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Yamamoto listens to the briefing.

Tersly he nods to the staff officer who has delivered it.
The orders have been given, now can they be fullfilled

Munda, the fields about it, will be abandoned by the air force, 24th air flottilla to Kavieg, 21st flottilla to Rabual, 25th to somewhere else, probably north of rabual, new britain.
Another nest of defence to be formed.
It will cost, in all probability, it will cost.
How many troops, especially air support personal, can he get out before Lunga becomes active?, or Port moresby for that matter?

Not enough, probably.

But they will try.

"Thank you for the briefing Commander. A question.........fuel, can we support the fast transports?"
"barely sir, barely. But we can"
'very good." Yamamoto stares at the wall, the great map, at Tokyo so far away. 'Send this signal, direct to Herbiesan
"have commenced massive reinforcement operations solomon area of battle. Confident of success"

The commander raises an eyebrow 'Is that all sir?............."
"yes, that is all"

massive reinforcements........... but no need to say the troops are going North, not south, is there?.

Kato awakens to the whistle.

It matters not, no Navy in a thousand years has altered this:
'Wake me if anything happens"

As every Captain before him, Kato reacts through habit.
The subconcious feel of the surroundings, the ears pricking for the unusual noise, or the ship moving strangely, even as he reaches for the voice tube.
"captain"
'Sir, OOW reporting, it is 0415 hrs sir, some problems below, we have lost 2b boiler, cross connected, speed reduced to 12 knots, approximately 20 minutes to connect next boiler , 2a "

"cause?"
"just a request for an emergency shut down sir"
'task force ?'
" Flagship requests us to 'hurry up little one"


Damnation. Hurry up little one my arse!
'I am coming up. Get Tan to the bridge ASAP please"

deleted, total cock up!

OK, I am going to step out of the story for a little, especially after last brain fart post.

Purely on game turns, here we are.

A major thrust in burma appears to be building, 20 plus units south of chittagong, on the march!
I actually think i can hold this, lots of troops waiting for them.

Gilberts, marshall islands gone
(don't care)

I have fought over Lunga, but, as you have read, i have lost a lot of planes, and being scene one, plane replacements are short
I sunk 3 cve there, nearly got the 2 CVs, and crippled a BB

But i can't maintain this.

The fleet is not strong carrier wise, just 4 CV, 4 cvl on station, and cantona has built every dot south of Lunga into size 4, 5, 6 airfields.
no point going against that lot.

So, i am right now frantically fast transporting as many AV troops to manus, kavieg, rabual, green island and shortlands as i can.

The next big defence effort will be, as always planned, as cantona hits new britain, and tries to climb past it.

However, i look for openings, and i am going to smack naru island, the heavies operating from there seem a nice vulnerable target.

Sorry no real post tonight.............. brain fart, I had my boilers all mixed up.

@1275psi

Just for fun...

The Stokers' Creed

Keep the sprayers open wide
Do not touch the valves at side
Keep a pressure on the pump
Up your bally steam will jump
If the smoke is black and thick
Open up your fans a bit
If the smoke is long and white
See your oil temp is right
If these instructions you will follow
You'll make a balls up I'll bet you a dollar.

-Stoker Greenwood's Navy

true sayings smokey stoker!

(OK what ships did you serve on, for I detect real steam blood in you!)


Externally, Zuiho slices through the still waters of the south pacific, her bow wave carving the waters as ever. Internally, things are no where the same

2b boiler, is the Stbd aft boiler, and its contamination has been catastrophic.
The starboard main condensor----------contaminated
All the starboard feed tanks--------------contaminated
2a boiler, also, ------------contaminated.
As are all the drains.

Zuiho steams now on her port boilers, 1a, 1b, on her port engine.
She trails her starboard shaft, no vacuum on the engine, her casing cover hatch open, the whine of her turbine now totally different to her normal sound.

On her bridge, her helmsman silently curses the stokers below, for she is now ever a greater pig to steer, and her wake zigs and zags in a horrible pattern across the oceans behind her.

Below, Charge faces a chinese puzzle. His systems are contaminated, but from where?. Which cursed heat exchanger has caused this mess!
How to avoid it again?

But, there are things he must do first.

