+1ORIGINAL: kaleun
I have a bad feeling about this.
The little ship that could.
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BigBadWolf
- Posts: 584
- Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:01 am
- Location: Serbia
RE: The little ship that could.
ORIGINAL: kaleun
I have a bad feeling about this.
In times of war, people can get shot for spreading defeatism...
Just saying
RE: The little ship that could.
14 July 44
The battle begins poorly.
CVIkoma is torpedoed just after midnight by the (its seems this way, does it not?) inevitable lurking submerged buka.
Abe detaches her, and the fleet steams hard south east, to 80 miles due east of Roti.
he has chosen the place of battle carefully.
he needs to.
What the enemy has east of him, is simply inconcievable in size and shape.................
0400 hours, flight deck Zuiho
They gather about him, pressed close, like football players gathering encouragement before a match. Hidaka takes them in the eye, each and every one.
"CAP, wehave been assigned exclusively to the CAP........." he grins, and eyes sparkle....."Someone somewhere must think highly enough of us"
He pauses, and eyes harden."I for one swear this...........no bomber will get through"
The men growl.
None will get through...........
All swear it.
This, my friends, has been a long journey. Now, as the sun prepares to break upon the world again, revealing a grey, low, sodden sky, we must remeber this, these men are what Zuiho is about.....everything, everything on this ship must have, always has had, one focus.
Bring them to a battle, bring them to the point where they can inflict death upon the enemy.
18 fighter pilots
12 bomber crews
They scatter across the flight deck, climb into their eagles, the zeros fwd, the bombers aft, loaded with fish, a standby strike for today.
The blue exhaust drifts, the flames crack and bang from the exhaust pipes, bright points of light in the grey dawn.
Hidaka stands in his cockpit, eyes searching the little flight deck.
he see's the man he seeks.....his Captain,.
A salute
A salute returned.
Now, the time for gestures, for theatre is finished. he sits, adjusts his straps, goggles. The engine beat rises, and the fighter rumbles away.
Uto follows, Diogawa follows, Ogawa too.
They all rumble down the deck, bank left, join the growing crowd in the sky.
The CAP grows
It needs to.
The bombers are coming............
The battle begins poorly.
CVIkoma is torpedoed just after midnight by the (its seems this way, does it not?) inevitable lurking submerged buka.
Abe detaches her, and the fleet steams hard south east, to 80 miles due east of Roti.
he has chosen the place of battle carefully.
he needs to.
What the enemy has east of him, is simply inconcievable in size and shape.................
0400 hours, flight deck Zuiho
They gather about him, pressed close, like football players gathering encouragement before a match. Hidaka takes them in the eye, each and every one.
"CAP, wehave been assigned exclusively to the CAP........." he grins, and eyes sparkle....."Someone somewhere must think highly enough of us"
He pauses, and eyes harden."I for one swear this...........no bomber will get through"
The men growl.
None will get through...........
All swear it.
This, my friends, has been a long journey. Now, as the sun prepares to break upon the world again, revealing a grey, low, sodden sky, we must remeber this, these men are what Zuiho is about.....everything, everything on this ship must have, always has had, one focus.
Bring them to a battle, bring them to the point where they can inflict death upon the enemy.
18 fighter pilots
12 bomber crews
They scatter across the flight deck, climb into their eagles, the zeros fwd, the bombers aft, loaded with fish, a standby strike for today.
The blue exhaust drifts, the flames crack and bang from the exhaust pipes, bright points of light in the grey dawn.
Hidaka stands in his cockpit, eyes searching the little flight deck.
he see's the man he seeks.....his Captain,.
A salute
A salute returned.
Now, the time for gestures, for theatre is finished. he sits, adjusts his straps, goggles. The engine beat rises, and the fighter rumbles away.
Uto follows, Diogawa follows, Ogawa too.
They all rumble down the deck, bank left, join the growing crowd in the sky.
The CAP grows
It needs to.
