Flight Lt Józef Żulikowski of No. 306 Polish Fighter Squadron in the cockpit of his Spitfire IXC (BS456, UZ-Z) at RAF Northolt - November 16, 1942
Daily Sketch Photographer
IWM HU 87411 WWP-PD
Nice.
November 21, 1944, is the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the Japanese battleship Kongo.
Built originally in Britain as Japan’s first battlecruiser before World War 1, the ship was incredibly powerful for its time and would be a forerunner for Britain’s best battlecruiser during the war, the Tiger (unless you count the Renowns, I’ll let you decide for yourself).
The ship’s design was successful and three more ships, the Hiei, the Kirshima, and the Haruna, would be built (2 in Japan’s shipyards with British aid).
Between the wars the class was upgraded to become fast battleships, with increased armor. Despite this, they were still generally considered somewhat inferior to the US Navy Standard series of battleships in both armor and firepower (though significantly faster). The speed of these ships, faster than any American battleship and stronger than any cruiser, spurred the US to build the fast, powerful Iowa class battleships.
During the Pacific War, thanks to their speed, the Kongo class was used more than any other Japanese battleship, escorting Japanese aircraft carriers in the Battle of the Midway.
The Kongo and the Haruna, led by Admiral Takeo Kurita, would launch a successful nighttime bombardment attack against Henderson Field during the Guadacanal Campaign, temporarily putting it out of service and allowing Japanese supplies to pass through unmolested. This success would lead to a similar attempt by Hiei and Kirshima that would cause a series of nighttime actions known as the Naval Battle of Guadacanal, where both were sunk.
The Kongo and Haruna would participate in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with both escaping successfully.
About a month later, while transiting the Formosa strait with other members of the First Fleet (including Yamato and Nagato) from Brunei to Kure following an air raid on the former, Kongo and the escorting destroyer Urakaze were sunk by the US submarine Sealion. Before the ship’s evacuation could be completed, its forward magazine exploded, killing most of its crew.
Yesterday, November 29th, 2024, marked the 80th anniversary of the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano.
Originally thought of as the third Yamato class battleship, following the Battle of Midway the Japanese made plans to rebuild it as an aircraft carrier. However, as the ship was already laid down and significantly in production, they were unable to finish it as a fleet carrier and instead made it a heavily armoured support carrier. In this role, it would act a “backup” carrier, holding supplies and reserve aircraft for other carriers, similar to the British carriers Unicorn, Perseus, or Pioneer.
On October 28, 9 days after commisioning, the ship, carrying 6 Shinyo suicide boats and 50 Okha suicide bombs, began sailing from Yokosuka to Kure, where final preparation would take place for the ship to deliver its cargo to the Phillipines and Okinawa. However, on the way there, the American submarine Archerfish detected it and managed to lob 4 torpedoes at it. Thanks to the ship’s semi-unfinished state, poor Japanese design and construction, and mistakes by the crew, the carrier sunk. It remains the largest ship ever sunk by a submarine.
Janurary 12th, 2025, is the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Vistula-Oder Offensive, a major combat operation by the Red Army where they advanced 480 kilometers from the Vistula river to the Oder river in less than a month, decimating German resistance and ending up less than 70 kilometers from an undefended Berlin. The campaign was halted to allow for mopping-up operations against Zhukov’s northern flank in Pomerania. During the offensive, the Auschwitz concentration camp, among others, was liberated. Following this success, most of Poland was liberated.
The same day marks the 80th anniversary of the simultaneous, smaller-scale Western Carpathian Offensive, where the 2nd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts penetrated into eastern and central Slovakia.
January 13th, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the East Prussian Offensive, a large-scale invasion of East Prussia by the Soviets. The successful campaign led to the conquest of much of the region, isolating German forces in several coastal pockets, and helped set up future Soviet penetrations into Germany, particularly Pomerania. The Offensive took place on the right-flank of the concurrent Vistula-Oder Offensive that began a day earlier.
January 25, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of Operation Nordwind, a German offensive in north-central France (Alsace-Lorraine region) in a desperate effort to support their faltering efforts in the Battle of the Bulge. While the German army made some gains, they were unable to achieve their ultimate objectives and the pressure wasn’t enough to deliver an ultimate German victory in Belgium.
Some people also mark this day as the end of the Battle of the Bulge. I’ll wait until January 28 as some others say that was the true end of the battle.
February 13, 2025, is the 80th anniversary of two major events:
The Bombing of Dresden, where large amounts of Allied bombers, bombed the German city of Dresden. After the war it became controversial due to the large number of civilians killed and seemingly little military value.
The end of the Budapest Offensive, when, after being under siege for months, German and puppet Hungarian surrendered to the Red Army and their allies. The capture of Budapest probably really helped the Soviets convert Hungary into a communist puppet state after the war (alongside the Yalta Conference that concluded two days before this).
Februrary 23, 2025, is the 80th anniversary of the famous picture Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima:
Staged during the infamous Battle of Iwo Jima that begun 3 days before, the battle was one of the bloodiest of the Pacific War, although it did eventually marginally help the US strategic bombing campaign against the home islands.
February 24, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Lower Silesian Offensive, when the Red Army captured much of Lower Silesia in Germany and began besieging the major city of Breslau, and the beginning of the East Pomeranian Offensive, when Soviet forces began clearing Pomerania and West Prussia of German troops.
March 6, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of World War 2.
Hitler, concerned on reclaiming the last oil fields within reach of Germany, the Nagykanizsa oil fields of southwest Hungary, directed a large number of SS panzer divisions in the 6th SS Panzer Army to join Army Group South for an offensive near Lake Balaton.
Outnumbered and outgunned, the attack quickly faltered after initial gains, while the Soviets would reverse their losses and continue advancing in their later Vienna Offensive. However, even this late in the war, Soviet casualties were still higher than German ones.
@SuperbattleshipYamato nothing has changed there then!
Lovely write up ; thanks .
March 15, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of World War 2. Launched on the Eastern Front within Hungary, it ended in failure.
It also marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Upper Silesian Offensive, where Soviet forces would push Army Group Center back to the Czech border and capture the critical industrial and natural resources of the area.
March 18, 1945, marks the 80th anniversary of one of the last surface fleet engagements in the European theater, the Battle of the Ligurian Sea.
1 German destroyer and 2 torpedo boats were conducting a mine-laying operation in the Ligurian Sea off the northern coast of Italy, when 2 British destroyers intercepted them. In the ensuing engagement, both torpedo boats were sunk and the German destroyer damaged, with few casualties on the British side. The German commander in the operation, Franz Burkhart, was taken prisioner by the British. The battle effectively marked the end of any possible Axis naval activity in the Mediterranean.
March 24, 1945, marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Varsity, the largest single-day airborne operation of all time (Operation Market Garden took place over several days). An Anglo-American airborne force of almost 17,000 were sent to support Bernard Montgomery’s Operation Plunder, the planned crossing of the Rhine to invade northern Germany. The goal was to capture key areas on the other bank so the Allied ground force would have an easier time pushing into Germany. The operation was very successful, with most of the operation’s targets captured that day, paving the way for a smooth Allied advance into northern Germany.
March 26, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The island was declared secure by American forces that day, although several Japanese soldiers continued to “hold out” until several years after the war (like other islands).
The deadliest battle in Marine Corps history, the battle also featured the sinking of USS Bismarck Sea by kamikaze attacks, the last American carrier to be sink during the war.
