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RE: Small Ship, Big War

 
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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/29/2009 10:05:00 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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Shark7 has included a cameo appearance by some of Hibiki's crew in his own AAR. I thought the result was nicely done. Check it out here.

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/29/2009 11:33:06 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 11, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: South
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: See below

---

Urgent orders reach Hibiki around mid-morning. Captain Ishii looks them over in his cabin and then quickly calls his officers together for a meeting in the wardroom. As the men arrive for the meeting most of them glance covertly at Ishii, trying to assess his mood. He does not seem happy.

“I will be brief,” he says when everyone is seated. “We are to join a powerful task force under the command of our old friend Admiral Tanaka. The task force departs tonight, with the goal of shelling Iwo Jima and destroying the many newly arrived planes there before they can be used against us.”

There are murmurs around the table. Even Lieutenant Sugiyura looks a little doubtful.

“It is not as bad as it sounds,” says Ishii. “Reports say that the enemy carriers have withdrawn now that the airbase is repaired and there don’t seem to be any powerful surface forces guarding the island. We will be escorting battleships Hiei and Kirishima and heavy cruisers Tone, Chikuma, and Takao. As I said, a strong force.”

Ishii can see that his officers are aware of just how many things might go wrong with this mission. But no one says anything. If this is the job they are given then this is the job they will do.

“We depart after sunset,” he says. “Prepare to sail.”



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Post #: 4112
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 1:44:55 AM   
kaleun

 

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Once more on to the breach!

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Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
Sun Tzu

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Post #: 4113
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 10:18:14 AM   
tocaff


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Hmmmm, maybe Shimura is a smart man whom doesn't want somebody in his command that doesn't want to be there?  Imagine that, a smart officer, a true rarity. 

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I never thought that doing an AAR would be so time consuming and difficult.
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Post #: 4114
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 4:14:40 PM   
mdiehl

 

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Heh. I enjoyed the brief foray to Shark 7s AAR. Several cans of strawberries have arrived on Kasumi. All erudite WW2 scholars know how the Kasumi's former skipper would have reacted if the mess boys had eaten the last of the can.

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Post #: 4115
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 8:08:04 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 12, 1945

Location: 290 miles south of Matsuyama
Course: South
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 416

Orders: Bombard enemy airfields on Iwo Jima

---

Taiki grips the sides of his radar console and tries to concentrate on the small display screen. It isn’t easy. Even down in the radar room the rattle of the machine guns and the crash of the 25s forms a continuous roar. From his time as gun captain Taiki can picture the frantic crews ramming fresh magazines into the receivers as they frantically try to track the attacking aircraft.

Hibiki is heeled over in a tight starboard turn that seems to have lasted forever; Taiki guesses they have at least come full circle. Suddenly the ship begins to right itself and as it does so the rumble of the ship’s engines becomes a roar. Taiki can picture the clouds of black smoke that must be belching from the funnels as Sakati overboosts the engines.

Through all the din the sound of airplane engines can suddenly be heard. How close they must be for him to hear them above the rest of the noise Taiki shudders to guess. Abruptly the engine sound drops in pitch.

“Hold on to something,” Taiki says to Oka, the operator on the Type 13 set. He follows his own advice and cannot help hunching his shoulders a little.

Hibiki suddenly reverberates as if struck by a giant underwater mallet. The stern lifts a bit, then settles back. The roar of the anti-aircraft guns slackens for a moment before picking up again.

“That was close!” says Oka. Taiki nods, then swears as he sees his screen has gone blank. He lunges out of his chair and kicks the right side of the console. The display comes back on.

---

One of the attacking de Havilland Mosquitos passes about two hundred meters in front of Hibiki at mast height and heads for Hiei. It’s a good shot for the forward AA mount and they take it, scoring a few hits. The enemy bomber wobbles slightly but continues on and releases its bomb. Happily the bomb buries itself in a wave and does not emerge. The enemy aircraft zooms over Hiei and away, trailing a little smoke.

