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RE: ouch - 9/26/2011 3:13:13 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		Hmmmm...


BANZAI!



_____________________________



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

Reluctant Admiral Mod:
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(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 691
RE: ouch - 9/27/2011 9:34:28 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		I sincerely hope I have not earn't your displeasure John 3rd!


When the klaxons ring, Mitchell finds himself in the most awkward of positions.
Naked, under the poop deck shower.
The fact that he is surrounded by dozens of men in exactly the same position doesn’t alleviate his dilemma at all.

Air attack makes any man feel naked and helpless. Actually being that way is horrendous.

The klaxons ring, and there is a mad scramble of yelling, towel and uniform seeking.
‘All marines get below!”
“Clear the decks!”
Pushing against the traffic jam of brown bodies trying to re enter the ship, he is overwhelmingly aware of the guns on the deck above swinging hard, men racing for helmets.
“JESUS!.It’s the JAPS!”
he never knows who calls, but it stops him in his tracks, and he pulls away from the door, and looks over his shoulder.
Above him the single bofor gun bangs, bangs…and there is a Jap plane right there, right THERE!……and it thunders over head, and another too, and he cowers, barely aware of the hot shell casings showering down upon him, mind gibbering, cover, cover!, Im naked, naked in bloody battle!
The deck heaves, heaves him up, he feels surrounded by light, flying, literally flying across the deck, slamming down, bouncing

Stunned, stunned………and a thundering shower of water crashes down upon him.
Hit?, have I been hit?
The deck feels good………I think I will just lie here a bit…….
Screams.
Men, blackened skin hanging, screaming men, stumble from the door, and black smoke shovels, shovels from its maw
The ship is leaning. Listing
He struggles to sit.
The gun is silent, and the deck is definitely leaning
Water, things, material, towels……………a body slide past
Unconsciously, he hangs onto something……..what, it does not matter

The ship is listing heavily now, and the lower side is already frightingly close to the sea.
AP Santa Elena is still doing 12 knots when she falls onto her side.

Mitchell falls, falls across that poop deck, falls into the maelstrom of the sea, is swept astern of the dying beast, thrust away from the great screws of her.

He takes nothing from her, except his life

And the sound, that sound he will live with forever, of a thousand men, trapped below in her flooding holds


(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 692
RE: ouch - 9/29/2011 9:12:50 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		11/11/42


Two men stand on the bridge wing of Zuiho
Every minute or to, spray flings itself at them, great sheets of water.
The carriers bow buries itself, the foam creams, the water crashes over the focastle.
And then she rises, shakes the seas off, crests, and does it allover again

Around her, the task group is repeating the exercise, each ship crashing into these seas.
The pacific is not in any way passive today.
The two men, duck, and rise again, and continue staring at Hiyo a thousand yards away.
If sheer will power can affect the physical, any minute now, Hiyo’s signal lamps will flash, flash –advance east!…full speed!

But they remain dark
Hidaka speaks what fills their minds. “We must pursue!.we must!”
Kato allows the next spray to strike him. His grip tightens on the guard rail “ I fear Hidaka, that Captain Beppu believes those battle ships may pursue us!”

Hidaka does not answer. It is true regretfully, it must be true. Somewhere, somewhere in this grey muck, the enemy lurk. Memories of the Tarawa intercept, the terror of that night………
No, Captain Beppu will not risk THAT again.

Almost as if to confirm the thought, Hiyo’s lamps do flash
“ We will await reinforcement of Yamato battle group, then continue destruction of enemy ships. Maintain current speed, course”

Current speed, 10 knots. Course, due west
Away from the enemy.





Below , the Charge, and Tan, continue their battle

Machining of a new piston continues. It will be of the wrong material, but, given luck, it should do for a while
The rings, too, are being machined

Or trying to be
They have to be the right thickness. They have to have the gap. They have to be able to spring out…….
And they should not break when they do.

Deep in the bowels of Zuiho, a steady stream of incentive is rising from a lathe.
The first ring has broken
But Tan won’t give up.



Truk

The Emily is an amazing craft.
The range is phenomenal. The comfort onboard, unheard of.
Yamamoto steps into the small boat that will take him ashore. he feels fresh, clean. young even.
And full of plans
Truk, he see’s has barely changed.
Is that a good thing?
Or are things satisfactory already?
He will have to find out.

