Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Grotius]

Task Force 36 will proceed immediately to Okayama, where Hibiki will be detached to undergo extensive refit.

Very nice news! I wonder what she's getting.

The model photos are great. I can't speak for Cuttlefish, but if others have models to display, I'd sure be curious to see them.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Task Force 36 will proceed immediately to Okayama, where Hibiki will be detached to undergo extensive refit.

Very nice news! I wonder what she's getting.

The model photos are great. I can't speak for Cuttlefish, but if others have models to display, I'd sure be curious to see them.

I have model pictures I would be happy to share, but I am not too sure how relevant they are....
[;)]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: AU Tiger

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Task Force 36 will proceed immediately to Okayama, where Hibiki will be detached to undergo extensive refit.

Very nice news! I wonder what she's getting.

The model photos are great. I can't speak for Cuttlefish, but if others have models to display, I'd sure be curious to see them.

I have model pictures I would be happy to share, but I am not too sure how relevant they are....
[;)]

Those are always relevant!

Besides, this thread needed a bump. [:D]

[tocaff]

I'm back after getting KOed by a huge storm.  Excellent read CF!

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: Grotius

Task Force 36 will proceed immediately to Okayama, where Hibiki will be detached to undergo extensive refit.

Very nice news! I wonder what she's getting.

Another visit from the kempeitai? [:D] [:'(]

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

I got something fun in the mail yesterday and could not resist sharing. Here are a couple of pictures of a Navis Neptun 1:1250 scale metal model of Hibiki, sitting proudly on the desk in front of my monitor (please forgive the photography, I was rushed).

I like the ones from GHQ. If you don't mind I can post one or 2 of those as a comparison.

Go ahead! I would like to see what they look like.

I have also discovered that a company call Pit Road in Japan has recently released a 1/700 model of Hibiki which can be built as a waterline or full-hull model. It can also be built in 1945 configuration (which is what the ship is even now heading to Okayama to accomplish) or the ship's current configuration. I have a couple on order, though they haven't shipped yet last time I checked.

[Cuttlefish]

June 30, 1943

Location: 175 miles north of Truk
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 453

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

Destroyers Okikaze and Akebono are added to the task force. Both ships are in need of general overhaul and minor repairs, but their presence means that Hibiki will not be alone in trying to protect the task force against prowling submarines. These are known to be operating in the sea lanes between Truk and Japan and should present the only danger facing the ships as they try to get home.

---

In the engine rooms Sakati’s men have a spring in their step as the order comes down to bring the engines up to speed. The helmsman and the rest of the bridge crew respond smartly to Captain Ishii’s orders as he cons the ship out of the anchorage. On deck sailors perform their duties with crisp efficiency. Even the lookouts seem to be more alert than usual.

This crew has traveled a long way in the last thirteen months. They were at the savage battle for Wake Island and have gone on successful raiding missions far south of the equator. They have participated in the long and difficult campaign at Timor and faced defeat at Exmouth off the Australian coast. They have sailed four times into the teeth of the enemy at Gili Gili and survived. Now, at long last, they are on the mission they have been waiting for. Hibiki and her crew are going home.

[Cuttlefish]

July 1, 1943

Location: 300 miles south-southeast of Guam
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 425

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

In the forward crew’s mess:

“Extensive refit? What does that mean?”

“Send some of that pineapple down this way, will you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re going to give us 8” guns and turn us into a cruiser.”

“That’s stupid. This ship would roll right over.”

“I know that, idiot! I was making a joke. Hey, here’s Oizuma, make some room.”

“Snake Man! How is our favorite serpent doing today?”

“Hey, everyone. She’s fine, she had a rat yesterday and she will probably sleep most of the way to Japan.”

“Have you heard anything about the refit work?”

“Not a thing. Someone was saying they thought we might get new engines, new designs that would let us do 40 knots.”

“I don’t know about the ship, but as soon as I get home I am having an extensive refit done too.”

