The Franco-Japanese war

[sharlin]

The Franco-Japanese War - High Noon in the Far East.

Forty miles north west of main French Force - 0843 AM

The MN D'Estrees was churning through the waves at 14 knots and climbing as she closed in on a merchant vessel that was acting strangely. The ship had been seen a hour beforehand and instead of remaining on its course had sheered sharply away and increased speed. Now at twelve thousand yards the national flag of Japan could be seen clearly on her masts and flagstaff.

"Sir the guns are manned and we are ready to engage."

"My thanks' Jean-Paul, open fire with the main battery as soon as we are in range."

"With pleasure Sir!"
Captain Domercq smiled as the new Gunnery Officer took his post, relaying instructions to the men in the spotting top and in the guns on the bow and waist of the ship through the gleaming brass speaking tubes. The previous gun Captain, a long time friend of the Captain had been killed be a near miss that had lashed the bridge with shell splinters. The D'Estrees showed that her crew had learned from that experience though. Round her bridge and near the shield of the 5.5 inch gun on the bow were stacks of sandbags piled high enough to lean on to provide extra protection against bullets and splinters. All the magnificent oak and teak fittings onboard had been stripped out and where there had once been beautifully painted but horribly flammable wood there was now bare metal, not even painted.

The survivors of the Formidable had passed on the horror stories about the fires that had consumed their ship and one culprit was easily found. Paint. Over their long careers ships built up layers of paint and this was never removed, just painted over when needs be, it added weight but was also flammable in the extreme, especially when exposed to the hair trigger activated Shimose filled high explosive shells the Japanese used which exploded with a tremendous blast of heat.

Measures had been taken to reduce the build up of paint in critical areas, on the voyage north the French crews had been busy with chisel and scour to scrape away paint from gun mountings and vital areas. This combined with the stripping out of as many flammable items as possible and the addition of sandbags did nothing for the looks of the French vessels but it did decrease the risk of fire and casualties.

"Sir we're at flank speed, reading 18.4 knots."
That got smiles on the bridge, the boilers and hull had been cleaned and although the noise from the forced draught blowers was extremely loud for those amidships the ship was now almost at the speed she had hit on her trials when launched in 1899. The minutes ticked by slowly, the merchant had to be doing 14 knots but it was not enough.

*1

"Target in range!"

"Very good. Open fire!"
The three booms of the guns that could bare echoed over the waves, the D'Estrees surging through the clouds of thick chocolate coloured smoke as her gunners reloaded and began their cannonade with shells tearing towards the merchant ship at 30 second intervals.
Captain Domercq watched the shells slowly walk towards their target some short, others long and wide but slowly getting closer before there was a bright flash on the ships stern.

"Hit!"

"Very good, we'll have more of that please."
In the next four minutes the Japanese merchant vessel was hit by at least two dozen 6.4 and 5.5 inch rounds which punctured her hull and set her ablaze. A few shots from guns on the Merchants foredeck indicated to the French that this was a Japanese Merchant cruiser and not some defenceless merchant ship and a more than legitimate target.
"Sir Masthead is reporting smoke to the north, lots of it."
'Not again...' Captain Domercq thought quietly to himself. "That must be the Japanese, how pleasing they have accepted our invitation." He smiled with more self assurance than he felt before nodding.

"The merchant raider is going to sink, let's see whets out there, reduce speed to 12 knots but have the boilers ready for flank speed and send out a radio report of what has happened and what we are doing."

"Twelve knots aye Sir!"
The Tokyo Maru had been one of a line of merchant vessels and light cruisers that had been tasked with watching for the French fleet, during the long stern chase she had been sending out contact reports, she too had seen smoke on the horizon, smoke from the French fleet as it thumped steadily north at an almost leisurely 9 knots. With that report and reports of radio traffic, Admiral Togo had a good idea where his opponent was and now ordered his fleet to battle stations.

On every Japanese ship the alert bells rang, accompanied by bugles, trumpets and drums calling the men to action. On dozens of ships the great breeches of the heavy naval rifles swung open to accept the heavy shells whilst meals were prepared for the crew, rice balls and chicken dumplings for all, even the engineers got a hot meal deep down in the bowels of the ships.

