Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[cantona2]

Classic!!!!!

[DuckofTindalos]

Reminds me of the scene from the French camp the night before Agincourt in Henry V.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

The Japanese still control the big airfield at Noumea, though it has been bombed and shelled to the point where it is unusable. The enemy has overrun the tiny strip at La Foa, but there are no facilities there and there is no sign that the enemy has tried to land any planes.

I finally got my question on LBA answered! It looks like the Americans have missed an opportunity . . .

Kudos again on the extraordinary research behind this!

[bradfordkay]

" “That’s true. Two hundred men aboard, and at times like this every one of them is an admiral.” "

That last goes for the readers as well...[;)]

[BigBadWolf]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

" “That’s true. Two hundred men aboard, and at times like this every one of them is an admiral.” "

That last goes for the readers as well...[;)]

I think it was meant at readers [:D]

[Cuttlefish]

October 3, 1943

Location: 180 miles west of Efate
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 4
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 390

Orders: Proceed south and engage enemy fleet off New Caledonia

---

It is still dark, but to the east a faint glow marks the coming of dawn. A signal light flashes from Shokaku’s bridge, and in answer the task force comes about. The carriers point their flight decks westward. One by one scout planes roar forward and lumber airborne into the predawn darkness. Across almost forty miles of ocean the other carrier groups are doing the same thing. Some forty planes fan out, most of them to the south and west, meeting the rising sun as they gain altitude.

Aboard Hibiki they have been through this before, more than once. The wait while their planes look for the enemy, the tense watch for any enemy planes that might discover them. Captain Ishii controls his impatience and resists the urge to haunt the radio room. If they hear anything relevant, he knows, they will tell him immediately.

The first reports that come in are disappointing; the waters immediately off the west coast of New Caledonia are at the moment clear of enemy ships. This is confirmed not only by search planes but by observers on the ground. There were ships there yesterday. They come and go, however, as they shuttle supplies and fresh troops ashore. Is this a coincidence, or did the enemy somehow know of their presence?

Then, at 0815 hours, comes a report that enemy ships have been spotted. A trio of destroyers is rounding the north tip of the island, about 180 miles to the west.

Captain Ishii utters an oath when he hears the news. “Pickets,” he says. “If the enemy didn’t know we were here before, they do now.”

“Do they?” asks Lieutenant Miharu. “They will have seen our planes, but how can they know they didn’t come from one of our airstrips in the area?”

“Because we are going to sink them,” predicts Ishii. “I don’t think we will let even a small force like this one escape. It will give away our strength and position the same as if we broadcast it to the enemy, but there you have it.”

“Regrettable,” comments the lieutenant.

“Yes, it is,” says Ishii shortly.

Ishii’s prediction is soon confirmed. When no other ships are found within range a substantial strike is sent after the enemy destroyers. These, reported as two American Mahan class and one British or Australian Tribal class, are quickly sunk.

More information comes in. There have been no enemy planes seen over Noumea all morning. An H8K out of Luganville spots a group of enemy transports southwest of New Caledonia and reports they are withdrawing at speed. Soon afterwards there are new orders from Shokaku. The carriers recover their aircraft and then the Japanese task forces turn southwest.

On Hibiki’s bridge Captain Ishii gives orders for the new course and speed. “We are pursuing?” asks Lieutenant Miharu. Ishii nods.

“So it appears,” he says, then smiles tightly. “The enemy wants to run, eh? Well, let’s see how fast they are.”

[DuckofTindalos]

Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!

[John 3rd]

Terminus:

Is that a quote from Star Trek VI or by some poor schmuck named Shakespeare?!  After all you've truly experienced Shakespeare until "you've read him in the original Klingon."  [:D][:D]

[Capt. Harlock]

An H8K out of Luganville spots a group of enemy transports southwest of New Caledonia and reports they are withdrawing at speed. Soon afterwards there are new orders from Shokaku. The carriers recover their aircraft and then the Japanese task forces turn southwest.

Well, if all else fails, the Japanese CV's can always have a whack at Brisbane . . .[;)]

[String]

Updaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaateeeeeeeeeeeeeee *groan*

[Durbik]

I hope Cuttlefish is not suspending the bad news about sin[censored letter]ing Hibiki?

[Cuttlefish]

October 4, 1943

Location: 120 miles east of Noumea
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 4
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 359

Orders: Proceed south and engage enemy fleet off New Caledonia

---

As the Japanese fleet approaches New Caledonia itself the fighting on the ground there continues unabated. Japanese forces continue to give ground and are slowly but steadily being pushed back towards the town of Noumea.

But the ocean around the island is free of any trace of enemy ships. The Japanese search in vain for targets, then press on to the southwest. It might still be possible to at least catch the slower transports before they reach the cover of the Allied air umbrella over New Zealand. The question, of course, is whether or not the enemy carriers and surface forces will linger to protect them.

---

Perhaps the ocean is not quite free of any trace of the enemy after all. As Hibiki cruises a precise 500 meters off the port side of Shokaku an object is spotted floating in the water. As it comes bobbing past the ship it is identified as a Coca-Cola bottle, and it looks as though there is a roll of paper inside.

