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RE: RE: March 20, 1942

 
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RE: RE: March 20, 1942 - 8/17/2011 1:12:26 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 20, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Dutch Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: no damage
Fuel: 355 (67%)


Dutch Harbor was cold, bleak, and thoroughly uninviting. It was surrounded by high, rugged hills coated with ice and snow. The only vegetation to be seen was coarse grass and a few straggling, forlorn shrubs. Human activity had churned wide areas around the harbor into mud.

Signs of construction and activity were everywhere. Along the shore on both sides of the isthmus that formed the base port facilities were being built and more oil tanks were being added. In the center of the isthmus the hillside had been terraced and long, curving rows of barracks were under construction. Anti-aircraft emplacements were sprouting from the nearby hills.

Gridley and the other ships of the task force arrived under low clouds and a cold, steady rain. The soldiers on the transports lined the decks and gazed shoreward. As miserable as the place looked it is likely that it seemed, after a 2000 mile voyage across the North Pacific, like paradise to many of them.

Given the available port facilities it would take a day or more to unload the troops and all their equipment. While they did so Gridley, Worden, and Dale would refuel and give their crews a chance to enjoy the amenities of Dutch Harbor – if in fact there were any.

***

Rudy Bronkhorst sat on a stool in the dispensary. Doctor Corwin stood beside him while near the doorway “Elk” Bowers leaned against the bulkhead, arms crossed.

“It’s round, so it should pass easily,” said Corwin, referring of course to Bowers’ wedding ring. “And gold is inert, so no worries there. I would say it should pop out in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I’ll give you a pail. Just use that, and use these sticks to, um, poke through the results.”

“Okay, Doc,” said Rudy.

“Do we have to do it that way?” said Bowers, a look of distaste on his face. He pointed a stubby finger at Rudy’s stomach. “Can’t we just, like, cut it out of him?” Bronkhorst stared at him, appalled, and crossed his arms protectively across his abdomen.

“No, no,” said Corwin. “Abdominal surgery is tricky. Let’s just let nature take its course, shall we?” He looked thoughtfully at Bowers for a second. “I’ll tell you what, though. Rudy, when you find the ring, bring it to me. I’ll put it through a series of chemical treatments that will remove all impurities before giving it back to you. How will that be?” This was not true, of course. All Corwin intended to do was wipe it down with some rubbing alcohol. But he saw nothing wrong in telling a small fib that would make a man feel better about something so important to him.

“Okay,” said Bowers, reluctantly. “I guess that’ll be fine. Thanks, Doc,” He pointed again at Bronkhorst. “You better use nothin’ but that pail to do your business in until I get the ring back, you hear me?” Bronkhorst nodded earnestly.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 241
RE: RE: March 19, 1942 - 8/17/2011 2:47:58 AM   
jmalter

 

Posts: 1673
Joined: 10/12/2010
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish
Time will tell. I almost never plan where the story is going to go ahead of time.

that's what i like about your AARs - the narrative is created 'on the fly' while you do your game-turns. where it is the game that gives your story its creative spark, not a pre-scripted story outline. But as i read your posts, i can't help but react to the characters, and make my own guesses about what's to come...

< Message edited by jmalter -- 8/17/2011 2:49:04 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 242
RE: RE: March 21, 1942 - 8/17/2011 8:20:51 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 21, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Dutch Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: no damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


Dutch Harbor was not going to win any awards as a liberty port. An officer’s club was planned but not yet built and facilities for the enlisted men were primitive. The high temperature for the day topped out at 38 degrees. The rain had stopped but all day long the base was smothered in cold, heavy fog.

The main topic of conversation aboard Gridley was not the mission, Dutch Harbor, or the weather, however. Upon reaching port they learned that two days previously a strong Japanese force had descended on Wyndham, Australia. The Australians had been taken completely by surprise and the few troops there had quickly been routed.

There were a lot more rumors and speculation than there was substantiated fact. No one knew if this was a raid, a diversion, or the beginnings of a serious Japanese effort to conquer western Australia. No one knew how the Australians were planning to respond or if or how quickly the United States would help. Winston Churchill had made a stirring speech the day before, pledging that the British Empire would not rest until the last Japanese invader had been driven from Australian soil. But the British, the sailors knew, had their hands full at the moment trying to contain the Japanese at the frontier of India.

It was another gloomy note on a year that so far had contained little by way of good news for the Allies. Gridley’s crew was willing to fight, and they were ready to fight. But could they, or anybody, halt the advance of the unstoppable Japanese?


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 243
RE: RE: March 21, 1942 - 8/17/2011 8:24:55 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

It was another gloomy note on a year that so far had contained little by way of good news for the Allies. Gridley’s crew was willing to fight, and they were ready to fight. But could they, or anybody, halt the advance of the unstoppable Japanese?


Time for a morale-building Dolittle raid! And it's interesting that the main topic in the rather cold Aleutians is Western Australia.

