The little ship that could.

[1275psi]

thanks for comments guys, surprised people still hanging on,, but pleased still entertaining

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

[british exil]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

thanks for comments guys, surprised people still hanging on,, but pleased still entertaining

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

What do you mean, hanging on. I feel like a junkie, waiting for my daily fix. Can't wait for the next high.

Keep the posts coming. You do have lots of followers.

Mat

[Smoky Stoker]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

thanks for comments guys, surprised people still hanging on,, but pleased still entertaining

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

You are surprised??? That both of you are still hanging in is amazing. It is like my description of any accurate simulation of World War I; "Even when you're winning, it feels like you're losing."

[Mike McCreery]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

thanks for comments guys, surprised people still hanging on,, but pleased still entertaining

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

:]

[Lecivius]

ORIGINAL: british exil

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

thanks for comments guys, surprised people still hanging on,, but pleased still entertaining

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

What do you mean, hanging on. I feel like a junkie, waiting for my daily fix. Can't wait for the next high.

Keep the posts coming. You do have lots of followers.

Mat

I could not agree more. Sail on!

[pws1225]

ORIGINAL: 1275psi

Action for all Characters about to increase dramatically.............

[1275psi]

21 july 1945

Ogowa's eagles are grounded.
Only an idiot would attempt to take off in this weather.

Plan B
cards, more cards, and more cards. Fortunes are won, are lost.
Nobody at the tables really think that they will get to spend them.


Susuzuki sails
Almost immediately the task force is attacked by a russian submarine. The Russian makes a hash of it, launching her torpedoes, and immediately broaching to the surface on the flanks of the APD's.
They make swift work of that can of fools

The action, as swift as it is , sends a clear messge. The waters here, everywhere, are filled with danger.
Sleep?. No, nobody is going to sleep, not until rashin that is.
Unless, of course, it is a permanent sleep


Miori and Mioko spend each evening walking slowly down to the post office, and back again. Any mother will tell you the benifits of even a few minutes out of the home with a newborn in the family.
The walk, as slow as it is, is often slowed even more. Nieghbours, friends, aquaintances are met. Greetings, rumours and gossip is exchanged.
Too often, news of death of somebodies Father, somebodies son is shared.
This, however, after so many years , never really seems to shock anymore......its almost expected now a days.
But these rumours and stories are spreading through the village, rumours that fill one with nothing but alarm and dread.
Call ups

"all men aged 15 to 60 years are to register for duty............'

and even worse

'all villages, burroughs, city blocks are to form self defence companies, and to prepare to defend their homes to the death...........


On paper, 6 new divisions have arrived this month.
They are empty save for small admin detachments
No weapons, no guns, no proper soldiers.
No matter, there are warm bodies enough in Japan yet to fill them out.

[1275psi]

22 July

The weather at rashin is still bad

Ogowa, Diogowa, a dozen others fly anyway
So do the russians.

barely ten minutes after liftoff, Ogowa bursts from the grey into brilliant sunshine
His windscreen seems filled with enemy bomber
'BUKA!!"
instictive
hard rudder, hard stick
Wings flashing mere feet overhead.sun reflecting off glass, stunned, startled faces
Rolling , throttle to the wall, level out, tracer flashing past, eagles , equally startled all over the shop....the bombers sliding behind, also splitting, seeking cover.............
SB2
bank, bank hard
Intercepting
trigger
Fire
hammering
tracer...reaching striking, flame........wing seperating
Under the buka, skimming the cloud, wheel around, vertical, another, fleeing, ....
dieing under Oda's guns (who has a dozen now)
And the sky...........empty.


The landing is not good..........the strip horrible
Near the end of the roll, the left cart will collapse, and Ogowa will go sliding in helpless circles down the strip, bounce into the ditch, mud and crap flying everywhere, coming to a cursing , but unharmed rest.

5 enemy destroyed today
But three operational losses
never mind, Diogowa failed to score
Seven each now, yes!

[1275psi]

23rd July

Susuzuki does not anchor at Rashin. She idles at the harbours entrance whilst the APDs successfully discharge theiir cargos.
The fruits of the mission are evident
For nearly thirty minutes she is at action stations, guns tracking the contrails across the sky.

Ogowa's eagles are again in action

It is pure fighter combat, packs of LA7's sweeping across the front, hunted by the NK2's in finger fours.
The hunting is good
15 enemy are taken down. One eagle lost
At dusk ogowa takes them back to souther Korea, and home. The rotation of fighter groups through the front here will continue, continue until of course, Russian tanks over run the field.

But there seems little chance of this at the moment, the big attacks are coming elsewhere, from the north.

