The little ship that could.
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Smoky Stoker
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RE: The little ship that could.
"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.
21st of April, 1945
Leyete Gulf
20000 feet
Where the air is thin, and death swift, and often, too often, terrible
Ogowa strains his eyes, seeking, seeking the bombers that MUST, MUST be ahead
He is climbing still, climbing hard, straining his fighter, straining his formation, beginning to straggle behind, as they climb, and climb, the earth falling away, further, further below, the horizon stretching ever further every moment, hazy, indistinct now.
Diogowa is on his right shoulder, as always. Ogowa barely has to fling a look, Diogowa is there at his wing, has been forever, will always be there, forever...........he see them.........
Only a dozen..........B-29's, 5 miles away, 6000, 7000 feet higher yet, steadily carving the sky northwards, vapour trails inter,ittent now, the beasts are climbing still........
And above them
The sharks...........20 twin tailed devils at least
Barsteds
Almost automatically he does his checks, trim, oxygen, safties off.........
Adjusts his mask, and coldly plans murder at 22000 feet.
Ogowas eagles are 68 strong
The bombers slide past, under his left wing now, imperious beast, beasts though that must be filled with nervous men
The eagles turn, and follow 2000 yards astern, gathering, one eye on the bombers, one on the fighters twitchy above them.
Ogowa grins. He just has to be patient
His stragglers are gathering with him, one wing now breaking to the left flank, the other hunting right
The 38's cannot wait, the odds are growing too quickly.
They peel up,, twist down, dive at them
The dance begins again
A 38 is coming down at his right shoulder, turning in at him, ogowa banks towards him, ruder, stick, throttle, mind, machine as one, the 38 slides aft and below, the tracer harmless..............Ogowas bank continues into a roll, the thirty eight "above him" imprinted on the world, now curving into view, left to right, the buka terribly aware of his danger, banking hard, , breaking away
Ogowa does not fire, the Buka is negated , is he not?
Left stick, left rudder, s bending into the tail end charlie bomber, throttle full boost, the world roaring, vibrating, the gleaming giant growing, growing.
Guns crash, the tracers reach.........an engine blooms into fire, pale faces flashing past, tracer chasing, the george rolling, twisting, Ogowas head twisting as well, seeking the next...........
The bombers stream on..........it will take more than one strike to bring these barsteds down
Diogowa is with him still, they turn together, turn, and turn, and the 38 is there swinging with them, 300 yards ahead.
On the very edge of falling out of the sky, the three fighters turn, wings almost vertical, top rudder, top rudder, a touch of flap, a touch of flap, aaaaahhh............we gain, we gain.........we aim, aim for the very heart od the barsted..........
And he explodes as some other george cuts into the circle, and steals the kill.......................
TRUK!
Ogowas eagles land at Naga, picking a path through the still smoking string of craters stitched across the field.
They have lost 2 planes, but no pilots
8 B-29's have been killed, 10 of the twin tail devils will never fly again.
Naga remains open
The CAP over the convoys piercing Leyte gulf remains in place.
Leyete Gulf
20000 feet
Where the air is thin, and death swift, and often, too often, terrible
Ogowa strains his eyes, seeking, seeking the bombers that MUST, MUST be ahead
He is climbing still, climbing hard, straining his fighter, straining his formation, beginning to straggle behind, as they climb, and climb, the earth falling away, further, further below, the horizon stretching ever further every moment, hazy, indistinct now.
Diogowa is on his right shoulder, as always. Ogowa barely has to fling a look, Diogowa is there at his wing, has been forever, will always be there, forever...........he see them.........
Only a dozen..........B-29's, 5 miles away, 6000, 7000 feet higher yet, steadily carving the sky northwards, vapour trails inter,ittent now, the beasts are climbing still........
And above them
The sharks...........20 twin tailed devils at least
Barsteds
Almost automatically he does his checks, trim, oxygen, safties off.........
Adjusts his mask, and coldly plans murder at 22000 feet.
Ogowas eagles are 68 strong
The bombers slide past, under his left wing now, imperious beast, beasts though that must be filled with nervous men
The eagles turn, and follow 2000 yards astern, gathering, one eye on the bombers, one on the fighters twitchy above them.
