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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition >> After Action Reports >> RE: The little ship that could.

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RE: The little ship that could. - 10/17/2012 9:25:04 AM

1275psi

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Of course, war rages elsewhere, especially in the skies over Burma
24 liberators put craters onto more craters at Chiang mai
19 try for Moulmien, and are savaged by the CAP.
Japanese fighters sweep rangoon, filling the skies with snarling combat against mustangs and p 40's.
Some of these P 40s then get to pounce on Helen bombers, and extract a bloody revenge.
It is a day of victories, of defeats

55 japanese go down
50 allied

Lets call it a draw.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1591

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/17/2012 1:18:26 PM

british exil

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quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Christmas day

Diogawa is riding in the cockpit, Uto on the wing, as another zero is raised up the elevator.
Uto leans in 'hell of a way to spend Christmas"
"Diogawa looks up, slightly bemused "Christmas, Japanese don't celebrate Christmas.........although we did have a Christain flying with us once"
"Oh, who was that?'
For a moment Diogawa thinks, his face screwing up into concentration " You know, I can't remember, I forget. He's dead anyway"

Uto does not answer, but the thought is there "dead, forgotten..........as i am sure we all one day will be"

You know what? I had forgotten about him too. I remembered, a certain character in the story after reading this post.
But I can't remember his name, what he flew and how died. In action or in a tragic accident on board. Or even maybe on shore leave.
Time has a different meaning and feeling in war, I suppose.

Mat

_____________________________

"It is not enough to expect a man to pay for the best, you must also give him what he pays for." Alfred Dunhill

WitE,UV,AT,ATG,FoF,FPCRS

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1592

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/18/2012 9:36:10 AM

1275psi

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26/12/43

How much concentration do you apply to starting and driving your car?
After a few years, I would guess, that on most occasions, not much.
Fighters are not anything like that at all.

Climbing into the cockpit, Fuchidas mind is trying to keep 2 steps ahead of his hands and feet. He's flown nearly 400 missions now, so movements do come practiced , almost automatic, but no matter how practiced he is, you just cannot escape this fact.
Radials can be a bitch.
Radials with litle maintenance, little care, exposed to brutal enviromental conditions, can be stubborn , stubborn bitches.
This morning, with the bombers coming, she won't go.

Pump the fuel, primed, reset the swithes, kick the start, pump, pump, choke, pump, curse, whir, whir, whir, cough, whir, stall.......
In frustration he slams the outside of the cockpit with his left arm, but that is not going to help. 2 tired men are now peering inside the engine cowling, and a short curse soon emits from there too.
"U/S sir!, you have cracked 2 heads, maybe a third!"
"Damnation!" .
In the distance, the growing hum of the bombers. On the far end of the field, guns begin to point skyward, and three barrage balloons begin to rise rapidly into the sky

The hum is now a buzz, growing into a growl, interlaced with the scream of fighters.
Buckles undone, out. "Leave it, wheres the trench?"
Trying to stay calm, trying even harder to appear calm, Fuchida walks towards the trench.
The mechanics are more practical, they are already there, diving in.
The growl is now the pounding roar of heavies, the guns begin to bark.
And too soon, the screams of the bombs begins

Fuchida climbs into the trench, and peeks out.

A liberator crumps into the Jungle south of the strip, the rising ball of flame suddenly hidden as the bombs begin the dance........

A good time to keep low.

The ground shakes, thumps, thumps, THUMPS, the whistles grow louder, louder, closer, closer...........curl your self into a smaller ball......
But this time the nearest bomb has fallen 100 yards away.
Smack onto Fuchidas fighter.

'Truk"

47th is reduced to a mere 8 goers. Tonight it will with draw to palua, to rebuild, to refit.
Her planes are broken. But her spirit is not.

(in reply to british exil)

Post #: 1593

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/18/2012 10:11:18 AM

1275psi

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The enemy begin to land at Hollandia.
For much of the morning, the ships unload in the shade of giant thunderstorms, mountainous clouds, with almost pitch black sheets of rain beneath them.
But after midday, Hollandia radios,"weather breaking"

255 th KU, 36 Betties strong, waits.

It has been a long long time since japans navy bombers have done this, loaded torpedoes, and conducted a true navy strike.
Surrounded by 26 zeros, the first strike of 18 departs, half an hour later, with another 15 escorts, LT Ban leads the second flight of eighteen into the angry sky.