He steps ashore, and a small party comes to attention.
Behind them, at what must be the HQ building, flags falls, and his flag rises.

An officer steps forward “Lieutenant Oi sir. Staff officer, South east area Fleet. Welcome to your new command”

Yamamoto takes the salute
Good.
All is good
‘So, Lieutenant, you have heard of our expanded responsibilities?’
The younger man smiles
“yes sir!’
The hulk of Yamamoto moves towards the HQ. “Very good. Now, tell me, where is the fleet!?”






Deep in the Indian ocean

‘message from Combined fleet sir!’
Yamaguchi grunts. Boredom is killing him. Where in the hell are the enemy?
‘Read it”
He shifts in his chair, only vaguely interested
The tea is good at least
‘”from Combined fleet to all assigned units Combined fleet
This command is dissolved.
All ships now assigned to ………South east Area Fleet...!.Admiral Yamamoto Commanding!”

With a clatter, his tea cup smashes to the deck…………







(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 693
RE: ouch - 9/29/2011 5:30:10 PM   
John 3rd


Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		No displeasure at all Sir. Just disappointed those Kates didn't have Torps! Loss of 4 good crews for scratching the paint on a BB. Sad...

I'll bet those ships are FLEEING the area!

_____________________________



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

Reluctant Admiral Mod:
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(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 694
RE: ouch - 9/30/2011 8:05:52 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		(You have to tell the good with the bad................)


12/11/42

At dawn, Yamato, Nagato, Mutsu and attendant servants join them.
Hiyo turns them east again, and again the battering into the swell begins anew.
It is a fruitless day. Just before dusk, a single ship is reported by the search , a merchant ship, fleeing east.
The range is to far for action today

At 1900 hrs, the news of Yamamoto’s new command status arrives
At 2000 hrs, his first orders

‘return to Truk’

Majuro island has been spared an invasion, for now. But precious else in the grand scheme of things

And far, far too much fuel has been squandered

Other, more precious things are being squandered as well…………


Extract from “Shattering the Sword” , a Cantona production

Even as the Mogami bombardment force retires from its in effectual effort against Miri, the invasion of Narau island begins.
It is, can only be described as, a fiasco

Poorly reconned, poorly supported by naval gunfire, the invasion fleet drops anchor some 1000 yards offshore, as if the enemy has no defenses at all.
The see bee units waiting for them, hardly need any.
A huge swell is rolling, the same rough seas hampering the carriers to the north.
It deters the Japanese not an iota. If ever there is going to be an example of inflexibility, of following orders blindly, this will be it.

Transferring to the assault craft is slow. Terribly slow. Many men are lost just in this exercise.
The assault does not properly get underway for nearly 4 hours, time, time and a half for the defenders to ready themselves.
The attack, however, founders on the protecting reefs, on the beach itself.
Few, if any men arrive dry. Few boats, if any, arrive intact.
3000 men attack. Ammunition for maybe 100 gets ashore
By midnight the attack is crushed.
4th guards regiment, so painfully rebuilt, has been destroyed again.

The survivors will sail away, to Rabual. And quietly, Japans leadership will excise their memory
It will be many years before this story will be told in the land of Cherry blossoms.

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 695
RE: ouch - 10/1/2011 11:49:43 AM   
1275psi

 

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Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		14/11/42

Japanese battle wagons encounter three DD's at narua

A brief, violent affair.
One allied DD sunk, one Japanese hurt.
many reputations ruined.
it is a poor affair indeed.

Another battle japans people will not hear about


Zuiho continues west

Tan, the Charge, the stokers, the Chippies are winning, system damage drops to 4!
(but that bloody pump is fighting every step of the way!)

Ogawa and Diogawa return to the ready room.
They follow the usual routine, hanging gear on the hooks provided, moving towards the kettle for tea.
It has been yet another incident patrol.


And I still wonder at that.

