New Zealand's air defenses were in a poor state but the army had mobilized quite an impressive force of four divisions, each of 20,000 men, the 3rd Division, and three territorial divisions, 1st Division in Northland, 4th Division in Manawatu and 5th Division in the South Island. There were also a large number of territorial infantry battalions, companies and mounted rifle squadrons spread around in rural districts. There were 9 mounted rifle battalions, 5 of which had been converted to motorized/mechanized units with armoured cars, Bren gun carriers and the newly arriving M3 Stuart and Valentine tanks. There were also 3 NZ army tank battalions equipped with M3 Stuart and Valentine tanks (61 per battalion). Areas where the Japanese were most likely to land, Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Wellington, Lyttelton and Christchurch and Dunedin were fortified and equipped with a wide range of fortress artillery backed up by NZ Army medium and heavy field batteries equipped with QF 18pdr field guns BL 4.5 inch howitzers and BL 60 pounder field guns. All this was backed up by 123,000 home guard soldiers. I think the Japanese would have had a hot time of it if they had landed.
During the second world war my father was a warrant officer with the engineers. In lieu of adequate inshore defences in Auckland harbour he showed me as a child where black rectangles had been painted on the sea wall along the coast Rd around Mission Bay. Due to their strategic placement these would pass, to an observer at sea, to be the openings of pill boxes covering the inner harbour approaches. In addition a submarine net was in place barring access to the inner harbour which had to be opened to give access for ships and ferries moving in and out and was covered by real, manned pill boxes on North Head.
I definitely appreciate the well done Video and the research it took. I easpecaly liked the rare pictures. It would be interesting to know more about the hanger on the Submarine and how they work. 😁
Gidday there Adriaan, in this video I delve into the inadequacies of Japanese Submarine tactics etc. As well as a wee bit of technical details. Thanks for popping by.
First and most importantly I enjoyed the tale. Well told. I had no idea about the lack of anti aircraft defences in NZ during the the early war. I also have some minor quibbles that I hope you'll take in a spirit of encouragement. The USS Chicago was a cruiser not a battleship. Possibly most famous for being part of the US Navy's greatest defeat at the Battle of Savo Island during the Guadalcanal campaign. Technical FYI, there was also an odd rubbing sound most of the way through the video, like you were rubbing your hands together or similar. Also the slight echo on your intro voiceover that finishes at 1min is a bit distracting. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chicago_(CA-29)
Bugger and here I was waiting for Peter Jackson and James Cameron to call. The background sound is likely to be my wife putting the washing-on and our dodgy plumbing!
@@InterestingFingz “My wife was folding the washing while I recorded a voiceover,” was not what I was expecting as an explanation. Clearly I’m going to need to exercise my imagination more when trying to identify mystery sounds. 😉 There’s a saying in the movie industry, “Your movie wants to be bad and it’s up to you to stop it.” In my experience this usually works out in doing a bunch of small things that as a whole add together to improve a production. In this case I’d advise you to help your wife fold the washing and then do the voiceover. Please note this is general advice and does not take into account about how your wife might feel about about said help. 😇
Only modern combat aircraft the RNZAF had at the time of Pearl Harbour were 30 Lockheed Hudsons and half of them were still in crates. First fighters, P-40 Kittyhawk, arrived in June 1942. Our navy and army are much better equipped than they were when we had an a jet strike wing. We could only afford the Skyhawks by equipping the navy with second hand British frigates and starving the army of equipment. The only time a Skyhawk fired its guns outside training was in 1976, when a Taiwanese fishing boat got a few shots across the bow.
I thought about that. BUT there are heaps of videos on You Tube on that one. I like doing stuff that's not covered or I can add to the story. Thanks for your suggestion though.
Yep. And it was by arguably Japans Most Famous Pilot: Nubuo Fujita. The chap that firebombed Oregon. Stay tuned. I have it in a pile of 'to do' videos. Thanks for feedback. Signed another Paul. Hope you subscribe.
@@InterestingFingz Homework : see what you can find about Wright's Hill Fortress in Wgtn...I been there snd I think you might find it interesting.. it goes underground.. cheers 👍🇳🇿
@@InterestingFingz Auckland was flown over on two separate occasions. Wellington once. Also a German submarine, U-862, operated off the east coast of New Zealand in January 1945.
It's always amazed me that more people don't pick up on this, Britian was in no danger of invasion after June 1941, but never stopped hording material that they didn,t need while abandoning Australia and NZ. All those Spitfires doing useless sweeps over France, what a difference a hundred of those would have made a Singapore. maybe even a few decent generals instead of the rejects from other fronts.
