 Formidable Class frigates under the Navy's command, our tiny Navy has, certainly, increased its capabilities by more than two-fold, since these 'ghost ships' would act as force multipliers during times of war. Let me show you why....

RSS Formidable

With an uncluttered appearance and an architecture that is strategically crafted, these new ships are built to reduce their radar signatures while out at sea. Most of its combat systems are hidden from view, thus allowing radar waves to be deflected away from the ship's body. So don't think that these are just simple frigates with aesthetic looks equipped with mere little guns on their bows. What's hidden beneath their deceiving skin would make our potential advesaries tremble with fear....

The frigates are equipped with highly-advanced combat suites, which are operating consoles that control all combat systems onboard. Such systems include the Active Low Frequency Towed Sonar (ALOFTS), an underwater sensor that is able to detect any long-ranged underwater threats, e.g torpedoes. There is also the Thales Herakles Multi-function Radar which provides all-round, long-ranged automatic search and tracking of both air and surface targets. In addition to the 76mm Naval Gun System, the ships are packed with Harpoon missiles which act as long-range anti-ship missiles. In the event that the ship gets detected by an enemy, the MBDA ASTER Anti-missile Missile System provides ample defence against aircraft and sea skimming anti-ship missiles.

Just as you are reading this, talks are going on between the SAF and their US counterparts to provide the already formidable Formidables with Sikorsky choppers, which would be able to conduct search and rescue missions, and act as additional 'eyes' in the skies, and, possibly, to perform search and destroy operations. Well....I'm guessing that with the addition of these choppers, more covert operations can be conducted by the SAF. Just imagine....a powerful chopper onboard an invisible ship. And inside this chopper are 15 of our elite combat troopers just waiting to infiltrate an enemy territory....waiting for that opportune moment......sneaky.....very sneaky.....

2005-08-24T21:39:00.000+08:00

Map of Johore

Cannons from hell.....

2005-08-24T20:44:00.000+08:00

Ah yes.....the SSPH1 Primus....a self-propelled howitzer unique to the Singapore Armed Forces. For those who do not know, this, my friend, is our latest battle toy within our artillery ranks. A 30-ton toy to be exact, packed with enough ammunitions to obliterate an entire battalion of dumb fuck infantry men. You may have seen a couple of them trudging down City Hall on National Day but what you saw was only the tip of the iceberg....

The SSPH1 Primus

Proud to say, this armoured baby here is all-Singaporean, from head to toe. The Primus was developed jointly by DSTA (Defence Science and Technology Agency), ST Kinetics and of course, the SAF, to meet the operational requirements of the SAF. Armed with a 155m main gun, this howitzer can fire up to 6 rounds a minute, giving the enemy absolutely no time to run and hide. A fusion of the precision, range and firepower of the artillery, with the protection, speed and manoevrability of armoured vehicles, the Primus is a highly accurate, mobile artillery platform that will bolster the fighting capabilities of our armoured forces with its 'hide, shoot, scoot' capability. (MINDEF, Copyright 2005) In other words, with enhanced mobility, these howitzers can shoot, kill and fuck off, leaving the enemy lost and confused as to what the fuck just hit him, assuming he's still alive.

Although the SAF claims that the Primus is chocked with high-tech shit, they didn't really go into the specifics. Oh...you know...classified crap....Anyway, this howitzer takes a crew of 4, of which I assume, includes the commander, loader, gunner and driver. The fact that a loader is needed to manually load the rounds into the firing chamber makes me think. Hello? There exists auto-loading mechanisms out there somewhere. With such a mechanism, the loader can be scrapped, thus saving manpower within our man-scarce armed forces. Army 21 my ass! And to think that the SAF claims that this vehicle can fire up to 6 rounds a minute...whoaaaaa.....do you know how humungous an artillery round is?? The poor guy who's already squeezed into an armoured tin can must also work his feeble arms to the point of exhaustion......high tech, you were saying?

Anyway...I shall give credit when it is due.....you see....the Primus is really an awesome vehicle, considering that it is a moving howitzer that fires 155mm calibre rounds at up to 30km....now here's the interesting part. With a maximum firing range of 30km, a Primus, positioned at the northen tip of Singapore can easily pick off....ermmm well....hostile forces stationed at the Johore water-pumping stations at Kota Tinggi and Skudai. Remember that I once mentioned that any serious military action taken by Singapore would be to take control of the water-pumping stations, if ever some radical Malaysian politician cuts off our water supply? Well....it seems the Primus would just fit so snuggly into our defence plans. Coincidence? I don't think so.....

I've included a map of Johore above. Don't believe me? Go ahead...take a ruler and measure.....30km..... :)

Sounds of War

2005-08-21T00:16:00.000+08:00

I wrote this poem when I was 16....

The day opens with shrieking jets
That blaze across the burning sun
Bombs of terror shake the earth
Infecting the people with horror and fear
A walk on the street can be a disaster
As rifles pump like nervous hearts
And bullets like needles, the metallic evil
Show the world the true feeling of pain
A blast from the east and another from the west
The cannons sound like noises from hell
But as the day closes, and as the war ends
A deafening silence fills the air
Ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends
I'd just like to tell you that the people are now dead

The Five Faces of Our Nation's Defence

2005-08-12T11:02:00.000+08:00

If you still do not know, military defence is just one out of the five elements of Total Defence, a concept first enunciated in 1984 to 'unite all sectors of society - government, business and the people - in the defence of the country', which also includes psychological, social, economic and civil defence. After witnessing the recent National Day parade, I, for sure, am more than convinced of the power of Total Defence.

First up, psychological defence. Psychological defence is what drives our National Education programmes, which are primarily aimed at schools so that those little brats would not take Singapore's seemingly eternal bliss for granted. These programmes seek to convey various nationalistic messages such as 'We must ourselves defend Singapore. No one else is responsible for our security' and 'Singapore can be defended. United, determined and well-prepared we shall fight for the safety of our homes and the future of our families and children.' Such a notion psyches up the Singapore citizen and when war comes knocking on our doors, be sure that a large majority of Singaporeans would be prepared to defend their precious homeland.

On the other hand, social defence is intended to bolster Singapore's social cohesion in the face of present and future adversaties. With social defence, we are no longer Chinese, Malays, Indians or Eurasians, but Singaporeans who would stick together for better or worse. With social cohesiveness, we would deprive any potential aggressors of opportunities to exploit our racial differences. In May 1988, amid a contoversy over the arrest of political dissidents, our government claimed that 'foreign elements' were attacking Singapore's 'psychological and social defences' in the futile belief that these were the republic's weak links. Mmmm....I wonder who these dumb fucks were....

Thirdly, economic defence. Such a defence concept aims to ensure that Singapore's economy 'will not collaspe during war or under the cloud of war' Yes....this is a fact....our government has already drawn up contingency plans to enable factories and offices to continue functioning during times of war, when manpower and equipment are being utilized for military purposes. Apparently, under the Civil Resource requisitioning programme, the private sector will be expected to share its material and manpower resources with civilian and military authorities in times of war. Moreover, after Iraq overan Kuwait in 1990, our government ensured that oil was stockpiled in the face of a looming shortage. It is understood that, with rationing, our food stockpiles can provide for six months of consumption. By that time, the Singapore flag would already be flying on top of the Johore sultanate.

Lastly, civil defence. I think I've talked a lot about our military defence and its capabilities so I don't see the need to talk about such an obvious form of defence. Anyway, civil defence aims to 'protect civilian lives, lower casualty rate, minimize damage to property and pave the way for a return to normalcy' in the event of war. Due to our small size, high population density and the close proximity of civilian buidings to military installations, our civilian population is very vulnerable to war threats. As such, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is equipped and fully trained to meet any emergency with speed and efficiency, so that our soldiers at the frontline can be assured that every effort will be taken to protect their families and homes.

Now, please pray tell me.....Is there any government in the world that would have conjured up such an elaborate defence plan that involves the entire nation? Would a certain Dr Chee have thought of a better policy? Or maybe a more respectable Mr Chiam would have done a better job? Most probably, these clowns would have just cut our defence spending by half and feed us to our neighbourhood dogs.......so do yourself a favour.....support the PAP....for they will continue a reich that will last a thousand years.....

The Day the Earth Stood Still

2005-08-06T15:11:00.000+08:00

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing that took place on 6th Aug 1945. A grisly reminder to us mortals that we, as humans, are indeed capable of destroying ourselves at a snap of a finger. What power we wield....what genuises we all are. More than 140,000 innocent civilians died at the merciless hands of a single atomic bomb at Hiroshima and another 80,000 lives were taken, no thanks to another bomb at Nagasaki. Could the Americans have chosen another route to end the Pacific War in WW2? Or should they be honoured as saviours who had freed us from the tyranny of the Japs? Indeed such questions are difficult to anwer but let's take a look at the answers that history has provived.