They have been up before dawn, have eaten sparingly, dressed.
Climbed into machines that have now seen hard, hard work, exposed daily to salt, water, over exertion, and battle damage
They have stared down a impossibly short flight deck, one that has been pitching, diving, rising
Rain has beaten into their faces------- rain like bullets.
And they have climbed away, cleared this low rain, this crud, into the blue

For hours they have circled, utterly alone, with the fate of thousands literally depending on their vigilance

They have landed.
Into that muck, into that rain, onto that tiny, tiny slippery deck
How easy to dismiss this skill.
How marvelous the skill of man

They, of course, think nothing of it. It is their duty, Their job
They did it today, tomorrow, they will do it again

Okura is there.
Diogawa calls, he is in a boisterous mood ‘hail, Oh terror of the seas!, we have failed to find you another target to sink”
Okura, however, does not smile
Diogawa frowns, sits down opposite. Something is not well, it seems, with his friend
‘Are you OK old man?”

Okura half smiles, a grimace more than a smile.
“I have looked around us, young friend. Do you realise, after that last little job, that I am the last original Kate pilot left?

There is no answer to that.









(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 696
RE: ouch - 10/3/2011 7:58:01 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		15/11/42

The charge is deep, deep in the steering gear room
Its a horrible room, this compartment
The great steering rams continously whine, the motors humming .
The even more impressive steering rams move continously above his head, back and forth, daring you to place a steadying hand on them.
Do this, and you will, one day, lose it.

Directly below them, seperated by that thin layer of steel, the srews beat, swoosh swoosh, swoosh, and the seas hiss and gurgle. The compartment vibrates like a barsted.

Noise. Movement. poor ventilation, the stink of old oil and grease. Poor lighting
Up, and down.........whoosh, whoosh, whooosh, whine, creak, up and down..............
Sick yet?

Charge is hunting in the semi dark.
There is a lot of spare space down here....true
But don't tell the other departments about it.
Down here, here is Aladdins hidden treasures. Pumps. Shafts, bearings, unknown bits. Ancient parcels, all wrapped in wax paper, or boxes.
They occupy every nook and cranny, these bits and pieces.

And, not all of them, in fact a great many, are not on the official stores registers.
All ships do it. All charges do it. Some are Masters at it.
Need a bearing for a job?
Order two. One for the job, one for..............just in case

Stores Officers hate this. Hate that "S&*t hot book the Charges keep. Know that that spare bearing should be in a warehouse, waiting for its call ...........not tucked away traversing the world.
But good charges have the knack of........'We will need that"
"Order six"
'Should we return these parts Chief?'
'No, I'll look after them..............."

Charge is after some valve packing, and a bearing for a potable water pump. (Just another job)
His book says, stowage 16.........

Stowage 16.

The world ceases to exist, as he tackles the parcels, the boxes, ferretting for that bloody bearing.
His right hand reaches into the mass, pulls out a parcel. Flat, quite large..and round
'Rings
Piston"

Oh, you have to be bloody kidding me

He tears the packet apart. A picture of Tan, somewhere above, still cursing the poor metal that refuses to machine into these very rings.
Charge laughs
Should he let him finish ?. No, too cruel.

He clambers away, pocket full of booty, rings in hand.
All that effort, and he finds the bits after all.
But, if you have ever been there, its how it often goes........

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 697
RE: ouch - 10/3/2011 8:05:05 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		16/11/42

A quiet day
Zuiho travels west.

History will forget it I suppose.

The war continues, life too.
Congratulations on your promotion Leader stoker Lurch!

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 698
RE: ouch - 10/3/2011 8:17:19 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		17/11/42

'The following pilots to the ready room"

Okura cocks a half interested ear. It is a beautiful day out here on the balcony, a refuge from his duties.
Regretfully, his name is on the list. With a sigh, he joins his companions in the room.

Hidaka awaits them. His face is passive.
he begins "men, as you know, Yamamoto has effectively resumed command of the fleet"
'You mean bloodleesly taken it in a coup de ta!" Diogawa interjects.
Laughter. Hidaka grins. "I think you need vocabulary lessons Diogawa........., now, if our resident clown will let me continue"
He looks around the room. How will they take this news?. He can guess. Not well I would think........
"Yamamoto has decreed that all units are to post immediately the top 25% of pilots back to Japan to training command. We arrive Truk tomorrow. You are my 25 %. be ready to depart 1200 hrs."
He lowers his note pad.
So, you go home..
"'You mean leave Zuiho?..for good?"
"For good"
'And if we do not want to go?"

Hidaka is right. The news is not well recieved.
But orders, are orders. Tomorrow the cream of Zuiho's pilots will leave by Emily for Japan.
And not one will not feel shame, shame that they are running away from the fight.