_____________________________

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

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 244
RE: RE: March 22, 1942 - 8/18/2011 8:27:08 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 22, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 180 miles south of Dutch Harbor
Course: South
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: no damage
Fuel: 513 (97%)


Away from the Aleutians the fog had lifted, though the overcast still hung low and threatening overhead. With the men of the 161st Infantry Regiment delivered Gridley was leading the task force back home, due south for most of the way and then southeast and into Pearl.

Lieutenant JG Jack Cameron, Gridley’s gunnery officer, had the conn. Cameron stood about 5’ 10”, had dark hair and an engaging grin. He was intelligent and a quick study and both Captain Stickney and Lieutenant Steubens thought he had potential, if he could be made to apply himself more.

Around mid-morning the bridge phone buzzed. Cameron picked it up.

“Bridge,” he said.

“Bridge, this is the radio room,” said the voice of Lieutenant Coszyk, the communications officer. “We’re picking up a coded transmission. Japanese. I don’t know the source but it’s close, within a few miles.”

“Acknowledged,” said Cameron. “Thanks, Lou. Keep us posted.”

“Will do,” said Coszyk, and hung up. Cameron turned to Captain Stickney and relayed the message.

“Could be a sub,” mused Stickney. “Or a Mavis, or one of those damned planes some of their subs carry. Intelligence reports no significant airfields yet on any of those islands they’ve occupied, but that doesn’t mean there’s no plane out there.” Cameron leaned towards the speaking tube to the chart house below them.

“Is radar showing anything?” he asked. The response came back negative.

“Still, they may know we’re here,” said Cameron. Stickney nodded. Cameron thought for a second. The Captain was apparently leaving the decisions up to him.

“Set Condition Two,” he ordered. “Notify the other ships.” As the bridge talker began announcing Condition Two orders were relayed to the signalmen, who started flashing their message aft to the rest of the task force.

The precautions proved unnecessary. There was no further sign of enemy activity for the rest of the day. Gridley and the other ships slid south, away from the Aleutians and the presence of the Japanese.

***

Doc Corwin entered the galley, which for a change was merely pleasantly warm. Dinner preparations were in full swing. Elk Bowers spotted him and came over, wiping his hands on a towel. Corwin held up a gleaming gold ring and Bowers took it with a big smile.

“Thanks, Doc!” he beamed. He held up the ring and examined it. “Uh, is it all, you know, clean?”

“Of course,” said the doctor. “It’s the cleanest thing on this ship right now, in fact.” Bowers slid it easily onto his finger.

“It is a little loose,” observed Corwin.

“Yeah,” said Bowers, frowning and turning it a little. “It didn’t used to be. I’ve lost some weight, I guess.”

“Working in here, I’m not surprised,” said Corwin. “Drink as much water as you can. Remember, no one trusts a skinny cook.”

“Right,” said Bowers with a laugh. “Maybe I’ll put this on a chain or something for now.”

“It might be a good idea,” said the doctor.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 245
RE: RE: March 23, 1942 - 8/19/2011 8:32:19 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 23, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 450 miles south of Dutch Harbor
Course: South
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: no damage
Fuel: 489 (93%)


“Ah, Ensign Courtney, come in,” said Lieutenant Steubens. “Close the door.” Steubens was in his cabin, sitting at a desk covered in paperwork. Courtney did as he was bid. Steubens picked up two sheets of paper.

“I’ve been looking over this report you did on damage control procedures,” said Steubens. “And I’m not terribly impressed. Do you consider this to be your best work, Ensign?” Courtney shifted uncomfortably.

“Sir, I didn’t have a lot of time,” he said, “and there’s a lot of stuff in the manual.” Steubens did not respond directly but indicated the report.

“You seem to have misplaced damage control team six somewhere,” he said. “Or maybe that’s this squiggle here…no, that’s a turret.”

“It’s hard to draw when the ship is rolling like this,” said Courtney, somewhat defensively.

“Oh, I don’t mind the quality of the artwork,” said Steubens. “You’re expected to be a naval officer, after all, not Rembrandt. But it’s sloppy. So is the written part. You left out the section about torpedo procedures completely, for example.”

“Torpedoes, sir?”

“Yes, torpedoes,” said the executive officer. “You know, long things with fins. We carry a lot of them. What happens to the torpedoes if there’s a fire on the torpedo deck?”

“I…I don’t know, sir,” said Courtney. Sweat was beginning to bead on the young officer’s forehead. “I must have missed that part. Sir, there’s so much to learn and…”

“Ensign,” said Steubens, cutting him off. “This is not a harbor tug. This is not your father’s sailboat on Lake Champlain. This is U.S.S. Gridley, a front-line destroyer in a shooting war. Tell me, what happens if we take a bomb amidships and you are the officer on the scene? Fire has broken out everywhere and communications with the bridge has been severed. The crew is looking at you, scared, waiting for orders. What do you do? It could happen, Ensign. It could happen tomorrow.” The lieutenant’s voice had risen gradually through this speech until he was just short of shouting.

“I…sir, let me redo that report, I’ll have it done by tomorrow.” Steubens handed it to him.

“You’ll have it done by tonight,” he said calmly. Courtney winced but said nothing, obviously thinking about the sleep he was going to miss.

