It is also quite telling that even the short little distance between Pusan/Busan and Japan proper is a sea of terrors for Japanese merchant ships.
Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
- Thread starter fester
- Start date
- Status
Story 2744
Norwegian Sea, February 2, 1945
A trio of aircraft hurried to the south. An empty merchant ship, riding low due to the ballast to safely navigate the stormy seas, was on fire. Two torpedoes slammed into the forward third of her hull a minute ago. The rescue ship was making a forlorn dash to save whomever was not yet in the water while the close escorts lashed the waters with their ASDICs and hurried to adjust their forward mortars once a contact could be established.
The u-boat would slink away with one of the few successes of the arm in the past month.
A trio of aircraft hurried to the south. An empty merchant ship, riding low due to the ballast to safely navigate the stormy seas, was on fire. Two torpedoes slammed into the forward third of her hull a minute ago. The rescue ship was making a forlorn dash to save whomever was not yet in the water while the close escorts lashed the waters with their ASDICs and hurried to adjust their forward mortars once a contact could be established.
The u-boat would slink away with one of the few successes of the arm in the past month.
A 1974 novel about a late war convoy battle in the Norwegian Sea: Kleber's Convoy, by Anthony Trew.
I read it many years ago, and was impressed by the author's knowledge of ASW techniques - he commanded an escort on the Murmansk run.
Well-written, authentic, and grim.
Story 2745
Cold Bay, Alaska February 3, 1945
The wind that had started in Siberia had not lost a trace of speed. It bit deep into the bones of everyone. Sailors lowered their shoulder and press forward to make it to the next lesson in a lightly heated Quonset hut. Guards lowered snow glare glasses and kept an eye on the perimeter. Off in the distance, another pair of LCI's entered the harbor for the first time even as a trio of subchasers exited the mostly calm waters of the harbor and entered the pitching waves of the Bering Sea for a two day training evolution.
The wind that had started in Siberia had not lost a trace of speed. It bit deep into the bones of everyone. Sailors lowered their shoulder and press forward to make it to the next lesson in a lightly heated Quonset hut. Guards lowered snow glare glasses and kept an eye on the perimeter. Off in the distance, another pair of LCI's entered the harbor for the first time even as a trio of subchasers exited the mostly calm waters of the harbor and entered the pitching waves of the Bering Sea for a two day training evolution.
Last edited:
If we're looking for alternate spellings for the Bering Sea I'd like to suggest Brrrrring Sea.
Story 2746
Okinawa, February 5, 1945
"Keep it coming boys... keep it coming...." Patrick yelled in the general direction the machine gunners who were sending steady two and three second bursts into the dark. Flares were coming down, their deathly glow warming the broken ground along the ravine where the company had taken up defensive positions just the day before. Strings of tracers from other positions were dancing a foot or two off the ground. The BAR teams began to send short eruptions of fire into their designated zones.
Riflemen began a steady fire as the roar of the desperate Japanese charge came closer and closer. As the first targets could actually be seen, a battery of 105's started to shell the second line of the assault team. The fire teams and sections slowed their fire for a moment when men finished their clips, they fixed bayonets for the moment when the Japanese cooks and clerks either breached the wire or enough had entangled themselves to form a biological bridge over the obstacles for the following soldiers. Mines soon began to explode and more parachute flares drifted downwards.
Hell was on earth and this was the sixth circle at the very least.
"Keep on firing boys, keep on firing...." Patrick yelled as he fired his carbine for the second time in a month.
"Keep it coming boys... keep it coming...." Patrick yelled in the general direction the machine gunners who were sending steady two and three second bursts into the dark. Flares were coming down, their deathly glow warming the broken ground along the ravine where the company had taken up defensive positions just the day before. Strings of tracers from other positions were dancing a foot or two off the ground. The BAR teams began to send short eruptions of fire into their designated zones.
Riflemen began a steady fire as the roar of the desperate Japanese charge came closer and closer. As the first targets could actually be seen, a battery of 105's started to shell the second line of the assault team. The fire teams and sections slowed their fire for a moment when men finished their clips, they fixed bayonets for the moment when the Japanese cooks and clerks either breached the wire or enough had entangled themselves to form a biological bridge over the obstacles for the following soldiers. Mines soon began to explode and more parachute flares drifted downwards.
Hell was on earth and this was the sixth circle at the very least.
"Keep on firing boys, keep on firing...." Patrick yelled as he fired his carbine for the second time in a month.
Story 2747
La Creusot, France February 6, 1945
Another train left the rail yard. It slowly gained speed. Four dozen cars loaded with recently rebarrelled and repaired 155mm guns whose ancestor's basic design had been built in the same foundries soon were crossing the countryside. An hour later, another train arrived with coal and ore which would soon be consumed by the massive mill's appetites. Thousands of workers were working three shifts. Two shifts were needed to rebuild the French economy while one shift effectively supplied the Allied armies that were going forever deeper into the German homeland.
