The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

High guys

No turns again............

new wife, baby, getting a license......but I do think we might be in trouble for turns.......

John, for the record, not as impressive as it sounded
For 1 CV damaged, 1 CVL damaged, 1 CVE sunk, and 2 DD lost

1 CL
6 DD
2 DE
2 ss
1 AS
1 AD
8 AK
and 12 APA (large ones) sunk

Allies, depressingly can replace in a week, but it will take time to marshall a new darwin invasion force

I am feeling very lost with no AAR to write tonight......................[:(]

[John 3rd]

Sad regarding what might be happening with your opponent. If he quits is there the chance of a substitute player?

Your results are rather less then what was expected. The losses sustained by the CV Fleet are depressing as well...

[1275psi]

Ok
1st, thanks to all PMs, thankfully game seems to continue, cantona is teaching 4 nights a week, trying to learn to drive, and is about to have a baby, so getting a room together.
So real life is getting in his way..............

To be honest, one just has to give Cantona a chance


April 14th

"I seem to be doing this too much" thinks Takeji, as he lowers his glasses again. But despite all internal resolutions to not do it, ones eyes just keep being dragged back to the great warship 1000 yards away.

Zuikaku continues to drag herself painfully through the seas., her deck tilted at more than 20 degrees, her bow low. her flooding has stabilised, it seems, yet her painful progress remains at 7 lousy knots.
About her, spread across this bright blue mill pond, the fleet plods on.

The escorts do, that is. The carriers need wind across the deck today, and they have had a busy day completing racetracks about Zuikaku, , a task far easier to talk about than do.

But there have been no SSattacks, not yet , anyway..........

Zuiho's Jills are all away, flying ASW patrol, her zeros, (only 11 available today!) constantly launching and recovering as they add to the CAP.
Even with out action, after 5 days of battle, this task alone is testing her mens endurance to the limit..

Takeji murmers to himself the words that surely a thousand others out here with him have thought.'Just one more day......just one"

One more day, and they will be out of enemy air range.


Zuikaku may be crippled, yet Abe has not yet abandoned her. The intent is clear, the Admiral will make home on his flagship, or not at all.
Like every man in his fleet, he is at the very edge of exhaustion now, thoughts break in mid stream, calculations are all but impossible, decisions, once so clear and quick, now clouded, foggy..........hard to reach.
He sits still in his chair on the bridge, feet braced against the heel, and stares numbly at the latest message from one of CV Aso's Jills


8 fleet carriers 40 miles due West of horn island, speed 20 knots, many escorts..........

With a great effort, he struggles from his chair, climbs the hill to the chart table. With out a word he passes the signal to Zuikaku's captain.
''Trouble?"
'read it"

The Captain curls it into a ball. 'Yes, trouble indeed. .............if they sprint over night........."
"They could catch us tomorrow, yes"

A long silence, the fleets CAP background music to this most vital of decisions.
"Not enough torpedoes, too many tired men, too many lost men in fact.............."

Wearily, almost with finality, Abe sits back into his Chair
"Assign 6 destroyers to us, we must detach the fleet, get them the hell out of here. Biak must provide Cap for us..........The Americans are cautious, maybe they will not come............."

Abe is tired, so very tired.
And maybe that is good. It never occurs to him that a mere week ago, he would have ordered Combined fleet to rush south to seek battle.

Now, it seems, they must slink away into the night.

A week, how much can change in a week..............

[1275psi]

1th April

Endure the un endurable.
War tests men. tests them to their very core. It strips personalities fake and vain, it crumbles personal defences built over years. It exposes teir inner core to the flame of exhaustion, the blow torch of courage, the temperance of patence.

Somw wilt, some melt. But for many, it forges a new core, a tempered, hardened, stronger core. A core that will remain for life.
I know this to be true. I have met these men. Old men, many of them now, but men who, even as others slip into twilight years, will still be carrying on life as if it has just begun. Men who look at the problems of this world, at those who do not know, and smile wryly, and look with eyes that simply say........you have no idea.............

Zuiho steams north, the fleet appears to have escaped, the Celebe seas sliding under her bow. She is quiet today, as men sleep, and rest, and recover. Inner cores are cooling, tempered again by war.
Zuiho sails, her crew still exhausted.
But stronger than ever.

[1275psi]

April 15th

Chiang mai falls,.

Thai troops, those maligned men, have also found their inner core. They retreat now, no headlong rush for safety this. They retreat, what few remain.
They have fought, and fought, and died in their positions.
The british may eventually re conquer Thialand.
They will never own it.

[1275psi]

A japanese operation comes to an end

One few will ever hear off, one the Allies , even now, are un aware of.

Mid September, 15000 japanese troops, trapped on manus island, no food, no supplies, no fuel, and no airstrip.
And no hope.

