The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

Hosho once again looks into the skies above the lines.
It is, as usual , the daily show.
Faintly the snarl and chatter of the dog fight above comes to them, overcoming the ceasless buzz of the insects in this jungle.

The enemy have tried, once or twice, to bomb them.
At cost. Now, it seems, they are going to try to clear the skies of Japans fighters with sweeps of their own.
A show worthy of crawling out of the trenches to see.

The battle above rolls across the sky nearly all morning, high, high above.
Occasionally, a loser falls, but it is too hard to see who's side it is, there is just the streak of smoke, the tearing howling scream, the rising column of death from the jungle ........

Eventually, the men get bored, and seek the shade again. It is hard to see, of course, any connection to the battle above, and their lot in life.
If they are not being bombed, thats good. After that...............



For men hounded all the way from the Indian border, Hosho and his troops have short memories............
It is fighters that keep the bombers away

And the enemy has a new one. Spitfire Mk8
And they kill 11 KI 44's over Moulmien today, for no loss.

Japan gets the Frank in 8 weeks. It cannot come soon enough.

[GreyJoy]

Another torpedo hit on a CV!?!? Oh, com'on!!![:@]
 
 

[Borys]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Fuchida is the Charges son, fighting with the 47th sentai at Biak. (yes, its been a long journey)[8|]

OK - confusion clarified.
I was thinking about the commander of the flying part of the Zuiho
Borys

[Gridley380]

ORIGINAL: Borys

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Fuchida is the Charges son, fighting with the 47th sentai at Biak. (yes, its been a long journey)[8|]

OK - confusion clarified.
I was thinking about the commander of the flying part of the Zuiho
Borys

Arr Japanese names sound arike!

[1275psi]

The 14th of January 1944


Diogawa, Ogawa, Uto are gathered on Zuihos flight deck, arses on her wooden planks, backs against the little island, taking what shade can be found here.
The wide expanse of Kendari harbour, if that what you can call this place, sweeps about them, still and silent under the baking tropical sun.
There is no breeze, a 110% humidity, and little prospect of relief from the heat for at least another 6 hours.

"This place stinks". Uto sums this "important japanese outpost" sweetly. He is right. It does
But it stinks for reasons other than what wafts across the nose.
Ogawa looks up into the sky, face screwed with anxiety. "How in the hell can we anchor here? Isn't this place in range of darwin?. Are our Admirals mad?"............


Not mad
Desperate

The fuel crises in japan is now critical. If it floats, its being pressed into service carting the precious black oil or fuel back to the homelands, and that includes the fleet train.
Only Kendari has fuel enough for operations near the top of PNG, only here can the carriers hope to linger, and have a chance to dash into battle when the enemy appear.
And appear (it seems) they must soon.
There are enemy SS streming in a great patrol line from Palua to Biak. Literally a dozen or so prowl around sorong. All the passages between Ambon and the north boil with the buggars.

Five fulll squadrons of japanese bombers hunt them, and ASW patrols scour the waters.
The bombers claim hit after hit.All certainly false.....the ASW patrols get sunk............
There can vbe, surely only one reason for this massive concentration. Isolate Biak, starve her before the battle.

Ogawa has every right to worry. If the fleet is discovered here.............
Ogawa would worry more if he knew High Commands thinking now. Carriers are now expendable if expending them can win a victory.
Holding them back is no longer an option.

[1275psi]

14/1/44

Fuchida eases his stiff and sore body into his cot, hoping to rest for just a minute.
CAP all day, but with out contact.
His wingman offers a small bowl of rice. It even has some vegetables in it. "Where the hell did you get that from?"
"never you mind, just eat it Ace, there is still enough of it about"
'Enough, but for how long you think?"
"Who knows?. There are a lot of mouths to feed on this piss arse rock though..."

And pitifully few ships getting through, or so it is rumoured........

Fuchida struggles to sit. "The Navy won't abandon us. Not this place, its too important"
'I hope you are right. , I really do"

So do I, thinks Fuchida, Father, i am sure I will see your little ship again.
gods willing.