“Ha! With your equipment? Your wife has probably already ordered something larger and newer from the shipyards. You’re going on the scrap heap.”

“Who took my chopsticks?”

“At least I have a wife! I will already be in port while you are sailing around looking for a place to drop your anchor.”

“With an anchor like mine…”

“Hey, did you guys hear? I heard from an ensign that we’re getting some fancy new radar gear, better than anything the enemy has. We’ll be able to see a torpedo boat coming from twenty miles away.”

“I don’t care what they are doing, as long as it takes some time.”

“Someone tell the cook we need more yams.”

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

“Hey, did you guys hear? I heard from an ensign that we’re getting some fancy new radar gear, better than anything the enemy has. We’ll be able to see a torpedo boat coming from twenty miles away.”

Classic scuttlebutt. (but wouldn't the crew of the Hibiki be talking in terms of kilometers?)[;)]

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

“Hey, did you guys hear? I heard from an ensign that we’re getting some fancy new radar gear, better than anything the enemy has. We’ll be able to see a torpedo boat coming from twenty miles away.”

Classic scuttlebutt. (but wouldn't the crew of the Hibiki be talking in terms of kilometers?)[;)]

Yeah, but...you see...well, yeah.

For those readers who demand verisimilitude, or who live in a country not burdened with a completely illogical system of weights and measures, feel free to read the line in question as "we'll be able to see a torpedo boat coming from thirty-two point one eight six eight eight kilometers away."

[Japanese_Spirit]

I actually did read Japan only partially converted to Metric and actually kept delaying the full adoption until the U.S occupied Japan in 1945. They used their own system until then and there was disgruntlement at the full adoption.

Kind of like how it is today although I don't think you can really beat the good ole Imperial, though. [;)] Miles just sounds so much more nicer, as does feet, then Kilometres, etc.

[kaleun]

Don't they still measure square footage in tatamis?

[Cuttlefish]

July 2, 1943

Location: 100 miles southeast of Guam
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 396

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

It’s been a while since I have done this, so while Hibiki journeys north let’s catch up with who is who in this AAR. Of the people in this list only Captain Ishii, Richard Marson, and the last man on the list are historical figures. All the others are entirely fictional creations. This is far from a complete list of everyone who has appeared in the AAR, but it includes the ones most likely to appear again.

Officers:

Lieutenant Commander Hagumu Ishii, Captain. We know quite a bit about his character but little of his home life, except that he is from Hyogo Prefecture and has a granddaughter, Sachiko, who he has never seen.

Lieutenant Sakamoto Miharu, Executive Officer. His home is in Kanazawa. Taught Japanese at Annapolis for a year in the 1930’s.

Lieutenant Sakati, Chief Engineer. Trained at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Lieutenant Sugiyura, Chief Torpedo Officer. Martial artist and the most aggressive of Hibiki’s officers.

Lieutenant JG Kuwaki, Chief Gunnery Officer.

Lieutenant JG Nakagawa, ship’s medical officer.

Lieutenant JG Kataoka, paymaster.

Ensign Handa, small boat specialist. His war of practical jokes with Ensign Izu got out of hand for a while, but the two are now good friends.

Ensign Tomio Izu. Amateur ornithologist, his father is a colonel in the Kwangtung Army.

Petty Officers:

Chief Petty Officer Shun. From Okinawa. Terror of the ship’s enlisted men. He and Captain Ishii go back a long ways.

Senior Petty Officer Toshio Aikawa. Appears in the narrative only rarely, but Shun respects him.

Petty Officer First Class Okubo. A bully.

Petty Officer Second Class Taiki Takahashi. Began the war as an enlisted man. Remarkably intelligent. Has lost much of his naïveté during the war but not his sense of honor.

Enlisted Men:

Leading Seaman Riku Ariga. A former rogue and con man who is trying very hard to reform after having the bad luck to fall hopelessly in love with Shun’s daughter.