“I don’t hand out these little assignments as busy work,” said Steubens. “We’re at war, and we don’t have time to hold your hand while you get your feet wet. Next time I ask you to do something I expect it to be done right the first time. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” said Courtney miserably.

“Good,” said Steubens. “You are dismissed, Ensign.” He turned his attention back to his desk as Courtney fled the cabin.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 246
RE: RE: March 23, 1942 - 8/19/2011 8:39:35 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

“Yes, torpedoes,” said the executive officer. “You know, long things with fins. We carry a lot of them.


True, but at this stage of the war they're mostly dead weight. (Thought it might not have been wise for Ensign Courtney to state that.)

_____________________________

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

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 247
RE: RE: March 24, 1942 - 8/21/2011 2:30:01 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 24, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 680 miles south of Dutch Harbor
Course: South
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: no damage
Fuel: 468 (89%)


“Now this,” said Petty Officer Sam Masterson, “is your Mark 7 depth charge. Six hunnert pound of TNT.” He patted one of the large depth charges on the rack at Gridley’s stern. Beyond the stern the destroyer’s wake spread out across the water. Rangitiki could be seen riding easily a few hundred yards behind.

“Yes, yes,” said Ensign Courtney with a touch of impatience. He’d gotten his report done and Steubens had accepted it, but the ship’s executive officer had decreed that he get some hands-on experience with areas of concern in the event of damage. In his off hours. Courtney felt put upon and resentful. “I know what a depth charge is.”

“Very good, sir,” said Masterson imperturbably. A plank holder aboard Gridley, he had seen officers come and officers go. “Usually these babies are pretty safe. You got your two safety covers, the plain one and the knobbed one, here and here. If those are on nice and snug the ash cans won’t go off even if they go over the side. The rack strips ‘em off, though, as they roll down, so you gotta watch that.” Courtney leaned forward and peered at the depth setting in the center top of the drum.

“They’re set to 100 feet,” he said.

“Yes sir,” said the petty officer. “If the captain sees cause, like really bad weather or air attack or somethin’, he orders ‘em set to ‘safe’. That way they won’t go off no matter what. There’s a pin there that keeps the settin’ from being knocked loose by a blow, like a shell hit or whatever.”

“So what’s the damage control concern with these things?” said Courtney. “They sound safe as houses.”

“Mostly, sir, yeah, if they’re maintained proper,” said Masterson. “But if they aren’t set to safe and go down the rack by accident, or if the safety covers aren’t tight, well then you’ve got about twenty-five seconds to get clear. That’s about how long they take to get to a hunnert feet, where they’re set now. Blow your own stern off otherwise. It’s happened, sir, believe you me.”

“I see,” said Courtney. He looked with a little more respect at the dark gray cylinders. “Are there any other dangers?”

“Well, sir,” said Masterson. “TNT is pretty stable stuff. You could whack one of ‘em with a sledge hammer and it wouldn’t go off. Fire now, that’s another story. If it ever got hot enough back here they’d start cooking off, and if one goes it might be enough to set off others. Be pretty bad, if that happened.”

“How hot is hot enough?” asked Courtney.

“Four hunnert and sixty-two degrees, sir,” said Masterson. “That’s by the book, of course. Explosives can be notional stuff.”

“So fire fighting here at the racks would be a priority,” mused Courtney. “Where are the nearest hoses?” Masterson looked around. His eyes lighted on a sailor over by the rail.

“There’s a member of the damage control team stationed back here, sir,” said Masterson. “I’ll have him show you all that.” He raised his voice. “Tanner! Get over here, and look sharp!”

***

Al Tanner had been loafing around for exactly this purpose. For once he was going to use Masterson’s penchant for finding work for him to do to his advantage. He came over and saluted, precisely enough not to offend the officer, but not so precisely that Masterson would be suspicious.

Masterson spelled out his orders and Tanner led the officer off on a brief tour of the damage control gear stationed aft. The sailor was pleased. The opportunity to befriend Courtney had come sooner than he expected. And the officer looked kind of irritated, too. Word was Steubens had been riding him hard. It was just the kind of opening Tanner had been looking for.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 248
RE: RE: March 29, 1942 - 8/22/2011 7:18:09 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 25-29, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location:160 miles northwest of Pearl Harbor
Course: Southeast
Attached to: TF 107
Mission: Amphibious
Ship's Status: Sys damage 1
Fuel: 369 (70%)


If one is going to undertake a 4000-mile round trip to the Aleutians it’s best to do it when no one is trying to kill you. The return leg of Gridley’s voyage proved as uneventful as the journey outbound. There were no Japanese submarines, no patrolling aircraft with meatballs on their wings, no surface raiders. Even the weather moderated nicely as they made their way back south.

Now, one day out from Pearl Harbor, it looked to Captain Stickney as though his first stint as commander of a task force had been a success. The troops were successfully delivered, the only casualty being a second lieutenant aboard Rangitaka who broke his leg falling down a stairwell in rough seas. Best of all, the voyage gave Stickney and his crew valuable experience using the new radars. The surface set especially proved its worth when it helped them navigate the confined waters around Dutch Harbor in heavy fog.