They march down the coast, at 7000 feet, bouncing in the tropical air, sky here clear, horizon ahead however full of ominous thunderheads.
Flight time nearly 90 minutes

LT Iwaya leads the first wave. A veteran of the china war, he flies totally confident about the battle ahead, about the fighters escorting them.
20 minutes to target "Gunners, man your guns"
The clouds are growing ever larger, he checks the map for the hundreth time, the landmarks of the coast sliding past to schedule....

"Fighters!"
he twists in his seat, head craning, searching to find them..........
three zeros ahead of him wheel up and way, peeling behind.good, that will.......

Guns chatter, and three startling blue stubby birds race past, and his wingman abruptly falls..........
'Close up!, close up!"
More fighters, ahead, wheeling in, screaming past, his gunners are firing, pathetic small bursts..........sound whipping away.

A zero passes from below and behind, banks across his nose at 200 yards, three hellcats on his tail, for a moment, just a moment , as the zero turns into a fireball wheeling across his nose............

Close up!, close up!"

Confidence has evaporated. Now, now near panic grips them, as the fighters swarm, and bomber after bomber, after bomber falls away, or bursts into flame,.......... Ronson lighter, one shot and they burn............

And suddenly there are no fighters left defending them, and Iwaya leads just 6

Exhausts glowing, they dive towards the bay, the masses of shipping...........five left, now four............

Life wins over duty. The fish drops free, the bomber leaps, and the clouds swallow them into safety...........

45 fighters have killed this strike in less than 6 minutes.............

LT Bans flight reaches Hollandia 30 minutes later, to find it buried under the storm.
They push on.
50 miles south of there, 20 odd enemy rise from behind to intercept, the zeros wheel about, and freed to fight, fall behind them in a fur ball of death.
The bombers plunge into rain, out, descend into clear sky, enter another band of rain at 1000 feet, and burst into the sun again over a grey white capped sea.

It would make a beautiful painting
The great bay, dark, grey, dirty, white capped.
The background, the mighty clouds, the black, black screen of rain sweeping across.

And the sun, shining brilliantly upon the gleaming ships just washed by that rain, ships standing upon the waters as if under Gods spotlight.
Out of the grey, out of the murk, the bombers race
Two will be chopped down, but it is a torpedo bombers dream
CVE Notoma bay will take 4 fish. She collapses , as if an old womans walking frame has been snatched from him.

The real horror is the AP Mungana bay, 8000 tons.
Only one fish takes her, she lists, lists, and just keeps right on rolling............

1500 men will forever remain in her holds..............

Miss Betty is back.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1594

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/19/2012 10:33:09 AM

1275psi

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28/12/43

The boiler internals are back in place, the final checks for anything left behind done.
The water wall hand hold doors, steam drum and Mud drum doors are back in place.
Now comes the tricky part.. A hose is fitted to the back of the boiler, and nearly an hour is spent back filling it. Water erupts from the air vents. The pump begins its work, pffft, pffft, pffft.

In every obscure corner of the space, the stokers wait with sledge hammers in hand. Everything, of course leaks, but as the pressure slowly rises, the men can use this to their advantage. Nuts tight , soon become lose, and then the hammers ring.

What takes a paragraph to describe, takes 6 hours to achieve. Another 8 hours will be needed to replace the boiler casings, another 12 to light them off, establish chemistry.
But there is no rush, Zuikaku is still in dock. Nobody is going anywhere, it seems, until she is ready.

Biak, Noemfoor and Manokwari launch another strike on Biak.
45 zeros, and 27 of the brand new Francis torpedo bombers. They gather over Biak, and fade into the south.

None return.
Not one

There is nobody to even ask, what happened?, what consumed them?
Only silence, and empty bunks.
And the not knowing.
Which is the worst of all.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1595

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/19/2012 10:48:23 AM

1275psi

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Extract from Shattering the Sword, a Cantona production.

If things over head of the Hollandia landings were working to plan, on the beaches things were definately not.
For the Japanese, there is some good news. This is the Marine 1st and 3rd division in action again, proof, if anymore is needed, that PNG remains the main thrust.
There has been too little time to prepare, to little time to plan, to rehearse. The japanese defenders take a small toll, the surf, the coral, the foundering landing craft a tremendous toll.
They will get ashore, but over 50 % of them will not be fighting today............

