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Yep, me too. Because of the time difference between 1275psi and myself, I generally get to enjoy the latest entries over morning coffee. It's a good way to start the day.

Thanks, 1275!

Sorry guys, been away with parents, in the sticks where Australia's NBN internet will never reach!
Comments like water in the Sahara, precious indeed!


20 Feb 1942

Uto walks the length of the flight deck, the sun warm on his back.
It is a common sight this, when conditions are good, men striding up and down the timbers. Exerecise, of any sort is essential to mind, body, and spirit. Not an original saying of course, but none the less, no less important. On a ship, any ship, walking can set the mind free.

Uto is a handsome fellow, which considering his status in life as the great dictators Son, is probably a good thing. It smooths the way with the media at least.
But behind those good looks, there is something else, something he has succeeded very well in hiding. A very sharp and incisive mind.
And it is a mind that churns over today.

two months now on Zuiho?
However long, long enough.

Not a man, not one, here on Zuiho fights or follows his Father.
Not one.
Nor do many fight for Japan. If any
Families are some vague concept, the reason given when asked, why do we fight.

No. he see's it now. See's it in the dances about the eagles, the precision of the gun drills. The way everyone moves with each other

Zuiho fights for each brother onboard.
he stops, and it strikes like a hammer, the emotion welling up.
Zuiho fights for each other, will die for each other.

Nothing. No power, no rank, no status, no position in life, can replace the priveledge of being a brother with these men.

21/ feb


"marcus, and the tankers tomorrow sir"
Kato grins. "And battleships too. Lots of them. I wonder if the Allies suspect what is gathering here?"
"Impossible. "
"We will see. We will see"

22/2/43

It has come a long way this fish.
From its factory on the East Coast of America, then by rail to Los Angeles.
Then by truck, and crane, and sweat and toil into its berth in the stinking bow compartment of the Submarine.

There it has sat, for many months, tenderly adjusted and checked by its attendants, while its crew have lived and sweated about it.
It , and its companions, have been lord of this compartment, far more important than the men who attend it.

Then, some months ago, it has seen the sun again, and different men have worked deep in its guts, and changed many things.
many lethal things.

Now, just on Dawn, this great fish, culmination of thousands of hours of work, slides silently into its tube.
Four companions follow it.

Its journey is a long one, but those hours pay off, she runs hot and true.
Its companions miss

9 months ago, this fish was born
It finds its purpose in death, in fire and flood






Hard against Shokaku's flank.

doh, another CV hit by sub. Cantona's silent service is attriting your carriers, something his own carriers have so far failed to do. First surface action and now subs. How and where is Kaga now?

“How in the hell did they know!”
Katos voice bristles with cold fury, and his eyes blaze.
“How, Just how did they know!”
There is no answer, and little that they can do.
A mile away, Shokaku blazes, a column of fire reaching high into the sky, touching the heavens
One torpedo. Just one. And yet 35000 tons of ship is in great distress……………Kaga, , one torpedo. Now this. One bloody fish again. What do we make our ships of, paper!?
Angrily he turns away, seeking something, anything to ease the great pain in his heart.
Submarines. Gods, how he hates submarines……………..
“Double the look outs!”. A weeks leave to the man who sights that BUKA!”

Others do, and others attack.
But they cannot confirm a kill.




It is later, Hidaka and Kato stare still at Shokoku. The smoke is reduced now, but the list is still terrible
The Captains voice is bitter, bitter indeed. “We are returning to Japan. I do not know what the plan is now. “
He waves at the sea about them. “Apparently we are in another area crawling with those bakas. Get every bird aloft, every one. Keep them aloft, as long as they can , night and day if we have too.
We cannot afford another day like this!”
Hidaka , tears brimming, salutes “Hie!”


55th division reach the end of the line
Two days they take, unpacking, sorting, forming up.
Then they do as men have done since men first picked up a club
They march to battle



The sea is a “right tricky barsted!” as any cockney fisherman would tell you.
Insidious is the word I would use. Insidious, insistent, persistent .
Kaga, battling on, approaching Takao, encounters a thunderstorm.
She is in no shape for this business……………….flooding rises horribly to 66 per cent.
The sea has no mercy either…………….

