Omake: Admiral Tanaka and Teruzuki-Chan
December 4 1942
Shortland Islands, Western Solomons
Imperial Navy Seaplane and Logistics Base
"Permission to come aboard" Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka said, turning to the officer of the deck, as he saluted.
"Permission granted, Admiral-San!" the junior officer replied, as he saluted sharply.
As Admiral Tanaka stepped aboard, the shrill call of a bosun's pipe sounded through the ship's PA system.
"All hands, attention on deck!" the officer of the deck announced, as he and every sailor on deck saluted Admiral Tanaka.
"At ease, carry on" Admiral Tanaka said, returning the salute.
The formations on deck broke up, as the sailors returned to their tasks. All except one figure. This figure was shorter and slimmer than most of the sailors. It appeared to be a teenage girl. Her light brown hair was in two braids, secured by what appeared to be propellers. She was dressed in a sleeveless white top trimmed in black, a gray bodysuit, and a short black skirt trimmed in white. She wore white knee-high stockings with calf high boots in anti fouling red. A black head band with gold writing of "61st Destroyer Division" adorned her hair, and black gloves were on her hands. A black kerchief around her neck secured by what looked like a fire director completed her outfit. Her gray eyes shone with admiration and respect, as she gazed at the Admiral.
"Teruzuki will do her best. Admiral-San!" the girl announced as she snapped to attention and saluted Tanaka.
Admiral Tanaka looked forward and aft, seeing that none of the sailors were taking any notice of the figure before him. He leaned over toward the young girl.
"I'm certain you will. Meet me in my office in a little bit." Tanaka said quietly to the young girl.
Teruzuki's eyes opened wide in shock. Both her hand flew to her mouth.
"You..you..you can see me? You can hear me too?" Teruzuki whispered, stunned
"Yes, I can. Meet me in my office later." Tanaka said quietly, a ghost of smile on his face as he turned and ascended the latter to the bridge.
Tanaka moved up to the bridge of the destroyer. Looking around, he was surprised by its spaciousness. He was also aware of the aroma of new paint. Moving aft to the office at the back of the bridge, he was again struck by its spaciousness. He sat at the desk, and started going through the paperwork that had already appeared like magic.
Tanaka sighed to himself. He had long argued against the Guadalcanal campaign. He had been outspokenly critical of almost every aspect of it, from the strategy to oppose the Americans here, to the operations that gradually fed in IJA and IJN forces to the theater, to the logistics plan that had his destroyers acting as delivery trucks to supply the ground forces. Yes, even as they had inflicted serious losses on the Americans, he had come to respect their seamanship, courage, determination, and their ability to come up with new tactics. In return, the IJN and IJA had taken almost as many serious losses, losses they could not replace as quickly as the Americans. But he was just a junior Admiral, commanding only a destroyer squadron. He had been given his orders from Combined Fleet HQ, orders he would fulfill to the best of his ability, despite his misgivings.
Tanaka heard a sound behind him, and turned towards it. There stood the young girl that he had met on deck. She snapped to attention and saluted, her gray eyes shining with respect and admiration.
"Teruzuki reports, Admiral-San!" Teruzuki announced brightly.
"At ease, Teruzuki-chan" Tanaka said gently.
There was something about her that reminded him of his young nieces. Her diligence and her enthusiasm were endearing. He reached out and gently patted her on the head. She leaned into his touch and smiled.
"Teruzuki-chan, tell me about yourself. I was made aware of new destroyers added to my command recently." Tanaka said to Teruzuki
Teruzuki stood up straight and clasped her hands behind her back.
"Admiral-San, I am a Type-B special destroyer. I was authorized under the 1939 Maru 4 program. My sisters and I were designed to be Fleet AA escorts to the First Air Fleet. I am 445 feet in length with a beam of 38 feet and a draft of 13.5 feet. My standard displacement is 2,700 tons. We are armed with 8 Type 98 Chou-10cm-hou-chans in twin powered turrets fore and aft, and I have 2 Type 94 high angle directors. My younger sisters are equipped with Type 21 radar and I will receive mine on my next refit. We are also armed with 4 25 mm Type 96 automatic cannons in two twin mounts. I have been equipped with a single quadruple mount torpedo launcher with one set of reloads. I also have 6 depth charge throwers and carry 72 depth charges. I am equipped with 4 boilers and 2 geared turbines driving two shafts, which give me a top speed of 33 knots and a cruising range of 8,000 miles. I was constructed at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Shipyard. I was launched on November 21 1941 and completed on 31 August 1942. I saw action in the two big fleet actions around Guadalcanal three weeks ago." Teruzuki said, like a schoolgirl delivering an oral recitation of a lesson.