Wearily, he puts aside the bowl, and oblivious to the heat, humidity, the mosquitos, falls asleep.

The liberators wake him at midnight, the sirens wailing in the dark,.
And at 2 am
and 3
and just before dawn as well, just to put a full stop on it.

Fuchida will fly today sleep depraved.
And not a little peeved off.

[1275psi]

15/1/44

Dawn

Fuchida feels the grains of tiredness behind his eyes. Feels the lethargic wieght settling on his limbs.
The Bukas came again last night.
And again, and again.

Just 2 here, 3 there. Ignoring the Irvings hunting them in the ink of a moonless night, scattering noisy , annoying crud all over the island of Biak.

Fuchida has been shot at, shot down, has missed death from a dozen causes by a dozen hairbreadths through out this long, long bloody war.
But this. This is beyond annoying now.
Heaven help the next Buka that crosses is path!!!

[1275psi]

CV Hiryu alongside Soerabaya, finally puts the last fire out.

She sits on the bottom now, a blackened hulk, saved purely by the fact that the water here is too shallow to go any deeper.
But what the water has not reached, the fires have.

Japanese tenacity, stubborness, means that they will try to fix her. Why, some even think (fools they be) that she may be needed in further battles one day, in oceans japan will never sail on again.
But then, I suppose, to not try to repair her means that you are already giving up.
And Japanese never give up...............





Hiryu......71 flood, 59 system, 49 engine, fires out ( they reached 56 before she reached port)[X(]

[1275psi]

7 mozzies of Pilot officer (long pig) Grahams squadron sweep Moulmien
4 get shot down

Returning, faith in his beautiful wooden wonder considerably shaken, he makes a firm decision.
He will never fly without a packed hamper of supplies again.

Just in case..............

[PaxMondo]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Five fulll squadrons of japanese bombers hunt them, and ASW patrols scour the waters.
The bombers claim hit after hit.All certainly false.....the ASW patrols get sunk............

Well, SC's are a lot cheaper and more common than CV's. Do you have your FP's trained up for NavSearch/ASW? I use them a lot instead of bombers. Jakes and later Norms are really good ASW spotters for me.

[1275psi]

In the sickbay, the fans turn endlessly, moving the hot air from one corner to another, beating futiley against the humidity.
Takeji sits quietly, while his medical officer , Korrii completes the small chart, his pen scratching loudly in the silence.
A bead of sweat trickles from Takeji's brow. The heat here, deep in Zuiho's bowels is thick.

The pen scratches on, and on, testing the Captains patience. There is no one else on the ship he would wait for, but doctors on the other hand............
Eventually Korrii sighs, puts down the pen.
"he will be back in action in three days, maybe four, I would think, but not much good for anything for at least two weeks"
The statement surprises Takeji. "That long?, from simply falling down a ladder?"
"Minobe has three broken ribbs, and quite extensive bruising"
Takeji thinks.
The silence hangs heavy, the fans continue to circle uselessly.
Almost like the chain of thought going through his mind.
I do not need this, not now...........not any time.
"Was he drunk?" There, there it is, out in the open.

Korrii smiles. "Even if he was, I cannot tell you, you know...............but..........."

The but hangs heavy in the air. he does not need to say it.

"I see". Thankyou Korrii "Give the old fool my regards when he wakes, and let me know"
"Yes Captain"

Takeji is headed for the door when Korrii speaks again
"Sir, I think you should know.........Minobe may have fallen, he claims he was pushed"

[1275psi]

A small task force of CVE's and maybe a CVL sortie from Darwin, dashing towards Timor.
They try to catch a convoy at Dilli, but are thwarted by weather, the convoy flees.

For nearly an hour Shokaku's bridge rings to high argument as one half of the fleet captains demand they sail and intercept.
Admiral Abe, newly promoted, newly in command, overides them.
His argumant is simple, if the enemy flee back to darwin, what then?
Lose half of their dwindling air strength for what?
Give away their position, for what?

