Iwo Jima: Pre-Invasion Version

MaskRider

MaskRider

Tiller of Soil
Hi Guys,

Quickie update.

The Marianas projects is still progressing. Got hung up at Iwo Jima. Putting the finishing touches on a pre-invasion Feb-1945 version. Using the special air and gunnery target map- posted earlier on some other thread by Jagd- as a template for laying in objects from Pen32Win's bunker and coastal defense pack to give a feel for the way it appeared. Not going over board. Only going down the list to the pill-boxes. No rifle pit or machine gun positions.

After this little pre-invasion Iwo is done the effort will shift north to complete rebuilding the Islands north of the Haha Jima group up to the northern boundary of the updated mesh supplied by JP. That will include the small airifeld on Chichi Jima.

After that- a very rudimentary B-29-capable Iwo Jima project: the CBs carved a lengthened runway out of the 5/23 runway at Japanese Field No1. That is what I plan to do too. Have a couple of nice photos to cover that.

After that, it's back down to the Marianas proper to finish up the major airfields on Saipan and Tinian. No idea when it will be finished. Just taking my time.

A couple o' Iwo screenies:
View attachment 14126View attachment 14127View attachment 14128
pencil.png


PS: As a change, I did the roads using a custom road bmp supplied by JP. Very nice. Usually I do the roads as very intricate VTP1 poly-with-no-shores because the stock "squiggly" CFS2 road texture is just way too hard to handle- doesn't lend itself well to intricate road patterns at all. Being able to make a VTP1 line using a road texture that goes where you want it to is so much easier. Thanks, JP!
 
Reply...

Chris,

Your skills as a scenery designer are simply incredible. :jawdrop:
 
Hi Chris.

I had been a bit stumped when looking at modern images of Iwo Jima, and comparing them to maps and images from WW2. Particularly the western shoreline was different.

But here's what I found in Wikipedia:

Captain Cook's surveying crew landed on a beach which is now 40 meters (131 ft) above sea level due to volcanic uplifting. Such uplifting occurs on the island at a varying rate of between 100 and 800 millimeters (3.9 and 31 in) per year, with an average rate of 200 millimeters (8 in) per year.

So, it appears the western landmass has raised from the ground since the 1940's, and that explains the difference.

Dick
 
Dick,

Thanks for that info. I too have been stumped as to why the differences in the Island's shore line from 1945 to the current satellite photos. That answers the question nicely.
 
rhumbaflappy said:
Hi Chris.

I had been a bit stumped when looking at modern images of Iwo Jima, and comparing them to maps and images from WW2. Particularly the western shoreline was different.

But here's what I found in Wikipedia:

Captain Cook's surveying crew landed on a beach which is now 40 meters (131 ft) above sea level due to volcanic uplifting.Such uplifting occurs on the island at a varying rate of between 100 and 800 millimeters (3.9 and 31 in) per year, with an average rate of 200 millimeters (8 in) per year.

So, it appears the western landmass has raised from the ground since the 1940's, and that explains the difference.

Dick
Click to expand...


Hi Dick.

You are so right. Thanks for the very interesting information. I thought I must be goin' nuts when I first started this little project. I just couldn't seem to get anything to fit!

Yep, that northwestern party of the island is where all of the issues are- no doubt about it.

This has been one of the very most frustrating projects I have ever worked on. It was a REAL chore trying to get a shoreline- as mapped during WWII- to match up with todays shoreline- mesh- as it appears in the SWBD shp files and even in the images available from Google map and Google Earth.

I really had to do some tweaking. It wouldn't have been so tough if I had simply flattened everything NW/NE of Suribachi down to sea level and then recreated the shoreline as seen during WWII. Problem of course is that the mesh- which I wanted to keep- fits today's shp file shoreline, sort of, and not only that but the data was apparently gathered at low tide or very close to it. The GoogleMap/Earth images were definitely taken at low tide.

Hehe! Itr was a hassle! :d

For the roads, even though I have a great map, I was never able to get a good overlay fit for a project map in G2K. So, those are all done by eye using the scenery objects as a rough guide.

Anyway- what I have is a happy compromise- as is almost always the case. One does the best one can with the data at hand.

BTW, your CellGrid utility came in very handy. I won't get into details here. But I was able to use it to good advantage.

