The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

Turns spotty over christmas, and thus posts

A very, very big thankyou for all the followers and commentors on our little ship that could.
A merry Christamas to all.

Happy Birthday Jesus, Saviour and Lord.

[kaleun]

Ditto, Merry Christmas and thanks for the story.

[CaptDave]

Thank you for the report and Merry Christmas to you, too.

[whippleofd]

Fair winds, and following seas shipmate.

[1275psi]

22/2/44

There comes a time when you simply must honour the threat.
The time, it seems is now.
Captain Shibayama, battleship Hiei, has the honour.

The odds against are high, the chances that this would be a one way trip high. But this in no way would prevent him from planning for the very best.

"Battleships Hiei and Haranua will sail at 1600 hours, proceed via western Timor, and attack enemy shipping Darwin and Thursday island area"
Very well.
Death calls, but he will sell himself and his ships for a steep price indeed.
'Navigator to bridge"
First question...........just how feasible would a course hugging the south coast of timor be?




Extract from Shattering the Sword" a cantona production.
Almost hourly it seemed to the Japanese, the threat south of Timor grows. Two distinct forces are known to be gathering, broken up into the usual allied multiple task forces, with further forces coming north from Wessel island. But now the delay seemed explained, many of these ships are tankers. This is no decoy, this threat is real.
Herbiesan however, feels that there is something else, something nastier yet to be revealed.
No carriers will be released for the battle that seems to be pending.
The battleships, LBA would have the job.

Hiei, haranua are not alone.
At soerabaya, Kirishima reloads, re arms, 4 CA's with her
Further north, battleship Fuso pushes hard south, her elderly frame carving the java sea.
And at Biak, battleship Hyuga begins to re raise steam.

And across the Dutch east Indies, a score of DDs and E type vessels prepare to add to the picture.
The first battle of Arafura sea has barely receeded into history.
The second, it seems, is about to begin.

[1275psi]

23/2/44

Over moulmien, 21 KI 44's fall to the spitfires.
Heavies bomb Moulmien, and many bases south in Thialand.
Yet more ships gather north West and North east of bathurst island, and the heavies attempt to close babo airbase
Irresistably, japans forces are being drawn towards timor.....................


For Zuiho, quiet days.
They drill, they clean, they exercise, they drill.
Minobe requests a transfer.
It is refused.
Training command again offers 6 Zuiho pilots opportunity to transfer ashore.
They refuse.

The zeros are assembled, the Jills are serviced.
They wait, in these last days of winter, sweeping the snow off her flight decks.

It is easy to forget the war.

[1275psi]

24/2/44

Battleship.

What does this mean to you?

To an engineer, to a sailor, one of the greatest machines ever built.
1500 men working in perfect harmony, a harmony with but one aim. Place heavy rounds on target on time.
The Captain sits in command, but what an organisation that sits below him.
Who decides where those great rounds should go?. Who gives the bearing, the ranges?
Who interprets that vague shadow that is the type 22 radar return.
Who actually fights the ship?. Who combats the damage, who directs the repair teams?. What of the 5 inch guns, the searchlights/? What of the engines, the floatplanes.

They all do.
One team, trained to razors edge.
But the captain wields that razor edge.

It is dusk, 24/2/44.
Battleship Hiei is a mere 10 miles off the south coast of Timor.
And it is time for a decision.

The picture has grown steadily as they have come south, carving the smooth seas, zig zagging as the go.

Enemy DDs have chased the latest APD run away from babar island.
120 miles north west of darwin, west of thursday...............50 plus ships.
A BB.............a CV..........many LST's, many APs and APA's.
80 miles east of them, a second fleet, destroyers, APDs.....tankers.
And several other forces scattered about.

But now, with an hour to dark, another report.
"Enemy are moving North west"

On the darkening bridge, they huddle over the chart.
'Do you think they are coming?"
'I will assume that they do not.............and that they will"
Captain Shibayama smiles. 'If they come, I hope to run into them coming the other way. If they stay..........we hit them a little later".........................'there are targets enough"

Ten minutes later, battle orders are issued
They are simple, they leave little risk of confusion.
"destroyers shall lead at 2000 yards ahead., abreast formation. haranua to starboard of Hiei. Destroyers upon contact shall launch long lance attack, then retire in column behind battleships to reload
I intend to turn to port, and engage until all ammunition expended"


Engage until all ammunition expended.
But expended against what?

'Come right, new course 160 degrees, all ahead full"
Tomorrow, before dawn, they all would find out.