The bombers are coming............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
0500
Takeji fiddles with his tin hat. It is an item he has never gotten used to. He seriously doubts its usefulness, trying to imagine it helping if a 1000 pounder strikes is a pretty useless exercise.............
He has drunk his tea. Zuiho steams at 20 knots, almost in the centre of this vast formation of ships. they are on station, his eagles are away, the guns point skyward............
Incredibly, he thinks, I am like all of my men.........simply waiting for some damn thing to happen.
He does not have to wait long
The phone rings, a seaman leaps to it.
"HIE!, HIE!, Hei!'
The phone bangs back into place, making Takeji wince...........there is much nervous tension today, ney?
"Enemy snooer shot down!, 30 miles to the west sir!"
he nods......and searches the sky. The greyness is clearing, scattered clouds.........the circling zeros small glinting dots scattered at 9000 feet in every direction.
The sea, dark, beautiful, deep..........
"taiho reports enemy raid inbound!, bearing 010 degrees !"
glasses, focus..........ahead, seeking the horizon..........
Action out there?.so hard to tell.
Another report.7 unescorted bombers, apparently................
A soft start.
japan has radar too now, and taiho picks this next raid at 60 miles
"30 plus inbound"
30 plus against 200.............
Takeji tightens the strap on his hat. Only 30. But this is war. Any damn thing can happen.
Takeji fiddles with his tin hat. It is an item he has never gotten used to. He seriously doubts its usefulness, trying to imagine it helping if a 1000 pounder strikes is a pretty useless exercise.............
He has drunk his tea. Zuiho steams at 20 knots, almost in the centre of this vast formation of ships. they are on station, his eagles are away, the guns point skyward............
Incredibly, he thinks, I am like all of my men.........simply waiting for some damn thing to happen.
He does not have to wait long
The phone rings, a seaman leaps to it.
"HIE!, HIE!, Hei!'
The phone bangs back into place, making Takeji wince...........there is much nervous tension today, ney?
"Enemy snooer shot down!, 30 miles to the west sir!"
he nods......and searches the sky. The greyness is clearing, scattered clouds.........the circling zeros small glinting dots scattered at 9000 feet in every direction.
The sea, dark, beautiful, deep..........
"taiho reports enemy raid inbound!, bearing 010 degrees !"
glasses, focus..........ahead, seeking the horizon..........
Action out there?.so hard to tell.
Another report.7 unescorted bombers, apparently................
A soft start.
japan has radar too now, and taiho picks this next raid at 60 miles
"30 plus inbound"
30 plus against 200.............
Takeji tightens the strap on his hat. Only 30. But this is war. Any damn thing can happen.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
RE: The little ship that could.
This is what seperates them, the good from the very good.
Diogawa's zero is banking hard right, hard, hard right, wing tip to sea, the g forces tremendous, and yet he holds the stick softly, calmly, as the world , sky, sea, sun, revolves around them.
The carriers are below, the sky black with flack, a violent backdrop to this deadly dance.
5 Dive bombers are coming in hard at the carriers on his right shoulder, and things are happening fast, very fast.
he swings the stick hard opposite, rolling left, rudder , swinging hard, the bombers passing across and in front.....but there is a gull winged buka bearing down with stunning speed, stick hard into belly, keeeping the roll going, the corsair sliding under and past, the bombers sweeping up into the screen, firing, firing, and pulling hard again as yet another tracer stream streaks his way, and past.
'let none through"
A curse, throttle as full as possible, full emergency boost, swinging in, the corsairs, two of them, weaving between them and the bombers....a zero cuts in beside him, passes, going for the bomber, going in as hard and close , the corsair swings back...thatch weave, the zero disintegrates under the smashing fire...and Diogawa takes his chance, and sends the gull winged buka to hell.
His guns hiss empty, he looks about, the sky, as it always seems to happen, is suddenly empty.
"let none through"
They have not.