Up on the exposed bridge Admiral Togo and his staff watched the fleet get ready. His flagship the Mikasa was second in line behind the Asahi with the rest of the battleships following astern at intervals of two hundred yards. Then came Admiral Nishimura's armoured cruisers and the two new ex British Battleships this impressive force was flanked by destroyers, torpedo boats and light cruisers, almost the entire might of Imperial Japan's surface fleet sailing together in formation towards the enemy.

2*
Little over sixty miles to the south west the same situation was playing out on the long line of French warships. The four most modern French armoured cruisers formed up in a squadron on the starboard wing of the battle line to be used as a fast squadron and divert Japanese firepower, shielding them was all six of the French Destroyers whilst the smaller torpedo boats stayed with the Battleships.

The older and weaker armoured cruisers fell in astern of the battle ships but had licence to act as their squadron commander saw fit and could leave the line at any time without direction from the Flagship that was sailing second in line behind the brutal looking Brennus who was training her hydraulically powered turrets to test them. The massive structures were copied in later vessels and were typically French and unique amongst the world's navies. The turrets were actually lifted slightly up off their barbette to turn by massive hydraulic jacks which were on the rollers. This allowed the turrets to turn into position before lowering them into place. It was slow and complicated but very reliable.

*3
MN Jaureguiberry French flagship - speed 12 knots and climbing.

"Signal the formation to increase speed to 14 knots and to open fire when the enemy is in range. Repeat on both wireless and flag if you please."

"Yes Sir!" barked the signals officer who wheeled on his subordinates to give the orders.

"Guns are manned and ready, no faults reported from all ships Sir."
Admiral Gilbert nodded as the reports flooded in. Two minutes after ordering the fleet speed increased it was relayed to the formation and carried out.

"Fleet speed now fourteen knots sir, Commodore Burrant is requesting freedom of manoeuvre and action."

"Signal the First Cruiser squadron that they may disregard the manoeuvres of the Flagship."
Shortly after being signalled the black smoke pouring from the First Cruiser Squadron's funnels increased in volume as boilers built up steam for 21 knots with the four big ships capable of forcing their engines up to 23 knots for short periods of time if needs be and the steam was there if needed.

"Sir! Signal from D'Estrees. Enemy in sight. Many warships at grid 056, estimated speed 18 knots."

"Many warships? How bloody many..." The Admiral growled softly more to himself, the Signals officer a long time member of Admiral Gilbert's staff knew the look on the older man's face and hurried off to the small wireless shack at the back of the bridge to ask for more information. Five minutes later he got it.

"Sir the D'Estrees reports that the entire Japanese battle line is there including the new British vessels, Captain Domercq also reports that two Japanese cruisers are attempting to intercept him."
That was a polite version of the request for enemy numbers, Captain Domercq's reply had been a bit more pithy and curt and not suitable for the Admiral or his staff to hear.

"Very well...Gentlemen it is time we withdrew to the conning tower." Admiral Gileberts words were an order, not a request and he and his staff descended the flight of stairs to the small heavily armoured bridge where the Admiral would conduct the coming battle

*4
Once inside the small iron and steel tube little more than 12 feet across but with walls 18 inches thick the Admiral removed his jacket and hat as he scowled at the plotting tables. The assumed location of the Japanese ships were plotted along with their presumed course.

'They are sailing south west, we are sailing north....a turn south west to match their course would offer some advantages but expose our rear...but if I turn east....'

"Flags, Signal the fleet to come to course zero five eight bearing North East speed fourteen knots."

"Course 058 speed 14 knots aye Sir!"
The die was cast, now it would be a case of who would blink and turn. If everything went as planned.

1044 AM MN Brennus foremast and fighting top.

Gunner third Class Jaque Endres held onto the steel ring round the edge of the fighting top that towered over the squat Brennussome twenty feet below. His gun a 2lber revolver was loaded and ready to fire and the heavier 6lber was fully manned nearby. Jaque took his binoculars and scanned the horizon. There was a distinct smudge there, funnel smoke. Lots of it and they were sailing towards it. As he went to lower the glasses there was a glint of sunlight on metal from the smudge and slowly, very slowly the glint became a faint shape, an outline.

"Paul! Put that bloody thing out and signal the bridge! Enemy in sight!"

5*


1* The Tokyo Maru in better times before the war.

2* A post war drawing of Admiral Togo on the bridge as the Imperial Fleet steams towards the enemy.