[1275psi]

As Susuzuki idles, guns ready, waiting to see if anything lethal will turn their way, a second battle yet again is taking place.
There has been no sleep on this vessel for ....for how long now?
2 dawns at least.
The air attack of last week was easy compared to this. That was over so quickly. This, this grim battle against sleep, against the drooping eyelids, against the fatigue, the uncertain movements, the whooly, wandering mind.
This goes on, and on...........an inner torture.............

And there seems to be no end in sight


Periscopes sighted outside
Bombers overhead
Russian cruisers at Vladivostok, a bare 2 hours steaming away.

No, we want to sleep, every nerve ending calls for sleep.
But we cannot.

[1275psi]

24th July
Susuzuki sails back towards Japan.
It will be a quiet voyage, Watanabe will take the chance and bring her to condition 2, allowing the crew in two shifts to take precious sleep.
Deep in his heart Watanabe knows that this punishing pace is going to only but increase.

If he is not careful the men will break long before his ship.


few russians fly near Rashin today.
For once it is not the weather
From Northern japan, in numbers not seen for many a year, 90 bettie bombers strike at the biggest Russian air base Khabarovsk, and catch the bear on the ground.
20 enemy are destroyed, 100 plus damaged.


Japanese cinema's will be filled by weeks end of footage of the Betties in massed formation,
many things are no longer working in Japan, the propaganda machine works as ever at full pitch

[1275psi]

25 July 1945

Susuzuki slides alongside Hiroshima wharves,
Watanabe watches carefully the approach..
He has never felt so tired..........ever
Nor about him, his crew.
"Slow astern, both"..........a voice always so strong, croaks.
A bad sign............I must not, must not repeat that...........I am the captain, they lean upon me.
'Stbd ten, slow astern port, slow ahead stbd"
Watch, watch.........to pile up now. Unforgivable
The ropes go across..........unlike other days there is little banter.
The men are grey.............

"stop both, heave in aft......"


The last minutes are long, long. 200 men share the same thoughts..........finish it, finish it, come on, let us finish it

Susuzuki nestles alongside, the swirl at her stern dies down
"Finish with main engines"...................and now a bridge full of men hold their breath."eight hours notice for sea"

Watanabe leaves the bridge. It is hard not to stagger from it.


"Finish with main engines"
Watanabe is a skilled driver, using a minimum of orders, a minimum of astern movements.
For stokers coming alongside, its all about the astern movements
Astern turbines are very inefficient. You need to dump massive amounts of steam into them to effect action. massive steam, massive heat.
More movements, more heat.
The procedure is as old as turbines themselves, close the throttles, open the drains, engage turning gear, reduce to half vacuum, and slowly , slowly cool the turbine down.
Tonight it will take nearly 8 hours before the vacuum can be broken, the shaft locked
Eight hours before the last boiler can be secured, blown down, topped up, and tested.

Hirate and Okano both will have the shut down..........leave is available tonight
Understandably, tonight they will not take it.
Sleep..........blessed sleep.



The allied carriers appear again...........40 miles NORTH of Okiwana
6 sally bombers from takao, kamikazes, are escorted by 48 Franks.
These are piloted by the Armies best of the best.

The enemies CAP is frightful.
Just 6 pilots return.

The high command , shocked, notes carefully.

A new way must be found

[1275psi]

26th of July

Susuzuki spends the day quietly alongside. There are discussions between the engineer, the captain. Boiler cleans are needed, are due.
The war presses.

They will be deferred.
Ammunition is brought aboard, and some supplies. Starvation stalks japan, but hiroshima navy base still has sufficient for her sailors.

The enemy carrier fleet still lingers north of Okiwana, as if daring Japan to attack it.
She does not.
But at Kobe, camoflage is removed. Boilers are lit, and ships that almost semed welded to their anchorages, come to life again
Dusk, and Combined fleet cautiously departs, hugging the coast, destination kagoshima.

And all of Southern Japan's airfields come to the highest alert.
The bait will be cast.
Can we get a bite?

[1275psi]

27th July

japan lands another brigade at Okha, not enough to take the place yet, but an achievement in itself

Eleswhere though, disaster upon disaster, especially in China, and manchuria

The russians have crushed whatever they find in Northern Manchuria, and China as well
They approach from the north Peking, and Mukden, Port Aurthur in all likely hood the target. What the Tsar once lost, Stalin will have again.
The chinese still advance along the coast, Foochow regained. Their troops also approach Peking from the West.
Every Japanese man, (and civilian, and there are enough of them as well), crowd the trains fleeing for Northern Korea

And flee they might
Blood flows everywhere the Sovient army goes, it is not called the Red army for nothing.




The enemy carrier fleet remains north of Okiwana, combined fleet approaches kagoshima.

