Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

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rtrapasso
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

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Cuttlefish
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by Cuttlefish »

ORIGINAL: kaleun
Kind of like (and as effective as) the 1897 measure in the Indiana House of Representatives altering the area of a circle and the value of pi.

Would have loved to be a fly on the wall at that debate!

Me too. The measure was passed but never cleared the Indiana state senate, so it died without becoming law. At the risk of hijacking my own AAR here is the text of the measure. If you work it out pi is redifined as 3.2.

[font="Courier New"]ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL No. 246

A Bill for an act introducing a new mathematical truth and offered as a contribution to education to be used only by the State of Indiana free of cost by paying any royalties whatever on the same, provided it is accepted and adopted by the official action of the Legislature of 1897.

Section 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana: It has been found that a circular area is to the square on a line equal to the quadrant of the circumference, as the area of an equilateral rectangle is to the square on one side. The diameter employed as the linear unit according to the present rule in computing the circle's area is entirely wrong, as it represents the circle's area one and one-fifth times the area of a square whose perimeter is equal to the circumference of the circle. This is because one fifth of the diameter fails to be represented four times in the circle's circumference. For example: if we multiply the perimeter of a square by one-fourth of any line one-fifth greater than one side, we can in like manner make the square's area to appear one-fifth greater than the fact, as is done by taking the diameter for the linear unit instead of the quadrant of the circle's circumference.

Section 2
It is impossible to compute the area of a circle on the diameter as the linear unit without trespassing upon the area outside of the circle to the extent of including one-fifth more area than is contained within the circle's circumference, because the square on the diameter produces the side of a square which equals nine when the arc of ninety degrees equals eight. By taking the quadrant of the circle's circumference for the linear unit, we fulfill the requirements of both quadrature and rectification of the circle's circumference. Furthermore, it has revealed the ratio of the chord and arc of ninety degrees, which is as seven to eight, and also the ratio of the diagonal and one side of a square which is as ten to seven, disclosing the fourth important fact, that the ratio of the diameter and circumference is as five-fourths to four; and because of these facts and the further fact that the rule in present use fails to work both ways mathematically, it should be discarded as wholly wanting and misleading in its practical applications.

Section 3
In further proof of the value of the author's proposed contribution to education and offered as a gift to the State of Indiana, is the fact of his solutions of the trisection of the angle, duplication of the cube and quadrature of the circle having been already accepted as contributions to science by the American Mathematical Monthly, the leading exponent of mathematical thought in this country. And be it remembered that these noted problems had been long since given up by scientific bodies as insolvable mysteries and above man's ability to comprehend.[/font]
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kaleun
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by kaleun »

Hmmm. Interesting. Hadn't heard of that one before.
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thegreatwent
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

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sadly it is true.
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by tocaff »

March 3, 1943 Hibiki suffers multiple 1000 lb bomb hits (5 or 6) at Lunga in a UV PBEM I'm having.  I suppose the sinking will get reported to me at a later date.
Todd

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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by Cuttlefish »

ORIGINAL: tocaff

March 3, 1943 Hibiki suffers multiple 1000 lb bomb hits (5 or 6) at Lunga in a UV PBEM I'm having.  I suppose the sinking will get reported to me at a later date.

[:(]
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Cuttlefish »

March 1, 1944

Location: Saipan
Course: None
Attached to: TF 33
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 470

Orders: Prepare to sortie

---

“Lieutenant Commander Ishii, may I present Captain Joachim Ehrlich,” says Capitan Shibuya. “Captain Ehrlich, this is Lieutenant Commander Ishii.”

“Welcome aboard Hibiki, Herr Käpitan,” says Captain Ishii, carefully pronouncing the German title the way his executive officer taught him.

“It is a pleasure, Captain,” says Ehrlich, beaming. His Japanese is not too bad, though spoken with a heavy accent.

Ishii in turn introduces his senior officers. Ehrich shakes the hand of each in turn, then looks around the deck.

Hibiki is a fine looking ship,” he comments. “’Peal of thunder’, very poetic. In German this ship might be called ‘Glockengeläut des Donners’.”

Captain Ishii smiles. “Rather longer a name than Hibiki,” he says.

