Quiz 5

Question 1

Pearl Harbor

Answer 1

America’s principal naval base in the Pacific, which was attacked without warning on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, by forces of the Japanese Imperial Navy

Question 2

Isoroku Yamamoto

Answer 2

Admiral of the Japanese Imperial Navy and the principal mastermind behind the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway

Question 3

Chuichi Nagumo

Answer 3

Admiral of the Japanese Imperial Navy who led the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Midway Island. His flagship, the Akagi, was sunk under him at Midway, but he survived it. After his defeat in the Marianas, however, he committed suicide.

Question 4

Mitsuo Fuchida

Answer 4

Japanese officer and fighter pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Question 5

Aichi D3A “Val”

Answer 5

The Japanese version of Germany’s Ju-87 Stuka dive-bomber. Probably the best airplane produced during WWIII for Japan by the Aichi company.

Question 6

Nakajima B5N “Kate”

Answer 6

Japanese torpedo bomber. One of the types of aircraft used in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Question 7

Doolittle Raid

Answer 7

The first American bombing raid on the Japanese home islands on April 18, 1942. A squadron of sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers were launched from the flight deck of the carrier USS Hornet. All sixteen planes were lost but the crews of 13 planes were recovered

Question 8

B-25

Answer 8

One of several medium bombers developed by the U.S. during WWII, nicknamed the “Mitchell bomber.” It was named for aviation pioneer General Billy Mitchell.

Question 9

Jimmy Doolittle

Answer 9

Leader of the Doolittle Raid and later of the Eighth Air Force’s strategic bombing campaign in Europe.

Question 10

Battle of Midway

Answer 10

The first major defeat of the Japanese navy in WWII, fought near Midway Island during the first week of June, 1942. This action is usually considered one of the major turning points of WWII.

Question 11

Douglas “Devastator”

Answer 11

An out of date American torpedo bomber which had little direct impact on the war in the Pacific, due mainly to its slow speed and vulnerability to Japanese Zeros

Question 12

Grumman TBF “Avenger”

Answer 12

Successor to the Devastator. A much improved American torpedo bomber.

Question 13

“Dauntless” Dive Bomber

Answer 13

America’s best dive bomber of WWII. It was instrumental in the sinking of Japanese aircraft carriers across the Pacific, most notably during the Battle of Midway.

Question 14

Grumman F4F “Wildcat”

Answer 14

Predecessor of the F6F Hellcat. The Wildcat and Hellcat looked somewhat similar, but the Hellcat was larger and had a bigger, better engine. The Hellcat can be considered an improved version of the Wildcat

Question 15

Grumman F6F “Hellcat”

Answer 15

An improved version of the Grumman Wildcat, it was designed to be a “Zero Killer.” It succeeded admirably in that role, clearing the skies of Zeros during the last two years of the Pacific war.

Question 16

Guadalcanal

Answer 16

A major island in the Solomon group, located southeast of New Guinea, and site of a major battle from August of 1942 to February of 1943. The battle was fought in defense of Henderson Field, the island’s air field. A series of intense naval engagements also occurred in the sea around the island

Question 17

Cactus Air Force

Answer 17

American pilots based at Henderson Field on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.

Question 18

Tokyo Express

Answer 18

American term for the fast Japanese ships used to ferry men and supplies to islands in the Solomons, including Guadalcanal, usually from the Japanese air and naval base at Rabaul.

Question 19

Rabaul Major

Answer 19

Japanese air and naval base on the eastern end of the island of New Britain, east of Australia. Japanese pilots based at Rabaul had to fly 400 miles south to engage American forces at Guadalcanal in the Solomons.

Question 20

Saburo Sakai

Answer 20

A leading Japanese air ace who was seriously wounded near Guadalcanal in August of 1942. His Zero was seriously damaged but remained airborne. He took several 12mm bullets in the skull but still managed to fly 400 miles to his homebase at Rabaul and land safely.

Question 21

island-hopping

Answer 21

The American strategy in the Pacific Theater of WWII which called for major offensives against particularly important islands and the deliberate by-passing of others, either because they were unimportant to overall American goals or because they were too well-defended. Also called “leap-frogging.” Islands which were by-passed were cut off from sources of resupply and troops on them were left to starve or languish while the important military action was taking place elsewhere

Question 22

Tarawa

Answer 22

A Pacific island northeast of Australia and one of the Gilbert Islands, the first island group attacked by the Americans after the Solomons. It was occupied by the Japanese during WWII and taken by American forces in a bloody three day campaign beginning on November 20, 1943.

Question 23

Truk

Answer 23

Site of a large Japanese naval and air facility in the Caroline Islands during WWII. It was attacked successfully by American aircraft and ships during Operation Hailstone on February 17 and 18, 1944.

Question 24

Kwajalein

Answer 24

An enormous coral atoll in the Marshall islands, one the largest in the world. A collection of almost a hundred coral islands surrounding an equally enormous lagoon. The current population of about 2500 consists mostly of Americans

Question 25

Tinian

Answer 25

Pacific island in the Northern Marianas. Famous as the island from which the B-29 Enola Gay flew for the first atomic bomb raid in history on the Japanese city of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945). It had one of the longest runways in the Pacific.