Seaman First Class Shiro Kuramata. A woodcarver and gentle soul from Tendo. Close friend to Riku and Taiki. We know he will one day write a book about his experiences during the war.

Seaman First Class Oizuma, “Snake Man.” Owner of Benzaiten.

Seaman First Class Yoshitake. Bunks with Shiro, Riku, and Oizuma.

Seaman First Class Hikaru Shoji. Another bunkmate of Riku and Shiro’s, is plagued by questionable judgment and resulting bad luck.

Others:

Kojima Miharu, Lieutenant Miharu’s wife.

Morito Miharu, the lieutenant’s brother. A member of the Communist Party, which is a criminal activity in and of itself. Escaped the police but with a bullet wound, nursed back to health by Kojima.

Rin Shun, CPO Shun’s mother. A wise old woman, recently seriously ill but recovering.

Nanami Shun, CPO Shun’s daughter. Beautiful but fiercely protected by her father.

Ensign Noboro Takahashi, Taiki’s brother. Serves aboard battleship Mutsu. Injured off Wake in ’42, has burn scars as a result.

Benzaiten, a Borneo blood python. The ship’s unofficial good luck charm.

Lieutenant Umeda of the Tokeitai. Tossed into Tokyo Bay by Shun, last seen exiled to Burma.

Frank Barnwell of the RAF, Blenheim gunner and radio operator. Picked up by Hibiki when his plane was shot down in the early days of the war. Escaped and after many adventures is now in India with his unit.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Marson of the Australian 7th Infantry Division. His battalion escaped the Timor disaster and is about to make another appearance.

Gordon McNair, merchant seaman. His tanker was torpedoed and he was left adrift by Kido Butai off New Zealand.

Ensign Mark Turnby of PT-62, son of a friend of Lieutenant Miharu’s. Rescued by Hibiki and now on his way to Japan as a prisoner of war.

Jack, torpedo boat commander. Captured along with Ensign Turnby and also on his way to Japan.

[kaleun]

Thanks. A dramatis personae; very appreciated.

[cantona2]

Nice summary.
 
My favourite has to be:
 
Benzaiten, a Borneo blood python. The ship’s unofficial good luck charm.

[Cuttlefish]

July 3, 1943

Location: 60 miles north-northeast of Saipan
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 368

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

“So what will you do when you get leave?” Riku asks Shiro. “Go home to Tendo?” Shiro sets down the heavy magazine of 25 mm ammunition he is stowing before answering.

“Yes,” he says. “I miss my family. What about you?” Riku shrugs. He finishes counting the magazines and makes a note on his clipboard.

“I don’t know,” he answers. “I may just stay around the ship. There is going to be a lot of work to do.” Shiro looks at him.

“That is not the man I know!” he says. “Though come to think of it, I never have known you to go home on leave. You’ve usually had, well, other things to keep you occupied.”

“They do not miss me at home,” says Riku. “I am the seventh of eight children, so I do not even have the distinction of being the pampered youngest.” He pauses for a moment. “I know some women in Okayama from our last stay there. I think several of them would be very glad to see me. But I do not think I will be making any visits this time.”

“Ah,” says Shiro sympathetically. “I think I understand.” In truth he is not sure whether Riku is going to remain aboard ship because he honestly wants nothing to do with his former activities or because he wants to avoid temptation. Either way it is an indication of how much he has changed.

Shiro also wonders briefly about Riku’s family. He has never heard Riku say much about them. He knows Riku is from Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, but that is about all he knows. And Shiro is too polite to pry.

“Come on,” says Riku. “We need to finish this.” He and Shiro continue their work, and the subject of leave is dropped for the time being.

[Cuttlefish]

July 4, 1943

Location: 300 miles north of Saipan
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 339

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

“So what will you do when you get leave?” Ensign Handa asks. The two men are in the officer’s wardroom. Ensign Izu drops down into a chair across the small table from him, holding a cup of tea against the rocking of the ship with practiced proficiency.