3* An image taken from inside the Brennus' forward turret.

4* The interior of the conning tower of the MN Bouvet which would be nigh identical to the Jaureguiberry's. You can see the main wheel for steering the ship, one of three that could be used. The other was a more traditional spoked type up on the main bridge and the other was astern in the emergency control station. A fourth wheel was mounted just above the rudder controls and the ship could be steered from there in emergencies.

5* MN Brennus at sea, here you can see her foremast and the fighting tops. Although all ships of the era had guns in their masts, no other navy built such huge, multi-tiered masts like the French.

[LordIreland]

Nice update, can't wait for the battle proper, keep em coming

[mcdo]

Awesome, we finally get to see Admiral Togo in action. This should be a very exciting battle.

One small thing--you wrote "Ashi", I assume you meant the Asahi? Asahi means "morning sun", a fitting name for a Japanese warship. Ashi means foot.

[sharlin]

Whoops! Fixed thank you for spotting that!

[Perky50]

Excellent!
I'm looking forward to the coming battle! It should prove to be an amazing encounter.

[sharlin]

The Franco-Japanese War - Fire, fury and thunder.

The combined might of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the French Far Eastern Fleet were steaming towards each other at a combined speed of 32 knots, a rate of closure that was unthinkable. Both fleets had plenty of sea room to manoeuvre but it was a case of seeing who would blink first. The first to turn could both set the way the battle developed and how it would in turn proceed as the opposing fleet could manoeuvre to counter the movements of the other fleet. It was a huge game of 'chicken' with the lives of thousands of sailors at risk.



MN Brennus -Bridge.

"Range estimated at 18000 yards Sir and closing!"

"All gun positions fully manned and loaded Sir, A turret is training on targets!"

"Engine room reports boilers have enough pressure for flank speed Sir!"

The Captain of the French battleship watched the oncoming line of Japanese Warships sailing steadily closer. "Any messages from the Flagship?"

"None Sir."

"The Admirals playing his cards close to his chest..." the senior officer muttered. His ship was one of the most stoutly built in the Pacific Fleet hence her being at the head of the French line but if the Japanese turned his ship would be the target of their guns, only able to fire with the forward turret and what 6.4 inch guns could be brought to bear.

"Alert me as soon as there is a message from the Flagship, helm standby to execute manoeuvres."




1*

MN Jaureguiberry - Bridge.

Admiral Gilbert had a plan, it was risky but he hoped it would force the Japanese to react to his manoeuvres giving him the initial advantage. In a few minutes the fleet would turn sharply to port, each ship following its lead to turn on the same spot and carry on their new course as a fleet. This would expose the ships full broadsides and allow the full weight of fire to be brought to bear. Of course there was risks, turning in succession made the turning point the place to aim as every ship would be moving on the same spot one after the other. Until they completed their turn they would only be able to return fire with their forwards firing guns whilst they masked the ship behind them preventing it from firing.

The order would be sent by both radio and flags all they needed was a bit more time to get within range.

"Range now estimated 12000 yards sir!"

"Execute!"

'Good! By the time they realise what we're doing they will be in range of our broadsides.'



IJN Mikasa - Bridge.

"Execute the turn now!"

Ahead of the fleet flagship the Asahi started her turn, heeling sharply to starboard in moments the Mikasa would begin her turn on exactly the same spot as the Asahi had turned.

"Sir! The enemy fleet is turning!"

Admiral Togo turned his binoculars on the leading French ship. She was a brute of a vessel, a low hull topped by purposeful looking turrets and a powerful looking superstructure. The French flag was flying from a huge jackstaff on her stern and the Admiral had to admit she was a proud sight. And she was turning to port. As he was turning his fleet to starboard. Both fleets would be on the same course and heading. Side by side at roughly eight thousand yards.


2*

A slight grin spread across Admiral Togo's face, either by accident or design the two fleets had begun their turn within a minute of each other. He could see the big French cruisers jostling off the beam of their battleship line and he could guess their intention.

"Signal Admiral Kamimura to have his cruisers engage the French ones and engage the rear of their line as planned."

Although he was splitting his force he knew that the Tango and Suwo would remain with the main fleet, the large armoured cruisers under Kamimura were more than sufficient to destroy their French opponents.

IJN Nissin aft control station.