"We have literally one shot left in the quiver gentlemen, just one!"

They must not waste it.

Timor will just have to starve...............

[1275psi]

17/1/44

The enemy CVEs do not retire, but lurk south of Timor

The decision not to lunge for them, however, sems justified.
The weather in the Timor sea is simply awful. Report after report of cancelled missions from the land based bombers flow in all day.
Knowing KBs luck, she too would have only achieved one thing, giving away her position..

Southern Command moves Hiryu's now land based group of Dive bombers and fighters to Dilli, and orders the transports back in.
They may get lucky...........


The Northern flank of PNG is still thick with transports, undoubtably loading up the third and 4th marine divisions.
A week, japan calculates, maybe ten days to get them into reserve. A week, 10 days to load the 1st and 2nd, the americal, and all the rest, another to reach the next target.
20 days?.

Kaga returns in 21
Ryujo in 12
Chitose, Chiyoda join in 7.
Enough to lure the enemy towards them , surely?
Every instinct of japanese doctrine is to attack those CVEs,.................

But Abe will have none of it.
We wait. The next invasion is IT.
Believe it or not..............Japan still thinks Victory is a chance.

[1275psi]

18/1/44

A japanese wolf pack savages a convoy off Hollandia, sinking 6 AP/Aks in less than 3 hours.
It is news that will fill Japans newspapers.

What won't: - an AS sunk off Soerabaya, 3 small xaks near biak, a pg off the phillipines...............
In short, a typical day of the ongoing ravaging of the japanese cargo fleet.

However, all is not dark, her tanker convoys sail on unmolested.
The number of these sunk can be counted on one hand. Proof positive of the benefit of CVE covered mega convoys.
There is, of course, not enough CVE's.

[1275psi]

Zuiho remains at anchor in kendari harbour.

It is a strange, yet welcome time for Charge and his men.
She is, basically defect free, steaming auxiliary on 1A boiler, feed and fresh at 100%, or near enough to it.
A steady, good routine is in place.
They spend " 24 hrs on" - a 24 hour period of 4 on, 4 off watch keeping, followed by a day off, then a normal day of work.
This is, of course, not a routine ever heard of or contemplated on any other Japanese warship.
It comes from somewhere in the Charges past, from some tramp steamer days surely.
It is also in place simply because Minobe is Hors de combat..........


Besides the relaxed atmosphere of this welcome rest, Minobes "accident' remains THE topic of the lower decks.
How did it happen?. Did anyone see it?. Do you think he saw who did it?

Only one man knows the answer to the mystery.
And he, of course , is saying nothing.

But he is planning to have another go.

[1275psi]

19/1/44

Charge Knocks on Minobes door, and reacting to the muffled grunt from within enters.
Minobe is spread comfortably enough on his rack, dressed , disconcertingly, in not very much at all.

Its not a pretty sight...........
But, sailors are used this sort of thing, Charge gets down to business
"You called me sir?"

Keep it nuetral, who knows what the fat barsted wants this time..................

Minobe picks up a hefty handfull of paper work.
"These, these are what is up!"
"Sir?" caution here charge, this might be dangerous..........
"read that one Cahrage, and tell me what you think..........."

cautiously, as if it was poisoned, Charge takes "that" into his hand, and scans it.

Every Navy ship that has ever sailed (I would think) has a "that"
Daily machinery state. kept continously updated by every engineerofficer of the watch since Noah sailed. Flash a pump......log it. Swing machinery............log it. Take a torpedo in the arse............log it.
At Midnight, start a new page, and list every bit of kit that is running. The list, the description can often cover a whole page.

This one is done by Hirate...........close cropped, bunched up writing, almost illegible.
Charge can see nothing wrong, ....and the page is months old.

