Looking for Danger in the Pacific...

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Keelbuster

P.S. What kind of ship is Bungo Pete? Sub-chaser perhaps?

In the movie it was called an "Akikaze". There was an such a ship called the Akikaze. It was commissioned in 1921 a Minekaze class destroyer. While still a pretty good esort, it would not have been the sub killer as depicted in the movie. Especially since she did not have any depth charges. She was designed more as a torpedo launcher.

The Akikaze died an honourable death in November 1944 when she deliberatly intercepted torpedoes headed toward the carrier Junyō. All hands were lost.

What I find interesting in the movie is that Clark Gable "practiced" his approach using a Momo destroyer.

There was such a destroyer called the Momo. It was one of the Matsu Class destroyers. However, the Momo was commissioned in 1944 and the movie was supposed to take place in 1943. (missed it by that much)

If, the movie had taken place in late 1944, Clark Gable would have found the Momo a much harder adversary than the Akikaze. He would have used the Akikaze to practice his dumb approach.


So to answer your question, these were fictional destroyers in the movie.

In the Beach book, Bungo Pete was the nickname of the Japanese destroyer Captain, not the ship.

If you have not yet read the book, be prepared. It is quite different from the movie. And it raises an interesting and dark moral question.