Captain Ishii does not waste time watching it; he orders a port turn, both to throw off any other planes that might be attacking Hibiki and to stay clear of another destroyer circling ahead. Everywhere he looks are enemy airplanes, black puffs of anti-aircraft fire, and racing Japanese ships with convoluted wakes.

There are at least sixty or seventy bombers attacking them. In addition to the wave-skimming Mosquitos there are B-25s and SB2C dive bombers. The different planes are attacking from different heights and angles and this does a good job of dividing the task force’s anti-aircraft fire. Above the fray circle enemy fighters.

And then the attack is over. A few shots chase after the last enemy planes to depart and there is sudden quiet. Smoke from the anti-aircraft guns drifts across the water and begins to thin in the breeze and half-deafened men shake their heads in a vain attempt to stop them from ringing. Four enemy planes were shot down but three ships have been hit; Hiei, Kirishima, and Chikuma. Smoke rises from them as they work to bring their fires under control.

The damage to the task force does not seem too serious but it is clear that trying to get closer to Iwo than this would be suicide. Tanaka orders his ships to resume their formation and to change course back to the north.

Hibiki’s shortest sortie of the war is over.

---

Hibiki after the battle. Crew experience has jumped again, from 86/69 to 89/69. Note also the huge fuel consumption for the day, from 475 down to 416.






Attachment (1)

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Post #: 4116
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 8:13:35 PM   
Mike Solli


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*Sigh of relief*

But they're not home yet.

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Post #: 4117
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 8:24:12 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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quote:

there don’t seem to be any powerful surface forces guarding the island. We will be escorting battleships Hiei and Kirishima and heavy cruisers Tone, Chikuma, and Takao. As I said, a strong force.”


Hmm. Looks like a TF selected for speed rather than thickness of armor. And the apparent absence of "powerful surface forces" doesn't mean there are no surface forces. Could the USN slap together a scratch team such as the one in the opening of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal?

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Post #: 4118
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 8:26:55 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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quote:

The damage to the task force does not seem too serious but it is clear that trying to get closer to Iwo than this would be suicide. Tanaka orders his ships to resume their formation and to change course back to the north.

Hibiki’s shortest sortie of the war is over.


Rats. Cancel my previous post.

But it's interesting that Mosquitoes are being based there as well as American aircraft. (Personally I'm fond of Beaufighters.)

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Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/30/2009 9:27:10 PM   
Alikchi2

 

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Excellent battle scene, sir - they're some of the hardest to write, I imagine, but you're pulling them off with consistency.

I imagine the British Pacific Fleet has been formed by this time.



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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 1/31/2009 4:19:12 PM   
Shark7


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quote:

ORIGINAL: mdiehl

Heh. I enjoyed the brief foray to Shark 7s AAR. Several cans of strawberries have arrived on Kasumi. All erudite WW2 scholars know how the Kasumi's former skipper would have reacted if the mess boys had eaten the last of the can.


Haha.

And don't forget the yellow channel marker incident.

But let's not hijack CFs AAR. Back to your regularly scheduled carnage.

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/2/2009 10:44:56 AM   
Bogo Mil

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: tocaff
Hmmmm, maybe Shimura is a smart man whom doesn't want somebody in his command that doesn't want to be there?

Well, at least not soebody who knows that he is doing a job he doesn't want to do.

I don't think a warship like the Hibiki sailed all these years without any Tokeitai agent. And Riku will trust Lt. Miharu a lot in the future... Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I think they had a plan which actually worked.

quote:

Imagine that, a smart officer, a true rarity.

Military intelligence

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Post #: 4122
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/2/2009 7:36:38 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 13, 1945

Location: 30 miles southeast of Takamatsu
Course: North
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 380

Orders: Return to Osaka

---

Sundown finds the task force in the Kii Channel. Soon the ships will transit Tomogashima Strait and enter Osaka Bay. While the threat of further air attack is over there is still danger from enemy submarines lurking in the channel. They do not often come into these waters, as the Kii Channel is less than 80 meters deep, but every now and then an enterprising sub commander will try his luck here.