“We Germans are a practical people,” Ehrlich says, “but we are not always economical with our syllables.” He looks around some more. “I admire destroyers,” he says. “Swift and lean, everything about them speaks of danger and purpose.”

“Would you care for a tour?” Ishii asks.

Ehrlich nods. “Very much so, Captain, if it is not too much of a bother.”

“Not at all,” says Ishii. “I and my officers are at your disposal. Let us start at the bow. Lieutenant Sakati, would you care to give Captain Ehrlich some background information as we go?”

“Aye sir, of course,” says Sakati. He falls into step beside the German officer, who listens attentively as the small party moves forward. Sakati is obviously delighted to have the chance to talk about his ship to an interested audience. “Hibiki was commissioned in March, 1933. It may interest you to know that she was the first warship built in Japan to have all-welded construction…”

---

The tour is a success, and Ishii gets an approving nod from Captain Shibuya before Shibuya and Ehrlich depart. The German officer is going ashore to board a plane bound for Japan, where he plans to spend some time aboard aircraft carrier Taiho.

This plan has the approval of the Fourth Fleet officers responsible for his safety. Shibuya’s task force is soon to sail again. Ehrlich would happily go along, but the planned mission is dangerous and no one wants to be responsible for having to explain how they allowed the visiting German officer to be killed.
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princep01
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by princep01 »

Very good, Cuttlefish.  I can hear Bill Halsey now, "Kill Japs, kill more Japs...and get that Kraut bastard while you're at it".
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thegreatwent
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by thegreatwent »

Donner Wetter! I don't like the sound of this mission at all[X(]


It is testament to CF's skill that I care what happens [&o]
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by whippleofd »

Shun shakes his head in mock sorrow, a father saddened by his errant children. “Then I must assign you both four hours of extra duty to be served at the end of this watch. Report to Senior Petty Officer Aikawa. He will drill you on the cards until you see them on the inside of your eyelids when you try to sleep.”

“Yes, Chief Petty Officer,” both men chorus. Shun bids them to carry on, then departs.

“Not that we will be sleeping any time soon,” says Yoshitake after he is gone. “Shun seems to be in a better mood these days, though, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” says Shoji. “But we are still going to be tired and hungry tonight.”

---

Aikawa holds up another card. “Shiden,” say both men immediately. After two hours of this drill they now immediately recognize the plane that cost them this duty, the N1K-J.

A wonderful use of EMI! And 4 hours too! Sounds like a squared away CPO to me.

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by cantona2 »

ORIGINAL: princep01

Very good, Cuttlefish.  I can hear Bill Halsey now, "Kill Japs, kill more Japs...and get that Kraut bastard while you're at it".

[:D]
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Cuttlefish »

March 2, 1944

Location: Saipan
Course: None
Attached to: TF 33
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 468

Orders: Prepare to sortie

---

Excerpt from the personal diary of Petty Officer First Class Taiki Takahashi:

…and so I quoted the page out of the manual. Perhaps that was a mistake, because Lieutenant Kuwaki looked at me oddly before thanking me for the information. I thought he must know about my memory, but perhaps I was wrong. The Captain and the Executive Officer know, of course. Why would they not tell my commanding officer?

It’s actually a relief if he doesn’t know. I’ve always preferred to keep it a bit of a secret. If people know about it they tend to credit it for anything I accomplish. It’s a useful trick but it isn’t a substitute for real intelligence or ability.

And perhaps I have answered my own question. Maybe Captain Ishii and Lieutenant Miharu want me to succeed or fail based on qualities other than my memory. If so I think I might be wise to avoid bringing it to further attention.

We are still here at Saipan. It seems like a nice place, but we really haven’t had much of a chance to look around the island. There are a lot of Japanese civilians here, though, more than I thought there were. The war is starting to get uncomfortably close to them. I hope we do succeed in stopping the enemy advance. It is painful to think of their homes becoming a battleground. And on an island, even a big island like Saipan, there is nowhere for them to run.

