Ahhh.... modern machinery, not so labor-intensive. Don't need all those bodies between decks. If something important breaks, send her to Kuttabul. The old Arunta in 1942 started with 190 men to manage 1990 tons, and ended with 260 sailors aboard 2122 tons. The new 1998 Arunta has 170 people on 3600 tons. I wonder, who will do the work, more work and even more work if/when the next real war (= ships must fight) happens?
"Leveling large cities has a tendency to alienate the affections of the inhabitants and does not create an atmosphere of international good will after the war." -Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery
On paper, at least, Japans rapier is re gaining its edge.
On Zuiho, there are investigations, inspections.
The accident, however, is just one of those things.
Men are injured, or die on ships from time to time, peace or war.
Zuiho also remains at anchor, on auxiliary, steaming on 1B this day, but with both generators running.
For the watchkeeper in the starboard engine room, this makes for a lonely boring existance. The Turbo generator, like all steam turbine machinery, is very much a set and forget piece of kit.
It will hum away, and require no input for the watch -baring disasters.
So what to do?
The young seaman, keen to keep busy, and even more keen to avoid trouble, turns to the age old answer.
A large tin of whate latex lagging paint, and a brush.
Carefully he places the tin on top of the exhaust range, grabs a tool box to stand on, and gets to work.
In the Port Boiler room, Lurch is spending his watch relating his travals with his certain criminal organisations to the rest of his watch. Rather than being scary tales, they are highly amusing. Hard to see such humour in this giant of a man, but he does tell a funny yarn.
He is just regaling an episode about a certain shake down operation involving a giesha, a donkey and a certain goverment official, when a strange squawk like sound emits from the comms box.
'Eh?"
They all lean an ear closer too the tube......
again, that gurgle............
'Was that some one calling for help?"
"Not sure.........its Starboard engine though"
The noise comes again
yes. it is a call for help. Unpaniced, muffled. But a call nevertheless.......
Lurch goes, making his way quickly up and out of the space, dodging through the red lit lower hanger and its zeros, and down into the engine room.
There is a white man in the space
With a tin head.
And by the way the latex paint seems to have gotten everywhere, he's had quite a journey to the comms point.........
(true story[:D])
(Im sure all sailors have similar)
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
The sweating string of men consisting of 55th division, stretches many, many miles.
Hosho's company is this time, rear end charlie, and once again, they pass the accrouments of an army scattered on the path.
But this time, mens bodies are amongst them.
The straffing has been deadly, the bombing almost as bad.
In military parlance, 55 th division is being attritted.
In reality, 55 division is laying a road of bones.
They are being pounded now, because what remains of Japans fighter forces are concentrating over Katha.
If Hosho feels vulnerable, he has nothing on the men there.
8th division, 20th Army, has been ordered to entrain.
The last unit to try this, was destroyed. It must not be allowed to hapen again!
And why?, why the great risk?
herbiesan has judged the moment. The enemy has 18 units, 100000 men at Akyab, and if intelligence is to be believed, 1000 AFV's.
Burma Army faces it with 5 divisions. Enough, surely?
But if not, then the war in the West could be lost, right there.
He cannot, will not have his Army destroyed.
"Move to the Moulmien line"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
And by the way the latex paint seems to have gotten everywhere, he's had quite a journey to the comms point.........
(true story[:D])
(Im sure all sailors have similar)
BTW, latex paint only appeared in the late 1950's. In this historical time, the choice was
1) surfaces unprotected from corrosion, or
2) surfaces coated with highly flammable oil-based paint.
The USN went for unprotected; when USS Saratoga was stripped of all interior paint in early 1942, it was found to lighten the ship by some 800 tons! Evidently, somebody was painting over old paint rather than scraping first. I have no idea whether the Japanese painted or went bare.
"Leveling large cities has a tendency to alienate the affections of the inhabitants and does not create an atmosphere of international good will after the war." -Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery
Hi smokey
yes, you are right, but I just had to tell the tale, it was such a bloody funny sight to see...............
11/9/43
Its an ever present sound over the jungles of Burma, the distant snarl of aero engines.
But today, over Katha, it rises more than a notch.
For hours, the fighters dance, and die, kill, and fly.
But no bombs fall on 8th divisions trains.
13 oscars go down today.
10 vengence bombers, the deadliest bomber on this front, go with them.
Hurricanes, tojos, p40e's, everyone has a go , one gaining the advantage, the other soon to snatch it back.
Shattered air groups will limp south.
New ones will come north
The time, in Burma's commands eyes, has come. The airforce must hold the air this week, at whatever cost.
7 individual divisions press east from Akyab, plus far too many un identified ones. If they shatter Burma Army, then the bulk of japans land forces will be caught in a gigantic bag.
Planes can be replaced.
Entire armies cannot.
Hold the air over katha............whatever the cost!
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
AMC akagi maru finds the small convoy again, and sinks 2 ships
Any bets on her getting home?..........
12/9/43
Another day at anchor.
Another day under the hot sun.
