The little ship that could.

Post descriptions of your brilliant victories and unfortunate defeats here.

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John 3rd
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by John 3rd »

YES! Still running...

BANZAI!
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

test
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by pws1225 »

The game, and the story, lives! [:)]
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

October 8th

Hirate and Okano crouch down above the hatch over the incredibly crowded engine room of MTB 846
"Not getting in for a closer look?" Okano asks, sarcasm fairly dripping from him.
With mock horror, Hirate answers "No fear, get in there?.....you have a lower opinion of your Brother in laws value than what I thought"
Okano laughs. 'You have me there friend". he raises his face towards the bridge, and nods

Engine test

The Young man on the bridge frowns, issues a perceptable invisible prayer, and presses start

The engine wheezes, clanges, turns, and with a horrible burping, back firing crash fires into life.
For thirty seconds it beats steadily
Both men peer into the compartment.no fuel leaks, well none visible anyway......
They raise themselves again
"After you Chief" Hirate offers Okano, arm pointing into the space....."You can be....
A shattering bang fills the air, a clang like hells gate opening, a ball of flame boiling out of the hatch, fortunately missing the men , who cat like have leapt back wards, eyebrows bristling.......

The awkward silence.
The awful smell
"Well" Okano coughs "That went well, didn't it?"

Later, its easy to see what has happened.
An injector, fitted correctly. But with the incorrect nuts.
It has stripped them, flung itself through the rocker cover, caroomed across the space, the roof, and finished, bent like a banana, imbedded in the control panel.

Somebody on MTB 846 has not been listening to the two Chiefs
MTB 846 will need a few more days to be ready yet.........




150 odd miles away, another warship is given an estimate on repair times
Musashi will need 52 days

Work is given absolute piority.........She must be ready for the spring, for any final battles.
It begins.

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

Post by 1275psi »

OCTOBER 9TH
As Hirate and Okano struggle with their new charges, Japan scrambles to gather her last strength together. CA Nachi, cripples, lies in Harbour at Nagasaki.
With Kaga already taking up shipyard space, it is decided to send her to Tokyo.

She never makes it, setting a record for the number of torpedo hits, 5, 6? she recieves from the lurking submarine.......

In Korea, in the mountains, more lonely death in the cold.
3 full divisions are exterminated , caught in the mountain passes north of Kanko.
The russians seem intent on nothing but total extermination of all that oppose them........
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

October 10th
Have you ever sat down and read the day to day combat reports from the war.
The regiment level actions, the company level attacks and defences.
Or the bomber raids, the individual ship on ship actions.

There seems to me, and I wonder if you have ever thought of this, that there is a certain ........inevitability about war. Especially in these, the last months of one.
And i wonder at the courage of the men who fight in these days, especially of those whom defeat is the only possible outcome.
I wonder
And I salute them

Today is such a day
They have flown from Japan to here, Takao. They departed, nearly 30 peggies. Twentyfour have arrived
One now won't start.
The target for this day (just another day) is Hong Kong.
The men will gather, will attend the brief, will hear of the expected opposition.......and still fly.

Inevitably................there are losses.
Just 9 will get through.
Courage will be rewarded. An SS will be hit, a DD too.

Will it effect the course of the war?. No, of course not. It grinds on
Too its inevitable tragic end.

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Long pig
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by Long pig »

The lower the level of report the more personal and real it gets.
I hope some of our favourites make it to the end, they seem to be very real to me and I would miss them !
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

October 11th

The Emperor Mikasa stands quietly overlooking the blasted and blackened valley.
How many months has it been since his Father died here?

Looking at the blasted tree stumps, the skeletal remains of the village, the dead river...........it still looked like the bomb (a bomb?, a single bomb! created this???)..occured only days ago.

