The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

For the third day in a row now the bombers have come over, 60 plus.

They fly into a sky swept clean of the enemy by massed sweeps of fighters ahead of them

Down whistle the bombs, plowing yet more holes into this wreck of an airfield, into the shattered wrecks of the planes caught on the ground


This field, now, is closed

Tomorrow the attention will turn north


Akyab airfield, has been closed......................by the JAPANESE.

[1275psi]

Lae falls.




Zuiho enters the banda sea, still a mirror of water, ships shimmering in the heat and the haze
Overhead, the ASW patrols continue, thankfully, with few contacts.

The enemy carriers in the solomon sea have faded away.
Will they strike here next?

Takeji is not the only one hoping that they will.

[Smoky Stoker]

Takeji sounds to be the type of officer who would reprimand juniors for not making more use of the most common form of Imperial Japanese non-judicial punishment, a slap in the face.

[1275psi]

Hi guys

Not Japanese really, but a glimpse, I think, of a sailors perspective

(this is not my work)

Naval Units of Measurement
These units are neither metric nor imperial but are of a scale that can be precisely understood by the
salt encrusted tar and his long suffering messmates.
Unit Description
2 squirts of cats piss:
The exact amount of concern the COXN1 shows you when you advise him you have lost your wallet.

2/5 of 5/8 of the square root of FA
The formula used by DEFPAY to calculate pay increases after tax.

Age(s) The time it takes to get to the front of any queue.

Bee's dick :The difference between the length of the piece of shoring you have cut too short
and the actual distance it needs to stretch. This is only discovered after an
enormous amount of effort has been expended to get the shoring back to where it
was needed and just before discovering that there is no more lumber available for
shoring.

Buckets; The amount of ice cream available to the (apparently) vindictive and mean minded
cooks who have seemingly singled you out for ice cream starvation.

Bulk: The number of Chux cloths held by the Bosun's Store which will never be used.

Chockas :How full your boot bag has become over the course of one deployment.

Crock :The amount of misleading information given to you by a Leading Hand who thinks
he's funny.

Diddley squat: The amount of concern the entire mess feels when the cooks run out of parsley.

Dollop :The amount of sunscreen which will cover all bare skin and be absorbed without
leaving a mess, and which you asked for in the first place.

Ginormous: The size of the piece of equipment you have to fit into a compartment that is smaller
than a shoe box.

Gutfull: The amount of experience required prior to discharge.

Heaps: The approximate amount of ice cream the guy in front of you has been given by the
cooks.

Huge: A point on an open-ended scale used to judge how good a run ashore was which
lies roughly between GREAT and BRILLIANT.

Humungous: The size of the bouncer you just called a "brainless shit head" for not letting you into
the club/pub (he claims you are too inebriated) and who intends to discuss it with
you in the car park.

Jot: The amount of physical effort required to turn off the lights when you leave a
compartment which is, amazingly, too much to expend.

Mega: A "new age" expression which indicates an exceptional run ashore where we had a
great time, but just can't remember the details right now.

Nipply: The temperature has dropped to the stage where you are covered in goosebumps
but the QM will still not let you wear your woolley pulley.

Unit Description
Pinch-o-shit :The amount of misleading advice you include in good advice which makes it
hilarious and adds spice to vital points.

Poofteenth: The distance the end of your rifle barrel moved while you were at attention in the
guard which caused the POBM's red faced tirade and apparent epileptic fit.

Poofteenth of a fairey's fart:
This is the exact amount by which your pay will increase when you get promoted.

Schmick: This is a measurement of the minimum amount of common sense the new Seaman
will require but which they appear not to have.

Shit tin: A weight measurement indicating the precise amount a person may carry, plus 2
kilograms

Shitload: Although often confused with Shit tin, this is an estimation of the amount already
carried from the wharf and around the ship before someone finally decides where to
store it. (total distance of approx. 40 nautical miles)

Smidgen/
smidge:
Enough oil to lubricate a device and still leave enough to drip freely onto a freshly
painted deck.

Squillions: The contents of the pay packet of an average maintainer.

Stinking hot: The temperature achieved only in the tropics which is noted when the paint dries on
the brush before it can be applied to the deck.

Stuff all: The amount of ice cream you receive.

Stuff all: How much toilet paper is left in Naval Stores a week prior to the end of the
deployment.

Tad: A squirt of sunscreen that is slightly more than that required to cover a patch of skin
and will not be absorbed by the skin, but will leave greasy smears on skin and
clothing.

Truck loads: Approximate amount of stores which have been delivered to the ship and which
must be brought onboard by you and one scrawny writer with a bad back.