“Go see my mother and my sisters,” says Izu. “One of my sisters is getting married. To a dentist. They are just waiting for Father to get leave to schedule the ceremony. It would be nice if that happened while I was home.”

“A dentist?” says Handa. “Always nice to have one of those in the family.”

“I imagine he is a dull fellow,” says Izu. “He is very old, almost thirty. His first wife died a couple of years ago. My sister writes that he fell in love with her while filling one of her cavities.” Handa thinks for a moment of making the obvious joke, but decides against it. Men can be very touchy where their sister’s honor is concerned. “What about you?” Izu asks. “Will you be going home?”

“For a few days, at least,” says Handa. “I may do a little hiking. After so many months aboard ship I feel a need to get away from people for a bit. And,” he adds wryly, “I’m pretty sure that I won’t find any eels in my backpack while visiting the Iwaki waterfalls.” Ensign Izu laughs.

“I’ve never seen them,” he says. “Are they as beautiful as people say?”

“They’re hideous creatures,” says Handa. “And don’t deny it, I know it was you.”

“No, you idiot, I meant the waterfalls!” Izu says. Handa smiles.

“Yes they are,” he says. “And very soothing to the spirit.”

“I think we all could use a bit of that, after the last year,” says Izu, sipping his tea.

“Yes we could,” says Ensign Handa.

[Cuttlefish]

July 5, 1943

Location: 100 miles south of Iwo Jima
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 311

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

Around mid-morning dreams of home are forgotten for a time as the war suddenly catches up with Hibiki once again. Captain Ishii is in the chart room when a yell from a lookout brings him running onto the bridge. Back in the column destroyer Okikaze has suddenly heeled violently to starboard.

“Getting a signal from them now,” says Lieutenant Sugiyura, glasses trained aft. “They are running up a flag…sir, they are under torpedo attack!”

Aboard Hibiki they wait tensely, but there is no explosion. It will turn out later that Okikaze spotted four torpedo wakes. All missed the ship, although one passed within 40 meters of the turning destroyer’s bow. Okikaze and Akebono search for the lurking submarine without success and then rejoin the column.

The warships hurry north. They will leave this submarine behind, but there are probably others ahead. Japan is still several days away. The attack comes as a stark reminder that they are not home yet, and must remain alert if they are to reach Okayama safely.

[Onime No Kyo]

I wonder if Oizuma plans to take the snake on leave.

[Cuttlefish]

July 6, 1943

Location: 120 miles north of Iwo Jima
Course: North
Attached to: TF 36
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 282

Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit

---

The task force encounters another submarine the next day. This one, however, is Japanese. Lookouts spot it running on the surface ahead of the task force, heading southeast, and its friendly identity is quickly established. It is I-124.

Captain Ishii scrutinizes the submarine through a pair of the big 21 cm binoculars. It is about 100’ shorter than his own vessel. It looks trim and lethal, and as he watches it Ishii becomes aware that his feelings are much different than they would be if he was watching another kind of Japanese warship.

Looking at the submarine leaves him feeling vaguely resentful. He knows that this is foolishness. Submarines are valuable tools of war, and the men aboard I-124 are his comrades in arms as much as the crews of the destroyers in the column behind him. Yet as a destroyer man he has spent too much time being stalked by submarines to be fond even of those on his side. He cannot help thinking of them as anything but a skulking menace.

Still, he wishes them well as he steps away from the binoculars. I-124 is a Type KRS boat, so it is probably on its way to lay mines. Judging from its course Ishii thinks somewhere east of the Marshalls is probably the target, perhaps Midway, Canton Island, or Palmyra. Ishii does not care much for mines, either, but he knows that is also sentimental foolishness. This is war, not some duel of honor between two samurai. And in war the only thing that counts is killing the other man before he kills you, with whatever tools are at your disposal.

Knowing this does not make him like submarines any better, though.