His Horse figits under him, as if it senses the evil that still lingers in the air, the water, the dead trees.
Mikasa turns quietly to the general beside him
"Why do you think they only dropped the one???.surely they have more?'
The general shrugs.
"I think" he speculates " that they don't know what happened to the first one............or that they don't think , yet, that another attempt will be successful......."
"Our air defences are still strong general?........and no stupid what I want to hears thank you, the truth please"

"They have hardly dented us"

Good. very good. But heavens...............the destruction, a bomb like this into the heart of Tokyo, or Hiroshima, or nagoya???
It does not bare thinking about.
Our defences must be strong.
Must be
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

The russians enter Keisho, central Korea

No less than 3 armies are trapped behind them now at kanko, Northern Korea

History will record the weeks ahead, and give it a terrible name


The great dying
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Lecivius
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by Lecivius »

The agony persists. I for one, am grateful. Does that make me a masochist? [:D][;)]
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

[font="Times New Roman"][/font]
Oct12
The first winter storms sweep across Hiroshima bay, whipping it into a carpet of wild horses,
beating against Yamatos stained flanks
Her crew vanish below decks, abandoning them to the rain and sleet, seeking warmth below. There can be
little motivation this day for upper deck maintenance.
The girls cannot fish, not in this, but a pleasant surprise lands on the doorstep near Midday
Ogowa and Diogowa arrive, the usual parcel discreetly tucked under Diogowa's arm.

Tea is very pleasant, the house warm, the cold wind outside.
Miori watches them quietly, as they play with the baby, drink tea, chat about inconsequential things

They look strained, she thinks. Older too.
I do not know why they come.............but I think they take away from these short
times more than they ever bring.

She is, of course, very near the truth.


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

Post by 1275psi »

Japan tries for Hong Kong again

Betties this time, 20 strong, 25 zeros escorting

One returns

Just one

Coastwatchers claim that 3 SS, 5 destroyers have been sunk in this raid, one "exploding like a star!"
True or not...........
Just one returned
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

12 new George 5J fighters are delivered to Ogowa.
None are fly able
He shakes his head, and hands them to his Ground Crew Chief, who simply scowls
From Ogowa, through all his pilots, to everyone of his clunkers-the ground crews-all share now a common
dislike of these new fighters.

hanger queens barely describes them accurately enough.......




(I am getting, if I am lucky, one repaired a day of these pigs)
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Oct 13
100 miles North east of Iba, Phillipines

Captain Shorten contemplates the steak on his plate.
Its come a long way, this piece of beef. Pity his bloody cook has murdered it..........
He sighs. Its been a long war, and Texas is so far away.

Beside him, the intercom buzzes
"Yes?'
The New York drawl of his Navigator rumbles down " radar reporting a contact to the North sir,
range 30000 yards, Alden is altering towards"
Shorten carefully places his knife and fork down, glances a final time at the steak...saved by
the bell, it seems
"On my way up"

Its a delightful day, the sun warm on the bridge, the breeze light, the sea calm
PF Pocatello rides easily across the swell, third in line
Yes, ahead, DD Alden has altered, DD Phillsbury following
'I have the con.....". He takes a quick bearing........"Port ten......Eyes out everyone"

For a few minutes the four ships carve across the sea, the bridge quiet. There is no excitement,
no anticipation of anything new today. This will undoubtably be a convoy Hong Kong bound,
or China bound.

"Bridge......masthead lookout.I have a sighting, bearing 010.........range 25000 yards"
"very good"
Shortens stomach growls.......Bloody cook..........

He glances up, its Smith, a good man up there, good eyes
But its Destroyer Alden that ruins the day.

"Sighted ships appear to be Japanese........I am attacking........follow me"
"Jesus............."
"hands to action stations.........revolutions 198.......jesus.........."
And as the shock falls away, and action takes over.....what the hell are we up against?

The range closes rapidly, the enemy forming into a clear picture.....a convoy,.......3 tankers, a slew,
4, 5, 6? patrol craft...a destroyer?
Racing, if that can be attributed to a patrol craft, the Japanese begin to screen their charges, determined
to defend them to the end
Confident that this can only end in victory, the allies hold fire until the range has fallen to 15000
yards, a long range for these minnows of war.

But a deadly one nevertheless......

Behind them, PF Eugene opens first......Phillsbury next
Shorten waits.....and a gap appears

9000 yards, and Pocatello's guns bang for the first time in anger.....

It all seems so......so calm to Shorten...the guns bang, you can even follow the shot , follow, follow, follow to
that grey shadow, a Tanker......a straddle...a straddle....a HIT!!!

But a patrol craft swims across his glasses.it flashes.....and you can follow the shot
all the way towards you........