Yonks: Either the time it takes for seaweed to grow on the hull or to get a chief out of the
mess.

You beauties: An approximation on how new and useful a piece of equipment is despite the user
having no experience on it.

Zip: What’s left in your wallet after a good port.

[1275psi]

Ono Takeji stands where hasegawa once stood(and died), and where Kato too spent many hours.
There are many types of captains, all have strong personalities - all need them to simply reach command.
All drive ships differently

Things have changed..............
Takeji does not drive Zuiho, he dominates her.
from the moment the call "Captain on the bridge!", to the moment he leaves, a undercurrent of excitement flows through the men about him.
It is triggered by many things.
The barking, stinking rebukes aimed at the tiniest mistakes.
Tempered by the gentle 'well dones" when things are, well, well done.
The two speeds that Zuiho seems to do now days.
Iether stopped. Or at full power. You can almost feel Takeji's frustration when Zuiho is forced to maintain station.
But always, always, when she turns into the wind,.."Revolutions 320!"
And seemingly, always with those revs, the wheel will be thrown as hard as it can be.

Things have changed............
Hidaka walks a fine line between elation -A fighting man, a real fighting man!-and utter despair.
'Why are there only three birds on CAP?....why did that launch take so long!
I want a ASW patrol now!
Prepare a full strike!. Done, good!, but why?.............but why?..............but why?"
Zuiho is operating at a tempo not seen since she actually fought the dutch in these waters, planes flying from before dawn to dusk.
A crushing routine.

Other things have changed........
Minobe has been summoned to the bridge, and a lashing administered the likes never heard on the bridge.
Zuiho reacts too slow, Zuiho is dirty, ......................but above all..........why is the state of her damage control training so lametable...

Zuihos guns bark daily now, balloons stream from her deck, and drift away, and the 25mms bark.
The gun crews cannot complain when Takeji lashes them for missing.
A rifle sits beside his chair now on the bridge, a loaded one at that.
Three, four times a day it barks, as the Captain takes aim at any unfortunate sea creature whoms path they cross.
Nobody suns themselves on the starboard side now, the crack , smack of the gun is too un nerving.
Zuiho steams, and leaves a trail of dead sea snakes in her wake....


Oh yes, things have changed.

[1275psi]

Captains log

26/8/43

Continue to progress across the banda sea.
Should meet main battle line tonight, awaiting recon of bathurst island for decision on strike.
I am pleased with the ship
With reservations

Boat drills -are poor.
Gunnery is .........poor to good. heavy AA guns are good, 25 mm are useless

Flight deck operations are superb, this ship has not had an operational loss for many, many months.
It shows.
I have full confidence in air groups, skill here is high.

Engineering
Engineer is weak
The Charge is of poor discipline and far too lenient too his men. However the engines react well, and she steams well.
However, Zuiho shows her many miles steamed. Rust is winning on this ship. but the war will be won before the rusts wins this battle.

Medical. Satisfactory, although undermanned.

Executive department appears competent.

Overall, a good ship, that needs more discipline, and greater fighting spirit. its been too long since she saw action, and too many men here are resting on the lurals of the last battles.
But they will do their duty.

[1275psi]

Charge takes his spot in damage control central, and opens the nightly meeting.
The list of things is long.

for a start, water as been found in an aviation fuel filling point in the hanger -a critical, adominable defect. Water can kill a plane, kill pilots.
It has been a long time since this problem has occurred, but then again, its been a long time since so much fuel has been used, or transferred.
Wearily he listens to the CPO in charge, yes, he agrees, they have not used that tank for a long time -strip it first.....
Minobe utters a few words about the testing.............and charge waits for a violent outburst, the usual passing of the punishment he recieved today on the bridge to one of them..............

But it does not come.

Then, the forward emergency generator.
gods, he hates diesels.
No, he has no idea why it won't start.
yes, Hirate, Okano are working on it...........

And so it goes, deep into the evening today.
Zuiho is being driven hard, ship and men alike

gods, he is so tired.

[1275psi]

PO Ogawa slams his fighter down onto the Zuihos deck, wincing as he hears the explosive bang of a tire destroying itself
'Baka!'
'Truk, truk, truk!"

he fights her straight as the wire catches, pulls him to a stop.
Another curse escapes from his lips -Hidaka frowning down from the ridicolous little bridge.
That was a crap landing Ogawa, he tells himself, absolutely crap.
Angrily he slams the cockpit.

"Bloody heap of shit plane."