(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 699
RE: ouch - 10/3/2011 8:24:17 AM   
1275psi

 

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Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline
Truk

Okura does not go.
He visits Hidaka late that night.

His argument is good
"herbiesan killed my Father . For duty, for Honour, for Japan. Where would you prefer I be?"

Okura will stay, now senior pilot

Ogawa, Diogawa do not go.
At 0200 hours, they awaken our medic, Commander Korrii. 'Stomach cramps'


He admits them to sickbay.
By 1300, after the Emily departs Truk, there are two miricle recoveries.

Zuiho rests at peace in the great lagoon. But there have been great battles.


(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 700
RE: ouch - 10/3/2011 8:34:14 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		18/11/42

refuelling
mail
Stores
Spares

and new men.

Zuiho's new pilots line her quarter deck. Hidaka moves down the line, noting the still hard leather on the flying jackets, the clean goggles, the neat unworn gloves, boots with out scuffs.
They smell........they smell fresh these men. Punched out by the great war machine in Japan.
Young
No doubt
Brave
No doubt
Ready to die.....
no doubt
"Your total hours young man?'
'Thirty one sir"

Thirty one?

'And in torpedo bombers?"
'Ten sir"





Ten?
Did he say ten?
A cold fury rises in him. Hidaka hides it, moves to the next.
28 hours sir
32 sir
21 sir
64, sir
Sixty four!, my Gods, a regular veteran this one!

How can they do this?, send, send boys like this..........to here?

I will have to start all over again...........But how, and will the enemy allow us?
A disaster. this is a disaster.

'Pack your Kit away men. Welcome onboard. We will start immediatly on those hours ney?"

Hidaka does not note these new mens names. Will not bother to learn about them. After first battle, he knows this will be so much wasted effort.

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 701
RE: ouch - 10/5/2011 10:06:38 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		19/11/42

There is no leave at Truk
Instead, in the finest traditions of the Japanese navy, and under Kato's careful eye, the men drill
And drill
And drill some more

Under Hasegawa, certain unpleasant traits of the Japanese Navy had quietly faded away
Under Katos cold gaze, they return

The men drill
And now, if they drill poorly, they are beaten.







(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 702
RE: ouch - 10/5/2011 10:24:25 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		Yamamoto considers yet again, the great map

So much time wasted
So many opportunities lost.

Yamaguchi stands opposite him. He has said little, if anything, on his rivals promotion.
Now he stands, and waits for Yamamoto to speak

The squat man looks up from the map, and smiles. "It is good to have you back"

Silence

Both men know, that another day, and KB would have struck Columbo.
One considers this good fortune, the other, a wasted chance.

"A situation briefing, Yamaguchi, to bring you up to speed after that little cruise."
The stubby finger points to Burma

"The Army has nearly 12 divisions in Burma, and the great bulk of its airforce. Navy is supporting with some zero units, and several bomber units. Surface wise, a small fleet only, a few cruisers, a lot of bluff. Akyab is holding, and the front seems solid."

The finger waves over the DEI's.......16th army, 14th army. Lightly supported. But, we are here, and if the allies move on mearuke, we will counter. However, i don't think this is going to be the area of main action."

Yamamoto looks Yamaguchi in the eye.......'Do you think a strike on darwin is worth it?'
'I have considered it "
'Good, so have I"

Again the finger stabs
"The Solomons. The main area of operations, too many heavy bombers, too much invested in built up fields, too many units deployed. The enemy is committed here, I am certain of it"

Yamaguchi nods "I agree, but where do we fight, is the Army available?"
"two divisons only"
"That is not enough!"

Quietly, yamamoto agrees "no, that is not enough"

'And the marshall islands?'
And now the Admirals face truly frowns. " herbiesan orders it to be "lightly covered"
"What the hell does that mean?"
'I believe, hold the bloody islands, but don't lose or commit anything of value"
Yamaguchi shakes his head. "When will our glorious leader just let us do the fighting?"
'Victories for the politicians my friend, defeats for the generals"

Yamamoto wipes his brow. "KB will stay here, Task force Hiyo will be reinforced with another CVL, maybe two if trials are completed. They will be the light cover, whatever that means.........."

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 703
RE: ouch - 10/6/2011 9:10:51 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		20/11/42

Disasters can usually in retrospection, be easily spotted approaching. Twenty, twenty hindsight is a wonderful thing

But surely this could have been forseen

Why, on this day, were so many valuable ships gathered at Rabual? Why were the docks so crowded, the ships not dispersed?
And who the hell re deployed the fighters covering the base?

Only eleven liberators have attacked, coming in low and fast.
They carry a lot of bombs, and there were plenty of targets
Cl Kiso, an AV, two APDs, 2 large APs, an AR, and a AG, all heavily hit.
Chaos.
The allies have few tools to use still, but what they have, they are using to great effect.

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 704
RE: ouch - 10/6/2011 9:18:00 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		very little occurs for the next few days. Hosho continues to get fat in reserve in Burma. The navy and airfiorce successfully get major supplies into Akyab, despite allied attempts to stop them

Supplies move, convoys carry, allies bomb merauke

Zuiho trains, and trains, every pilot dragged into the air by Hidaka
Tan, the charge, get Zuiho shipshape again-system back to zero

we will pick up again on the 24th...........Zuiho goes back to war very, very shortly....

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 705
back into the war........ - 10/7/2011 5:04:45 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		24/11/42

Okano is in the chippees shop, hacking away at a lump of metal with a hacksaw
He’s making a bracket.
Like a lot of sailors, he’s come up with a local solution to a problem the designers never anticipated, this bracket is part of a small project that will eventually allow hot water , boiling hot water , to be delivered to a vital area.
Ie –where they make the tea in the engine room.

It is important stuff………
The Chippees work shop overlooks the quarterdeck, and as he works, he sees through the open door quite a crowd of sailors gathering.
Curious, he joins them.
Ships, new ships, a straggling past them, driving them to silence
Burnt ships. Smashed ships. Horribly mutilated ships.

Here, they scream silently at them, is what can happen to you.
This is what a single bomb can do.
It is a brutal lesson. This steel under your deck, over your head, is an illusion of strength.
Safety is a fantasy………..

There are no words spoken as the glide by, heading deeper into the lagoon.
Not until they have passed anyway

It is an anonymous voice that speaks for all of them, spitting the words out
“We will make those barsteds pay”



Much later, another group of ships slide into the lagoon
CVL Ryujo joins task force Hiyo
Most of her destroyers will drop anchor and remain here, the carrier takes fuel

Just on dusk, Hiyo’s mainmast bursts into color, flags fluttering
‘Task force shall sail, 0600 hours’

Hidaka reads the order. Kato standing beside him

“What is the mission sir?”
Kato does not smile. What he thinks is indiscernible. “I believe, flight officer, that we are going to go poke them in the eye, and see what happens”

And sometimes, that is all war is about.
Poke em, and see what happens.

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 706
BANZIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10/8/2011 3:21:37 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		Midnight, 25/11/42

Hirate taps Lurch reassuringly on the shoulder.
“listen to what my water tender tells you to do, do exactly as he says, and “ (this with a grin)” remember if you cock up, and we run her dry, you will only kill us Ok!”

Lurch nods, and looks as nervous as he feels. Promotion brings new responsibilities, a new job. Trainee watertender.
‘Right!” the senior leader tilts his head “follow me”

Port boiler room is quiet, soon Hirate will cross connect auxiliary steam from next door, and the process of bringing this space to life will begin
“Lets align our systems ney?’ Lurch is lead to the aft baulkhead, and the process begins
Opening bulkhead condensate valves, opening to the feed heater. Prestarts on the feed pumps, inlet valves, outlet valves, steam supply, drain, exhaust………a bewildering procedure, the senior kellick moving smoothly from valve to valve, machine to machine.
‘Ok, this is how we stroke water level controller, now watch…”
Lurch watches. He takes it in. He works, he learns.
Watertending is hard. Hardest job in the fleet. Any fleet.
When hand feeding a boiler, he will have to stand on the top plates, at the gauge glass.
Temperatures here will not be pleasant. Not pleasant at all.

But water tending is the true first step on the promotion ladder. Prove yourself here, prove yourself anywhere.
Lurch listens. And learns.
He has come a long way since Minobe called him a fool.
If he survives the war, he will go a long way indeed.

If he survives the war.


Zuiho comes to life. Before dawn, she is ready for sea. Her flight deck prepped. Her guns manned. Her props spin slowly at ease, her anchor chain at the slack.
Kato sniffs the morning air. A chance of rain. Smooth seas ahead.
He stands , as always, coldly surveying the world about him, closely watching these final preparations for sea.
What awaits them this time? A convoy to kill?, or another invasion to thwart?

