[pdf] Professor Risley And The Imperial Japanese Troupe

Dave Weld and The Imperial Flames, an authentic, real deal blues band, high energy with versatile talent, variety, and a cohesive show that includes original driving houserockin blues, boogie and Soul. The originals are classic in nature, the standards are revitalized with striking three part vocal harmony, three vocal stylists, Passionate slide guitarist, Dave Weld mentored from Grammy Winning Master J.B. Hutto and legendary slideman, along with blues diva and two time Rami winner Mona Rose (Monica Myhre), a rock rhythm section consisting of the creamy voice of Jeff Taylor holding a solid beat on drums and Kenny Pickens blazing on bass.

In 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) went to war with a marginal anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability. This was a lamentable state of affairs for a nation dependent upon imports to sustain its war economy. There were only a few purpose-built ASW escorts available at the start of the war and these were augmented by a handful of second-class destroyers and a dozen torpedo boats. Once the magnitude of the threat to Japan's shipping became fully apparent in 1943, the IJN made plans for mass production of ASW escorts. These arrived in 1944, but could not stop the massacre of Japanese shipping by increasingly bold and effective American submarines.

Designed with little more than a passing nod to the international naval treaties of the inter-war period, the Imperial Japanese Navy's heavy cruisers were fast and heavily armed. Like the other vessels of the Japanese Navy, the heavy cruisers were technologically superior to and far more innovative than their Allied rivals, whom they met in many of the major Pacific Theatre battles, including Midway and Leyte Gulf. Mark Stille continues his study of the IJN of WWII with this fascinating topic, addressing the design and development of all 18 ships in the six heavy cruiser classes, from pre-war construction and mid-war alterations, to their operational histories and eventual fates.