Tonight, under their noses, from a field long repaired (but cunningly hidden of that fact), the last men will be flown out.
japans transports have been very, very busy of late.
War is not won by evacuations (as a great man once said)
But to these 15000, this sure tastes better than defeat.

[1275psi]

Bottom plates, Zuiho's Port main engineroom

This corner is a corner of shadows, of impersonal machinery, of dripping drains, steam and noise. It is not the cleanest place either.
But mostly, it is a place of shadows.

A machine sits here, the main condensate pump. It smells again today, of over hot bearings, of metal failure, of hidden disaster.
An old man sits here, staring at this machine. A man aged decades in days. A man, pushed, and pushed, and bent and bent.
Tears stream from his face

"Not again you truker, what the truk did I do to you, you bloody machine?". What hell are you putting me in?"
The machine does not care. It does not even know it is broken

Nor, I think, does the charge. But broken he is.

[1275psi]

16 April

Celebes sea, where a life time ago Zuiho hunted with impunity.
Now, now to a man, they feel like prey. The hiden enemy Buka's are never far from any ones mind

The fleet (unknown to all but a few) is headed towards the home islands Air groups need refitting, ships need refitting, men.........you cannot refit men.

But you can restore their faith.
Two men, Okano, Hirate, work on the Condensate pump. Two men who have not been assigned to the job, but they have begun it nevertheless.

And Brother shall lift up brother..............



Charge sleeps.

[1275psi]

FUBAR

Lt Jones shifts in his seat for the hundredth time, and repeats to himself again the same damn thought. FUBAR.

Beyond all understanding

The Commander of this chicken shit outfit had been full of the confidence and bravado of one who did not actually have to fly this mission.
"gentlemen, we are going to send the japs a message they cannot ignore"

FUBAR

12 of the big new B-29s had been slated for this mission.
4 had been unready for the day, (just reinforcing the growing opinion of many that this bombers was a beautiful and deadly hanger queen), there had been no bombs for two others, one had crashed on take off, and Christ knew where Simpson had gotten too..........

FUBAR

"Tsingtao coming up"
"Roger"
Another chinese city sliding below, the four remaining bombers bouncing, weaving in the turbulance as they cross the coast and begin to transit the Yellow sea.
Who in the hell thought 11000 feet was going to be the attack altitude?
Surprise is good, but.............


Lt Jones did not join to fight this war, he joined to fight the germans so busy killing is jewish kin.......this, he knows, is not how it was meant to be. Who in the hell cares about restoring the British Empire in the East?!

No, he should be in London, fighting with the 8th Air army..............not trying to get this beast of some dust bowl Northern China strip.........attacking god knows how many little yellow barsteds with just 4 planes..........

"Ships ahead!"

Jones leans, looks hard to his right...............a convoy..........

FUBAR

He clicks the Mike " There goes surprise guys, keep your eyes peeled"

They power on, the miles rapidly sliding below.

"Saishu To coming up, right on course skipper"

"Nakadori Jima .............come right 10 degrees, new course 060"

Ahead, Nagasaki.....and a gazzillion little angry men...............

"Fighters!...............Starboard side...........20 plus"


And now we find out just how good these bombers can be............
"OK guys, stick tight.........commencing bomber run...."




LT Jones bomber spins down from the sky, glittering, its great wings carving great graceful arcs, the bright glare of the flames the pivit about which they spin.
The sea rises to destroy him, beautiful, green..............

FUBAR

[1275psi]

herbiesan reads the report

"Only 4?"

"Only four sir, we shot down one, the others missed everything.............they may have been going for Shoho., hard to tell sir"

"And from Northern China?"

"Only place they can have sir.........we are moving 4 recon units to China today, there cannot be very many large airfields they can operate on"

'I see............thankyou, and send my congratulations to the men who took that first Buka down"

B-29's.............well, you knew this day might come. How to counter it? What to counter it with?

But only 4..........why only 4?.


Herbiesan has his opinions, but will keep them close for now.

[1275psi]

17 April

Zuiho refuels from the now almost empty tankers. Jolo slides past to Port, the fleet continues North. A quiet day, with little to report.


A note slides under Minobes cabin door


I AM STILL GOING TO KILL YOU.

[1275psi]

18 and 19th of April

Quiet days at last for our little ship, the fleet continues to sail north , manilla now on her flank.
Quiet days to contemplate, think, recover.

The Charge returns to work, below decks, the condensate pump runs again. No words of thanks are given, they would not be accepted. What had to be done, has been done.

Moral is climbing, the rumour mill is churning at full speed...............Home again.............home again.
The allies have been dealt a bloody nose.............home, refit rest, a chance to recuperate.