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1596

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/21/2012 12:50:49 AM

1275psi

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New years eve

Takeji takes in the circle of faces about him. How things have changed so quickly. two months ago, in this same room, so much confidence, so much bravisimo....
Now, now grimness.
Too, so many faces missing. Akagis' captain, Taiho's, Ryujos, Taihos, Unyos........... not to mention Yamaguchi's.
Gone. And all taken by the underwater sharks, sharks they must brave again.

The newest admiral, a face Takeji does not know, nor draws inspiration from, speaks
"Hollandia has fallen. 4 enemy divisions have been involved, and many carriers. Our plans for the battle for Biak"

Biak. Damnation, the knife is drawing closer to our arteries......

"The crises is upon us. I have been ordered to surrender the bulk of the AO's to 2nd fleet, to become fuel and oil haulers."
An angry buzz fills the room.
"Gentlemen!!!

Slowly, slowly the angry buzz dies away.
"It is what it is..........the empire is strangling for lack of fuel. Factories are closing down. The war is coming towards the oil fields, thus we must turn to them for our wants"
'But sir........"
"BUT NOTHING!"...........it is, what it is. We are gathering Mutsu, Nagato, Ise, Hyuga and Fuso at palua, supported by CVL Ryuho and Shinyo. I am sending Kongo, Hiei, haranua and Kirishima to davao, you will sail today.
Carrier battle group 1, Zuikaku, Shokaku , Hiryu, Soryu, shoho and Zuiho shall sail tomorrow at dusk, carrier battle group 2 will sail tonight. Carriers will refuel at Soerabaya, and then wait to advance across the banda sea when the enemy moves"

The Admiral sweeps his eye across the room.
Maybe, thinks Takeji, I have under estimated this man, he seems keen to fight, and this plan may work.........

"Any questions?"
There are none
As the sun sets, Singapore harbour again bursts into life. Japan has 4 divisions invested in the Biak area, and the bulk of her airforces. This is where they must stop them.
If not here, then where?

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1597

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/21/2012 12:57:43 AM

1275psi

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47 th return to biak

The field is repaired, as are many of the services
Tomorrow, 3 sentai of George fighters and 47ths of Tojos will be on CAP above this base. It is, they have been told, the key to the Phillipines. Should this place fall, the enemy will be free to spread across the myrid bases to the north like a cancer, a cancer that will throttle completely her seaways to the oil fields.

The navy, it is rumoured, is gearing up again to fight. But they have heard that too many times before.
The airforce will believe it, when they see it.
They are here with the best they have. Few think anything else than that once again, they will have to do it alone.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1598

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/21/2012 1:04:26 AM

1275psi

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New years eve

Night orders, Zuiho Engineering department

Ship is under sailing orders
All compartment I/Cs to report to me state of ship by no later than 1200 hrs tomorrow
Full watch below, 1300 hours, light off 1A, 2A boilers for full steaming
Test main engines 1700 hrs
Sailing expected 1900 hrs, dependent on Zuikaku movements
Light off 1B, 2B boilers 1400, to be banked at 10 minutes notice.

Secure all compartments for action
All personal to ensure that they have field dressing, respirator on them
All personal to have torch!

Do your duty.

Signed
The Charge, for Minobe

Minobe is unconcious again...............pissed to the gills

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1599

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/22/2012 3:51:30 AM

Smoky Stoker

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Historical trivia: the oil of Borneo was and is "light, sweet crude". That means that in WW II, steam plants could burn it as it came from the ground, with no refining necessary. Unless your ship got the dregs of the tank, the settled sludge... in some places called 'donkey poo'.

_____________________________

"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

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1600

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/22/2012 9:34:17 AM

1275psi

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'Its begun"
Almost with a sigh, Takeji hands Hidaka the latest flimsy

"Have been attacked by SS, position x, Java sea. No damage, enemy submarine confirmed sunk" IJNS Hiyo
Hidaka scowls. "As if"
That brings a smile to the captains face, "Actually, she surfaced, tried to fight it out"
'And?"
'There were no survivors"
"Good"

"Yes.............good"

Zuiho plows on south towards the Java sea
Yes, another year, and it begins as expected, with a SS action.