This raid, 30 strong, is gone
Breathing hard, he seeks Zuiho, joins circuit, slams the deck.
A dozen willing hands push him forward, a canteen, oh so welcome, is passed to him
Uto, he see's is sitting in his fighter, man feeding his guns with the chains of cannon shells. He raises a finger A kill for the dictator then.
He has a moment to take in the world about him...........another raid is coming in, and all about the carriers are manouvering, the sky dotted with the bright colors of the flak , the emerald sea, the falling cherry blossoms.
Bombs land near the Aso, the Kaga, but none hit.
And then men are pushing them back again, and it is time to be away, to be chief clown in the circus above.
Diogawa's zero is banking hard right, hard, hard right, wing tip to sea, the g forces tremendous, and yet he holds the stick softly, calmly, as the world , sky, sea, sun, revolves around them.
The carriers are below, the sky black with flack, a violent backdrop to this deadly dance.
5 Dive bombers are coming in hard at the carriers on his right shoulder, and things are happening fast, very fast.
he swings the stick hard opposite, rolling left, rudder , swinging hard, the bombers passing across and in front.....but there is a gull winged buka bearing down with stunning speed, stick hard into belly, keeeping the roll going, the corsair sliding under and past, the bombers sweeping up into the screen, firing, firing, and pulling hard again as yet another tracer stream streaks his way, and past.
'let none through"
A curse, throttle as full as possible, full emergency boost, swinging in, the corsairs, two of them, weaving between them and the bombers....a zero cuts in beside him, passes, going for the bomber, going in as hard and close , the corsair swings back...thatch weave, the zero disintegrates under the smashing fire...and Diogawa takes his chance, and sends the gull winged buka to hell.
His guns hiss empty, he looks about, the sky, as it always seems to happen, is suddenly empty.
"let none through"
They have not.
This raid, 30 strong, is gone
Breathing hard, he seeks Zuiho, joins circuit, slams the deck.
A dozen willing hands push him forward, a canteen, oh so welcome, is passed to him
Uto, he see's is sitting in his fighter, man feeding his guns with the chains of cannon shells. He raises a finger A kill for the dictator then.
He has a moment to take in the world about him...........another raid is coming in, and all about the carriers are manouvering, the sky dotted with the bright colors of the flak , the emerald sea, the falling cherry blossoms.
Bombs land near the Aso, the Kaga, but none hit.
And then men are pushing them back again, and it is time to be away, to be chief clown in the circus above.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Ogawa is last to land, the deck indistinct in the dusk. Guided more by the gleaming wake of Zuihos passage, than anything, he lands heavily.
It has been a long day.
'Let none through"
They have not.
He climbs out, moves to the small flight tower, where six or seven of his fellows sit , legs crossed, heads down
Diogawa rises, faces him, tears filling his eyes
"Hidaka is gone"
It has been a long day.
'Let none through"
They have not.
He climbs out, moves to the small flight tower, where six or seven of his fellows sit , legs crossed, heads down
Diogawa rises, faces him, tears filling his eyes
"Hidaka is gone"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
[:(]
Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
RE: The little ship that could.
Could be just shot down and NOT DEAD??!! [8|]
Member: Treaty, Reluctant Admiral and Between the Storms Mod Team.
RE: The little ship that could.
+1ORIGINAL: John 3rd
Could be just shot down and NOT DEAD??!! [8|]
MIA or KIA?
Pax
RE: The little ship that could.
The exploding zero..........
Abe stares at the faint line of light marking the setting sun.
He has lost the Ikoma............7th carrier lost to submarines in this cursed war. Reports fill his hand, at least 6 or 7 more are to his west, chasing him.
But they have reached the point he requires, with little air loss.
Lautern is in range now, easy range for his Kongos.
Which, he is certain now, the enemy expect.
The bulk of the enemy fleet has moved east, his carriers towards lautern
He knows, just knows in his bones what the enemy dispositions will be tomorrow.
