The little ship that could.

Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.

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1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

0235

Two destroyers try to stop them, . The Voyager is brave. The voyager dies in an avalanche of shells.

"I count a dozen transports sir"

No mercy expected, none given


BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...............the guns of doom speak again.
Lautern becomes a sea of fire, a reflection of hell.

big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Machine gun like, the light guns hammer to starboard now, tracer racing across the waters. The AKs burn, flames lurid reflections upon the waters

"make every shot count!, I am making only one pass!"

The gunners do. At 2000 yards, it is hard to miss.

The night turns to day. Flames, flares, starshells, tracer, the crack and crackle of a hundred guns.
Hyuga steams on, Seaman Ban, high in its tower, transfixed by the vision.

Keener eyes are attending to duty.

"Aircraft carriers!, bearing 300!, range 7000 yards!"

A frenzy of action on the bridge. The helm is flung, the battleship heals.
A light cruiser -the Witchita, History tells us, places herself in the way, her guns beat out, spitting death in a torrent of fire.
2 japanes destroyers lurch, spewing flames
Great sparks leap along Fuso's side. Yamashiro flares, flames admidships

BOOM, BOOM, BOOOM!.the great guns beat back the deadly steady reply.
CVE Santa FE leaps, shudders, disintergates............


0400 hours..........and ahead, the sea appears to be a forest of ships.
"general chase!, engage all targets!"

Destroyer Matsu is furtherest out on the flank
Youngest, smallest ship of the pack.

But still with the pack, still with ammunition.........

CV Hornet 2, Essex class carrier..............what and why, never to be known. Racing for safety, racing for the horizon
Matsu's first salvo strikes the flight deck, buries itself into the park of hellcats, Hell divers, avengers.
Strikes, undoubtably, a torpedo.


Even from 6 miles away, Ban will shade his eyes.

term: massive Explosion.
term: ammunition explosion.
Dry words
Inadequate words.

The boil of flame, the thunder of the bang, roiling across the battle......drowning out for a moment the noise of everything else.
Riven, split, cleaved, the great carrier burns white hot

CVE Casabalanca too is run down, her escorting destroyer hunted , stalked, pounded to scrap...............

"Ammunition expended sir!"

0500 hours.
Time to get the hell out.

The guns are silent. men pant, struggle, lie in collapsed heaps, spent, utterly spent.

Bans eyes smart, his ears ring.
Dawn. And he still lives.

Dawn.........and three battlewagons, ammunition gone, shorn of 6 of the original 12 destroyers escorting, turn North for safety.

Ishizaki , face grey with fatigue, eyes still gleaming, curses

On the horizon. Blocking his path .Battleships.


big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Shttering the sword, a cantona production.

The Japanese are all but done........... For 6 damaged destroyers, for superficial damage to the elderly battlewagons, a butchers bill...........

CV Hornet 2 sunk
2 CVE sunk
2 more damaged.
1 CVL damaged
6 destroyers sunk
4 CL damaged, 1 sunk
and 12 supply filled transports, a large AP sunk.

No troops will land at lautern this day.

But daylight, and with it, retribution, are at hand.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
pws1225
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by pws1225 »

Whew!
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kaleun
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by kaleun »

Fantastic!
Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
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koniu
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by koniu »

I hope they survive day. And if not no one can imagine better end for battleship in 1944.
"Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War"
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british exil
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by british exil »

Nice sailing, nice shooting, kill list more than nice. You really smashed his attacking force. Any intel what his infantry losses are like?

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

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1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

They are there, mere specks on the horizon, coming hard.
'range!" barks Ishizaki.
28000 yards sir!............oaklahama class, or I am blind!"

The Captain grins, "War plam orange ney?...........damination, no shells left. HARD to PORT!, we run I am afraid"

The task group wheels for Timor again, the sun now rising.
Weather beaten flanks, rust, the smears along grey flanks where Armour has beaten shell, the bent and smoking plates where shell has beaten armour.
Ban sees them all.

And then the rain swallows them.

They flee east, but they cannot go far. The destroyers are lagging, low on fuel, the fleet must reduce speed.
The rain falls, and falls, and hopes rise.

The radio crackles, cries of defience, of fear, of death. To the north, the crippled Destroyers, valiant Matsu amongst them, are being killed by the avenging hawks.

Hyuga plows on, the men eat, some wash. Ishizaki briefly leaves the bridge, returns, a new uniform, sword at side.
The rain is beginning to lift.

1000 hours, the sun shines, and the sound of aero engines fills the air.

They pass overhead, headed south, 100 Japanese fighters escorting nearly 70 bombers.
The men cheer

Retribution arrives at 1 pm



big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Ban does not feel the exhaustion that courses through him. The gathering dots above them seem un connected to his likely fate.
They have come this far already.Hyuga is invincible!

The Captain speaks carefully. "Guns, get the main armament men out from below, they can do no good down there, place them as reserves for the AA"
Hyuga strains again at full speed. her AA points at the storm above.
Half a dozen Oscars try to shield them, but are swept away.

50 hellcats, 11 Helldivers, 16 avengers. Not many bombers, but enough

The great ships twist, they weave, black smoke and flame sprouts from them in every direction.
"Fuso hit by 2 Torpedoes sir.........she reports I can still make 20 knots!"

"very good"

To ban, the noise, the battle, again seems incomprehensible..........he barely feels the first fish bury itself in Hyugas guts
The navigator curses............"Fwd boiler room reports flooding "
"very good"

Ban sees the second fish, follows it right into the bow, staggers with them all as it slams home.
two bombs land somewhere astern , another torpedo follows the first into her belly.

The great ship slows, lists, the bow deep.
The attack drones away, Hyuga crawls now at ten knots.