Two men face each other, dust about their feet.
Around them, other, lesser men, wait for the outcome.
WO Fuchida , face a mask of anger and rage, stands his ground. “I am senior pilot of this unit. I say I will fly. This plane is serviceable!. I will fly it!”
The Lieutenant, is equally determined to stand his ground. “You have flown five days straight. Your bird is crippled. You are exhausted. No, Warrant Officer, I will fly this eagle today!”
“And I have three kills, and you have none!” And with that, Fuchida cuts the Gordian knot. In one swift movement he brushes his superior officer aside, swings himself into the cockpit.
The ground men burst into life under his lashing commands.
In mere moments, he, and WO Hamisaga, the remaining two Tojo’s of 47th Sentai, are rushing down the field, dust hanging in the air behind them.
They climb. Fuchida stiff still with anger.
Too many times he has seen his men turn away, too many times the Liberators have gotten away unstruck.
His squadron lies crippled in its nest. They must show the Americans they can still strike!
They must
15000 feet, and they wheel towards the south of Munda, familiar shapes of the islands and channels below. Typical spread of clouds, same beautiful blue sea below.
And yes, here they come. That growing twinkling, flashing Aluminium , coming their
way.
Slightly lower. Six strong again. Arrogant sons of bitches………..
Savage kick of the rudder, angry, jerking swing of the stick, heeling in, engine to full boost!, wings vertical………head on attack!
They close with that familiar floating, floating, suddenly terrifying rapidity, glimpses of cockpit, swinging guns, his guns hammer, tracer, hits!, HITS!, heeling over, diving away, and under, ……….pull up, pull up, and over, and over, looping, looping, head back, back, bomber floating inverted into view: diving, diving, , firing, firing, sun at his back, hard in the baka’s eyes: and hits!, and hits!.
Diving through, twisting, twisting like an eel, tracer searching for him, stick, rudder, flaps , all with out thought, suck hard on the mask, suck, grunt as the Gees build, build, swinging in again, again, side of the beast now, sights to rake the trukers side, …..determined to strike, to follow the tracer in, into the barsted side, and make sure she goes down, both of them, honour fulfilled…..
Guns barking, barking, bomber looming….and Jammed, abrupt hissing.and the swift unbelieving glance at the guns is enough,
Flashing under the bomber –face white in the gun port, rocking in the turbulence And he screams with rage. He has failed again………………
And they bomb again
And 47th has but one fighter left. Fuchida lands, angrier than ever, with 17 holes in his bird.



Herbiesan slowly dismounts from his car, ignoring the men assembled on parade waiting for him
They will wait. They always will. They have no choice but too…………..
Herbiesans eyes are transfixed on the monster in the dry dock. Yamato, he knows, is huge. To see her sister in dry dock, to see all of her…………
Overwhelming.
But also a terrible problem
Her newly appointed Captain, his Officers, various flunkies, and dock yard managers wait for him
“You may dismiss you parade Captain, I have seen too many of late. And we things to discuss”
“Your sea trials, a success, or?”
The Captain hesitates. (ah, so, another naval man who struggles with the truth. Let us see, what will he reveal, and what, more importantly, he won’t)
“A success sir”
“And this ‘short’ docking?”
“We have had some, yes. But we will be ready in 30 days as promised”
(so, a mis aligned, vibrating shaft is a small problem. That and main guns that missed by 2000 yards at 20000?. Small problems indeed captain, small indeed)
‘captain, I need this bloody white elephant in the fleet in fifteen. I have two crippled carriers to repair, I have four more I need completed this year, sooner if the Gods could intervene. This monster is sucking up everything I have.
Herbiesan raises his voice so that all (especially the managers) can hear
“Fifteen days. No more. Not one bloody more!”

He turns, re enters his car. Turns to his staff flunky. “I want that captain removed. Send him to anything that floats, but nothing over 500 tons!”


Herbiesans mood is barely improved by dinner.
A convoy shattered at Port blair.
More bloody evidence of traitors within.
It is a very unfortunate women taken to his bed that night…………
But nobody will dare disturb the dictator, no matter how loud the screams.

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Extract from a letter found in the archives............


here is a joke dearest wife.......... The Captain and the MMEO were debating about who was more important to the ship, and decided they'd swap places to find out. After a couple of hours the Captain emerged from the spaces completely covered in oil and soot and confronted the MEO on the bridge
"MEO" he yelled, wildly waving a monkey wrench "You'll have to go below, I can't make Zuiho go!"
"Of course you can't," replied the MEO " the ship ran aground 2 hours ago"

Good one!

Once again, thank you for this AAR.

patched to beta .....amazing!, but what does it all mean!!!!!!!!!!!LOL


25/2/43

It is Zuihos pilots who are tired now.
They are three days from japan, and even with the route picked, the SS sightings begin to again multiply.