They weren’t quite home yet, of course. But there had been no reports of enemy submarine contacts near Pearl in weeks. That didn’t mean they weren’t out there, of course. But the waters around Hawaii were heavily patrolled by aircraft and ASW ships, so Stickney hoped they could make the final day of their journey without difficulty.

It would be good to get back to Pearl and find out what was happening in the wider war. Stickney also wondered what their next assignment would be, and how soon it would come. With luck it would be something more exciting than escort duty.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 249
RE: RE: March 30, 1942 - 8/24/2011 1:35:50 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 30, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


Gridley’s crew found that things had not been quiet during their absence. While they had spent twenty days traveling to the Aleutians and back a lot had been happening in the wider war.

The “suicide convoy” was well on its way to Luzon. The freighters, laden with food, medical supplies, and ammunition, had been escorted out beyond Midway. There the escorts had turned back and the cargo ships had scattered and continued west. At last report they were out somewhere around the Marianas, their presence still undetected by the Japanese.

Their cargo was desperately needed. The Japanese were still not attacking the troops that were hemmed in around the Bataan Peninsula but bombardments were frequent and the American and Filipino troops were almost out of everything from food to bullets.

A couple of weeks ago a small force of Japanese carriers had stuck at a resupply convoy at Canton Island. Two escorting destroyers had escaped but two freighters had been sunk. Another convoy was on the way; this time Enterprise, Lexington, and Yorktown were a little ways to the east. Saratoga was in Pearl Harbor, undergoing refit.

Sara was the only carrier in port until about two hours after Gridley’s return; then Hornet stood into the channel, having just made the trip up from the Panama Canal. The arrival of the carrier and its escorts attracted considerably more attention than had the return of Gridley’s small convoy.

Another outbound convoy was loading at Pearl. Cranes were lifting tanks into the holds of large, fast cargo ships as a pair of armored regiments were preparing to ship out for Australia. On the subcontinent itself the Australians reported that nearly one hundred tanks, Matildas and Stuarts, were on the road heading west across the sparsely inhabited interior. They were approaching some place called Alice Springs. It would be some days yet, however, before they made contact with Japanese patrols that had been spotted heading north and west out of Wyndham.

A debate was raging among Allied leaders regarding the Australian troops currently in India. Australian Prime Minister John Curtin was demanding that the majority of the Australian troops be recalled immediately. This was being resisted by Winston Churchill; though the bulk of the Commonwealth Army in Burma had apparently made good its escape across the frontier into India, the situation was still dangerous. The two elite Australian divisions now at the frontier represented the best chance to stop a Japanese invasion of India, should one occur. As Gridley tied up to a berth in Pearl Harbor the debate was still unresolved.

On the other side of the world German and Italian planes continued to pound Malta, and the British were bracing for a possible invasion of the island. Two days before British commandos had launched a daring raid against the dry dock facilities at Saint-Nazaire. Though their casualties had been heavy the commandos had succeeded in inflicting heavy damage.

All of this news was of interest to Gridley’s crew. But it took a back seat to what their return really meant; shore leave, cold beer, and girls. They hoped to have some time to enjoy all of these before being sent back out again.



< Message edited by Cuttlefish -- 8/24/2011 1:36:38 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 250
RE: RE: March 31, 1942 - 8/25/2011 12:33:48 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		March 31, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


“Commence firing, starboard side,” came the command over the speakers. Jake Reedy needed no further urging. He squeezed the trigger on the right-hand grip of his 20mm and proceeded to give the target sleeve in his sights hell.

Other guns opened up, on Gridley and aboard the other three destroyers in line. Tracers reached up towards the towed target sleeve some 1000 yards away. They wavered above the target and below it and some of them even intersected it, punching holes in the canvas. The sleeve sailed serenely on, well behind the plane towing it.

Gridley was the second ship in line. Also present for the gunnery exercise were Grayson, Helm, and Dale, one of Gridley’s companions on the recently completed trip to the Aleutians. All four ships blazed away with varying degrees of success and skill.

Reedy braced himself and swung the gun to follow the target, which was coming up parallel to the column from behind. When the magazine was empty Becken and another man quickly changed it and Reedy resumed firing. Reedy liked the action of the gun. He had to put his legs and back into it but the heavy gun was responsive, pivoting easily on its pedestal. In his concentration he hardly noticed the noise and shaking.

“Cease firing!” came the order. Reluctantly the gunner stopped firing and swung his gun back to its rest position. Ahead the tow plane pulled ahead of the destroyer column, preparing to turn and come down the other side and give the port gunners their turn. Gridley’s five-inch guns all swung smoothly around from starboard to port. The air was heavy with cordite fumes, though these were now being carried away by the breeze.

“Nice shooting, Jake,” said Becken as he removed and secured the magazine.

“What?” said Reedy. His ears were ringing a bit.

“I said, nice shooting,” Becken repeated, a bit louder.

“Thanks!” said Reedy. “You know, I think it’s more effective to walk the tracers to the target than to use the sight.” The gun sight was a simple ring and bead affair.

