The Complete History of the US Submarine Blockade — The Campaign That Beat Japan | Naval Documentary
Pillows of the Past
7,685 views
The Complete History of the US Submarine Blockade — The Campaign That Beat Japan | Naval Documentary
Japan entered the Pacific War believing that its empire could survive through conquest.
But there was a weakness beneath that empire.
Japan depended on ships.
Oil had to cross oceans. Food had to move between islands. Iron ore, rubber, fuel, ammunition, and other vital resources traveled thousands of miles across the Pacific.
And American submarines began hunting those ships.
From the first weeks after Pearl Harbor to the final months of 1945, the *U.S. submarine force* waged a campaign that gradually strangled Japan's maritime economy.
At first, the submarines faced serious problems. Torpedoes failed. Intelligence was incomplete. Commanders struggled to understand where Japanese shipping was moving.
Then the campaign began to change.
Improved torpedoes, better intelligence, radar, aggressive patrol tactics, and growing numbers of submarines allowed American boats to strike Japanese merchant shipping across an enormous area.
Tonight, we follow the complete history of the American submarine campaign against Japan.
From Pearl Harbor and the Philippines to the Dutch East Indies, the South China Sea, the Japanese home waters, and the final months of the war, we explore how American submarines systematically attacked the transportation network keeping the Japanese Empire alive.
Why did Japan fail to protect its merchant fleet?
How did American submariners overcome their early torpedo problems?
And how could a relatively small submarine force help bring an entire industrial empire to the edge of collapse?
This was not a single blockade.
It was a long campaign of attrition—one ship, one tanker, and one supply route at a time.
By 1945, Japan still had soldiers, aircraft, and warships.
But increasingly, it lacked the fuel and supplies needed to use them.
---
What You'll Discover
The U.S. submarine force before Pearl Harbor
America's early submarine problems in the Pacific
The Mark 14 torpedo controversy and its failures
The first patrols against Japanese shipping
Submarine warfare around the Philippines
The importance of Japanese merchant shipping
Attacks on tankers carrying vital oil supplies
The campaign against Japanese transportation routes
Intelligence and codebreaking
Radar and improved submarine tactics
The development of wolfpack-style operations in the Pacific
Famous American submarine patrols and commanders
The growing shortage of Japanese merchant ships
The destruction of Japan's oil supply network
Japanese anti-submarine defenses
Why Japanese escorts struggled to stop the campaign
The submarine war during 1944 and 1945
The impact of shipping losses on the Japanese military
How the blockade contributed to Japan's economic and military collapse
The final submarine operations before Japan's surrender
---
Research & Historical Sources
This documentary draws upon:
*U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command*
*U.S. National Archives and Records Administration*
*Naval History and Heritage Command — Submarine Force records*
*National WWII Museum*
*Imperial War Museums*
*U.S. Navy wartime patrol reports*
*Japanese wartime naval and merchant-shipping records*
Samuel Eliot Morison — History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
Clay Blair — Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan
Theodore Roscoe — United States Submarine Operations in World War II
Joel Holwitt — research on U.S. submarine warfare
Robert Cressman — research on the Pacific War and Japanese shipping
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The Complete History of the US Submarine Blockade — The Campaign That Beat Japan | Naval Documentary
Pillows of the Past
7,685 views
The Complete History of the US Submarine Blockade — The Campaign That Beat Japan | Naval Documentary
Japan entered the Pacific War believing that its empire could survive through conquest.
But there was a weakness beneath that empire.
Japan depended on ships.
Oil had to cross oceans. Food had to move between islands. Iron ore, rubber, fuel, ammunition, and other vital resources traveled thousands of miles across the Pacific.
And American submarines began hunting those ships.
From the first weeks after Pearl Harbor to the final months of 1945, the *U.S. submarine force* waged a campaign that gradually strangled Japan's maritime economy.
At first, the submarines faced serious problems. Torpedoes failed. Intelligence was incomplete. Commanders struggled to understand where Japanese shipping was moving.
Then the campaign began to change.
Improved torpedoes, better intelligence, radar, aggressive patrol tactics, and growing numbers of submarines allowed American boats to strike Japanese merchant shipping across an enormous area.
Tonight, we follow the complete history of the American submarine campaign against Japan.
From Pearl Harbor and the Philippines to the Dutch East Indies, the South China Sea, the Japanese home waters, and the final months of the war, we explore how American submarines systematically attacked the transportation network keeping the Japanese Empire alive.
Why did Japan fail to protect its merchant fleet?
How did American submariners overcome their early torpedo problems?
And how could a relatively small submarine force help bring an entire industrial empire to the edge of collapse?
This was not a single blockade.
It was a long campaign of attrition—one ship, one tanker, and one supply route at a time.
By 1945, Japan still had soldiers, aircraft, and warships.
But increasingly, it lacked the fuel and supplies needed to use them.
---
What You'll Discover
The U.S. submarine force before Pearl Harbor
America's early submarine problems in the Pacific
The Mark 14 torpedo controversy and its failures
The first patrols against Japanese shipping
Submarine warfare around the Philippines
The importance of Japanese merchant shipping
Attacks on tankers carrying vital oil supplies
The campaign against Japanese transportation routes
Intelligence and codebreaking
Radar and improved submarine tactics
The development of wolfpack-style operations in the Pacific
Famous American submarine patrols and commanders
The growing shortage of Japanese merchant ships
The destruction of Japan's oil supply network
Japanese anti-submarine defenses
Why Japanese escorts struggled to stop the campaign
The submarine war during 1944 and 1945
The impact of shipping losses on the Japanese military
How the blockade contributed to Japan's economic and military collapse
The final submarine operations before Japan's surrender
---
Research & Historical Sources
This documentary draws upon:
*U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command*
*U.S. National Archives and Records Administration*
*Naval History and Heritage Command — Submarine Force records*
*National WWII Museum*
*Imperial War Museums*
*U.S. Navy wartime patrol reports*
*Japanese wartime naval and merchant-shipping records*
Samuel Eliot Morison — History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
Clay Blair — Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan
Theodore Roscoe — United States Submarine Operations in World War II
Joel Holwitt — research on U.S. submarine warfare
Robert Cressman — research on the Pacific War and Japanese shipping
- Retired Navy Submarine Chief and Naval Historian