Foolish thoughts, all of them.
In the Arafura sea, 24th flottilla betties send the sighting reports, the intelligence community listens to the radio chatter,.
Recons over darwin continue to fly.

Already, it seems, Darwin Harbour groans again under the wieght of aircraft, her harbour again swarms with LCI's, APs and APAs.........
20 plus carriers...............incredible to report, it seems, 20 plus carriers are in the Arafura sea.
Japans navy seeks rest.............America's it seems, is setting itself to roll.

[1275psi]

Hiyo should make Singapore tomorrow, Zuikaku crawls to Jolo island. Both carriers flooding has improved, both however, will need a lot of yard time. Kaga ia six days away, shoho 12, Miizuho, still 30.

There are , of course, no more carriers coming down the line.

[1275psi]

Japan catches b-29's on the ground at Sian.............a nice feeling indeed.

[1275psi]

Your day.
the broadcast awakens you just after 4 am, swinging your almost naked body out of the hammock. The sweat glistens, and the atmosphere about you in the half light is thick and humid. You jostle against your companions, busy at the task of rolling your bed into its daily sausage shape. It is your bed during sleep, during waking hours it is a ready made leak plugging device.
Whoa to you if the XO should find it not ready........
The mess is mainly silent in these early hours..........after all, after so long at sea, what is there new to talk about?

You join the steady stream climbing upwards, your action station is fwd, ammunition handler for a 25 mm gun. This, for you is the best part of the day. Only a few stokers action stations are above decks, yours is a special treat.
You join your gunner mates in the early dawn light, the cool breeze so sweet across your skin.
Zuiho steams steadily into the clearing mists of the dawn, the other ships solidifying as the sun breaks the dawn.

Dawn action stations. Even here, deep in the heart of the empire, a serious task. No Bukas sighted for three days, but they are out there.
Waiting.

Action stations fall out, and you make for breakfast, fighting for a space at the benches. Another day, another meal, rushed again. Another brick in developing a lifetime habit..........if zuiho's crew survives this war, a great many will have partners who will eternally complain of meals swallowed at the rush.

To work.
Not below for this stoker, but down aft, Chippee workshop.
A magical place, of burning torches, of wood shavings, of shelves overflowing with a countless number of nick nacks, bolts, screws, pipes, brackets, gaskets.
A mans shed, on steroids

Chippees workshops revolve, here at sea, around one thing. The defect log. A simple notebook, a great many lines of entries, a great many scrawled out, a great many not.
The defect log, where the ten thousand and one things that break on a warship get reported to.
Tap doesn't work..........the notebook.
Toilet blocked?.....bracket needs welding?, leaking pipe?, need that desk fixed, a new shelf, those filters cleaned?

Chippees shop, the defect log.
And this is what makes this place magical...........the CPO hasn't assigned a task for today, so you reach for the book.........

Brake pads need adjustment focastle capstan.
Perfect.
You grab the grease gun, the tool belt, head forward.

Zuiho passes over a sparkling blue sea, and the sun shines, but here, in the shade, in her ship made breeze, the dolphins bouncing about the bow, an easy job you know will be done well...............

Life at sea is not always hard.

[1275psi]

47th sentai recieves replacement fighters. They will be needed, Fuchida, all of them, feel it in their bones.. Orders have arrived...."When ready, 47th will move to Balikapapan"

Simple orders.
But this night, as Fuchida watches the golden moon through the canvas of his tent, the bugs beating to death against the roof, his mind chews over these simple words.

News of the Darwin assualts have filtered through, yet apparently..........they are already coming again. Right where it will hurt the most.
If Japans best, are going to balikapapan, then it can mean but one thing...........soon high command expects it to be in bomber range.

But after 2 and a half years of war, Japan still has found no way to stop the barsteds.

[1275psi]

Burma front

Tavoy has been bombed, again, and again,
Enemy Destroyers have been of the beaches.
Port Blair has been bombed..


Not even Hosho is surprised to see 2nd guard division depart moulmien, and begin the march south.

[1275psi]

North of bataan island, south of formosa.

Takeji is working at his desk, sunlight streaming through his portholes, when the bang comes. Distant, underwater.
His pen pauses...........calmly, he stands, places the forms into their folder, takes his Cap in hand. Already about him Zuiho is springing to life, his OOW obeying his standing orders.
He does not need to ask as he enters the bridge. Instinctly he KNOWS............it just seemed so inevitable now days.........

"Which one?"

Katsuragi sir, single fish..............."

Inevitable...........a fitting word for such a trucked up situation................

[ny59giants]

How many confirmed Allies subs have you sunk??

[1275psi]

Hi NY59 giants

Ship sunk list shows 98..........so I think about 75 for real.