A heavenly sight to behold....
A sight oblivious to the hell it created down below....

After the countless battles and island-hopping campaigns that the Yanks have fought in, the Americans have already lost hundreds of thousands of men. The Battle of Okinawa was, apparently, the last straw for then newly-appointed President Harry S. Truman. With the war in Europe having ended months before, the American families called for a swift end to the Pacific drama. However, to make matters worse, the Japs still would not surrender, despite knowing that a crumbling empire was already a foregone conclusion. Thus, armed with technology that no country possessed at that time, President Truman initiated the atomic strike and the rest is history.

Next to Vietnam, no topic in U.S foreign policy generates as much historical controversy as the continuing debate over the use of atomic bombs to end WW2. In today's Straits Times, Prof Hasegawa, Director of the Centre for Cold War Studies at the University of California blames both Stalin and Truman for not doing more to negotiate a Jap surrender. The prof even accused the Yanks of not liking the Japs back then. Apparently, such radical views remain unaccepted by traditional historians but this interesting article did end with a thought-provoking quote....

"There was a belief that dropping the bomb could accelerate the end of the war in ways that would greatly strengthen the American strategic position in Asia. The bomb was to announce to the world American superiority." Prof Mark Selden

How apt........how......apt.....

Keeping the status quo

2005-08-02T10:54:00.000+08:00

As our National Day approaches, I await with anticipated breath, knowing that a gallant parade of our finest military personnel and vehicles would take centre stage at the Padang. A brillant display of our patriotism, national pride and a subtle reminder to any of our neighbours that they wouldn't want to fuck with us......with this in mind.....we have got to ask ourselves...why oh why....did our government build a military force from scratch and made it to be the most fearsome and powerful in South-east Asia?

National Day...a show of our cohesiveness,
unity and military might...

In the early days of the SAF, the initial doctrine called for the SAF to be primarily defensive-oriented, based largely on an infantry-dominated army. Our military strategy back then was commonly known as the 'poisonous shrimp' analogy because the idea was that any aggressor would find that the costs of invading Singapore would outweigh any conceivable benefits. This doctrine remained for a good 20-odd years but eventually, the government realized that such a strategy would not be able to deter an aggressor who is bent on walloping our asses. Such a doctrine would be deficient as we would only be able to deter the aggressor for a limited period of time before our allies came to our rescue. Oh hell no.....no way are we gonna depend on any of our allies for help....this little city-state has got to stand on its two feet and fend off any aggressor ON OUR OWN.

Thus, in the 90s, PM Lee (then Chief of Staff, General Staff), re-thought our long-standing military doctrine with a strategy which conveyed the message 'I may not completely destroy you but you will have to pay a high price for trying to subdue me, and you may still not succeed'. With such a radical view, we started working towards self-sufficiency and by reading my earlier posts, you would realize that Singapore has a military force capable of speading hell across any aggressor state.

Ever since our breakaway from the Federation of Malaya (as Malaysia was known back then), Singapore's government has always been fearful of the political disadvantage we would have in this part of the world, since we are really small and is largely dependent on neighbouring countries for natural resources. Ever concious of our vulnerabilities, we set out to build up our armed forces so as to tip the political scales in out favour. In a sense, our military strength has prevented war from breaking out, by maintaining a status quo among the ASEAN nations, preventing any larger countries from dominating us. This balance of power ensured Singapore's peace and security since our independence, and we would continue to seek such a regional balance, so that any potential adversary would never want to play with the idea of war with us. There will never be a Iraq-Kuwait scenario being played out in this region because I know, the long-term prosperity of this tiny island is, thankfully, in the safe hands of the patriots of the SAF.........

Clandestine Operations

2005-07-27T19:12:00.000+08:00

What do Matt Damon, Pierce Brosnan and the MINDEF have in common? The answer is all three were or are involved in clandestine operations. Well....not exactly for Matt and Pierce who had acted in the Bourne and James Bond movie series respectively, but the MINDEF....well....they are for real.....

According to Mr Tim Huxley....yes and not me.....the primary strategic intelligence organization of the MINDEF is the Security and Intelligence Division (SID). Apparently it is being headed by a senior civil servant or a one-star general, with about 500 staff under them. These dudes have work that is almost unheard of. They live in a hush-hush world where top secret intelligence gathering is their utmost focus. The SID conducts clandestine activities, such as extensive human intelligence (HUMINT) operations in other South-east Asian countries, most notably our 'friendly' neighbour, Malaysia. Remember I once mentioned that the Malaysian government allegedly caught nine of our spies? Well....here's the skinny.....in the late 1980s, a major HUMINT operation was conducted by the SID with the aim of discovering details of Malaysian's defence procurement programmes. Apparently, the operation was a success and the 'spies' were able to penetrate into the Malaysian defence ministry and feed considerable amounts of classified information to Singapore. However, the kuku 'spies' got arrested by the Melayus, but the damn book did not give any details as to what happened to these brave souls.

Anyway, in the mid-1990s, the SID stretched their clandestine hand down under, as they kindda infiltrated the Australian defence ministry for crying out loud..... Eventually, the Aussies found out about it and Canberra became alarmed over such apparent Singaporean efforts to collect information on Australian defence capabilities. Seriously, why in the bleedy world would Australia be considered a military threat?? Apart from these God-forbidden activities, SID is, apparently, in cahoots with the National University of Singapore as well. The organization is presumed to be responsible for managing the analysis of imagery received from the satellite ground station operated by the NUS Centre for Remote Imaging. Well...according to Australian defence analyst Desmond Ball, Singapore possesses the most advanced electronic warfare capability in South-east Asia. In other words, even before a Malaysian ballistic missile hits us, hundreds of thousands of armed Singapore soldiers would be already waiting for the order to beat the crap outta those Melayus.....

So people....be careful of what you say....you don't wanna blabber about the sights and sounds of your stupid army camp to anyone...and especially to taxi-drivers. Who knows? The cabbie might just be a SID agent in disguise and will tengkat you if you reveal too much.....shhhhhhhh.....

Battleplan Malaysia

2005-07-23T11:27:00.000+08:00

First of all...I'd just like to say that I'm not against Malaysia or anything like that....I'm just a simple man sharing some gems of information with you guys....Hey I got them all from a book....you can point your fingers at the author for all you want.....

Yeah...this is the book with all the startling information....

Anyway sorry for such a late post but I'm gonna share with you some really cool stuff today....I guess some of you would be wondering what would a war against Malaysia be like? Well....according to this amazing piece of literature....Singapore's defence planners have long considered the possible conflicts we would have against our dear neighbour, and countless war scenarios have been played out repeatedly in SAF staff college exercises since the 1960s. The smarties at the SAF knew history cannot repeat itself, judging from the extreme difficulty the Brits had in defending our island from the Japs once the Japs entered the mainland. Thus, as ironic as it sounds, our defence strategy seems very offensive-oriented, as we cannot afford to let the enemy set a single foot on our soil.

Apparently, our defence plan is, most probably, to be able to absorb the first strike from the enemy and then lauch a full-frontal retaliation. Reason being that since we didn't make the first move, we would stand a better chance at defending our military aggression when the UN steps in. Ahhhhh....I love politicians.....Anyway, here's the supposed battle plan.

After absorbing the first strike, the RSAF would lauch a devasting air strike over Malaysia in conjunction with an electronic attack, that would help jam and disrupt the Malaysian Armed Forces' (MAF) communications and radars. According to the statistics in the book, our military aircraft number twice that of the MAF's, and IF our strong political ties with Thailand would allow us to use their airbases for air raids on Malaysia....someone is gonna be so fucked. So after gaining air superiority within the first few hours of any conflict, our army would step in, sending in our Commandos and heli-mobile Guards to seize control over the Malaysian side of the Causeway and the second-link at Tuas. From then on, it would be a full frontal assault as our combined arms divisions would take over, with a myriad of armour, infantry and engineer units. Our Guards battalions would, most probably, lead the ground assault as RSAF strike aircraft and assault choppers provide close support.

While the army and air force have their fun, our navy would help conduct amphibious landings, using their large fleet of landing crafts. The navy would position elements of Singapore army's 21st Division ( a semi-elite rapid deployment force....kindda like the US Marines) on Johore's coast as we wallop Malaysia from all sides. However, the navy's primary role would be to prevent any interferences with our maritime trade from Malaysia and help protect merchant ships, using our Mine Countermeasures Vessels MCVs). Our navy would also secure our maritime flanks and, at the same time, prevent any deployments of Malaysian reinforcements from Sabah and Sarawak (if they have any....).

Now according to military observers, Singapore's army would advance into the Malaysian peninsular and would halt at a zone called the 'Mersing Line'. This area is appoximately 80km deep into Johore and the strategic rationale behind this is that, we would have secured the water-pumping stations at Skudai and Kota Tinggi, and with sufficient strategic depth, our mainland would be rather safe from MAF's 155mm artillery. Furthermore, SAF would not be troubled by a huge Malay population, since Johore is relatively populated with ethnic Chinese and would, most probably, swing in our favour.

