The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

17 March 43

Two men stand on a dias
It is not a very big dias, this small platform, but even if it was as big as a tennis field, it would be dwarfed by what herbiesan, and his Son, Uto face
Before them, facing the same way, a row of impeccable Officers, Yamamoto to the left, nagumo next, many others.
In front of them, Mushia’s new Captain.
And facing them, the thousand or more faces, a sea of faces, of her crew.
And above them all, her massive tower, those great, great guns.
The Captain is reading the Imperial script, the call to serve, to serve with honour
Pride washes about him.
How could it not.?.
The wind blowing across Tokyo bay whips the Captains words away, but the men will listen, or try to.
Japan feels very powerful this day, in this place.

‘So my Son, have you had enough of war, of time away?
Uto does not answer, swaying in the breeze
“Have you had enough time in the muck?. It is time you returned home, by my side, helped me rule”
More silence, the Captain drones on
“I didn’t seize an Empire, for you to piss it away with your Sailor friends, my Son. You are above all that”
And now, quietly, so only his father can hear, Uto replies
“My sailor friends?. You speak with ill disdain father. Look ahead of you, what do you see?
Pawns in your grab for glory, mere chess pieces in your great game?. I tell you what I see Father. A thousand souls, and tens of thousands more, who work night and day, and fight, and die, not for Father, but for each other, for their Country, their family, but not for you Father.
Not ever for you.”
Herbiesan chuckles
“Ahh, the patriotism runs deep ney?. . let me tell you this, just once. I don’t give a pigs arse for any of them. Not one. I do give a pigs arse though to power, to life, and to our name. And this war will cement it forever. Forever, do you hear, forever”
The Captain finishes
Guns bark.
A band plays
The Rising sun flutters, and Mushia joins the fleet, at last.
And the men begin to leave the platform, and Father, Son, face each other.
‘I am going back to Zuiho . To my friends. To where honour lives. To where I can serve Japan.
But never you”

[1275psi]

18/march

Today, I think, shows something of a picture of the true state of affairs.

CV Hiyo lurks near Ponape, detoured to caover a convoy unloading reinforcements.

A single enemy destroyer appears at dawn, and Hiyo launches a full strike.

And misses.



Men arrive on Zuiho, and spray paint a small square on her starboard side of the flight deck.
Hidaka grins
Kato radiates happiness.

Tan beams. 'This is where your new bridge will go"

[kaleun]

Loved the March 17 report.

[1275psi]

19 march

It rains, and rains, and pisses some more over the dockyard.
Low grey clouds, miserable cold winds.

Water drips into Zuiho everywhere, a hundred temporary tarps over oxy cut holes flap in the breeze, and the bitter wind seeps into her miserable holds.
Dockyards on days like this, on a ship in pieces, heart spread all over the wharf, are depressing, soul sapping days.

Work continues, but with out enthusiasm.
Zuiho, has quicker than you think, turned her back on the war. Today, its keeping warm, looking busy, and staying out of the Charges sight.


Charge works. Not stalking her passage ways, but at a desk, on the phone.
A stack of defect forms this side, work packages here, change proposals here.
And even, although still small, a progress pile here.
The completed job tray, is empty.
Men come in, report, are detailed.
The Dragon grows, and grows. Again and again, brocken pieces are brought in, shown, discussed, discarded.

None of this worries him. None at all. What does, he cannot see.
3 men on report for drunkedness yesterday. 2 the day before. 6 last week.
A man absent today.
Morale, he feels, is slipping. But how far? And just what does he not know about?
Two weeks in, and already he wishes they were back at sea.

[Gridley380]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

18/march

Today, I think, shows something of a picture of the true state of affairs.

CV Hiyo lurks near Ponape, detoured to caover a convoy unloading reinforcements.

A single enemy destroyer appears at dawn, and Hiyo launches a full strike.

And misses.

Out of curiosity, how many planes, and which DD?

[Smoky Stoker]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Men arrive on Zuiho, and spray paint a small square on her starboard side of the flight deck.
Hidaka grins

Spray paint? An interesting trick at that time and place. Reminds me of the anecdote of a group of Communistically inclined RN ratings who lost that inclination at George VI's coronation review, when they saw the crew of the Soviet battleship Marat painting ship using their bare hands instead of brushes.

Also, Kato will be shocked when he finds that the "new bridge" is dedicated entirely to aircraft operations, and the ship is still conned from a spacious but very noisy space under the leading edge of the flight deck.

I hope I am not giving the impression that I do not love your story. I have not played more than a half dozen turns of WitP all told, but I keep coming here just to read your stuff.

[1275psi]

Hi Smokey Stoker!
yes, i stand corrected, spray painting!, what was I thinking (grin)
However, this being my universe, i have a feeling that there is going to be an area for Kato on this Bridge, no matter how small.
DD name not recorded, sorry!, but Cantona's blogg gives better details

Hiyo in disgrace........

