The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

Long Pigs right leg is trembling

Another thirty minutes of this, and cramp is inevitable
Cramp, and the whole bloody thing is going to begin the cork screw that will lead to death.

Hang on, you old fart.hang on, almost there.............




The Franks, 30 strong, have flung themselves at the bombers, weaving and dancing about them, as if oblivious to the defensive fire from the 29's
Three of them have flamed, fallen away, but so have 2 of the bombers in rapid succession
The remaining bombers have wheeled away, bombs jettisoning

Long Pig is 5 feet behind the pilot hanging on against the G force as the bomber begins its bank, when the Frank stikes.
Not its guns

Itself
Maybe at the last moment the pilot flinched, maybe he just missed, maybe the upper turret gunner did get him.
Instead of a full head on impact, the last foot of the Franks Port wing, almost vertical, slices across the top of the cockpit..........

For Long pig......
There is a bang
there is an incredible bang
There is a hail of debris, a spray of blood, a hurricane of wind, of being flung backwards, of whirling nightmare impressions, of the pilot flying back, and up, and out..............


The wing has opened her like a can opener, a great blunt, can opener, .
Free of the pilots input she lurches back to starboard, climbs, sickeningly skids across the sky.


For a moment, just a moment, Long pig stares at the carnage, and then scrambling against the hurricane, makes for the co pilot.

'Christ Bigglesworth.............
Bigglesworth, still consious, face pepperd with punctures from glass, weakly raises one blood covered, shattered arm, .
'You bloody Jonah Long pig."...............he groans......".Umm, I seem to be a bit broken old boy, you mind if you take the wheel of theb bus..........."

That was two hours ago
He is down the port inner engine
No flaps, little aeliron
They tell him that he has "only half the bloody tail"
No Hydraulics.....................


The leg begins trembling again, as he holds what rudder he has hard to the stop.
A crazy thought flashes through him

"Truck em, I am going to claim that barsted as a kill"








(two messages that battle of pilots giving lives for the emperor).

[kaleun]

"Truck em, I am going to claim that barsted as a kill"

[:D]

[1275psi]

31/1/45

Days end
Combined fleet retire

destroyer Akizuki has been sunk by a submarine
CVl Shoho by Avengers

Yamato and Musashi have destroyed 20 aircraft on the ground at Morotai, damaged many more, emptied their magazines

The enemy have retired out of the way


Abe intends to gather his ships, return to Japan
Morotai is quiet, the last Japanese man has fallen.

There is fuel enough for maybe one last fleet operation.
Where, if you were Abe, would you launch it?

For at the moment, he does not have a clue.

[1275psi]

S-401st is reconstituted in Japan

Diogowa joins it at Hiroshima. Ogowa, the cunning barsted, has wangled 5 days leave

Other NK1 mk 2's are gathering here. Apparently, genda intends to gather them all here, into one super sized crack unit, 4 sentai strong. An interesting tactic.

Diogowa meets many of his fellow sentai men, he knows many of them, see's so many young faces now hard, now old.
Veteran faces

They laugh, joke, swap their stories

Just young men, horsing around



Killers all.

[1275psi]

Chiburi is anchored at Ominato.
The convoy has grown now
Still the two old DDs, but reinforced now to 4 E class, 4 SC patrol boats and a DMS as escort.
The three tankers have been joined by 5 large AKs.

Supplies, precious food, is still filling their holds.
(Food that will leave children to starve here in Northern Japan)

destination, Davao.

[1275psi]

Yamamato re reads the single sheet of papare.

Incredolous, he looks to his intelligence chief.
"Is this true?..........really true?"

The thinman smiles " Incredibly, yes, there is no doubt. herbiesan was killed by a humble sailor whilst fleeing to Russia.......we are almost certain he simply threw him over the side"

Yamamato shakes his head. " As you would say.Incredible. But why?'
"A bad day?" laughs the thin man...Then the smile vanishes " There is still the problem of the gold"

Yamato re reads the paper. "This Captain Ugaki.........."

"herbiesans man to the core, or was, we feel"
'He must know of it"
'Undoubtably"

"Mmmmm.....I must think on this............."

[1275psi]

Hi guys
re reading this, need to make an edit, as I have made a boo, boo
Tangled a few names.
It was Okano's father (not Ogowas's) that bought the boat, "may she prevent starvation"

Now it sails hiroshima bay, and Miori (Okano's wife) and Mioko (hirates' wife) depend very much upon its catch

Japan is, literally, out of supplies

her people starve


Its a tricky job, this story weaving at times............sorry

[kaleun]

Don't worry dude. That's why authors spend so much time re-writing.

[pws1225]

No worries, if you keep writing, we'll keep reading. Good stuff to its core.

[1275psi]

Japans fleet is slowly shrinking, a small cut here, another there

No less than 9 E class escorts are sunk today in the waters about morotai, ironically, its the battleship Missouri that reaps the most, leaving Historians forever to wonder what if she had been in these waters only days before.

It is not only in numbers that the fleet loses, in experience, and skill as well...........

CL Sakawa, Japans last major ship to be completed, was part of Shoho's escort. Retiring North, she and two destroyers answer the question, "where are the allied carriers?'

In poor visibility, in the deep of the night, she encounters CV Intrepid, Hancock and the CVL Montery.
They have only light escort, 5 DDs, 2 CA's, and incredibly, Sakawa gets within 3000 yards
She launches every fish she has.....................

And misses totally

Wheeling around in the belting rain, she reloads, and tries again...........and meets CV Essex, the Princetown.

And misses again

For Yamamato, there is little comfort that the allied air attacks upon her next day miss as well.