Question 26

Iwo Jima

Answer 26

Major island in the Volcano Island group, about 500 miles from the Japanese home islands. Marines took the island during February and March, 1945, to secure its airfield. The campaign was designed to prevent Japanese fighter pilots from using the airfield to harrass B-29s on bombing raids to Japan and to provide American air crews with an emergency airfield for disabled aircraft.

Question 27

Okinawa

Answer 27

A large island just southwest of the Japanese home islands, often considered (unofficially) by the Japanese as one of the home islands. Its defenders put up a fierce resistance in mid-1945.

Question 28

Marianas Turkey Shoot

Answer 28

The air battle which was part of the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19-20, 1944) is often referred to as the “Marianas Turkey Shoot.” This battle was an unmitigated disaster for Japan’s navy. It lost three aircraft carriers (Taiho, Shokaku and Hiyo) and over 400 airplanes

Question 29

Operation Torch

Answer 29

The American and Free French invasion of Northwest Africa that began on November 8, 1942. Landings in Morocco and Algeria began the operation. Allied troops then headed for Tunisia in an attempt to push the Germans and Italians eastward while the British were actively pushing them westward from their base in Egypt.

Question 30

Operation Husky

Answer 30

The Allied invasion of the Mediterranean island of Sicily in 1943. This successful operation followed Operation Torch, with Allied troops moving from North Africa to Sicily, where they drove Italian and German forces across the Strait of Messina and into Italy. The Italian campaign (the so-called “Battle for the Boot”) would continue until the last day of World War II, with German troops staunchly defending this back door to the German heartland.

Question 31

Stalingrad

Answer 31

Volgograd toda, Stalingrad (on the Volga river) was the site of the historic Battle of Stalingrad, generally regarded as a major turning point in the war on the Eastern Front. Hitler insisted on the capture of this city named for Stalin, and Stalin insisted that it not fall.

Question 32

Battle of Kursk

Answer 32

The greatest tank battle in history. A titanic battle during July of 1943 on the Eastern Front between Soviet and German armored divisions. Some historians believe it was the true turning point of the war on the Eastern Front.

Question 33

Operation Overlord

Answer 33

The Allied code name for the Second Front, the invasion of France which began on June 6, 1944. Over 3 million men ultimately crossed the English Channel as part of this massive amphibious operation. It is also known as the “Normandy Invasion” and “D-Day.”

Question 34

Battle of the Bulge

Answer 34

The last German offensive of World War II, fought in Belgium during the bitterly cold and snowy months of December 1944 and January 1945. Allied troops were caught off guard by this surprise attack, and bad weather inhibited their efforts to halt the German advance. The Wehrmacht was aiming toward the Belgian port of Antwerp, where most Allied supplies were being landed

Question 35

strategic bombing

Answer 35

Use of aircraft, typically bombers, to disrupt a nation’s capacity for making war, by attacking factories, oil refineries, army installations, ports, etc.

Question 36

tactical bombing

Answer 36

Use of aircraft, typically bombers, in support of battlefield operations.

Question 37

B-17

Answer 37

American heavy bomber which was extensively used to bomb targets in Germany and occupied Europe during WWII, nicknamed the “Flying Fortress.” Several are still in flying condition today, with many more in museums around the world.

Question 38

B-24

Answer 38

A heavy American bomber that saw action in both Europe and the Pacific during WWII. It was the most produced aircraft of WWII (18,500 produced) and still holds the production record today. It was the bomber which was used to attack the Ploesti oil refineries in Rumania.

Question 39

Ploesti

Answer 39

A city in Rumania, site of oil refineries whose output was critical to the survival of Hitler’s Third Reich during WWII. It was first attacked from bases in North Africa by American B-24 Liberators on August 1, 1943. Operation Tidal Wave brought 178 bombers over the city.

Question 40

P-47

Answer 40

A heavily-built American fighter of WWII, nicknamed the “Thunderbolt” officially and unofficially called the “Jug” by its pilots. It lacked range, however, and was incapable of escorting American bombers deep into Germany and back. The bombers were often vulnerable to enemy fighters as a result.

Question 41

P-51

Answer 41

Probably the best fighter produced during WWII and the first fighter capable of escorting bombers all the way to Berlin and back. It first became available to the Eighth Air Force in the winter of 1943/1944 and almost immediately began to change the course of the air war in Europe. Almost 16,000 of them were manufactured during the war.

Question 42

B-29

Answer 42

The largest bomber produced during WWII by any nation, built by the Boeing company. It was not introduced into general use until May of 1944. Almost 4000 were built, but today only a few still exist in museums (Enola Gay, Bocks Car, etc.) and only one is in flying condition (Fifi).

Question 43

Curtis LeMay

Answer 43

Chief proponent and theorist of strategic bombing in both the European and Pacific Theaters of WWII. He commanded the first operational B-29 bombers in the Pacific theater. They flew from bases in China and India to attack the Japanese home islands and other targets in China and Southeast Asia. His first bombing mission with B-29s was in June of 1944.

Question 44

Battle of Berlin

Answer 44

The last battle of the European war, as Soviet troops entered the German capital and occupied it. The Red Army lost about 200,000 soldiers in taking Berlin, about half of all American losses in World War II. As Soviet troops approached Hitler’s bunker under the Reich Chancellery building, Hitler committed suicide to avoid capture.

Question 45

V-E Day

Answer 45

May 8, 1945. The day that the European phase of World War II ended (Victory in Europe Day). It is a major holiday observance still today in Russia.