Oh well....I figure that the actual battleplan is more precise than this....it has to be....but then again....it's just a plan....seriously I think I'll just piss in my pants IF a real war does break out....you'll never know what the Malaysians have up on their sleeves....for all we know....they may have Gundam robots stored somewhere in the Johore jungles....waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting Singapore soldier.....

Malaysia: Our most likely adversary?

2005-07-12T18:02:00.000+08:00

Ever since our acrimonious spilt with Malaysia in 1965, bilateral tensions have been common, but none have, so far, been severe enough to trigger a full-scale military action. I'm gonna share with you some excerpts from a thought-proving book, titled "Defending the Lion City: The Armed Forces of Singapore" by a certain Mr Tim Huxley, who has written extensively on Southeast Asian politics and international relations, specializing in security and defence issues. These excerpts potray a fragile relationship between us and our Malaysian counterparts and describe the many incidents which would have thrown both you and me into the realism of war.

An aerial view of the Singapore-Johore causeway.
A reminder of our physically close but politically fragile relationship.

Since gaining our independence in 1965, Singapore's foreign policy was never in favour of military intervention of any form. Our political stance is to establish diplomatic ties with our neighbours and develop mutually-beneficial economic relationships, and especially with that of Malaysia. Now why is Malaysia viewed as our most likely military threat? Simple....as mentioned, bilateral issues between us and them have, till today, not been fully resolved. Our strained relationship speaks for itself in history books and relatively minor disputes seem to have the tendency to be blown out of proportion. Take the Pedra Branca incident as an example. During the 1990s, there was simmering disagreement over the ownership of the relatively insignificant island of Pedra Branca, off the east coast of Singapore. Apparently, Singapore had lay claim to the island's territorial rights and had prevented Malaysian fishing boats from appraoaching the island. No firm agreement has been reached between the two parties and the matter is now referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

No one knows for sure, but military operatives of Singapore seem to heavily involved in classified clandestine operations in Malaysia. In October 1987, a senior Malaysian defence intelligence officer, apparently, revealed that a SAF assault boat had infiltrated into a riverine area of southern peninsular Malaysia. Then in late 1989, Malaysia arrested nine alleged spies and accused them of selling military secrets to "a fellow ASEAN member". Of course, our government denied such audacious charges. Well....the Malaysian goverment claimed that it was not the first time that it had apprehended spies working for Singapore. However, the truth of such matters still remains a question.

Two years later, in 1991, our tense relations would be put to the test once again. On August 9 that year, our country's National Day, Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia held the largest military exercise ever between them in, of all places, Johore. The exercise was named Malindo Darsasa 3AB and involved the dropping of paratroopers. The SAF responded verhemently by placing the entire armed forces on high alert.

With incessant threats of cutting our vital water supply and the prevailing restrictions of the entry of Singapore's military aircraft into Malaysian airspace, our relationship with the Malaysians will never be one between budding friends, well.....at least not in the foreseeable future. It has been widely rumoured that the Malaysian goverment had, once or twice, played with the idea of war against Singapore, but had always backed down this prospect due to the detrimental effects a war would have on its economy and society. Sure....no one wants a war but when the day comes when the Malaysians cut off our water supply....I'll see you on the battlefront, brother.....

Ooooppppssss......

2005-07-11T15:30:00.000+08:00

Ermmm....I know i'm digressing a little...or rather a lot....from what I am suppose to talk about in this blog but she is just too HOT!!! Forgive me people.....

The definition of hot...

2005-07-11T15:29:00.000+08:00

Her Hotness.....Ms Jessie Alba...

2005-07-11T15:28:00.000+08:00

Slap me....somebody slap me!

The US Special Operations Forces

2005-07-11T13:39:00.000+08:00

Now....we now know that the US has truckloads of special forces....all of which engage in unconventional warfare...these dudes are the tougest troops of the armed forces and are tasked with counter-terrorism, espionage and even assasination missions. During peacetime, Special Operations Force (SOF) units are usually under the operational command of their assigned branch of the military. However, the Secretary of Defense can place SOFs under the direct control of the United States Special Operarions Command (SOCOM), usually in time of active hostilities.

Green Berets in action.

First up....the Green Berets. The Green Berets are generally known to be the top brains of the SOF. Besides being trained in unconventional warfare, these troops are required to learn foreign languages which, when acquired, would allow Green Beret operatives to infiltrate hostile environments and even recruit potential foreign informers. Moreover, these guys are trained to memorize maps to the extent that a Green Beret can reproduce an exact replica in the dead of the night. The Green Berets are the official special forces of the United States Army and are renowned for their ability to survive for months behind enemy lines.

Next....the United States Army Rangers, also known as the 75th Ranger Regiment. These flexible, highly trained and rapidly deployable light infantry force; commonly known as rangers, specializes in airborne, light-infantry and direct action operations, conducting raids, infiltration and exfiltration by air, land or sea, airfield seizure, recovery of personnel and special equipment, and support of general purpose forces (GPF) among others. They are much akin to our Guards battalions and every ranger battalion is deployable to anywhere in the world within 18 hours. I doubt our Guards can top that, but then again.....we don't make as many enemies as the US :)

Anyway.....we'll now go on to my favourite US SOF....the highly classified and secretive Delta Force. Why is the Delta Force my favourite? Well...it's simple....these dudes have training regimes unlike any other I've read about or heard. Recalling from a book that I've read about Delta Force, this units recruits operatives from all branches of the US military. At their main compound in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, numerous shooting facilities, a dive tank, mock-up houses and even a mock-up of an airliner lay strewn across this highly-guarded terrority. But this takes the cake.....since Delta Force operatives are trained to be experts in hostage situations, trainees are required to shoot at artificial targets standing in a room, while their buddies are tied to chairs. And yes....live rounds are used but there hasn't been any reports of any serious mishaps.

Last but not least...the Navy SEALs. These expert naval divers are trained to handle missions from the sea, air and land, hence the acronym. Their missions include reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, clandestine operations, and unconventional and counter–guerilla warfare, and these guys are often regarded as the best divers in the entire US armed forces. Not only can the SEALs operate in any type of environment, each SEAL team is trained to specialize in an Area of Operaion (AO), be it jungle, arctic, woodland or desert terrain. These dudes are much like our own Naval Diving Unit; they go through the famed Hell Week too, but I don't think our divers can match up with these SEAL dudes.

Well....apart from their remarkable capabilities....one thing is for sure about the US Special Operaions Forces.....never fuck with them.....

Pics of the US armed forces

2005-07-08T16:54:00.000+08:00

The USS Enterprise.

2005-07-08T16:53:00.001+08:00

The M1A1 Abrams tank.

2005-07-08T16:53:00.000+08:00

Navy SEALs in training.

2005-07-08T16:52:00.000+08:00

US Army Rangers on patrol

The US armed forces: What's the difference between them and us (SAF) ?

2005-07-08T15:54:00.000+08:00

I'm sure most of us Singaporean guys would know how the SAF works...its pretty simple actually...the SAF is made up of the tri-service of the army, navy and air force. All land operations will be conducted by the army, sea operations by the navy and anything that can fly belongs to the air force. Moreover, our special forces, meaning troops who carry out unconventional warfare, would include the commandos, guards, the highly classified Special Operations Forces (SOF) and the Naval Diving Unit (NDU). The first three come under the command of the army while the NDU takes orders from the navy.

Now, since the US is like a really huge country with huge-ass armed forces, their military structure is much more complicated than ours. For starters, the US Department of Defense includes four main military units, the army, navy, air force and marines. The army, much like ours, would include all land troops like infantry, armour and engineer units. The navy, would of course, include their omni-present aircraft carriers, frigates and subs. Now interestingly, the air force only has command of fixed-winged aircraft that take off from airfields. Aircraft like the F-18 Hornet and the F-14 Tomcat would belong exclusively to the navy since they operate mainly from carriers. It's pretty ironic but the navy takes control of aircraft as well. Furthermore, in Singapore, military helicopters reside with our air force but over in the US, choppers do not take orders exclusively from any of the main military units but are actually scattered across the units. This means that the navy or the army would have their own choppers like the Super Puma or Apache.

Mmmm....you may now ask....so what in the world are the marines for then? Well....they are actually 'shock troops' who are fully equipped with their own artillery, armour and aircraft. Their role is to be the initial strike force in any military encounters, thus many are stationed on board aircraft carriers, ready to be immediately deployed in the event of any military action anywhere in the world.

