The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

55th division counts its losses, which have been few.
More importantly, it counts its remaining bullets and shells.
They too, regrettfully, are few

food stocks are ..............in adequate.

cagayan to the north has fallen. 35th army, marooned in the mountains of Minando, is surrounded.

But nothing , I think, is as dangerous as a wild beast, cornered.
And thirty fifth army still has claws enough.

[1275psi]

may 7th

For smokey stoker :oil in ten days time: 360,000 and fuel 1,900,000. Lots and lots still in manilla and Formosa, and the sea lanes to the oil centres might still be do able........I am of course going to try!



Even as Hirate and Okano struggle to re adjust to life at home ( and no, we are not going to intrude on their privacy , if we can help it), destroyer susuzuki settles onto the blocks in the dock yard
She is scheduled for 21 days refit, new weapons, new radar, communications gear. All equipment planned to improve her effectiveness in war.
(But there are many realistic heads aboard who know that all these new toys will improve their chances of survival in these dangerous times not an inch)
Below decks the usual work a mini refit entails, boiler cleans of course, turbine bearing overhauls, pump rebuilds, condensor cleans, that always ever growing delayed defect list........

A year ago, a mini refit...........in out, no truking about.
But things Susuzuki's captain and crew quickly find out this first day in dock yard hands have changed, and not for the better.
This first morning, fully 30% of the detailed workers do not appear.
And those that do are despondant, ill looking, almost starved.
And quickly the reports begin to flow in from all over the ship..............men stealing food, men stealing valuable metal........

Thats not the worst of it.
None, not a single item, of the new equipment promised arrives. Nor do any stores, any spares. Nothing seems organised, and nobody seems to know what is going on..........

Susuzuki's captain stares out across the dockyard (a dockyard seemingly almost shut up shop), and wonders, just what the hell is going on ashore, in japan, to bring things to such a state?

[1275psi]

May 8th

The defence of malaya collapses, shattered units stream south for Singapore.
The allies follow, almost at lesuire.

The allied task forces operating in the phillipine seaa retire , to replenish no doubt.
Little else occurs, the remnants of japans fleet vanish into the north, and hide.

[1275psi]

Ogowa and Diogowa roll their bicycles down the coast road around Hiroshima bay at a good gentle pace
They have done this a lot lately, it gives them exercise, it gives them rest, it disappates the tension.

It allows them to talk

Much of the conversation is actually one way, Okano venting, Diogowa nodding, occasionally commenting, mostly doing what really is needed.......listening.
The pressure on him is now great.
He has come a long way, has our no longer such young man, from an uncertain rookie, desperate to please a father, desperate to please himself, to now the Commander of three naval fighter groups...........Ogowa's eagles, the first shield of japan

The facts are stark. His 100 fighters are really the best that remain in the land.
Japans naval fighter strength seems to have simply melted away. There are units at takao, two squadrons in the Dutch east indies, and those that remain on the carriers
None match Ogowa's eagles in strength, in experience.

Now they rest outside Hiroshima, building stocks of reserves, saving fuel.
Mostly saving fuel

Thus the bike rides. A way to escape, to delay thinking about what they both now feel must come.


they round a bend, cycle down the beach road, move towards the side to give way to two men wheeling a handcart filled to the brim with slate roofing tiles, and Diogowa looks twice, and stops.

'Hey, you pair...........i know you"

the two men stop, stand erect, wary perhaps of the uniform

Ogowa, who has continued, wobbles to a halt, looks back "What is it Diogowa?'
'Zuiho men!..........I know you.........you, .Hirate?...........you did our laundry!"
Hirate smiles........"yes........and you flew .pilot officer Diogowa...............i am so glad to see you still alive sir'
Diogowa grins.....'A lucky barsted i am, yes."

An awkward silence...........we have all known moments like these. But japanese know Hospitality.
'it would give me great pleasure sir, to share tea with you, my home is just here"

And thus fate, it seems will intervene
There will be tea, and talk, and memories.
And Ogowa will be polite, and nod, as he keeps quiet, and Diogowa and Hirate remember Zuiho, remember Hidaka, Minobe, hasegawa, a special, special ship
They will laugh, and remember
But Ogowa will see, and notice the empty larder, the thin meal

he will turn to Miori.'and how do you support yourselves?'.and hear of interrmittant work in the factory, and of fishing, of bartering, and hear behind the smiles and words, the quiet desperation

It as they mount their bikes that he turns to the two sailors 'I like fish...........no matter how small. I will send my quarter master, and I think he will be willing to trade.............