The rain, too late falls again

'order yamashiro and Fuso all destroyers to detach "
Ishizaki strides past Ban, still waiting for the messages he has yet to deliver...........the Captain pauses, smiles..."remeber your job son?"
"yes sir!'
"Don't let me down then"

'Signal from yamashiro sir.............."As brothers we have always fought together. We will not leave you"

A single curse, "Truk"
Ishizaki runs his hand over the stubble of his head.......'Alright then.. .....maintain course and speed"

Darkness falls.
Into it the crippled dinosours struggle
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Extract from shattering the sword, a cantona production

Death of the battleships


The battles of the 8th cost the allies 80 aircraft, the Japanese almost the same, expended in useless attacks on the beach heads themselves
Now, as dawn of the 9th rises, another unseen, but powerful influence begins to come to bear.

Combined fleet remains in the Indian ocean. But the allies are forced to fight as if it is rushing upon them, now, right now, it could be anywhere.
They pull their carriers south of timor, they maintain a solid 200 plus CAP over the main body.

Combat air patrol over lautern is provided by babar.............and it is not enough.

Even as the crippled japanes battleships crawl out of range, the first strike from the nest of fields around timor comes in.
11th airfleet is co ordinating 3 air flottillas here, these men are fresh, their moral good

80 zerso escort 6 betties, 40 francis bombers to the battle zone.

Battleship maryland will be sunk outright, West Virginia takes three fish, the afternoon strikes will sink her too.
Combined fleet is winning this battle from a thousand miles away.

Dawn, it should have been the japanese battlewagons today to go down.
It should not have gone like this.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

It is a submarine that finally gets Hyuga

Three fish, thudding deep inside.
She stalls, leans, and leans.

Stunned, Ban grips the table behind him, struggles against the steepening deck

"Your orders son!" the voice, that voice he will hear for another 70 years, breaks the spell. he slides to the door, out to the platform, the water already a mere ten feet below, the ship rolling now.

He leaps, sinks, rises, and strikes for his lfe

He does not see her go down.
And he will live

'You can do no wrong, than to place your ship alongside that of your enemy"

70 more years. And not a day will pass when he will not fullfill that final order.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

lautern recieves no troops today
2 LST sunk, a DD sunk as well as the 2 battleships
83 a/c lost to 32.

( no troops drowned I am afraid british exile, but we got stronger today, he got weaker, and I have 5 forts)



Fuchida recieves orders
Good orders

The rumours are true
A new Frank unit, 22nd sentai. An elite unit. No, more than that, an elite, elite unit.

It should be fun
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Fuso 42 flood. Yamashiro a mere 7 system. 8 DDs survived.
Barring SS, they will live.


Herbiesan IS pleased.[:'(]
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kaleun
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by kaleun »

Great yarn.
Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

11 June 44

Threads in the trapestry

The allies begin landing again at lautern, the seas to the south crawling with carriers, although most appear to be CVEs.

CV Katsuragi racing towards palua,her repairs completed, is missed by a ss. CVL Mihuzo accompanies her. It will be an interesting sighting report, no doubt.

But the most exciting thread..............

Combined fleet still loiters where maps lable this spec of ocean, Indian.
Undetected, waiting, waiting

And now, hopefully, finally it seems.
"carriers detected colombo"

The british have returned it seemed, with japanese carriers at palua............

Abe considers the signal. "we will wait another day or two, I think. He must go for Port Blair soon...........surely"
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

manus island, finally, is invaded.
The island has a lot of rats. But no japs.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Hosho is awakened rather roughly, the soldiers face flushed with excitement. "Seargeant asks for you urgently sir, we have captured a British flyer"

Hosho, interested, (even a life dodging bombs and snipers can become boring) hurries out of the bunkers rear entrance.
The tale is true. They do have a british flyer, unconcious at the moment, but otherwise apparently un harmed.
Hosho views him with curiosity..........has he seen him before.....surely not?
No, he has!..........months ago, in a certain canoe.............that led to a certain battle.........

Hosho's grin grows. Its not a pleasant one. "Take this pig to the bunker!"
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John 3rd
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by John 3rd »

By GOLLY...that was GREAT!

Well done and congrats on a solid performance by the older Sisters of the Fleet...
Image

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1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

12 June 44

Forces pour ashore this day at Lautern. Japanese squadrons rest, re organise. The Navy, for now, has shot its single bolt.


Hirate grins. The last figures have been tallied, the last tank dips done. Zuiho has finished refuelling, her tanks, officially at 101%
Minobe owes them a beer. Less than 95%, he gets a bottle of whisky, over 97%.........
Zuiho is chock full. Full of fuel, full, after these quiet days, of water.
And totally tired of cruising these empty wastes.

Rumours are flying about the ship. How they start, how they travel, a great mystery. But many have the same theme.
The British

And, although many do not know it, yet, this time, they are based in fact. The number of fighters at Colombo has dropped, significantly.
Only one CV remains.....or is it two?, in the harbour.
For Abe, todays recon, now a daily routine over Columbo, is news enough.

Cautiosly, slowly, the fleet shakes itself into a new shape.

They begin North.
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Okano is in damage Control central, seeking a new pencil after the midnight watch, when he spies the book, open upon one of the benches.

It is the Scheme of compliment for Zuiho's stokers. 120 pages thick, each one a single page devoted to the men onboard. The first page, Minobe, the last the lowest seaman. Each with a photo, a description of next of kin, qualifications, promotion dates, other comments.
Previous postings.
Three pages are marked with slips of paper

Each has a red star scrawled, scrawled recently , on the top right hand corner he sees, as curious eyes scans the pages.
Each, underlined, has a previous posting...............

CV Hiyo

All posted post fire..................

Three names

Smn Juni
Leading seaman Aso

Po Hirate..................
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