“Whatever works,” said Gus. “When that’s a Jap plane shooting at us instead of a target sleeve hitting it is the most important thing. However you do it is fine with me.”

Reedy nodded. He squinted down the barrel, picturing a Jap plane with meatballs on the wings coming straight in, guns firing. It was bound to happen, sometime.

But not today. Today they would finish the exercise and then return to Pearl. Reedy unhooked the belt from around his back and secured the free end to the gun.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 251
RE: RE: March 31, 1942 - 8/25/2011 8:46:56 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

Today they would finish the exercise and then return to Pearl. Reedy unhooked the belt from around his back and secured the free end to the gun.


Nice bit of detail. Has there been any improvement in Gridley's AA rating?

_____________________________

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

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 252
RE: RE: March 31, 1942 - 8/25/2011 9:03:22 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

Today they would finish the exercise and then return to Pearl. Reedy unhooked the belt from around his back and secured the free end to the gun.


Nice bit of detail. Has there been any improvement in Gridley's AA rating?


Not since the last refit, when it went from 130 to 147. The next refit, I think, is strictly an ASW upgrade.



_____________________________


(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 253
RE: April 1, 1942 - 8/25/2011 9:08:24 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 1, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


Given a day pass, many sailors would take a bus into Honolulu. Bill Bonderman thought he might do that later, but at the moment he had something more important to do. Instead of going to Pearl City he had the ship’s boat drop him at Ford Island. Once there he walked around the island until he reached Battleship Row.

It was not the same place it had been on December 7th. Gone were Pennsylvania, Nevada, and California, all sent stateside for repairs. Crews were at work on Arizona and Tennessee, preparing them for the same trip. Oklahoma still sat forlornly on the mud and the broken hull of Maryland showed above the water. Of all the battleships in the harbor on the day of the Japanese attack Maryland was the only one that had been declared a total loss.

There were new faces present, as well; Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, and Mississippi were all at Pearl. Bonderman spared them only a glance, however. His attention was focused on West Virginia.

His old ship sat on the mud no longer but was once again afloat. Her topsides were a mess and her flanks were streaked, scarred, and patched, but Bonderman thought she was a grand sight. Work crews swarmed over the ship, preparing to move her to dry dock where a better damage assessment could be done. Jets of water plunged into the harbor as the work of pumping out damaged compartments continued.

Bonderman strolled closer but saw no one he recognized. This did not surprise him. The dead had been buried. The injured had long since been transferred back to the States. And the survivors, he among them, were scattered among dozens of ships.

West Virginia, though, remained. Battered and covered with scars though she was, the old battleship was still here. And after refit and modernization she would, one day, be back in the war.

Bonderman knew all about second chances. He was here instead of in some Texas prison because someone had given him one. He wasn’t going to waste his chance, and he had a feeling about West Virginia. When the time came to take the fight to the Japanese the battleship would be there to do her part.

He watched the work for some time longer. Before leaving he looked around and found the spot where he had crawled out of the water on the day of the attack. He never had learned the name of the man who helped him out of the water. Maybe, Bonderman thought, this was his third chance. However many is was, he thought, you did what you could with what you were given and hoped for luck, the help of those you met along the way, and maybe a little help from the Lord.

He and West Virginia were both still here and they would both keep fighting. Bonderman turned and walked away, walking with long strides under the bright Hawaiian sun.




< Message edited by Cuttlefish -- 8/26/2011 1:18:24 AM >

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 254
RE: April 2, 1942 - 8/27/2011 12:52:33 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 2, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


The crew of each 5” gun put in half an hour at the loading machine every morning, whether Gridley was in port or at sea. The loading machine, a replica of the firing mechanism of a 5" gun, was located amidships atop the machine shop. Dummy shells and powder cartridges were used, of course.

Gun captain Harry Starkweather was pleased with the way his crew’s performance was improving. He doled out his praise carefully, though, inserting it in measured doses amid criticism and urgings to do better. His crew was approaching the target rate of one shell every four seconds, and he thought he and his team might have a surprise for the usual first-place crew at the next competition. That was “Big Harry” Lodge’s crew. Nice guys, but they needed someone to push them a little. Starkweather intended to do just that.

The main difference was the new kid, Beaumont. The job of yanking the 54-pound shells out of the hoist and handing them to the fuse setter required a lot of strength. But strength alone was not enough. One had to be able to keep doing it for ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes, maintaining the same pace. It took stamina. Starkweather had known strong men who were done in after fifteen minutes at the position. Beaumont had been a little shaky at first but now was settling into the job.

He looked over his crew, who were poised and ready.

“Load!” he barked. Beaumont grabbed the first shell, removed the metal fuse cap, then pivoted smoothly and handed the shell to Dan Rucker. Rucker placed the shell nose-down in the fuse setter and cranked the handle to turn it to the correct setting. As Rucker turned to receive another shell Starkweather pivoted the shell out of the setter and cradled it across the breech and into the loading tray ahead of the powder charge the powderman had just placed there.