The decision, really, is not so hard. Strike, with out the enemy being able to strike back.
"launch point as planned remains. Inform all ships. On execute, new course 160 degrees, battle speed one!"
Abe stares at the faint line of light marking the setting sun.
He has lost the Ikoma............7th carrier lost to submarines in this cursed war. Reports fill his hand, at least 6 or 7 more are to his west, chasing him.
But they have reached the point he requires, with little air loss.
Lautern is in range now, easy range for his Kongos.
Which, he is certain now, the enemy expect.
The bulk of the enemy fleet has moved east, his carriers towards lautern
He knows, just knows in his bones what the enemy dispositions will be tomorrow.
The decision, really, is not so hard. Strike, with out the enemy being able to strike back.
"launch point as planned remains. Inform all ships. On execute, new course 160 degrees, battle speed one!"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
takeji turns towards the figure entering his bridge.........and is momentarily confused, this is not his flight commander, where is Hidaka?.........and then the pain arrives.
He must swallow it, hide it for now. There will be, gods willing, time for mourning later.
CMDR Nikaido............a shadow, a quiet man. Unnoticed almost these months past, yet he has three kills....
he is senior, so he commands.
"Our orders are in, Jills naval strike, in reserve, fighters, CAP, as usual"
"very good sir, we will be ready by 0300, is the target as planned?"
"As planned"
The commander turns to go, hesitates. Turns back. "I cannot fill his shoes totally sir, but I will try"
Takeji cannot answer back, something fills his throat.
He must swallow it, hide it for now. There will be, gods willing, time for mourning later.
CMDR Nikaido............a shadow, a quiet man. Unnoticed almost these months past, yet he has three kills....
he is senior, so he commands.
"Our orders are in, Jills naval strike, in reserve, fighters, CAP, as usual"
"very good sir, we will be ready by 0300, is the target as planned?"
"As planned"
The commander turns to go, hesitates. Turns back. "I cannot fill his shoes totally sir, but I will try"
Takeji cannot answer back, something fills his throat.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Extract from "falling cherry blossoms" a japanes fighter pilots war.
His loss shook us to the core.
But it had been a day of shocks.
Even tied to escorting the bombers, the corsairs had proven to be a deadly, deadly beast indeed..
Now, on this day 15th of July, we were to take the fight to their very lair.
Few of us doubted it would be nothing else but be a bloody affair.. But there seemed to be little choice. Timor was gone, the allied menace was reaching the soft underbelly of our empire.
Something had to be done.
So we did, the only thing a japanese could.
We attacked.
His loss shook us to the core.
But it had been a day of shocks.
Even tied to escorting the bombers, the corsairs had proven to be a deadly, deadly beast indeed..
Now, on this day 15th of July, we were to take the fight to their very lair.
Few of us doubted it would be nothing else but be a bloody affair.. But there seemed to be little choice. Timor was gone, the allied menace was reaching the soft underbelly of our empire.
Something had to be done.
So we did, the only thing a japanese could.
We attacked.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Extract from "Shattering the Sword" a cantona production.
Abe pulls it off. The allied fleet, as expected, moves towards lautern. His battleships prowl its approaches. A great many of his fighters, bombers await for the chance to attack the japanese fleet, to finish the cripples the night should bring.
Instead, they will spend the day fighting the waves of attacking bombers and sweeping fighters
lautern will be bombed, bombed heavily, 3 LST sunk, a battleship torpedoed.
They will kill nearly 100 aircraft alone in the skies over Timor. But, they will find nothing to attack in return.
From 40 miles North of Derby, Abe strikes.
It is a long, long rnge strike, 150 fighters escorting 57 bomb carrying Jills to Darwin.
Significant CAP rises, most of it too late.
30 zeros fall, 26 Jills as well, but the strike goes in.
As strikes goes, it is not war winning, in sheer numbers, it is probably borderline in value.
In restoring honour, in sending a message, it is a strike incalcuable.