@@benwilson6145 US and Britain sent aircraft and tanks that were inferior to the Soviet ones. However soft-skin vehicles such as trucks and jeeps helped motorise the Red Army. Raw materials such as copper were welcomed. Over 12 million Soviet civilians died as a result of German invasion. Some 3 million Soviet troops starved to death in German captivity. "Ungrateful" are the people of Europe who owe their freedom to the terrible sacrifices of the Soviets.
@@puddles20mike31 Britain was never in danger of invasion. Operation Sealion was set for 15 September 1940. Thirty days either side of that date Germany's operational surface fleet consisted of three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers. They could not cover an invasion on the Isle of Wight. British War Cabinet knew this at the time. In August 1940 when Britain was supposedly in need of every rifle and every bullet, an entire armoured brigade (150 tanks) was sent the long way to Egypt from Britain.
Greetings there Mike. Your granny was right. About 6:30 into this I mention this was the 3rd and I'm working on covering those two flights as well mate. So many stories so little time!
I wrote some other things was told about war 1& 2 to u ... utube deleted them both .. both are nz history about the war ... just like they done to me answering a question why kiwis like the ynks ... explained about our men away and we defenceless etc and the u tube gods deleted it no mater how i frased it ... they dont like the truth do they .. their version of history or its deleted ...
bloody brilliant kiwi as like the content and the casual delivery.
Looking forward to more NZ gems. Thank you
New Zealand's air defenses were in a poor state but the army had mobilized quite an impressive force of four divisions, each of 20,000 men, the 3rd Division, and three territorial divisions, 1st Division in Northland, 4th Division in Manawatu and 5th Division in the South Island. There were also a large number of territorial infantry battalions, companies and mounted rifle squadrons spread around in rural districts. There were 9 mounted rifle battalions, 5 of which had been converted to motorized/mechanized units with armoured cars, Bren gun carriers and the newly arriving M3 Stuart and Valentine tanks. There were also 3 NZ army tank battalions equipped with M3 Stuart and Valentine tanks (61 per battalion). Areas where the Japanese were most likely to land, Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Wellington, Lyttelton and Christchurch and Dunedin were fortified and equipped with a wide range of fortress artillery backed up by NZ Army medium and heavy field batteries equipped with QF 18pdr field guns BL 4.5 inch howitzers and BL 60 pounder field guns. All this was backed up by 123,000 home guard soldiers. I think the Japanese would have had a hot time of it if they had landed.
Wow! Never knew that Brian. Big numbers of on the ground. If not in the air or on the seas.
During the second world war my father was a warrant officer with the engineers. In lieu of adequate inshore defences in Auckland harbour he showed me as a child where black rectangles had been painted on the sea wall along the coast Rd around Mission Bay.
Due to their strategic placement these would pass, to an observer at sea, to be the openings of pill boxes covering the inner harbour approaches. In addition a submarine net was in place barring access to the inner harbour which had to be opened to give access for ships and ferries moving in and out and was covered by real, manned pill boxes on North Head.
I definitely appreciate the well done Video and the research it took. I easpecaly liked the rare pictures. It would be interesting to know more about the hanger on the Submarine and how they work. 😁
Gidday there Adriaan, in this video I delve into the inadequacies of Japanese Submarine tactics etc. As well as a wee bit of technical details. Thanks for popping by.
First and most importantly I enjoyed the tale. Well told. I had no idea about the lack of anti aircraft defences in NZ during the the early war.
I also have some minor quibbles that I hope you'll take in a spirit of encouragement.
The USS Chicago was a cruiser not a battleship. Possibly most famous for being part of the US Navy's greatest defeat at the Battle of Savo Island during the Guadalcanal campaign.
Technical FYI, there was also an odd rubbing sound most of the way through the video, like you were rubbing your hands together or similar.
Also the slight echo on your intro voiceover that finishes at 1min is a bit distracting.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Chicago_(CA-29)
Bugger and here I was waiting for Peter Jackson and James Cameron to call. The background sound is likely to be my wife putting the washing-on and our dodgy plumbing!
@@InterestingFingz “My wife was folding the washing while I recorded a voiceover,” was not what I was expecting as an explanation. Clearly I’m going to need to exercise my imagination more when trying to identify mystery sounds. 😉
There’s a saying in the movie industry, “Your movie wants to be bad and it’s up to you to stop it.” In my experience this usually works out in doing a bunch of small things that as a whole add together to improve a production. In this case I’d advise you to help your wife fold the washing and then do the voiceover. Please note this is general advice and does not take into account about how your wife might feel about about said help. 😇
Japan never had any plans to attack new zealand
NZ would be worst off today with no aircraft or any decent warships
Only modern combat aircraft the RNZAF had at the time of Pearl Harbour were 30 Lockheed Hudsons and half of them were still in crates. First fighters, P-40 Kittyhawk, arrived in June 1942. Our navy and army are much better equipped than they were when we had an a jet strike wing. We could only afford the Skyhawks by equipping the navy with second hand British frigates and starving the army of equipment. The only time a Skyhawk fired its guns outside training was in 1976, when a Taiwanese fishing boat got a few shots across the bow.
