Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 17:19:22 GMT -6
THE TURNING POINT
(The USS Maine)
"Chief Engineer reports we're down to half our coal reserve, sir."
"Very well, Navigator, plot a course back to Fort Bayard."
"Aye, Sir."
Captain Maillet headed aft to note in his log, and scribble a quick journal entry.
Patrol uneventful, returning to base.
The lookout's call came as a surprise, they had been on patrol for three weeks without incident.
"Ship sighted! Bearing 010, long range!"
"Can you identify?"
"Looks like a Cruiser, sir!"
"Right then, Helm, come to 010, All Ahead Flank!"
The Helmsman's orders snapped out, the annunciator bell rang, and the deck vibrated as the old ship's boilers sent steam to the engines and churned her drive shafts.
"Ship is turning away, I think they're running sir!"
"Maintain course and speed."
Captain Maillet returned to his log, and made a quick entry:
07:46 AM Sighted possible CA, ordered pursuit.
Returning to the Bridge, he noticed dark clouds on the horizon.
"I've lost contact sir, they went into the rain."
"Maintain course and speed, we may catch them up."
Over an hour later, the clock approached 0930, and Captain Maillet was considering calling off his chase.
Once again, the Maine was being caught short.
Having been designed as a Battleship, then later re-designated an Armored Cruiser, the Maine was a troubled ship.
She was not large enough to pack the heaviest weapons, was too slow to to perform normal cruiser roles, and her obsolete armor scheme meant she wasn't tough enough to stand in the battle line. She was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet, and while the rest of the fleet was fighting the French in the Carribean, she was relegated to backwater peacekeeping duties.
To add insult to injury, Fleet Command had decided the Maine and Texas weren't even capable of handling these simple tasks, and had assigned the Indiana-Class Battleship, USS Oregon, to flag the Asiatic Fleet, relegating the Maine to a support role. With the subsequent arrival of the newer Battleships, USS Iowa, and USS Kentucky, the Maine was once again bumped from her job, and relegated to patrol duty.
By 1905, she was placed on the 'scrap and replace' list.
Then, overnight, the entire situation changed.
A dispute over attempted colonization in Borneo led to the Japanese government declaring war on the United States.
Southeast Asia, one day seen as a quiet backwater for older ships to serve, was now thrust onto the front lines.
The Japanese attack came immediately, with a full fleet engagement occuring just off Kwang Chou Wan.
While the Japanese fleet was smaller than the US Navy, the IJN was concentrated in what was seen as a backwater, while the USN was scattered over half the globe.
It was up to the Asiatic Fleet to maintain their position until reinforcements could arrive.
5 Japanese Battleships, 3 Armored Cruisers, 7 Light Cruisers, and 12 Destroyers descended upon the Fort Bayard Naval Base, being opposed by 3 U.S. Battleships, 2 Armored Cruisers, 3 Light Cruisers, and 4 Destroyers. The swirling fleet engagement lasted for an entire day, and only superior American firepower managed to save the fleet from disaster. The Japanese fleet retired, and the Asiatic Fleet headed back to port to patch up the holes.
The Maine and Texas had been too slow to keep pace with the battle line, so aside from some small skirmishing at the edges of the fight, they saw no action.
In a second fleet engagement off the island of Formosa the Maine and Texas had run directly into two Japanese Iwate-Class Battleships after a signalling error caused them to turn starboard, instead of port. Barely managing to escape after suffering damage, the rest of the fleet was forced to put itself in danger to rescue them. Only the onset of darkness gave the fleet a reprieve.
Combat between the U.S. and the Japanese devolved into raiding, and once again the Maine was left on patrol duty, her future in doubt.
Today marks the first time the Maine has seen action in over six months, and her opponent had seemingly vanished without a trace.
Captain Maillet seethed with frustration. It seemed the Maine's career would end without having accomplished anything notable.
Suddenly, the Universe turned 180 degrees.
"SHIP SIGHTED!"
The lookout's shout cut through the morning like a knife.
"I think it's a Destroyer, bearing 010, medium range!"
Captain Maillet gave the order he had wanted to give for months.
"Weapons Officer, engage the target!"