2 destroyers, a dozen AP/APA's are struck, and yet again, darwin harbour fills with the stench of burning, sinking ships, spilling fuel oil.
Combined fleet recover the strike, and turn due west, less a carrier, for sure, but confident, that this battle can be chalked up as a win.
At the end of this battle, as KB retires, Diogawa 7 kills, Ogawa 6, Uto 3, Zuiho 75 in total
A jill lost, and 1 zero (hidaka) lost.
AAR for cantona closed again mate!
Abe pulls it off. The allied fleet, as expected, moves towards lautern. His battleships prowl its approaches. A great many of his fighters, bombers await for the chance to attack the japanese fleet, to finish the cripples the night should bring.
Instead, they will spend the day fighting the waves of attacking bombers and sweeping fighters
lautern will be bombed, bombed heavily, 3 LST sunk, a battleship torpedoed.
They will kill nearly 100 aircraft alone in the skies over Timor. But, they will find nothing to attack in return.
From 40 miles North of Derby, Abe strikes.
It is a long, long rnge strike, 150 fighters escorting 57 bomb carrying Jills to Darwin.
Significant CAP rises, most of it too late.
30 zeros fall, 26 Jills as well, but the strike goes in.
As strikes goes, it is not war winning, in sheer numbers, it is probably borderline in value.
In restoring honour, in sending a message, it is a strike incalcuable.
2 destroyers, a dozen AP/APA's are struck, and yet again, darwin harbour fills with the stench of burning, sinking ships, spilling fuel oil.
Combined fleet recover the strike, and turn due west, less a carrier, for sure, but confident, that this battle can be chalked up as a win.
At the end of this battle, as KB retires, Diogawa 7 kills, Ogawa 6, Uto 3, Zuiho 75 in total
A jill lost, and 1 zero (hidaka) lost.
AAR for cantona closed again mate!
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
-
Smoky Stoker
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:34 pm
RE: The little ship that could.
ORIGINAL: 1275psi
The commander turns to go, hesitates. Turns back. "I cannot fill his shoes totally sir, but I will try"
Takeji cannot answer back, something fills his throat.
"Hei!"
An affirmation designed to be forced up by the diaphragm when the throat closes itself, when the mind is stunned and cannot calculate but knows some response is required.
"Leveling large cities has a tendency to alienate the affections of the inhabitants and does not create an atmosphere of international good will after the war." -Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery
RE: The little ship that could.
July 16th
Duty
The tanker men know duty
be at point X, be there at time Y, be there in submarine infested waters serving on floating bombs
Be there, and wait
They have waited, and now Combined fleet draws eagerly from their tanks.
These tankers are all but empty, more are coming down from the north, in two days, the fleet will be ready again.
Abe reads the reports, grimaces. The fog of war..............his pilots claim many sinkings.
But enough?
No
Not the way the allies churn out ships.(and who, may he ask, did not consider THAT fact , when he started this war ney?)
he will have to try again
but there are too many carriers with depleted airgroups to face the monster in the east................
Very well then. detach them to soerabaya, refill them, keep out here, away from the stalking buka's, , and in , what, a weeks time?..........try again.
How to stop the monster?
The un aswerable question.
Duty
The tanker men know duty
be at point X, be there at time Y, be there in submarine infested waters serving on floating bombs
Be there, and wait
They have waited, and now Combined fleet draws eagerly from their tanks.
These tankers are all but empty, more are coming down from the north, in two days, the fleet will be ready again.
Abe reads the reports, grimaces. The fog of war..............his pilots claim many sinkings.
But enough?
No
Not the way the allies churn out ships.(and who, may he ask, did not consider THAT fact , when he started this war ney?)
he will have to try again
but there are too many carriers with depleted airgroups to face the monster in the east................
Very well then. detach them to soerabaya, refill them, keep out here, away from the stalking buka's, , and in , what, a weeks time?..........try again.
How to stop the monster?