But nothing attacks them , today.

Discreetly, Kato passes some very, very welcome news to Tan.
"if we make it, we are going to 48hrs Notice for sea, coming out of Commission on 1/4/43, refit confirmed for that date.
Plan accordingly"

It is very, very welcome news.





Hosho adjusts his pack, and takes one last look at the clear sky above them
Ahead, endless hills rising to the North, green with malevolance.
Through that hell, they will hack a path, and surprise the British again.
That is the plan anyway.

With a deep breath, Hosho plunges into the gloom of the jungle, taking his place in the endless line of men snaking into the darkness.
The Allies beleive that Japan no longer contemplates the offensive
15th Army intends to shatter that illusion.

Doesn't Zuiho get a small Island with the upgrade? VERY exciting!

The war returns to 55th division with savage suddeness.
few, if any, notice the small flash of wing many, many thousands of feet above them, not that the thick jungle canopy would allow many of this snaking ants trail to actually see the sky.

And an hour later, few can see the formation of heavy bombers 20000 feet above, they are there, a distant, insignificant drone, the usual background noise of the front.

And if any pause in the slow crawl up the trail, it is but for a moment. There is no connection at all between that growl in the sky, and this dark, gloomy humid hell down here.

Not, that is, until the bombs come whistling down.

Hosho will wonder, as he buries his face in the mud, seeking the earth, for but a moment, how in the hell they could have been seen, but this though wipes away instantly as the crump, crump , crump, shatters the jungle somewhere up ahead.

The silence immediately after, is deafening.
55th division has rejoined the war. The graons of the wounded, the mangled dead they pass this later evening, stab hard at each mans illusion of immortality.





From:
Burma Command
to
15th Army

Recon of IMPHAL, reveals large troop movements
radio intel places 16 units
Plan attack accordingly




Zuiho slides alongside Kobe

"Stop engines"
"Finish with main engines"

Kato lets a pause pass. Not even he can be unaware how many Stokers, how many men are hanging off what he will say next

It is one of those secret pleasures of command

"revert to 48hrs Notice for sea"


48 hrs notice for sea

Zuiho has been withdrawn from the war
They cannot be killed
And the work can begin

kato looks about this cavern of a bridge. next time, next time, they will be up there, in the sun, in the wind. Where they can finally bloody see things!

Shokaku docks. Estimates are 90 days for repairs
Ninety days
Much, in war, can happen in ninety days

The Liberators came at 47th again today

This time, Fuchida fails to even intercept, his engine heavily down on power, he falls away, gliding back to the field in a cursing incentive stream of ugliness.

But today he can relax.

Three liberators are taken down today, for no loss.
This, this they can take.

27 Feb 43

Fuchida rises well before dawn, attends to has abulutions in the crude grass huts that serve 47th sentai as a base.
Around him, Munda field is slowly coming to life in the pre dawn.
Already in the revements,the beating growl of engines, 6 betties will soon depart on patrol.

Todays training flight of Vals, of Kates, will depart just after sunrise , clearing the area.
The liberators have yet to detire them.
Glinting , the tattered Aluminium showing through scratched, peeling , worn paint, 11 Tojos are lined up on the edge of the field.
In twenty to thirty minutes time, they will be aloft, waiting for todays inevitable raid.

Plenty of time for tea, for breakfast.
Plenty of time.


The first shells arrive soundlessly.
One moment peace, birds calling, the base at work.
the next, the savage crump of naval shells, many, a great many shells, plowing into the field, marching towards them in a line of mountinous bursts of mud and dust.

There is bare seconds to fling himself into the slit trench, mere moments to wonder at the cheek , to curse the showers of mud and debrie falling about them.

The destroyer bombardment, beautifully delivered from a mere 2000 yards, is quick, but stunningly effective.

47th, by a miracle, will fly just one bird down today. The 36 strong Betty unit is totally shattered.

Fuchida will emrge, ears ringing.
There will be no breakfast today.

28 feb

Zuiho has gone cold
Connected to shore services, including steam, she lies alongside, her boilers secured, her turbines still.
For the stokers, this is the strangest of days. Officially, the refit has not yet begun, nor has any permision been given to commence work.
The day will be spent cleaning, tidying up, and watching the clock crawl to 1700 secure, and leave, and beer.