"Is there anything I should know about your shortcomings, Teruzuki-Chan?" Tanaka asked.
Teruzuki looked down. She nervously shifted her left foot back and forth.
"Admiral-San, because I'm 50 feet longer and 700 tons heavier than Kagero-San, Yugumo-San and their sisters, my top speed is noticeably slower and I'm noticeably less maneuverable than they are. Because of Chou-10cm-hou-chan's high velocity, the barrels have to be replaced every 400 rounds,The Imperial Navy General Staff Office never authorized developing armor piercing rounds for Chou-10cm-hou-chan and I only have 1 quadruple torpedo launcher with one set of reloads, so I'm not well equipped to fight surface engagements." Teruzuki said, in a small quiet voice.
"Don't worry, Teruzuki-Chan. I'm sure you'll do just fine." Tanaka said, in a reassuring manner.
"Teruzuki is honored that Admiral-San chose her to be your flagship! I will do my best and will do all I can to inflict defeats on the Americans, like you did a few nights ago!" Teruzuki said brightly, her gray eyes shining with respect and admiration.
"Yes, Teruzuki-Chan, we did inflict a defeat on the Americans. But they caught me by surprise when they opened fire and set Takanami-Chan on fire. We were able to reverse course and launch our Type 93s, which sank one cruiser and damaged 3 others. We got away, but we failed in our mission to deliver supplies to the ground forces on Guadalcanal. So, while we hurt the Americans, they still prevented us from completing our mission. In fact, Admiral Mikawa has ordered another supply run, scheduled during the new moon next week." Tanaka said gravely
There was a knock at the door of the office. Tanaka stood up, while Teruzuki faded back into the shadows of the office.
"Sir?" said a familiar voice
"Come in, Toyama-San" Tanaka answered.
The door opened, and Captain Yasumi Toyama, Tanaka's chief of staff walked into the office.
"So how is everyone settling in, Toyama-San?" Tanaka asked.
""Admiral-San, everyone's settling in well, and are surprised by the space they've been allotted. We have a staff meeting set for tonight to get everything organized. I heard we've been ordered to make another supply run next week. Is there anything we can do to prepare to meet the Americans again?" Toyama asked.
"Toyama-San, let's get ready for the supply run. I'd like your staff work with Teruzuki's crew and get them ready, especially the torpedo crew. They're fairly new, and I'd like to see them get up to speed as soon as they can." Tanaka replied.
"I'll get on it right away, Admiral-San." Toyama said, as he left Tanaka's office.
Teruzuki emerged from the office's shadows and Tanaka turned towards to her.
"Teruzuki-chan, I have a lot of paperwork to do, so I won't be able to talk for awhile. Why don't you follow Toyama-San and see how he's doing to prepare your crew for the supply run?" Tanaka said.
Once Teruzuki passed through the office door to find Captain Toyama and his staff, Tanaka turned to his paperwork, coordinating everything needed for the supply run that had been tentatively scheduled for the night of December 11-12, which coincided with the new moon next week.
December 11, 1942
A barge with a crane tied up to Teruzuki's side and started lifting a platform with 55 gallon drums up to her main deck.
"Once the drums are in place, secure them properly!" a chief petty officer supervising the loading shouted.
Once about 150 drums were loaded and secured, the chief reported to the officer of the deck.
"Sir, all the supply drums are loaded and secured." the chief said to the officer of the deck.
"Good. We'll be weighing anchor and departing this afternoon." the officer of the deck replied.