As for the forces involved in unconventional warfare, they would include the US Navy SEALs, Delta Force, Green Berets, Rangers and the Air Force Air commandos. Seriously, the list goes on but these are the main ones who have been integral special operation forces for the US armed forces. These different group of soldiers operate differently for various unique purposes and I shall talk more about them in my next post. In the meantime, just chill out and be good.....work sucks but there's really nothing I can do about it.....crap.....

Those were the days.......the 'soldiers' I lived with....

2005-07-05T16:11:00.000+08:00

Oh yes....those were the days.....when life was semi-good, semi-lousy back then when we did not have to worry about exams and assignments.......but we did had lots of worries about extra duties and freakin exercises.....yes....those were the NSF days when, yours truly, was a specialist with the Armoured Engineers of the SAF.....

Sigh....Im kindda getting nostlagic about my NS life which was like 2 years back...when I was in the company of a bunch of people who were literally from every walk of life....there was Mr Nat...our Section I/C who was quite a 'sweathead' cos I ain't wearing no helmet that he's worn....hell no.....then there's our quartermaster or Store I/C...Mr Chandra.....whos a fan of X Japan, a now defunct Jap rock group and who also listens to 'chinky chong' music, meaning Chinese songs and stuff....hell...almost the whole bunch of them are into 'chinky chong'....then there's Mr Ng....a self-proclaimed health freak who's into creatine and stuff and I bet my ass off that his favourite mag is Men's Health....mannnn....this guy even meditates in the wee hours of the morning but ironically, he's a skinny shit.....

Going on.....theres Mr Long...whom I think is a hibernating bear in his last life, since this dude sleeps like the whole bloody day whenever he gets the chance....but in retrospect...sleep was quite a rare commodity back then....and theres Mr Kan...who was our 2 I/C and is now heading a multi-hundred dollar company that deals with car body kits....then theres Mr Lian...our signal I/C...who is short as hell and a bleedy hygiene freak....dirt, to him, is taboo....theres also a Mr Beng....who...well...was really a beng prior to NS....oh you know....tight pants with tight shirts and a yellow belt....yah thats him.....and theres Mr Teo....who was one of the laziest ass I've ever encountered....a selfish smuck who couldn't give shit about camaderie.....

Now onto the last and elite group of the section.....the Public Service Commission (PSC) scholars who were the smart asses of the lot with queer habits....first up....Mr Winston....this ain't no Winston Churchill but this dude has a freaking interest in reading Chinese novels...yah those with words that go from top to bottom but I must say....thanks Mr Winston for teaching me the exquisite card games of Bridge and Hearts. Next on.....Mr Chia....a weird dude with a really high forehead and a knack for sleeping in contortionistic positions...mannnn....he even reads 'The Economist' regularly....talk about weird. Well...last but not least.....is Mr Yang...oh yes...how can I forget Mr Yang....smart fuck who seems to have the habit for spilling his balls out when wearing riculously loose shorts!

Oh well.......in spite of all the griping....you know I love you all.....in-camp training anyone?

More pics of the CET

2005-07-04T20:10:00.000+08:00

CET with floats attached to its bucket, used for amphibious operations.

2005-07-04T20:08:00.000+08:00

CET firing a Rocket Propelled Anchor (RPA).

My Armoured Baby

2005-07-04T19:03:00.000+08:00

Well...since no one seems to be appreciative of local places with great historical significance...I'll shall now tell you more about the incredible armoured vehicle that I drove while in the army. OK...but seriously apart from a few 'simple minds'....is there anyone out there who actually thinks this is a pretty cool blog? If there is, please leave a comment or two...at least I know I'm not wasting my time here.....anyway....while serving my vocation in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), I was made a 3rd sergeant and was put in charge of the Combat Engineer Tractor or CET for short....

The Combat Engineer Tractor.

OK...first of all...although that's the official name of this vehicle....it's a freaking tank with freaking armour...although it's more like an armoured bulldozer....damn I hate the word 'tractor'... but anyway here's a little skinny about this TANK...

The CET is a unique armoured vehicle designed specifically for undertaking engineering tasks in a front line combat zone, such as a variety of lifting, digging and light recovery tasks. It started out as an international project between Britain, West Germany and France in the 60s but West Germany and France kindda backed out. Thus, eventually, by 1974, 7 prototypes were completed for the British Army and the vehicle was officially commissioned in 1977. The CET served during the Falklands War, in large numbers during the first Gulf War and more recently, in Bosnia as part of the UK (UN) forces.

This vehicle is affectionately known as 'Frog' in British Army service, maybe because of its amphibious capabilities but in Singapore, we just call it ...errmmmm.....CET. Anyway this is the really cool part of the vehicle....the CET sits 2 people in tandem....the driver and the commander. The vehicle is actually equipped with dual controls on opposite sides, meaning you'll see 2 steering wheels, 2 brake pedals, 2 gearboxes....yada yada....for both the driver and the commander...I'll tell you why in a minute...

OK...the rear of the CET is actually the side with the bucket...and the commander steers this side of the vehicle, using the versatile bucket to dig tank pits, anti-tank ditches and do all the dirty work. When on the move, the driver takes over and the CET traverses in the opposite direction, via the 'front'. Apart from the bucket, this vehicle is also equipped with a Rocket Propelled Anchor (RPA) which, when fired, is able to pull the vehicle out of steep embankments as the anchor is attached to a steel cable, which is coupled to a main winch.

Oh yah....the CET retains the honour of being the ONLY tank in the entire SAF to have an air-conditioning system...although out of the 20 odd tanks we have only 2 still have their systems still working...and it is also the ONLY tank that has a self-propulsion system that enables it to 'swim' across rivers and seas...two propellers are situated near the bucket side of the vehicle and the commander operates all swimming operations....oh yeah....those were the fun days...However, apart from these cool features, the CET has little defensive capabilities or rather none at all....the driver and commander are only equipped with their personal M15 carbine rifles and the vehicle's armour can only withstand small-arms fire. Apparently, the CET's armour strength is supposed to be classified.....mmmmmm....oooppss....

Oh oh.....this state-of-the-art vehicle is also equipped with nuclear, biological and chemical capabilities that help protect the crew from such.....oh crap....this is supposed to be classified too....anyway this vehicle rocks!....and I love the PAP....

More pics of Labrador Park

2005-07-03T20:15:00.000+08:00

One of several storyboards which chronicles the history of the park.

2005-07-03T20:13:00.000+08:00

The beach at Labrador park.

WW2 Heritage sites of Singapore: Labrador Park

2005-07-03T19:44:00.000+08:00

Now let us take a stroll through one of Singapore's oldest national parks, Labrador Park, which is situated just off Pasir Panjang Rd. It's pretty near the Reflections at Bukit Chandu museum but if you're travelling by foot, it would be a hell of a long way to walk. Anyway, Labrador Park is a 16.8ha site that still holds some ancient WW2 relics and bunkers. Some say a walk through this quiet, scenic park is like travelling through the pages of a history book where the ruins of war lay frozen in time.....

Machine gun post at Labrador Park.

Back then in 1942, Labrador Park was a British strategic defense site that was meant to protect the Singapore harbour from a supposed sea invasion from the Japs. Well.....you know the rest of the story....the Japs walloped the British from the rear and maybe that's why this machine gun post is still standing there...almost intact. Apart from this gun post, the park also contains ruins of British command posts, observation positions and ammunition storage compartments, all of which are concealed partly by thick vegetation.

A walk along the park's two-hour-long history trail, which is punctuated by storyboards, gives an idea of the battles bravely fought. One of the monuments along the way is an imposing 4m-high casemate in front of Carpark A. Built in 1886, this is a concrete structure in which a gun is usually mounted. The park also has an underground tunnel which was constructed in 1886 as a storeroom for guns and ammunition. It is also widely rumoured that this tunnel actually stretches under the sea, linking it to the nearby island of Sentosa. No one knows for sure but it would be one hell of a discovery if truly this man-made tunnel links Sentosa to the mainland. If so, who needs cable cars?

So people....there is more to life than just movies and meals....Singapore has got plenty of cool places to visit...and if you're a war junkie just like me....you have got to see all these WW2 shit...

More pics of the Reflections at Bukit Chandu museum

2005-07-02T12:15:00.000+08:00

The "Defence of Malaya" exhibit.

2005-07-02T12:13:00.000+08:00

The re-enactment of The Battle of Pasir Panjang.

WW2 Heritage sites of Singapore: Reflections at Bukit Chandu

2005-07-02T11:35:00.000+08:00

Located beside Pepys Rd, near Pasir Panjang Rd lies a little musuem which very few people have heard of. Reflections at Bukit Chandu pays tribute to the gallantry and valour of the 2nd Battalion Malay Regiment that fought bitterly against the Japs in WW2 during the Battle of Pasir Panjang.