[1275psi]

20 march

Yamamoto enters naval HQ, eager to find out the nights proceedings. Despite the heavy head, the weariness in his legs(Mushia’s captain has thrown an excellent party, simply excellent to celebrate the commissioning of his ship), Yamamoto would far prefer to be here, than at Herbiesans bunker.

There has been “an event”
Uto, it seems, has a mind of his own.
And honour more befitting a samurai of japan, than the toad of a father of his.
Maybe, just maybe, there is an opportunity there…………….

But his train of thought is interrupted by his Staff officer, waiting at the top of the steps.
“There has been a battle sir”


A battle.
Not a real battle, but serious enough indeed. Hie, and her destroyers, have roughed up a light cruiser, some destroyers at Lunga.
Elements of 38th division still to be loaded.
Damage?
Damge is light. Tanaka is not called tenacious for nothing. He will try again tonight.
Anything eles?
Nothing of note. Very good. Maybe a nap before he tackles the day.
It was, after all, a very good party.

Nothing of note………………japan loses 6 ships today to Submarines, the allies 2
Nothing to note, not really…………………

[1275psi]

21stMarch 43

This time, Tanaka gets lucky, very, very lucky.
The last beetle barge has barely unloaded the remnants of 38th division, the battle ship barely yet worked to 12 knots (but accelerating), when the American battle wagons are sighted at a little over 12000 yards.
With 3 of the 5 destroyers ladened with troops, there is really only one option.

Flee.

It is an ugly battle, 2 Japanese destroyers manage to bounce into each other.........if side swiping 50 feet of railings, bending inwards a dozen plates can be called a bounce, and 3 of them are badly damaged in the running fight.
Hiei herself flings several dozen salvos at the yet to be identified enemies, and misses.

The allies do not, a 14inch shell penetrates the barbette of B turret, and puts it out of action.
With 100 plus dead, and fires raging forward, Tanaka weaves desperately away.

Hiei will escape, and joins the ever growing list of banged up ships Japan now has to repair.

On paper, the Empire remains the same. Being defeated inch by inch sometimes is not easy to see.
But inch by inch, it is occuring.

[1275psi]

22 march 43

Essentially, Zuiho is now a dead ship.
No fire main pulses through her viens, no cooling water her arteries
Lights, barely enough in places, shine weakly through her. her lungs , her ventilation fans, are mosly quiet.
Holes in her sides, in her belly, in her bualkheads, scar her.
She rocks ever so slowly against the pier, straining from time to time on her moorings, pushed ever so seaward by the bitter night wind..
Right now, she is a quiet, quiet ship, slumbering. The workers are gone, her crew asleep ashore.
Only a fewmen man her, in this pre dawn hour. The Quartermaster, his mate, shivering on the gangway, protecting her from nothing, but manning her gangway because gangways must be manned.

The officer of the day sleeps in the wardroom, his assistant on the couch beside him.

Lurch conducts rounds.

He moves steadily from compartment to compartment, checking for leaks, for rising bilges, for anything.
Lurch moves up the ladders, and down again, footsteps echoing in the empty spaces, his breath misting before him.
he notes his rounds log, small pencil scratches that will be glanced at by the duty Petty officer tomorrow, and then stored away forever.

There is no one to check on him.
No one to see if he actually visited those dark, cold holds or not.
Those rounds sheets could so easily be forged.

For really, what possible harm could happen at this hour?

But Lurch does visit every compartment, dip every bilge
The Siren call of the shortcut falls onto his deaf ears, his deaf ears and his shield.
Lurch carries a hidden shield. One that will protect him always.
His shield called Duty

Zuiho sleeps.
Safely
Down south, Japanese men die, doing their duty.
And here Lurch does his.
And for those who have kept a Duty, this is the word that binds us all.

[1275psi]

23 March 43

They came in waves today against Wewak.
B-17's, liberators, nearly 50 bombers strong, in waves of ten.

Another mission, another day. They will fight their way through, brush the oscars, the zeros aside.
But today, a new fighter.
They will mistake them for 109's, and with good reason.
They look very similar. Sometimes war is about looks, especially in the air. Its about performance, and so often, looks can reflect it.

B17's fall. So do Liberators. And for once, no fighters go down with them, Japan finally has a plane that can fire from range.....

It is only one squadron, and it will not stop the tide slowly flowing Tokyo wards. But it will make each step just that little more expensive.

[1275psi]

24th of March.

'Truk me!' Charges muffled voice struggles to reach Tans anxious ears
'Is it bad Chief?' (and how many times have I asked that stupid question these days, and had a bloody affirmative answer. You know the drill Engines. One Truk, its OK, fixable, a trucking Truk and I will have yet another prooblem to attend to, and a TRUKING, TRUKING, ITS TRUKING TRUKED.........and the Dock master and I will have to parley yet again...............)

Charges answer, deep in the gland space, echoes strongly this time.
"Its Truking truked!, nearly quarter of an inch past max wear!. Whole bloody seal will have to be replaced!"

