Kirov III: Pacific Storm

“That was typical of Japanese naval gunnery,” said Fedorov. “Their salvos will space no more than a hundred yards at times. It made for a lot of near misses, and fewer hits, but when they did find the target they could often score multiple hits at one time with a shell fall pattern that tight. That blue you see in the water splashes is dye, sir. The Kongo class battleships each used a different color dye so their spotters could distinguish which water splashes were from their own guns, Kongo used red dye, Hiei black, and Kirishima used blue dye.”

“Then they are not radar controlled?”

“No sir, but the Japanese had superb optics, and were excellent night fighters as well. They can put rounds on a target at long range, though there are no recorded hits in history beyond 26,000 yards or so. That said, I suggest we maneuver a bit to make it just a little more difficult for them to find the range.”

“What is the caliber of the guns?”

“14 inches, sir. Most likely Type 91 armor piercing rounds.”

“Not something we wish to experience firsthand,” said Volsky. “I have no desire to be painted blue and smashed by a 14 inch wide hunk of steel! We are making thirty-two knots?”

“Yes, sir. But Byko is complaining. That bomb hit we took aft was very near some of the hull damage we sustained in the Med.”

“Yes we have had our backside kicked more than once: the misfired Klinok, the helicopter incident, and those near misses the British sent our way. Now a bomb hit there. What does Byko say about it?”

“The hull is breeched sir, but well above the water line. We were spared serious damage due to the angle of the bomb, slightly off vertical, and it nearly missed us. It struck very near the outer gunwale before it penetrated two decks and blew out a three meter hole in the hull from the inside. It was also aft of our armor belt, sir. Most of the explosion was directed outward, away from the ship. He is doing his best to seal off the area and reinforce that sector with some metal work now. But remember the engines, sir. We had a vibration on the right turbine in the Med and there was some flooding there earlier. Byko says he has it well in hand, but it will remain a weak point to watch closely, particularly if we are running at full battle speed like this.”

“An Achilles heel…” Volsky folded his arms. “Very well, Mister Fedorov. You may maneuver the ship.”

“Excuse me, sir,” said Karpov. “Shall I return fire with the aft deck gun?”

Volsky looked at him, blinking. “No. I think we will remain silent. He is just shaking his fist at us, Mister Karpov. Hitting him with a 152 millimeter round or two is only likely to enrage the man, and steel his determination. Are we opening the range, Rodenko?”

“Yes, sir. Over 30,000 yards now with our turn east.”

There was no further fire from the pursuing ships, but Rodenko noted that two smaller signal returns were moving slightly ahead of the battleship now, and creeping up on them.

“Those must be the cruisers we fought off earlier,” said Fedorov.

“I make the speed at 34 knots at the moment,” said Rodenko.

Fedorov did a quick mental calculation. “With a two knot speed advantage they will only gain 3,700 meters on us per hour. That would put them at the maximum range of their guns an hour from now. The sun is behind that storm front, and we are losing light rapidly. Given that they must sight us optically, they probably won’t fire until they get closer. I think we have two hours before we should be worried about them.”

Volsky was satisfied. “Then unless that battleship persists in lobbing shells at us, we will rely on our speed for the moment. I am going below to speak with Dr. Zolkin about the casualties. Mister Karpov, if that battleship puts rounds close enough to pose a threat, slap his face. Use one MOS-III, not the deck guns, and hit his superstructure. He has fired and thrown down his gauntlet. I have heard his complaint, and I have not answered, but I will not be goaded indefinitely.”

“Very good, sir.”

~ ~ ~

Mizuchi slipped away, slowly sliding beneath the far horizon insofar as the battleship was concerned, though Kirishima was still pressing hard at 30 knots. Iwabuchi ordered the two cruisers to use their superior speed and advance close enough to keep the ship in visual range, but not so close as to provoke another engagement. The lesson learned earlier had been a hard one. To attempt to close on this sea dragon now would mean a slow, plodding gain, possibly under fire for hours before they could come into effective range.

The Captain was ill tempered, pacing the bridge at times, short with the men and in a very sour mood. When it became clear that they could do little more now, he finally relented and turned the bridge over to his executive officer Ono, going below for food and rest.

When the surly Captain had gone, Ono breathed a bit easier. He turned to Lt. Commander Ikeda, in charge of the ship’s secondary batteries with a knowing look. “It appears we have a situation here,” he said discretely.

Ikeda raised an eyebrow. “With the mood the Captain is in this could become something much more,” he said in a low voice. “Vendetta would be a better word. Iwabuchi will not take the loss of Haguro lightly. In fact I think he will take it very personally.”

“This enemy ship is fast! It has already slipped over the horizon.”

“The cruisers will keep hold of her, and we will get a seaplane up at first light again.”

“What do you make of this, Ikeda?”

“Something slipped in the planning, what else? The British had a ship at Darwin, and it is running for friendly ports on their east coast.”

“Most likely,” said Ono. “I believe there is a new squadron assigned to our airfield at Port Moresby, a group of G3M Rikko bombers. Perhaps we should notify them that this ship appears to be heading for the Torres Strait.”

“They won’t be able to hit a ship with this speed. That’s work for a carrier.”

“Initial reports were that a hit was scored when the ship was first spotted, but we have heard nothing since.”

“It will take a more concentrated strike by Hara’s carriers tomorrow,” Ikeda agreed. “Hara will get the job done. Either that or he can slow this one down enough for us to catch him.”

“Yes, old King Kong is coming east right behind us. But something tells me that this enemy ship is going to cause real trouble. It may be running now, but did you hear the report from Kiyota? He says they were taking small caliber hits at 30,000 yards!”

“He must have been mistaken,” Ikeda said politely. “I know secondary batteries and they can’t range much beyond 15,000 to 20,000 yards.”

“Yet I saw the damage when Nachi and Myoko joined us,” said Ono. “Those were not large caliber hits. They would have crushed those ships if they were from 14 inch guns like our main batteries.”

“They must have misjudged the range.”

“I’m not so sure, Ikeda. Captain Kiyota aboard Nachi is a skilled sea captain. He was working to get into torpedo range and we both know he could have fired with his Type 93s if he was inside typical secondary gun range. This ship could be something we’ve never seen—a new ship, with all new guns.”

“What was Kiyota talking about with this nonsense about Raiju? He said Haguro was hit by something new, fast as lightning, and with deadly accuracy and power.”

“It was most likely a large caliber shell from their main batteries,” said Ono. “What else could do such damage? The ship’s bow was practically ripped apart with that hit. A lucky shot, neh? Kiyota’s cruisers are good in a hunt, but no match for an enemy battleship. We were wise to order him to break off and rejoin us.”

“Yes, and I fear Iwabuchi will not rest until he brings this ship to battle.”

“Agreed,” Ono shrugged. “Get some rest, Lieutenant. Something tells me we’re going to be very busy the next few days, that is if these old engines can keep us in the hunt. It’s going to be a long night.”

Chapter 11