The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

sourdust is probably right......................[:(]
Just my dreams of a massive (and entertaining ) decisive battle have been whittled away in the most boring of manners)

ah well
it could be worse.




13/2/44

It was the snake that saved him
Nearly 6 feet long, some sort of python, it slithered slowly past Flying officer Graham as if he was not there.
Graham, lying on his back, knew he had one chance, and one only

He has not eaten for 5 days. If he is going to eat, well, dinner is on the move..........

He has learnt a few things since his last sorjourn in the jungle.
carefully, slowly, he reaches for his boot, and the 6 inches of steel stowed there.

"Come to papa, ...come to papa............



Snake does not taste like chicken. Its bitter, rancid, stringy..........even charred to a crisp, the sourness remains.
But its food.
80 miles behind enemy lines, in one of the worlds worst jungles.
But he's got a full belly now.
Surely that counts for something.

[1275psi]

Japans 4 battle cruisers race into Darwin waters, they briefly sight an enemy cruiser, which flees, but fail to intercept any thing else

2 hours later, CA Suzuya and Kumano, leading 7 destroyers, encounter the CL santa Fe and 4 destroyers in the same waters

It leads to a decisve japanese defeat.

Barely a single hit is scored on the allied ships in the long, long running battle, fought at 10000 to 16000 yards.
The allies hit repeatably..........devastating 4 destroyers, and messing up Kumano badly.
Daylight brings the allied airforce, which finishes of the four destroyers.
Only the Santa Fe being torpedoed by a ss the next morning balances the ledger, a little, but not much.

Something has changed.
You feel it now. In the skies, under the waves, and now above them, The Americans seem to have the qualative edge, let alone the numbers.
Hard questions are being asked of japans men
There are no easy answers.

[1275psi]

Tokyo

Zuiho lies alongside .
Below decks, she's a mess, the last run in has treated her roughly indeed.

But thats for tomorrow boys

Leave

24 hrs of leave

If you think her machinery is a mess, thats nothing to what her crew are getting into ashore............

[GreyJoy]

Oh boy... never seen anything like that...how many carriers have been sunk by subs so far?[X(]

[Gridley380]

Side note: fairly recent wreck analysis indicates that Akagi was probably only hit once, not twice - the 2nd being a miss very close astern.

Japan's carriers were horrifyingly fragile.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Gridley380

Side note: fairly recent wreck analysis indicates that Akagi was probably only hit once, not twice - the 2nd being a miss very close astern.

Japan's carriers were horrifyingly fragile.

Ummm - doesn't a deckload of armed and fueled aircraft + a hangar deck full of stacked ordinance and second-strike planes count for anything? I find it hard to believe that there was enough of the aft wooden flight deck left to determine that only one bomb hit.

As for fragility - the USN had the same problem [Lexington] until it learned to stop refueling aircraft and flood the system with inert gas whenever enemy planes were detected. Witness what happened to CV Franklin when a lone DB sneaked in and hit her with one bomb while her decks were loaded with a strike.
I'm not sure if the Japanese ever established a system to suppress fuel fumes.

[Gridley380]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Gridley380

Side note: fairly recent wreck analysis indicates that Akagi was probably only hit once, not twice - the 2nd being a miss very close astern.

Japan's carriers were horrifyingly fragile.

Ummm - doesn't a deckload of armed and fueled aircraft + a hangar deck full of stacked ordinance and second-strike planes count for anything? I find it hard to believe that there was enough of the aft wooden flight deck left to determine that only one bomb hit.

As for fragility - the USN had the same problem [Lexington] until it learned to stop refueling aircraft and flood the system with inert gas whenever enemy planes were detected. Witness what happened to CV Franklin when a lone DB sneaked in and hit her with one bomb while her decks were loaded with a strike.
I'm not sure if the Japanese ever established a system to suppress fuel fumes.

I recommend reading Shattered Sword - among other things they note that the strike photos from the US attack birds show the IJN carriers didn't have a strike spotted. They also go into the single bomb hit sinking Akagi in detail.

USS Lexington took two torpedoes and three bomb hits. Hardly the same as sinking from a single bomb hit.

From DANFS: "The enemy penetrated to the American carriers at 1100, and 20 minutes later Lexington was struck by a torpedo to port. Seconds later, a second torpedo hit to port directly abreast the bridge. At the same time, she took three bomb hits from enemy dive bombers, producing a 7° list to port and several raging fires. By 1300 her skilled damage control parties had brought the fires under control and returned the ship to even keel; making 25 knots, she was ready to recover her air group. Then suddenly Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors below, and again fire raged out of control. At 1508 Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of men working below, secured salvage operations, and ordered all hands to the flight deck. At 1707, he ordered, "abandon ship!", and the orderly disembarkation began, men going over the side into the warm water, almost immediately to be picked up by nearby cruisers and destroyers."

[Argos]

In addition to Gridley380's comment, I believe I have seen reference to a damage control mistake leading to the explosion that caused the loss of the Lexington. If my fading memory serves correctly I seem to remember that instead of venting the gasoline fumes out of the ship a mistake by a junior DC officer resulted in the fumes being vented throughout the ship thereby defeating the compartmentalization and DC system advantages inherent to US ships. In effect the Lexington may be an example of the robustness of a US ship minus the supposed damage control advantage.

[british exil]

Please let us not hijack this lovely story which is being played out in the far east. While it is true that jap carriers were not as robust as their counterparts, that is not really the theme of this thread.