Ogowa grins. He just has to be patient
His stragglers are gathering with him, one wing now breaking to the left flank, the other hunting right
The 38's cannot wait, the odds are growing too quickly.
They peel up,, twist down, dive at them
The dance begins again
A 38 is coming down at his right shoulder, turning in at him, ogowa banks towards him, ruder, stick, throttle, mind, machine as one, the 38 slides aft and below, the tracer harmless..............Ogowas bank continues into a roll, the thirty eight "above him" imprinted on the world, now curving into view, left to right, the buka terribly aware of his danger, banking hard, , breaking away
Ogowa does not fire, the Buka is negated , is he not?
Left stick, left rudder, s bending into the tail end charlie bomber, throttle full boost, the world roaring, vibrating, the gleaming giant growing, growing.
Guns crash, the tracers reach.........an engine blooms into fire, pale faces flashing past, tracer chasing, the george rolling, twisting, Ogowas head twisting as well, seeking the next...........
The bombers stream on..........it will take more than one strike to bring these barsteds down
Diogowa is with him still, they turn together, turn, and turn, and the 38 is there swinging with them, 300 yards ahead.
On the very edge of falling out of the sky, the three fighters turn, wings almost vertical, top rudder, top rudder, a touch of flap, a touch of flap, aaaaahhh............we gain, we gain.........we aim, aim for the very heart od the barsted..........
And he explodes as some other george cuts into the circle, and steals the kill.......................
TRUK!
Ogowas eagles land at Naga, picking a path through the still smoking string of craters stitched across the field.
They have lost 2 planes, but no pilots
8 B-29's have been killed, 10 of the twin tail devils will never fly again.
Naga remains open
The CAP over the convoys piercing Leyte gulf remains in place.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
22nd April
Some things are almost in explainable
But when men recount these things, myths are born.
And many myths aim to spear fear to your very heart.
Destroyers Monoghan, Stockham, Case, Ried, Satterlee, Robinson, Alden, Aylwin, patrolling the seas of Cotabato.
The weather is grey, the seas lumpy, the destroyers rising, falling, rolling, the white caps rolling down their flanks.
A rain squall, thick, grey, races across the sea towards them, a rainbow dances across the sky
There is no pot of gold at its base
Just 9 small shapes erupting from the rain, a bare 100 feet above the white horses below
Did the sun blind searching eyes?
Or sheer exhaustion?
9 slow Nates
There is, incredibly, no flack. And on the Nates behalf.....................no missing
All 8 destroyers are struck by these human guided missiles.struck, and struck hard
Stockham and Ried will both sink
The other 6 will burn.............
And thus a myth will be born
A terrible, horrifying myth
The kamikazes cannot be stopped........................
Some things are almost in explainable
But when men recount these things, myths are born.
And many myths aim to spear fear to your very heart.
Destroyers Monoghan, Stockham, Case, Ried, Satterlee, Robinson, Alden, Aylwin, patrolling the seas of Cotabato.
The weather is grey, the seas lumpy, the destroyers rising, falling, rolling, the white caps rolling down their flanks.
A rain squall, thick, grey, races across the sea towards them, a rainbow dances across the sky
There is no pot of gold at its base
Just 9 small shapes erupting from the rain, a bare 100 feet above the white horses below
Did the sun blind searching eyes?
Or sheer exhaustion?
9 slow Nates
There is, incredibly, no flack. And on the Nates behalf.....................no missing
All 8 destroyers are struck by these human guided missiles.struck, and struck hard
Stockham and Ried will both sink
The other 6 will burn.............
And thus a myth will be born
A terrible, horrifying myth
The kamikazes cannot be stopped........................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Ogawa is sitll flying George, correct? Great job with your CAP defense ...
And kami's used correctly, like above ... yeah, really deadly.
And kami's used correctly, like above ... yeah, really deadly.
Pax
RE: The little ship that could.
23rd
Hirate can tell almost to the moment when Susuzuki clears the straights, and enters yet again the wide waters of the Pacific.
The movements begin gently at first, but rise rapidly, Susuzuki pitches, rolls, and shudders, as her bow buries deeply into the green
The pacific very rarely is.
