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Iwo Jima February 1945: The Battle for Devil s Island
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The Battle for Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima is a volcanic island about 650 miles south of Tokyo.
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The Attack Begins on Sulphur Island
Just after 2 a.m. on February 19,1945, the American navy signaled the beginning of the invasion of Iwo Jima with a massive bombardment of Japanese positions on the island. Just after the naval guns opened up, 100 bombers attacked the island supported by aircraft from the six aircraft carriers that surrounded the tiny island. Although the bombing was extensive, it did little damage to the Japanese defenses, since most of the Japanese positions were underground and very well fortified. At 9 a.m. the first wave of the eventual 30,000 Marines to land on the beach that day arrived. The American troops consisted of the 3rd,4th, and 5th Marine Divisions, which were housed on the over 900 ships that surrounded the island. The attack, known as Operation Detachment, was aimed at capturing the two a
5,688 Strikes: How the USS New Jersey Battleship Went to War in Vietnam
The USS New Jersey was the second Iowa-class battleship ever built, and the third from last U.S. Navy battleship ever built.
Here s What You Need to Remember: The U.S. Navy, concerned by aircraft losses in the air campaign against North Vietnam, saw the battleship as a low-risk way of bombarding coastal targets without losing aircraft and pilots. North Vietnam, other than tactical aircraft and torpedo boats, had little that could damage a battleship parked off its coastline.
As the war in Vietnam reached its crescendo, the U.S. Navy prepared to recommission one of the most powerful ships ever to serve in the fleet. USS New Jersey, an Iowa-class battleship, was reactivated to provide naval gunfire support for American and allied forces fighting in South Vietnam. The battlewagon fired nearly twenty thousand shells during its tour of duty, bombarding enemy forces the way only a battleship can.
The Battle of Iwo Jima Was Costly but It Saved 2,400 B-29 Bomber Crews
Capturing the Imperial Japanese island was brutal work, but it created an airfield for damanged Allied bombers to safely land.
Key point: The cost and benefits of any campaign or battle are important to weigh. Here is one factor that is often forgotten when people think about the Battle of Iwo Jima.
On February 19, 1945, thousands of American Marines hit the beaches on the Volcano Islands in the Pacific, starting what we call today the Battle of Iwo Jima. Taking the small island, encompassing only about eight square miles, required the commitment of 70,000 American fighting men and 26,000 casualties, over 6,800 of them killed.
It fired over 21,000 rounds in Asia.
Here s What You Need to Remember: New Jersey was inactivated in 1969. The old battlewagon would be reactivated just twelve years later as part of an effort to bring the U.S. Navy battle fleet up to 600 ships. USS New Jersey is now moored in Camden, New Jersey, where she serves as a floating museum.
As the war in Vietnam reached its crescendo, the U.S. Navy prepared to recommission one of the most powerful ships ever to serve in the fleet. USS New Jersey, an Iowa-class battleship, was reactivated to provide naval gunfire support for American and allied forces fighting in South Vietnam. The battlewagon fired nearly twenty thousand shells during its tour of duty, bombarding enemy forces the way only a battleship can.