Midshipman First Class Isoroku Takano bit down the nerves he was sure everyone was feeling as the Nissin and her squadron mates turned sharply out of the line towards the French cruisers. To see the might of the Imperial fleet at sea in battle was an amazing thing for the young Officer. He'd been at sea less than a year, all the while on the Nissin. The crew were keen to avenge the loss of the Kasuga, the Nissin's sister ship sunk in the Tonkin Gulf months ago. Differing from her sister the Nissin had a more uniform battery of four 8 inch guns and fourteen 6 inch guns dotting her flanks, much like her squadron mates.




3*

All eyes snapped round as a twin thunder crack of gunfire rolled over the waves as the Asahi opened fire. The leading French ship's forward turret belched smoke and flame as she returned fire as she swung round to open her broadside, the two fleets mirroring each other's moves almost perfectly.

Admiral Kamimura split his seven ship strong squadron into two slightly staggered groups, the first consisted of his flagship the Iwate then the Idzumo and Nissin were ahead and off to the port side of the rest of his squadron, separated by six hundred yards of distance, this gave him freedom to manoeuvre without having to turn his whole squadron as one.




4*
The seas were now quite gentle, and the motions of the three ships, cutting through the high seas were exhilarating. The ships gently overtook the easterly heading seas, giving the hulls a graceful, swooping motion with a period of more than a minute. As the ships gradually overtook the swell in front, the preceding swell would lift the stern, dipping the bows and sending a cloud of fine spray on either side of the ship. Aft, where the vibration of the engines and the whine of the blowers drowned out all other sounds, leaving just the slow and graceful pitching motion. Forward, the sound of the bows cutting the spray could be heard, a gentle, rhythmic and pleasing tone that fitted well with the bright and clear sky overhead.

Aboard the Iwate the signals team went to work, the flags rose, were acknowledged, and after a proper interval executed. Almost immediately the forced draught blowers of the Nissin increased their noise, ears would be ringing among the stokers. Soon the note of the engines increased, the relatively vibration free Nissin started vibrating in earnest and the ship picked up her skirts and ran.

Spray was really flying now as they over took the seas more quickly. The sense of speed was exhilarating. Only a steam locomotive, most likely an express could go faster than this, and there was little that could catch them at sea as the cruisers peaked at 20 knots.

The hiss of the sea, the growl of the forced draught blowers sucking in more air to the boilers many decks below was now being drowned out as the battle was joined. Thunder boomed as tons of steel flew between the opposing fleets whilst the cruisers and destroyers look set on their own personal clash well away from the main event.

MN Brennus - Main fleet action.

The rending tear of a shell hitting home was audible over the rapid drum roll of the battleships 6.4 inch guns firing but not the thunderclap roar of the three 13.4 inch guns. Thick chocolate brown smoke billowed over the ship but it was swept away by the breeze as the Brennus dipped her bow into a wave throwing up a sheet of light spray.




5*

The two formations were on a converging course, closing the distance at a few hundred yards every minute and it made finding the range a bit difficult. If a ship was straddled, near missed, by hostile shells the captain would order a slight change of course to throw off the hostile gunners. If viewed from above the two converging fleets would look like smoke wreathed snakes slowly moving forwards. Bright flashes on the hull indicated a hit whilst often a burst of sickly yellow and white smoke indicated where a shell had hit armour and either failed to penetrate or the shell had failed when it hit the armour.

Hidden by the smoke and noise was of course the human effort. It was not only a battle between ships but between their crews. In the turrets and casemate batteries and engine rooms the crews worked in cramped, hot metal boxes, man handling the shells and charges to fire their guns as quickly and efficiently as they could. The sailors had to ignore the hits that tore nearby men they knew, ate and bunked with into unrecognisable bundles of crimson and cloth and kept at their post.

In the bowels of the ships the heat was almost hellish, without such things as air-conditioning the men feeding coal into the open boilers were often stripped down to their trousers whilst runners brought them water from the galley. The engineering crews were busy with their temperamental charges, running hoses over hot bearings, orders having to be bellowed through cupped hands to be heard over the rumble of the engines, the howl of the forced draught blowers and the rumble of gunfire.

"Hit...and another! Two hits on lead battleship sir!"

The captain went to reply when the ship shook from a heavy round punching deep into the superstructure before exploding.

"Damage report!"