I did talk to one civilian down by the naval docks. He said that the people there felt safe and were confident that the Imperial Navy would crush any attempt by the enemy to get close to their island. I told him that I was sure that was true, but I wish I felt as confident of that as I sounded…
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Cuttlefish »

March 3, 1944

Location: Saipan
Course: None
Attached to: TF 33
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 466

Orders: Prepare to sortie

---

While Hibiki gets ready to depart Saipan let’s catch up with some old friends.

---

The Japanese anti-aircraft guns open up right on schedule. “Constance” begins to shake from the concussion of near misses. Frank Barnwell hunches over his guns, scanning the sky for enemy fighters, and then hears a voice over his headset.

“Ninety seconds to target,” says the navigator.

“Ninety seconds, roger,” says the pilot. “Stand by, Timmons.” Timmons, the bombardier, acknowledges the message. The Wellington bomber, one of six in the formation, bores in on its target, the major Japanese airbase near Mandalay.

Barnwell winces as a near miss sends shrapnel flying through the fuselage. The Japanese AA guns around Mandalay are numerous and accurate, and it is a rare day that “Constance” does not come back without some kind of damage. On a good day no gets hurt or killed. But the Jap airfields have to be kept out of commission.

At least the Wimpy, as crews almost invariably call the Wellington, can take a lot of damage and still get the crew home. This is a prized quality, especially since the jungle around Mandalay is filled by now with the remains of American and British bombers that didn’t make it. The siege there has been going on for months now, and there is no end in sight.

“Constance” unloads her bombs accurately and turns for home, pursued by several last bursts of AA fire. It looks like all six bombers made it this time, though at least one is trailing a bit of smoke. Barnwell looks around for pursuing Japanese fighters. There haven’t been any over Mandalay in weeks, but it doesn’t pay to get cocky.

Barnwell sighs. Sometimes he almost misses the bad old days when he was being chased by the Japanese across the Dutch East Indies. Sure, he has a bed to sleep in now, plenty of food and his mates around him, but it’s dangerous in the skies over Mandalay. Damned dangerous.

---

Kojima Miharu walks out into the garden early in the morning. There is frost everywhere the sun has not yet reached, giving the rocks and plants a coat of glittering white. In the distance she can hear two of her neighbors talking, and further off there is the noise of an automobile motor starting. But it is still rather quiet. Kojima shivers a little in the chill. It seems to always be too quiet when her husband is gone.

As the wife of a navy officer she accepts this. Yet since the war started he has been gone so much. Kojima would not dream of complaining, it is an honor to have him serve, but she still misses him. It was nice that she was able to spend so much time in Tokyo with him recently, but of course there is no knowing when he will return to Japan. Or if he will return to Japan, some traitorous corner of her mind whispers, but she angrily banishes the thought.

She feels a sudden twist of nausea. Oh dear, she thinks, this is what comes of worrying too much. Or perhaps the fish she had for dinner the night before was not as fresh as she thought. The nausea passes and then comes back a little stronger. Kojima turns and hurries back into the house. It would not be seemly to throw up outside.

---

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Marson ignores the large drops of water falling from the canopy of vegetation overhead. The commander of the Australian 2/25 Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, knows that worse things fall out of the trees here. Spiders, snakes, scorpions, centipedes…if it can bite you, sting you, or poison you it lives here, he thinks. Not to mention that the climate is appalling and there are diseases here that no one even has a name for yet.

He and his men are making their way along a narrow jungle trail, really just a slot through the riot of undergrowth. Somewhere ahead are thousands of Japanese troops, refugees from the Allied conquest of Madang. The Japanese are trying to make their way to Wewak, the closest Japanese-held base, and Marson and his men, along with a lot of other troops, are trying to stop them.

Marson wonders how the Japs keep going. He and his men have plenty of supplies and he still has trouble keeping half his battalion on their feet. Dysentary, malaria, yellow fever, jungle rot, and a dozen other diseases take a steady toll. The Japs must be eating tree bark and lizards and they still turn and fight when they get the chance. At least their efforts have been growing weaker, Marson thinks. They are moving more slowly and fighting less effectively every time the two sides make contact. Other columns are closing in on them and Marson thinks that they might finally be able to bring them to bay and destroy them. Any sane foe would surrender, but the Japanese aren’t sane, not as far as he can tell.