This is a facet of life over the years we have not mentioned enough, the never ending movement of the sea, of the rise, the fall, the roll of these ships of war.
Hirate and Okano do not get sea sick. They are the lucky ones. Many do. For some, no matter the years spent at sea, the miles steamed, this marks the beginning of yet another stint of misery.
The swells this night are two metres, the white caps frequent.
Susuzuki will roll, will fall away from under the men, will whip them side to side, will raise them, drop them again
She will creak, groan, rattle, and ever present sea will hiss, and bang down her sides
And the movements will go on, and on................
Within the hour, the first buckets will be getting filled.
When the torpedo hits the tanker, the clang banging like a bell upon her hull, i guess that there would be a few, quite a few, who wished that the fish had got them, to stop this misery....................
Hirate can tell almost to the moment when Susuzuki clears the straights, and enters yet again the wide waters of the Pacific.
The movements begin gently at first, but rise rapidly, Susuzuki pitches, rolls, and shudders, as her bow buries deeply into the green
The pacific very rarely is.
This is a facet of life over the years we have not mentioned enough, the never ending movement of the sea, of the rise, the fall, the roll of these ships of war.
Hirate and Okano do not get sea sick. They are the lucky ones. Many do. For some, no matter the years spent at sea, the miles steamed, this marks the beginning of yet another stint of misery.
The swells this night are two metres, the white caps frequent.
Susuzuki will roll, will fall away from under the men, will whip them side to side, will raise them, drop them again
She will creak, groan, rattle, and ever present sea will hiss, and bang down her sides
And the movements will go on, and on................
Within the hour, the first buckets will be getting filled.
When the torpedo hits the tanker, the clang banging like a bell upon her hull, i guess that there would be a few, quite a few, who wished that the fish had got them, to stop this misery....................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Hi Pax Mondo
yes, its the second version of the beast.
yes, its the second version of the beast.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
General Sugiyama rubs his hand wearily over his scalp.
Command of the military council has not been as he expected.
Nothing bloody has
Now he faces them again, the men he calls the "but for" men.
I command an army of millions, an air force of thousands, even a Navy of some worth still.
But all I hear is , "sir, this we could do..............but"
There are men
yes, there are men a plenty
But there is little in the way of fuel, in supplies, in any bloody thing!
I never knew it was this bad.......................
We are abandoning central China. The attack on canton falters. Not through lack of wil, of men.
Or from defeat in battle
But from lack of rice, of bullets, of petrol.
Humiliating!
I wish to abandon Minando, to save 100000 men.
But I know what I am going to hear
"But sir, we cannot................there is no fuel for adventures like that..............."
"Damnation!"
(japans situation)
Supply 1,700,000
Fuel, 1, 650,000
HI, 526,000
Oil, 298,000
production has basically collapsed..........and at this stage I cannot recover it, I am letting it sort of bumble along now.
Hirate and Okano's convoy represent easily 50% of the merchant shipping, 85% of the tankers I have left.
Cantona' SS have gotten so many of the others...............
Command of the military council has not been as he expected.
Nothing bloody has
Now he faces them again, the men he calls the "but for" men.
I command an army of millions, an air force of thousands, even a Navy of some worth still.
But all I hear is , "sir, this we could do..............but"
There are men
yes, there are men a plenty
But there is little in the way of fuel, in supplies, in any bloody thing!
I never knew it was this bad.......................
We are abandoning central China. The attack on canton falters. Not through lack of wil, of men.
Or from defeat in battle
But from lack of rice, of bullets, of petrol.
Humiliating!
I wish to abandon Minando, to save 100000 men.
But I know what I am going to hear
"But sir, we cannot................there is no fuel for adventures like that..............."
"Damnation!"
(japans situation)
Supply 1,700,000
Fuel, 1, 650,000
HI, 526,000
Oil, 298,000
production has basically collapsed..........and at this stage I cannot recover it, I am letting it sort of bumble along now.
Hirate and Okano's convoy represent easily 50% of the merchant shipping, 85% of the tankers I have left.
Cantona' SS have gotten so many of the others...............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
ORIGINAL: 1275psi
(japans situation)
Supply 1,700,000
Fuel, 1, 650,000
HI, 526,000
Oil, 298,000
production has basically collapsed..........and at this stage I cannot recover it, I am letting it sort of bumble along now.
