In my never-ending search for cheesecake I ran into this post. It doesn't really count as cheesecake but I thought it was noteworthy anyway.

USS Archerfish was an American submarine in the Pacific during WWII, and it is particularly noteworthy because it sank IJN Shinano.

Shinano was the third hull of the Yamato series. Yamato and Musashi eventually became battleships but while Shinano was still in construction the decision was made to turn her into an aircraft carrier. She was commissioned in November 1944 and was being moved from Yokosuka to Kure when she was spotted by Archerfish.

Archerfish stalked Shinano for six hours and finally achieved a nearly ideal firing position. 4 out of 6 torpedoes hit, causing flooding which Shinano's rookie crew could not stop. She eventually capsized and sank.

So I think it's pretty remarkable that this Japanese artist honors Archerfish in this way, since although cartoony (and clearly based on KanColle) it's really rather respectful.

I guess you could claim that they do the same with USS Iowa, but that's not really the same. First off, Iowa is being drawn mostly as a fan service object. Second, Iowa is a ship you can get in Kancolle. I don't think there are any submarines in that game. (I could be wrong. There are no submarines in World Of Warships but there might well be some in KanColle. It's easy to get the two confused.)

That same post also includes a picture of USS Albacore, which is noteworthy for having sunk IJN Taihou during the battle of the Philippine Sea. Sadly, Albacore didn't survive the war and was lost with all hands (the most common fate for an American submarine). Her fate isn't known for certain but she probably struck a mine.

Time heals wounds and I guess a modern Japanese can look back and honor a gallant foe (by putting her in a stars-and-stripes bikini).

Other notes: CV-2 is the first USS Lexington, which was sunk at the Battle of Coral Sea. CV-16 is the second USS Lexington, which survived the war. The Japanese carrier they're shown fighting is Zuihou, which participated in Coral Sea and was sunk at Leyte Gulf by American carrier air strikes, including planes from the second Lexington.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in Japanese at 12:32 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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