OneManGang
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2004
- Messages
- 2,012
- Likes
- 9,510
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Tennessee vs The Maxims vs Kentucky[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Last week, gentle readers, we discussed the Battle of Coral Sea, the confused and bloody prelude to Midway, the battle which changed the course of World War II in the Pacific. For this, our final gathering marking the end of the 2013 Tennessee football season, I shall endeavor to continue the story of America's carriers in the fateful yet decisive years of 1942 and 1943 and thence tie it all together with some lessons and ruminations on Team 117. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In all, the United States Navy fought four major carrier battles in 1942. These were, in order, Coral Sea in May, Midway in June, Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August and the Battle of Santa Cruz in October. During these battles the U.S. Navy lost four of its seven fleet carriers which had been in commission on 7 December 1941. Yet another carrier, USS Ranger (CV-4), was found to have design flaws which rendered her unsuitable for service in the Pacific and she spent her WWII career in the Atlantic as a convoy escort and providing air cover for the TORCH landings in North Africa. She was withdrawn from front-line service in 1944, decommissioned in 1946, and scrapped that same year.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In addition to the losses of [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Lexington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] at Coral Sea and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yorktown[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] at Midway USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Wasp[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-7) was torpedoed and sunk off Guadalcanal and USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hornet[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] was sunk by Japanese carrier planes during the Battle of Santa Cruz. After Santa Cruz, the only operational American carrier in the entire Pacific was USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Enterprise[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-6) sister to [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yorktown[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hornet[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. She had been heavily damaged by Japanese bombs during that battle but was patched up at a forward repair base and kept in action. One of ther elevators was jammed up and despite of assurances that it should work, Admiral Halsey ordered it kept there lest it jam down and eliminate the last US carrier from action.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saratoga[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] was unavailable as, being an older design, she had a much larger turning circle than later designs and had been heavily damaged by a submarine torpedo in January, 1942. She was repaired and returned to the war zone where she was promptly torpedoed again in August before the Eastern Solomons and sent back to the West Coast for extensive time in dry dock.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]American shipyards were busy building the lead ships of the excellent [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-9) class carriers which incorporated many of the lessons learned in the 1942 battles. Eventually some 20 [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]es would join the fleet by 1946. The problem was that those lead ships would only be reaching the Pacific in late 1943 and early 1944. Replacements and reinforcements were needed NOW. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Fortunately two solutions were at hand. Naval planners determined that the fleet could sacrifice some of its light cruisers under construction for the greater need and these could be converted into light carriers. Seven hulls were selected and quickly modified with a flight deck slapped on top and a rudimentary island superstructure nailed to the side and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]voila'[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]! The CVL class was created in record time. The CVL's could operate 30 aircraft or so, they were fast (33 knots) and most importantly the entire class was in commission by the end of 1943. Light carriers would play prominent roles in every engagement from 1943 onward. A young Lt. (j.g.) named George H.W. Bush flew an Avenger torpedo bomber from the CVL USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]San Jacinto[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] and another young officer named Gerald R. Ford served on the USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Monterey[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif].[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The other solution involved taking a merchant ship hull (generally one of the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Liberty[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] or [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Victory[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-class mass produced transports) and slapping a flight deck on it. This produced the escort carrier or CVE. Navy wags, seeing theses thing for the first time stated that CVE stood for Combustible, Vu[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]lnerable, and Expendable. They were fat, they were slow, and they operated less than twenty aircraft. Like their CVL counterparts, though, they had the great advantage that they could be built quickly and in great quantities. The CVE's could fulfill a number of carrier roles that were essentially a waste of a valuable fleet carrier or CVL. They became convoy escorts [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]par excellence[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif], they provided close air support for Marines and soldiers storming enemy beaches, and they served as replacement depots for the fleet carriers carrying spare planes and pilots to replace losses during operations far from friendly bases.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The CVL's and CVE's weren't glamorous but they held the line until the much more powerful and fast-stepping [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]es were available to take the war to the Emperor's very doorstep. Over ONE HUNDRED CVE's were commissioned and served in every theater of the naval war. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]One of the last of the CVE's was CVE-117, USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saidor. Saidor [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]was commissioned two days after the Japanese surrender. She never did anything of note during her two years in commission. She was decommissioned in 1947 and scrapped in 1970. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Nobody much remembers the CVL's and CVE's, let alone their vital role in holding the line in both the Atlantic and Pacific during 1943. Much like the Volunteers of Team 117, they weren't always the best and they had manifest weaknesses, but they were what we had and they did what they could to lay the foundation for later victories. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For that alone, they deserve our respect and remembrance.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Head Kat Mark Stoops, used to being in the heady environs of successful programs, has had a brutal introduction into just that title entails in the SEC. The MildKats blew scoring opportunities, they squandered time, and they let their Kat mouths override their Kitten rumps. As I've stated before, anyone who accepts the position of KatHead has one and only one primary objective: Never, and they do mean NEVER, do anything to get the basketball program in trouble.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]FINALLY!!!![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM!