As darkness falls it becomes apparent that there are fewer lights visible ashore than usual, indeed noticeably fewer than when they left just two days ago. The men aboard the ships know why; radio intercepts during the day just past have told of swarms of enemy fighters over Tokyo. Fierce air battles have taken place there throughout the day and enemy reconnaissance planes have been seen high over Nagoya and Osaka.

It would seem that the war is about to come to Japan in earnest.


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Post #: 4123
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/2/2009 8:18:00 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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quote:

It would seem that the war is about to come to Japan in earnest.


It certainly would. Let's hope nothing serious happens to Hibiki in harbor. (Shades of a certain German submarine movie . . .)

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Post #: 4124
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 12:23:22 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 14, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Never, thinks Lieutenant Miharu, has he seen his captain look so dismayed. The two of them are in Ishii’s cabin and Ishii is staring at his executive officer.

“You are sure of this, Exec?” Ishii asks.

Lieutenant Miharu nods. “Quite sure, sir,” he says. “My friend saw the order himself.”

“Special Attack Corps,” says Ishii. “That’s what you said they are calling it?”

“Yes sir. Just a couple of small air units at first, to try out the idea. If it works well I imagine we will see more.”

Ishii runs his hand across his forehead. “Oh, it will work,” he says, his voice bitter. “There is too much ruthless logic behind it for it not to work. One man for one ship. And so they will expand the program and more and more young men will go. Not all of them will want to, because no one wants to die, but how can they be seen as cowards when their friends are making the ultimate sacrifice?

“And where does it stop, Exec? When all the planes are gone, and all the ships, do we put knives in the hands of children and tell them to charge the enemy? Do we all die, every last one of us, like frenzied rats charging over a cliff? Where does it stop?” His voice has risen to a bellow. Ishii stops and makes a visible effort to control himself.

“I am sorry, Exec,” he says after a moment. “It is just…just that…” Words fail him.

“I understand, sir,” says the lieutenant. And he does. It is a terrible thing Japan contemplates, terrible but yet with a sort of dreadful beauty. It is as if what is best about Japan has been taken beyond its logical extreme and twisted into something much different.

“Yes, I believe you do,” says Ishii. He sighs. “The abyss yawns before us, Exec, yet what can we do but sail ever closer to the edge?” To this Lieutenant Miharu has no answer.


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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 6:01:30 AM   
John 3rd


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THIS scene is better then the combat scene before it.  Nice work.



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Post #: 4126
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 8:25:27 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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quote:

“Special Attack Corps,” says Ishii. “That’s what you said they are calling it?”


Well written scene -- and yes, that's what they would call it before the word "kamikaze" came into vogue.

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Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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Post #: 4127
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 9:36:22 PM   
Shark7


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

“Special Attack Corps,” says Ishii. “That’s what you said they are calling it?”


Well written scene -- and yes, that's what they would call it before the word "kamikaze" came into vogue.


Well I don't think the Japanese ever called them Kamikaze. That was purely the American's naming them that. The same way that we American's referred to the MX-7 Okha as the 'baka bomb' (Japanese 'baka' translating out to 'fool' or 'idiot').

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 11:03:18 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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My opponent, wolffpack, is on his way to Iraq today to begin his third tour there. The game will be on hold for a bit until he gets there and gets settled in.

This won’t have any effect on the AAR, because as usual it is quite a ways behind the actual game. But I wanted to mention it to acknowledge his service and to wish him good luck and a safe return.


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Post #: 4129
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 11:05:12 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 15, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Shiro stands by the port rail looking down into the water. Many jellyfish are visible bobbing in the low swell, large ones with brown rays along their bells. Jellyfish are hardly an uncommon sight almost any port in the world, of course, but Osaka Bay has more of them than most places.

Oizuma comes hurrying past. He stops and peers down to find out what Shiro is looking at. He sees only jellyfish and harbor flotsam and looks curiously at Shiro.

