[Dogfish40]

For one thing, When this thread started, it had nothing to do with gunning survivors in life rafts. I just had empty lifeboats all the time and wondered why.
I'll say it again; As angry as the U.S sailors were at the IJN for Pearl, The U.S did not make a habit out of gunning down survivors in the water. On the contrary, there are dozens of instances on film and in the records of U.S submariners taking IJN prisoners out of the water!
This was something that was born from an old Navy custom for years and most navies of the world acted as civil as they could towards survivors in life rafts or in the water.
Most Submarines simply could not take in large amounts of survivors and so they were left to their fate. That is about as close to the truth as is possible in my humble estimation. Did "survivors" get shot in cold blood? Probably, on occasion.
Which Navy??
I'm very proud of the United States conduct and performance in WW2.
So, I hope we can close this thread with the fact that, Yeah,"War is Hell" and I've got my Survivors back in the Lifeboats !!!
Cheers and Good Hunting
D40