But today, not quite as some would expect.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1601

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/22/2012 10:03:14 AM

1275psi

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A mighty fleet sails east of Wewak, tracking back and forth across a small square of ocean, mighty shepherds to the fleets busy at the beaches of PNG's flank

On the carriers, the men are preparing for another days work, loading the hell divers, the Avengers, the hellcats.
How poetic these names are, how true to the names these Americans have given them.
Outside of the carriers, mighty battleships steam, waiting, begging for a chance to fight.

Destroyers are scattered as if confetti about them, and even more numerous the destroyer escorts are escorting the transports south, or north, a river of steel to the front.
It is another dawn, another day. Confidence runs high, Japan is taking a beating, to quote Hitler, one solid kick, it appears, will bring the whole rotten structure down.......

At 0414, CVE Anzio erupts into a column of flame and steam as the first fish finds her sides.
Another tower of water rises at her side, and then another.

She rides to the head of the fleet, heading due west
As the counter attacking destroyers race in, the fleet is turned due North, into the wind
Straight across the packs nose.

0423: AP Morinda suddenly, brutally, has no bow. Steaming at 28 knots, she steams straight on, baulkheads collapsing, waters piling higher and higher onto her bridge............she literally dives for the bottom.....

0426 AP Corio is hit. She just stops, spewing steam and soot.
0436, Battle ship Royal soverighn somehow avoids a spread of 6 fish, she is still trying to avoid, her destroyer escorts still racing towards the scope...........when at
0438 CV Wasp is slammed by a single devastaing hit, a fighter flings off a rising elevator, and the deadly cry of fire, fire on the hanger deck rings out.

5 seperate attacks, for the stunned men on the upper decks, it seems as if the entire ocean has come alive to the sound of charges, to the reports of torpedoes and periscopes.

Many are false, panicked calls. But some are not.
Battleship Washington never see's her attacker . 2 fish get her, and hurt her hard.
An Attacking destroyer wheeling to drop a pattern on the Washingtons tormentor is struck clean admidships, her front half rolls over, the aft half will wallow in the swell for many hours, before joining the front in the depths

30 minutes.
The perfect ambush

The counter attacks will be savage, 3 enemy ss claimed sunk (one in actuality)

3 more ss will be atatcked at midday, they will be beaten off..

Japan has deployed 10 ss in one wolfpack. 6 remain viable. Tomorrow, a second pack , 15 strong, enters the fray.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1602

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/22/2012 10:12:55 AM

GreyJoy

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YES! Pay back the allies with their same coin!

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1603

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/22/2012 10:26:57 AM

1275psi

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Fuchida is at 7000 feet, immediately above Biak airfield, circling waiting.
About him, 6 other tigers, on the ground, 12 more, men in cockpits, waiting.

To the south, at the same altitude, a pack of gearge fighters. At 14000 feet, some more. And somewhere, way up there out of sight, up sun, 20 plus more.
Waiting.

Carefully, he reaches down, takes his water bottle from its pocket. Sticks the stick between his knees, unscrews the Cap, drinks carefully.
The leader rocks his wings.
'bandits, 20 plus, 20000 feet, 3 oclock" Calm. Controlled. In charge.
There is no hurry. Replace the bottle, check about, slide the canopy forward , take the stick lightly as ever, throttle to the wall......
They climb

They climb steeply, they climb fast.
The p 38's dive, sacrificing hieght for speed, seeking the zeros they hope to slaughter.
But these are no zeros.
The thirty eights fall upon the gearges, the goerges sidestep.......pull up and away, or roll clear, almost......almost contemptously.
The thirty eights do what they do, boom, and zoom...........straight into the second wing diving down upon them........

Furball.

"Attacking!"
47th swing in, the classic follow me down attack, down into this mad snarling cat and dog fight in the blue........

Fuchida D, follows his friend, and wingman Fuchida G down, down, still banking, ...........
A 38 drifts across their bow..floating, floating, Fuchida G fires, fires, the 38 rolls, bursts into orange and death, falls underneath, banking hard left now, hanging on, hanging on, wingman down and lower on his shoulder, they seek, seek that next 38 turning inboard of them, and some buka races across, aiming for, for G, D fires, fires, misses, the 38 zooms up, up, away, ..........and a george nails him.

Speed, energy, hieght, team work. Stick with your man, protect his arse............
A 38 slants in from behind, twinkling lights on his nose, stick slam into thigh, rudder thumping to the stop, opposite rudder, rskidding, skidding, , under the barsted, stick, rudder, head bouncing, teeth gritting, plane rolling like a wet log in the stream, under him, FIRE!, hit!, hit the barsted!, barsted shovelling smoke.........and get away as some other buka flashes past.