Exterior of the museum

This interpretative centre takes you on a trip back to the year 1942, starting off its exhibitions with never-seen-before pics and artefacts which chronicles the British defence preparations of the island. Further on, one would be able to learn about the clourful history of the The Malay Regiment. Here's a little skinny about this brave bunch of souls.....The Malay Regiment, which was commonly known as Askar Melayu, was formed on 1st March 1933 in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan, Malaysia. This "experimental company" started off with 25 recruits. It was designated "experimental" because at that stage, the "company" was only an attempt to "find out how the Malays would react to military discipline", as recounted by the founding officer of the regiment Well....it didn't take long for the Malays to prove themselves as credible, highly disciplined soldiers.

Next on, one can also view the re-enactment of the bloody Battle of Pasir Panjang from a pillbox as you witness the destruction of war, cleverly presented by a narrator. A detailed account of the battles that were fought against the Japs back then presented via a 3-D model with video and graphics aplenty, would throw you back in awe. There is even a replica of one of the bicycles which the Japs used to advance down the Malaysian Peninsula. Well....needless to say, this is definitely a place to visit...and even more so if you are a war junkie like me....you can find out more from the museum's website at www.s1942.org.sg...which would tell you in greater detail of its many exhibits and attractions....

More pics of the Kranji War Memorial

2005-07-01T11:27:00.000+08:00

This photograph shows the grave of Nurse Dorothy M.M. Sugden of the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Many nurses and other women died when the Japanese bombed ships carrying evacuees from Singapore during the desperate days of February 1942.

2005-07-01T11:25:00.000+08:00

Looking up the hill from the north west

WW2 Heritage sites of Singapore: Kranji War Memorial

2005-07-01T10:59:00.000+08:00

Hey there, for you people, whether you're a local or you're just someone who happen to chance upon my blog.....here's a trip down memory lane as I take you on a tour of Singapore's WW2 heritage sites....

Kranji War Memorial

Located on a hill in the north of Singapore, not far from the causeway linking Singapore to the Malaysian state of Johore, lies the Kranji War Memorial. Kranji is one of many war cemeteries cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in countries around the world. It was originally a British military camp, with a large ammunition dump. Close by is the mouth of the Kranji River, where the Japanese Imperial Guards Division landed on 9th February 1942, the day after the landings at Sarimbun. It's a pretty solemn place and I've actually been there before during one of those school fieldtrips. I remembered that it was a really cloudy morning and the atmosphere was simply nostalgic, as it was drizzling and a small group of us were all the people who were there that quiet morning.

Anyway, here's more on the skinny of the war memorial. Following the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Kranji became a POW camp, with a POW hospital close by at Woodlands. A cemetery for prisoners was started at Kranji and after the war, in 1946, it was decided to move war graves from Changi, Buona Vista and other cemeteries to Kranji which would be designated as Singapore’s War Cemetery. Graves were also moved to Kranji from as far afield as Saigon where they could not be maintained. Graves from the Christian Bidadari Cemetery were also later moved to Kranji. There are 4,461 war graves in Kranji with 1,289 being unidentified. The memorial panels are inscribed with the names of over 24,000 casualties who have no known grave.

Following the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore in 1971, The Singapore government moved burials from the Pasir Panjang and Ulu Pandan military cemeteries to Kranji. This delicate work was carried out from 1975-1976. The new military cemetery was created on the western slope of Kranji Hill beside the war cemetery. In 2004, more graves from Bidadari Cemetery were also moved to the military cemetery. The military cemetery contains 1,785 graves and has two gardens of remembrance. Some of the moved burials were cremated at the wish of relatives, and the ashes of some of these were returned home and the remainder were scattered on these gardens. Sigh....mannn....my hats off for these heroes of WW2....so if you're a local, an Australian, British or a New Zealander....do come by this evocative and enchanting site where it will take you years back into the tragic past where our forefathers once fought bravely against a common enemy.....

Fall of Singapore: The British surrenders...

2005-06-30T10:44:00.000+08:00

It was only a matter of time for the British to surrender in shame as the Japs made their way south . At about 1pm, on February 14, Jap soldiers approached Alexandra Barracks Hospital....

Victorious Japs march through the city centre.

As Jap soldiers marched into the hospital, no resistance was offered but some of the damn Japs started bayoneting and shooting both patients and staff. he following day, about 200 male staff members and patients, many of them unable to walk, were ordered to march about 400 metres. Some were carried and anyone who fell on the way was bayoneted. The men were crowded in a series of small, badly ventilated rooms and were imprisoned overnight, without water. The following morning, they were systematically bayoneted. This bitter tragedy has been since coined "The Alexnadra Hospital Massarce".

By the morning of February 15, the Japanese had broken through the last line of defence, and food and some kinds of ammunition had begun to run out. After meeting his unit commanders, Percival contacted the Japanese and formally surrendered the Allied forces to Yamashita at the Ford Motor Factory, shortly after 5.15pm. This would be the largest surrender of British-led forces in history.

For the next three and a half years, Singapore suffered tremendous hardships, as the Allied prisoners were poorly treated while being confined at Changi Prison and thousands of others were sent to build the Siam-Burma Railway, working as slave labourers. The Chinese, in particular, were hated by the Japs since many of them had gave various aids to China during Japan's war with their motherland. As such, the Sook Ching Massarce, as it is now known, was conducted by the Jap rulers to punish the patroitic Chinese. This semi-systematic extermination of the Chinese involved interrogations and the subsequent executions of innocents either by bayoneting or shooting. It was Singapore's darkest hour, but after the Japs were finally defeated, this tiny nation swore, it would never be ruled by a foreign oppressor ever again.

Betcha didn't know:

Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew once escaped the jaws of death, when he requested permission from a Jap sentry to return to a concentration camp to retreive his clothes, when he was ordered to board a lorry. Mr Lee, subsequently, sneaked back into the camp and hid there for a couple of days before escaping successfully. It was not before long that he realized that the people who had boarded that lorry were sent to be executed.

2005-06-29T15:00:00.000+08:00

Lt. Adnan bin Saidi. Our local war hero.

Fall of Singapore: The end nears...

2005-06-29T14:37:00.000+08:00

The opening at Kranji made it possible for the Imperial Guards to land tanks, and to advance rapidly southward, by-passing the British 18th Division. However, Jap supplies were running perilously low but realizing that the Allies were also in a similiar position, Yamashita called bluff.

Lt.Gen. Yamashita (the fierce-looking dude in the centre)
thumps his fist to emphasize unconditional surrender.
Percival quivers with his clenched hand in his mouth.

On February 11, Yamashita called on Percival to "give up this meaningless and desperate resistance" By this stage, the fighting strength of the 22nd Brigade — which had borne the brunt of the Japanese attacks — had been reduced to a few hundred personnel, and it was all but destroyed. The Japanese had captured the Bukit Timah area, including most of the Allied ammunition and fuel stores, and giving them control of the main water supplies.

Even though the Allies were fighting somewhat a losing battle, the local forces battled valiantly as Jap forces closed in towards the south-east of the island. At the Battle of Pasir Panjang, the Malay Regiment, led by Lt. Adnan bin Saidi fought their way to the bitter end. Amid heavy artillery shelling and a shortage of food and ammunition, Lt. Adnan ordered his understrengthed men to not give up and eventually held up the Japs by about 48 hours. In the end, the battle degenerated into primitive hand-to-hand fighting and Lt. Adnan was captured and bayoneted to death. I salute you, Lt. Adnan, our war hero......

However, the Allies lost more ground on February 13, and senior officers advised Percival to surrender, in the interests of minimizing civilian casualties. Percival refused but unsuccessfully sought authority to surrender from his superiors. The following day the remaining Allied units battled on; civilian casualties mounted as one million people crowded into the area now held by the Allies and bombing and artillery attacks intensified. Civilian authorities began to fear that the water supply would soon give out. Interestingly, if only the Allies had known about the true strength and supplies of the Japs, then maybe, just maybe, we could had won this cruel battle....

Fall of Singapore: The Japs invade!

2005-06-28T16:36:00.000+08:00

As the Japs massed along the southern coastline of Johore, the Allies retreated onto the Singapore mainland and ermmmm.......waited for their emminent doom. In desperation, the British blew up the causeway that linked Johore to Singapore and delayed the Jap invasion by just over a week. On February 8, 1942, at 8:30 pm, all hell broke loose.....

The blown up causeway

As the 5th and 18th divisions of the Jap Imperial Army surged toward Singapore, Australian machine gunners opened fire and tried as they did, they could not halt a 4,000 strong infantry menace rushing straight at them. Fierce fighting raged all day, but eventually the increasing Japanese numbers — as well as their superiority in artillery, planes and military intelligence — began to tell. In the north west of the island, they exploited gaps in the thinly-spread Allied lines such as such as rivers and creeks. By midnight, the two Australian brigades had lost communications with each other and the 22nd Brigade was being forced to retreat. At 1 am, further Japanese troops were landed in the north west of the island and the last Australian reserves went into position.

