...Those Marvelous Tin Fish: The Great Torpedo Scandal Avoided

[McPherson]

Ah, I think there's a garble in your last transmission. I only count four letters in your last word. Can you repeat? (Personally, I'd have led with "dumb", but this way does have a certain euphonic quality.)

I have corrected and retconned. See what follows.

That seems to be a Japanese tradition.

It is not like the Americans are doing any better here. (^^^^)

Sorry, but no. Unless you want to take Lockwood from Suva. Christie? (Or did he deservedly get hit by a Jeep, & I forgot?) I suppose Babe Brown & Sunshine Murray are too junior...

I brought in another loser. Carpender arrives earlier, but so what?

There really shouldn't be any, I wouldn't think, not anymore. They'd be replaced by Mackerels by now. The Asiatic Fleet never had many S-boats to begin with...& construction of replacements means they can be retired--never mind putting R-boats on the firing line. (Not to mention the need for cadre crews for all the new fleet boats...)

Things at SWPOA are not running too smoothly. I would think the situation as described (better than OTL) in this ITTL would and should resemble a typical MacArthur Fluster-cluck until good subordinates get out there. That does not happen for a while yet.

Let's be honest. Lockwood (inexplicably) was a big fan of these, himself. I wouldn't expect much protest. Besides, the boats he'd be using had no business in actual combat. (I mean Bass, Bonita, Barracuda, Argonaut, Narwhal, & Nautilus, not the S-boats.)

None of them had any business being used the way they were.

With so few boats, yikes, that looks spread pretty thin. (Not that I have much better ideas.)

Look at it from my PoV. About a dozen Mackerels, fresh arrived; figure eight ready for immediate deployment (60 % operational ready after a speed run from Pearl Harbor.) Where can those boats go to do the most good based on what the USN knew 20 April 1942? Around the approaches to Tulagi, off Milne Bay and in front of Port Moresby seems the best bets.

So the hazard of getting the sighting & sending it in timely fashion is completely wasted...

Not completely. AAF has listened to the sub contact report and Carpenter, Carmichael and Haskill are not idiots. They have been ignoring Brett and Brereton this ITTL, have you noticed?

I suppose Rice's reports of I-boats bound south, or large tanker convoys, are also being "processed" in a like fashion?

Unfortunately, they were in OTL. (^^^^).

If she hadn't been a signal player in the OOB, I might have put her on the bottom off the Bungo Suido in April. Anybody aboard should stop complaining.

She will have company. They will call it the "Milne Bay Massacre".

And despite the nitpicks, I remain impressed by the quality of the research. Readability isn't a bad thing, either.

Thanks.

 

[Md139115]

Usually, I’m not a big fan of pages and pages of dry technical details, but this is spectacular. You’ve really managed to capture the incompetence and hilarity of the Pacific theatre in a way I’ve never seen before.

 

[corditeman]

There are times...

...When I and McPherson cross swords, but I think his scholarship deserves recognition.

Therefore - First Nomination from me for a Cordite Medal for Inspired Ideas (CMII). Four nominations from other readers required ASAP. Then he'll be entitled to add CMII to his sig...

 

[sonofpegasus]

CMII Seconsed By SonofPegasus

 

[Shadow Knight]

Thirded.

 

[phx1138]

There are times...

...When I and McPherson cross swords, but I think his scholarship deserves recognition.

Therefore - First Nomination from me for a Cordite Medal for Inspired Ideas (CMII). Four nominations from other readers required ASAP. Then he'll be entitled to add CMII to his sig...

That's four, & I'd add another if I could.

And McPherson & I have had our disagreements, too. I've always been sure he knew his stuff, whatever side he was on. (He's almost as stubborn as me.)

 

[Md139115]

I support the nomination!

 

[phillymoman1975]

Mark me down as seconded (or thirded, or fourthed, or fifthed as the case may be)!

 

[vl100butch]

Thirded.

Fourthed

 

[Butchpfd]

There are times...

...When I and McPherson cross swords, but I think his scholarship deserves recognition.

Therefore - First Nomination from me for a Cordite Medal for Inspired Ideas (CMII). Four nominations from other readers required ASAP. Then he'll be entitled to add CMII to his sig...

Fifth nomination. Or so....

 

[McPherson]

Fifth nomination. Or so....

Cordite Medal for Inspired Ideas (CMII)

CMII Seconsed By SonofPegasus

Thirded.

That's four, & I'd add another if I could.

And McPherson & I have had our disagreements, too. I've always been sure he knew his stuff, whatever side he was on. (He's almost as stubborn as me.)

I support the nomination!

Mark me down as seconded (or thirded, or fourthed, or fifthed as the case may be)!

Fourthed

Fifth nomination. Or so....

Thank you, gentlemen.

 

[jlckansas]

Congratulations on your newly acquired medal. Will keep looking for more of the story.

 

[corditeman]

I'll do the Award Post tonight...

...Till then, a Tesco shift...

 

[McPherson]

Cordite Medal for Inspired Ideas (CMII)

CMII Seconsed By SonofPegasus

Thirded.

That's four, & I'd add another if I could.

And McPherson & I have had our disagreements, too. I've always been sure he knew his stuff, whatever side he was on. (He's almost as stubborn as me.)

I support the nomination!

Mark me down as seconded (or thirded, or fourthed, or fifthed as the case may be)!

Fourthed

Fifth nomination. Or so....

Congratulations on your newly acquired medal. Will keep looking for more of the story.

Thank you, gentlemen, again.

@DaveJ576 started it all. And @phx1138 has been the real expert on the submarine patrol side of this tale. He deserves all the kudos I can give him for keeping that part of it straight (As well he knows from our correspondence.)

So special thanks to @DaveJ576 and @phx1138 without whom the body and frame of this story would never exist. Deservedly they share the majority of the credit for its invention. The story originally is about the marvelous torpedoes that inspired this alternate time line. It was their hard work and inspiration and their continuing contribution that started and sustains it.

 

[phx1138]

The story originally is about the marvelous torpedoes that inspired this alternate time line.

Seconded. Credit to @DaveJ576 for starting this, & for being willing to let us have a free hand on it.

I'm also very appreciative of the praise for my part. I've found the actual writing of it pretty easy, except for trying to keep it varied enough, incident to incident. (Telling the same tale, over & over, without it getting dull, & without getting into more details, is...hard isn't quite the word. Challenging?)

Keeping the story straight, without producing conflicts, has been the hardest part (& not without glitches, as you've doubtless noticed).

The collaboration has been an adventure, & I'm glad I've been a part of it. I'm even more glad it's been as enjoyable for readers as it has been for me.

 

[DaveJ576]

To all:

I have been able to come up to periscope depth for a look around and to raise the snorkel for a battery charge...

McPherson and phx1138 have gone waaaay above and beyond what I had originally envisioned for this timeline. It was my intention to keep it as simple as possible while herding the butterflies. I wanted to point out the ridiculousness of the Torpedo Scandal while showing how we could have sidestepped it. These two authors (and I mean that as a sincere compliment) have taken my original concept and expanded it to galactic proportions. What they have done is excellent and well thought out and they have earned the praise. Bravo Zulu!

I also very much appreciate the sentiments as well. Even though I was well versed in the particulars of the Scandal prior to writing this, several times while doing the research I shook my head in amazement at how stupid the whole affair was. True, I am working off of 20/20 hindsight and nearly 80 years of perspective, but for pity's sake why couldn't some of the intelligent men involved in this debacle see what was going on at the time? It was SO obvious! It is a powerful statement on the fallibility of humanity, and the dangers of unrestrained pride, hubris, and unchecked government bureaucracy.

If the flux capacitor in my Delorean wasn't on the fritz I would go and "have a conversation" with Spike Blandy and Ralph Christie. Perhaps I could take Red Forman with me and his infamous size eleven boot.

Take care guys! Going deep again...

 

[DaveJ576]

Oops... One last request. Please end it the way I wrote it in the Prologue.

Thanks.

 

[McPherson]

Oops... One last request. Please end it the way I wrote it in the Prologue.

Thanks.

@DaveJ576

0ne has to get rid of Mitscher, Halsey and introduce the TBY Sea Wolf and Avenger fastter to end the war in time for Roosevelt to live to see it, but I'm game for that.

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Editorial, The situation with [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aritomo_Goto']Gotō, Aritomo[/URL] is exceedingly difficult. He got his flagship sunk, his staff killed and himself also drowned at Cape Esperance; so it is difficult to reconstruct what he was thinking at Coral Sea since his personal paperwork went down with him, but it was obvious from Kajioka, Sadamichi that at least one of his peers, thought he was either insane or just incompetent.

I'm trying to stay faithful to the RTL as much as possible, but there are some strange things going on with Shoho during the Coral Sea and "Smiling Buddha".

 

[Admiral Halsey]

@DaveJ576

0ne has to get rid of Mitscher, Halsey and introduce the TBY Sea Wolf to end the war in time for Roosevelt to live to see it, but I'm game.

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Edititori

Why are you guys so dead set against Halsey? Getting rid of him is not gonna shorten the war.

 

[McPherson]

Performance metrics.

The Standard is Spruance. Halsey comes up way short.