Another train left the rail yard. It slowly gained speed. Four dozen cars loaded with recently rebarrelled and repaired 155mm guns whose ancestor's basic design had been built in the same foundries soon were crossing the countryside. An hour later, another train arrived with coal and ore which would soon be consumed by the massive mill's appetites. Thousands of workers were working three shifts. Two shifts were needed to rebuild the French economy while one shift effectively supplied the Allied armies that were going forever deeper into the German homeland.
Story 2749
Pirmasens, Germany February 7, 1945
The battalion headquarters was crowded with dozens of officers and just as many sergeants. The veterans of these briefings were wise. They had brought extra blankets to wrap around their legs. Lt. Jaroshek was among the wise. He also had brought an extra large coffee cup for himself and another cup that he had filled and passed to the private who had become his third set of hands over the past month. The 19 year old from Utah was a designated runner and messenger but he usually was thinking hard and fast to anticipate what the LT needed before he needed it. He had also gained some skill as a creative scrounger. The quartermasters would be perplexed by the end of the day.
The battalion S-2, a 27 year old captain began to lay out a force appreciation of the Germans across the forest. They were mainly older reservists and local militia formed into Volks regiments and divisions. Their new weapons were cheap and fast to make, but at close range deadly enough. The few heavy weapons were often scavenged booty from the string of German victories from 1938 to 1942. They lacked enough men to maintain a continual front so a series of deeply dug-in positions with machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons controlled key routes into their rear. Off to the southeast a replacement Panzer battalion was still reconsituting even as American artillery and air harrassed any plausible assembly point at all available opportunities.
The S-3 then started to walk through the plans. Even as he talked, platoon and company leaders would rise to get more coffee. There was very little unexpected here. Lots of artillery would open up the German fronts, two companies would assault one of the hard points while the third company would stay in reserve until success was found. As the details were worked out, sandwhiches were passed around....
The battalion headquarters was crowded with dozens of officers and just as many sergeants. The veterans of these briefings were wise. They had brought extra blankets to wrap around their legs. Lt. Jaroshek was among the wise. He also had brought an extra large coffee cup for himself and another cup that he had filled and passed to the private who had become his third set of hands over the past month. The 19 year old from Utah was a designated runner and messenger but he usually was thinking hard and fast to anticipate what the LT needed before he needed it. He had also gained some skill as a creative scrounger. The quartermasters would be perplexed by the end of the day.
The battalion S-2, a 27 year old captain began to lay out a force appreciation of the Germans across the forest. They were mainly older reservists and local militia formed into Volks regiments and divisions. Their new weapons were cheap and fast to make, but at close range deadly enough. The few heavy weapons were often scavenged booty from the string of German victories from 1938 to 1942. They lacked enough men to maintain a continual front so a series of deeply dug-in positions with machine guns, mortars and anti-tank weapons controlled key routes into their rear. Off to the southeast a replacement Panzer battalion was still reconsituting even as American artillery and air harrassed any plausible assembly point at all available opportunities.
The S-3 then started to walk through the plans. Even as he talked, platoon and company leaders would rise to get more coffee. There was very little unexpected here. Lots of artillery would open up the German fronts, two companies would assault one of the hard points while the third company would stay in reserve until success was found. As the details were worked out, sandwhiches were passed around....
Story 2750
Titchwell Marsh, Norfolk, England February 8, 1945
The major would have smiled if there were no junior other ranks or fresh faced officers nearby. He would have smiled with his peers and senior sergeants. The report on his desk stated that the last Covenantor tank was no longer a viable target. It had been penetrated and perforated too many times as hundreds of replacement tank crews completed their live firing training here before ferrying over to the Continent. There were still a dozen tanks that had been mocked up to look like Tigers and Panthers and lesser Panzers for the trainees to see and react to, but the temperamental beasts were no more.
The major would have smiled if there were no junior other ranks or fresh faced officers nearby. He would have smiled with his peers and senior sergeants. The report on his desk stated that the last Covenantor tank was no longer a viable target. It had been penetrated and perforated too many times as hundreds of replacement tank crews completed their live firing training here before ferrying over to the Continent. There were still a dozen tanks that had been mocked up to look like Tigers and Panthers and lesser Panzers for the trainees to see and react to, but the temperamental beasts were no more.
Last edited:
Story 2751
Antwerp, Belgium February 9 1945
The 400 ton coaster Harley slowly made her way to the channel that would take her to the North Sea before she would join up with a trio of other little ships and a single motor yacht as their escort. Once the early morning convoy departed, the mid-day inbound convoy would arrive and then the early evening scheduled departure would make their way out of this corner of the harbor and back to England.
Behind the little ship, thousands of workers were breaking tens of thousands of tons of bulk into truck and train loads to feed the ever hungry maw of the 21st and 12th Army Groups.