There is a bang aft.......hit......damn, damn.......
Shorten feels no fear.....his guns now target the SC...........cheeky buggar...NOT so cheeky now,
as it flares, staggers away.

he glances at his Nav.......grinning too......

The action becomes general now, a line of battle........they are not battleships, no great
warships here, but the action is no less dramatic for all that.
Guns spit
water erupts.
Shells scream past......and some don't

Pocetello fights well
She strikes that tanker ten times, 2 of the SC's
She absorbs 6 hits of her own.......and takes them like a man.

But in the end, only 2 of the tankers are sunk, one gets away..........


Later, as Shorten finishes his steak (does the escaping from death really improve food so much?) he has to wonder

Are the Japanese still trying to get oil through?

The fact is

They are.


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

Post by 1275psi »

Nervously Long pig waited in the small tastefully furnished room
He has, he reflects ruefully, done and seen a lot in these last few years.
Faced a lot of dangers.
Nothing though, has filled his belly with butterflies quite like this.
The door opens, and the immaculately dressed butler enters the room

"The Prime Minister will see you now sir"
Long pig swallows, and enters Winstons lair.

The Prime Minister looks well, invigorated apparently with recent election victory, a recent tour of the
the occupied lands of Germany
Or maybe Stalins recent death has added the colour to his cheeks

He salutes

The Prime Minister judges him with that heavy calculation...
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BBfanboy
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by BBfanboy »

Now THAT is an alternate history! I thought the colour in his cheeks was that of an alcoholic ... or one who puffs too hard on his cigars. But the energy and shrewdness of the man cannot be denied.
No matter how bad a situation is, you can always make it worse. - Chris Hadfield : An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Long Pig contemplates the landscape of France as it slides steadily below, the Channel fading behind the DC8
Still hard to believe that the Prime Minister himself wanted his opinion.
But he had

And he had, he thinks, given it truthfully, with out fear of censor or favour

The bomb?"
A great mistake..........deployed poorly, deployed too early. And the Prime Minister seemed to agree with him...
"If the bloody Reds reach Tokyo first, and hear of its apparent impotence.....who, or hell in the
world were they going to stop them?. They have half of China, full access to the Pacific now....
an exhausted Allied Coalition........

Churchill, as ever, thinks Long Pig, thinks years ahead of everyone else.

"And what of the B-29's?"
This, this was harder to answer.
And he really was not sure if Churchill believed his answer, but in his heart, Long pig thinks he is right
"The allied bomber Command, its pilots, have lost the will to win..........Casualty shy, very, very
casualty shy......

His thoughts are interrupted by the pilot sitting beside him
"Paris is only 15 minutes to the North....we could , you know suffer an engine failure old boy, spend a night...."
Long pig does not hesitate
"Have you noticed the oil pressure flicker on the Port engine......I really think we can't annoy that"
The Pilot agrees.
As the transport banks gently, he smiles broadly 'I know of a fabulous place old man, girls, booze, an unbelievable cream tart.........
big seas, fast ships, life tastes better with salt
1275psi
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

Oct 14

Miori is just about to set the net, when the object breaks the surface a mere 50 yards away
A periscope

It spins once, hesitates for a minute as it turns towards the girls small boat, then silently sinks back into the depths

The two girls stare at the patch of ocean where it has vanished for a minute
"How far out are we, do you think?"

"A mile, a mile at most"


Submarines, in the inner sea.
And somehow, they both know, that one was not Japanese.
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bartrat
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by bartrat »

Long Pig's Douglas Transport "oil leak" reminds me of a story my recently deceased aunt told me. She was a US AAC nurse in WW2 served in North Africa and France. She flew a lot of medical evac missions in C47's. She mentioned that after D-Day it was common for her pilots to "arrange" to have the last flight of the day be Paris, so the aircraft would have to spend the night. She said Paris after the liberation was an incredible place, a great place to relax and party. So the "oil leak" problem was a "common" problem near Paris.... interesting how Paris causes "oil leaks".
WW2 logistics fanboy and
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RE: The little ship that could.

Post by 1275psi »

October 16

Cruisers Kumano, Mikumo, Takao bombard the Russians outside Kanko
Personally, I don't think they even notice

A quiet day
The last quiet day for many

The great dying begins
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