Pacific War Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces to attack targets throughout the Philippines and the South China Sea. The Battle of Iwo Jima ("Operation Detachment") in February 1945 was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Americans in the Pacific War. Iwo Jima is an 8 sq mile (21 km) island situated halfway between Tokyo and the Mariana Islands. Holland Smith, the commander of the invasion force, aimed to capture the island and prevent its use as an early-warning station against air raids on the Japanese Home Islands, and to use it as an emergency landing field. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi,
Japanese submarines in the Pacific War War II. Japanese submarines in the Pacific War Japanese submarines in the Pacific War consisted of 169 boats of the Imperial Japanese Navy. During the war Japanese submarines sunk two US aircraft carriers, a cruiser and numerous other warships. Later they became used to resupply isolated island garrisons. The Japanese began the war with an advanced submarine torpedo design, the Type 95. Japanese midget submarines were involved many actions during the Pacific war including the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Sydney Harbour. Japanese submarines shelled and carried out reconnaissance on the continental United States. There were plans for a four