On the very slim chance that the paper could contain something of intelligence value Captain Ishii orders it recovered. The ship circles, and on the second pass Chief Shun expertly snags it out of the water. The bottle is tightly sealed and has not been in the water long.

The paper is extracted. A small crowd gathers to read it, including a sleepy-eyed Lieutenant Miharu, who has been awakened to translate it if necessary.

There is a single sheet of paper inside, with a short line of text hand-printed in English. Lieutenant Miharu looks at it.

“It says ‘Tojo eats shit’”, he reports, and smiles slightly. “How nice.”

There is an angry murmuring from the assembled sailors.

“Oh yeah?” sputters Seaman Yoshitake. “Well…well…Babe Ruth eats shit!” The men nearby begin to laugh. Lieutenant Miharu and Chief Shun, who know their captain well, do not join in. And the laughter dies suddenly as some of the other men notice Ishii’s face. It is beginning to turn red with fury. There is a subtle but noticeable move away from Yoshitake, who suddenly stops laughing when he sees the captain.

“Uh oh,” he mutters to himself, and then the storm breaks.

[histgamer]

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[DuckofTindalos]

D'oh...[:D]

[cantona2]

[:D]

[Cuttlefish]

October 5, 1943

Location: 160 miles southwest of Noumea
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 4
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 312

Orders: Proceed south and engage enemy fleet off New Caledonia

---

The next morning brings with it overcast skies. The clouds are not enough, however, to conceal the rear echelon of the retreating Allied fleet from the searching Japanese. It is only a handful of ships. These are, it would seem, vessels that suffered damage at New Caledonia, whether from mines, coastal batteries, or aircraft, and cannot make enough speed to stay ahead of their pursuers.

Then, for one morning at least, it is the glory days of 1942 again, when Kido Butai would arrive on the scene and scatter the enemy to the winds, sinking all who were too slow to escape. The Japanese carriers launch their planes. These mercilessly harry the enemy ships until all are reported sunk. Japanese pilots report that a light cruiser and a destroyer are among their victims.

The sea beyond them is clear of further ships, however. It would seem that the bulk of the Allied fleet is already drawing close to New Zealand. To the dismay of many aboard the ships the Japanese task forces are ordered to turn around.

The Japanese are, for the moment, the undisputed masters of the sea and air around New Caledonia. What they will do with this condition remains to be seen.

---

Seaman Yoshitake looks back towards the along the twenty-five feet of starboard rail he has so far cleaned and painted. Then he looks forward. From his vantage near the stern it looks like a long way to the foredeck.

Standing nearby and watching him, Chief Shun guesses his thoughts. “It’s a long way to go,” he says cheerfully. “And then there is the entire port rail. Pick up the pace, sailor!” Sweating in the equatorial heat, Yoshitake resumes his work.

“I would like to have a talk with who ever put that damned bottle in the water,” he mutters to himself. “I really would.”

--

The bottle was put in the water by Ralph Bethke, a 19-year-old sailor aboard the US destroyer La Vallette. It is kind of a hobby of Bethke’s; over the course of his ship’s stay in the South Pacific some twenty similar bottles end up in the water.

The story of the bottles would make an interesting tale in and of itself. Two end up ashore in Peru; one turns up on the north coast of New Guinea in the middle of 1944; and one is found near Brisbane not long afterwards. In 1947 one will turn up near Cape Town, South Africa, where it will start an interesting chain of events; and one will be found two years after that by an elderly beach comber near Astoria, Oregon.

But since he never put his name to any of them no word of this ever comes back to Bethke, who survives the war. He is an energetic young man, and by 1960 he is a sales manager for John Deere in Wichita, Kansas. He stops for a meal one day at the lunch counter in the S.S. Kresge store, and on the way out he passes a rack of paperback books. There he sees a book called “Japanese Destroyer Attack!” by a man named Shiro Kuramata. It catches his interest and he buys a copy.

That night, after the kids are in bed and he has some peace and quiet, he begins reading it. The book strongly brings back his memories of the war and his service aboard “LaVadilly”. He is astounded at how many experiences he has in common with this Kuramata fellow. While there are certainly cultural differences, in a lot of ways they could have served aboard the same ship.

He can’t stop reading, and after he and his wife go to bed he remains propped up on a pillow, turning the pages. Then, on page 149, he comes to Shiro’s description of the Coke bottle incident. He cannot believe his eyes.

“That was me!” he yells, shaking his wife awake and holding out the book. “Look! That was my bottle!” After his wife wakes up enough to understand what he is babbling about she becomes interested too, though she does urge him to get some sleep and talk about it in the morning.

The next day he writes a letter to Japan. In due course it is answered, but what happens after that is a story for another day.

[veji1]

props

[Onime No Kyo]

CF you are an amazing writer. Its breathtaking how much new stuff you can think up and put into words. [&o]

EDIT: I had a though that may be silly but I think is worth mentioning. Maybe among the fans of Small Ship, Big War there is a person who has as much talent as an artist as our host has as a writer. I, for one, would love to have some of the scenes of this AAR illustrated and would love even more if our beloved characters got faces to match their names.

[Feinder]

Very cool CF.  Very cool indeed.
 
-F-

[kaleun]

Very, very good