Okano , in the days ahead, will forget the arrangements he makes upon return to the field, to the war. But his orders will stand, andbe fllowed. Every Monday, his quartermaster will arrive at Miori's front door, will deliver a good weeks victals, rice, a duck, vegetables.............and return with sometimes with nothing more than a sardine.

[pws1225]

Nicely told.

[1275psi]

May 9th

21 B29s come at kagoshima

The defences are ready........numbers are not quite sure, but at least a dozen go down

Three have been brought down by deliberate ramming..................the savagery of the defences is becoming almost primevil



The tankers so carefully shephered to Japan have unloaded .
Tomorrow, they sail south again

In a dozen bars, the sailors who steam these ships are gathered, and there is no slowing the flow of the drinking. Tomorrow, another journey , this time to almost certain doom.
So they drink, and live this one last wild night.

Some, those they disturb on the streets, those whos doorsteps they may vomit upon, others, who may, who will look at them with disdain, almost disgust.

I cannot
I see brave men, the bravest of the brave...........who can deny it, to sail across a battlefield, on a floating bomb, with barely a weapon to defend oneself.
So drink, my friends,and good luck.

You will need it.

[1275psi]

may 10th, May 11th, May 12th

How quick the days fly by.
The two men spend the days doing the 101 odd jobs the house demands, work on the boat, "aquire" a second net..........no, no crime involved, someone in the village needs an engine to go again, two pairs of hands can easily tackle that...........

But the days fly by too quickly, as all leave does, and now it is time to return to Susuzuki.
But there is not total loss, she must remain alongside a while yet, there promises to be a a few more chances to get home yet.
When you have sailed half way around the world, what is a an hours train, an hours bus trip in the scheme of things?

They arrive at Susuzuki's gangway just before midnight, are greeted quietly, glance around at the chaos of the quarterdeck, the cables, the welding gear, the boxes.
'Still in the lets rip her apart stage, I think"
Hirate merely nods........the ripping apart is the easy bit of course............he knows he will have a lots of difficult putting it together days ahead of him.

They enetr the ship, assaulted by the familiar smells, and make their way to the mess.

There are two drunken stupified shapes on the benches, the stink of oil fumes emitting from aan open tank top.
'Ah, home sweet home" murmers Okano........but no, Susuzuki can of course never be home................

[Smoky Stoker]

That dry dock is about the safest place in Nippon right now. The more delays, the better chance Hirate and Okano have of surviving the war. It would be humorous, except their families at home are living in a massive firetrap, and passing Allied warships sometimes machinegun small fishing boats out of boredom.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Smoky Stoker

That dry dock is about the safest place in Nippon right now. The more delays, the better chance Hirate and Okano have of surviving the war. It would be humorous, except their families at home are living in a massive firetrap, and passing Allied warships sometimes machinegun small fishing boats out of boredom.

I think the "out of boredom" assessment is unfair. The Allies were using every means possible to try convince the Japanese High Command to surrender.
That included cutting off food supplies, and fishing boats brought food to Japan's shores. Were it not for Japan's many atrocities, suicidal defence of hopeless situations by army troops, and the kamikazes, the Allies would not have been so vicious in their own attacks on non-military targets.

[Smoky Stoker]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I think the "out of boredom" assessment is unfair. The Allies were using every means possible to try convince the Japanese High Command to surrender.
That included cutting off food supplies, and fishing boats brought food to Japan's shores. Were it not for Japan's many atrocities, suicidal defence of hopeless situations by army troops, and the kamikazes, the Allies would not have been so vicious in their own attacks on non-military targets.

Whether it happens by orders or spontaneously, for amusement, will make no difference whatever to the fishermen in the boat.

edit - but orders will make such attacks much more frequent...

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Smoky Stoker

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

I think the "out of boredom" assessment is unfair. The Allies were using every means possible to try convince the Japanese High Command to surrender.
That included cutting off food supplies, and fishing boats brought food to Japan's shores. Were it not for Japan's many atrocities, suicidal defence of hopeless situations by army troops, and the kamikazes, the Allies would not have been so vicious in their own attacks on non-military targets.