I am not policing or anything similar. Just wanting to let the story continue, for those that follow the journey of our Jap heroes and Long Pig Graham.

Mat

[1275psi]

14/2/44

I think we have mentioned Commander Korii only a few times, Zuiho's gentle but stern Medical officer. Unlike his fellow officers, he has not had a long and stirring Naval training, war has thrust him from a comfortable Country practice, into a uniform that he hardly feels fit to wear at times.
However, like nearly all Japanese, duty is deply installed.
Tonight, possibly one of the worst duties a man can get, liason with military police, shore patrol.
On paper, its easy enough. report to point A -usually some sort of bleak concrete hell, filled with even bleaker less humourless people, and as the situation requires, dispatch your shore patrol sailors.

Easy enough?
Well, for starters, consider those twenty odd shore patrol sailors...........their companions are out letting loose many months of steam, and they have to spend the night dragging drunken bodies back onboard, or worse.. Sympathy is in short supply then.........

Korii , as he settles in to his waiting room, complete with at least 6 months of newspapers, views the night ahead in the half full manner..........he can catch up his news reading, and tonight surely should give him some sights to remember in his dottage.

They will.

[1275psi]

CV Amagi succumbs
CV Unryu survives - a month in dock for her...............

[1275psi]

Hidaka views the "flight deck with a very unsteady eye...........
'gee..........I am pissed............
The flight deck -three long tables pushed end on, glistens.
Diogawa adds to its slippery surface, raising a glass of beer high, and letting it cascade in a golden stream upon its surface.

he turns, wobbles.......Salutes Hidaka...:"Flight deck open for operations .....SIR!"

Hidaka tries to focus. Somewhere, a still sane or sober part of his brain is screaming...........don't be a bloody idiot, you'll break your neck, then what ney?.but that stupid voices hash is quickly drowned with another good draught of the amber........

"Banzia!!!
headlong, he flings himself at the deck, slams onto the table, slides drunkedly, and with the yells of encouragement ringing in his ears, slides over the side.......
'Man overboard!, man overboard!"

Flight deck operation, at the black cat bar, are under way..............

[1275psi]

In a slightly less "posh establishemnt"...........80 voices ring as one..........drowning the music, drowning the girls, drowning out every bloody thing

'We are, we are the ENGINEERS, we can, we can,we can drink the forty beers, .............

Bar, the pink pussy cat, is raising steam nicely..............


And its only 9pm

[1275psi]

Korii's first call seemed innocous..........."request 3 men to street.................Fight between Chitose and Zuiho crew members.........
Ok.
Three men dispatched.
"Ah, the rice crop is reported as very good........"

[1275psi]

Ogawa see's him first, huddled undser the table............
"Hey........HEY!.Uto!.what the hell are you doing down there."

"I fell over.............I think, I think my legs have forgotten how to walk............ I think I am a submarine"
"A,.a what?"
A submarine, Im wet a bloody enough....."

Ogawa stares for quite a while at his friend.......minds gears grating, gnashing away, assimulating information...

Uto has made a very big mistake.........

"SUBMARINE!!!", yells Ogawa, and piles on in a drunken attack.

30 fellow pilots quickly follow..........

[1275psi]

"Its Tokyo zoo sir"
Korii looks up...............zoo?.
With trepidation, he takes the phone.

'I see............I see.............yes.......i see..............we will be there right away................I see..............yes............"

Carefully, carefully, he places the reciever down, meeets 17 pairs of expectant eyes.
"Apparently, 6 members of our executive department have stolen an elephant................"

[1275psi]

Hirate stops for a minute, weariness overcoming him. Okano stops too, turning to the wall Hirate leans upon. The sound of a man relieving himself fuills the alley way.
'How far back to the ship?"
"Too bloody far................we need a taxi"
'You got any money left?
No, have you?
No.

"
Bloody too far to walk...............heros like us should be chauffered you think?"
You think?'
Yeah, I think"

hey, Okano.........look.
Look at what?
'A truck..............lets borrow it."
"You can't borrow a fire truck....................
"Want a bet?"

[GreyJoy]

[1275psi]

Uto sways in front of the seargent
'Do you know who I am?"

The seargent, of 65th brigade, does not. These are men of Herbiesans personal guard, his attack dogs as you will, the meanest barsteds in tokyo.
Traitors they can deal with before breakfast.
A dozen or so drunk fliers, well, that may be a little more delicate........
There are three of them here, in the park, guarding the motor pool.

Uto pulls himself erect .............as well as he can 'I sir, am Lt Uto, flying officer of the imperial Navy.....
"And herbiesans son" interjects Diogawa , spitting roast duck at the seargeants feet
.."and you sir , i wish to ask, request, beg, the use of your truck to take us home.........."

"Piss of little man"
The Army man shoves Uto chest first , and he falls onto the ground.
Arrogant, brave...stupid

The fights not pretty

Three soldiers lie bleeding on the deck.

'Ok", slurs Hidaka, "lets take the truck"
''Stuff that".Uto points wildly."lets take the tank"

[1275psi]

Its a long night for Comander Korii.........

Zuihos crew will all get home safely.

Some, shall we say, just might take a little longer than others to get there.

but, as they say.............no harm done

Zuiho is going into dock for a bum scrape, and those tubes are going to be replaced

When our splitting heads are a bit better

Think we might lie down for a while








PS
All of the above are true stories, only names and places changed.
(One of my sailors once tried to steal a helicopter from the marines at pearl harbour, had it burning and turning too...........but they don't exist yet in 44)[:D]