All day he has flown CAP, sharing with Hiyos men.
THEY have shiny new planes. Not like this worn out junk heap.
THEY have spacious quarters, and a big fat deck.
Not like here.

Ogawa, you are pissed of. take a look at yourself. 300 plus missions, still kicking. Get a grip.
Get a grip.
wearily he climbs down as eager hands push his bird forward.
"Sorry chief, I broke it"
His crew chief merely nods. "Not the first today , nor I expect the last"
"No, I suppose not"
No. But he should not be breaking them at all

[1275psi]

To 3rd Air army Burma, today is bittersweet day

Overnight, the heavy bombers come to mandalay, streams of them, and all night the bombs have fallen

36 bombers , 20 fighters destroyed on the ground.

Bitter

But sweet, in this. The enemy have abandoned the air war in daylight. They take the cowards way.
They admit they cannot control the air.

Good.
There is only one action that can be taken.
Attack, keep on attacking.





from
Burma command
to
20th Army

You will immediatly advance east from Katha, target M, with intention of driving enemy back into India
15th Army shall hold enemy to south of M.
Engage enemy with full vigour.

[kaleun]

Great yarn.

[1275psi]

27/8/43

They emerge from the mist, at first hazy gray shimmering shapes on the horizon.
But as Zuiho steams on, they solidify into towering pagado masts, and fat ugly little boxes

Battleship Ise, Hyunga, 3 CVEs, and a gaggle of heavy cruisers.
Almost immediately, the great flashing lamps go to work.

Takeji manouvres Zuiho alongside a fat tanker, a first for her, she normally fuels astern. But with mirror calm seas, he deems it doable.
Even as she sucks on the teat, she delivers to destroyers alongside on the opposite side.
For her double bottoms parties, its a nightmare day.
But they do it.

But the close steaming in company continues. Finished refuelling, Zuiho moves along side Yamato, and the light jackstay lines go across.
Its just one of those days history must record, rarely have capital ships sailed so close. Zuihos guard rails are packed with gawkers as they contemplate Yamato's massive bulk.
But no photos are taken, cameras forbidden.

A crime against history I say!

Takeji bounces across the space between the vessels, the lines are re gathered, and Zuiho's XO takes her clear.

It is about then, that Okano lands on her deck. If he was in a foul mood yesterday, today he is dark indeed.
A catalina has stalked the fleet, and out there, 20 miles away, he has engaged.
It has hit him, he has hit it.
And as always, it seems, his dead radio has forced him to fight alone, until ammunition has been expended.

The catalina has escaped, this fleets position firmly fixed.

And this, probably, has swung the discussions held on Yamato.

Zuiho recovers its Captain near dusk.
He too, is angry. The raid on Darwin is cancelled. The slow BBs will go to Singapore, forming the eastern fleet.
Zuiho will go to palua.

And thus , at midnight, they do.

[1275psi]

Extract from "shattering the sword", a cantona production.

This latest re deployment of the japanese fleet, probably sums up Japans Navy for the last six months

Gathered in strength in Japan, it had raided deep into the pacific- and found nothing

Then, several forays deep into the seas near the solomons - a few enemy planes destroyed.
An epic journey to the gates of Ceylon - for nothing
The dash to the solomons, to be shredded by submarines
Another dash to the banda sea, in anticipation of an invasion, that we now know, was simply a small tanker convoy.

And now, back to palua

Thousands, and thousands of miles steamed, for very, very little gained, and a great deal lost.

A blind man, in a dark room, she flays about, trying to strike the enemy

And all she does is hurt herself, missing with every ill timed blow.

[1275psi]

27/8/43
Near Finchesen
LCDR Kamo Kiyoshi , Captain of destroyer Yagure, takes a deep breath, and wipes the rain from his eyes yet again

Under his feet, his ship slices through calm seas at 33 knots, the water hissing past.
Somewhere, just 500 yards ahead, destroyer Hatsuyuki leads the way
he has to guess that.
It is raining. Not raining. RAINING. A tropical downstorm that blankets them in a watery world, belting down with a thunder that makes him shout his orders.

Only a white road of disturbed wake tells him he is still following Hatsuyuki.
"Are you ready torps?'
'Hiei" the answer comes flat, afraid.
"Guns?"
"Hiei?" and again, that edge of fear.
And why not -they race into death.

He steadies himself. He chose this path, did he not?. Command has given him many things. Now it is time to pay the piper...
'You have permission to fire at any bloody thing, don't wait, just shoot"

They race on, the water rushing past, rushing down, rivers flowing of his little ship.
Imperceptably, the darkness is greying. Above this storm, the sun must soon be rising.