Whether it happens by orders or spontaneously, for amusement, will make no difference whatever to the fishermen in the boat.

Agreed. Hopefully two attractive female fishers will get a pass from the US submarine fleet.

[1275psi]

Crikies.............never thought of that!.....although I have in the back of my mind all those U tube clips of allied planes straffing the hell out of anything that moved........

But lets let fate take whatever course it does, yes?............if the game announcces death to a character.................



Sorry no up dates lately...............writers block[X(]

13th May

35th army is surrounded.

daily transport planes from the central phillipines bring in a trickle of supplies, attempting the almost impossible, landing on a single pathetic strip carved out of a mountain side....it is not hard to find the strip, so many wrecks lay scattered on its approaches, sign posts of danger ahead to those who's skills are inadequate to its demands.....

the Allies occasionally bomb the Army trapped here, possibly to test its supply situation, possibly to give its airman work, possibly because of SNAFU, orders never cancelled..................

It does not matter
35th Army (and Hosho) are in these mist and rain covered hills........100000 men.
There are two trains of thought.

One..stay..........and remain forever a threat in the allies rear...........a threat that must inevitably weaken...........hanging on until wars end
or,
wait until the allies turn attention to elsewhere, and then strike for somewhere, Cagayan possibly, strike gloriously, sieze allied supplies, disrupt his plans.........or die gloriously trying.

Hosho has heard the arguments.
They mean little to him of course.
Orders, one way or another will be issued.
And obeyed, even until death..............

[1275psi]

14th of may

the allies come for Formosa

CVE taiho is there, escorting 6 big tankers, grabbing the oil stored here for a rainy day.
Its beyond raining now, its pouring...............

The First strike is small, just 5 corsairs, they encounter a dozen zeros., zeros we once knew, Zuiho's airgroup has been reformed, not the same pilots of course, but at least her name fights on.
They fight well, driving of the enemy
A second strike, 13 Corsairs, 10 Avengers, 13 helldivers, attacks taiho
her Cap, Formosa's CAP, intercept, and the brawl is long, hard, and finishes in a bitter draw.
Taiho dodges the three bombs that come her way..

The writing, however, is on the wall. The filling of the tankers is cancelled, and at full speed the convoy flees towards Shanghia.
A reception committee for what must come tomorrow is prepared.........

[1275psi]

15th of may

The allied carriers do strike at Formosa, 100 plus bombers and fighters
70 Tojos jacks and Tonies intercept, and its a crap fight, a savage engagement, no quarter asked, none given

The allies lose heavily, japan equally, the strike goes in, a destroyer, 2 escort ships are sunk.
A draw is a win for japan now.
We will take this day, especially as the allies retire, hopefully licking bleeding wounds.


Sinyang China falls
The enemy enter kuala lumpar malaya

The battles are creeping inexorably closer to home.

[1275psi]

Susuzuki is fighting her own battle
Hirate and Okano have both been given the forward boiler room, replacing the Leading seaman who has had this space for the last week or so. Its his turn to proceed on leave now, and he gives (not unaturally) every indication that it cannot come fast enough
Right now, he is handing the space over to the two, a space that Okano can only wonder where the bomb exploded...........if one had, it would surely have left less work and challenges
The three men are on the bottom plates between the two boilers, about them, ............about them.............truk it, absolute truking chaos...........
the leading seaman begins." Both boilers open and empty, 1A, three fire row tubes are out, furnaces both are stripped, waiting for the new brickwork, new refractory....
"And ?" Hirate asks
""No trucking idea..........."
"main feed pump........needs new casing wear ring, they sent me a set, wrong bloody type, kagero class I think.i have promised the shop a case of sake if they can machine a set.......but no go, a bag of rice apparently might do the trick."
"But?"
"No truking idea where I am going to get one from, cook has the galley locked up tighter than a bloody bank vault."
"Vap........million bits, we need a new relief valve
Hirate finishes the sentence "but no truking idea"
"Correct petty officer!"
The leader smiles, one has to see the humour in the situation, otherwise one would go mad.
the tour continues, everywhere , machinery in bits, opeed up, scattered in dirty oily piles on deck plates, the work bench.
And everywhere, the refrain about the awaited parts............."No truking idea"

they have not finished when okano cuts him off............"I have seen enough leader, truk of, and let the men take over ney"
The leader nods his head..........."I am sorry for the state of things, but............."