Through out her spaces, Zuiho bleeds feed water into the bilges. In medievil times, this is how you cured ills. Bleed the patient first.
It never worked then.
But strangely enough, it is the only thing you can do now.


Kato questions Tan on the bridge. They parry baqck and forth alone, for nobody is idiot enough to venture near that storm. From lowley lookout to the OOW, they have all found something else worthwhile to do.

'half!, you have over half contaminated!"
'regretfully, sir yes"
'And?, what now, how long am I crippled for this time?'

( this time?, what does he mean this time?..)
'I do not know sir...first we must dump the feed, the boilers. I think we have been lucky, they will not need a clean. Then, we must find the bloody leak, repair it. then, we will have to make up the feed, re light the boilers"
'
Kato stares at Tan. Can he be serious? here they are,on offensive ops, and he can only do 16 knots!
Un forgiveABLE!

"and the water, do we just waste it?"
'There is no way to save it sir, we mustt ditch it, start again"
'Can't you, can't you dilute it?'
(Save me from fools................)
"that never works sir"


'I see". The eternal words of those who really don't.
"get to it Tan"
'Sir, we will"

For us land lubbers, how dangerous is this contamination? What is the worst thing that could happen?

3rd May

Fuchida waits
he tracks parrallel to the big bombers, 1000 yards hard on their fat ugly beams.
Seven Ki 44's, 7 liberators, an uneasy moment, as deadly enemies eye each other off.
10000 feet below, the pacific slides rapidly below, ahead, rabual, and home, looms larger and larger.

Again Fuchida tickles the stick, touches the rudder, his fighter kicks in towards the bombers, a barracuda at the edge of the school.
Almost against their will, the bombers twitch too, and again the bombers many guns bounce up and down, as nervous gunners twitch in anticipation
The Tojos shy away again, and at last, Fuchida see's them at last, high, so high above.
The tonies are wheeling over at 25000 feet, plunging down out of the sun..

he counts, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1........ATTACK!
They peel in, sweeping in from slightly ahead, racing astern of the bombers, tracer hammering out, even as the Tonies dive through, firing madly as they flash through the bombers, bombers who's guns cannot be shooting at everything at once.

Grimly, he takes the last oneinto aim, grip on the stick still so light and sure, the crashing chaos of the guns, the stink of the cordite, the little white balls (tacer) of death floating back at him, screaming past him, that insignificant clink, clink, of lead passing through his canopy mere inches from his head, and down, and under, head screwed back, back, over the shoulder, his bird part of him, following, up, up, over, and down again, and they are turning , fleeing, bombs streaming down, down, into the blue below................

he is grinninig, grinning so hard, his face almost cracks as he heads towards home, the fighters flocking back to the nest.
How wonderful, when it all comes together...........

A good days work.

There is a saying nearly old as mankind itself.
you cannot be 'a little bit pregnant"

it is a thought that just keeps hammering the Charges mind, as yet another juniour sailor of his (and some not so juniour) suggest for the nth time, that 'why don't we just dump half of the feed, the new distillate will dilute it well enough'

Well it bloody well won't.
he has not sailed in so many ships, in so many oceans, with so many plants, to take such foolish advise onbaord.

how many bloody times do you think this had happened to him over the years?
More than they could guess.......

'We will bloody well ditch it, and ditch it all. Now stop telling me my job, and get that condensor of!"

A lucky break. The log has led to the leak ( ahh doctor Watson, eliminate the illogical, and you are left with the logical), and now they have something positive they can attack.
It should take 6 or so hours to get that fixed.

But the boilers will have to be washed out, opened up, inspected.
Too heavy a contamination, for too long.

Boiler water must be pure. Totally pure. Contaminations cause scale on the tubes. Scale causes hot spots. Hots spots are weak. Weak spots fail
Tube failures kill, and main
One only need to look at Hirates scarred face to be reminded of that................

It can take as little as 15 minutes to kill a boiler.


Contamination causes foaming.
A foaming boiler water level is impossible to control
It can prime

Prime a boiler...............and shred every turbine onboard.
A damn clever way to kill more men........