The 400 ton coaster Harley slowly made her way to the channel that would take her to the North Sea before she would join up with a trio of other little ships and a single motor yacht as their escort. Once the early morning convoy departed, the mid-day inbound convoy would arrive and then the early evening scheduled departure would make their way out of this corner of the harbor and back to England.
Behind the little ship, thousands of workers were breaking tens of thousands of tons of bulk into truck and train loads to feed the ever hungry maw of the 21st and 12th Army Groups.
Story 2752
Inland Sea, February 10, 1945
Shinano lazily was tied up to the dock. She had spent the morning at sea. Her and her two slightly older sisters were the last operational capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The remaining battleships and many of the few surviving cruisers had been tied up due to the lack of fuel months ago. Their crews had been picked over; the best technicians and petty officers had been transferred to the remaining active ships while most of the men had been formed into home defense battalions. Even as bunkers of three battleships, two aircraft carriers, two heavy and four light cruisers and their escorting seventeen destroyers remained full, the remnants of a once proud fleet could not train. Today the fleet had sailed eighty four to eighty nine miles. This was the most it had moved in a single day since October. The battleships each had fired a full training pattern. Yamato's salvoes were barely acceptable when measured against the pre-war standard. Mushashi and Shinano were wildly inaccurate. One target sled had never been holed. It was, however, enough to give the officers insight on where no fuel training could be most effective.
Shinano lazily was tied up to the dock. She had spent the morning at sea. Her and her two slightly older sisters were the last operational capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The remaining battleships and many of the few surviving cruisers had been tied up due to the lack of fuel months ago. Their crews had been picked over; the best technicians and petty officers had been transferred to the remaining active ships while most of the men had been formed into home defense battalions. Even as bunkers of three battleships, two aircraft carriers, two heavy and four light cruisers and their escorting seventeen destroyers remained full, the remnants of a once proud fleet could not train. Today the fleet had sailed eighty four to eighty nine miles. This was the most it had moved in a single day since October. The battleships each had fired a full training pattern. Yamato's salvoes were barely acceptable when measured against the pre-war standard. Mushashi and Shinano were wildly inaccurate. One target sled had never been holed. It was, however, enough to give the officers insight on where no fuel training could be most effective.
Last edited:
Story 2753
Camden, New Jersey February 11, 1945
The French battleship Jean Bart had pulled into the slip that had recently been occupied by USS Hawaii. The big cruiser was finally in the Pacific Fleet acting as a bodyguard for the carriers although for her cost she was a white elephant in that role. The French had aggressively tore apart of the almost ready battleship to keep the rest of their modern fleet at an acceptable degree of readiness while they were in exile. Now that the shipyards and shipfitters in Marseilles, Toulon and Brest had been liberated, the French wanted their most recent battleship to be a battleship again instead of merely a massive floating warehouse. She would spend six months in the American yard before moving to Brest for completion as a French ship.
Just down the waterfront, the two new American light cruisers had their keels laid and little else. They would be strange looking ships, long and lean with six twin turrets, all on the center line. The turrets were big as the guns were intended to fire from almost flat to almost vertical a dozen or more times a minute. These ships would be big and heavy for the arms that they carried, as they would displace a thousand tons more than the Baltimores that they would supplement while only being three feet shorter. The Navy wanted these two ships and another pair of sisters built to a slightly different design to assess what made sense for cruisers in the post war period as the pre-war cruiser force was worn out and the new ships currently fighting in the Western Pacific and the Norwegian Sea were all top heavy and cramped as radars and anti-aircraft guns had been added to the original designs.
The French battleship Jean Bart had pulled into the slip that had recently been occupied by USS Hawaii. The big cruiser was finally in the Pacific Fleet acting as a bodyguard for the carriers although for her cost she was a white elephant in that role. The French had aggressively tore apart of the almost ready battleship to keep the rest of their modern fleet at an acceptable degree of readiness while they were in exile. Now that the shipyards and shipfitters in Marseilles, Toulon and Brest had been liberated, the French wanted their most recent battleship to be a battleship again instead of merely a massive floating warehouse. She would spend six months in the American yard before moving to Brest for completion as a French ship.
Just down the waterfront, the two new American light cruisers had their keels laid and little else. They would be strange looking ships, long and lean with six twin turrets, all on the center line. The turrets were big as the guns were intended to fire from almost flat to almost vertical a dozen or more times a minute. These ships would be big and heavy for the arms that they carried, as they would displace a thousand tons more than the Baltimores that they would supplement while only being three feet shorter. The Navy wanted these two ships and another pair of sisters built to a slightly different design to assess what made sense for cruisers in the post war period as the pre-war cruiser force was worn out and the new ships currently fighting in the Western Pacific and the Norwegian Sea were all top heavy and cramped as radars and anti-aircraft guns had been added to the original designs.
- Status