And the sky is clear.

The true battle for Biak begins
16 p38 die today
For 1 george

47th sentai take 3, now they have 34 kills
Fuchida would like to claim his. But he does not.
There will be opportunities enough tomorrow.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1604

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/23/2012 9:34:34 AM

1275psi

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Zuiho steams still across a calm green blue sea.
On the Northern horizon, the mere hint of the coast of borneo, to the south on that horizon, the enevitable growing thunderhead clouds
But here, clear skies, streaming blue wakes.

It is far too hot and humid to remain below if one can avoid it, Zuiho's progress makes for a pleasant breeze. Even her exhaust has deemed it suitable to trail free of her.
Six zeros are on deck, silent, on standby. But they will not be needed today, in fact , for once, nothing will disturb her passage.
There are no breakdowns, no sighting reports, no personal clashes. She just is.
her pilots will walk her decks, exercise.
Her gunners will lounge in the tubs, and gain even deeper tans.
The stokers will complete quiet, routine watches, and Takeji will catch up on the inevitable paperwark, and even find himself sitting on his chair on the bridge, simply taking in the view.

A boring day, yes?.
But deep down, I think, essential. The elastic has been stretched far too hard these months.
Zuiho steams south, her crew recharging themselves simply by having a normal day.
They will need to re charge I think.

Its 1944, and America's war machine builds up steam.

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1605

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/24/2012 12:41:12 PM

Borys

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Very interesting story. Took me three days to read it.
Thank you for all the effort.

Most of the boiler room stuff is "hyperdrive" or "photon engines" or "warp engines" stuff to me, but I'm making progress :)
I'm learning things, which is a thing I like.

I believe that the correct term for "two legged pork" is "long pig".

Brys

(in reply to 1275psi)

Post #: 1606

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/24/2012 5:35:40 PM

BBfanboy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Borys

Very interesting story. Took me three days to read it.
Thank you for all the effort.

Most of the boiler room stuff is "hyperdrive" or "photon engines" or "warp engines" stuff to me, but I'm making progress :)
I'm learning things, which is a thing I like.

I believe that the correct term for "two legged pork" is "long pig".

Brys

I hope you didn't learn that from personal experience, Borys!

_____________________________

No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

(in reply to Borys)

Post #: 1607

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/24/2012 5:54:48 PM

Borys

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Perish the thought, no :)
I picked up the phrase in some ATL story - the main character was greeted by chants of "long pig tonight!" when he found himself on a ship with a quite suspect looking crew (they were in a teasing mood, see ... ). I googled the phrase and it was mentioned by various cannibalism and/or Pacific Islander related sites.
Borys

(in reply to BBfanboy)

Post #: 1608

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/25/2012 8:17:32 AM

1275psi

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Hi Borys, welcome aboard, and many thanks for kind comments.

Turns have been slow............

3/1/43
Semarang harbour, Duth east Indies

Charge stands behind Okano on the Port engine room steaming platform, eyes darting across the guage boards.
Vacuum, steam pressure, oil pressure, auxiliary steam pressure.........there is an army of guages to look at, he see's them all with practiced, easy sweeps of his eyes..
For Stokers, this is one of those hard times, where you simply must not get it wrong.
Zuiho is coming along side.

Takeji eyes the rickity wharf 250 yards ahead, sliding towards his starboard bow..
There is not going to be much room today..
"Slow ahead both"
'Slow ahead both rung down and repeated sir!' the coxswains voice sings across the crowded bridge.

The bells ring, and Charge swings the telegraph to match.
Okano eases the great wheel that controls his throttle, and her shaft settles at 30 rpm.........

"Stop both!"
Besides Okano, a surprisingly young able seaman (the throttly) swings open the astern throttle, braking the shaft, while Okano swings his closed. The shaft stops, throttles swing the other way, and then, to stop the turbine bending, Okano trickles her rolling slowly forward again at 2 or three revs......
This is the dance. They have done it many times before, they will do it many times again

50 yards to go.......
"Half astern both!"
Slow astern both!
hard to port!, half astern starboard.........slow ahead port!"
Admidships!

The orders come, quick, sharp, confident. Other captains have struggled with this cow of a handling ship, not Takeji.
The ropes are flung across, small ones, followed by the heaving lines, the mooring ropes.
Zuiho nestles hard to this sorry excuse of a wharf, safe again.