[kaleun]

On tenterhooks!

[1275psi]

25/2/44
25/2/44

In the belting rain, in the dark of a no moon night, the crew of CVE Nassau tend to the miserable work of refuelling the destroyer. Decks are slippery, conditions dangerous.
The encounter with the enemy is short, sharp, brutal.
Steaming in directly the opposite direction, the three E class boats barely have time to swing guns to bear, barely have time to register before the dark and rain will swallow them up again, before Nassua’s wild gyrations find her safety
But the E boats do have time enough to spray her flanks with 25 mm fire, to punch her sides with 3 inch shells, to leave her burning, to leave her decks running with blood.
How she could be here, alone, almost un escorted, remains a mystery.
How the Japanese mean to meet the threat growing north of Darwin , no longer will be.
They will meet it in the only way the imperial Navy knows
With attack.

Captain Shibayama on the Hiei stands rock like on his bridge. Silence surrounds him, for he will tolerate no unneeded chatter.
Battle requires discipline. Here, on this mighty bridge, it is Krupp strong
‘Enemy contacts, bearing 160, range 20000 yards sir, one large contact, 3 smaller, possibly a cruiser, 3 destroyers”
Soft words, spoken gently in the dark, as if the speaker orders a simple meal . Soft words, announcing so much violence…….
“Very well, prepare to engage”
Great guns begin to turn, barrels seeking, pointing into the rain, into the dark.
At 12000 yards, Hiei engages.
And somewhere, out there, through the rain, the fog of battle, the unseen enemy shoot back.

Firing by radar, firing by solution, she shoots deliberately, with many periods of silence while the uncertain science of Radar struggles to guide them.
Destroyers launch fish, shells straddle them, a flare of a hit in the dark, announcing Haranua’s 14 incher striking home on something………
The battle, a strange impersonal affair, goes on for nearly an hour, before the pips fade from sight. Dawn is 2 hours away, his fish are gone. No other targets are likely to be found now, not with so much time to run away from this threat.
Time for home.
Plenty of time to run away, yes.
But this is 1944. The time for running away for the allies is long gone.
The sun is well up, the rain still falling under a low grey sky, when Battleship Massachusetts finally catches them.

Shibayama has just finished breakfast, his great ship trembling under full power below him, when the sighting is made.
“Battleship, 3 heavy cruisers, 4 destroyers, starboard flank, bearing 030 sir………moving to intercept.”
A battleship!. Two against 1!. He glances again at the still dark sky. No planes, none . Nor any likely to be. A thrill passes through him. History will be made today………..
‘Form line ahead, port ten, inform Haranua to engage enemy BB only, ,she is the greatest threat gentlemen. Have destroyers stand clear, this will be for the big boys !”
Haranua passes ahead, 1000 yards ahead, great guns to starboard, seeking. White foam boils at her stern.
It is 9 am. There is only one way to describe this.
Magnificence.
18000 yards. Stand aside children, the giants are going to work.
The horizon lights up, flashing, brighter momentarily, than the sun. Broadsides away.
In thunder, in smoke, in flame Hiei, Haranua reply.
Shibayama watches closely, the enemy cruisers are moving ahead of the BB, moving to cut him off.
‘I have no fish………..but the enemy do not know this’
‘Signal destroyers……….initiate torpedo attack”…….if they can be made to turn away......
Now the battle rages, guns pounding, pounding, firing with perfect regularity, and the ocean about them erupting with ones of its own.