Susuzuki is given new orders
Sail immediately, she too is to make for kagoshima.



Ogowa's eagles do not join the general alert. They rest, repair.
They wait.

[1275psi]

28 July 1945

0300 hours
Susuzuki steams hard towards kagoshima, her speed almost 30 knots. The sea is dark, calm. The phosphorous thick. the night too is dark.
On her stbd flank, japan lies somewhere over there.
Dark too.
Watanabe stands silently on the bridge.
Dark thoughts.

The enemy carriers have at dusk been reported no less than 360 miles south east of japans homeland. 360 miles!
And, as far as he knew, right now, Yamato steams at full speed to intercept.........
If only I was with her...........
if only

How will it come, the end?
Torpedo, unseen from the hidden blackness?
or by bomb, watched every terrible inch on the journey down?
If only...........
if only by gun, in battle.........hitting back, hitting back................

Watanabe raises his glasses, seeks Japan..............there are a few lights............so many who think that the empire remains inviolate....the fools
The end
How will it come?

Only the gods know.
But come, he feels, knows in his heart, it will.


Hirate and Okano sit quietly on the stbd deck, under the bridge wing
Eyes adjusted to the dark, both men contemplate the stars.

They see what many will never see in this modern world, the true glory of the night sky, un impaired by mans lights.
They can, simply, see eternity.
Both are deep in thought.

It is impossible, I think, to avoid the questions.
A deep night, a deep , calm sea.
The whine of the turbines, the rush of the sea.
And eternity

The war goes on, and on.and on. How many times has death passed ones door?
How many more times will he pass by?

Okano breaks the silence
'We must live Hirate...........we MUST"

But this is war...................just how does one ............just live?

[1275psi]

Ogowa and Diogowa sleep.
There has been no time for thoughts for them.
Just work.
Just the eagles
Tomorrow.....will the Americans come?
At dawn we will see.
They , in all likely hood, will not.


Diogowa says it for many of the eagles. Says it with contempt.

'They will not come, too many of them are afraid to die. After all, who will fight so close to the wars death?"

[1275psi]

For those who would like a glimpse of japan halfway through 45.

Fuel...........all but gone
HI...........all but gone
Oil...who needs the stinking stuff

Monthly production:
117 oscars
103 zeros
96 betties
40 tsurugi
35 judy
31 tony 100's
30 francis
21 george
20 frank
20 grace
16 lilly
15 peggy

Japan has 8400 aircraft, nearly all in the home islands
I would estimate nearly 2000 are now Kami's

I am now converting TBD units to kamis..............so few supplies that Torpedoes are no longer available at most bases.
I am starting to think that no invasion of Japan will take place, cantona is trying to take all of China, Korea.......and get his points that way.
I am working on a nasty surprise with that..................

[1275psi]

29 July 1945

Susuzuki slides into kagoshima bay, and drops anchor in the middle of the bay.
like many things in life, the day is anti climatic, the allied carriers have trailed a bait, recieved no bites.
They are retiring, it seems, towards the Phillipines again.

Just after midday Combined fleet enters the bay, and two hours after that, Yamato and Musashi drop anchor.
This is now literally, the fleet. 4 carriers, the battlewagons, two heavy cruisers.
There is, however, nearly 50 E class fast transports available, and they have been ordered to here.

Japan is planning one last desperate offensive action.


In Vietnam , nearly every available offensive unit has railed to hanoi, and it seems, arrived undetected.
When the last two divisions arrive, they will march east............

In the Phillipines, the army gathers at manilla.

And recon flights begin over hong kong, canton, other points on the coast.
The allies seem to have no intention of taking the Phillipines. Fine. We will use that army for something else.

if we can get the ships there.................

[1275psi]

July 30

The russians receive a check north of Mukden, armour unsupported by infantry is held in the forests.
There is little doubt that the city will be a place of battle soon.

In Singapore the last Japanese troops cross the causeway, malaya is gone
Will the allies leave them there , one giant POW camp, or will prestige call for more blood letting?
Time will tell

Susuzuki, oblivious to anything outside of kagoshima, rests quietly.
Watanabe orders all torpedoes aboard completely inspected, checked, tested.
The Long lance no longer surprises the Allies.

But it remains Watanabe's most lethal sword he has. he intends to use it.

[1275psi]

3 days have passed, Susuzuki still lies at anchor at kagoshima, waiting for whatever high command plans for her

It is deceptively quiet, little news is filtering through

August 3rd dawns grey, overcast

At 9am precisely, the quiet is shattered
Kagoshima's air raid sirens begin to howl

"hands to action stations, prepare for air action"
The B-29's have returned.