BTW also, what I ended up doing eventually- was to put an A16 flatten offshore to the NW to get rid at least of all of that low tide mud flat BS or what ever it is that is out there.

Chris
 
When I was reading about how the CB built the new airstrips one of the things I was struck by was how many times runway beds and surfaces collapsed due to underground volcanic activity and stuff. The ground was constantly changing right under their feet.
 
Hi Chris.

The flatten is the best way we have. Another area of interest is Rabaul... the 1994 volcano eruption destroyed the airfield and left a mountain.

Dick
 
Someday I'll visit Rabaul. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with the CFS 2 time machine for my visits.

I guess we can stray 2,100 and some miles from Iwo Jima to Rabaul. Some would say we're off topic; but hey, it's the same theater. Here are some photos and a map from WWII of the Japanese bastion at Rabaul.
 
Wow - great stuff as always! I'm anchored in the bight at Cape Lookout as I type this - gotta love technology!
 
Here is another interesting comparison between circa 1944 and 2008. You can see the change in terrain above and around Lukanai airfield and Matupi Island.
 
Your Iwo layout is lookin' good Chris...and that touch of darkened, rocky volcanic texturing fits nicely too.

Ah, yes...and Simpson Harbor...the site of some of my most ferocious Jolly Rogers' air battles. Having so many Jap airstrips compacted into this one area makes it a perfect, target-rich environment for fighter sweeps and bomber escort missions. You can burn a lot of gas and spend some serious ammo in there as the threats just keep spawning from every direction of the harbor with a well designed mission.
 
PSULLYKEYS said:
MR: Very nice! How big was the floating crane? Any pix?:jump:
Click to expand...

Hi Sully!

Nope, the only pictures I can find are of it in ruins. And from these pictures it would seem difficult to figure out just what it looked like. However, I did some serious digging after you posted your question and what I found out is this:

This crane was indeed captured by the Japanese at Singapore and they towed it all the way to Rabaul. Can you imagine such a thing? They must have thought that the gods were truly on their side because the towing task force was never attacked even once- until they made to just out side Blanche Bay. The Allies apparently were following its progress all the way and deliberately waited until it was being towed triumphantly into Rabaul- then they attacked and sank it. It never even made it into Simpson Harbor and lies today just where it was sunk- close into shore along the beach at a place named Kokopo. So, I guess it really isn't a required scenery object for Rabaul- But don't let that stop you if you really feel the urge to create it!

See attached images.

View attachment 14311View attachment 14308View attachment 14310View attachment 14309
 
Iwo Jima progress today

Made some headway over at Iwo today. Made use of some sand-less wave textures supplied by JP and drew on inspiration from his work on Truk Lagoon and re did the Islands sitting off the NW shore of Iwo.

I was trying to get that neat effect where the waves break over the shoal off shore from the island with the water inside the shoal a different "shallower" color than the water outside and also keep the regular appearance of the island itself- make sure it remains "land". Took a little head scratching and re-arranging of layers but I finally came up with a look I like!

Thanks, JP! You are da man!

Gratuitous screenie follows:
View attachment 14312

Time for bed.
 
Jagdflieger said:
Here is another interesting comparison between circa 1944 and 2008. You can see the change in terrain above and around Lukanai airfield and Matupi Island.
Click to expand...

Nice picture. Yep, Rabaul is one heck of an interesting place. Back before the War Lakunai airfield was the local horse racing track and sort of country club area. Before he was famous movie star, Errol Flynn was briefly, before his shady past and even shadier real time shenanigans caught up with him, a member of the Papua New Guinean Constabulary and spent considerable time in and around Rabaul and its environs- hangin in the bars mostly- mixing with and scamming the gold miners heading to and coming back from the Eddie (?) Creek gold strike in Salamua and Wau.

Here are two really great websites dedicated to personal remembrances of Mandated Rabaul and New Guinea before the war and during.

Lost Lives - The Second World War and the Islands of New Guinea
It is a great website. It is a tad less than intuitive to navigate- but well worth the effort. One of my favorite reminiscences is this one:

Rabaul In the 1920s: A Child's Eye View
Its written by a guy named Derek Westoby O'Dean who as a little boy traveled with his family by steamer from Brisbane to Rabaul in 1923. They traveled there to join his father who had taken up position in Rabaul as Architect in the Department of Public Works.

Its a great story as are all the others included in this website. This website is a real treasure trove.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top