Sofu Gan / Lot's Wife ?

[momo55]

I was returning from my 3te patrol and came across a place on the map that intriget me . ( TMO 1.5 + RSRDC )


Looked like a sandbank on the map ...so i din't hit the bridge to take a peek but tought..i'm gonna google later and find out .

Well ....it's a sandbank with a rock (see pic on the bottem of this sitepage :
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/s...-s/ss197-k.htm
Damn ! I wish i dit hit the bridge to see if the rock is there...next time i will .
( Btw..go to the home page of this site ...intresting site )

Still have the question where " Lot's Wife " is comming from ? Who know's ?

greetz

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by momo55

Still have the question where " Lot's Wife " is comming from ? Who know's ?

greetz

I'm sure the reference is biblical. The rock resembles a vast pillar of salt which is what Lot's Wife was turned into when she turned back to witness the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. A lot of rock formations around the Dead Sea are also so named.

[momo55]

Thank you Torplexed for the quick reply I'm not only learning how to " manually target " or " 90° targetting " etc. ... but even about rocks in the middle of nowhere .
GREAT GAME SH4

[Doolittle81]

WOW! Pretty amazing that Sofu Gan was included in SH4 by the Developers!!

Here's some comments about Sofu Gan:

From A B-29 crewmember's log/recollections:
Strike #2 (daylight) 12 April, 1945

Target- No. 357, Musashino Engine Works of the Nakajima Aircraft
Company, Tokyo, Japan
Bomb Load- 5 2,000 lb HE's
Aircraft- T-23 ["Pocahontas"]
Opposition- Flak meager to moderate and accurate. Fighters
neutralized by P-51 escort.

This time it was a daylight formation strike with P-51 fighter cover. The same old target, #357, the bane of the 20th AF.
Sofu-Gan was the assembly point. Sofu-Gan is an item in the very damn middle of the Pacific and at the end of the vast Nanpo Shoto extending south from Tokyo bay. It is an item so small that it didn't appear in the radar until we were almost on top of it and even that never would have occurred if John hadn't had a small bit of luck on his last LoRaN fix. It is a mere finger of rock that sticks out of and breaks the surface of the sea like a stump in a swamp. Actually higher than it is wide. There is reported a Japanese navigation light thereon.

After circling in vain for some minutes we found a large formation of "T" ships, tacked on in the "slot", and went into the CP [Control Point] at Omaezaki and thence to the IP at at Oso-Saki on the Shimoda penninsula. I could see the land at Numazu where we picked up our first flak.


From a narrative about another B-29 crew bailing out near Sofu Gan and picked up by the sub Tinosa:
Orr had the crew throw out everything they could to lighten the plane. With only as much power on the two left engines as Orr and Frodsham could handle physically, the bomber continued to lose altitude. They finally broke out of the front at 3,500 feet, about 500 miles south of Osaka. Navigator Costa recognized an uninhabited island, Sofu Gan. Then the No. 3 engine caught fire.
It was clear they couldn't make it to Guam. The radio operator, Sgt. Jim Schwoegler, sent out a Mayday, not knowing if his transmitter was working.
Lieutenant Orr decided not to ditch the plane in its damaged condition. He ordered the crew to bail out while he and Frodsham maneuvered the B-29 far enough away so it would not endanger the men in the water when it crashed. Seconds after Orr and Frodsham bailed out, the bomber exploded. Flight engineer MSgt. Edward Kanick's parachute did not open. All other members of the crew splashed down safely.
About two hours after their midday bailout, it appeared that Sergeant Schwoegler's transmitter had worked. A Navy PBY amphibious seaplane showed up, but the sea was too rough for it to land. Soon a B-17 appeared and dropped a Higgins boat by parachute. It landed near radar officer Lt. Art Swanberg, who climbed aboard, started the engine, and, directed by the B-17, picked up the rest of the crew. The boat was stocked with dry clothing and food to see them through a reasonably comfortable night.
The following day the survivors were taken aboard the submarine USS Tinosa.


From the Archer-Fish 3rd War Patrol entering Japanese waters:
June 9, 1944
0530 (K) - Dived to patrol Empire - Mirianas route as we will have only one day in our western area. Will spend the day submerged out of areas closing Sofu Gan to tune SJ radar tonight.

1158 (K) - Sighted submarine on the surface; believed to be Kingfish at estimated range of 6000 yards. He dived at this range so surfaced immediately and cleared area to northward at flank speed.

1458 (K) - OOD sighted float plane. Dived. Aircraft contact #4. SD was not in use as have decided in general not to use it within 100 miles of an enemy base or when patrolling a convoy route.