The Maine's forward and rear turrets turned, swinging her old guns onto the target vector.
"Range, 1600 yards!"
The rangefinder fed it's information to the turret crews.
"Guns Ready!"
"FIRE!"
Twin spears of fire stabbed the rain-soaked morning. The central rangefinder crew watched the shell splashes.
"We've straddled the target!"
"Fire at will!"
With machine-like regularity, the ballet-dance of death began.
"Guns Ready!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"RELOAD!"
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
Both fore and aft turrets rent the air with heavy shells, splashes erupting around the target, who had yet to return effective fire.
"What's the tracking on return fire?" Captain Maillet asked the lookout.
"So far, it's all landing short, sir."
One aspect of the Maine's original design now paid off, having been originally designed as a Battleship, her heavy main armament easily outranged and outpowered the weapons normally found on ships of her size.
"TARGET HIT!"
29 09:50 9 in 1632 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
Long practice, weeks of weapons drills, and all the built up frustration of the last three weeks was spent in that one glorious moment.
First blood was theirs.
Whatever may happen in the future, the Maine would forever be known as a warfighter, not a glorified patrol craft.
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
Seconds Later: "TARGET HIT!"
29 09:51 9 in 1593 yds Fore/aft hull hit *
A tangible sense of excitement began to invade the mood of the crew. The outside observer probably wouldn't notice, being an Elite, well-drilled and disciplined crew, there were no acclamations to interrupt the machine-like regularity of the fighting commands.
"GUNS READY!"
To the careful observer who had lived with this crew for over a year now, the tone of commands was sharper, the volume slightly higher, movements more precise, actions completed quicker, teeth were bared with the intensity of the effort.
"FIRE!"
The one thing a warship crew lives for is to fire their guns in anger.
KABOOM!
This morning, the Maine's entire reason for existing was validated.
The hope and desire of every warship, everywhere in the world, was conferred to the Maine in this one glorious moment.
The excitement of the crew was shattered a moment later, never to return.
WHAM!
"WE'VE BEEN HIT!"
29 09:54 CA ACR Maine Superstructure hit BE *
"Damage Report!"
"Shell penetrated the hull, no serious damage!"
From the Fire Control position: "NEAR MISS!"
"Helm, we need to maintain a longer range! Turn to 005!"
"AYE, SIR!"
The range to the target creeped upwards, and the enemy fire fell short once again. Meanwhile, nothing interrupted the ballet-dance of death:
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"NEAR MISS!"
"RELOAD!"
From the lookout: "Sir, I have a target identification!"
29 09:58 CA ACR Maine identifies DD as Akitsushima-class
The Akitsushima was a Japanese Light Cruiser that had been raiding in the area for months. So far, all attempts to track her down had failed.
Over 12 different merchant ships had fallen to her guns, but now she faced prey capable of returning fire, to deadly effect.
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"TARGET HIT!"
29 10:01 9 in 2229 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:02 9 in 2176 yds Hull passthrough hit *
29 10:03 9 in 2118 yds Engine room hit B *
The hit to the engine room negated the slight speed advantage the Akitsushima had over the Maine.
Now there was no escape from Maine's heavy armament, steadily punching holes in her, with all the emotion of a training day at the target range.
29 10:07 6 in 653 yds Engine room hit B *
29 10:08 9 in 720 yds Superstructure hit BE * Fire started
29 10:09 9 in 1010 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:10 9 in 1459 yds Critical hit! Bridge destroyed!
29 10:11 6 in 1618 yds Engine room hit B
29 10:11 Fire extinguished
29 10:12 6 in 1544 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:15 9 in 1380 yds Superstructure hit *
29 10:16 9 in 1369 yds Near miss! T* Main gun crew cut down by splinters!
29 10:16 9 in 1369 yds Secondary battery hit * Fire started
29 10:16 Fire reduced by damage control
29 10:17 9 in 1359 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
29 10:18 9 in 1351 yds Turret Y hit T * Turret destroyed
29 10:22 Fire extinguished
29 10:25 9 in 1313 yds Superstructure hit. Splinters perforate uptakes Fire started
29 10:26 9 in 1312 yds Near miss!