'Sir?"
'Read it again", Minobe growls."Closely"

He does.
His eyes pass over it twice before the brain registers...........
.........both feed pumps, both booster pumps, 1a fuel pump, 1b fuel pump, cow is chewing the cud, both fuel heaters, both evaporators........

Cow is chewing the cud.

Charge lifts his eyes from the page. Minobes face is passive. "And now read this one, in fact, read them all........"

Eyes tuned now, the word springs out.
Cow does this, cow does that..........

Silently he hands back the fors. Charge finds it hard to smile.
"I know Charge, that no one will probably ever read those again, especially in a war like this..........but, "
"I will tell him to desist sir"
'You do that"..........


It is a momnet that brightens his day.
The moment does not last long.
At Midday, the flags burst upwards on Zuikaku's mast.

By 1700 hrs, Charge is in the engine room, answering the bells

"Full ahead all!"

The war comes calling again..................

[1275psi]

19/1/44

Enemy carriers, and APs spotted north of wake!
Enemy carriers departing darwin
CVL Hermes, CVE battle axe attacked near port blair, battle axe poked with two bombs..........
Liberators attacking every bloody thing................

Too much happening to be sitting on our arse waiting for the blow, I would think...............

[1275psi]

20/1/44


Dawn
Grey wet skies. Beating rain. An oily smooth and calm sea.
Two great carriers, carving great wakes through this mill pond of an ocean, imperious, mighty, almost majestic.
Astern of them, hanging on grimly, Zuiho and her sister.

28 knots.
As fast as they can go.
Down stairs, to the casual observer, there seems little difference between the plant at cruise, and what he would see at speed.
The fans still scream, the boiers still glow at the observation glasses...........the horrendous noise is still there.
But there is nothing to latch onto visually that Zuiho's plant is being pushed to its limmit. there are, well, there are just so few moving bits you can see.

No pistons flinging up and down, no valve gear thrashing wildly.

But look closer.
Look closer...........at the men.
Oh, they appear casual enough, they still move easily amongst the steam leaks, bend mouths to ear, still hold the cups of tea.
But faces. faces are strained. And the eytes move, move continously.from guage, to guage, to guage...........seeking that first sign of trouble, that first hint of disaster.

revolutions 296............full power
Pressure, 450 psi.............but barely
Vacuum, 28 inches..............holding, just.
Both condensate pumps, two feed pumps per boiler, both fuel pumps .............a ton per minute blazing into hot gases and black carbon......

Zuiho pounds on, straining every rivet, every nerve, trying to keep with her big sisters.
28 knots.
She can do it...........
She does do it.
She must do it.

[1275psi]

Her last Jill fades into the murk, wallowing away, turning to starboard, towards darwin, seeking the prey.
Hidaka watches her go, adjusts his gear, climbs up and into his cockpit, alive already to the vibration of the whirling blade.
He wipes the rain from his brow, settles in, eyes already alive to his controls, the guages, doing the dance they have done so many times before.
Unseen hands tighten straps, tap him on his shoulder.
OK?
OK!.
Yes, all is good. I go. Let the enemy come today, let him come.
The throttle settles under his palm, slides forward so easily, the growl becomes the roar.........
Brakes off, and away................
All 12 bombers are on search, all 18 fighters climb to join him in the CAP.

The banda sea, dark,, rain streaked, dangerous, slides steadily under our little ships bow.
Her sheperds are on watch.
They need to be

The wolves are about.

[1275psi]

Zuikaka is good at this. Must be, she has done it four times this war now.

The shouted alarm............Torpedos!
The instant reaction.

From Zuikaku's Capatains Standing orders...........

.......immediately upon warning of a torpedo launch, or sighting of periscope.......regardless of state of Command, the Officer of the watch is to immediately place engines on attacked side to full emergency astern, and opposite engiines to full ahead.
A full turn towards the threat is to be made.

These actions are to be made regardless of the tactical situation, unless counter ordered by me..............


The fish come.
Zuikaku dances.............
The fish miss.


The charge south continues...........but the enemy know they are coming now.