Towards dawn on February 9, elements of the 22nd Brigade were being overrun, cut off and/or surrounded, and the Australian 2/18th Battalion had lost more than 50% of its personnnel. Percival maintained a belief that further landings would occur in the north east and did not reinforce the beleagured 22nd Brigade with Indian or British units. During the course of the day, Allied units in the west were forced to retreat further east. Command and control problems — and the failure to reinforce front line units — caused further cracks in the Allied defence. Following a fateful misunderstanding, the 27th Brigade began to withdraw from Kranji in the central north. The Allies thereby lost control of the crucial Kranji-Jurong ridge, running through the western side of the island. By now, it was only a matter of time before my beloved hometown got pulverized as the Japs inched their way towards the centre of the island....

Fall of Singapore: Preparations

2005-06-24T19:31:00.000+08:00

The Allied commander, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival had at his disposal 85,000 soldiers, the equivalent (on paper) of just over four divisions. There were about 70,000 front-line combat troops in 38 infantry battalions — 17 Indian; 13 British; six Australian, two Malayan/Singaporean — and three machine gun battalions. On the contrary, the Japs had just over 36,000 men. Oh well....the British and some of the locals still got their asses whooped by the battle-hardened Japs.

The Allied troops were positioned all along the northern sector and even the south-eastern urban sector of the island. However, Jap aerial reconnisance, scouts, and infiltrators
commandeered high points across the straits, such as the Sultan of Johore 's palace. Thus, the Japanese commander, General Tomoyuki Yamashita and his staff gained excellent knowledge of the Allied positions. From February 3, the Allies were shelled by Japanese artillery. In spite of a Royal Air Force contingent of 10 Hawker Hurricane fighters, Japanese air attacks intensified over the next five days. Air and artillery attacks intensified to the point that they were compared to the notorious barrages of World War I. These preliminary attacks severely disrupted communications between Allied units and their commanders, and affected preparations for the defence of the island. The Allies had no bomber force to speak of, and limited artillery. It seems that the island of Singapore was not that politically important to the British after all....

Betcha didn't know:

It was often thought that Singapore's famous larger-calibre guns could only point southwards, anticipating a sea invasion from the Japs. In fact, they could turn northwards and they did fire at the Japs but were relatively ineffective since they were only armed with armour-piercing shells.

2005-06-22T11:53:00.000+08:00

Map of Singapore

Fall of Singapore: Overview

2005-06-22T11:10:00.000+08:00

Since yours truly here is and always has been a true blue Singaporean....here's a walk down memory lane for both my international and local readers, as I'm gonna reveal to you the utter humiliation the British suffered while defending my country from the damn Japs in WW2. For those dudes who do not have the slightest idea where in the world Singapore is.....well.....it's a really tiny island nation just off the southern tip of the Malaysian peninsula....and if you do not know where Malaysia is.....go shoot yourself....

Lt.General Arthur Percival (beside the Jap dude)
being led to negotiate the capitulation of the
Allied forces in Singapore.

After the attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Jap forces expanded their conquests rapidly over the East Asian region. It seems there was little opposition from the British who were apparently pretty cocksure that the Japs would invade the Singapore fortress from the south because the Malaysian jungles were too thick and treacherous. Well.....they were bleedy wrong.

When the Japanese 14th Army invaded Malaya on 7 December of 1941, it was resisted by the Indian Army, Australian Army and a few battalions from the British. The Japs held a slight advantage in terms of numbers on the ground in northern Malaya, but were superior in close air support, tanks, infantry tactics and experience. Feeling hardpressed, the British, our once colonial masters, sent a small naval fleet towards the east coast of Malaya to destroy the Jap convoys. This fleet included the famed HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales, which were embarrassingly destroyed by Jap torpedo bombers.....they were simply repulsive and pathetic...

Anyway, the Japs steadily made their way down Malaya towards Singapore, the lynchpin of the first Allied joint command of WW2. The speed at which the Japs travelled down Malaya came as a shock to the British. But it was not really surprising since the whole lot of them cycled through paved roads since the US had already cut off nearly all of their oil supply. It seems tanks were not deemed neccessarily in the conquest of Malaya and almost 6000 bicycles were used. Colonel Masanobu, a Jap officer, once quipped that the conquest of Malaya was made easy by the combination of expensive British roads and cheap Jap bicycles......now who said superior technology equals military victory?

Pearl Harbour Conspiracy: Part Deux

2005-06-20T12:48:00.000+08:00

Ok people.....got some of this stuff from the net....I dunno whether they are reliable but here it goes...

President Franklin Roosevelt. Hero or traitor?

Apparently, on July 10, 1941, five months before the Pearl Harbour tragedy, US Military Attache Smith-Hutton at Tokyo, reported Japanese Navy secretly practicing aircraft torpedo attacks against capital ships in Ariake Bay. Eerily, the bay closely resembles Pearl Harbour. Then about a month later, the top British agent, code named "Tricycle", Dusko Popov, told the FBI of the planned attack on Pearl Harbor and that it would be soon. The FBI told him that his information was "too precise, too complete to be believed. The questionnaire plus the other information you brought spell out in detail exactly where, when, how, and by whom we are to be attacked. If anything, it sounds like a trap." These details are both astonishing and bewildering....if not rather ironic.....since this brings to mind the reported mix-up in intelligence prior to 9-11.....could it be that the US really underestimated the Japs or is something amiss? the following report takes the cake.

Well....apparently, on September 24, 1941, the "bomb plot" message in J-19 code from Japan Naval Intelligence to Japan' s consul general in Honolulu requesting grid references of exact locations of ships, pinpointed for the benefit of bombardiers and torpedo pilots was deciphered. There was no reason to know the EXACT location of ships in harbour, unless to attack them - it was a dead giveaway. Chief of War Plans, Turner, and Chief of Naval Operations, Stark, repeatedly kept it from being passed to Hawaii. The Chief of Naval Intelligence, Captain Kirk, was replaced because he insisted on warning Pearl Harbour.

Seriously....these stuff may be just pure speculation....but hey....they are worth a thought or two....you can check out more of this conspiracy nformation at the "Pearl Harbour: Mother of all Conspiracies" website, where it even mentions that FDR had allowed flagrant Jap spying on Pearl Harbour and that the original commander of Pearl Harbour, Admiral Richardson was replaced in, as early as 1940, because of his incessant complaints about the security inadequacy of the harbour against air and torpedo attacks. Is it possible that FDR had always had the notion of entering WW2.....we may never know for sure......but then again, if the US had not intervene....would the world be still in the hands of the Germans and Japs?

Pearl Harbour: Conspiracy Theory?

2005-06-17T12:01:00.000+08:00

I'm sure many of us would know of the infamous attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour by the Japs on December 7, 1941. Apparently, the Japs took the chaps at Pearl Harbour by 'complete surprise' and sunk 11 of the battleships and destroyers in dock. Up to 2,403 American servicemen were killed and 68 civilians were not spared as well. According to most history books, the Yanks had not predicted this heinous act by the Japs. It was not before long President Roosevelt (FDR) declared war against the Axis powers, in response to this 'day of infamy'. But did the US government really had not anticipate this bold move by the Japs? Or did FDR 'invited' the Japs to launch this attack so as to have an excuse for war?

Carnage at Pearl Harbour

Now why do I suspect that there seems to be something wrong with historical accounts on the attack on Pearl Harbour? Well....let's see....for one fact.....the three carriers of the US Pacific Fleet, the USS Lexington, Enterprise and Saragota were, coincidentally, not even near the Hawaiian islands on that fateful day. The Enterprise was returing from a cruise, the Lexington had sortied a few days earlier and the Saragota was in San Diego following a refit at a shipyard.

Moreover, it was reported that the during the Atlantic Conference, on August 14, 1941, Winston Churchill noted 'the astonishing depth of Roosevelt's intense desire for war'. It was widely rumoured that FDR was eager to wage war against Germany but his cabinet had repeatedly refused due to an anticipated public outcry. Thus, knowing that there would be a better chance for Japan, and not Germany, to make the first move, FDR apparently hid intelligence from Pearl Harbour command, so as to allow the Japs to launch the attack.

Interestingly, it was Germany, and not Japan, which declared war on the US just four days after the Pearl Harbour attack, although it was under no obligation to do so under the terms of the Tripartite Pact it had with Italy and Japan. Furthermore, in a diary entry by the then Secretary of Interior, Harold Ickes, he wrote "For a long time I have believed that our best entrance into war would be by way of Japan."

Could FDR have sacrificed thousands of his servicemen at Pearl Harbour for a supposed 'greater good' ?

Battle of Leyte Gulf: Aftermath

2005-06-16T15:03:00.000+08:00

The Battle of Leyte Gulf secured the beachheads for the US Sixth Army on Leyte against attack from the sea. However, much hard fighting would be required before the island was completely in Allied hands at the end of December 1944.