Hirate and Okano's convoy represent easily 50% of the merchant shipping, 85% of the tankers I have left.
Cantona' SS have gotten so many of the others...............
April 45, almost May.
RE: The little ship that could.
[&:] Does something special happen in May?ORIGINAL: Lowpe
ORIGINAL: 1275psi
(japans situation)
Supply 1,700,000
Fuel, 1, 650,000
HI, 526,000
Oil, 298,000
production has basically collapsed..........and at this stage I cannot recover it, I am letting it sort of bumble along now.
Hirate and Okano's convoy represent easily 50% of the merchant shipping, 85% of the tankers I have left.
Cantona' SS have gotten so many of the others...............
April 45, almost May.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
RE: The little ship that could.
ORIGINAL: BBfanboy
[&:] Does something special happen in May?
Just counting down supplies...and HI.
RE: The little ship that could.
Yeah, so little with still 1 year to go .... ouch .... everything goes so fast ...ORIGINAL: 1275psi
(japans situation)
Supply 1,700,000
Fuel, 1, 650,000
HI, 526,000
Oil, 298,000
production has basically collapsed..........and at this stage I cannot recover it, I am letting it sort of bumble along now.
essentially you need to stop all sailing right now and convert all the fuel/oil into HI and supply. If you did, then 2.5M HI would get you through to the end and ~3M supply would be enough as well or close enough to put up a good fight ... but you would have to absolutely not use any more fuel on the navy ....
Pax
RE: The little ship that could.
24th of April
Ogowa's eagles retire yet again to Clarke, but the word is "not to get settled, you will be returning to japan shortly"
Diogowa thinks this is a good idea "We will get a decent meal in Japan ney?"
He should know better of course...................
Susuzuki continues to pound on, the convoy battering its way north east, at an agonising 10 knots. Anxiety literraly grips the men of the convoy, three times today the fighters have been zeroed in onto lurking PBY's . The weather however, grey, windy, scudding low clouds and showers has allowed the big birds to escape.
Other news is recieved, a smaller convoy heading the opposite direction, supplies for Minando, has been obliterated by dive bombers near Legaspi.
They have, it seems, escaped by a hair........for now.
Ogowa's eagles retire yet again to Clarke, but the word is "not to get settled, you will be returning to japan shortly"
Diogowa thinks this is a good idea "We will get a decent meal in Japan ney?"
He should know better of course...................
Susuzuki continues to pound on, the convoy battering its way north east, at an agonising 10 knots. Anxiety literraly grips the men of the convoy, three times today the fighters have been zeroed in onto lurking PBY's . The weather however, grey, windy, scudding low clouds and showers has allowed the big birds to escape.
Other news is recieved, a smaller convoy heading the opposite direction, supplies for Minando, has been obliterated by dive bombers near Legaspi.
They have, it seems, escaped by a hair........for now.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Japans Emperor sits almost rock like at the end of the long table, his mind semingly miles away.
Around the long table, his Ministers sit, gold braid resplendant.
The atmosphere is , well there is no escaping it, is glum
The arguments have gone on, it seems to him, on, and on, circling the problems, looking for the exit..........and no exit exsists.
Disengaged from the arguments he turns his headm, views the world through Yamato's porthole.
Outside, the spring sun is setting into tokyo bay, large, red.........Japans sun
setting
An apt analogy yes?
They want to finish the war..........as if you can just declare a war finished. As if the other side will say, OH, OK, its finished. But its not, is it?. How many times now have I offered terms, offered to end the bloodshed?
And you, you implacable enemies.............why would you say yes now?
You are winning, you have your hands about our throat, and you are squeezing, squeezing.
Your revenge, I think, will be terrible...........
"Your opinion sir?"
Startled, the Emperor rejoins the table.
"On?"
"This ship sir, the task force.............what will we do?"
Do?...........you need to ask me that?
"There is no fuel, yes?"
"Barely sir.............but we have confidence in the last tanker convoy getting home, it holds nearly half a million tons"
He sighs.
Prepare for death?..........no, you cannot say that.............not yet, not yet.