No. No shortcuts. he will not push his luck any more. Command can scream, and rant, and demand. he will clean his boilers, clean his systems.
And start again with a clean slate.

he turns to a voice pipe. 'Starboard engineroom, cahrge speaking. Where are you vapping too?"
"Number two feed chief" the voice indistinct, ghostly down the brass tunnel

save me from idiots...............
"I have not had it emptied totally yet"
'Petty Officer says it will come good chief"

Charge slams the lid on his tube. 'I am going aft.!"

A pure storm of wrath departs Port boiler room
So many ships, so many oceans, so many plants, so many bloody fools.....................

It is amazing how fragile an incredibly powerful system can be.

ORIGINAL: 1275psi





Boiler water must be pure. Totally pure. Contaminations cause scale on the tubes. Scale causes hot spots. Hots spots are weak. Weak spots fail
Tube failures kill, and main
One only need to look at Hirates scarred face to be reminded of that................

It can take as little as 15 minutes to kill a boiler.


Contamination causes foaming.
A foaming boiler water level is impossible to control
It can prime

Prime a boiler...............and shred every turbine onboard.
A damn clever way to kill more men........

thank you [:)]

4th, 5th, 6th of MayZuiho tracks North, and makes Ulithi with out incident.

Far from happy, but with out incident

It takes Charge and his black gang these three full days to restore the plant, three more punishing days of washing out the effected boilers, and then going through the process of again of squeezing them to pressure, dumping them again, refilling, treating, then lighting off.
Chemistry is finally re established near midnight of the 6th, just as Zuiho begins to refuel again.

It takes an incredible amount of feed to accomplish the task, and both evaporators work full time to "make up feed".
No fresh is produced, and water restrictions are even harsher than normal.

And this is the equatorial zone..................

What pilots, completing hours of ASW patrol or CAP, have to say about it, bears not repeating.
No Stoker is safe on the hanger deck, especially when Hidaka stalks it..

The tankers provide fuel, and thankfully, feed and fresh, and even a little food, fresh vegetables mainly, from davao.
There is no time however, to catch breath.
Carrier task groups are disbanded, re built.
On the Seventh, late in the afternoon, Nagumo this time raises his flag over Zuihos task force
Hiyo, Akagi, Ryujo, Ryuho, shoho, Zuiho, Yamato, Mushia, Nagato, Mutsu, four cruisers,, 13 escorts sail again.


For the last week, the solomons have been quiet.
This will soon, very soon, change.............

Extract from "Shattering the Sword" a cantona production.

They fly into Lunga, a sight sorely welcomed by all that have struggled to complete this field.
Dauntless dive bombers, manned by crack marine pilots.

Yamamoto already fears that his forces in the solomons will be extracted at cost. But not even he could forsee what cost these sturdy bombers will soon extract.

Lunga has fallen. Now Japan will pay the bill................

Nagumo strides the bridge of Zuikaku.
He is, in body, and spirit, an old man.
18 months of war, of ceasless days at sea, have taken their toll

The man, who twelve months ago led his carriers to Sydney, is now caution exemplified.
The seas about him feel full of terror, not an hour passes with out thought of the submarine menace.
He has seen Kaga, and Shokaku.
Japanese carriers, it appears, are melons. Tough on the outside in appearance, weak and mushy in reality inside.

He will be very careful with this mission.....

The mission is simple.
Kill the enemy bombers operating off Narua, and then cover the reinforcements running into Ponape
Simple enough.
And yet, dangerous enough too.

Yamamotos dread of disaster becomes a reality.

Cl Yubari, 4 destroyers slip into Gassmatta to evacuate aviation support men.

Something goes wrong, as it usually does in war, and they still linger off the beaches with the dawn

The helldivers find them.
2 DD's are promptly sunk, CL Yubari smashed in the bow by a 1000 lb bomb

The Task force crawls away, full of the dead.

9th of May

Zuiho, part of Nagumo's massive fleet, maintains her position on the Starboard flank.
Seas are calm, weather is good.

For some time now, our story has swung away from her very reason of existance.
Her pilots.
Her mission, to deliver deadly fish and blasting bombs over many hundreds of miles of open sea, and to then safely recover on her tiny deck her planes, to reload them, and to do it again.

Now, so many years after the events of this war, what do we have to tell us of those days, of these men?
A few grainy, black and white photos. Few, a very few memories( for obviously so few survived these days), and a few books (falling cherry blossoms being the one we use), which we know can be but imperfect, for they protray only such a limited view.