29 10:26 Fire spreads
29 10:29 6 in 1313 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
29 10:31 6 in 1319 yds Superstructure hit BE *
29 10:35 9 in 1325 yds Superstructure hit. Splinters perforate uptakes
29 10:37 9 in 1293 yds Near miss!
29 10:38 Fire spreads
29 10:41 9 in 1173 yds Near miss!
29 10:42 9 in 1140 yds Secondary battery hit *
29 10:42 Fire reduced by damage control
29 10:42 Ship sinking.
The engagement was over barely an hour after it began.
The burning, shattered wreck of the CL Akitsushima slipped beneath the waves.
This was the first Japanese warship to be sunk by the US Navy during this war.
At 3,300 tons, she was the heaviest ship to be sunk to this date.
The Asiatic Fleet had managed to fight the invading Japanese fleet to a standstill, at a cost of two destroyers sunk.
Even with the relative disparity in overall strength, the focused strikes by the Japanese fleet had nearly inflicted serious defeats upon the Americans twice already.
Reinforcements had taken time to sail around Cape Horn, and had laid up on the West Coast to refit and re-supply before crossing the Pacific.
The most dangerous time of the war had come, and the old, obsolete, faux Battleship re-designated Armored Cruiser, good for nothing but the scrapyard, had met the enemy, and crushed him.
Upon entering Fort Bayard harbor, the Asiatic Fleet Command was treated to a kill silhouette, painted on the Maine's conning tower.
The situation had turned around, and it was the oldest ship in the Navy that had done it.
Over the coming weeks, newly arrived ships from the U.S. Fleet sent more enemy ships to the bottom.
Port facilities were massively upgraded to support the fleet redeployment, and US Navy strength in Southeast Asia rapidly overmatched the Japanese fleet.
While a decisive engagement has yet to be fought, any doubts have been removed, and victory is now inevitable.
When the history of the conflict is written, the USS Maine the ugly duckling of the navy will take pride of place, squarely at the turning point.
The very essence of what great military stories are made of.
(The USS Maine)
"Chief Engineer reports we're down to half our coal reserve, sir."
"Very well, Navigator, plot a course back to Fort Bayard."
"Aye, Sir."
Captain Maillet headed aft to note in his log, and scribble a quick journal entry.
Patrol uneventful, returning to base.
The lookout's call came as a surprise, they had been on patrol for three weeks without incident.
"Ship sighted! Bearing 010, long range!"
"Can you identify?"
"Looks like a Cruiser, sir!"
"Right then, Helm, come to 010, All Ahead Flank!"
The Helmsman's orders snapped out, the annunciator bell rang, and the deck vibrated as the old ship's boilers sent steam to the engines and churned her drive shafts.
"Ship is turning away, I think they're running sir!"
"Maintain course and speed."
Captain Maillet returned to his log, and made a quick entry:
07:46 AM Sighted possible CA, ordered pursuit.
Returning to the Bridge, he noticed dark clouds on the horizon.
"I've lost contact sir, they went into the rain."
"Maintain course and speed, we may catch them up."
Over an hour later, the clock approached 0930, and Captain Maillet was considering calling off his chase.
Once again, the Maine was being caught short.
Having been designed as a Battleship, then later re-designated an Armored Cruiser, the Maine was a troubled ship.
She was not large enough to pack the heaviest weapons, was too slow to to perform normal cruiser roles, and her obsolete armor scheme meant she wasn't tough enough to stand in the battle line. She was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet, and while the rest of the fleet was fighting the French in the Carribean, she was relegated to backwater peacekeeping duties.
To add insult to injury, Fleet Command had decided the Maine and Texas weren't even capable of handling these simple tasks, and had assigned the Indiana-Class Battleship, USS Oregon, to flag the Asiatic Fleet, relegating the Maine to a support role. With the subsequent arrival of the newer Battleships, USS Iowa, and USS Kentucky, the Maine was once again bumped from her job, and relegated to patrol duty.
By 1905, she was placed on the 'scrap and replace' list.
Then, overnight, the entire situation changed.
A dispute over attempted colonization in Borneo led to the Japanese government declaring war on the United States.