Whatever you choose.............
"A glorious way Admiral............a glorious way"
Around the long table, his Ministers sit, gold braid resplendant.
The atmosphere is , well there is no escaping it, is glum
The arguments have gone on, it seems to him, on, and on, circling the problems, looking for the exit..........and no exit exsists.
Disengaged from the arguments he turns his headm, views the world through Yamato's porthole.
Outside, the spring sun is setting into tokyo bay, large, red.........Japans sun
setting
An apt analogy yes?
They want to finish the war..........as if you can just declare a war finished. As if the other side will say, OH, OK, its finished. But its not, is it?. How many times now have I offered terms, offered to end the bloodshed?
And you, you implacable enemies.............why would you say yes now?
You are winning, you have your hands about our throat, and you are squeezing, squeezing.
Your revenge, I think, will be terrible...........
"Your opinion sir?"
Startled, the Emperor rejoins the table.
"On?"
"This ship sir, the task force.............what will we do?"
Do?...........you need to ask me that?
"There is no fuel, yes?"
"Barely sir.............but we have confidence in the last tanker convoy getting home, it holds nearly half a million tons"
He sighs.
Prepare for death?..........no, you cannot say that.............not yet, not yet.
Whatever you choose.............
"A glorious way Admiral............a glorious way"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
25th
0350 hrs
assumed the watch, FWD boiler room, 1A boiler,1A1, 1A2 FDBs port feed pump, port de areator, port fuel pump, condensate on make up feed and back drag....1B boiler banked.
0420, commenced pumping bilges
0503, swung vap to potable water
0510, commenced surface blow, raised water level to plus 2
0520, request permission for surface blow, granted
0534, blow completed
0625, bottom party swing to starboard fuel suction, commenced dosing boiler
0630, light off 1 B boiler, cross connect Aux steam, roll 1B2 FDB
0700, Action stations, drains openend, 1B connected, 1B1 FDB started
0712, full power ordered.......
Hirate puts the pencil down, grimly. One hand rests on the blower throttle, the other on the fuel, and both are almost to the stops.
Susuzuki is at full power, and manouvering wildly, wildly through what are still obviously heavy seas.
About him the machinery literally sways, dust falls everywhere, , CRASH!< thuMMMP!, slam!, the seas howl against her thin sides, knocking, demanding, to be let in, to be let in!
The voice pipe barks, Okano......."Everything you have got friend.they are getting anxious upstairs"
Hirate sways, gestures with one hand (to let go with the other would send him flying across the space)-"IN the last burners!"
The burnermen struggle with the fuel burners, monkeys on a machinery face........
Susuzuki heals to starboard, hard, the helm indicator shows full to port, and the telegraph rings, "full flank"
And now the guns are barking above, their crashes joining the bedlam of noise...........
Inside the crashing, vibrating steel tomb, Hirate can but hang on, and cringe................
0350 hrs
assumed the watch, FWD boiler room, 1A boiler,1A1, 1A2 FDBs port feed pump, port de areator, port fuel pump, condensate on make up feed and back drag....1B boiler banked.
0420, commenced pumping bilges
0503, swung vap to potable water
0510, commenced surface blow, raised water level to plus 2
0520, request permission for surface blow, granted
0534, blow completed
0625, bottom party swing to starboard fuel suction, commenced dosing boiler
0630, light off 1 B boiler, cross connect Aux steam, roll 1B2 FDB
0700, Action stations, drains openend, 1B connected, 1B1 FDB started
0712, full power ordered.......
Hirate puts the pencil down, grimly. One hand rests on the blower throttle, the other on the fuel, and both are almost to the stops.
Susuzuki is at full power, and manouvering wildly, wildly through what are still obviously heavy seas.
About him the machinery literally sways, dust falls everywhere, , CRASH!< thuMMMP!, slam!, the seas howl against her thin sides, knocking, demanding, to be let in, to be let in!
The voice pipe barks, Okano......."Everything you have got friend.they are getting anxious upstairs"
Hirate sways, gestures with one hand (to let go with the other would send him flying across the space)-"IN the last burners!"
The burnermen struggle with the fuel burners, monkeys on a machinery face........