Another day of drills.
Another day away from home, from loved ones.
Another day of the same faces, the same surroundings, the same restrictions, the same food, the same routines.
But this is a Navy that runs on rigid routines, on unthinking obedience. Zuiho's crew, it may seem, pushes the boundries at times, but she is really, exactly the same as all the other grey shapes anchored here.
She is a weapon.
A weapon in waiting.
Zuihos discipline remains rock solid. Her crews devotion to duty remains.
They can wait.
They will wait.
Captain Hara on Akagi waits to.
Around him, in Tokyo bay, he at least, can see what they wait for.
In 3 weeks, he hears, those two CVLs will join them
In 7 days, repairs to Soryu, Hiryu, Shokakau will also be complete.
Taiho will arrive with Amagi in 4 days.
21 days.
The allies, he knows, everyone knows, are waiting on CV's too.
Japan can wait. the allies cannot, public opinion will not sustain a long war.
The American weakness.
The only one left to them.
21 days. Then let them come. Let them come.
The allies attempt a landing at Cape Glouster- an empty area at the tip of new Britain.
Except, it is not empty.
A full naval guard unit, long, long established, spits fire from the jungles well before the small LCis get to the narrow beach.
They never land.
There are no more freebies left for the allies. Every step to Tokyo will have to be bought with blood. And with 1943 sliding past, this road seems long indeed.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
In a few moments, Minobe knows, the Charge will knock on the door, and he will have to face him again.
It rises then, as it does, every day, that need, that want, that impulse.
He needs a drink.
Just one.
Just one.
But one, of course, would lead to another, and another, and the nightmares would begin again.............
But it was so damn hot!.
He stares through the small porthole at the sparkling blue outside his prison cell of a cabin, and wonders how he has returned, of all places, to here.
Simply put, Japans military does not recongnise what occurred to him.
He hardly dares to recongnise it himself.
That first Doctor in Manilla..........
Breakdown?.
Nervous exhaustion?, whatever.............
No, no, no, Japans warriors do not break down. They may be injured, hurt, yes. And they recover from injuries.
So, so Minobe, you struck your head yes?. Concussion yes?. Surely you remember?
Ahhh..........how easy to nod, to hide the shame, the bewilderment, and say, yes, yes, I must have suffered concussion.
Of course, deep down, he knows this is bull.
Worse, he knows the Charge, his men, knows..........
For the hundreth time, he curses fate that see's his posting back to this bloody bucket.
But then, of course, thats what "recovered injuries' do.
He is trapped.
I am trapped.
If only we were at sea, if only i had the thousand and one things to do that sea requires.
If only battle could come, and I can redeem myself ................
There it is. The nock of the Charge on his door. The morning report
Gods. He needs a drink............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
53 japanese fighters go down over Katha today.
27 allied planes too.
It is for naught.
Shortly after lunch, elements of the allied armoured regiment cut the rail line West of katha.
The attempt to rail out is abandoned.
It will take 2 days to redeploy, unpack, turn about, and settle back into the positions abandoned.
Two days.
Allied troops swarm into the areas around Katha, deploying, probing, searching out whatever faces them.
Artillery now rumbles.
2 days.
The Tiger of Malaya resolves to fight.
But will the Thia troops under him fight as well?
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Charge returns to damage control central after his brief time with Minobe "the man who isn't there' as he now thinks of him.
He sinks onto the chair, contemplates his diary.
It is a battered book this, one in a line of battered books, from battered ships, from too many battered years.
He feels old today.
For a moment, he wonders of his Son.
Safe, he believes, still in Japan.
May the 47th stay there forever.........
Incredibly, he has little work to do today.
Oh, he could easily find plenty. But none presses. How many more days of bloody sitting here?
When will they sail?
Why can't they just go home?
Bloody war. Bloody , bloody wars.
I have sailed all the oceans of the world. Spent a life at sea.
Spent a life with machinery and men.
Oh, for an acre of land, and the planting of the rice............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Hosho struggles up the next endless ridge.
They need to rest, must rest.
Cannot rest.
Lashio lays ahead, a 100 miles still to go. Ten miles ahead, a column of smoke.
Work of the B-26's
A mile behind, another. The B17's.
They have not seen a fighter with the rising sun for days now.
'Bloody army pilots, and their cushy bloody life...............don't they knowthere is a war on........"
53 to 27...........
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Captain Takeji carefully pours the drink, the Scotch deep and mellow.
Around his cabin, the daily sounds of the ship, his ship, at work.
"The Japanese Noavy may be short of many things Uto, but never scoth yes?"
Uto tilts his head in agreement.
But he remains silent, wary.
He senses danger, does young Uto. But then, I suppose, his whole life has been exposed to it. A funny thing, to have such a powerfully linked man at my command........
But let us see we where we stand.....
"A strange thing, Uto, to have the Leader of the Empire entrust one's son to his command."
Uto smiles, a mere twitch of the lips.