But, I know this. Of the fighter pilots, May 43, Zuihos are the best, the very , very best.
Their fighters may be aging, overtaken by what opposes them, but few can match their skill in the air.


But skill is not all.
Courage. Moral. Aggression. Fatigue.


These are the things that really matter.
Ogawa, Hidaka, Diogawa, Uto. They do not think about flying when they stir the controls. They wish to place their plane just thus..........and it happens. Unthought, un bidden.
No, skill alone means nothing to them.

Ogawa walks to his fighter again.
350 times now he has launched into the air. 350 times.
Think of this. 350 times trusting that engine. 350 times judging that landing. 350 times anticipating potentail battle, potential death.
Once, a life time ago, he worried about his courage, flew every mission to prove to invisible judges his manhood, his valour.
No longer.
He has nothing to prove.
But he now sees the future. 350 missions..............maybe just a start. There will be no finish, no end, until .............
Ogawa walks to his fighter, fatalism filling his soul.
maybe death will take him today. maybe it wont.
Tomorrow, then it will be 352, 353...........until when?


Hidaka walks to his fighter again.
Fatalism does not fill him. But fear does. Not for him. never for him. but for Japan, for the country he loves, will die for.
Indefinably, like a breeze, you feel it, but cannot clutch it, a feeling fills him. Things have changed. The tide of war , some how, seems to have turned against them.
How long since Zuiho drew blood?. How long since Japan really drew blood?
Frustration fills him.
And like a captain of a fading football team entering the last quarter behind, he cannot help himself.
He must inject himself into the battle, into the war, as if he can change its course himself.
A fools mission.
But Hidaka walks to his plane, detirmined to fight, fight come what may.

Diogawa walks to his plane, grin still wide upon his face. He greets his crew with customary vows, and recieves them back as usual.
Diogawa thinks not of the war. Not of tomorrow. Nor of yesteday.
He will fly, and he will be happy.
A long, long, long time ago, Diogawa learnt a lesson. And has been happy with his lot ever since.

The forgotten instructors words live on in his heart. 'In war, accept that you are already dead. Then, and only when you believe that, can you live"
Diogawa, killer of five planes, walks to his plane, another day. Another day to live


Uto walks to his plane
He has no kills yet, and is also yet to discover that his skill matches his friends.
Like them, he does not think his flying, it happens.
His crew meet him, no longer as herbiesans son, but as they greet all of them.
A man they send to battle on their behalf.
Their flying shield, their flying spear.

Their human bullet.

Bullets have no names.

Nagumos fleet turns briefly away from its march south towards rabual, into the wind.

The planes launch.
Men soon to be forgotten by history, of ships that never will be.

The war continues to plan.

10 may

Zuiho continues south

She launches CAP, but her bombers remain below.
Men swelter between her decks, and bake on the flight deck.

Yet, for all that, it is a magnificent day, a blue sea, a hundred white wakes, and everywhere you look the great grey hulking shapes of Japans fleet.

Why in the hell didn't anyone take a photo of it!

11 May

Lunga's Dive Bombers get to work
1 Cl and 3 APDs at Munda are hammered. None will sink.
The Tokyo express is terminated, Yamamoto withdraws thes vital ships back North.
Undoubtably he will need them again.

What the troops now abandoned south of Rabual think of this, is not recorded, but we can guess.


The fleet continues South east, still (amazingly) undetected.

Dusk has fallen when Kato bends to the general broadcast, and speaks words not heard for far too long.
'This is the Captain speaking. We can expect battle tomorrow. Our role is Naval strike. Zuiho must be ready to strike at 0400 hours. That is all"

And below, to confirm his words, the forced draft blowers are rising to maximum power, the whine now a scream.
Old friends are on the engine room plates, Okano Port engine room, Hirate the other.
When Tan comes down an hour later, he does not need to tell them they are doing a good job.
Their grins tell the story.

Zuiho plunges south through the night, 28.5 knots.

Nobody will have to Tell Kato to 'hurry up" this night.

12 May

0400 hours

320 miles North west Naru

Nagumo turns to Genda. Speaks words so well known.

"Commence launching"

And who can but not feel the thrill race up ones neck?

"Commence launching"

And let battle be joined.

Still #1 psi.