For the heads of departments, for the chiefs, for Tan, for Kato, this is a huge day.
Pre refit planning meeting

Tan opens it.
"gentlemen, our refit package. Due to commence 4/43. Includes fitting of a new bridge, additional 25 mm guns, extra ammo storage, modernisation of several communication circuits, additional bunk space, an extra emergency fire pump, plus" here he points to the imposing stack of paers before each man " a list of exactly 723 defects, modifications, line additions and overhauls that we have one month from commencement to complete"

Silence greets him. And why not. This package is nothing extrodinary, or unique. In fact, several of the chiefs are wondering if t is not a little light on...........

"Officially, we must remain ready for sea at 72 hours notice until the first of the 4th, when we enter dock.
Plenty of work we can do with that. Gentlemen, lets begin. Items 1 to 57. Comments buffer?"
'I will need cranes, and port side too, from the 15th to the 18th"
"Good. Gunnery Officer?"

I have done these type of meetings. And I wonder at those who say "we spent all day in meetings today"
Navies do it different.
They can do it different, because here the Engineer proposes, and disposes as he see's fit
This meeting is a long one.
It takes two hours.

Tomorrow, the work can begin

1/March

Kaga, in port, slips to 76 flood.

if she sinks tomorrow, a certain Ports Master will be invited to slit his belly.

Betties sink a DD at Merauke.

The war is quiet.

I have done these type of meetings. And I wonder at those who say "we spent all day in meetings today"
Navies do it different.

I do often wish that my company had a clear chain of command. We'd get a lot more done.

2 feb

early morning, and now a new routine will begin for the Stokers on Zuiho.
It is a hard routine, but one they can tolerate, for it brings certainty, and little danger.
Each morning, at 0700 hrs they will muster on the Forcastle of Zuiho, amongst the mooring gear and great straining ropes and cables.
here in the shadow of the flight deck, they will be given a daily brief, then break into their areas or departments.
The work will then begin.
Tan views his men. they are a scruffy lot, especiallyby Japanese standards. a rebuke comes to his mind, but then the careful words of the Charge enter..........'dirty work tomorrow sir, very dirty."
The men obviously expect it......

A particular face suddenly grabs his attention.
A bright scarred face, and sullen as the seas are deep
Hirate. Ahhhhhhhhh, yes. a problem we must solve, and quickly.

"that is all men. PO Hirate, PO Okano, remain behind"
The men dismiss. Warily his two petty officers wait for him
" Petty Officer Okano, have you applied for leave yet?'
"No sir. I live but 500 yards from this wharf, it would be a waste . My wife is in a factory all day, 3 of the children are in volunteer units, two at university. it would be a waste"
"But you go home every evening?"
'The wife would kill me if I did not sir"
'Makes getting a beer difficult no?'
A very big grin. 'it is at that sir"

tan turns to Hirate. Eyes , sad. Such sorrow.
Women. Damn them. Can't they accept our Mistress, our other lovers, our sea, our ship, our Zuiho?

"and you Hirate, I see you have refused to take leave. You have earn't it"
'I have no where to go.............sir"

Tan turns to Okano 'Petty Officer Okano. here is an order you will never hear again. take Petty Officer Hirate home to your place today, tonight. And Petty Officer Okano, do not let me down. get him drunk. get him very, very drunk. Wash that women away"
'Do you hear that PO Hirate. Get her out of your system. tonight. For good. I need your mind on Zuiho."

The two men stare at him, dumbfounded
"Well move, thats an order!"

It is probably the best one he will ever give.

3 MARCH (not feb!)

Two very sorry characters stand on Zuiho's Focastle
Tan cannot help but grin to himself. His orders, it seems, have been well carried out.
"Well Okano?"
"Mission..........mission accomplished sir"
"Good. Now find a quiet corner for today. Tomorrow Hirate, I have a special job for you"

Hirate can merely nod. But even that hurts.
But a certain hurt, one deeper inside, has been excised. She does not care. But his friends, his companions, his shipmates do.
And today, that is enough.






4 March

Light cruisers Isuzu,Nagara, and destroyer Tokitsukaze, are deep in tiger country.
Deep. very deep. Calcutta is a mere 160 miles to the north east.
These cruisers are from another war, another time. But today, it is not the ships, it is the men who command them that matter.
Aggressive men. Men without fear, men detirmined to shake the Bay of Bengal up, to bring the fight to Britains very back yard.
It is just after midnight when the intercept takes place, 6 unescorted cargo ships, dark on the horizon.
There is no battle, just a slaughter.
One ship escapes..............until I-XX puts her down

Dawn, and they should flee. They do not. Instead they charge on, and claim another convoy, five more merchant men before breakfast.
The Submarines swarming to support this raid take out another two.

