September 2, 1945, Japan Surrenders

[shanneba]

Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.

By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion.
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed.
The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated.
At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of the invasion, which was code-named “Operation Olympic” and set for November 1945.

Japan surrenders, bringing an end to WWII | September 2, 1945 | HISTORY

Japan formally surrenders to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri, bringing an end to World War II.

www.history.com

 

[Talyn]

Too bad the F8F Bearcat didn't see action.

The first US Navy squadron, VF-19 aboard USS Langley (CVL-27), was fully operational with the F8F-1, beginning in July 1945, and encountered no combat since the USS Langley was enroute to the Japanese home waters before Japan surrendered.

VF-19 F8F-1 Bearcat M33

USS Langley (CVL 27)

 

[Talyn]

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80 years ago today: The King George V-class battleship HMS Duke of York (17) in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, the day the instruments of surrender were signed by representatives from the Empire of Japanese aboard USS Missouri.

York in the Bay

80 years ago today: The King George V-class battleship HMS Duke of York (17) in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945, the day the instruments of surrender were signed by representatives from the Empire of…

laststandonzombieisland.com

During the surrender ceremony itself, a massive flight of Hellcats and Corsairs from the US Task
Group 38.1, which was cruising off the south coast of Honshu Island, flew overhead.

Warship Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018: Churchill’s best Boxing Day gift

Here at LSOZI, we will take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1946 time period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale a…

laststandonzombieisland.com

Some 42,000 tons, these 745-foot-long ships were bruisers. They were capable of breaking 28 knots and were faster than all but a handful of battleships on the drawing board while still sporting nearly 15 inches of armor plate at their thickest. Armed with 10 14-inch and 16 5.25-inch guns, they could slug it out with the biggest of the dreadnoughts of their day, possibly only outclassed by the American fast battleships (Washington, SoDak, Iowa-classes) with their 16-inch guns and the Japanese Yamatos, which carried 18-inchers.

 

[Talyn]

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Missouri Endgame

The top American naval officers assembled at the 1945 Japanese surrender formed an iconic tableau; they also constituted a study in contrasts.

www.usni.org

 

[Talyn]

And more...

As part of the post–World War II Operation Magic Carpet, the U.S. Navy transported millions of Allied service members home from the Pacific theater.

The Fleet that Brought Them Home

The epic story of Operation Magic Carpet, the massive Navy effort that brought 3.1 million troops home from the Pacific war.

www.usni.org

Soldiers line the docks at Pearl Harbor and prepare to embark the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) on 15 October 1945. The carrier was one of the many ships in the U.S. Navy’s Operation Magic Carpet to return veterans to the United States from the Pacific after Japan’s surrender.

Location of Magic Carpet ships, 17 November 1945. Naval History and Heritage Command

USS Saratoga CV-3 Operation Magic Carpet

 

[Talyn]

Another USS Saratoga Operation Magic Carpet pic