"Oh go and get yourself ashore.........."

Alone now, the two men contemplate the space, a space that in 12 days time is expected to go to sea again.
"What are you thinking Okano, where do we bloody start?"
"What am i thinking...............a crate of gold my brother, and that all bad things must pass. But before that, a bag of rice yes?"

[1275psi]

In a small patch of trees, a mile from the airbase, Ogowa, fighter pilot, killer, leader of men.......sinner, falls to his knees.

he has read enough.


Quietly, alone, unseen but by God , he gives himself to Christ.

[1275psi]

Ogowa has promised them that they will not be abandoned

Quietly, the long gone airgroup support men, the mechanics, the engineers, the essential ground crews of the various air commands and air flottillas have been moving North to Vigan in the phillipines, there to be shuttled by fast transports to Formosa.
Valuable shipping, 8 precious E class, and 4 even more precious APD's have been assigned to the task.
Six more ships work in the central phillipines area, running the gauntlet to manilla and the marooned troops.

Twice now they have had to abandon missions, fleeing west as the carriers raid the island chains, but equally, twice they have been succesful

But today, they are still loading at bautan, near Leyte, when they get caught.

Six ships sunk

Inevitable yes.
But more precious, 300 aviation support men drowned.
Ogowa's promise cannot be kept.
Ships to make the runs, now simply no longer exist.

[kaleun]

Bump

[1275psi]

may 18th

Hosho faces his Company

They are thin, not yet starved, but no man has a gram of fat to spare.
They have ammunition enough..............for one battle
It is all that will be needed, one way or another.

"men, we have but one choice. At Cagayan, food enough to feed us forever.
Therefore we must take it, or die trying."

he grips his gun, feels its familiar wieght. More a part of him than anything else in his life.
"35th Army marches tonight. We go to the attack"

[1275psi]

May 19th

Ships in refit are fithy places.
No matter how often the XO yells, screams, or threatens to "get this mess cleaned up!", it does not take long for gleaming pristine messdecks to become grimey cruddy orc holes.
The process is almost natural...........temporayt cable runs apear as if by magic, with dim dangling light bulbs, then tank tops are ripped out, and if the men are lucky, (for we have experienced it when they are not already on another ship) ventilation trunking and fans join the spaggetti circus.
Oil, dirt seems to spring forth from a thousand dirty bilge , tank visited boots, and then, of course, the welding torches spring into life

The dirt, the gloom of dim bulbs, the back breaking work tears at moral. It is a strong ship indeed that does not suffer a dip in spirit in these times.
Add a war that is being lost, the frustration of the supply system, the strain of the situation ashore (and how lucky our two stokers can consider themselves, their loved ones at least still eat their fill)...the mood is in one word.

Grim

Today a dozen sailors sit around in the after mess, it is the lunch hour, a small ball of rice, a little meat. The cards, as all messdack cards seem to be are greasy, stained.
The conversation turns, as it must, to happier times, and to thoughts of the future.
Hirate and Okano are not playing. They are lying near the table between hammocks, about to snatch thirty minutes sleep, an art any stoker can do (and continue to do for all of their life)
Around them the table talk is of the future, of jobs , careers, of homes and babies and wives. A future where somehow they all survive, and Japan is not destroyed.
Hirate is in that half way zone between awakening and dreaming when the conversation snaps him awake.
"Bah!" says an unseen voice " to do all that you need money, real money, more than we will ever earn doing this stuff"
"And where would you get the money from smart arse?"
"Gold"
"Gold..........herbiesans gold"
"Oh truk of, do you really believe that fairy tail?

A third voice enters the conversation, and Hirate strains to hear it, still, in the shadows of the mess
"What fairy tail is that?
The First voice speaks low, with that 'I know something you do not voice'...........one that may be full of bulldust, or may not be.........
"It is said that when our former leader herbiesan did his runner........."
"OH Bull..........the generals shot him didn't they?"
....."When he did a runner, he ran to the Russians, with a crate of gold, a billion yen they say, only he did not make it, nor did the gold, now imagine if one found that..........."
Hirate lies still.
Imagine that if one did...........

But how many others in japan know of that last mission of that miserable E class boat................?