A brighter flash upon the massa……….a 14 inch hit.
But she keeps coming
9 30 am, 16000 yards.
Now the entire horizon is aflame, the faint grey shapes spitting fire with stunning speed, 6 inch, 8 inch shells streaming towards them.
His destroyers weave, wriggle…….and turn back towards him, it is getting too hot….
Nenohi takes a 16 inch……..it passes through, fails to explode
“I am alright”
They plunge on, course ever so slowly bending west, as the allies push across their bows
Destroyer Hatsuharu takes an 8 inch, fires burn admidships……
Again, that flash, another hit on the enemy…………’Tell guns well done”.
But the enemy is from an age long removed from when Shibayama’s commands ancient steel was laid down………
The 14 inch shell apparently does little to slow the buka down.
Nor does the next from Haranua.
1015 hrs. 15000 yards.
And still the guns thunder. They thunder, beating senses down, numbing men, taking them into tiny insulated worlds, worlds that are full of noise, and noise, and noise.
Again, and again, they hit the Massa, and still she keeps on coming
No captain can expect any more, no ship can fight so well, hit so often, be so professional………..
But still, it seems, they are losing…………….
Now other members of his team are coming into work, bringing the 5 inch barbettes into play, firing onto the cruisers that come steadily closer, and closer.
Two of his destroyers burn, but hang on, bows still carving seas at 30 knots.
Something crashes into the tower below him, screams away. A 16 incher. The Buka is finding the range at last.
‘Gunnery officer, ammunition state”
“almost done”
Time to be away………..
“Fleet will turn away, new course 270, standby to execute”
Too late
16 inches of armour piercing death do exactly that, slicing through ancient armour, steel and plate.
Deep into Haranua’s gut
They see it clearly, the puff of dust on her side, the shudder, the shake, so seemingly insignificant, but there is no missing the towering burst of steam and flame from the aft stacks base, nor the sudden, dramatic drop in her speed.
The thought rises immediately, unbidden, unwelcome, unwanted. Bitter. “We are beaten”
As if to full stop it, as if to mock them, Haranua fires again, strikes again, her shells defeated by Pittsburgh steel again………..
The stricken battleship, slides down his port side, light flashing………… ‘Do not wait for me, I will cover”
Command
Oh the weight of command. But some decisions are almost forced upon you.
Ammunition gone. Destroyers falling behind, lagging, burning. A ring of steel closing in.
Destroyer Akitsuki, which has lead them the whole way, lead them and lived a charmed life, turns, races past,, laying smoke, spitting fire, covering the battleships distress.
Until she too, is abruptly shredded.
‘Execute turn!”
Hiei turns way, belching smoke, still belching fire from her secondary guns. The cruisers race astern, chasing her, hunting her, sensing her rifles are empty now.
They hit her, again, and again,
But battleships can handle that.
1200 hrs, and the guns fall silent

Hiei sails alone. Behind her, the guns rumble on.
And tears run down Shibayama’s face.


Extract from “shattering the sword” a cantona production
………….and yet, with the withdrawal of Massachusetts and her task force, the battered Haranua, ,and her two burning escorts, crawling north at 5 knots, still would perform one last task.
The airstrikes from CV $#@#$ should have found Hiei, should have sunk her. Instead, the towering smoke from the crippled ships draw them like flies to a carcass.
It takes 7 bombs to finish Haranua, she sinks, firing to the last.
Japan has lost her first battleship.

With 5 carriers now identified near Darwin, and a sea full of ships, this will not deter her at all.
Battleships are designed to fight. And fight they will.

[1275psi]

26/2/44
Battleship Yamashirio announces her prescence to the allied armada, dodging a small squadron of 3 medium bombers, she fades north again.
Whether her prescence makes a difference?
Only God knows.

The enemy remain, lurking.

Herbiesan ponders, ponders.
A new CV joins the fleet.
The Taiho is still 29 days away, as are the two remaining new builds.
The forces south of Timor seem to be coalescing....................

28/2/44




The knock on the door startles Takeji from a deep deep sleep. For a few moments he is disorientated, mind and eyes searching the darkness, the silence.
Your cabin, old man. Its your cabin, your bed.
A crane of the neck, hand groping into the dark
Thin yellow light fills his stark, austear cabin.
0200 hrs
gods...........
and cold
the knock comes again
"Yes"
The signalman is apologetic, the message he bears is not.
"Raise steam immediately, be prepared to sail 0900 hours"

So, we move, at last.




In my experience, there is few things in this world as depressing and un inviting as a cold, cold boiler room, on a cold, cold winters day.
Snow falls on Zuiho's deck, and the wind blows artcic like across Tokyo bay, and Zuihos ventilation fans suck it in, and deliver it straight to the hold.

"Full watch below Petty officer"
Hirate nods, teeth chattering.
0300 hours, and it appears, this little holiday has finished.
He looks around, eyes sweeping the spaggetti of pipes, the cold, still machinery.
Silently, to himself, he whispers.
"Ok you little bitch, south for sunnier climes..........just don't give me too much trouble ney?"

[1275psi]

The threat, I suppose, must be honoured.
Combined fleet raises steam.

[1275psi]

1/3/44

Dirt trickles down from overhead, and falls, again, upon Hosho.
Faintly through the roof of his bunker the drone of the enemy bombers.
Not so faintly, in fact, far too noisily, the crump , crump of the bombs.
Japans airforce has vanished from Burma, the allies slow at first to realise, are now taking full advantage.
Its all niether here, or there to Hosho and his hardened veterans.
They are dug in deep, the river is wide. Reinforcements are arriving.
There is little to worry about.