You should do a vid on the Bob Semple Tank
I thought about that. BUT there are heaps of videos on You Tube on that one. I like doing stuff that's not covered or I can add to the story. Thanks for your suggestion though.
Great video. Any news on the earlier over New Zealand flights by IJN aircraft thank you.
Yep. And it was by arguably Japans Most Famous Pilot: Nubuo Fujita. The chap that firebombed Oregon. Stay tuned. I have it in a pile of 'to do' videos. Thanks for feedback. Signed another Paul. Hope you subscribe.
Seems politicians never learn.....
Thanks very much for the great video. JDS in AZ usa.
2024; Not much has changed in NZ Military Capability (I forgot the BIG GUN's on North Head & Mt.Victoria).
WoW interesting, thank you
Thanks mate from Wgtn👍🇳🇿
No problem 👍AG....tell ya mates about this cool YT Channel. Mine as well!
@@InterestingFingz Homework : see what you can find about Wright's Hill Fortress in Wgtn...I been there snd I think you might find it interesting.. it goes underground.. cheers 👍🇳🇿
Thats an incredible story
Thanks Mike. It is indeed a forgotten gem.
What’s with the rubbing/scratching noise?? Sounds creepy as.
Pass?
it was not an attack it was a reconnaissance mission
Hmmm. Hey that could be why the video title is 'Japanese PLAN to Attack Auckland'. The Japanese also reconnoitred Pearl Harbor (sic) as well.
@@InterestingFingz Auckland was flown over on two separate occasions. Wellington once. Also a German submarine, U-862, operated off the east coast of New Zealand in January 1945.
@@shanemcdowall Got a follow-up in the pipeline there Shane. Only my pipelines these-days are mostly blocked!
That was a very interesting vid ..how many kiwis know about that plane that flew over Devonport
They were picked up on radar. But I'm sure Military authorities wouldn't have wanted to tell the public - least it scares the horses!
Thank you, the British were sending Hurricanes to the Soviets at this time.
It's always amazed me that more people don't pick up on this, Britian was in no danger of invasion after June 1941, but never stopped hording material that they didn,t need while abandoning Australia and NZ. All those Spitfires doing useless sweeps over France, what a difference a hundred of those would have made a Singapore. maybe even a few decent generals instead of the rejects from other fronts.
@@puddles20mike31 They also sent the aircraft to an ungrateful Soviet Union, something the Russians still "forget " about.
Good point Ben
@@benwilson6145 US and Britain sent aircraft and tanks that were inferior to the Soviet ones. However soft-skin vehicles such as trucks and jeeps helped motorise the Red Army. Raw materials such as copper were welcomed. Over 12 million Soviet civilians died as a result of German invasion. Some 3 million Soviet troops starved to death in German captivity. "Ungrateful" are the people of Europe who owe their freedom to the terrible sacrifices of the Soviets.
@@puddles20mike31 Britain was never in danger of invasion. Operation Sealion was set for 15 September 1940. Thirty days either side of that date Germany's operational surface fleet consisted of three heavy cruisers, two light cruisers and eight destroyers. They could not cover an invasion on the Isle of Wight. British War Cabinet knew this at the time. In August 1940 when Britain was supposedly in need of every rifle and every bullet, an entire armoured brigade (150 tanks) was sent the long way to Egypt from Britain.
Remember my mum and nana telling me all about this .... sure it happened more than once ?
Greetings there Mike. Your granny was right. About 6:30 into this I mention this was the 3rd and I'm working on covering those two flights as well mate. So many stories so little time!
@@InterestingFingz keep the memorys coming .. even i get a tear .... will show mum this too ...
I wrote some other things was told about war 1& 2 to u ... utube deleted them both .. both are nz history about the war ... just like they done to me answering a question why kiwis like the ynks ... explained about our men away and we defenceless etc and the u tube gods deleted it no mater how i frased it ... they dont like the truth do they .. their version of history or its deleted ...
I heard they attacked Whangarei
Yeah Josh, never heard tht mate. Send me a link and I'm into it! Cheers Paul
No that was a mine that sunk the Niagra