Susuzuki heals to starboard, hard, the helm indicator shows full to port, and the telegraph rings, "full flank"
And now the guns are barking above, their crashes joining the bedlam of noise...........
Inside the crashing, vibrating steel tomb, Hirate can but hang on, and cringe................
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
Pearl harbour
Long pig takes one last look around the cabin that has almost imprisoned him for these last long weeks.
Has he everything?.....not that he has had much in the way of possessions to begin with.............
Its been a long journey, but tonight, a few beers...God, how good that sounds, then a flight to the states........almost bloody well home if you consider how far he's come so far.
The door of the cabin opens
Its Bigglesworth,,,,,,and instantly Longpig knows that one should never really make plans in war.......
"You will neever believe what I have old chum"
"Tickets to piccadilly?"
"You wish.............orders old chum.........from you never would guess"
Long pig stares at his friend almost stupidly...........
"Winston himself........."
"Wiston?"
"The V for victory cigar chomping man himself"
"Orders for just two flying officers.................what the hell does that mean/............and what orders are they?"
'Keep your hair on buddy...........something about reporting to some "highly special project.......manhattan or something......buggard if I know what that means"............
Long pig takes one last look around the cabin that has almost imprisoned him for these last long weeks.
Has he everything?.....not that he has had much in the way of possessions to begin with.............
Its been a long journey, but tonight, a few beers...God, how good that sounds, then a flight to the states........almost bloody well home if you consider how far he's come so far.
The door of the cabin opens
Its Bigglesworth,,,,,,and instantly Longpig knows that one should never really make plans in war.......
"You will neever believe what I have old chum"
"Tickets to piccadilly?"
"You wish.............orders old chum.........from you never would guess"
Long pig stares at his friend almost stupidly...........
"Winston himself........."
"Wiston?"
"The V for victory cigar chomping man himself"
"Orders for just two flying officers.................what the hell does that mean/............and what orders are they?"
'Keep your hair on buddy...........something about reporting to some "highly special project.......manhattan or something......buggard if I know what that means"............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
The big PBYs come in hard, fast and low across the convoy, half a dozen zeros weaving behind them, fire spitting both ways.
All three race 1000 yards across Susuzuki's bow, her guns firing fast, fast but in accutarely, the flack bursting far too far behind them.
A zero falls, a ball of fire, a burst of spray, metal cartwheeling......
Onre of the bombers loses a wing, does its own cartwheel...............
They bomb one of the tankers, and miss
The attack fades over the horizon.
But the richest prize currently in the pacific has been well and truly marked...........and the hunt is on.
All three race 1000 yards across Susuzuki's bow, her guns firing fast, fast but in accutarely, the flack bursting far too far behind them.
A zero falls, a ball of fire, a burst of spray, metal cartwheeling......
Onre of the bombers loses a wing, does its own cartwheel...............
They bomb one of the tankers, and miss
The attack fades over the horizon.
But the richest prize currently in the pacific has been well and truly marked...........and the hunt is on.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
26 and 27th of April
These are the long days.
All sailors know them, you have really commenced the journey home, yet it is so far away. But no matter how busy the day gets, how hard the work is, Hirate's mind keeps turning towards home.
He misses his wife
He worries about her. He wonders about their unborn child
Will they get a chance to see their loved ones when they arrive?. Will there be leave?. Who will get it?. Who will have to remain onboard to tend Susuzuki, to be part of the duty watch?
There are boiler cleans due, there is maintenance building up.
There is, always present, the war
So the days go slowly, wondering.
The sea remains rough, and the weather basically foul.............which may have saved them. Twice the convoy is snooped again by the pBYs, but no further attacks develop.
Slowly, ponderously, the convoy crawls home.
These are the long days.
All sailors know them, you have really commenced the journey home, yet it is so far away. But no matter how busy the day gets, how hard the work is, Hirate's mind keeps turning towards home.
He misses his wife
He worries about her. He wonders about their unborn child
Will they get a chance to see their loved ones when they arrive?. Will there be leave?. Who will get it?. Who will have to remain onboard to tend Susuzuki, to be part of the duty watch?
There are boiler cleans due, there is maintenance building up.
