During WWII, both Japan and the U.S. were listening in on the other's military transmissions via various means. Of course the messages were coded and then when one side figured out that the messages were no longer secure, they'd switch to a different code.
Our Naval Intelligence analysts listening in on Japanese transmissions, kept getting a lot of messages that included the letters R.F. They figured out that it was a place but didn't have a clue where. The concern was that Japan was planning on an attack, but we didn't know the location, so we'd be unprepared.
Then one day an analyst was reviewing reports and noticed a message sent out by a Japanese pilot and he was letting his base know where he was and when he'd land. He said he was passing over R.F. This analyst looked at a map knowing where the Japanese airbase was and took into account the plane's speed and was able to figure out that the only place the Japanese pilot could've been flying over to arrive when he said he would, was Midway Island. A strategic U.S. military base.
He passed the word on to his superiors and the decision was made to send pretty much every naval vessel we had to attack the Japanese. There was concern though that maybe it wasn't Midway being referenced in the pilot's transmission and putting all of our eggs in one basket leaving Hawaii and our west coast exposed, might not be worth the risk. They decided they needed confirmation that it was Midway that was going to be attacked.
So, a spectacular plan was conceived to confirm if Midway was the place or not. The U.S. sent a fake message about problems on Midway's military base such as the water filtration system going down and guess what, not long after the message was sent out, Japan was sending a message about issues Americans were having on R.F. Gotcha! And the rest is some of the most awesome history the world has ever seen. Time to watch Midway again with Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, and Hal Holbrook. They are the A-Team.
Our Naval Intelligence analysts listening in on Japanese transmissions, kept getting a lot of messages that included the letters R.F. They figured out that it was a place but didn't have a clue where. The concern was that Japan was planning on an attack, but we didn't know the location, so we'd be unprepared.
Then one day an analyst was reviewing reports and noticed a message sent out by a Japanese pilot and he was letting his base know where he was and when he'd land. He said he was passing over R.F. This analyst looked at a map knowing where the Japanese airbase was and took into account the plane's speed and was able to figure out that the only place the Japanese pilot could've been flying over to arrive when he said he would, was Midway Island. A strategic U.S. military base.
He passed the word on to his superiors and the decision was made to send pretty much every naval vessel we had to attack the Japanese. There was concern though that maybe it wasn't Midway being referenced in the pilot's transmission and putting all of our eggs in one basket leaving Hawaii and our west coast exposed, might not be worth the risk. They decided they needed confirmation that it was Midway that was going to be attacked.
So, a spectacular plan was conceived to confirm if Midway was the place or not. The U.S. sent a fake message about problems on Midway's military base such as the water filtration system going down and guess what, not long after the message was sent out, Japan was sending a message about issues Americans were having on R.F. Gotcha! And the rest is some of the most awesome history the world has ever seen. Time to watch Midway again with Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, and Hal Holbrook. They are the A-Team.
RSS Feed