Or the shock of that hidden submarines torpedo?

It does not matter. Excitement grips again
The sea beckons.

“obey telegraphs!, slow ahead both!”




26/11/42

Extract from Shattering the Sword” a cantona production

Once again, Admiral Cunningham races CV Illustrious towards the enemy shipping anchored at Akyab
CVL Hermes, leads the squadron, 1000 yards ahead, her ugly frame appearing, fading into the scattered showers.
Conditions were perfect

And for the morning at least, all goes very well indeed

The first strike, a dozen swordfish, a matching number of fighters, arrive uncontested over the bay, and swiftly go to work.
Three small cargo ships are promptly sunk, for no loss, and a lone Japanese light cruiser is spotted a mere 80 miles to the south.
It is while a second strike is being prepared for the fleeing Japanese warship, that the first inclination that all was not as it should be filtered to the Carrier

Japans planes strike Cornilla. Not a small strike of a dozen or so planes typical of the last month, but a sweep of nearly 100 plus fighters –many, a great many naval fighters.
And the reports keep flowing in…..another seventy fighters, and as many bombers……
Overnight, it seems, Burma has become lousy with Japanese airpower

Thourghly alarmed, Cunningham recovers his (unsuccessful) cruiser strike, and runs west.
But Hermes is just too slow.
The first Japanese strike is 26 fighters, 16 betty strong
Cap is a mere five fighters.

This first attack is dodged
The second, 13 elderly Nells, has no Cap to contend against.

CVL Hermes is struck just once, and her elderly design dooms her.
Massive fuel fires erupt, a volcano of fire, a torrent of smoke.

Sunk or not, it makes no difference. Yamamoto, herbiesan know now, there is no need for a Navy in the Indian ocean at all , the British have just neutered themselves.

The entire Japanese fleet can turn its attention to the pacific again






< Message edited by 1275psi -- 10/8/2011 3:22:19 AM >

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 707
RE: BANZIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10/8/2011 4:58:38 AM   
John 3rd


Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		OK. One threat lessoned. Where does Zuiho go for this mission?


_____________________________



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

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

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 708
RE: BANZIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10/8/2011 11:12:01 PM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		27/11/42

herbiesan considers the figures, and inwardly, he smiles.
His political opponents (while still alive, of course) , appeared to have been right.

The Irony does not escape him

Centalised, goverment controlled, Industry is a bust
Socialism is a failed system
Of course, with out it, he wouldn't be here, would not have this power, but for actually having a thriving, driving, producing economy...........the capatalists were right.

he looks up at his Industry minister. "is it really that bad?"
'There is no lack of resources coming in sir, but we have made some serious mistakes in how we use them"
herbiesan considers the figures again. "maybe we need to go and kidnap that henry ford fellow ney?'
''maybe sir........"

herbiesan takes a big breath. Makes a decision. "Ok, this is what we will do.........."





Kato hands the signal to Tan. 'you worked for the goverment, what do you think?"

The signal is a proclamation

To all memebers of the glorious empire
To celebrate one year of success against the Imperial british and americans, the Emperor is granting a three day national Holiday
All factories, all shipyards, all fellow members of the empire shall take a well earned rest.
Refreshed, revitalised, we shall, together, face the new year confident in ultimate victory


Tan shakes his head. 'there are rumours sir........I think there might be a supply crises at home"
Kato nods
" You know Tan, sometimes I fear the future very much"







1275psi's comments
i have totally cocked up the economy...LOL

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 709
RE: BANZIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10/9/2011 10:16:32 AM   
british exil


Posts: 1686
Joined: 5/4/2006
From: Lower Saxony Germany
Status: offline
quote:

1275psi's comments
i have totally cocked up the economy...LOL



At least Japan's population get a 3!!! day holiday.

I suppose no rest for the crews of the Navy and Airforce not to mention the little devils in Burma.


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 #: 710
RE: BANZIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 10/9/2011 12:59:41 PM   
PaxMondo


Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

1275psi's comments
i have totally cocked up the economy...LOL

Too funny. Cribtop has the exact same issue at the same time!!!


_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 711
RE: ouch - 10/10/2011 11:00:58 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		OH, I have the grand poo bar of industry cockups.