"One 6.4 is out of action, the gun took a hit, there's a fire in the upper works and light flooding."

"It will only get worse..." The captain muttered as another wrenching scream of metal indicated an armour piercing round striking home.



1* The Bronze Figurehead of the Brennus.
2* Drawn after the battle this picture shows the distinctive Shihishima and her three funnels after opening fire.
3* A young Isoroku Takano, who later took the surname Yamamoto.
4* IJN Idzumo a British built armoured cruiser and Flagship of Rear Admiral Kamimura.
5* although taken at a later date in a gunnery exercise this picture shows how much smoke the firing of heavy naval ordinance produced.

[La Rouge Beret]

BZ, good start to the engagement.

[Devolved]

Excellent. Keep it up.

[sharlin]

Thank ye folks, i'll work on the next part soon.

Any more thoughts or comments?

[sharlin]

The Franco Japanese war - The grind

Battlezone.

The d'Entrecasteaux was in a bad way, the old cruiser was onfire astern, her aft 9.4 inch turret a smoking tomb for the crew, her middle funnel had been blasted overboard but she was still firing what 5.5 inch guns she had left in action and her 9.4 inch forward turret belched out a challenge every three minutes. The end came when three 8 inch rounds, no one knows who fired them the kill being shared between the Nissin and Iwate, struck the old cruiser on her waterline forward, aft and amidships.

Water surged in, forcing the battered d'Entrecasteaux to heel sharply to port as tons of water unbalanced her. The roll was so sudden that the lower 5.5 inch gunports were dunked into the water, the ship righted herself, water surging through her boiler rooms before she rocked back again.



1*


An almighty blast rocked the cruiser as one of her boilers exploded as cold seawater came into contact with its interior. Those unfortunate enough to be in the boiler room were either torn apart by scything iron fragments or literally boiled alive by superheated steam.

Steam, smoke and debris was blasted from her two remaining funnels to rain back down on the ship in a shower of hot metal and scalding water but she was already doomed. Dipping her gunports into the water allowing tonnes more water to flow in unimpeded the d'Entrecasteaux flopped onto her side, exposing her crimson underside to the sky. All this took about three minutes and there was barely three dozen survivors who were later found in a lifeboat that had fallen off the ship, blasted free by another hit nearby.

Even as cheers sounded on the Nissin she was rocked by two hits that mangled hull plates and killed men.

Aboard the large French Cruiser Dupliex the guncrews worked feverishly to reload the six 6.4 inch guns that could bare on the wall of targets they had to choose from. Whilst the Battleships fought for supremacy their respective cruiser squadrons were involved in their own brawl and the Dupliex was at the center of it, lashing out with her guns as soon as they were loaded. The complicated controlled fire no longer used with volume of fire taking precedence.

As soon as the breeches clanged shut the guns were in motion as the turret tracked and prepared to fire. The steam powered turret jerked as it stopped training and the gun captain took one last look from his sight before the two 7 tonne rifles roared and bucked spitting their shells towards the foe before the breeches swung open almost impatiently to take the next shell.

The 6.5 inch common shell seemed little different from any other projectile in the shell room. The shell room crew were awaiting the transit of the guns back to stop so that they could hoist the two new shells up. Finally the guns were ready, the hoist was fitted to the first shell and they were ready to haul it to the gun. Able seaman Roger LeClerk was considered simple by some of the crew and unstable by others. This mostly stemmed from his habit of keeping to himself, and laughing in solitary amusement at odd, untimely moments. For some reason he decided to step forward to the shell cradle and take out a chalk. He wrote “Postage Paid” on the shell while the rest of the crew watched, incredulous. Then he was done.




2*

He walked away from the shell cradle and put his chalk in his pocket. The shell was hoisted away and the crew looked at him, wanting some sort of explanation. LeClerk just smiled to himself and turned. He declined to explain the joke.

In the turret, the shell came up, was placed in the cradle and rammed into the left hand gun. Another shell came up and joined it. This one was rammed into the right hand gun and then the guns were rotating toward the target. The bearing was now opening on the other side of the enemy line and the commander of the forward barbette decided to fire once again at their earlier target, the Nissin. The guns were aimed, right at the stern of the Japanese Cruiser. Guess the roll and FIRE – a huge roar from the two guns, choking fumes blowing off to the east. Damn – was he a fraction early that time, just on the up roll?

The shells soared upwards out of the guns, headless of their destiny. One shell was bound for the sea, 200 yards short of the Nissin and 100 yard to the left. The other shell was destined to destroy a ship, the chalk marks on its surface already mostly illegible, the result of the guns firing.

IJN Nissin

Midshipman Isoroku Takano ducked as shell fragments lashed his position and it was that which saved him. There was a BANG of a hit near his position astern and then a flash of light and with it the scream of metal and men. A seaman in Isoroku's position howled as the metal plate he was resting his head against for a better view was super heated as the aft turret's magazine ignited. Fortunately the propellant didn't explode otherwise the Nissin would have disintegrated. At deck level the air was oven hot and Takano knew he'd be alright if he didn't breathe. There was a deep rending groan as the abused hull gave way, the superhot blast had torn the guts out of the cruiser, snapping her keel, sundering her hullplates. The Nissin's stern simply fell off the big cruiser and water surged in.

Totally devoid of any watertightness the Cruisers aft dipped down and the bow started to rise. Fast.

With her watertight integrity utterly compromised the Nissin rolled sharply, throwing Takano against the steel interior of the aft conning tower, the impact dazed him but the shock of water hitting him jolted him to full conciousness. The Nissin was already on her side and sinking fast, from inside the hull came the groan and crunch of shifting machinery and the muffled cries of trapped men. He could have gone down with his ship, but instinct took over, he didn't want to die. Clambering on the body of the other sailor in his part of the aft control station he had time to grab the hatch lever, ignoring the rapidly rising water and the blistering of his hand from the flash heated steel he thanked the Kami and ancestors when he found it was not jammed shut.
The change in air pressure and blast had snapped the other restraints that held the hatch secure but before he could open it the Nissin completed her roll. The whole ship shook as the fore 8 inch turret fell out of its mounting and drifted into the deep.

Water now poured up from the viewing ports in a torrent that blasted the mercifully unlocked hatch open with a surge of air bubbles and water that threw Takano from his post, dislocating his shoulder on the steel hatchway as the young Officer was dragged out of the wreck that had been his home for many months and propelled towards the surface.



3




1* The d'Entrecasteaux in far happier times.
2* Able Seaman Roger LeClerk in later years, he went on to be a writer and comedian of the stage in Paris.
3* The wreck of the Nissin as viewed today.




I'd really like comments, be they good or bad, its a bit disheartening to write this to only get one or two comments if that. Any criticism is welcome.

That final section was heavily inspired by a section from the Honour of Batavia and has been changed so it wasn't just a copy which I did to finish the section off and change the names.

[Devolved]

Originally Posted by sharlin

The Franco Japanese war - The grind

Battlezone.

The d'Entrecasteaux was in a bad way, the old cruiser was onfire astern, her aft 9.4 inch turret a smoking tomb for the crew, her middle funnel had been blasted overboard but she was still firing what 5.5 inch guns she had left in action and her 9.4 inch forward turret belched out a challenge every three minutes. The end came when three 8 inch rounds, no one knows who fired them the kill being shared between the Nissin and Iwate, struck the old cruiser on her waterline forward, aft and amidships.

Water surged in, forcing the battered d'Entrecasteaux to heel sharply to port as tons of water unbalanced her. The roll was so sudden that the lower 5.5 inch gunports were dunked into the water, the ship righted herself, water surging through her boiler rooms before she rocked back again.



1*


An almighty blast rocked the cruiser as one of her boilers exploded as cold seawater came into contact with its interior. Those unfortunate enough to be in the boiler room were either torn apart by scything iron fragments or literally boiled alive by superheated steam.

Steam, smoke and debris was blasted from her two remaining funnels to rain back down on the ship in a shower of hot metal and scalding water but she was already doomed. Dipping her gunports into the water allowing tonnes more water to flow in unimpeded the d'Entrecasteaux flopped onto her side, exposing her crimson underside to the sky. All this took about three minutes and there was barely three dozen survivors who were later found in a lifeboat that had fallen off the ship, blasted free by another hit nearby.

Even as cheers sounded on the Nissin she was rocked by two hits that mangled hull plates and killed men.