“The jellyfish,” says Shiro by way of explanation. “I was wondering how I might carve one. It would be a challenge to convey their delicacy and lack of substance in something as solid as wood.”

“Ah,” says Oizuma. He looks back down at the water. “Akakurage,” he says, giving the Japanese name for what in the West is known as the Japanese sea nettle. “Their tendrils can be ten meters long, you know,” he says. “And they can hurt, too.”

“Not as much as I will hurt you for goofing off,” growls a voice from behind him. The two sailors whirl about and come to attention. Shun stands there glowering at Oizuma.

“I am sorry, Chief Shun,” says Oizuma. “I shall return to my duties immediately.”

“It was my fault, Chief,” says Shiro. “I know that Seaman Oizuma knows a great deal about animals so I asked him about jellyfish. I should have waited until he was off duty.”

“Jellyfish,” says Shun in a neutral tone. He gives no sign of whether he believes Shiro or not. He steps to the rail, arms folded, and looks down.

“Not many actually look at them,” he says. “Not after the first week at sea, when you’ve already seen thousands. They’re just there, like foam and driftwood.”

“They probably commanded more respect when they wore armor,” Oizuma says. When Shun raises one eyebrow at him he goes on. “It’s an old story my grandmother told me,” he says.

“Let’s hear it,” growls Shun. The tale of how the jellyfish lost its shell is known to most Japanese children, but Shun is not Japanese. So Oizuma tells the story of how the jellyfish was once one of the trusted retainers of the Queen of the world under the sea and was fitted with a magnificent shell which commanded the respect of all other undersea creatures.

Oizuma tells how the Queen fell ill one day and how it was determined that eating the liver of a monkey would cure her. How a monkey was thus brought under the sea as a visitor and how he was so cheerful and happy the jellyfish took pity on him and told him what was to be his fate. How the monkey tricked them and escaped and how the jellyfish was punished by having his shell removed forever more.

The telling is a bit more involved than this, of course, but Shun listens impassively throughout, his massive arms folded.

“A good tale,” is all he says when Oizuma is finished. “All right, back to work.” He turns and walks away.

“That was a close one,” says Oizuma after he is gone. “Thanks for covering for me, Kuramata!”

“Do you know any more good jellyfish stories?” asks Shiro.

“Not one,” laughs Oizuma.

“Then maybe you should go before Shun comes back,” Shiro suggests gently. Oizuma blinks, then nods vigorously and hurries away.


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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/3/2009 11:35:46 PM   
kaleun

 

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Best wishes to wolffpack and my thanks and that of my family.

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/4/2009 11:05:53 AM   
Marc gto

 

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wolfpack thanks you for your service

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Post #: 4132
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/5/2009 6:46:49 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 16, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Excerpt from a letter from Riku Ariga to his wife Nanami:


…and so I understand why you can’t leave. And I might be worrying over nothing. The enemy might not ever come to Okinawa.

If they do, though, I want you to remember something important. They will tell you that the Americans are devils, bent only on killing and destruction. Remember that they are not devils, just men. Men are sometimes as bad as devils or worse, I know, but the Americans only want to finish the war and go home, just like we do. And they are capable of kindness. Some of them can maybe even be trusted.

I worry more about our own soldiers and what they might do. They will be frightened and desperate and dangerous. Your father has told me that as far as most of them are concerned those from the Ryukyus are foreigners, like Koreans. And I have seen how Koreans are treated. Avoid our soldiers, if you can.

How uncertain everything is! It is hard to see past the war and everything to our future together. But I know it’s there, and someday we will get there. I know we will! After all, didn’t the fortune teller tell me that we would have six children? I know you tease me about that, but…

---

Note: When this letter arrived in Okinawa the envelope bore the red stamp indicating that the letter had been cleared by censors. Oddly enough, however, there was no sign that the pages inside had ever been reviewed or touched.