The battle destroyed Jap naval power and opened the way for the advance to the Ryuku Islands in 1945. The only significant Jap naval operation in the rest of the war was the disastrous Operation Ten-Go in April 1945, where the Yamato went on a suicidal mission against the Allied attack on Okinawa, without any air cover. Obviously, the bleedy ship sunk.

Oh well.......the Battle of Leyte Gulf crippled the Jap naval fleet and WW2 was apparently nearing its end as the Yanks prepare for an atomic showdown.......now that the story of Leyte Gulf has ended.....tune in next time for my next write-up on the rumoured Pearl Harbour Conspiracy.....

Battle off Samar

2005-06-15T11:25:00.000+08:00

In this fourth and last decisive engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japs were staring into the face of near-total anniliation.

The Battle off Samar

Kurita passed through San Benardino Strait at 03:00 on 25 October 1944 and steamed south along the coast of Samar. To stop them were three groups of the Seventh Fleet commanded by Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, each with six escort carriers, and seven or eight destroyers and/or destroyer escorts. Admiral Thomas Sprague's task unit was called "Taffy 1". Admiral Felix Stump's task unit was called "Taffy 2" while Admiral Cilfton Sprague's task unite was called "Taffy 3". Each escort carrier carried about 30 planes, making more than 500 planes in all. However, escort carriers were slow and lightly armoured, and stood little chance in an encounter with a battleship.

A mix-up in communications led Kinkaid to believe that Willis A. Lee's Task Force 34 of battleships was guarding the San Bernardino Strait to the north and that there would be no danger from that direction. But Lee had gone with Halsey in pursuit of Ozawa. The Japanese came upon Taffy 3 at 06:45, taking the Americans completely by surprise. Kurita mistook the escort carriers for fleet carriers and thought that he had the whole of the American 3rd fleet under the 18 inch (457 mm) guns of his battleships.

Sprague directed his carriers to turn and flee towards a squall to the east, hoping that bad visibility would reduce the accuracy of Japanese gunfire, and sent his destroyers in to distract the Japanese battleships and buy time. The destroyers attacked the Japanese line with suicidal determination, drawing fire and scattering the Japanese formations as ships turned to avoid torpedoes. The American destroyers Hoel and Johnston, and destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts were sunk and four others were damaged, but they had bought enough time for Sprague to get his planes into the air. There was no time to reload with armour-piercing bombs, so the planes attacked with whatever they happened to have on board. Eventually,Sprague turned and fled south, with shells falling around his carriers.

It seemed impossible for Taffy 3 to escape total destruction, but at 09:20 Kurita turned and retreated north. The destroyer attacks had broken up his formations, he had lost tactical control, and the heavy cruisers (Chokai, Suzuya, Chikuma) had been sunk by concentrated sea and air attack. In the end, Kurita retreated north and then west through the San Bernardino Strait under continuous air attack. Nagato, Haruna and Kongo were severely damaged. Kurita had begun the battle with five battleships; when he returned to Japan, only Yamato was combat-worthy.

2005-06-14T11:11:00.000+08:00

Fleet Admiral William Fredrick Halsey, Jr

2005-06-14T11:07:00.000+08:00

Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa

Battle off Cape Engano

2005-06-14T10:37:00.000+08:00

In this third engagement of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Ozawa's Northern Force was tasked to lure Halsey's fleet away from the Allied landings. Ozawa's "Northern Force" had four aircraft carriers (Zuikaku— the last surviving carrier of the Attack on Pearl Harbour — Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda), two WW1 battleships that were partially converted to carriers (Hyuga and Ise), three cruisers (Oyodo, Tama, and Isuzu), and nine destroyers. Poor Ozawa had only 108 planes.

Jap aircraft carriers, Zuikaku, left, and
(probably) Zuiho under attack by dive bombers

On October 24, Ozawa's force was not spotted until 16:40. The Americans were too busy attacking Kurita and dealing with the air strikes from Luzon. On the evening of October 24, Ozawa intercepted a (mistaken) American communication of Kurita's withdrawal, and began to withdraw as well. But at 20:00, Toyoda Soemu ordered all forces to attack.

Halsey saw that he had an opportunity to destroy the last Japanese carrier forces in the Pacific, a blow that would completely destroy Japanese sea power and allow the U.S. Navy to attack the Japanese homelands. Believing that Kurita had been defeated by the airstrikes in the Sibuyan Sea, and was retiring to Brunei, Halsey set out in pursuit of Ozawa just after midnight with all three carrier groups and Admiral Willis A. Lee's "Task Force 34" of battleships. Although Kurita's movement toward the San Bernardino Strait had been tracked by scout planes, it seems Halsey was not informed.

The U.S. Third Fleet was formidable and completely outgunned the Japanese Northern Force. Halsey had nine fleet carriers, eight light carriers, six battleships, seventeen cruisers and sixty-three destroyers. He could put more than 1,000 planes in the air butut it left the landings on Leyte covered only by a handful of escort carriers and destroyers. Halsey had taken the bait so temptingly dangled in front of him by Ozawa. However, it appeared that this was a trap worth springing.

On the morning of October 25, Ozawa launched 75 planes to attack the Americans, doing little damage. Most of the planes were shot down by the American covering patrols. A handful of survivors made it to Luzon.

The American carriers launched their first attack group of 180 aircraft at dawn, before the Northern Force had been located, and the search aircraft made contact at 07:10. At 08:00 the American fighters destroyed the screen of 30 defensive aircraft, and the air strikes began and continued until the evening, by which time the American aircraft had flown 527 sorties against the Northern Force, and sunk three of Ozawa's carriers (Zuikaku, Zuiho and Chiyoda) and the destroyer Akitsuki. The fourth carrier, Chitose, was disabled, as was the cruiser Tama. Ozawa transferred his flag to Oyodo.

With all the Japanese carriers sunk or disabled, the main targets remaining were the converted battleships Ise and Hyuga. Their massive construction proved resistant to the air strikes, and Halsey sent Task Force 34 forward to engage them directly. But then news reached Halsey of the engagement off Samar and that disaster was facing Sprague's Task Group 77.4. He abandoned the pursuit and turned south, detaching only a small force of cruisers and destroyers, under Laurence T. DuBose, to sink the disabled Japanese ships. Ise and Hyuga returned to Japan, where they were sunk at their moorings in 1945. Very soon, it was Sayonara Nippon.......

2005-06-13T13:18:00.000+08:00

Battleship Yamashiro

Battle of Surigao Strait

2005-06-13T12:36:00.000+08:00

By this time in the war of the Pacific, the Allies had already cracked the Jap naval code and this helped the Allies to counter the initial naval plans the Japs had previously conceived. It is, thus, no wonder that strict radio silence was imposed on the Central and Southern Forces during the course of the battle. This proved, however, to be detrimental to Nishimura's Southern Force.

The naval engagement at
Surigao Strait

Nishimura's force consisted of the battleships, Yamashiro and Fuso, the cruiser Mogami and four destroyers. They were attacked by bombers on October 24but sustained only minor damage. Due to the strict radio silence, Nishimura was unable to synchronise his movements with Shima and Kurita. When he entered the narrow Surigao Strait at about 02:00, Shima was 40 km behind him, and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte. Without Shima's and Kurita's forces, Nishimura was no match for the Allied might which he was about to encounter.

As they passed the cape of Panaon Island they ran into a deadly trap set for them by the 7th Fleet Support Force. Rear Admiral Jesse Oldendorf had six battleships (Mississippi, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, California and Pennsylvania), eight cruisers, 29 destroyers and 39 PT boats. To pass the strait and reach the landings, Nishimura would have to run the gauntlet of torpedoes from the PT boats, evade two groups of destroyers, proceed up the strait under the concentrated fire of six battleships in line across the far mouth of the strait, and then break through the screen of cruisers and destroyers. This was, literally, Mission Impossible.

At about 03:00 Fuso and the destroyers Asagumo, Yamagumo, and Mishishio were hit by torpedoes. Fuso was broken in two, but did not sink. Then at 03:50 the battleships opened fire. Radar fire control meant that American battleships could hit targets at distance at which the Japanese could not reply. Yamashiro and Mogami were crippled by 16-inch (406 mm) armour-piercing shells. Shigure turned and fled but lost steering and stopped dead, and Yamashiro sank at 04:19.

At 04:25 Shima's force of two cruisers (Nachi and Ashigara) and eight destroyers reached the battle. Seeing what they thought were the wrecks of both Nishimura's battleships (actually the two halves of Fuso), he realized the hopelessness of passing the strait and ordered a retreat. His flagship Nachi collided with Mogami, flooding the latter's steering-room. Mogami fell behind in the retreat and was sunk by aircraft the next morning. The bow half of Fuso was destroyed by Louisville and the stern half sank off Kanihaan Island. Of Nishimura's force of seven ships only Shigure survived.