June 10, 1944
1900 (K) - Closing Sofu Gan to tune SJ radar.



From a narrative about a Tigrone patrol in 1945:
After refitting by Apollo (AS-25), Tigrone departed Apra Harbor on 19 May, took on torpedoes at Saipan the same day, and on the 20th got underway for her assigned area. On the 25th, she sighted Sofu Gan Island and Tori Shima before taking up her lifeguard station south of Honshu and west of the Nanpo Shoto. That same day, she rescued a downed flier from the 19th Fighter Command, Iwo Jima.


From a submariner's memoirs:



And, finally, here's a photo of the "Wife" and a sinking Sampan:

Photo #: 80-G-80424
Japanese "sampan" (possibly a picket boat)
Sinking near Sofu Gan rock, after being shelled by USS Seawolf (SS-197) on 5 September 1943.
Position was approximately 29 49'N, 140 21'E.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.




So, it would appear that this little rock in the middle of nowhere was quite a commonly used navigational/reference point for both USN submarine and USAAF aircraft operations.

Unfortunately, out of curiosity I sailed there, but there is No actual Sofu Gan rock in SH4....just empty seas, even though the name is depicted on the map. Too bad.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Doolittle81

Unfortunately, out of curiosity I sailed there, but there is No actual Sofu Gan rock in SH4....just empty seas, even though the name is depicted on the map. Too bad.

There's a similar isolated geological structure in the North Atlantic northwest of Ireland called Rockall. Sadly, it's not on the SH3 map either. Perhaps the developers have an aversion to guano?

[CDR Resser]

I had seen this noted on the map, but had never just taken a look at the rock. Its a shame that it is not depicted other than a spot on the map.
This should be added if possible.
All these things that I think the game needs, I should learn to mod myself.

Respectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

[aanker]

Originally Posted by CDR Resser

I had seen this noted on the map, but had never just taken a look at the rock. Its a shame that it is not depicted other than a spot on the map.
This should be added if possible.
All these things that I think the game needs, I should learn to mod myself.

Respectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

You're right, I remember looking up Sofu Gan when I saw it in our Mission Orders years ago however it wasn't on any of our SH1 maps. Read the reports Doolittle posted above back then.

A terrain editor would be needed for that and many other things ... however the resulting SH4 map would be huge - to be included in a mod.

It would be easier if we were allowed to make a list of things we'd like to have and the Dev's 'cartographer' added some of them. cough - reefs around Truk Lagoon, Panama canal... cough, cough ...

Excuse me ;-)

Art

[Sailor Steve]

Momo, please convert pictures to .jpegs before posting them. Torplexed's photograph is 120 KB, and your .png screenshot 1 1/2 MB.

[CDR Resser]

Originally Posted by aanker

You're right, I remember looking up Sofu Gan when I saw it in our Mission Orders years ago however it wasn't on any of our SH1 maps. Read the reports Doolittle posted above back then.

A terrain editor would be needed for that and many other things ... however the resulting SH4 map would be huge - to be included in a mod.

It would be easier if we were allowed to make a list of things we'd like to have and the Dev's 'cartographer' added some of them. cough - reefs around Truk Lagoon, Panama canal... cough, cough ...

Excuse me ;-)

Art

Maybe we should talk to the people who added the Keil Canal to SH3.

Resoectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

[Paajtor]

What is it made of?
Is the remains of a volcano?

Sometimes, the magma-cone is all that is left, after erosion has carved away the rest of the volcano.

[momo55]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Momo, please convert pictures to .jpegs before posting them. Torplexed's photograph is 120 KB, and your .png screenshot 1 1/2 MB.

OW sry about that ...wasn't aware it was .png ! (my bad..should have checked before posting ) I'll pay more attention to it next time Sailor Steve . Thanks for mentioning it

*If the moderators wish i'll remove that pic or they may np. I know .png's are a big nono on a forum .

greetz

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Paajtor

What is it made of?
Is the remains of a volcano?

Sometimes, the magma-cone is all that is left, after erosion has carved away the rest of the volcano.

You're quite correct. The basaltic-to-andesitic pillar is the remnant of a large stratovolcano that is 28 km wide at its base and rises 2200 m above the sea floor.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Torplexed

I'm sure the reference is biblical. The rock resembles a vast pillar of salt which is what Lot's Wife was turned into when she turned back to witness the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. A lot of rock formations around the Dead Sea are also so named.

That is the most logical explanation and agree 100%

[peewee]

Probably just as well it's not actually in the game, knowing me, I'd collide with it at 1024 compression .............

Didnt they blast that formation down for a radar station late in the war? Or maybe after the war? I may have my rocks mixed up....

Bam