Aboard the large French Cruiser Dupliex the guncrews worked feverishly to reload the six 6.4 inch guns that could bare on the wall of targets they had to choose from. Whilst the Battleships fought for supremacy their respective cruiser squadrons were involved in their own brawl and the Dupliex was at the center of it, lashing out with her guns as soon as they were loaded. The complicated controlled fire no longer used with volume of fire taking precedence.

As soon as the breeches clanged shut the guns were in motion as the turret tracked and prepared to fire. The steam powered turret jerked as it stopped training and the gun captain took one last look from his sight before the two 7 tonne rifles roared and bucked spitting their shells towards the foe before the breeches swung open almost impatiently to take the next shell.

The 6.5 inch common shell seemed little different from any other projectile in the shell room. The shell room crew were awaiting the transit of the guns back to stop so that they could hoist the two new shells up. Finally the guns were ready, the hoist was fitted to the first shell and they were ready to haul it to the gun. Able seaman Roger LeClerk was considered simple by some of the crew and unstable by others. This mostly stemmed from his habit of keeping to himself, and laughing in solitary amusement at odd, untimely moments. For some reason he decided to step forward to the shell cradle and take out a chalk. He wrote “Postage Paid” on the shell while the rest of the crew watched, incredulous. Then he was done.




He walked away from the shell cradle and put his chalk in his pocket. The shell was hoisted away and the crew looked at him, wanting some sort of explanation. LeClerk just smiled to himself and turned. He declined to explain the joke.

In the turret, the shell came up, was placed in the cradle and rammed into the left hand gun. Another shell came up and joined it. This one was rammed into the right hand gun and then the guns were rotating toward the target. The bearing was now opening on the other side of the enemy line and the commander of the forward barbette decided to fire once again at their earlier target, the Nissin. The guns were aimed, right at the stern of the Japanese Cruiser. Guess the roll and FIRE – a huge roar from the two guns, choking fumes blowing off to the east. Damn – was he a fraction early that time, just on the up roll?

The shells soared upwards out of the guns, headless of their destiny. One shell was bound for the sea, 200 yards short of the Nissin and 100 yard to the left. The other shell was destined to destroy a ship, the chalk marks on its surface already mostly illegible, the result of the guns firing.

IJN Nissin

Midshipman Isoroku Takano ducked as shell fragments lashed his position and it was that which saved him. There was a BANG of a hit near his position astern and then a flash of light and with it the scream of metal and men. A seaman in Isoroku's position howled as the metal plate he was resting his head against for a better view was super heated as the aft turret's magazine ignited. Fortunately the propellant didn't explode otherwise the Nissin would have disintegrated. At deck level the air was oven hot and Takano knew he'd be alright if he didn't breathe. There was a deep rending groan as the abused hull gave way, the superhot blast had torn the guts out of the cruiser, snapping her keel, sundering her hullplates. The Nissin's stern simply fell off the big cruiser and water surged in.

Totally devoid of any watertightness the Cruisers aft dipped down and the bow started to rise. Fast.

Midshipman Takano knew that he had to get out of the crowded death trap of the aft conning tower. There was a watertight hatch aft and another two up and down. Safety, if there was to be any, was aft. He checked the temperature with the back of his hand. The ferocious fire had made the steel, momentarily, too hot to move. He saw a dogging wrench and grabbed it. It seared his hand, but it was less hot than the tower’s skin and he could bear the pain.
The conning tower hit the seawater. Top heavy, hanging at an impossible down angle, the hull rotated clockwise. The conning tower went underwater, upside down. There was no light. The corpses fell to the overhead. Takano fell on the corpses.
Seawater poured in through the vision slits. Takano stood. He had to risk hyperventilating. He might pass out. He needed the extra time. As a Bosn Mate, he had learned how long he could hold his breath. Hyperventilating, he might have two minutes. He purged and charged his lungs four times in the cascade of water, then held his breath. He went down.