Oil levels..........less than i million
HI -nil..........yep, nil
No ships getting built..........well , almost none

But Ive got 800 HA35 engines in the pools!

It will take three days IRL to sort this lot out....LOL

back to the war


28/11/42

100 miles north kwaljien
Diogawa shifts around in his seat. Zero seats are hard, and the chute under his arse is not quite right.

The sun beats into the cockpit, the glass magnifying its heat. Even here, at 260 knots, 10000 feet, he is comfortable.
Not warm, but not freezing either.

He takes his head away from the eternal scan of the sky around him, reaching for the soft rolls he has smuggled into the cockpit.
Combat patrol is fine. Combat patrol from 10 am to 2 pm, is hard.
No lunch.
What the stewards leave out for returning pilots is not fit for pigs, personally……..

Straggling behind him, he leads 5 other fighters in this gentle curve to the north east of the fleet, the sky full of the typical cumulous of the equator zones.
The fleet is behind them, a dozen miles distant at least.

And the sky is very large indeed today.

Chewing on the roll, Diogawa again checks on the eagles following him, Mother hen to the chicks, for these are the rookies.
Get them flying, give them air time, experience, especially here in the middle of no where, where chances of combat are slim.

Slim, but not impossible.

He sees them, same height, well before the others do.
Bombers.
Liberators
Four of them, and intercept is inevitable, must happen

They are closing , almost head on, rock wings, safety off, swing in, they are growing, growing, picking a target.: enemy fire!, enemy fire!, he rolls her as they flash through, his gun firing, diving inverted away, down, down, engine howling, pulling around. Soft roll floating about the cockpit……..

He levels out, parallel to the four bombers……and the barsteds are still there, guns pointing menacingly his way.
Looking left, right, behind, below………….and only 2 fighters are with him.
And below, so far below, two shattered zeros twist and turn, plummeting, cratering into the sea in that other world below.
Gone

Diogawa gives a single curse.
He should attack. Everything tells him to attack……….
But he is between the bombers and the fleet, the still invisible fleet
Bad enough that they have encountered them out here.
Worse to give the nature of what hides down below the clouds away.

For three long, long minutes the bombers continue to pound south towards the marshall islands, and he flies with them, just out side the range of those guns

Satisfied, he peels away, decoying to the north, his remaining men following

The giants fade from view
And Diogawa tastes bitterness in his mouth.








< Message edited by 1275psi -- 10/10/2011 11:02:25 AM >

(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 712
RE: ouch - 10/10/2011 1:35:32 PM   
PaxMondo


Posts: 9750
Joined: 6/6/2008
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

OH, I have the grand poo bar of industry cockups.

Oil levels..........less than i million
HI -nil..........yep, nil
No ships getting built..........well , almost none

But Ive got 800 HA35 engines in the pools!

It will take three days IRL to sort this lot out....LOL



Welcome to the dark side! So easy and it can happen so fast ... good to know you are getting it squared away.

_____________________________

Pax

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 713
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 6:07:58 AM   
John 3rd


Posts: 17178
Joined: 9/8/2005
From: La Salle, Colorado
Status: offline 		My long-term Economics Minister (NYGIANTS) might be available as a hired gun. His lessons are tough, he is brutal, but one DOES slowly yet SURELY learn under his tutelage. Good LUCK!


_____________________________



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

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

(in reply to PaxMondo)
Post #: 714
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 10:58:58 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		Its quite funny, every other game I have gone well with industry, this one I sort of, got greedy...........

Anyway, Industry under massive cut back, re organisation.

(makes these quiet days /turns interesting)

But , Cantona is being very busy, for those following, more action coming.....................


29/11/42

There are many things that only sailors can experience

All servicemen experience comradeship. It is why many serve
To be with brothers in arms

Sailors are of a special fraternity. They have service. They are comrade in arms
But above all, they have the sea.
For thousands of years, men have gone to sea to war.
It is a history, it is a now, that binds them together.


Three great tankers follow task force Hiyo eastward
AO, Erimo, AO Kyokuto, AO Tsurumi, have been faithfully following Zuiho for a year now.
Through weather fair, or foul, they have been there.
Great rusty flanks, snaking stinking fuel hoses, great thudding beat of diesels in Kyokuto, shoveling smoke from the other two.