Not yet, anyway.









Pilot Officer Graham, well, he has plenty.
There has been no new meals to catch for what?, ten days now.
The rivulet has as hoped, become a stream, the stream a small river, flowing swiftly through the jungle.
Flowing south.............

He has no choice though. He's running a fever. His strength is waning.
He has never been so truking hungry in his life...............thoughts of wellington beef pies keep swimming through his mind.
"Time for another miracle Lord.............please?"

But the Lord, and the jungle do not reply. It remains dark, dark, hot.
Silent
And totally impervious to this mere insect blundering through its mighty domain.

[1275psi]

East of Bonin island


They come over the horizon, great grey shapes, five fleet carriers strong.
There are no radio calls, a few blinking lights.

Dispositions are made, task forces are formed.
Zuiho joins the main body, and begins what she does so well.
"commence flight operations"

Japans carrier strength changes course, south east, Herbiesan wants the waters east of Siapan swept first, before they tackle the monster now finally committed to the Timor sea.

[1275psi]

Babar island
Saumalaki

Death stalks these seas

japans SS wolf pack moves into the battle

A ss attacks -misses, is sunk
A ss attacks,-misses, is sunk
A ss attacks, misses, is sunk
yet another attacks, and misses the LST it attacks, and is sunk

Others strike:
An AP is hit
A LSD is hit
A AK is hit

Unbelievably, ss RO-33 is attacked, on the surface, by a LST! - and sunk!
More strikes,
A LST is hit
A AP is hit
Another SS is sunk

A mere 4 remain on task.
japans SS arm has sholt its bolt.


And as if to mock her efforts, east of Minando, an Allied ss penetrates a 12 shipo screen, slots CVL Shoho, and in the same spread, her escorting AR

Shoho may survive, she may not.




The Marines storm ashore at babar island, but not with the skill one would expect. Disruption is immense. the japanese waiting are in good shape.
At Saumlaki, the Americal division too arrives in a mess.

This battle is going to continue.

Battleship Yamashirio, CA Kinugasa, CA Mikuma and 7 DDs will attack , they are in range
Heavy cruisers Takao, Mogami, Mikuma, 4 DDs are racing in from near Dilli. They too are in range.
A division is at sea nearby, ready to be rammed ashore
A regiment is landing at Dilli

And hundreds of planes , on airfields spread in a great arc, are ordered to action.

It begins.

[1275psi]

herbiesan contemplates his map

its still stinks

Alright then, I still think the allies will strike mid pacific. Combined fleet should give him quite a surprise.

Kaga is ordered to leave palua, and race north to join. She will try to brave the ss.
There is nothing left to do, but wait.

[1275psi]

2/3/44


Like an elephant charging down a slope, Japans forces come at Babar island.
And not unnaturally, the allies try to stop them.

There are two thrusts, simultanous and supporting.

Yamashirio comes on, Royal Soverign will try to stop her
She is old, this Yamashirio, but even an old elephant coming on can be so very hard to stop

This action, 8000 yards, dinosours at close paces, is fought in the utter dark.
15 minutes later, Yamashirio powers on.
Behind her, the night is lit by Royal soverigns burning, 8 telling salvos and a long lance have finished her

The next action is almost in explicable, a puzzlement to all who will write of this second battle of Babar
5 allied DDs are blasted to oblivion, a hail of fire sweeping them away, with barely a shot returned
3 will sink, 2 stagger away, flaming.

The elephant charges on.
Light cruiser Montpelier takes her turn...............the hunter stands firm, and wields her blunderbust
17 hits crash into her, but Yamashirio's hide is so tough..............she will, and can fight another day.

She swats Montpelier aside, hitting her hard

Ammunition gone, 2 destroyers shorn from her, she turns away for home.

A battleship, 3 destroyers sinking behind, 3 cruisers hit, 4 destroyers burning
2 Japanese destroyers lost

The elephant has charged the gate, hit it, and smashed it open.

Heavy cruisers, Suzaya, Mogami, Takao and 4 destroyers begin there run from just north of Dilli
2 allied DDs attempt to intercept, DD Remey takes 6 hits
And again the inexplicable.............