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The Incredible Disappearing Vol Defense put in a brief appearance in the second quarter, but was quickly banished.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Joshua Dobbs went a long way towards regaining his lost mojo. We might be (but I doubt it) forgiven for saying he is once again showing flashes of the steely-eyed missile man of past games. He just needs some corrective lenses every once in a while.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There were still too many blown coverages, whiffed blocks, poor decisions, and arm tackles for this Old Vol's taste but winning beats losing any day of the week.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Michael Palardy was a BEAST, repeatedly putting the KatPeople inside their own 20-yard line with his punting. Someone pointed during last Sunday's Denver/New England tilt that HeadPat Bill Belichick prefers left-footed kickers. One wonders if Mr. Palardy might need to stock up on cold-weather gear. He will play on Sundays.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to Kentucky and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]On the freaking DOT. But, then again, it WAS the KatPeople.
[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The 2013 season has now passed into the mists of memory and history. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was a long, difficult and disappointing campaign. Tennessee lost games it shouldn't have, got embarrassed by teams with more speed and depth, but they did punch Steve Spurrier's Chickens right the beak and avoided a repeat of 1964. Head Vol Butch Jones has his work cut out for him in 2014, but we knew that before the Austin Peay game this year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]However, there is reason to hope, reason to look forward and reason to expect better days ahead for Tennessee football.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]To all of you who have loyally followed these musings over the last three months, this writer offers his heartfelt appreciation and thanks. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]And so, until we gather again along the banks of Lake Loudon come August 30, 2014, I say, So long, friends and neighbors! Get me outta here, Percy![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Last week, gentle readers, we discussed the Battle of Coral Sea, the confused and bloody prelude to Midway, the battle which changed the course of World War II in the Pacific. For this, our final gathering marking the end of the 2013 Tennessee football season, I shall endeavor to continue the story of America's carriers in the fateful yet decisive years of 1942 and 1943 and thence tie it all together with some lessons and ruminations on Team 117. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In all, the United States Navy fought four major carrier battles in 1942. These were, in order, Coral Sea in May, Midway in June, Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August and the Battle of Santa Cruz in October. During these battles the U.S. Navy lost four of its seven fleet carriers which had been in commission on 7 December 1941. Yet another carrier, USS Ranger (CV-4), was found to have design flaws which rendered her unsuitable for service in the Pacific and she spent her WWII career in the Atlantic as a convoy escort and providing air cover for the TORCH landings in North Africa. She was withdrawn from front-line service in 1944, decommissioned in 1946, and scrapped that same year.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In addition to the losses of [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Lexington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] at Coral Sea and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yorktown[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] at Midway USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Wasp[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-7) was torpedoed and sunk off Guadalcanal and USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hornet[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] was sunk by Japanese carrier planes during the Battle of Santa Cruz. After Santa Cruz, the only operational American carrier in the entire Pacific was USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Enterprise[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-6) sister to [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yorktown[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Hornet[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]. She had been heavily damaged by Japanese bombs during that battle but was patched up at a forward repair base and kept in action. One of ther elevators was jammed up and despite of assurances that it should work, Admiral Halsey ordered it kept there lest it jam down and eliminate the last US carrier from action.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saratoga[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] was unavailable as, being an older design, she had a much larger turning circle than later designs and had been heavily damaged by a submarine torpedo in January, 1942. She was repaired and returned to the war zone where she was promptly torpedoed again in August before the Eastern Solomons and sent back to the West Coast for extensive time in dry dock.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]American shipyards were busy building the lead ships of the excellent [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] (CV-9) class carriers which incorporated many of the lessons learned in the 1942 battles. Eventually some 20 [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]es would join the fleet by 1946. The problem was that those lead ships would only be reaching the Pacific in late 1943 and early 1944. Replacements and reinforcements were needed NOW. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Fortunately two solutions were at hand. Naval planners determined that the fleet could sacrifice some of its light cruisers under construction for the greater need and these could be converted into light carriers. Seven hulls were selected and quickly modified with a flight deck slapped on top and a rudimentary island superstructure nailed to the side and [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]voila'[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]! The CVL class was created in record time. The CVL's could operate 30 aircraft or so, they were fast (33 knots) and most importantly the entire class was in commission by the end of 1943. Light carriers would play prominent roles in every engagement from 1943 onward. A young Lt. (j.g.) named George H.W. Bush flew an Avenger torpedo bomber from the CVL USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]San Jacinto[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] and another young officer named Gerald R. Ford served on the USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Monterey[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif].[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The other solution involved taking a merchant ship hull (generally one of the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Liberty[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] or [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Victory[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]-class mass produced transports) and slapping a flight deck on it. This produced the escort carrier or CVE. Navy wags, seeing theses thing for the first time stated that CVE stood for Combustible, Vu[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]lnerable, and Expendable. They were fat, they were slow, and they operated less than twenty aircraft. Like their CVL counterparts, though, they had the great advantage that they could be built quickly and in great quantities. The CVE's could fulfill a number of carrier roles that were essentially a waste of a valuable fleet carrier or CVL. They became convoy escorts [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]par excellence[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif], they provided close air support for Marines and soldiers storming enemy beaches, and they served as replacement depots for the fleet carriers carrying spare planes and pilots to replace losses during operations far from friendly bases.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The CVL's and CVE's weren't glamorous but they held the line until the much more powerful and fast-stepping [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Essex[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]es were available to take the war to the Emperor's very doorstep. Over ONE HUNDRED CVE's were commissioned and served in every theater of the naval war. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]One of the last of the CVE's was CVE-117, USS [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Saidor. Saidor [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]was commissioned two days after the Japanese surrender. She never did anything of note during her two years in commission. She was decommissioned in 1947 and scrapped in 1970. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Nobody much remembers the CVL's and CVE's, let alone their vital role in holding the line in both the Atlantic and Pacific during 1943. Much like the Volunteers of Team 117, they weren't always the best and they had manifest weaknesses, but they were what we had and they did what they could to lay the foundation for later victories. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For that alone, they deserve our respect and remembrance.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So how did the team do compared to the Maxims?[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Head Kat Mark Stoops, used to being in the heady environs of successful programs, has had a brutal introduction into just that title entails in the SEC. The MildKats blew scoring opportunities, they squandered time, and they let their Kat mouths override their Kitten rumps. As I've stated before, anyone who accepts the position of KatHead has one and only one primary objective: Never, and they do mean NEVER, do anything to get the basketball program in trouble.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]2.Play for and make the breaks. When one comes your way SCORE![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]FINALLY!!!![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]3. If at first the game or the breaks go against you, dont let up PUT ON MORE STEAM!
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif] The Incredible Disappearing Vol Defense put in a brief appearance in the second quarter, but was quickly banished.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
4. Protect our kickers, our quarterback, our lead and our ballgame.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Joshua Dobbs went a long way towards regaining his lost mojo. We might be (but I doubt it) forgiven for saying he is once again showing flashes of the steely-eyed missile man of past games. He just needs some corrective lenses every once in a while.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]5. Ball! Oskie! Cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle THIS IS THE WINNING EDGE.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]There were still too many blown coverages, whiffed blocks, poor decisions, and arm tackles for this Old Vol's taste but winning beats losing any day of the week.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]
Michael Palardy was a BEAST, repeatedly putting the KatPeople inside their own 20-yard line with his punting. Someone pointed during last Sunday's Denver/New England tilt that HeadPat Bill Belichick prefers left-footed kickers. One wonders if Mr. Palardy might need to stock up on cold-weather gear. He will play on Sundays.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]7. Carry the fight to Kentucky and keep it there for sixty minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]On the freaking DOT. But, then again, it WAS the KatPeople.
[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]So there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The 2013 season has now passed into the mists of memory and history. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was a long, difficult and disappointing campaign. Tennessee lost games it shouldn't have, got embarrassed by teams with more speed and depth, but they did punch Steve Spurrier's Chickens right the beak and avoided a repeat of 1964. Head Vol Butch Jones has his work cut out for him in 2014, but we knew that before the Austin Peay game this year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]However, there is reason to hope, reason to look forward and reason to expect better days ahead for Tennessee football.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]To all of you who have loyally followed these musings over the last three months, this writer offers his heartfelt appreciation and thanks. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]And so, until we gather again along the banks of Lake Loudon come August 30, 2014, I say, So long, friends and neighbors! Get me outta here, Percy![/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]MAXOMG[/FONT]
Last edited:
