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Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (9/17/2007 3:11:27 AM)
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March 24, 1943
Location: 135 miles south-southeast of Balikpapan
Course: Northeast
Attached to: TF 72
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 2
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 298
Orders: Proceed to Palau
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The sun begins to set at the end of a long, tense day for the Japanese ships slowly zig zagging eastward across the Java Sea. There have been no attacks, no sightings or sudden alarms. No one aboard Hibiki has said “It’s quiet…too quiet,” but that thought, or something like it, has occurred to several people as the day has worn on.
Certainly Captain Ishii thinks so. He stands on the bridge, binoculars in hand, looking out at the choppy water. The enemy submarine is out there, he feels it in his bones. The commander of the sub, he thinks, is probably waiting for nightfall to make his move.
The six remaining destroyers in the task force have tried to make it difficult for an attacker, avoiding regular patrol patterns and keeping a watchful eye on the cruisers and carriers in their charge. The rain halted around midday, giving good visibility. This advantage, of course, is a knife that cuts both ways.
Ishii steps out onto an observation platform and looks back at the sun, now setting almost directly astern of the ships. The sunlight forms a blinding trail across the water, and Ishii is glad the task force is traveling east. Any other direction would provide excellent cover for a submarine trying to ambush the task force.
He next looks at Akagi, limping along at about 16 knots. The carrier is struggling but in no danger of sinking, provided of course she takes no further damage. She trails Zuikaku, with heavy cruisers fore and aft of the two carriers.
A signal light begins to flash aboard Zuikaku. The signal is for a course change to the northeast, bringing the task force into the Makassar Strait. Ishii has been waiting for this, and passes the order to the helm. Hibiki swings smoothly to port along with the rest of the ships.
Half an hour later, with the sun now just above the horizon, the task force begins to shift course to the north, part of the zig zag maneuvering designed to prevent a submarine from lining up a shot. It suddenly occurs to Ishii that if the enemy submarine was in fact trailing them this maneuver would give them a perfect opportunity. They could hide in the setting sun and line up a perfect shot at Akagi or any other target they cared to shoot at.
“Course change!” snaps Ishii to his helmsman. “Bring us left 90 degrees. Engine room, give me 30 knots!” He whirls around and yells at the sailor on the signal lamp. “Signal Minazuki to follow us!”
Ishii runs out onto the port wing, looking west as the crew responds quickly to his orders and Hibiki begins rumble around in a tight turn, gaining speed. Ishii has just stripped the port flank of the task force of most of its protection without waiting for orders. If something goes wrong now his career is over. Ishii is not thinking of that, however. All of his attention is bent to the west.
“Combat stations!’ he barks. “Pass the word, lookouts concentrate forward. Look near the setting sun!” Behind Hibiki destroyer Minazuki responds to Hibiki’s signal and also comes about, though more slowly.
Ishii’s intuition is not wrong. The submarine that torpedoed Akagi last night is SS Grayling, and she has been patiently stalking the crippled carrier all day. The enemy captain has realized his chance and is even now at periscope depth. Akagi is coming right into his sights, a perfect target and closer than he could normally risk getting.
It is Ensign Izu, the amateur bird watcher and one of the keenest eyed men aboard ship, who spots the periscope. He bawls out the warning. Ishii raises his binoculars. There, yes, there! Eyes watering from the glare, he orders the forward 5” turret to open fire.
The gunnery officer calculates quickly and passes the figures to the forward turret. The twin guns depress slightly, then boom in unison. The destroyer’s aim is slightly high. The shells pass right over the periscope and geyser into the sea beyond.
Aboard Minazuki they have been wondering what the hell Ishii is up to. Now, guided by Hibiki’s shot, they too see the enemy sub. They accelerate towards it, loading depth charges as they go.
The periscope is already descending beneath the surface. Hibiki gets off one more shot. These shells are closer, but there is no immediate sign a hit has been scored. Minazuki charges over the spot, flinging depth charges off her stern. More geysers of waters fountain upwards.
Hibiki and Minazuki seek the enemy submarine for another two hours, dropping the occasional depth charge in hopes of getting lucky. Grayling, though held down by the two destroyers, takes very little damage from the attack. She does, however, lose track of the Japanese carriers, who change course while Grayling is under attack. This time, at least, the enemy has been thwarted.
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