Southeast Asia, one day seen as a quiet backwater for older ships to serve, was now thrust onto the front lines.
The Japanese attack came immediately, with a full fleet engagement occuring just off Kwang Chou Wan.
While the Japanese fleet was smaller than the US Navy, the IJN was concentrated in what was seen as a backwater, while the USN was scattered over half the globe.
It was up to the Asiatic Fleet to maintain their position until reinforcements could arrive.
5 Japanese Battleships, 3 Armored Cruisers, 7 Light Cruisers, and 12 Destroyers descended upon the Fort Bayard Naval Base, being opposed by 3 U.S. Battleships, 2 Armored Cruisers, 3 Light Cruisers, and 4 Destroyers. The swirling fleet engagement lasted for an entire day, and only superior American firepower managed to save the fleet from disaster. The Japanese fleet retired, and the Asiatic Fleet headed back to port to patch up the holes.
The Maine and Texas had been too slow to keep pace with the battle line, so aside from some small skirmishing at the edges of the fight, they saw no action.
In a second fleet engagement off the island of Formosa the Maine and Texas had run directly into two Japanese Iwate-Class Battleships after a signalling error caused them to turn starboard, instead of port. Barely managing to escape after suffering damage, the rest of the fleet was forced to put itself in danger to rescue them. Only the onset of darkness gave the fleet a reprieve.
Combat between the U.S. and the Japanese devolved into raiding, and once again the Maine was left on patrol duty, her future in doubt.
Today marks the first time the Maine has seen action in over six months, and her opponent had seemingly vanished without a trace.
Captain Maillet seethed with frustration. It seemed the Maine's career would end without having accomplished anything notable.
Suddenly, the Universe turned 180 degrees.
"SHIP SIGHTED!"
The lookout's shout cut through the morning like a knife.
"I think it's a Destroyer, bearing 010, medium range!"
Captain Maillet gave the order he had wanted to give for months.
"Weapons Officer, engage the target!"
The Maine's forward and rear turrets turned, swinging her old guns onto the target vector.
"Range, 1600 yards!"
The rangefinder fed it's information to the turret crews.
"Guns Ready!"
"FIRE!"
Twin spears of fire stabbed the rain-soaked morning. The central rangefinder crew watched the shell splashes.
"We've straddled the target!"
"Fire at will!"
With machine-like regularity, the ballet-dance of death began.
"Guns Ready!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"RELOAD!"
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
Both fore and aft turrets rent the air with heavy shells, splashes erupting around the target, who had yet to return effective fire.
"What's the tracking on return fire?" Captain Maillet asked the lookout.
"So far, it's all landing short, sir."
One aspect of the Maine's original design now paid off, having been originally designed as a Battleship, her heavy main armament easily outranged and outpowered the weapons normally found on ships of her size.
"TARGET HIT!"
29 09:50 9 in 1632 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
Long practice, weeks of weapons drills, and all the built up frustration of the last three weeks was spent in that one glorious moment.
First blood was theirs.
Whatever may happen in the future, the Maine would forever be known as a warfighter, not a glorified patrol craft.
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
Seconds Later: "TARGET HIT!"
29 09:51 9 in 1593 yds Fore/aft hull hit *
A tangible sense of excitement began to invade the mood of the crew. The outside observer probably wouldn't notice, being an Elite, well-drilled and disciplined crew, there were no acclamations to interrupt the machine-like regularity of the fighting commands.
"GUNS READY!"
To the careful observer who had lived with this crew for over a year now, the tone of commands was sharper, the volume slightly higher, movements more precise, actions completed quicker, teeth were bared with the intensity of the effort.
"FIRE!"
The one thing a warship crew lives for is to fire their guns in anger.
KABOOM!
This morning, the Maine's entire reason for existing was validated.
The hope and desire of every warship, everywhere in the world, was conferred to the Maine in this one glorious moment.
The excitement of the crew was shattered a moment later, never to return.
WHAM!
"WE'VE BEEN HIT!"
29 09:54 CA ACR Maine Superstructure hit BE *
"Damage Report!"
"Shell penetrated the hull, no serious damage!"
From the Fire Control position: "NEAR MISS!"
