How 8 American Sailors Landed on Japan — Blew Up a Train and Escaped in Under 40 Minutes

Video Description

Why Commander Eugene Fluckey sent 8 sailors to land on Japan and blow up a train in 1945 — and accomplished the only US ground operation on Japanese home islands during the entire war. This World War 2 story reveals how one submarine crew rewrote the rules of naval warfare. July 23, 1945. Commander Eugene "Lucky" Fluckey, captain of USS Barb submarine, watched eight sailors paddle toward the Japanese coast of Karafuto. They carried a 55-pound bomb with a micro-switch trigger made from a pickle jar. Every submarine manual said submarines were torpedo platforms that fought underwater. Navy command called it reckless. They were all wrong. What Fluckey discovered during his twelfth war patrol wasn't about following doctrine. It was about submarines operating as strategic weapons in ways that contradicted everything the Navy taught. By the end of that night, his eight-man landing party had destroyed a sixteen-car Japanese supply train carrying ammunition and troops. The explosion lit up the coastline like a magnesium flare. This operation proved submarines could launch rockets at shore targets, send commando teams inland, and operate in thirty-foot-deep water. Fluckey's tactics — including his Medal of Honor action at Namkwan Harbor where he escaped at a world-record 23.5 knots — changed submarine warfare forever. The USS Barb sank seventeen ships totaling 96,628 tons, ranking fourth among all US submarines in World War Two. 🔔 Subscribe for more untold WW2 stories: https://www.youtube.com/@WWII-Records 👍 Like this video if you learned something new 💬 Comment below: What other WW2 tactics should we cover? #worldwar2 #ww2history #ww2 #wwii #ww2records ⚠️ Disclaimer: This is entertainment storytelling based on WW2 events from internet sources. While we aim for engaging narratives, some details may be inaccurate. This is not an academic source. For verified history, consult professional historians and archives. Watch responsibly.