There is, always present, the war
So the days go slowly, wondering.
The sea remains rough, and the weather basically foul.............which may have saved them. Twice the convoy is snooped again by the pBYs, but no further attacks develop.
Slowly, ponderously, the convoy crawls home.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
manilla is bombed, an AK sunk alongside. Ogowa is at clarke, but his Eagles are resting, overhauling, preparing to re deploy home again.
These are not easy days.
120 fighters spread across the fields, and dotted about them, the men of the maintenance teams. The ground crews.
Men who are more than aware of how it is. The pilots will return to Japan, but what of them?
Are they to be abandoned too?
Ogowa can do little, except remind them of how important they are.............and that he will bend heaven to get them back to resume supporting him'
"After all, who would leave such diamonds in the mud, ney?"
but the words feel hollow, even to himself. Evacuation will need the navy, there are no transport planes left, or what is left shuttles supplies to Minando, and weakens daily, expended against marauding fighters and flak
They watch the smoke rise above manilla. A small raid, for now.
Its time to be going.
These are not easy days.
120 fighters spread across the fields, and dotted about them, the men of the maintenance teams. The ground crews.
Men who are more than aware of how it is. The pilots will return to Japan, but what of them?
Are they to be abandoned too?
Ogowa can do little, except remind them of how important they are.............and that he will bend heaven to get them back to resume supporting him'
"After all, who would leave such diamonds in the mud, ney?"
but the words feel hollow, even to himself. Evacuation will need the navy, there are no transport planes left, or what is left shuttles supplies to Minando, and weakens daily, expended against marauding fighters and flak
They watch the smoke rise above manilla. A small raid, for now.
Its time to be going.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
28th April
Again the alarms ring
Again men stumble and bounce down the passageways, up the ladders, grimly hanging on against Susuzuki's viscious rolling and pitching.
deep in the heart of the ship, a terrible scream.
fingers have not moved quick enough, smashed in a swinging watertight door.
The alarms ring, the forced draft blowers howl, the white waters crash over her bow. Ahead of her, Hayashimo sprouts flags, signal lamps flash, "submarine contact...........am attacking"
Yukikaze flies up Susuzuki's flank, spray flying
"Ship at action stations!, standby for depth charge attack!'
Hirate grins at Okano, about them the damage control station rattles, bangs, the equipment playing its own dicordant concert..."This is the life hey!?"
Okano barely manages a scowl
Suzuki heels hard, waves crashing over her flanks, Hayashimo's charges leave a great boiling flat patch, and her two sisters charge across the patch, sonars searching, searching............
A finding utterly nothing.
An hour later tired men fall out from action stations, the destroyers resume their positions, and the slow, slow plodding continues......
And the seas worsen.
Again the alarms ring
Again men stumble and bounce down the passageways, up the ladders, grimly hanging on against Susuzuki's viscious rolling and pitching.
deep in the heart of the ship, a terrible scream.
fingers have not moved quick enough, smashed in a swinging watertight door.
The alarms ring, the forced draft blowers howl, the white waters crash over her bow. Ahead of her, Hayashimo sprouts flags, signal lamps flash, "submarine contact...........am attacking"
Yukikaze flies up Susuzuki's flank, spray flying
"Ship at action stations!, standby for depth charge attack!'
Hirate grins at Okano, about them the damage control station rattles, bangs, the equipment playing its own dicordant concert..."This is the life hey!?"
Okano barely manages a scowl
Suzuki heels hard, waves crashing over her flanks, Hayashimo's charges leave a great boiling flat patch, and her two sisters charge across the patch, sonars searching, searching............
A finding utterly nothing.
An hour later tired men fall out from action stations, the destroyers resume their positions, and the slow, slow plodding continues......
And the seas worsen.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
RE: The little ship that could.
800 miles south west of the convoy, Japanese search planes patrol over Legaspi gulf
Today, many do not return.
In the gulf, spread across 40 square miles, a leviathan has emerged.
The allied carriers have returned.
How many?....................japan does not know. To approach, is to die..............
Today, many do not return.
In the gulf, spread across 40 square miles, a leviathan has emerged.
The allied carriers have returned.
How many?....................japan does not know. To approach, is to die..............
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt