Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Heeward]

Sad to see the Wolfpack to fall into the Halsey trap, and not provide a adequate surface combat combat TF guard his invasion. Do you think it will halt the landing of additional allied troops?
 

[DW]

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

Sorry. Should have said "Mark 4."

Centimetric band anti-aircraft radar with design elements (in the upgraded Mark 12 version in wide use by 1943) that allowed accurate and fast tracking of low flying a.c. (such as torpedo bombers) that were by 1943 linked into most US ships fire control systems, allowing for the very very accurate placement of 5"L38 proximity fused shells even in very low-visibility conditions.

I understand now.

Thanks.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Heeward

Sad to see the Wolfpack to fall into the Halsey trap, and not provide a adequate surface combat combat TF guard his invasion. Do you think it will halt the landing of additional allied troops?

Probably not, what CF pulled is a 1 hit wonder. Unlikely his opponant will fall for it twice. It was a brilliant strategic and tactical move no doubt, but not one that can be easily repeated. Highly likely Wolfpack would not fall for the 'bait' the second time and leave his carriers with his transports.

[Heeward]

This type of engagement plan seems fairly common in the late war AAR's I have been reading recently - the IJN air arm becomes ineffective, the CV's are used as bait and then the IJN surface forces engage a allied invasion force.

[Cuttlefish]

November 9, 1944

Location: 60 miles southeast of Tori Shima
Course: North-northeast
Attached to: TF 35
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 248

Orders: Engage enemy forces at Iwo Jima

---

Morning finds Japanese ships strung out over a wide swath of ocean leading from Iwo Jima back towards Tokyo. Many of the ships are damaged and limping along at the best speed they can manage. That vengeful Allied forces are even now seeking them they have no doubt.

Captain Ishii is back on the bridge before dawn, having gotten only a couple of hours of sleep. Lieutenant Miharu is there, staring out to the east where the sky is already growing light. Ishii checks the ship’s position and merely grunts.

The rest of the task force is somewhere out ahead. Admiral Tashiro transferred his flag to Musashi sometime during the night and, leaving two damaged and two healthy destroyers to shepherd the limping battleship, has taken the rest of the task force on ahead. Ishii imagines that they should be nearly to Tokyo by now.

It was a logical decision. Yamato is in no danger of sinking but the torpedo damage suffered in the battle meant the big battleship could no longer make good speed.

They continue towards Tokyo while anxiously watching the skies. It does not take long for enemy scout planes to find them. Carrier planes, coming from the south. Where these carriers were yesterday and why they did not interfere in the battle no one has any idea, but they are here now. It will not be long before the first air strikes find them.

“Do you think we have a chance, sir?” Lieutenant Miharu asks him in a low voice. He seems calm.

Ishii shakes his head. “Almost none at all,” he says. “But we can’t complain, Exec. We did the job.” Lieutenant Miharu smiles.

“Yes sir, we did,” he says.

---

It is some hours later. A destroyer moves slowly through water slick with oil and studded with debris. Every now and then the destroyer slows and sailors haul a pathetic, oil-smeared survivor out of the water.

The ship is Hibiki. A mile off another destroyer, this one trailing smoke, is engaged in similar work. They are the only vessels visible.

Hibiki’s decks are covered with men plucked from the water. Her decks are slick with oil and blood and a good portion of her crew is following medic Nakagawa’s direction in trying to care for the refugees. Every now and then someone looks up at the sky but there is really no point. Even if the enemy comes back the anti-aircraft ammunition is all but gone.

Vanished are Yamato and two of the other destroyers. It was hard to watch the pride of the fleet go under, some of her guns still firing. Lieutenant Sugiyura wept openly and he was not the only one. Now all they can do is pick up as many men as they can and go home.

“We haven’t even been scratched,” mutters Lieutenant Kuwaki in a low voice. “How did we survive?” He almost looks as if he wished they hadn’t. It is understandable; for the Japanese it is sometimes easier to die than to survive.

“Fate, maybe,” says Captain Ishii. “Or it could be that damned snake, for all I know. But we aren’t done with this war yet.” It occurs to Lieutenant Miharu that the captain looks tired, tired and older than he did even a few weeks ago.

“Take us home, Exec,” Ishii tells him. “I will be in my cabin.” He slowly leaves the bridge. Lieutenant Miharu continues the search for survivors for a while longer and then turns the ship towards Tokyo.

[vettim89]

Okay, now even I am beginning to beleive in the snake! BTW, Cuttlefish, you did not mention any interference in the raid by USN CVE's - what happened?

[cantona2]

I do hope CF will give us the details

[Capt. Harlock]

Sad to see the Wolfpack to fall into the Halsey trap, and not provide a adequate surface combat combat TF guard his invasion.

I personally prefer to use Baltimore and Cleveland class cruisers as CV escorts, freeing the battlewagons for SC duties. (The CV's can move faster that way, too, unless you use Iowa-class only.) But in Wolffpack's defense, losing CV's to a SCTF is a much bigger blow than losing transports. There's no such thing as complete safety in warfare, and I can't condemn him for guarding his highest-value assets with Massachusetts and others.

[Capt. Harlock]

Vanished are Yamato and two of the other destroyers. It was hard to watch the pride of the fleet go under, some of her guns still firing. Lieutenant Sugiyura wept openly and he was not the only one. Now all they can do is pick up as many men as they can and go home.

“We haven’t even been scratched,” mutters Lieutenant Kuwaki in a low voice. “How did we survive?”

And for a second time, Hibiki emerges as the only undamaged ship of a group. I wonder if she'll come to be seen as a curse to the rest of the IJN?

[Alikchi2]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock


And for a second time, Hibiki emerges as the only undamaged ship of a group. I wonder if she'll come to be seen as a curse to the rest of the IJN?

Hibiki is the new Shigure!

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: vettim89

Okay, now even I am beginning to beleive in the snake! BTW, Cuttlefish, you did not mention any interference in the raid by USN CVE's - what happened?

I didn't elaborate on why the Taffys didn't participate in the battle because I honestly don't know what happened. Wolffpack not only had CVEs south of Iwo, he also had at least a couple of CVs down there. Were they out of position? Did bad weather prevent them from launching? I guess it's fitting that we don't know, since our protagonists don't know either.

I seem to have misplaced the screenie from Nov. 9, but almost all categories of ammo are at 0 or in the red. There are 24 depth charges left aboard, and maybe half the 5" ammo is left. That's about it. The air attack was worth another point of experience, by the way, boosting crew day/night experience to 86/69.

[bradfordkay]

CF, did the game choose Hibiki as part of the escort TF, or did you decide to roll the die on that one?

I'm sure it's the snake, myself.

[goodboyladdie]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

CF, did the game choose Hibiki as part of the escort TF, or did you decide to roll the die on that one?

I'm sure it's the snake, myself.

Good question Brad! If the game had chosen it would have left CF with a difficult decision on whether or not to intervene...

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Alikchi

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock


And for a second time, Hibiki emerges as the only undamaged ship of a group. I wonder if she'll come to be seen as a curse to the rest of the IJN?

Hibiki is the new Shigure!

Was reading up on Shigure. While I consider her the luckiest ship of the war, there are some who view her as unlucky. Those that take that view note how many times her cohorts were slaughtered while she survived unscathed. Interesting that her final demise was to a US submarine in the South China Sea

[Feinder]

I would have to say that the reputation of Hibiki amoung the transport captains is probably fairly good (never lost a ship on Hibiki's watch!).  Among other combat vessels however, I might not want to be in the same TF with her!
 
-F-

[CarnageINC]

[X(] WOW [X(], just read the whole thing....SUPER MEGA JOB, this is by far the best AAR ever!  Great take on it, very well written Cuttlefish. [:D]

GO Hibiki..GO!

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

CF, did the game choose Hibiki as part of the escort TF, or did you decide to roll the die on that one?

I'm sure it's the snake, myself.

The game made the decision and I let it stand. To be honest, though, I expected them to get out of enemy air range. But what the listed TF move said and what actually happened were, as is often the case, two different things...

[Cuttlefish]

November 10, 1944

Location: Tokyo
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

As the general public celebrates yet another great Japanese naval victory Hibiki ties up to a naval pier in Yokohama and begins the task of cleaning up from the last battle and preparing for the next one. Most of the men Hibiki plucked from the water walk off the ship under their own power but stretcher bearers take a number of them away. They also remove the bodies of two who, despite Nakagawa’s best efforts, did not survive the trip back.

Fuel and ammunition are replenished. Guns and machines stressed by the battle are worked on and the deck force falls to cleaning and carrying out minor repairs. The men work hard and there is not a lot of conversation. There will be, later, but not yet. Right now the men are still pondering having once more survived when so many did not.

Ise, the ship of the hour, is present in Tokyo Bay, having not only sunk an enemy battleship and heavy cruiser but having also survived an air attack on the voyage home. Of Hyuga there is no sign. Other ships from the various task forces limp into the bay in ones and twos throughout the morning but by noon all the ships that are going to return have made it in.

The men hear the broadcasts about the great victory at Iwo Jima but only shake their heads when they hear that the enemy has been routed. They know the enemy has received a setback, certainly, but they have slowly come to understand that routing a foe with as much power as the Allies possess is simply a fantasy. The best they can do is make the ship ready for battle again and hope to keep somehow stemming the enemy tide.

[Cuttlefish]

November 11, 1944

Location: Tokyo
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

“Look at all this!” Oizuma exclaims. “What am I supposed to do with it all?” The area around Benzaiten’s nice new crate is piled with offerings from the crew, everything from neatly bundled balls of rice to coins and other small valuables.

“There is a fund for the relief of sailor’s families,” says Shiro from his hammock. “They have an office not too far from here. We could pack it up and take it there.”

“That’s a good idea,” says Oizuma. “Times are hard and even this much would help. I am sure Benzaiten would approve. Wouldn’t you?” he asks the snake.

Benzaiten, coiled neatly inside, simply regards him with her lidless eyes and says nothing. Oizuma takes this to mean “yes” and goes to find a box in which to carry everything.

[Cuttlefish]

November 12, 1944

Location: Tokyo
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Riku is on the pier checking off crates of ammunition against a manifest when Shiro comes down to bring him a bowl of rice. Riku thanks him and takes a moment to eat. As he does so the two friends talk a little about nothing in particular. Before long they are interrupted by the sound of angry yelling.

The two men look around to see that three school girls, perhaps eleven or twelve years old, have ventured down the dock. The one in front is clutching a bunch of flowers. They are currently being harangued by an angry sentry, who is pointing back up the dock.

Riku sets down the bowl and hops off his crate. He and Shiro stroll over. The girls look terrified and near tears.

“Hey, what’s all this?” Riku asks.

“This dock is off limits to civilians!” snaps the sentry.

“Well, that’s true,” says Riku. He turns to the girls. “It is dangerous on these docks, you know,” he says gently. “What brings you down here?”

“Please, sir,” says the one with the flowers, who seems to be the leader of the little expedition, “are you from that ship there?” She points to Hibiki.

“We both are, yes,” says Riku. Shiro nods.

“These are for you,” says the girl, proffering the flowers. “For the brave sailors who helped keep us safe.” She holds them out and Riku takes them. They are slightly battered but still pretty.

“Thank you,” Riku tells her gravely. The three girls bow and then back up, eyeing the sentry, before turning and scampering away back up the pier.

Riku stands looking down at the flowers in his hands, looking a little dumbfounded.

“Let me take those,” says Shiro. He gathers them up. Though a few of the crew look at him a little oddly as he carries the makeshift bouquet back aboard he carries them proudly. Once aboard he finds a bowl for them and they decorate a table in the forward crew’s mess that night at dinner. At first they draw some mocking comments but once the story gets around everyone agrees that they are a very nice touch.