Shoving a dead body aside, he found the circular handle. He twisted it, successfully. It had not been twisted too tightly by some overzealous seaman. One-handed he rotated the hatch as fast as he could. He was not ready for the blast of air forcing it wide open at the end. It carried him back to the deck of the Flag Level of the tower. He was caught there in an air bubble. He paused, and he collected his thoughts. The cruiser jerked up. The forward turret had fallen away. It jerked again. Those jolts were dangerous, he realised, machinery and ammunition smashing around inside the hull. He felt the ship lift twice, quickly. And then there was nothing. His heart was racing. It would use up his oxygen fast. He considered and quickly rejected the idea of escape through the skin of the ship. He oriented himself forward and aft. He exhaled and inhaled three times. He dove for the Navigation Level of the tower.
The egress was still open. He squeezed himself through. The hatch he needed would be starboard. He was facing aft. Starboard would be left. A body was in his way. He shoved it down. He needed to find the hatch. He found a dog. It was open. There were five others. He felt his way in a circle. He found the next one. With the dogging wrench still in his hand, with all of his strength, he opened it. The hatch swung open. It had not been properly dogged for battle. With pressure equal on either side, he was able to push his way out.
He needed to breathe. He could not see a thing. He kicked his boots off his feet using the edge of the hatch, oriented himself one last time, and started to swim for what he hoped was the surface. His battle dress weighed him down. He could not tell how close the surface. He did not even know if he was swimming in the right direction. He needed to breathe. He kept kicking. He had to breathe.
A gas bubble caught him and threw him. He blew out of the surface of the water. There was fire floating on the water three places not far away, but for a moment he was safe.
He wrestled his trousers from his waist, and he jerked the legs into knots. His right hand was blistering where he’d burned it with the dogging wrench, but he worked through the pain he was starting to feel. He swung the knotted trousers over his head by the waist, creating for himself a makeshift life vest. He put his torso over the crotch of his trousers, and his head bobbed well above the water. He looked around.
Midshipman Takano realized that he was drifting backwards. He looked behind him. The bow of the Nissin was sinking. The suction, he knew, would drag him down. As fast and as hard as he could, without abandoning his life preserver, he tried to swim away.





3




1* The d'Entrecasteaux in far happier times.
2* Able Seaman Roger LeClerk in later years, he went on to be a writer and comedian of the stage in Paris.
3* The wreck of the Nissin as viewed today.




I'd really like comments, be they good or bad, its a bit disheartening to write this to only get one or two comments if that. Any criticism is welcome.

Don't worry about the lack of comments. If you check my thread I've written whole sections without comments. You've had thousands of views and that's the important thing.

But you need to maintain the momentum so that events and battles are actually completed. That will give people something to comment on.

[sharlin]

True, I am taking my time between updates but thats because i'm bloody busy at work where I write it.

[GarethC]

Originally Posted by sharlin

Able seaman Roger LeClerk was considered simple by some of the crew and unstable by others. This mostly stemmed from his habit of keeping to himself, and laughing in solitary amusement at odd, untimely moments. For some reason he decided to step forward to the shell cradle and take out a chalk. He wrote “Postage Paid” on the shell while the rest of the crew watched, incredulous. Then he was done.

* Able Seaman Roger LeClerk in later years, he went on to be a writer and comedian of the stage in Paris.

I'd really like comments, be they good or bad, its a bit disheartening to write this to only get one or two comments if that. Any criticism is welcome.

LeClerc? The café piano player and makeup artist? Didn't he get nicked for forgery or something? I never knew he was a matelot! Amazing what you find out these days.

[Shadow Knight]

Excellent stuff Sharlin. You're a good writer and I like your personal touches on the naval combat. ll

[sharlin]

Originally Posted by GarethC

LeClerc? The café piano player and makeup artist? Didn't he get nicked for forgery or something? I never knew he was a matelot! Amazing what you find out these days.

He was never convicted (and huzzah someone got the 'allo 'allo reference!)

[Garrison]

Originally Posted by Devolved

Don't worry about the lack of comments. If you check my thread I've written whole sections without comments. You've had thousands of views and that's the important thing.

Too true, from past experience if you get one comment for every hundred views you're doing pretty well.

[Some Bloke]

I'll keep that in mind, stay tuned for the next installment of the Man Who Walked Away.

[El Pip]

Originally Posted by Shadow Knight

Excellent stuff Sharlin. You're a good writer and I like your personal touches on the naval combat. ll

That's pretty much what I was going to say, but with more appreciation of the 'allo 'allo reference.

[Shtudmuffin]

That was a riveting post. Very fun to read. Keep it up!

[benben]

Sharlin,

I've enjoyed yout yimeline very much so far. However, your last scene is blatant plagiarism. Can you please acknowledge this, apologize and delete it ? I wouldotherwise have to report it to the moderator and the original author.

This is really sad and disappointing.