Did the US "take over" any technological innovation from Japan after WWII?

All,

This one here is a bit speculative. I have no clue at all and I can't really find any references.

The Allieds (US) had its operation paperclip to "catch" German scientist and in essence get as much new technology as possible from Germany.

Some of the more significant US developments would probably not have been possible without German technology and scientists. Even Stalin admitted "your Germans are better than my Germans" (or something in that vein at least).

Now, was there a similar scramble for Japanese technology? Was there any significant Japanese developments worth going for?

I am simply not clued up on this, and I can't even name one major Japanese development of major significance (ranging up there with Me-262, air-to-air missiles, von Braun's rockets, the German subs, etc etc).

Small things like the Japanese torpedo, yes, but that is not particular significant?

And if there were, what were these? would it have changed anything if Soviet had got there first?

Comments?

ivan
 

Delta Force

Banned
Japan had one of the best optics industries in the world, and many warships commissioned before the start of World War II were equipped with Japanese rangefinders.
 
Unit 731 knew a great deal about bioweapons. Perhaps some of their research got brought back to the US after the war.
 

Kongzilla

Banned
I believe they may have captured some of the scientists or research notes that were involved in Japans biological warfare programs. But I am not sure.
 
Sadly the US did capture the Japanese biowar program, which is why the criminals involved generally escaped justice after the war.
 
There was an interesting example of Japanese technology not being adopted by America and then a similar design being independently discovered and being adopted. This is Optical landing system or meatball http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_landing_system. The system currently used by navies has evolved from the work of RADM H C N 'Nick' Goodhart RN http://thetartanterror.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/radm-h-c-n-nick-goodhart-cb.html and http://www.ianbottillustration.co.uk/Port-mirror.html.

The Japanese system, called chakkan shidoto (literally, landing guidance light), is described at http://www.ussessexcv9.org/pdfs/Japanese%20Carrier%20Operations.pdf or on pages 194-195 of "Shattered Sword" by Parshall and Tully.

The USN mission to Japan sort of recorded its use http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/prim...Reports/USNTMJ-200A-0560-0608 Report A-11.pdf on page 18. However, I don't think that the writer actually understood the Japanese system, so the USN did not consider copying it.
 
Is that about it? rather poor I should think.

Did it have anything to do with the perception of Japanese inventions as inherently inferior?

Engine technology? (Both countries using radial engines)

Anything mainstream?

ivan
 
Unit 731 knew a great deal about bioweapons. Perhaps some of their research got brought back to the US after the war.

the US Military got the data and Files from Unit 731, but the Data quite useless for them.
most of the stuff was raw data from experiments so they needed the criminals involved in Unit 731, to process it.
In the end they discovered, that ww2 Bioweapon research in US was more advance as the japanese.

also collect the US all savable Data from Japanese Nuclear research program
they also had close look on japanese advance military aircraft and found to there surprise: german hardware...
 
back then japan was the china of great powers, they had a few good inventions sure; but most were just copies of western tech.
 
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