As soon as both parts of the shell were in place the rammerman pushed his lever. The hydraulic ram swept both parts into the breech, which closed with a heavy “clang”. The dummy gun “fired”, the breech leaping back two feet. The brass powder charge was ejected to the rear while the dummy shell dropped into a container under the barrel.

Over and over again they did it. The sound of the exercise fell into a steady rhythm of thumps and clangs. The men worked silently, sweating with concentration in the heat. When Starkweather called a halt they were all breathing hard.

“What’s our count?” he asked.

“Two hundred and ninety-two, Harry,” came the answer. It was their best 20-minute time yet. Not bad, but it needed to be better. He said as much.

They cleaned up for the next crew that would use the loader, restoring the dummy shells and powder cartridges to their bins and racks. Tomorrow they would be at it again.



(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 255
RE: Ship of Steel, Men of Valor - Cuttlefish (A) vers... - 9/4/2011 2:33:46 PM   
Mike Solli


Posts: 15792
Joined: 10/18/2000
From: the flight deck of the Zuikaku
Status: offline 		Wow, my back is turned for a bit of time and look what we have here! Got lots of catching up to do. I just read your first post. It should be a wonderful Sunday afternoon for me.

Edit: Does Cribtop know this is about the Gridley? I don't want to make an oopsie.

< Message edited by Mike Solli -- 9/4/2011 2:36:48 PM >

_____________________________


Created by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 256
RE: Ship of Steel, Men of Valor - Cuttlefish (A) vers... - 9/4/2011 3:53:36 PM   
goodboyladdie


Posts: 3469
Joined: 11/18/2005
From: Rendlesham, Suffolk
Status: offline 		Hey Major Mike. Long time no see!

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Art by the amazing Dixie

(in reply to Mike Solli)
Post #: 257
RE: Ship of Steel, Men of Valor - Cuttlefish (A) vers... - 9/4/2011 10:27:01 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

Wow, my back is turned for a bit of time and look what we have here! Got lots of catching up to do. I just read your first post. It should be a wonderful Sunday afternoon for me.

Edit: Does Cribtop know this is about the Gridley? I don't want to make an oopsie.


Hey there Mike! Yes, Cribtop knows it's about Gridley. I even discussed possible choices with him prior to beginning the AAR.

As a side note, I just encountered Gridley during my game as Japan against Charbroiled (March '44). Gridley was one of two DDs escorting a few xAKs that got jumped by an IJN cruiser force at Haha Jima. Every Allied ship was sunk except Gridley, which escaped without a scratch.



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(in reply to Mike Solli)
Post #: 258
RE: April 2, 1942 - 9/13/2011 12:58:13 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		Gah! It's been a rough couple weeks here at Cuttlefish HQ. We have lurched from once crisis to another lately, it seems. But everything is now calm again; travels are over and no one is in the hospital any more. It's time to get back to this AAR, and just in time, too. The game has continued and Gridley is in unexpected peril. I will get us quickly caught up so we are ready for action when it happens.



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(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 259
RE: April 16, 1942 - 9/13/2011 12:59:39 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 3-16, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


Drills and training fill the days as Gridley and her crew remain two more weeks in Pearl. Captain Stickney knows that rest periods may be rare in the months ahead and tries to take full advantage of this one. The men are willing and even eager to take the fight to the Japs but some of the men are green and everyone needs more training to reach peak efficiency. The more they work, Stickney believes, and the harder they work, the faster they will mesh as a crew.

He does not exempt his officers or himself. Everyone needs to reach the point where, when action does come, their actions are automatic. They hold anti-torpedo drills, where they try to evade a mock torpedo attack. They hold anti-aircraft drills, loading drills, damage control drills. Some of the exercises are solo, some in concert with other ships.

Outside Pearl Harbor the war goes on. The Japanese invade Java. In western Australia their troops seize several more towns and cut off Darwin. Australian armor rumbles west in an attempt to relieve the town. The first American tanks and halftracks begin to unload at Sydney.

Each day Stickney and his men wonder when orders will arrive sending them back into the war. Finally, on April 16, a flash message arrives. Word spreads quickly throughout the ship; Gridley is heading back to the South Pacific.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 260
RE: April 17, 1942 - 9/13/2011 1:01:21 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 17, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: Pearl Harbor
Course: None
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 525 (100%)


“Our forces,” Stickney tells his officers, “have decided to establish a forward base here.” He indicated a spot on the chart spread across the wardroom table. “It’s called Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides. From here we can mount attacks against Japanese bases in the Solomon islands. To that end over 20,000 soldiers and engineers are going to begin boarding transports tomorrow.”

“And we’re going to escort them?” asks Lieutenant JG Cameron, the gunnery officer. Stickney shakes his head.

“No indeed,” the captain says. “We are assigned to a cruiser force that’s supposed to cover the operation. Rear Admiral Shafroth is going to be in command.”

“Big Jack!” says Steubens, and there are smiles around the table at the friendly nickname, though not from Stickney. Shafroth is an enormous man, rumored to tip the scales at 280 pounds.