Their orders are simple, penetrate the anchorage, at any cost.
The gate, opened by Yamashirio, is now but weakly guarded

Just before dawn, in heavy rain, this task force penetrates to the beachhead at Babar
Inbound, they sink 2 DE's.
And the carnage begins
They sink 5 APA, 4 LST, 2 AM, drown 1200 men, force the remaining transports to flee
They expend all their ammunition
Mogamai, Suzaya, the destroyers all their fuel
Obeying orders to the last, the cruisers run themselves aground, the crews joining the defenders of babar
Takao will get away, using her very last drops of fuel to make Ambon.

It has been a sharp blow.
The landings have been disrupted, and thousands have died already
And the day has not even begun

11th airfleet has many planes available.
A great many

And today, there will be no co ordination issues.

[1275psi]

200 miles north pagan
(waiting for the rushing Kaga to join)

Hidaka enters the bridge, his anger still written large
Takeji views his group commander almost with amusement
"And his excuse?' he asks, voice tinged with humour
'The fool simply misjudged it"

"It happens Hidaka, it happens, sometimes I think you forget just how little our deck is"
"Trust me sir, thats something I never do"

Zuiho has two damaged Jills, one a mechanical failure, the other has clipped the tower on landing, 4 feet of wing now missing.
ASW duty..........
Hard on men, hard on planes
And at times, it seems, totally pointless.

Takeji's humour vanishes.
'There is a battle in the Arafu sea"
"And?"
'Admiral Abe has guessed wrong, I think. The sea is, apparently thick with carriers"

[1275psi]

A long, long time ago in this little adventure, we encountered a certain beast called the evaporator.
Do you perhaps remember?
It doesn't matter if you don't, just another cantakerous piece of kit onboard Zuiho, that bloody great heap of shite in the corner of the boiler rooms that converts sea water into precious feed and fresh water.
Its been there a long time now, doing its thing. Oh, unrelated in this tale, its had its own little history of problems and maintenance issues, from the regular "crack downsand cleans" to at least three pump rebuilds, all just part of regular crud that Zuiho's men battle each day.

And its been a while since we have heard of water problems too...........

Lurch, unfortunately, is the Chief of the watch when it happens.
Whenever an evaporators output is put to feed tanks, the routine is always the same........."boiler room A or B, test your output, and if clear, put to feed tanks"
The vappy in the boiler room, then does a simple nitrate test, and if the sample does not cloud up, its "clear". he opens the valve to the feed tanks, and shuts the one to the fresh water tanks.
Except tonight, just about when Lurch gives the order to swing, the brine pump silently gives up the ghost............and Lurch , already behind schedule, simply says "Swing tanks A boiler room please"

Who's fault?
His?, or the vappies for not noticing the vap is not bubbling, but a solid wedge of green?
Who knows. Crap happens

Nearly a ton of salt water contaminated the main feed tank, and, somehow (lets not even go there.......) the first reserve.
From 90 percent feed, Zuiho is suddenly at 25%

There is the usual call of the charge, the usual.'TRUK!", the usual calm issuing of orders to set things right.

Its what happens later................

[1275psi]

2/3/44

Battle for Babar
The strikes will go in
The first, 114 fighters strong, taking 30 betties straight in, runs into the cloud of hellcats expected

186 are up, with 24 wildcats, 6 corsairs assisting

Doesn't matter. Doesn't help, there could have been a thousand..........

In heavy rain, terrible visibility, engagements are few, losses are light.........in the air
CVE Lipscome bay eats 2 fish
CVE Copahee eats one

The second, sees nothing but clear air...........how an hour can make such a difference
56 fighters, 9 kates.............the hellcats eat all the kates.
(but there fewer hellcats now)

70 more fighters, oscars this time, try to take 5 sallies in.
They fail...........terribly

The enemy carriers, in their reply, attack shipping at Dilli with horrible accuracy, sinking 5 APs
They smash Suzaya and Mogami, beached now in the shallows just off babar, machine gunning and straffing the ant lines of men to the beach.
And two of Yamashiros DD's, crawling north, are caught, and sunk.
Footnotes it seems, to the battle now brawling over Babar and Saumlaki

The landings continue.
A small beachhead on both islands, no more.

[1275psi]

battle of babar
preliminary results:

Japan loses:
113 a/c
2 CA
5 DD
6 AP
I think, at least 8 ss...............

damaged ships:
4 DD need work
Yamashirio merely needs ammo
Takao is stuck at ambon, in port, no fuel.

Allied losses
71 a/c (30 of which are hellcats)
1cve sunk
1BB sunk
2de sunk
5 APA sunk
4 LST sunk
10 DD damaged
2CL damaged

But most importantly of all...............allied strength does not appear to be sufficient to take either island at the moment!

The attack will continue!