The un aswerable question.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Diogawa climbs wearily from his rack, wanders unsteadily to the washroom, (zuiho is bouncing about today in the steep Indian ocean swells), faces the stainless steel basin.
Gods, he hates it when Zuiho rolls like this..............
"keep steady, you pig" he growls
he turns the tap, it gurgles, farts, belches, but no water comes.
"TRUK!"........of course, water rations.
Again.
Ogowa joins him, frowns.........."No water yet?"
Diogawa replies with a healthy burst of bile language..........meaning "obviously not you slightly ignorant young man", but not exactly with the same polite tone one would expect from a Japanese officer and fighter pilot.
It is nearly 0600 hors, water , 15 minutes of it , is promised at 0600 exactly, they will have to wait if they want to shave today.
They wait, silently.
There is little to say. Much to think.
If hidaka can be killed..................
Anyone can be
Ogowa breaks the silence. "That training offer.what do you think?, do you..........."
"Think we should take it?"
The water bangs into life, and they begin the morning abalutions.
A good question, A good question indeed. I have seven kills now...........and I have nothing to prove. But can I leave this ship, my friends, now,?, now when they need me even more?
Gods, he hates it when Zuiho rolls like this..............
"keep steady, you pig" he growls
he turns the tap, it gurgles, farts, belches, but no water comes.
"TRUK!"........of course, water rations.
Again.
Ogowa joins him, frowns.........."No water yet?"
Diogawa replies with a healthy burst of bile language..........meaning "obviously not you slightly ignorant young man", but not exactly with the same polite tone one would expect from a Japanese officer and fighter pilot.
It is nearly 0600 hors, water , 15 minutes of it , is promised at 0600 exactly, they will have to wait if they want to shave today.
They wait, silently.
There is little to say. Much to think.
If hidaka can be killed..................
Anyone can be
Ogowa breaks the silence. "That training offer.what do you think?, do you..........."
"Think we should take it?"
The water bangs into life, and they begin the morning abalutions.
A good question, A good question indeed. I have seven kills now...........and I have nothing to prove. But can I leave this ship, my friends, now,?, now when they need me even more?
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
July 18th
Combined fleet kills a SS hunting them
She detaches depleted air groups, refuels again, marks time
The allies do not
Bombers over kendari, maccassar, a dozen places. Timor is developing, a cancer in full bloom.
Battleships pound Moulmien, and the allies have finally forced its flank. The Army there begins to retreat. To stand is to be destroyed in detail.
The collapse is coming, swiftly, brutally. Bangkok is a sea of flames, the superforts laying acres waste. Enemy bombers, fighter bombers roam at will, and nothing now opposes them.
There are 16 divisions in Burma, Thailand. Too many to feed. But to few to fight.
Combined fleet kills a SS hunting them
She detaches depleted air groups, refuels again, marks time
The allies do not
Bombers over kendari, maccassar, a dozen places. Timor is developing, a cancer in full bloom.
Battleships pound Moulmien, and the allies have finally forced its flank. The Army there begins to retreat. To stand is to be destroyed in detail.
The collapse is coming, swiftly, brutally. Bangkok is a sea of flames, the superforts laying acres waste. Enemy bombers, fighter bombers roam at will, and nothing now opposes them.
There are 16 divisions in Burma, Thailand. Too many to feed. But to few to fight.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
-
british exil
- Posts: 1686
- Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 6:26 pm
- Location: Lower Saxony Germany
RE: The little ship that could.
A terrible blow to the morale of the airwing. Hidaka will be missed, but will he be remembered? The war is taking it's toll and many have fallen or will fall.
Can we have Hidaka's profile, missions flown, kills?
Mat
Can we have Hidaka's profile, missions flown, kills?
Mat
"It is not enough to expect a man to pay for the best, you must also give him what he pays for." Alfred Dunhill
WitE,UV,AT,ATG,FoF,FPCRS
WitE,UV,AT,ATG,FoF,FPCRS