Kirov III: Pacific Storm

“Will they be able to cut us off before we reach the north cape of that island?” Volsky asked.

“That will depend on the speed of the battleship, unless their commander is determined to engage us, he will likely keep his task force together. If he sends cruisers out in front, they might make thirty-three knots. The destroyers could be even faster.”

“Karpov?” Volsky looked to his new Captain of the 3rd rank for a tactical assessment.

“If they send lighter ships forward our deck guns can outrange them. What is the range of the guns on those cruisers, Fedorov?”

“We don’t know what class yet, but if they are heavy cruisers they will be carrying eight inch guns that will range out to 25,000 meters.”

“We can beat that range with our deck guns,” said Karpov quickly. “If they get too close, say 30,000 meters, we can begin discouraging them with the 152 millimeter batteries.”

“A good plan,” said Volsky.

“Don’t forget the battleship, it can fire at 35,000 meters, though it probably won’t hit anything at that range.”

“We’ve had quite a few scraps with battleships in recent days,” said Karpov. “Our best bet if that ship poses any real threat would be at least one Moskit-II targeting their superstructure, and we must do this before the ship gets in effective range.”

“Agreed,” said Volsky. “I do not wish us to be dancing about in the midst of sea spray from fifteen or sixteen inch shells again.”

“They’ll probably be fourteen inch guns,” said Fedorov, though he realized the difference was negligible when it came to a round of that size impacting the ship.

“Very well,” said the Admiral. “I suggest we prepare to possibly repel another incoming air strike from these torpedo planes Mister Fedorov mentioned. And then we will see if our speed can keep us ahead of this enemy surface action group.” He shrugged. “I’m afraid we’ll have to wait for those island girls a little longer. Stay at alert level one, and please check on the damage control situation, Mister Fedorov.”

“Aye, sir. Alert one, all hands stand ready.” The order was passed over ship’s intercom, though the attack had clearly heightened the crew’s awareness of impending battle. They were in it again, facing off against these impossible shadows from a distant past, but yet the explosion of a 250kg incendiary bomb had made these shadows painfully real.

“Now then,” said Volsky. “What do we do about these carriers? Do you think we are likely to receive another airstrike in the next hour or two Fedorov?”

“I would plan on it, sir. The dive bombers must have been armed with incendiary bombs. They had no business coming in on us like that at all. But the next wave will most likely be torpedo planes, and the Japanese were very skilled at low level attacks. Remember, they have trained for months to make an attack at Pearl Harbor. They will have to be engaged before they get anywhere close to us.”

“How many planes can we expect in this attack?”

“There will be at least eighteen on each carrier, sir. Possibly twenty-seven. I’m going to make a guess that this is Carrier Division Five, with Zuikaku and Shokaku. They were Japan’s newest carriers, big and fast at thirty-four knots. Those ships were active in the East Indies, the Indian Ocean, and the Coral Sea early in the war, though we don’t really know what the date is yet. In any case, the torpedo planes will be carrying the Japanese Type 91. They range out to about 2000 meters after launch. Nothing we want to fool with.”

“Agreed,” said Volsky.

“With Rodenko’s radars operating now, we will see these planes well before they pose any threat,” said Karpov. “For that matter, it would not be difficult to scout the location of these aircraft carriers and send them a message.”

They all knew what he meant.

“It will come down to a choice then,” said the Admiral. “Which missiles do we use, our dwindling anti-ship weapons, or our air defense systems? Diminishing the strength of either inventory is not a happy prospect.”

“I suggest we wait,” said Fedorov. “Let’s see what they throw at us. Only then can we determine what weapon systems would be best. But I think we should conserve our anti-ship missiles at this point and use them only if absolutely necessary.”

Karpov expected this from Fedorov. The young ex-navigator was still cautious, and on one level he perceived that Fedorov was still very reluctant to target ships, planes, and men that had glowed in the soft light of his history books for so many years. Karpov had no such scruples, and looked at the matter solely from a military point of view. If the carriers were threat they could be dealt with, but he decided that they could just as easily handle an air strike as long as their air defense missile systems had ammunition.

“If each carrier has twenty-seven torpedo bombers,” he said. “That will be a big drain on our SAM inventory if they attack in force. I would hate to have to be forced to make that decision when we might use one or two missiles to forestall such an attack. We have only to locate these carriers, and if they are beyond our surface radar range at this juncture we should use the KA-40. That failing, then we can wait and receive the blow, and deal with it when it comes, but we both know that the best defense is a good offense.” He folded his arms having given the assessment that he felt was most tactically sound for the situation. The rest would be up to Volsky.

“I’m not surprised that you both have differing views on this,” said the Admiral, thinking. He took a long breath and then gave an order. “As we do not now know the location of the enemy carriers, we must wait. But I want better situational awareness. I want to know exactly what we are facing, because Fedorov here says we can no longer rely on his books. For that matter we don’t even know what year this is. Is it 1942? 1943? I think Captain Karpov’s suggestion on the use of the helicopter is prudent, and I want the KA-40 ready for immediate operations. Once we know what we’re dealing with I will make a final decision.”

“Very good, sir.” Fedorov gave the orders and the word was soon passed down to the helo bay to prepare for operations. Kirov had again been surprised just at the moment of her arrival in the dangerous and unfriendly waters of the Pacific region. They would not be surprised again.

The ship was going to war.

Chapter 8

Admiral Chuichi Hara received the news of an enemy surface ship with some surprise. He was steaming with Carrier Division Five, his flag aboard Shokaku, and her sleek sister ship Zuikaku was a thousand meters off his starboard beam. Zuiho was in the van, selected to participate in the next strike mission with her CII-3 Datai and 12 fresh torpedo planes commanded by Lt. Commander Kasi Matsua. Five destroyers formed a small fan ahead of the three carriers, a fairly light escort considering the value of these ships to the empire. His heavier ships were already seventy-five miles out in front, screening the approach to Darwin with orders to follow-up the air strikes with a good saturation bombardment—all save one. The heavy cruiser Tone had been left behind to ensure the safety of the carriers from any surface action. Hara had not expected any Allied naval activity in this sector, but was cautious nonetheless, and followed protocols. Now he was surprised to learn that a sizable ship had been spotted by one of the screening submarines, Torisu’s I-63.

What could be out there, he wondered? An Australian cruiser out of Darwin? The initial reports from the first strike wave aimed at Darwin came in soon after. They had spotted what looked to be a large cruiser class vessel steaming north. Strike leader Sakamoto had detached a single squadron of nine dive bombers to deal with it.

The reports were sketchy, but it now appeared that a hit had been scored and the ship was seen to be on fire, a thick column of char black smoke staining the clear blue sky. But Sakamoto’s men had paid a very high price, losing 8 of 9 planes to intense enemy anti-aircraft fire. Squadron leader Hayashi had been the only survivor, but this shame was mitigated by the fact that he had been the only plane to score a hit. The rest of Sakamoto’s planes had continued on to Darwin, being armed with incendiary and HE bombs, not suitable for naval action. Hayashi’s reports on the radio spoke of some new weapon engaging his planes, but made no sense. He was ordered home and told to