"Helm, we need to maintain a longer range! Turn to 005!"
"AYE, SIR!"
The range to the target creeped upwards, and the enemy fire fell short once again. Meanwhile, nothing interrupted the ballet-dance of death:
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"NEAR MISS!"
"RELOAD!"
From the lookout: "Sir, I have a target identification!"
29 09:58 CA ACR Maine identifies DD as Akitsushima-class
The Akitsushima was a Japanese Light Cruiser that had been raiding in the area for months. So far, all attempts to track her down had failed.
Over 12 different merchant ships had fallen to her guns, but now she faced prey capable of returning fire, to deadly effect.
"GUNS READY!"
"FIRE!"
KABOOM!
"TARGET HIT!"
29 10:01 9 in 2229 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:02 9 in 2176 yds Hull passthrough hit *
29 10:03 9 in 2118 yds Engine room hit B *
The hit to the engine room negated the slight speed advantage the Akitsushima had over the Maine.
Now there was no escape from Maine's heavy armament, steadily punching holes in her, with all the emotion of a training day at the target range.
29 10:07 6 in 653 yds Engine room hit B *
29 10:08 9 in 720 yds Superstructure hit BE * Fire started
29 10:09 9 in 1010 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:10 9 in 1459 yds Critical hit! Bridge destroyed!
29 10:11 6 in 1618 yds Engine room hit B
29 10:11 Fire extinguished
29 10:12 6 in 1544 yds Hull hit BE *
29 10:15 9 in 1380 yds Superstructure hit *
29 10:16 9 in 1369 yds Near miss! T* Main gun crew cut down by splinters!
29 10:16 9 in 1369 yds Secondary battery hit * Fire started
29 10:16 Fire reduced by damage control
29 10:17 9 in 1359 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
29 10:18 9 in 1351 yds Turret Y hit T * Turret destroyed
29 10:22 Fire extinguished
29 10:25 9 in 1313 yds Superstructure hit. Splinters perforate uptakes Fire started
29 10:26 9 in 1312 yds Near miss!
29 10:26 Fire spreads
29 10:29 6 in 1313 yds Superstructure hit BE *. DE* Splinters damage Hull
29 10:31 6 in 1319 yds Superstructure hit BE *
29 10:35 9 in 1325 yds Superstructure hit. Splinters perforate uptakes
29 10:37 9 in 1293 yds Near miss!
29 10:38 Fire spreads
29 10:41 9 in 1173 yds Near miss!
29 10:42 9 in 1140 yds Secondary battery hit *
29 10:42 Fire reduced by damage control
29 10:42 Ship sinking.
The engagement was over barely an hour after it began.
The burning, shattered wreck of the CL Akitsushima slipped beneath the waves.
This was the first Japanese warship to be sunk by the US Navy during this war.
At 3,300 tons, she was the heaviest ship to be sunk to this date.
The Asiatic Fleet had managed to fight the invading Japanese fleet to a standstill, at a cost of two destroyers sunk.
Even with the relative disparity in overall strength, the focused strikes by the Japanese fleet had nearly inflicted serious defeats upon the Americans twice already.
Reinforcements had taken time to sail around Cape Horn, and had laid up on the West Coast to refit and re-supply before crossing the Pacific.
The most dangerous time of the war had come, and the old, obsolete, faux Battleship re-designated Armored Cruiser, good for nothing but the scrapyard, had met the enemy, and crushed him.
Upon entering Fort Bayard harbor, the Asiatic Fleet Command was treated to a kill silhouette, painted on the Maine's conning tower.
The situation had turned around, and it was the oldest ship in the Navy that had done it.
Over the coming weeks, newly arrived ships from the U.S. Fleet sent more enemy ships to the bottom.
Port facilities were massively upgraded to support the fleet redeployment, and US Navy strength in Southeast Asia rapidly overmatched the Japanese fleet.
While a decisive engagement has yet to be fought, any doubts have been removed, and victory is now inevitable.
When the history of the conflict is written, the USS Maine the ugly duckling of the navy will take pride of place, squarely at the turning point.
The very essence of what great military stories are made of.
_(edited)_Screenshot_(739).png?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds)