The Fed Prime Minister seems like a rather perceptive fellow, any hint about the list of equipment that the Feds may receive?
A New Balance
- Thread starter Jim Smitty
- Start date
Passing Ships
HMIFS Obin
Timor Sea
September 18 1939
The coffin service within the Federation Navy had long been neglected for a host of reasons. The young navy was more focused on building up its surface fleet first than its air arm. Then there was the British distain for submarines. Then there was the budget. Finally once the Federation decided to finally get serious about its submarine arm it was finding crews to man them. Even through the Federation had six submarines, it could only maintain a force of three of them at any one time with crews to put them to sea. The other three submarines were in ordinary with just enough of a crew to maintain them. And with the break from the British it was harder to train crew for their submarines. Currently the Federation Navy was looking at a partnership with the Kaiserliche Marine or the Regia Marine to help fix their training pipeline.
All that withstanding the Federation was doing everything it could to maintain the three submarines it had at the moment in its operational fleet. Even more so since the Dutch East Indies fell to the British and the Japanese. The Dutch Navy fought bravely but it was soundly defeated with only a few ships of the Dutch Squadron that maintained control of the Dutch colony reaching Federation ports. So with their natural defense removed the Federation had become paranoid about the possibly of invasion of its northern shores in Australia along with its holdings in Papua. Even more so during the past week following its break in relations with the Japanese, and in turn the British.
For the crew of the Obin their orders were to patrol the Banda and Java Sea areas and report back on any large British and/or Japanese fleets they encountered. The Timor Sea was being covered by maritime patrol aircraft of their own navy. However to reach the Banda Sea they first had to cross the Timor Sea as the captain of the Obin wasn’t about to risk his boat in the Savu Sea. At the moment they were only a few hours sailing away from entering the Banda Sea. They were still on the surface as it there was only a few hours of daylight left and once they got into the Banda Sea they would need operate more underwater during daylight hours. So the captain was taking this last chance to allow his crew to operate in the daylight before they when to being vampires and being on the surface only at night.
Then one of the look outs called out, “Aircraft coming off the starboard bow!”
It took a few seconds for the captain to hear this as he was in the boat working with his navigator on their course once they got into the Banda Sea. Once he heard the alarm the captain called out, “Rig to dive the boat!” As he ran to climb up the conning tower to sea this aircraft for himself.
Once he was up on the conning tower the captain of the boat spotted the aircraft himself as it had come closer and was flying slow, well slow for an aircraft. It was a Japanese flying boat, the kind that they used on their cruisers. “Radio it in, contact with a Japanese Float Plane.” The captain said as he was trying to figure out where that plane was coming from. The problem was it could had come from anywhere within a 1,000 mile radius. He knew that because the British had a fairly good working relationship with the Japanese and they shared information. Some of that information got passed on to the Federation before relations were broken.
However even through the guns on the Obin were trained on the Japanese aircraft and the guns on the aircraft were trained on the submarine as best as possible neither side fired. They however were both sending radio messages back to their command units.
Timor Sea
September 18 1939
The coffin service within the Federation Navy had long been neglected for a host of reasons. The young navy was more focused on building up its surface fleet first than its air arm. Then there was the British distain for submarines. Then there was the budget. Finally once the Federation decided to finally get serious about its submarine arm it was finding crews to man them. Even through the Federation had six submarines, it could only maintain a force of three of them at any one time with crews to put them to sea. The other three submarines were in ordinary with just enough of a crew to maintain them. And with the break from the British it was harder to train crew for their submarines. Currently the Federation Navy was looking at a partnership with the Kaiserliche Marine or the Regia Marine to help fix their training pipeline.
All that withstanding the Federation was doing everything it could to maintain the three submarines it had at the moment in its operational fleet. Even more so since the Dutch East Indies fell to the British and the Japanese. The Dutch Navy fought bravely but it was soundly defeated with only a few ships of the Dutch Squadron that maintained control of the Dutch colony reaching Federation ports. So with their natural defense removed the Federation had become paranoid about the possibly of invasion of its northern shores in Australia along with its holdings in Papua. Even more so during the past week following its break in relations with the Japanese, and in turn the British.
For the crew of the Obin their orders were to patrol the Banda and Java Sea areas and report back on any large British and/or Japanese fleets they encountered. The Timor Sea was being covered by maritime patrol aircraft of their own navy. However to reach the Banda Sea they first had to cross the Timor Sea as the captain of the Obin wasn’t about to risk his boat in the Savu Sea. At the moment they were only a few hours sailing away from entering the Banda Sea. They were still on the surface as it there was only a few hours of daylight left and once they got into the Banda Sea they would need operate more underwater during daylight hours. So the captain was taking this last chance to allow his crew to operate in the daylight before they when to being vampires and being on the surface only at night.
Then one of the look outs called out, “Aircraft coming off the starboard bow!”
It took a few seconds for the captain to hear this as he was in the boat working with his navigator on their course once they got into the Banda Sea. Once he heard the alarm the captain called out, “Rig to dive the boat!” As he ran to climb up the conning tower to sea this aircraft for himself.
Once he was up on the conning tower the captain of the boat spotted the aircraft himself as it had come closer and was flying slow, well slow for an aircraft. It was a Japanese flying boat, the kind that they used on their cruisers. “Radio it in, contact with a Japanese Float Plane.” The captain said as he was trying to figure out where that plane was coming from. The problem was it could had come from anywhere within a 1,000 mile radius. He knew that because the British had a fairly good working relationship with the Japanese and they shared information. Some of that information got passed on to the Federation before relations were broken.
However even through the guns on the Obin were trained on the Japanese aircraft and the guns on the aircraft were trained on the submarine as best as possible neither side fired. They however were both sending radio messages back to their command units.
Just discovered this. Got my interest. On page 1. Love to see if we get the islands in the Pacific, Greenland and maybe the Dominican Republic.
Fort Duff
Near Darwin
Fort Duff
September 19 1939
Following the break in relations earlier this year with the British and Japanese about refusing to enter this war on their side the Imperial Federation had started to fortifying its northern shores in Australia against a possible Japanese/British assault. Prior to this the fort system for the Federation had been built on Papua, in the Queensland Coast, and the North Island. However with the break in relations with the mother country and in turn their ally Japan had forced the Federation to shift to the Northern Australian coast. However unlike those forts which had been built up over the years, the Northern Australian coast forts were far weaker. However they had only start work on these fort in late March this year.
The change for the Federation was how did they rapidly build up a series of fortifications around Darwin and elsewhere on the Northern Australian coast with limited supplies, time, and money. Even more so since Darwin was still recovering from the 1937 Cyclone. It had been decided that a two fort system was the best they could do on such a shore timeframe and budget. Fort Duff was one of the two forts that overlooked the channel that took you to the port of Darwin. Since work started on the fort in Mid-March a lot of work had been done on it. However it was still far lacking when up against the older forts that had been built to defend from a possible American invasion.
Duff was a mostly unreinforced concrete and earthen fort system. The only part of the fort that had seen the use of reinforced concrete was the two areas that housed a pair of 9.2 inch Mk VI naval guns that had been shipped to the Imperial Federation before the crash of 28. They had been planned to placed into a fort had been set to be built near Brisbane. However once the crash of 28 happened that fort never was built. The guns had been placed into storage till now. Now they were being used to defend Darwin along with a matching set at Fort Charlie.
The true defense of Darwin through wasn’t the forts. The forts were designed to support the main defense of Darwin. This main defense was at Camp Royal and was in the form of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. The 2nd Light Horse wasn’t horse mounted anymore. It was a light armor unit equipped with armored cars and light goliath units that had motorized infantry attached to it. This force was backed up by the Local Defense Volunteers. The LDV unit was divided up into battalion formations with three different units being in Darwin at the moment. Unlike the troops that made up the 2nd Light Horse, the fort troops, and other sailors and air men in Darwin the LDV were part time who were too old for service in the Federation Military. In some cases too young.
Unlike the other branches of the Federation Military, the LDV were armed with what ever was at hand as the Federation simply didn’t have the spare rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, or other military small arms. This created an odd mix of weapons for LDV units and made the logistics a nightmare. You have war booty guns from the Second Boer War, the South African Civil War during the Great War, and Mesopotamian Front along with sporting guns. It had even got to the point the police were given guns they had taken from crooks and giving them to the LDV. Many of the LDV officers were veterans of either the Second Boer War and/or World War One.
Then at 10:01 am local time, everything changed.
Fort Duff
September 19 1939
Following the break in relations earlier this year with the British and Japanese about refusing to enter this war on their side the Imperial Federation had started to fortifying its northern shores in Australia against a possible Japanese/British assault. Prior to this the fort system for the Federation had been built on Papua, in the Queensland Coast, and the North Island. However with the break in relations with the mother country and in turn their ally Japan had forced the Federation to shift to the Northern Australian coast. However unlike those forts which had been built up over the years, the Northern Australian coast forts were far weaker. However they had only start work on these fort in late March this year.
The change for the Federation was how did they rapidly build up a series of fortifications around Darwin and elsewhere on the Northern Australian coast with limited supplies, time, and money. Even more so since Darwin was still recovering from the 1937 Cyclone. It had been decided that a two fort system was the best they could do on such a shore timeframe and budget. Fort Duff was one of the two forts that overlooked the channel that took you to the port of Darwin. Since work started on the fort in Mid-March a lot of work had been done on it. However it was still far lacking when up against the older forts that had been built to defend from a possible American invasion.
Duff was a mostly unreinforced concrete and earthen fort system. The only part of the fort that had seen the use of reinforced concrete was the two areas that housed a pair of 9.2 inch Mk VI naval guns that had been shipped to the Imperial Federation before the crash of 28. They had been planned to placed into a fort had been set to be built near Brisbane. However once the crash of 28 happened that fort never was built. The guns had been placed into storage till now. Now they were being used to defend Darwin along with a matching set at Fort Charlie.
The true defense of Darwin through wasn’t the forts. The forts were designed to support the main defense of Darwin. This main defense was at Camp Royal and was in the form of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. The 2nd Light Horse wasn’t horse mounted anymore. It was a light armor unit equipped with armored cars and light goliath units that had motorized infantry attached to it. This force was backed up by the Local Defense Volunteers. The LDV unit was divided up into battalion formations with three different units being in Darwin at the moment. Unlike the troops that made up the 2nd Light Horse, the fort troops, and other sailors and air men in Darwin the LDV were part time who were too old for service in the Federation Military. In some cases too young.
Unlike the other branches of the Federation Military, the LDV were armed with what ever was at hand as the Federation simply didn’t have the spare rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, or other military small arms. This created an odd mix of weapons for LDV units and made the logistics a nightmare. You have war booty guns from the Second Boer War, the South African Civil War during the Great War, and Mesopotamian Front along with sporting guns. It had even got to the point the police were given guns they had taken from crooks and giving them to the LDV. Many of the LDV officers were veterans of either the Second Boer War and/or World War One.
Then at 10:01 am local time, everything changed.
Hell of a Way to Enter a War
Darwin
Naval Armory
September 19 1939
Lieutenant Matt Jones was hurrying in drawing a weapon from the armory as Japanese aircraft were bombing Darwin. He had only reach Darwin the day before to take up his new billet as the intelligence officer Submarine Squadron. He was to report in about 20 minutes to take the job, but that was shot to shit now. He had been in the radio room meeting with some of the ratings and warrants that would fill out his command within the Submarine Squadron before reporting to his new CO when radio calls started coming in. First it was the air raid siren from the radar station on Bathurst Island. Then just as the all clear had been given, reports started come in from Bathurst Island again, this time it was surface ships that had been sighted.
After that report Jones took the initiative. He ordered his men to follow him as they took off for the armory. After breaking down the door he ordered his men to draw weapons. Matt himself took a British copy of the German MP-17 submachine gun along with Webley Revolver. Most of the ratings drew Lee-Enfield rifles with the few chiefs and warrants drawing MP-17s like Jones did. The down side of being in the navy was that it got the left overs on small arms from the army. As Matt pulled back the charging handle on his submachine gun the base armorer had just reached the armory. The Lieutenant who was the armorer, “Lieutenant I will have you brought up on charges!”
“Frankly I don’t give a damn.” Jones answered to the surprise of the armorer. “The bloody Japanese are about to invade and I sure as shit don’t plan on being a prisoner of theirs.” It was common knowledge now what the Japanese were doing to Whites in German and American China that they were currently occupying. “So grab a weapon and get ready to fight for your life mate.”
Just as Jones was finish saying what he had to say to the armorer the sounds of large naval cannons could he heard. They were from a pair of Hiei class battlecruisers that was pounding the forts defending the city as the cruisers and destroyers that were carrying the men of the 18th and 21st Special Landing Regiments.
The roar of the aircraft engines flying a few thousand feet off the deck made it so Jones had to scream. “We need to get to Fannie Bay now!”
Naval Armory
September 19 1939
Lieutenant Matt Jones was hurrying in drawing a weapon from the armory as Japanese aircraft were bombing Darwin. He had only reach Darwin the day before to take up his new billet as the intelligence officer Submarine Squadron. He was to report in about 20 minutes to take the job, but that was shot to shit now. He had been in the radio room meeting with some of the ratings and warrants that would fill out his command within the Submarine Squadron before reporting to his new CO when radio calls started coming in. First it was the air raid siren from the radar station on Bathurst Island. Then just as the all clear had been given, reports started come in from Bathurst Island again, this time it was surface ships that had been sighted.
After that report Jones took the initiative. He ordered his men to follow him as they took off for the armory. After breaking down the door he ordered his men to draw weapons. Matt himself took a British copy of the German MP-17 submachine gun along with Webley Revolver. Most of the ratings drew Lee-Enfield rifles with the few chiefs and warrants drawing MP-17s like Jones did. The down side of being in the navy was that it got the left overs on small arms from the army. As Matt pulled back the charging handle on his submachine gun the base armorer had just reached the armory. The Lieutenant who was the armorer, “Lieutenant I will have you brought up on charges!”
“Frankly I don’t give a damn.” Jones answered to the surprise of the armorer. “The bloody Japanese are about to invade and I sure as shit don’t plan on being a prisoner of theirs.” It was common knowledge now what the Japanese were doing to Whites in German and American China that they were currently occupying. “So grab a weapon and get ready to fight for your life mate.”
Just as Jones was finish saying what he had to say to the armorer the sounds of large naval cannons could he heard. They were from a pair of Hiei class battlecruisers that was pounding the forts defending the city as the cruisers and destroyers that were carrying the men of the 18th and 21st Special Landing Regiments.
The roar of the aircraft engines flying a few thousand feet off the deck made it so Jones had to scream. “We need to get to Fannie Bay now!”
I wonder where the IJN go from here and, a rather forlorn hope that most civilans are able to escape south.
As to the civilians, well the Feds through what is currently happening to American and German civilians behind the lines. The Feds will fight and fight hard to save as many of them as they can. Will it be enough, come back in a few days to find out.
No update tonight. My neighbors are being assholes right now with loud music and fireworks. If it wasn't New Years I would be calling the cops on them for disturbing the peace. With the racket I can't focus so no update.
However, Happy New Year Everyone.
It will get ugly for any Australians who get captured and any civilians who remain in Darwin. As far as the Japanese go, they could rename Darwin "Japanese POW holding camp #1". Darwin is a long way from anywhere, and making it in to a base for further advances will be a resource suck. Maybe they can stage some air raids out of there, but any major Australian targets are a long flight
Hey I resemble that remark, Hope I wasn't me, wasn't fireworks tho' we use real shotguns and rifles in Iowa (4th of July, Birthdays, happy days, days that end in Y ect.) Happy New Year ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, got to remember to stay out of the champagnee Be$4 TYpIngg STUfffffff
Fighting For Your Life
Fannie Bay, Darwin
Forward-Edge of Battle
September 19 1939
Lieutenant Matt Jones and his unofficial command was running through the streets of Darwin. Their naval uniforms clearly mark them differently than the army troops that were rushing to the same area. Before rushing off to the armory to draw weapons, Jones had sent a runner to inform higher command that the Japanese were coming. It seemed that the message had reached the flags and troops were pouring into area selected as the most likely landing location knowing Japanese tactics and doctrine. The LDV were being kept to the rear to help organize the evacuation of the civilian population of the city. The plan was to ship the civilians to Alice Springs via an overland route, but the plan for it had only been looked at a few times and the civilians didn’t know about it. It was creating a mess. However the LDV and others were doing their best to make it happen.
Jones and his platoon size unit had been assigned to guard a sector of the beach. However the plan by the regular army was to withdraw the makeshift naval infantry units that were forming in an adhoc form once the army had the units to put in place. This was being completed by the fact of the on going evacuation of the civilians. The problem was the Federation just had never tested their plans to move the troops of the 2nd Light Horse from their garrison location to the beaches that the Japanese would have to invade. It was showing now.
As he waited to be relieved Jones was walking up and down his assigned speaking to his troops. He was given them words of encouragement and helping them get ready for the coming battle. Because of how fast it had all come together his troops didn’t have entrenching tools so they were taking up positions that shielded them from cover. There wasn’t much at this part of the seawall however they were doing whatever they could.
Jones was looking at the sea ahead of him. It was time as he saw the destroyers of the Japanese Navy slow down and started lowering landing craft into the water. “Hold your fire.” Jones yelled out to his unit. His chiefs repeated the command. Jones gut was saying opening fire now would just be asking for those destroyers to open up on his men. Further his troops hadn’t trained for these kind of distance shots so it would be wasting ammo. They were just taking part in the time honor tradition of waiting.
As the Japanese closed in on the beaches with their landing craft Jones judged the distance between his men and the Japanese. Other units were opening fire on the Japanese and Jones was right it was simply drawing fire from the Japanese destroyers. As the Japanese landing craft reached the beach and dropped their bows Jones yelled out, “OPEN FIRE!” At that the rifles and submachine guns of his unit joined the other Federation troops in the battle and opened fire on the Japanese.
Leading a group of Japanese Marines Jones gave a short burst of fire from his submachine gun. With his unit lacking a machine gun in support his submachine gun had to act as such. The Japanese Marines were advancing smartly as they running up the beach. However Matt saw at least one of the bastards drop from his first burst of fire. He quickly took aim and fire again from the rock he was behind and the fight was on.
<*>
Jones and the remains of his platoon, himself and 13 ratings were hold up in a hotel defending it from the Japanese. In what seemed like a life time but in truth only have been five hours Jones and his men had performed well but at a heavy cost. Right now there was a low in the fighting in this sector. His men were cleaning their weapons and waiting for another attack. The ratings and some of the chiefs had checked the Japanese in the lobby. A few got stuck with a bayonet if they showed any signs of life. They also relieved the Japanese of any weapons they wanted. Matt himself had helped himself to a Japanese Samurai Sword that now hung over his back.
Then there was a noise and everyone stopped what they were doing and got ready to fight again. Yet before they saw anyone they heard someone speaking English. Jones taking a chance as he couldn’t see them yet, “You there identity yourself!”
“Lance-Corporal Johnson, 2nd Light Horse!”
“Advance Lance!” Jones called out.
For a few seconds nothing happened, but soon enough a Lance Corporal Johnson advanced into the lobby of the hotel that Jones and his unit along with a few other men who had been cut off from their own units were currently defending. Johnson however had his weapon at the ready. “Squids.” He said when he saw the bulk of the men in the lobby were sailors.
At that other men of C Troop 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Light Horse started to make their way into the hotel that Jones and men were hold up. The captain of C Troop soon entered the lobby. They were about a mile and half from the landing point. “Lieutenant, you and your man are to fall back to bell tower for further orders.” It was the location the army was sending make shift units like Jones’ platoon to for falling back in to get them off the front. “Good job through Squid.”
“Men lets get going.” Jones said.
Forward-Edge of Battle
September 19 1939
Lieutenant Matt Jones and his unofficial command was running through the streets of Darwin. Their naval uniforms clearly mark them differently than the army troops that were rushing to the same area. Before rushing off to the armory to draw weapons, Jones had sent a runner to inform higher command that the Japanese were coming. It seemed that the message had reached the flags and troops were pouring into area selected as the most likely landing location knowing Japanese tactics and doctrine. The LDV were being kept to the rear to help organize the evacuation of the civilian population of the city. The plan was to ship the civilians to Alice Springs via an overland route, but the plan for it had only been looked at a few times and the civilians didn’t know about it. It was creating a mess. However the LDV and others were doing their best to make it happen.
Jones and his platoon size unit had been assigned to guard a sector of the beach. However the plan by the regular army was to withdraw the makeshift naval infantry units that were forming in an adhoc form once the army had the units to put in place. This was being completed by the fact of the on going evacuation of the civilians. The problem was the Federation just had never tested their plans to move the troops of the 2nd Light Horse from their garrison location to the beaches that the Japanese would have to invade. It was showing now.
As he waited to be relieved Jones was walking up and down his assigned speaking to his troops. He was given them words of encouragement and helping them get ready for the coming battle. Because of how fast it had all come together his troops didn’t have entrenching tools so they were taking up positions that shielded them from cover. There wasn’t much at this part of the seawall however they were doing whatever they could.
Jones was looking at the sea ahead of him. It was time as he saw the destroyers of the Japanese Navy slow down and started lowering landing craft into the water. “Hold your fire.” Jones yelled out to his unit. His chiefs repeated the command. Jones gut was saying opening fire now would just be asking for those destroyers to open up on his men. Further his troops hadn’t trained for these kind of distance shots so it would be wasting ammo. They were just taking part in the time honor tradition of waiting.
As the Japanese closed in on the beaches with their landing craft Jones judged the distance between his men and the Japanese. Other units were opening fire on the Japanese and Jones was right it was simply drawing fire from the Japanese destroyers. As the Japanese landing craft reached the beach and dropped their bows Jones yelled out, “OPEN FIRE!” At that the rifles and submachine guns of his unit joined the other Federation troops in the battle and opened fire on the Japanese.
Leading a group of Japanese Marines Jones gave a short burst of fire from his submachine gun. With his unit lacking a machine gun in support his submachine gun had to act as such. The Japanese Marines were advancing smartly as they running up the beach. However Matt saw at least one of the bastards drop from his first burst of fire. He quickly took aim and fire again from the rock he was behind and the fight was on.
<*>
Jones and the remains of his platoon, himself and 13 ratings were hold up in a hotel defending it from the Japanese. In what seemed like a life time but in truth only have been five hours Jones and his men had performed well but at a heavy cost. Right now there was a low in the fighting in this sector. His men were cleaning their weapons and waiting for another attack. The ratings and some of the chiefs had checked the Japanese in the lobby. A few got stuck with a bayonet if they showed any signs of life. They also relieved the Japanese of any weapons they wanted. Matt himself had helped himself to a Japanese Samurai Sword that now hung over his back.
Then there was a noise and everyone stopped what they were doing and got ready to fight again. Yet before they saw anyone they heard someone speaking English. Jones taking a chance as he couldn’t see them yet, “You there identity yourself!”
“Lance-Corporal Johnson, 2nd Light Horse!”
“Advance Lance!” Jones called out.
For a few seconds nothing happened, but soon enough a Lance Corporal Johnson advanced into the lobby of the hotel that Jones and his unit along with a few other men who had been cut off from their own units were currently defending. Johnson however had his weapon at the ready. “Squids.” He said when he saw the bulk of the men in the lobby were sailors.
At that other men of C Troop 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Light Horse started to make their way into the hotel that Jones and men were hold up. The captain of C Troop soon entered the lobby. They were about a mile and half from the landing point. “Lieutenant, you and your man are to fall back to bell tower for further orders.” It was the location the army was sending make shift units like Jones’ platoon to for falling back in to get them off the front. “Good job through Squid.”
“Men lets get going.” Jones said.
Well it looks like in that Fed officer's case that the bounce of the ball was in his favour, then again by the time you have ratings fighting ashore, things have gone decidedly pear shaped for all concerned.
Great chapter Jim, keep it up.
Great chapter Jim, keep it up.
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Enter the Jets
Near Leipzig
German Naval Airfield
September 27 1939
Kapitänleutnant Branden Hamby was currently walking around the briefing area of his new squadron. After having been shot down over Wake and spending two days in the drink before being fished out of the Americans had travelled back to his home nation. It was the first time he had been in Germany for nearly four years. He had to take a sub to get back but it felt go to be home. Now after being awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and an American award for his actions over Wake and a week of liberty he had been assigned to a new squadron, the Marinefliegergeschwader 101. However he wasn’t sure the type of aircraft being assigned to the new squadron as that wasn’t made clear when his orders had been handed down.
“Attention on deck!” called out the yeoman who was walking in with the commanding officer.
Hamby noticed out of the concur of his eye it was the shoulder boards of a squadron commander walking in. No those were the shoulder boards of an senior flag officer. The pucker factor just when up a few notches. Even more when said senior officer turned around. It was Vizeadmiral Theodor Riedel, the chief of the naval aviation branch of the whole of the Kaiserliche Marine. Whatever was happening here was damn important.
“At ease gentlemen.” Riedel called out. At that the newly brought together pilots of Marinefliegergeschwader 101 which was a newly brought together squadron.
Once the pilots were seated Riedel when on. “Every pilot in this room is a combat veteran with kills to their name and flight records that are some of the best in the fleet. That is why you are here today. Today is a start in a shift in how the war in the air will be fought. You may have hurt rumors of jet aircraft, let me tell you now those rumors are true. You will be flying the newest and fastest fighter our name can make the, E I.[1]”
Every pilot in the room looked at each other with shock looks on their face. Riedel when on, “Over the next few months you will train on the E I till you are ready to deploy to over the North Sea where the fate of our nation hangs in the balance. The E I is not carrier rated so you will be flying of land bases out of Norway to cover our fleet as it tries to destroy our old adversary, the Royal Navy.” Norway was a freaking three way mess between the British fighting the Swedish and Germans and the other way round. The Norwegians were fighting both groups fighting for control of their nation. This was because, the British had tried to pull the same stunt they had in Belgian in 1915 when they invaded Norway. Only it hadn’t worked as well and Norway was fighting a civil war over who was king of their nation.
“Now I will turn this over to Fregattenkapitän Karl Oehrn your squadron command to fill you end on what the E I can do. Good hunting men!”
[1] A modified He-280, more on this later.
German Naval Airfield
September 27 1939
Kapitänleutnant Branden Hamby was currently walking around the briefing area of his new squadron. After having been shot down over Wake and spending two days in the drink before being fished out of the Americans had travelled back to his home nation. It was the first time he had been in Germany for nearly four years. He had to take a sub to get back but it felt go to be home. Now after being awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and an American award for his actions over Wake and a week of liberty he had been assigned to a new squadron, the Marinefliegergeschwader 101. However he wasn’t sure the type of aircraft being assigned to the new squadron as that wasn’t made clear when his orders had been handed down.
“Attention on deck!” called out the yeoman who was walking in with the commanding officer.
Hamby noticed out of the concur of his eye it was the shoulder boards of a squadron commander walking in. No those were the shoulder boards of an senior flag officer. The pucker factor just when up a few notches. Even more when said senior officer turned around. It was Vizeadmiral Theodor Riedel, the chief of the naval aviation branch of the whole of the Kaiserliche Marine. Whatever was happening here was damn important.
“At ease gentlemen.” Riedel called out. At that the newly brought together pilots of Marinefliegergeschwader 101 which was a newly brought together squadron.
Once the pilots were seated Riedel when on. “Every pilot in this room is a combat veteran with kills to their name and flight records that are some of the best in the fleet. That is why you are here today. Today is a start in a shift in how the war in the air will be fought. You may have hurt rumors of jet aircraft, let me tell you now those rumors are true. You will be flying the newest and fastest fighter our name can make the, E I.[1]”
Every pilot in the room looked at each other with shock looks on their face. Riedel when on, “Over the next few months you will train on the E I till you are ready to deploy to over the North Sea where the fate of our nation hangs in the balance. The E I is not carrier rated so you will be flying of land bases out of Norway to cover our fleet as it tries to destroy our old adversary, the Royal Navy.” Norway was a freaking three way mess between the British fighting the Swedish and Germans and the other way round. The Norwegians were fighting both groups fighting for control of their nation. This was because, the British had tried to pull the same stunt they had in Belgian in 1915 when they invaded Norway. Only it hadn’t worked as well and Norway was fighting a civil war over who was king of their nation.
“Now I will turn this over to Fregattenkapitän Karl Oehrn your squadron command to fill you end on what the E I can do. Good hunting men!”
[1] A modified He-280, more on this later.
Enter the Legend
St. Johns, Newfoundland, American Territory
Submarine Base St. Johns
October 4 1939
Lieutenant Louis Belanger was currently waiting with others from ONI. For Louis this was his first assignment since getting back to the states after that cluster that had been China for him. He was still a few pounds lighter than he had been at the start of the war, but he had slowly been putting the weight back on that he had lost from his time in the boonies. He had sent a few weeks in a Federation Hospital getting his health back in control before he made the trip to the US again. Yet the photos and the story he brought back kicked over a fucking ant hill.
His story that was being run though the press and being used to push war bond sells left out a few details from what he saw when he was in China however. The Japanese were simply murdering and raping their way across China. During his trip to the Fed consulate in China Louis had found a pair mass graves of Chinese that were being filled as he looked on. He thought he found another freshly filled one as well. Further the Japanese were simply staving the Chinese in their new Chinese territories as food was almost impossible to find. Louis thought briefly as he was waiting was it by design?
“Attention on deck!” Called out one of the ratings that was waiting for this briefing as well.
With that being called out everyone in the room jumped up and snapped to attention. The officer that brought about this jumping up was Commodore Jeff Cross a legend within ONI circles. His operations in the Caribbean during the last war against the British had brought a number of important pieces of information to the navy along that team being one of the most decorated units in the war. He was also known as a maverick for the way he performed ops. It was one of the reasons he was still only a junior flag officer instead of being the director of the ONI as he had been on active duty longer than the current director of the ONI by five years yet the director had two more stars on his shoulder boards than Cross.
“At ease men.” Cross said as he was walking up to the front of the briefing room. He was the working khaki uniform that was much more common on ships than shore. The other officers and chiefs here that had been waiting were all in their service khakis with the ratings wearing crackjack uniforms. The other officers and the few chiefs that walked in with Cross were in working khakis. The same when with the single rating that was with Cross, he was in dungarees.
It was only a few seconds before Cross and his small group was at the front of the room. “Gentlemen let me blunt with you. You are all here because I selected you as you were the best the Navy has to offer for this kind work we will be doing. But the best the navy has to offer isn’t good enough for what we will be doing. We will be performing missions that will make my team from the Great War look like a practice high school football team that is going up against the Chicago Bandits.” With the Bandits being three time defending champs of the American Football League any practice high school squad would be destroyed by them. “So if any of you don’t think you can hack it, the door is right there. You can walk out now with no remarks on your records and return to former billets or given new billets. Because make no mistake about it during the next three months I will train you to your limits then push you past those limits.”
No one got up. Cross gave everyone a few seconds before he spoke again. “Up and go draw your gear now!”
Cross knew he had a lot of work ahead of him as he watched 95 of the ONI had to draw their gears. However he had to push hard right now. Losses of heavy bombers trying to bomb the British Isles were so high that high command had put a bombing pause on targets in the British Isles for the next five months. He needed to get his hands on that fucking British radar system to make those limey bastards pay for fucking with his nation again.
Submarine Base St. Johns
October 4 1939
Lieutenant Louis Belanger was currently waiting with others from ONI. For Louis this was his first assignment since getting back to the states after that cluster that had been China for him. He was still a few pounds lighter than he had been at the start of the war, but he had slowly been putting the weight back on that he had lost from his time in the boonies. He had sent a few weeks in a Federation Hospital getting his health back in control before he made the trip to the US again. Yet the photos and the story he brought back kicked over a fucking ant hill.
His story that was being run though the press and being used to push war bond sells left out a few details from what he saw when he was in China however. The Japanese were simply murdering and raping their way across China. During his trip to the Fed consulate in China Louis had found a pair mass graves of Chinese that were being filled as he looked on. He thought he found another freshly filled one as well. Further the Japanese were simply staving the Chinese in their new Chinese territories as food was almost impossible to find. Louis thought briefly as he was waiting was it by design?
“Attention on deck!” Called out one of the ratings that was waiting for this briefing as well.
With that being called out everyone in the room jumped up and snapped to attention. The officer that brought about this jumping up was Commodore Jeff Cross a legend within ONI circles. His operations in the Caribbean during the last war against the British had brought a number of important pieces of information to the navy along that team being one of the most decorated units in the war. He was also known as a maverick for the way he performed ops. It was one of the reasons he was still only a junior flag officer instead of being the director of the ONI as he had been on active duty longer than the current director of the ONI by five years yet the director had two more stars on his shoulder boards than Cross.
“At ease men.” Cross said as he was walking up to the front of the briefing room. He was the working khaki uniform that was much more common on ships than shore. The other officers and chiefs here that had been waiting were all in their service khakis with the ratings wearing crackjack uniforms. The other officers and the few chiefs that walked in with Cross were in working khakis. The same when with the single rating that was with Cross, he was in dungarees.
It was only a few seconds before Cross and his small group was at the front of the room. “Gentlemen let me blunt with you. You are all here because I selected you as you were the best the Navy has to offer for this kind work we will be doing. But the best the navy has to offer isn’t good enough for what we will be doing. We will be performing missions that will make my team from the Great War look like a practice high school football team that is going up against the Chicago Bandits.” With the Bandits being three time defending champs of the American Football League any practice high school squad would be destroyed by them. “So if any of you don’t think you can hack it, the door is right there. You can walk out now with no remarks on your records and return to former billets or given new billets. Because make no mistake about it during the next three months I will train you to your limits then push you past those limits.”
No one got up. Cross gave everyone a few seconds before he spoke again. “Up and go draw your gear now!”
Cross knew he had a lot of work ahead of him as he watched 95 of the ONI had to draw their gears. However he had to push hard right now. Losses of heavy bombers trying to bomb the British Isles were so high that high command had put a bombing pause on targets in the British Isles for the next five months. He needed to get his hands on that fucking British radar system to make those limey bastards pay for fucking with his nation again.