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Post #: 4133
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/5/2009 8:32:17 PM   
Capt. Harlock


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quote:

I worry more about our own soldiers and what they might do. They will be frightened and desperate and dangerous. Your father has told me that as far as most of them are concerned those from the Ryukyus are foreigners, like Koreans. And I have seen how Koreans are treated. Avoid our soldiers, if you can.


Tragically, historically accurate.

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Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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Post #: 4134
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/6/2009 8:16:03 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 17, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Air raid sirens wail over Osaka around noon. Aboard Hibiki they man the anti-aircraft guns and watch the sky but before long the alert is cancelled. Osaka is not being attacked this day, though reports come in that there are once again many enemy fighters over Tokyo.

Preserving their air forces for the defense of Japan has been a cornerstone of Japanese strategy for at least the past year. It has never been stated that way, of course. It would not do for anyone to admit that it was inevitable that the Allies would eventually be in a position to bomb Japan. Yet somehow decisions were made that preserved both aircraft and pilots, even if it sometimes meant sacrificing the defense of more remote areas.

The unforeseen plague that has afflicted Japanese pilots has undermined this strategy to some extent, but enough pilots remain to put up a good defense. And they will be needed; the American P-51s that are now assailing Japan are superb planes. Against them the Navy fields planes such as the workhorse A6M5 and the N1K-J Shiden. The Army relies mainly on the Ki-43-II Hayabusa, the Ki-61 Hien, and the excellent Ki-84 Hayate.

Perhaps the Emperor steps outside his palace and watches the planes doing battle high overhead. If he does his thoughts go unrecorded as he watches dozens of aircraft come apart in the sky or turn into falling streaks of smoke and flame. It is impossible to tell from the ground, of course, who is victorious and who is dying.

Or perhaps he does not, though there are no bombers today and he would not be urged inside by nervous retainers. Either way the battle eventually comes to an end. The American planes retreat and the Japanese planes land. There are fewer aircraft on either side than when the battle started, though the Japanese have fared somewhat worse than their attackers.

But the Japanese know that the enemy will be back, and soon. This is just an opening skirmish in what promises to be a long battle.


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Post #: 4135
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/6/2009 8:37:05 PM   
Mynok


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Classic how you worked the pilot bug into the story.

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RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/9/2009 4:17:02 PM   
mdiehl

 

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Bump.

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Didn't we have this conversation already?

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Post #: 4137
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/10/2009 1:30:22 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 18, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

“Has there been any further word from Tokyo, sir?” Lieutenant Sugiyura asks Captain Ishii. Ishii shakes his head.

“Not since the reports that there were many bombers over the city,” Ishii says. “Radio Tokyo said enemy losses were heavy and invited our foes to send more airmen over the city to die, things to that effect.”

“And then what, sir?”

“Nothing. They went off the air in mid-sentence and haven’t returned,” says Ishii. “That was about ninety minutes ago.”

“I see,” says Sugiyura unhappily. “Thank you, sir.” He asks no further questions.


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Post #: 4138
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/10/2009 1:59:26 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

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January 19, 1945

Location: Osaka
Course: None
Attached to: TF 43
Mission: Bombardment
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

American B-29s return to the skies over Tokyo for the second day in a row. Their primary targets are again the airfields defending the city, and for the second day in a row these facilities take significant damage.

Radio Tokyo, which returns to the air, is not entirely wrong about enemy losses. They are heavy, though Japanese losses are worse. The stoutness of the defense prompts the Allied high command to throw additional forces into the fray. For the first time Allied aircraft carriers are committed to strike at the Japanese mainland.

The carrier forces, led by Admiral Spruance, depart Guam and head north. Though this operation is as yet unknown to Hibiki’s crew it will soon have they and their ship on the move once more.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4139
RE: Small Ship, Big War - 2/10/2009 4:08:58 AM   
Hornblower


Posts: 1361
Joined: 9/10/2003
From: New York'er relocated to Chicago
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excellent as always...

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 4140
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