Charge, a boy,( holding the critical torch), are conducting shaft seal bearing wear down readings, Poker guage readings .
They are obviously not good.........

Charge climbs out of the tomb like gland space, body covered with the baby crap brown grease used to lubricate the seals.
Tan wrinkles his nose, the grease smells worse than baby crap to be honest.......
"What now Chief?
"Its a good thing we are docking. They must be replaced. A %$#@ of a job. Three weeks, maybe more."
Tan flinches at these words. Zuiho has ten days allocated.......
Charge grins. "Don't panic sir. We can inflate the emergency seals, pull em down at least. ten days will be enough"
"And if the seal fails?'
'It just better bloody not, thats all there is to it"




Ten days in dock
Why so few? Because High command is about to gamble. Gamble big time. Nearly every major ship of the fleet is in Home waters now, or enroute. And a great many, especially in carriers, are about to enter refit.
Herbiesan has decreed, early September, October, 43, will be the great final battle. And every ship must be ready. The enemy will not come, not yet.

That is the gamble.

But then, what else is war, but a gamble?

[1275psi]

25th of march

Somebody makes a mistake

Maybe a message is lost, a signal not sent, or recieved.

SNAFU

It doesn't matter. war is cruel, and this is just one of the little tortures Mars delights in.

17 helen bombers arrive over Darwin, sans escort.
There are many fighters at Darwin now, modern, lethal fighters.

Today, its 23rd Flottilla's turn to reluctantly disband the remnants of a shattered airgroup.................

[1275psi]

26 March 43

Fate is fickle
Some will disagree. You detirmine your own, they will say.

SS-1-22, has lurked with 6 of her companions East of pearl for nearly a month now.
Waiting for one ship.
The rumoured soon to appear Essex

Today, I-22 hears the sounds of many screws, a great many, moving fast.
She comes to periscope depth, and sights several vessels.
At extreme range she launches at, and misses the new AA Cruiser Santa Fe.

There may, or may not have been a carrier in the group.
Japan will never know. But the Captain of I-22 will go to his grave convinced that he has missed what fate may have put into his path.

In a weeks time the SS barrier will come home, almost kill less.
Fate is fickle
We gave it our best shot...............

[1275psi]

On Zuiho, a certain milestone is reached.
Other than the docking tasks, there is nothing left to dismantle that has to be dismantled.
PO Okano, PO Hirate, working together(naturally)in fact complete the first rebuild task, No 3 fire pump spins back into life, new impeller punching out a healthy discharge.
There will be quiet grins, that sense of achievement, and the detirmination to move onto the next barsted.

[1275psi]

LT Hidaka, PO Okura, PO OGAWA, PO Diogawa sit quietly in the mess , naval air station Kure.
Outside, it is pissing down rain, again, and Zuihos zeros sit in a sodden line, water streaming from their wings.

A quiet air of boredom fills the mess, every magazine, paper book in it has been read, and the two ches boards are in use by some of the kate pilots.
The men, then, have turned to what is left, talking shop.

There are rumours that the Americans are about to field a new fighter, the "hellcat'
Hidaka makes a point 'It seems to me, that if I was the Americans, that I would take our type 0, and build something to directly challenge it'
Diogawa shakes his head. 'yes, but I see a flaw in your argument"
"yes?"
"To build a better bird than our zero, one must first have one to copy from, to study. have you noticed what happens to zeros when they crash?. There's always pitifully little left no?"
'Ahh yes, but how do you know that one hasn't been captured intact?"
'Oh crap to that, have the Allies captured anything yet?'
'Just most of the marshalls my friend"
'And what did we leave there, nothing. We let em have the place"

Ogawafinishes his drink. "well.I suppose the yanks will have to have come up with something better. From what i have seen, the zero will be the fighter for a long while yet"
'In your hands maybe"
'Oh shut up. Just becuase you can't fly straight Diogawa!'

It will go on this conversaton, for a good while yet. Some of Japans best pilots, confident in themselves, their planes, their nation.
Japan rules the skies. Always has where ever it has gone. Un imaginable for it to be any other way...............

[1275psi]

From
Southern command
to
5th Air army, 3rd air army

All KI 45's(nick) to be withdrawn from fighter operations forthwith.
Transfer to rear area bases, commence intensive naval strike training

end

[bbbf]

I get the feeling someone has learnt something about Nicks from somewhere else!

[BigBadWolf]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

From
Southern command
to
5th Air army, 3rd air army

All KI 45's(nick) to be withdrawn from fighter operations forthwith.
Transfer to rear area bases, commence intensive naval strike training

end

[&:]

Please explain

[1275psi]

my Nicks in this game have been shredded over Burma, and have proven totally unable to shoot down anything

however..................

Agaist bbf (game is now into 44) I had some nicks that had been naval strike training forever.............I had forgotten about them.
They have proven to be delightfully effective against cruisers and destroyers operating at 1000 or 2000 feet............[:D]