Light cruiser Richmond, bursts from this grey at a mere thousands yards, hard on his port bow, heading directly opposite.....
"OPEN f....CRACK!< CRACK!< CRACK!.........KATHUDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDD DDDD......
His guns shatter the dawn, and tracer reaches out, slamming into richmond, fire blossoming even as she plunges out of sight, and DD sims emerges in her place.
Ahead, Hatsuyuki too fires as fast as she can, and the whoosh, whoosh, of fish fills the air.
Sims staggers, Hit!, and she too vanishes..............

"Hard to starboard!...........Yagure heals, turbines screaming, guns seeking, seeking........
"Admidships!............if they are coming, they will come..............yes......there!

Guns flash on both sides, 6000 yards, and death screams both ways.
"Engage the lead destroyer!"
Engage!
Engage!
Excitement grips him........he should be terrified, shaking with fear, but exhultation grips him.........fight you barsteds, fight!
Something strikes aft, and again, never truking mind, they are giving as good as they are getting........

Hatsuyoki plunges to port -ablaze, and he follows, the rain swallowing them again.
They pass the burning destroyer, close enough to feel the heat, hear the rain sizzle, the steam hiss

The men scream.

This kills the exhultation.
Now, now its desperation, and detirmination.

damage?
One AA gun down
Engines good.
Torps reloaded.
Well done.........

And still the rain belts down
And, stops.

And in the pink light, crossing her bow, at 6000 yards.

A carrier
Transports
Dozens of them

"Ahead Flank!"
Engage the carrier!

The forward turret spits fire, a rapid pulsating song, and the shells scream, and arrive, slamming CVE Anzio, again, and again, and again

A destroyers, racing in.....
Adroitly, almost arrogantly, he swings Yagure into the heart of the convoy, guns engaging left, right, ahead, the dark dawn shadows bursting into flame all about him

Shells slam the seas about him, mixing salt into the still belting rain.

And then, just like that, the rain swallows them all, and stunning silence falls.

"Ammunition guns?"
"All but all gone sir!"
Gods...........

Course 010!, maintain flank.

And pray




The rain hides them all day, by dusk, it appears, they have escaped.






(6 hits on the CVE Anzio
4 AP, AK struck (several sinking noises)
1 DD sunk
Cl richmond -heavy damage
another dd several hits)

DD Hatsuyoki scuttled, survivors rescued by ss

A glorious action!

[pws1225]

Well done, my friend, well done indeed!

[1275psi]

29/8/43
0300 hours
Once again Zuiho steams alongside one of Japans precious tankers, topping her own tanks one last time

They invoke many things, do tankers, some times you curse them, but many, many times, you love them
Hidaka Contemplates AO Notoro, and silently thanks the wallowing beast.
She has delivered 700 tons of fuel and precious aviation gas this morning, and three tremendous baskets of hot sweet buns, which have all disapeared like lightning.
They have been a welcome treat this dark night.

With a final farewell blast of the sirens, they part, the tankers West for soerabaya, Zuiho due North east.

They fade into the night, and Hidaka makes his way to the bridge.
Takeji greets him with a nod
"Full now Hidaka?"
"Enough for any number of missions now sir"
"Good. if only there were some to take yes?"

Yes, if only there was. Why not Darwin? Or, more to the point, why not in PNG?
maybe, maybe we will go there ne...............

The crump of torpedoes comes out of the dark
He rushes to the bridge wing, and stares aft.

5000 yards astern, but clear as the sun, Notoro burns...........

Hidaka is beyond being angry.
Beyond even feeling despair.

Submarines. Bloody submarines.
There is no honour in them. None at all....................

[1275psi]

29th august

The Port Boiler room is the usual bedlam of noise, and Hirate has to lean deep into the phone booth to recieve the message.
He should not be here at this moment, having long since qualified for the Engine room, but a wave of sickness has swept through Zuiho this week, some 50 men are down with gastro.
The Stokers are down 7 men, all of them senior rates as well.

Hirate suspects the pork from two days ago............

But it does not really matter to him, a watch is a watch, is a watch. But the message down the phone still makes him grimace
"Routine swing of 1A to 1 b please, blows on both, bottom and soot please Hirate,"
The Charge sounds almost aplogetic down the line.
'Now Chief?'
"As soon as you can"

Boiler swings
With soot blows

Hirate, is of course, not so happy about soot blows.

he puts down the phone, gathers his boys together. "A swing men. Now take your time, and take care. One, its too bloody hot for cock ups!, two, its too bloody hot for cock ups!, and three......."
"Its too bloody hot for cock ups!, aye, petty officer, aye!