If that happens maybe he can finally get his men out of this goddamn jungle.
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Terminus »

Oh dear me, I hope the child gets to know his father...
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by tocaff »

Pregnancy, a siege, jungle combat against nature & foes and the IJN stands ready to do their best to stop the advance.  Riveting!
Todd

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Feinder »

An interesting note on semanitcs CF...
 
The RAF and Commonwealth airforces used the term "bomb-aimer", as opposed to "bombadier".  It's a bit fuzzy, but as I recall, the distinction was made because the "bomb-aimer" did exactly that, he "aimed" but did not actually release the bombs (or something like that).  I think the pilot actually released (or somthing like that, I'm not positive).  I was on a flight from Tampa to Philly one night and was sitting next to this older gentleman.  I don't even remember how the converstion struck up, but he was "bomb-aimer" on a Ventura for the RCAF.  He had served from 1940 to 1944 in Europe having served on Wellingtons, Lancs, and ending in a Ventura on ASW patrol. 
 
That was the 2nd most interesting flight I was on.  The most interesting flight I ever took was when I was about 23, on my first business trip to Boston.  By some amazing stroke of luck, I ended up sitting amongst the girls vollyball team of U Mass (returning from a tournament at USF or something - fortunately they had won, and were in excellent spirts).  But that's really OT, and perhaps a story for another time...[;)]
 
-F-
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Dixie »

ORIGINAL: Feinder

An interesting note on semanitcs CF...

The RAF and Commonwealth airforces used the term "bomb-aimer", as opposed to "bombadier". It's a bit fuzzy, but as I recall, the distinction was made because the "bomb-aimer" did exactly that, he "aimed" but did not actually release the bombs (or something like that). I think the pilot actually released (or somthing like that, I'm not positive). I was on a flight from Tampa to Philly one night and was sitting next to this older gentleman. I don't even remember how the converstion struck up, but he was "bomb-aimer" on a Ventura for the RCAF. He had served from 1940 to 1944 in Europe having served on Wellingtons, Lancs, and ending in a Ventura on ASW patrol.

That was the 2nd most interesting flight I was on. The most interesting flight I ever took was when I was about 23, on my first business trip to Boston. By some amazing stroke of luck, I ended up sitting amongst the girls vollyball team of U Mass (returning from a tournament at USF or something - fortunately they had won, and were in excellent spirts). But that's really OT, and perhaps a story for another time...[;)]

-F-

Slightly more OT, but the role of bomb aimer (officially air bomber) wasn't established until 1942 along with navigator. Until then both jobs (and several others) were covered by the observer. I'm fairly certain that the bomb aimer was responsible for releasing the bombs on British built types, I believe that it may have been different on US built 'planes though.

You can't start a story about a girls volleyball team and then not finish it [:-][:D]

EDIT: The bomb aimer rather than bombardier title may be an effort to differentiate the aircrew from the ROyal Artillery, inter-service rivalry and all that [;)]
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by Capt. Harlock »

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish


“Constance” unloads her bombs accurately and turns for home, pursued by several last bursts of AA fire. It looks like all six bombers made it this time, though at least one is trailing a bit of smoke. Barnwell looks around for pursuing Japanese fighters. There haven’t been any over Mandalay in weeks, but it doesn’t pay to get cocky.

Another interesting detail. Have the Japanese withdrawn their squadrons because they are badly needed elsewhere? Or is it because even the airfields away from Mandalay are threatened by the enveloping Allied armies?
If that happens maybe he can finally get his men out of this goddamn jungle.

I would think that an Aussie would think "goddamned" -- "goddamn" is more the Yank style. (Or something on the order of "bloody". Perhaps the readers in Oz can help me out?")
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - Glockengelaut des Donners

Post by bbbf »

Yeah, bloody would have been the more likely word in the 40's.
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RE: Small Ship, Big War

Post by maikarant »

Cuttlefish,

In face of your excellent narrative, especially concerned the japanese homelands, I wonder if you read

Japan at War.

It is an excellent read and almost the only collection of Japanese - civilian and military - interviews about Japan in wartime. I'd recommend it for anybody. :)
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