And always, THEY have been there. Fellow sailors, waving, sending over hot pork rolls with the stores and fuel, or messages of good luck.
Sailors have no fixed home, but these great beasts of burden, have served well enough as shelter.

Kato stands on the starboard bridge wing, waiting
‘Fuelling complete sir!”
Our Captain comes to life “Very well Mr Tan. XO, disconnect hose please”
The seas are calm, an oily deep blue today, and the fleet carves great highways of white across its pallet.
‘”Hoses clear sir!’
Good, very good. Belly full again. Now, now we really can hunt. And in his mind, the map, and those great empty spaces where allied convoys must roam….
“Full ahead all”

Kato takes Zuiho up the port flank of Tsurumi at 100 yards .
Pipes blow, and men come to rigid attention. Flags flutter.
And salutes of respect, of companionship are exchanged.

(and down aft, the stokers wave the traditional cleaning cloth wave, matched from their friends on the tanker)

‘Good luck Zuiho, and good hunting’

Men wave, and watch each other dwindle into the distance, before returning to work

Until we meet again.

It is impossible to think, that they never will………….



(in reply to John 3rd)
Post #: 715
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 11:08:54 AM   
1275psi

 

Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005
Status: offline 		30/11/42

Task force Hiyo speeds at 18 knots hard East
Captain Beppu is keen to traverse through the gap between the marshall islands and wake island, intending to once clear, swing south east, and to plunge into the allied shipping lines.

Nature appears on his side. All day the fleet scurries along under heavy rain, grey skies.
The tanker fleet falls well behind, it will just have to catch up.
By dusk, the dash appears to have gone well, by dawn, the swing to the south east can begin.

Zuiho plans are made. She will spot a strike below, armed with bombs. CAP will be heavy. Naval search heavier.

An air of excitement runs through her.
The hunt is on.


Unseen, the Catalina turns for home.
‘Three carriers, 2 cruisers, 8 destroyers, position 220 miles due east Kwaljien. Speed 18 knots, course 090 degrees’
It is one of the most accurate sighting reports of the war to date.


And Bull Hasely cannot resist.
“attack”






(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 716
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 5:15:38 PM   
Insano

 

Posts: 228
Joined: 7/23/2009
From: Joplin, Missouri
Status: offline 		I actually get chills sometimes when I read this great stuff. Keep up the great writing, great story!

In other news maybe you can equip those Ha-35 engines with an armor piercing nosecone, strap them to a Val, and then drop them on some allied ships

(in reply to 1275psi)
Post #: 717
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 8:34:14 PM   
ny59giants


Posts: 9869
Joined: 1/10/2005
Status: offline
quote:

OH, I have the grand poo bar of industry cockups.

Oil levels..........less than i million
HI -nil..........yep, nil
No ships getting built..........well , almost none

But Ive got 800 HA35 engines in the pools!

It will take three days IRL to sort this lot out....LOL

back to the war


Screenshots are your friend. Please post some. I hope you are using Tracker. It makes running the Japanese economy so much easier.

John 3rd and I were on phone while he was driving to see his father and suggested I come over here as a "hired gun."

_____________________________


(in reply to Insano)
Post #: 718
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 10:58:38 PM   
british exil


Posts: 1686
Joined: 5/4/2006
From: Lower Saxony Germany
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ny59giants

quote:

OH, I have the grand poo bar of industry cockups.

Oil levels..........less than i million
HI -nil..........yep, nil
No ships getting built..........well , almost none

But Ive got 800 HA35 engines in the pools!

It will take three days IRL to sort this lot out....LOL

back to the war


Screenshots are your friend. Please post some. I hope you are using Tracker. It makes running the Japanese economy so much easier.

John 3rd and I were on phone while he was driving to see his father and suggested I come over here as a "hired gun."


Looks like Herbisan might be taking on foreign advisors??

Keep the story going, brilliant read, suspense pure. Really enjoying it. One of the first things I do in morning is check my mails for the latest episode.

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 ny59giants)
Post #: 719
RE: ouch - 10/11/2011 11:16:44 PM   
rev rico

 

Posts: 155
Joined: 5/7/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: british exil

Keep the story going, brilliant read, suspense pure. Really enjoying it. One of the first things I do in morning is check my mails for the latest episode.

Mat


Same for me. Morning coffee read!

(in reply to british exil)
Post #: 720
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