"Stop both"
"Stop both, down and repeated sir"
"Finished with main engine..........4 hours notice for sea"

Zuiho will burst into life. There is much to do when you come alongside, regardless of how long you have been at sea.
In peactime, one has courtesy calls on the mayor, or others, in war, the local garrison commander must be seen about security.......
There are 2 medical cases on board today, one must go ashore.
One of her lone Jill pilots, who has chased them all over the Dutch east indies, will come onboard
Supplies await loading.
Men will swarm ashore, within an hour, water and fuel wil lbe flowing into her tanks, and waste and rubbish will be getting carted off in a steady stream.
Signals, secret telegrams, a small town is reconnecting to the world...........

Below, the work is not nearly done.
Turning gears are engaged, guard valves shut, throttles drained, vacuums reduced. 4 hours notice for sea ............one boiler will remain lit.

Semerang harbour is small, stinking, and no place to linger.
But it has fuel, and plenty of it.
But not much else going for it.

Our pilots watch it all from the balcony, they are some of the lucky few whom all this activity means little.
Diogawa and Ogawa lean on the railings.
"What a dump ney?" Diogawa eyes the leaning ware houses, the rusting excuse of a crane, the sad fishing boats on the other piers "How come we are alongside, and not in the roads with the rest?'
'Torpedoes"
Hidaka answers the question, emerging from the ready room passageway behind them " We are swapping them out, its been so bloody long since we used any, Gunnery and myself thought it prudent to get some new serviced ones"
Okano nods 'Sounds fair..........has it really been that long since we used our fish?"
Hidaka's screw of disgust on his face is answer enough.....".seems like 42 was a life time ago"
Diogawa laughs "when , I am reliably told, Japanes aircraft carriers actually, you know, fought things"
'We will get our chance fat man, just wait, I don't think you will feel so happy when we meet these hellcats I am hearing so much about"
'hellcats, bearcats, **** cats, one and the same...........i will shoot them down regardless"

Hidaka does not answer that. I wish I shared your confidence my friend. I really do.

(in reply to Borys)

Post #: 1609

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/25/2012 8:23:07 AM

1275psi

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There is war news, of course, none of which will reach Diogawas ears.
A CVE begins operating 80 miles north east of Darwin
Hellcats, Avengers...........does it matter what you call them? Diogawa may disparage them, but the Americans know their business now, and they do it brutally, sinking a patrol boat near Dobo island.
Combined fleet, the bulk at soerabaya, now has to decide.
A decoy?, a genuine thrust?, a invasion prelude, or just a convoy escort taking advantage?
They decide to sit, and wait.
Theres not enough fuel to be pissing about anymore .............

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Post #: 1610

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/27/2012 8:17:05 AM

1275psi

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5th of the 1st, 1944

Zuiho remains alongside.
Barely a man onboard wishes they weren't.
There is no breeze here, only baking tropical heat and humidity, and temperatures inside are climbing to horrid levels.
The men striking down the new fish work stripped to the bare essentials, and still sweat streams from them.
In the Starboard boiler room, conditions are hellish.
Take your oven, screw it to 150 degrees F.
Ok, stick you head in.
And now throw a bucket of water over your head.
And try to work, at , oh, I don't know, lets re assemble a governow or something with lots of fiddly bits...........

There are, of course, the fans, with out them, life could not endure down here, the outlets are like small oasis's in deserts of baking pain.
The men on watch huddle under them, and simply endure.

How long will they remain here?. Only the war will detirmine that. Zuiho is burning a ton of fuel an hour, all the ships anchored here, nearly 30 all up, per hour.
In the scheme of things, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the extravagances of the last 6 months.
But even this, this barely keep them alive amount, is too much........

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Post #: 1611

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/27/2012 8:20:12 AM

1275psi

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The corsairs sweep Biak, 13 strong
4 are shot down
3 tigers, 1 N1K1 goes down
47th lose 2 good men.
The commanders words "They are irreplacable" in this case are true. Japan will never see their likes again.

(Two 90 experience pilots lost

)

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Post #: 1612

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/27/2012 8:22:02 AM

1275psi

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And now, with CVE-s off Darwin. invasion fleets coming ,( I think up the PNG coast again), my esteemed opponent takes holidays again!!
Oh, to be a school teacher! LOL

So, no turns until Friday..............