Such, however, are the dice rolls of war.

[1275psi]

Hong Kong falls

convoys are going to have to be re routed

The grip on the chickens neck, tightens yet again............

[1275psi]

Two men lie in clean sheets side by side, mobile hospital number 27, Dilli

Bigglesworth is proped up, face covered in bandages, arm in sling, mouth agape
he listens, incredously, to the conversation beside him

...........and therefore, for such couragous action, I will be recommending you for a gong Pilot Officer Graham......."

The general marches away

In the silence of the ward, Bigglesworth hisses.'You bloody lucky barsted Long pig!, a bung knee is all YOU get, and they give YOU the medal!........."


Long pig giggles, 'I told you mate, stick with me, fame and fortune and all that!"

[1275psi]

It is the 4th of febuary 1944

To the North of waigo, American carriers stand guard, while a huge number of transports obviously load troops for the next invasion
It is the breath before the next round. Japans carriers are mid pacific, Hiroshima bound. The enemy are gathering for the next attacks in North Malaya, (where fresh Japanese units now face them)
In China, everywhere, it seems, the Chinese armies are on the move, the dykes have broken.

Bombers operate daily over all these fronts, and bomb bases both isolated, and involved in the fronts. few Japanese planes are sighted, they too are gathering for the next battles

But the oil and fuel is still flowing.
Battle damaged ships are nearing completion of repairs
Numerous, numerous new air groups are being formed, ...........many destined to send doomed men on one way trips.

A new Frank fighter is being produced, all the George units now fly the upgraded version


The empire, as it can be seen, fights on.



Chiburi steams 120 miles due south of Tokyo, crawling along at 10 knots, the speed of the slowest rust bucket that Japan calls a sea going cargo ship.

High Command boasts, almost daily, that the empire fights on, that 100 million will be armed against the white devils.
Fine words


In truth, 100 million face starvation.

[1275psi]

Miori and Mioko stand nervously at the door of the neat house.
It is their nieghbours, a family they barely know, new in the area.

Rumour has it, he serves in the Kempati. The wife, seen but once since arrival.
There are children, young, not seen, but heard.

Miori knocks, a gentle knock, loud however in the morning air

It opens. The women who answers peers around the corner of the door carefully

Miori, Mioko both bow
"Please excuse us..........but we have heard children here, and we know that your husband is away............."
"Hie!?"
"We bring you a gift, a welcome to our street"
Carefully Mioko unwraps the fish, and presents it. It is a single fish, fresh, still almost glimmering.
It is also, a very large one.

Uzuwa is proving to be rather skilled at fishing.

For a moment, the woman will stare at the fish, at the two women at her door.

And then, silently, shed tears.

[Smoky Stoker]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

It is the 4th of febuary 1944.....

Wait! Wot??

[british exil]

ORIGINAL: Smoky Stoker

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

It is the 4th of febuary 1944.....

Wait! Wot??

Maybe the Japanese have invented a primitive time machine. Have gone back 1 year and will turn the outcome of many battles, knowing exactly where the Allied carriers are.

BANZI!!

Mat

[1275psi]

Ok, OK, 1945!!!

Ummm, posts will be sparse for a while, travelling

turns also fairly slow, and cantona is doing very little!


(half of me really wishes he was about to invade Japan, so many characters there set up for the next plot twists, and here we are, 45 and the war is miles away! LOL)

[1275psi]

4/2/45 (yes, 45!)

They cannot help themselves. Nearly 100 young men are crowded into the hall, ciggarette smoke thick in the air. The conversation level is loud, the laughter even louder, frequent.
Fighter pilots
Talking flying, of course.
A great many old aquaintances, friendships are being renewed, with all the attendant back slapping, hand shaking, joking that goes with comradship, forged in battle, renewed.
Diogowa has already met Lt Oda, fellow Zuiho refugee, and can see about the room several others.
"Where is Ogano?" shouts Oda, over the din
"the little sneak has wrangled a weeks leave, apparently, he is meant to be here today though"
'Oh.......there's an awful lot of talent in here isn't there?"

Diogowa looks about him again.
3 full Sentai of pilots..and so many, many Aces amongst them, so many veterans.......100 plus brand new NK2's ready to go outside. No wonder the atmosphere was so good.....
"yes, another unit at Clarke apparently.......almost makes one think we can........."
"
"ATTENTION!".............a voice barks, hidden in the far corner......."Commanding officer entering!"
Silence crashes, men come rigidly to attention.........a hundred faces stern, still, expectant

The Commander, a new half ring on his shoulder passes into the hall. A chair drags across the floor, he climbs it

A face, near the back, breaks into a deep, deep smile

LCDR Ogowa, newly promoted commander of not only the 402nd, but of all these men, all these planes, takes his new command in

Its a long, long way, from the day he joined Zuiho, joined thinking, fearing he was a coward.
That was 5 kills, 763 missions ago.
A different time, a different life
Now, all is pared away
Only Bushido remains.
He speaks, clearly, carefully. Confident.
In command
"S401, S402, 210 Sentai are declared operational. We depart for Okiwana in one hour. Those not prepared to fly, to fight, get to stay behind and clean up this crap fight..........any questions?"

There are none
When the days are dark, send your very, very, best.

[1275psi]

20 escorts
High speed
And still the SS manages to torpedoe the Taiho.........


For once, the damage is not critical, 15 days yard time (if she makes it) , maybe a little less, maybe a little more
Still bloody annoying!

[1275psi]

Cantona has gone back to his lover Miss Beta testing again....................no turns......................


sad,

how can he turn away from AE, especially when i am still winning [8|]