“His flagship is going to be heavy cruiser Portland,” says Stickeny. “We are specifically assigned to Destroyer Division 11, with Porter as the lead. We are going to form up with the cruisers and leave at dawn tomorrow. The transports will follow us down there.”

“What about the carriers?” asks Cameron. “Any of them coming along?”

“Not that I know of,” says Stickney. ”Those are our orders, gentlemen. Let’s get this ship ready to sail.”


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 261
RE: April 20, 1942 - 9/13/2011 1:03:59 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 18-20, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 75 miles south of Palmyra
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 451 (85%)


The first three days out of Pearl are uneventful. The task force consists of heavy cruisers Portland, Louisville, and Chicago, light cruisers Raleigh and Detroit, and destroyers Porter, Mugford, Gridley, McCall, Cummings, and Case. The task force shapes a course that will take them well south before turning west, out of reach of Japanese bases in the Gilbert and Ellice islands. A day behind them comes the long lines of freighters and troop transports, well screened by destroyers, carrying the men and supplies bound for Espiritu Santo.

There have been no reports of Japanese activity in this part of the Pacific lately, and few submarine sightings. If anyone in the US Navy knows where the dreaded Japanese carriers are they have not told Gridley’s crew. But it does not seem likely to the men that the Japanese would be encountered out here. The real danger, they believe, will come when they reach the New Hebrides and are called upon to protect the transports and their important cargo.

So they think, at least, during the first few days of the voyage. But they are about to be proven very wrong.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 262
RE: April 21, 1942 - 9/13/2011 1:56:10 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 21, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 380 miles southwest of Palmyra
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 427 (81%)


Captain Stickney stares at the message flimsy in his hand, his bushy eyebrows climbing slightly.

“Sound general quarters,” he says calmly. As the klaxon begins blaring he hands the flimsy to Lieutenant Steubens. Steubens takes it and reads:

PBY reports three Jap carriers and escorts 75 miles SW your position.

“Where the hell did they come from!” says Steubens.

“A better question is, why haven’t we been attacked?” comments Stickney. Men can be seen bursting out onto the decks of other ships around the task force. “If this report is accurate we might be in for a little trouble.” Steubens smiles grimly at the understatement.

“The cloud cover?” says Stuebens dubiously. There is some light overcast but it is not thick and has plenty of holes. Stickney looks at the clouds, then glances across the water towards Portland.

“I wonder what Admiral Shafroth will decide to do?” he says. The answer isn’t long in coming. A pennant is soon hoisted aboard the cruiser. Prepare to attack! Further orders are transmitted via blinker; radio silence is enjoined and the task force accelerates to 30 knots.

The Japanese are directly ahead. No deviation from the task force’s current course is needed. If the contact report is accurate the American ships will reach the Japanese position shortly after nightfall.

The eleven warships race ahead, picking up speed. Aboard every ship men hunch over radar screens and scan the skies with binoculars. A Japanese air strike could appear at any moment and there are no friendly fighters within hundreds of miles. But no Japanese planes appear. As the sun dips below the horizon the American ships plunge southwest into the gathering gloom, seeking the enemy.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 263
RE: April 22, 1942 - 9/13/2011 7:22:39 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 22, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 340 miles southeast of Canton Island
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 403 (76%)


Captain Stickney stands on the bridge. With difficulty he restrains the urge to pace. Instead he remains still, projecting an air of calm. The other officers and men take their cue from him and go about their tasks quietly. Radar continues to show only the eleven US ships.

By midnight it is obvious that the Japanese, if they were really there at all, have been missed. Stickney goes to his cabin to get some sleep. If there really are Japanese carriers out there it might be a busy morning.

Shortly after dawn radio reports are received that show that there are indeed Japanese carriers out there. Canton Island reports an air raid arriving from the east. Soon PBYs pin down the location of what seems to be two or three smaller carriers, 180 miles east-southeast of the island. The Japanese must have slipped westward during the night. Their current location, however, puts them less than 200 miles from Gridley – easily within strike range.

But again no scouting planes locate the American cruiser force. Admiral Shafroth orders his command to maintain course to the southwest. With luck this will take his ships out of danger by nightfall. Well to the northeast the slower troop convoy begins a wide turn to the east to carry them safely out of danger as well.

Aboard Gridley the men are deeply disappointed at having missed the Japanese carriers. For all they know these were some of the ships that hit Pearl Harbor and they long for some revenge. But the primary feeling is one of relief. For two days they have been vulnerable to air attack and only chance and poor Japanese scouting has saved them. They have dodged a bullet, and they know it.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 264
RE: April 22, 1942 - 9/13/2011 8:31:50 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

For two days they have been vulnerable to air attack and only chance and poor Japanese scouting has saved them.


Well -- that can't have been good for your blood pressure.

_____________________________

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

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 265
RE: April 22, 1942 - 9/13/2011 9:27:06 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

For two days they have been vulnerable to air attack and only chance and poor Japanese scouting has saved them.


Well -- that can't have been good for your blood pressure.