"Hardly entrusted sir. I took this posting at my request"
"Which, I understand, he heartily disapproved"
The smile grows a little. " he was not happy, no"
"I see."
Silence
Takeji sips his drink. 'I will be blunt Uto. It is never a very good move career wise, to have the Son of the supreme commander killed on his watch"
The stiffening of Uto's body is immediate.
"Sir, I am not here as the son of the Commander. I am here as a Japanese pilot. That is all"
"i see"
But you do not Uto.
I wonder, have you ever considered how an unknown like myself, could gain a command of a carrier?
What promises I made. What deals I have done.
'I will keep that in mind. But in the meantime, I wish you to re consider the posting offer to Training Command"
Uto drains his Scotch
"As you wish sir. but the answer will be the same. I stay with Zuiho, with my friends"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
A heavy, heavy carrier strike is launched from the waters near shortlands, striking rabual, Buka, other bases.
250 plus a/c are counted.
This is the bad news. Allied strength grows frightingly fast.
The Good news.
We know where they are.
And they line of attack still appears to remain, up the solomon chain, up the PNG coast.
Good.
Very good.
This is our line of greatest strength.
And, whatever he plans now, we will have our carriers ready.
Today, Shokakau rejoins the fleet.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Extract from Shattering the sword, a cantona production.
.............three full Australian divisions, 6th, 7th, 9th, backed by two full British armoured brigades, and a full suit of support troops, now faced Katha.
For such an insignificant spot , the japanese defences before them appeared formidable.
A series of ridges, rising in parrallel lines, each higher than the rest, the rail line snaking and winding up and down their slopes, and all of it covered in the thick virgin jungle.
Japanese Engineers, we now know, have been fortifying these ridges for the last 12 months, digging, digging, digging, with that fanatical skill and detirmination that would continously astound the men tasked with wrinkling them out.
But would they try?
120 miles to the east, in the very centre of the burma front, a gap has revealed itself.
And south towards Shwebo, the allies now hack their way .
Burma Command is aware of the thrust, and appeals for airforce assistance.
There can be little, few Japanese squadrons remain in the fight now, too many planes have been consumed in the white hot furnace fights over katha.
What troops then, to plug the gap?
15th army.................. if it can be entrained from Lashio.
If it ever arrives, of course
Or maybe 56 th division, if it ever gets to the rail head at Moulmien............
Or maybe the 6th RTA division, coming up from bangkok.
Or even, if the jungle ever released them, the troops east of Akyab.
Troops a plenty are available to Japan. But none in the right place.
And in every instance, it will be foot power that will move them.
War is often about a day late, a dollar short.
If Japan loses this race, its more than a dollar short. Its the entire bank.....................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Zuiho suffers a total steam failure today.
It takes only 45 minutes to restore it, but questions will be asked.
The answer speaks volumes about what in modern times, we would call "cascading failures"
The Charge calls it a right truk up.
Its a sorry tale.
A valve, on the firemain, has been leaking in the passage way outside the galley, 2 deck forward.
Two men are assigned to the job.
Meanwhile, a member of double bottoms party has been doing the daily transfer to the ready use tanks fwd.
It takes over 3 hours to fill them, so as he usually does, he leaves the dip tape in one sounding tube, and leaves to do water tests .
(you can see where this is going of course)
The wrong valves are isolated, the clots working on the valve fail to confirm its free of pressure ................hey presto -vast sums of water entering the passage way, and of course, the ready use tank sounding tubes............
Not even Zuihos crude boilers can burn water.........
It is, of course, an annoying occurance. They are never fun, as working in non ventilated darkness, with temperatures rising to 150 , 160 degrees f in areas of the boiler room, is no party.
But they do it.
Minobe has the three sailors front him. 6 months ago, there would have been the fist.
But I think the punishment he chooses is more painful than that.
All thee men are required to write a 1000 word essay on "why your stupidity threatens the empire", and to then post it on the main notice board, their shame there for all to see.
It is a gesture that fill many (the Charge in particular) with silent anger.
Fists, japanese sailors can understand.
But to shame Stokers like that in front of everyone..................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
first, a big thankyou for all those who follow this.
Apologies that nothing exciting has happened for far too long, but in game terms we are still transitioning to the allied offensive, and cantona is taking his time, waiting on carriers.
So, am I, i feel the major battle of the war is going to happen about mid October.
i am busy building forts, building fuel stocks, trying to maintain an airforce with the carnage in burma's skies.
But none of this is seen from Zuiho's decks, nor have the other characters much to report at the moment.
So, apologies again, that the AAR is not full of stirring action, but I beg you think of this way
The fires have been lit under the boilers, and very slowly the pressure is rising
But someone has disabled the safeties, and the stops are shut..................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
Don´t worry, we all know that it is just the quiet before the storm and also, if you are not one of those dealing with Zuiho´s engines, war means 95% of waiting and 5% of action.
Although I got the impression that for the charge and his men its just the opposite[;)]
Please keep this great AAR and (even more important...) keep Zuiho and her men alive.
Best regards
Rainer
