Canada History Archive

[Nilgiri]

On Remembrance Day, Celebrating Two Canadian Prisoners Who Took Down an Entire Shipyard

The need for secrecy was therefore paramount. But as he began to plot his sabotage, Clark realized he’d need at least one trusted accomplice.

quillette.com

The Nippon Kokan yard was huge. It produced both civilian ships and naval vessels for the Imperial Navy, this at a time when Japan’s ships were being regularly sunk by American submarines. It surprised us all how little damage this vital facility had suffered, despite numerous attacks by American bombers. And one of my fellow Canadian POWs—Staff Sergeant Charles Alfred (“Charlie”) Clark, who’d served in the Headquarters unit of “C” Force at Hong Kong before becoming a Japanese prisoner—began getting the idea that humble prisoners might succeed where fleets of bombers had not.

(Full story at link)

@Joe Shearer

 

[Nilgiri]

(retd. RCN) Buddy of mine about this story:

Colour me impressed! Normally you need an entire shipyard full of Canadians to reduce its output to zero.

 

[Nilgiri]

A previous article written by same author:

On This Day in 1945, Japan Released Me from a POW Camp. Then US Pilots Saved My Life

These were veterans of the long Pacific campaign. They’d survived many terrible encounters with the Japanese in their westward campaign across the Pacific, and they looked the part.

quillette.com

Some more details on the events described:

Sendai 4 POW Camp

Sendai Ohashi POW Camp also known as Hakodat #2 then Tokyo #6 before becoming Sendai #2- two locations during war

www.mansell.com