No indeed. On the other hand, imagine how Cribtop would feel if he knew how close his raid came to finding not only three USN heavy cruisers but a big fat waddling convoy loaded with over 21,000 troops!


(in reply to Capt. Harlock)
Post #: 266
RE: April 22, 1942 - 9/13/2011 9:43:50 PM   
Crackaces


Posts: 3858
Joined: 7/9/2011
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish


quote:

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

quote:

For two days they have been vulnerable to air attack and only chance and poor Japanese scouting has saved them.


Well -- that can't have been good for your blood pressure.


No indeed. On the other hand, imagine how Cribtop would feel if he knew how close his raid came to finding not only three USN heavy cruisers but a big fat waddling convoy loaded with over 21,000 troops!




I was really really nervous he would find the USS Gridley ....and then where would this thread go

Great writing prose BTW ...

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 267
RE: April 23, 1942 - 9/16/2011 5:00:33 AM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 23, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 300 miles northeast of Pago Pago
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 378 (72%)


“We should have attacked them,” Rudy Bronkhorst said. He and Bill Bonderman were headed for their duty shift in the radio room. The crisis with the Japanese carriers was apparently over. The American ships were now well out of range to the southwest and the Japanese, after taking one more swipe against Canton Island with their aircraft, were retiring to the west.

“Attacking carriers with a force like ours,” said Bonderman, ducking his tall frame through a hatchway, “that’s kind of like takin’ a shot at a bear with a .22. When you’ve only got one bullet,” he added.

“We could have done it,” Bronkhorst insisted. “Those Japs were blind.” He squeezed his stockier frame through the hatchway behind Bonderman.

“Remind me never to go bear huntin’ with you,” drawled the Texan with a grin.

“They got a lot of bears in Texas?” asked Bronkhorst.

“Plenty of black bears,” said Bonderman. “Haven’t been any grizzlies since my granddad’s time.”

“I still think we coulda tried it,” said Bronkhorst.” Bonderman ambled along, turning sideways to let another sailor pass.

“We will,” he said. “And when we do, it won’t be with a .22. We’ll pack along a big-game rifle.”

“I hope so,” Bronkhorst said as they reached the radio room. “I’m tired of running.”

“We aren't running,” said Bonderman. "We're doing the smart thing to do when you see a bear. We're just calmly walkin' away."


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 268
RE: April 24, 1942 - 9/21/2011 11:18:17 PM   
Cuttlefish

 

Posts: 2454
Joined: 1/24/2007
From: Oregon, USA
Status: offline 		April 24, 1942

Aboard USS Gridley

Location: 40 miles west of Pago Pago
Course: Southwest
Attached to: TF 123
Mission: Surface combat
Ship's Status: No damage
Fuel: 354 (67%)


“We’d clean their clocks, you better believe it,” said Gus Becken as he helped himself to more meatloaf. The dinner mess conversation had turned to how well the US Navy would fare against the Japanese Navy in a surface fight. To this point of the war in the Pacific there had yet to be a significant battle between opposing surface fleets.

“How do you figure?” asked Jake Reedy.

“The Japs have terrible aim,” said Becken, chewing. He swallowed some milk. “Everyone knows that. They’ve got poor eyesight. That’s why all of them wear those thick round glasses.”

“And they’ve got no sense of distance,” added Marbles Jenks. “On account of being carried on their mother’s backs when they’re babies.” Edward Barnecott, who as a rule didn’t say much, snorted.

“Well, it’s what I heard,” Marbles said defensively. Barnecott shrugged.

“And how good can their ships be?” asked another man from down the table. “Hell, they were in the dark ages just a few generations ago.”

“I dunno,” said Reedy. “They learned a lot from the Royal Navy. I talked with a Brit once who knew them pretty well, he said the training their sailors went through was very thorough and really, really brutal.”

“Oh yeah,” said Becken. “They’re tough and mean, I give you that. But that doesn’t mean they can out-shoot us. We probably have better torpedoes, too. If you want something made right you want it made in the good old USA.” There were agreements from around the table.

“You mean, like this meatloaf?” said Earl Herring wryly.

“Yeah, it is kind of dry,” said Becken. “But look at us. We eat meat. What do the Japs eat? Rice and fish. What kind of healthy diet is that? No wonder they have bad eyesight.”

“I guess the only way we’ll know for sure is if we get to fight them,” said Reedy.

“With this mission, maybe we’ll get the chance,” said Jenks.

“I hope so!”

“Be careful what you wish for,” murmured Barnecott. But he spoke too softly to be heard above the general hubbub.


(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 269
RE: April 24, 1942 - 9/22/2011 8:24:38 PM   
Capt. Harlock


Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline
quote:

But that doesn’t mean they can out-shoot us. We probably have better torpedoes, too. If you want something made right you want it made in the good old USA.” There were agreements from around the table.

[...]

“I guess the only way we’ll know for sure is if we get to fight them,” said Reedy.

“With this mission, maybe we’ll get the chance,” said Jenks.

“I hope so!”

“Be careful what you wish for,”


Amen, brother!

_____________________________

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

--Victor Hugo

(in reply to Cuttlefish)
Post #: 270
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