Swinging boilers is no easy matter, especially when a ship is steaming hard
There are a million and one things to do.............
Forget one, and IT WILL bite you on the arse.....

It begins............
Double bottoms come down, inject a healthy dose of chemicals into 1B, while Hirate aligns the fuel systems, his boys the various steam systems
The circulation valve is cracked, the feed controller stroked
Auxiliary steam is cross connected, and a blowers rolls into life

Drains hiss clouds of steam, raising the spaces Humidity even further, the heat higher.
Burners are checked, fuel heaters aligned, the second pump coaxed into life (yes, that bitch, 1A, still acting like a mother in law)
A light goes under the boiler, this, thankfully, with out hassles

Drains begin to shut.
Shut the Circulation valve, prove the guage glass!
pressure coming along nicely
water leve dropping,
Yells to the top plates -( you will always be able to tell an ex steamer, they have voices that can reach across valleys)
"Bring her up to plus 4!'
And silent curses when he takes her to 6, and kills 200 psi................

An hour after light off...........temperatures good, within that magical 50 degrees, 50 psi to go..........

"Port engine, port boiler, request permission to connect boilers, requesting steady revolutions.........

"wait"

[1275psi]

Dawn
Choppy seas, a stiff breeze, white caps.
And a good swell, welcome back to the Pacific men......
Spead over 100 miles, half of Japans Navy makes its way towards Palua anchorage.
It is a grand sight, from the mighty Yamato, to the dimutive destroyers.
Overhead, the daily ASW patrols begin to growl.
As always, the hidden menace remains on every ones mind.

Takeji sips his morning tea, contemplates the mass of signals, situation reports from the night.

Japan has a fairly simple radio net.
Simple, and very centralised. All reports are passed from local HQ's, or fleets, to area HQ's, and thus to Japan
Japan filters, then sends back to specific commands information deemed necessary (requiring acknowledgement), and orders.

Of course, as any Commander worth his salt knows, there is nothing to stop you listening in to the in going messages, if you can pick them up.
As a rule, Takeji listens , and reads everything..............

Finschhafen hangs on, the two American divisions well and trully wrecked.
But tanks now stream ashore..............

But for those cursed SS, the great plan to make there THE point of issue..................

Hidaka enetrs the bridge
"Ready to launch three ASW planes sir"
Ah good.
"Very well"
Check your six. Inform the flagship........ mmmmmmmmm, need a little more sea room"

"Bridge, engine room, request steady revs sir, connecting boilers"
'wait"
Port ten, revolutions 230'
Port ten, revolutions 230"
'Do you have enough wind Hidaka?"

"Just sir,"
"Good, get em away, and keep them close. Bloody bukas everywhere it seems"

[1275psi]

'wait"

But it is not so easy to wait, to hold a boiler back.
worse, the bells ring now.
"revolutions 230!"
hirate curses, a flat single expletive. 230 zero -full revolutions on two boilers..........yes, just look at 1A's temperature climb.....
But there is nothing for it......he winds on the air, winds on the fuel, chasing the steam pressure.
truk the temperatures.........



The chocks on the great kate -nearly 4 tonnes of plane and bomb and fuel, are removed, the deck crew scampering away.
Steam races from the bow, straight down the strip.
With a mighty bellow, she crawls down the far too short deck, tail rising, seemingly floating off the end, dropping, dropping, the collective holding of breath, and finally.........rising safely away.
90 seconds later, all three are away.

Zuiho continues her work.......

[1275psi]

"You may conecct boilers"
Umm, wait please, temperatures all shot ........"


"Bridge, engine room. Sir, request steady revolutions........attempting to connect boilers"

But now yamato wants her over there............
"wait"


And so it goes.
All day the stokers will take to do what usually takes about three or four hours.
All day, they will"wait"
In the end, they will shut down, relight, and try to connect 4 times.
Then, at dusk, they will succeed.
Soot blows, bottom blows, they too will take another four hours.

And of course, this is how it should be. Zuiho is here for just one reason. To launch and recover aircraft.
Everything, everything, is sub to that.
This is how it works.
how it must work.
It has been a hard day below.
But no harder than some.
They will get over it.

[1275psi]

29/8/43


Ships have personalities
They have character
Quirks

I think they feel pain, and know glory.
And disgrace.................

For CL Richmond, creeping south from her shame at Finschhafen, takes the fish in her belly almost without reaction.
But she slides to the bottom in mere seconds, as if, as if, she actually seeks it.

And maybe she does.

Her Captain, her crew, go with her to a man.