Betcha didn't know:

The Yamashiro was the last battleshipto engage another in combat, and one of very few to have been sunk by another battleship. The age of the battleships ended in WW2.

2005-06-12T13:52:00.000+08:00

USS Princeton on fire

Battle of the Sibuyan Sea

2005-06-12T13:07:00.000+08:00

Kurita's powerful "Center Force" consisted of five battleships (Yamato, Musashi, Nagato, Kongo, and Haruna), and twelve cruisers (Atago, Maya, Takao, Chokai, Myoko, Haguro, Noshiro, Kumano, Suzuya, Chikuma, Tone, and Yahagi), supported by thirteen destroyers.

As Kurita passed Palawan Island shortly after midnight on October 23, his force was spotted by the submarines USS Dace and Darter. Although the submarines' report of the sighting was picked up by the radio operator on Yamato, the Japanese failed to take anti-submarine precautions. Kurita's flagship Atago was sunk by Darter and Maya by Dace. Takao was damaged and turned back to Brunei with two destroyers, shadowed by the submarines. On October 24, Darter grounded on the Bombay Shoal. All efforts to get her off failed, and she was abandoned.
Kurita survived and moved his flag to Yamato.

Jap battleship, Yamato, under Allied attack
at the Sibuyan Sea

At about 08:00 on October 24, the force was spotted entering the narrow Sibuyan Sea by planes from USS Intrepid. 260 planes from Intrepid, Bunker Hill and other carriers of Task Group 38.2 attacked at about 10:30, scoring hits on Nagato, Yamato, Musashi and severely damaging Myoko. The second wave of planes concentrated on Musashi, scoring many direct hits with bombs and torpedoes. As she retreated, listing to port, a third wave from Enterprise hit her with eleven bombs and eight torpedoes. Kurita turned his fleet around to get out of range of the planes, passing the crippled Musashi as he retreated. He waited until 17:15 before turning around again to head for the San Bernardino Strait. Musashi finally rolled over and sank at about 19:30.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Onishi Takijiro had directed his First Air Fleet of 80 planes based on Luzon against the carriers Essex, Lexington, Princeton and Langley of Task Group 38.3. Princeton was hit by an armour-piercing bomb and burst into flames. At 15:30 the aft magazine exploded, killing 200 sailors on Princeton and 80 on the cruiser Birmingham which was alongside assisting with the firefighting. Birmingham was so badly damaged that she was forced to retire, and other nearby vessels were damaged too. All efforts to save Princeton failed, and she sank at 17:50.

Betcha didn't know:

The Yamato was the largest battleship of its time and was built in complete secrecy.

Battle of Leyte Gulf: Overview

2005-06-10T11:58:00.000+08:00

From the look of things, the Japs were really in for a whoop-ass, since their naval plans were far too complex and rigid. However, they really didn't have much of a choice as their naval fleet were already crippled by earlier Pacific battles. Indeed, they have woken a "sleeping giant", who would stop at nothing to exert sweet revenge on the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour.

Battle map 3

The battle consisted of four distinct engagements:

1) Kurita's force entered the Sibuyan Sea, northwest of Leyte, on 24 October. In the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea it was attacked by carrier aircraft and Musashi was sunk. When Kurita turned around the American pilots thought he was retreating, but he turned again and made his way through the San Benardino Strait in the night, to appear off Samar in the morning.

2) Nishimura's force headed for the Surigao Strait to the south, where at 03:00 on 25 October it ran into an American battlegroup. In the Battle of Surigao Strait the Japanese battleships Fuso and Yamashiro were sunk, Nishimura was killed, and his surviving force retreated west.

3) Halsey learned of the approach of Ozawa and took the bait, taking his carriers in pursuit on 25 October. In the Battle off Cape Engano four Japanese carriers were sunk by air attacks. Ozawa's surviving ships fled for Japan.

4) Kurita arrived off Samar at about 06:00 on 25 October. With Halsey away in pursuit of Ozawa, the only American forces between Kurita and the landing beaches were three groups of escort carriers and their destroyers. But in the Battle off Samar, desperate American destroyer torpedo attacks, relentless air attacks and bad weather bluffed Kurita into turning back.

2005-06-10T11:31:00.000+08:00

Battle map 2

Battle of Leyte Gulf: Strategic Background

2005-06-08T11:37:00.000+08:00

The battles of 1943 had driven the Imperial Japanese Navy from its bases in the Solomon Islands, and in 1944 a series of Allied amphibious landings supported by large carrier forces had captured the Marianas Islands. The Allied victory in the battle of the Philippine sea in June had destroyed Japanese carrier power and established Allied air and sea superiority over the Western Pacific.

This gave the Allies freedom to choose where to strike next. Admiral Chester Nimitz favoured blockading Japanese forces in the Philippines and attacking Formosa (present day Taiwan ). Possession of Formosa would give the Allies control of the sea routes to Japan from Southern Asia, severing Japan's links with its garrisons, which would then perish from lack of supplies. General Douglas MacArthur favoured an invasion of the Philippines, which also lay across the supply lines to Japan. Leaving the Philippines in Japanese possession would be a blow to American prestige, and a personal affront to MacArthur, who in 1942 had famously vowed to return. President Roosevelt was called in to adjudicate the dispute; he chose the Philippines.

Jap battleships leaving Brunei en route to
the Phillipines

The Allied options were equally apparent to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Combined Fleet Chief Toyoda Soemu prepared four "victory" plans: Shō-1 (捷１号作戦 Shō ichigō sakusen) was a major naval operation in the Philippines, Shō-2, -3 and -4 were responses to attacks on Formosa, the Ryuku Isalnds and the Kurile Isalnds respectively. The plans were uncompromising, complex, aggressive operations committing all forces to a decisive battle.

Thus, when on October 4 1944 Nimitz launched a carrier raid against Formosa to make sure that planes based there could not intervene in the Leyte landings, the Japanese put Shō-2 into action, launching wave after wave of attacks against the carriers, losing 600 planes in three days, almost their entire air force, and leaving the Japanese navy without air cover.

Shō-1 called for Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's force to lure the U.S. Third Fleet away from the landings using an apparently vulnerable force of carriers. The Allied landing forces, now lacking air cover, would then be attacked from the west by three Japanese forces: Vice Admiral Takeo
Kurita's force, based in Brunei, would enter Leyte Gulf and destroy the Allied landing forces. Rear-Admiral Shoji Nishimura's force and Vice Admiral Kiyohide Shima's force would act as as mobile strike forces. The latter three forces would consist of surface ships.

The plan was likely to result in the destruction of one or more of the forces, but Toyoda later justified it to his American interrogators as follows:

"Should we lose in the Philippines operations, even though the fleet should be left, the shipping lane to the south would be completely cut off so that the fleet, if it should come back to Japanese waters, could not obtain its fuel supply. If it should remain in southern waters, it could not receive supplies of ammunition and arms. There would be no sense in saving the fleet at the expense of the loss of the Philippines."

2005-06-08T11:30:00.000+08:00

Jap battleships at Brunei prior to the battle

Pacific Mayhem

2005-06-07T20:59:00.000+08:00

Im sure most of us would have known of World War 2, a global military conflict that had stretched from the far west of Europe to the tip of the Malaysian Peninsula. If World War 2 doesn't ring any damn bell to you....then I must say...you've come to the right place. Well....let me just start this blog with a little sharing of the Pacific naval battles that took place then, with you fellow war junkies out there. First up...the Battle of Leyte Gulf....

"The Battle of What?" Yeah...I know...some of you out there can only like recall Pearl Harbour as like the only bleedy naval battle in the Pacific during WW2...but c'mon....you....yes you....have gotta know about the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history....and so the story goes...

Battle map

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of you know which war, fought in the seas around the island of Leyte in the Philippines from 23 Oct to 26 Oct 1944. In case you didn't know, the Japs were the crazy asses at that time and the Yanks were whopping those crazy Jap asses, in order to free much of Asia from their tyrannical rule. (Greater Sphere of Co-prosperity...my ass!) Anyway, the Japs had intended to repel the Allied invasion of Leyte. Instead, the Allied navies inflicted a major defeat on the outnumbered Imperial Jap Navy, which left it no longer a strategic force in the Pacific War. Leyte Gulf was also the scene of the first use of kamikaze aicraft by the crazy Japs.

Here are some actual numbers to compare the forces between the Allied saviours and the Japs:

Combatants: Allies (US, UK and Australia), Japs

Commanders: William Halsey Jr, Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa

Strength:
17 aircraft carriers
18 escort carriers
12 battleships
24 cruisers
141 destroyers
Many other ships and submarines
1500 planes

4 aircraft carriers
9 battleships
19 cruisers 3
4 destroyers
About 200 planes

Those words in italic represent Jap forces