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Post #: 1613

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/27/2012 9:13:52 AM

GreyJoy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

So, no turns until Friday..............

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Post #: 1614

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/31/2012 7:23:47 AM

1275psi

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6/1/44

Pilot Officer(forever to be known as Pilot Officer "long pig" Graham) shifts his arse into a more comfortable spot in his seat.
The British airforce has wasted no time in sending him back into the war "get back on the saddle and all that old boy" but this time, at least, they have given him an aircraft he can love.

He has known this Mozzie, this wooden wonder, but for a week, and already he loves her.
from that brilliant, unmistakable snarl of her merlins, to the guns up front, from her handling to her sheer speed, she is simply, a wonder machine.
And British to boot.
But best of all, he actually has room in her seat...........

"Fighters"
His Observer breaks the silence, as if he was announcing lunch, so little concern in his voice "Six of them, Oscars, 3000 feet astern and below"
Graham turns his plane to bring them into view...............six small dots in the sky, dwarfed by the clouds about them.

They can't catch him.
He reaches out for the throttles, pushes them forwards a little, raises the nose, and begins to plot the course ahead through these towering floating mountains.
The enemy fighters fall further, further behind.

A few minutes later, Bangkok appears below, and the camera whirs to life.
Pilot Officer Graham ("long pig forever") will soon head for home, confident that in this beast at least, he should never end in that green hell below again..

For two weeks the british airforce has not been seen in Burma
Japans high command is not fooled. Just like Graham , they must soon return with a whole new selection of shiny toys, toys which they must fight with the same old tired Tojos and 43's.

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Post #: 1615

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/31/2012 7:36:56 AM

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Uto and Hidaka are sharing the bench that serves as their dining table.. The Wardroom is empty at the moment, nestled as it is under the forecastle, it is recieving pitifully little cool air from outsid, and the ventilation fans simply move hot air from outside the ship to inside.
If you are seeking relief today, you will be on the quarterdeck.

The two men are shring a simple rice meal, both have been held up by other duties well past the scheduled meal hour.
But those faceless men, the stewards, know how to look after them.

'So, anyword on sailing yet Hidaka?"
"I heard we go out to the roads tonight............after that.who knows. At least this damn humidity can't follow us out there"
"Nor the stink"
'No, you are right in that. Minobe will be pleased, all that vegetation piling up against our sides is giving him grief downstairs I hear'
"What?, he was sober long enough to notice the black out this morning?"
Hidaka laughs. "No........he noticed because he couldn't find the bottle"
They eat
"So" asks Uto "How are we going to defeat these bukas you think?"
Hidaka pauses "I thought the grand strategy was your fathers domain, isn't he the one running this monkey poo fight?"
Uto does not look up, but the anger is there....."My father is nothing more than a common killer dressed in peacock feathers, feathers that no longer dazzle"
'Truly?"
'Truly"
A long silence follows, one that Hidaka suddenly realises, has gotten awkward

When Uto speaks, his eyes are filled with tears "They will hang him when we lose, you know. As much as i hate him at times, he is still my father........."

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Post #: 1616

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/31/2012 7:38:58 AM

1275psi

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There are only three of the bukas, Liberators, those bloody Liberators...........
They come in low, hard, fast, their path lit by the full moon

Palua anchorage glimmers under them, a shiny dinner plate of tasty morsels..............

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Post #: 1617

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/31/2012 7:41:20 AM

1275psi

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Extract from shattering the sword, a cantona production

..............and although the bombers missed thier targets, the shock was still the same. Palua anchorage was no longer safe...........
Japans fleet must move.....but where to?

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Post #: 1618

RE: The little ship that could. - 10/31/2012 4:55:21 PM

John 3rd

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From: La Salle, Colorado
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Davao? Tarakan?

_____________________________

Member: Treaty, Reluctant Admiral and Between the Storms Mod Team.

Reluctant Admiral Mod:
https://sites.google.com/site/reluctantadmiral/

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Post #: 1619

RE: The little ship that could. - 11/1/2012 8:29:34 PM

Gridley380

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quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Extract from shattering the sword, a cantona production

..............and although the bombers missed thier targets, the shock was still the same. Palua anchorage was no longer safe...........
Japans fleet must move.....but where to?

I hear Pearl is nice this time of year...

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Post #: 1620

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