Only then, guns empty, do they flee.
Boldness is rewarded. The air response is poor, and misses.

Yamamoto reads the reports with satisfaction.
He has no idea if this operation has affected the enemies plans in the slightest. Probably not.
But a few more like it....................

Awesome reading.

Thankyou kaleun, I think people either like this AAR, or its horrible, one or the other. I wonder how Cantona's is going, can't wait to read his view of things one day.........

For Fuchida and his men, there are no more arguments about honour, or prestige, or who flies, or any of that crap now.
Now there is fatalism, hollowness, and exhaustion.
Day after day, they have risen against the bombers. Sometimes twice a day, some times only once.
It doesn’t matter what they do. They just keep coming.
47th sentai has not lost a plane yet, but none have escaped damage..
Every day, they rise before the sun, climb into machines more patched than quilts, and face death.
They land, wolf food, and rise again, to face death.

Once Fuchida wondered what those men in the bombers thought, for surely they were being subjected to the same meat grinder too. But no longer.
The enemy, it seems, has more than enough bombers to rotate them before their moral collapses.
For this is what has happened to 47th. They rise, but they skirt the enemy now ‘looking for openings”
But when they land …………..”all attacks were pressed home’
‘We have no honour’ he thinks, as they circle to land again. We fly out of sight, and we pretend to fight……………..
But does it matter?
They always damn well get through anyway………………….

The field, as always, is pocked with craters. . And the same exhausted men who filled in yesterdays, last weeks, last months craters, desultorily tackle todays lot.
But, something today has changed. Zeros, clean and new, are dotted around the field.
Even as he kills the engine, he see’s the smart naval officer advance.
‘Fuchida?’
“Hie!”
“your unit is relieved. You are to return to Rabual. We are proud of your efforts, enjoy your rest”
Proud of you
Proud of you
Bitter words to chew on.


Zuiho’s work begins

And his is not even the official refit.
Refits are beasts. They begin neatly caged in tight neat work packages, and well defined pens of timelines, budgets and schedules.
And then you begin to feed the dragon.
There are many preliminaries, and today the first ones begin for the engineers, the dreaded tank cleans. Barges nestle alongside, and Zuiho de fuels, de waters, de feeds.
Oil tanks are drained.
(there will be no accidents this time, no tragedies- The Charge , a vehicle of wrath hammers the expected routines home to those involved).
By dusk, the first tanks will be opened, and ventilating.
Also, many of her hidden double bottom casing covers will be off…………and the first meal of the dragon is eaten.
“And how close was the last near misses?” wonders Tan aloud, voice echoing in the tomb like space
‘Too bloody close” The Charges voice is muffled in the dark, his torch beam spinning wildly about. ‘What do you think Chippee?”
‘To quote a certain charge, its truked!”
Tan bangs his head ‘OW! , truking l ongnitudals , God, if my mother could see me now. Yes Chief, I think you are right, this is truked.. More truking work…………….”

The three men are in the very bottom of the ship, almost at her keel. The space here, 2 feet, 6 inches wide. Where it is uniform…………..
But here, here it is not. Zuiho has had many near misses , and several hits. Only now is some of the damage revealed, longnitudals bent and cracked, plating warped and bent.
It is a wonder that the hull remains tight.
Tan surveys the damage, and wonders at what else they will find once they get inside her tanks. Obviously, from THIS, a whole lot more……………..
Day one, and already the work package variations will begin.
Day one, and the dragon is already growing……………….



Elsewhere, boilers are drained, and opened, tomorrow, the internals will begin to come out.
Casings will come off, ready for the boiler inspectors to arrive.. it has been a long , hard year. Only a fool would expect these boilers not to get a hefty “work required”
And so it begins. In dozens of places, on dozens of machines, pieces are opened up, or pulled apart, or prepared for same.
It does not take long to turn the happy phoenix, into the lame duck



Shattering the sword “a cantona production’

.faced with this growing pressure, japan responds. Engineering battalions are sent, and unloaded successfully at Wewak, aitape, hollandia, lae. Island to the North of Merauke begin to receive air supplied reinforcements. Plans are made, and implemented to bring 38th division out of Lunga, and get it sent to 16th Army. Islands to the North of Darwin begin to receive trickles of men, soon, Japan hopes, a flood.
They will have to move fast. Darwin crawls with shipping, and its airfield has suddenly burst into life. Horn island is an ants nest of shipping and bombers. The Marshalls are under threat, but this is more dangerous…………………………