Tanaka watched the loading and securing of the supply drums from the bridge, with a combination of disgust, distaste and resignation. If Combined Fleet had done their job managing the buildup of forces and their logistical train properly, this wouldn't be necessary. The same went for their plan to crush American forces around Guadalcanal. It would have been a lot easier, if they'd also managed to neutralize the airfield on Guadalcanal. But because none of those had been done, the IJN logistics base had to be in Shortland, out of the range of American bombers. That meant that supplies had to be delivered by destroyers, the only ships fast enough to make the round trip from Shortland to Guadalcanal under the cover of night. This wasn't a proper role for destroyers, not by a long shot. Necessity, though, over rode any other considerations, so for now, his destroyers were delivery trucks, much as he hated that.
"Admiral-San, is this really necessary? I'm not sure like doing this," Teruzuki said, quietly, standing close to Tanaka.
"It is necessary, Teruzuki-Chan. Admiral Mikawa has ordered us to deliver supplies to Guadalcanal, and destroyers are the only ships fast enough to deliver the supplies and return to Shortland under the cover of night. We'll be departing this afternoon, and should arrive at Guadalcanal sometime around midnight. We also have to be ready for the Americans to intercept us. They've shown a frightening ability to detect our movements and they've also shown considerable determination in stopping us." Tanaka said, just as quietly.
"Teruzuki will do her best!" Teruzuki responded brightly
"I'm certain you will. I hope it will be enough to complete our mission" Tanaka said.
All 8 members of the squadron participating in the supply run that had been named "Rat Transport" weighed anchor and steamed away from Shortland island in the early afternoon. They arranged themselves in a line ahead formation, spaced 1 km apart and accelerated to 33 knots, heading southeast down the south side of New Georgia Sound.
"Admiral-San, do we have to go so fast? I think I'm overheating!" Teruzuki complained.
"Yes we do Teruzuki-Chan, if we want to avoid the American bombers." Tanaka said gravely.
"I'm an AA destroyer! I'll shoot them all down." Teruzuki exclaimed.
"You shouldn't have to. Far better for us to deliver the supplies without having to fight all the way there and back." Tanaka said gravely.
"Okay, Admiral-San." Teruzuki said in a sulking tone as she turned away.
The afternoon passed to sunset and night without incident. The formation slowed down as it approached the drop zone for the supply drums. They had made good time and were a little early. They also wanted to reduce their wake, to reduce the chances of detection by the Americans. But it was all for naught.
"Torpedo boats, port beam!" a lookout shouted.
The first of Teruzuki's weapons to open fire was the port twin 25mm cannon. The trail of red tracers fell far short of the now visible rooster tail wakes of the torpedo boats. All four of Teruzuki's main battery turrets traversed to port and began to rapid fire. The gunnery crews were new and were wildly inaccurate. They were having serious problem tracking the speeding torpedo boats as they approached.
"Helm, full speed ahead!! Hard to port!" the captain ordered.
"Full speed ahead! Hard to port!" the helmsman replied, as he rang for full speed on the engine telegraphs and spun the wheel hard to port.
Teruzuki felt her engines straining as they tried to push her to full speed. She cursed her extra bulk and tonnage. Her rudders were turned hard to port and she was frustrated at how slowly she was turning.
"Torpedoes to port!" a lookout shouted.
Teruzuki saw the wakes of the torpedoes coming. She tried to go faster and turn even harder, but to no avail. Two of the torpedoes missed astern, but two others hit her in the port quarter, with thunderous explosions throwing huge fountains of water as they tore open her forward engine room and aft boiler room, stopping her dead in the water. The explosions tore loose the supply drums, rupturing some containing fuel and detonating others carrying ammunition. The spilled fuel ignited and started burning furiously. Some of the other fuel drums exploded and caught fire, adding to the inferno on deck.
The torpedo detonations threw Teruzuki into a sudden list, knocking several of her bridge crew to the deck. Admiral Tanaka was thrown to the deck, hitting his head, opening a big gash and knocking him unconscious.
"Somebody help the Admiral!" Teruzuki screamed, as she limped towards Tanaka, her uniform charred and burning, her mangled left leg and hip oozing black-red blood.
"Corpsman to the bridge! We've got casualties!" Captain Toyama yelled, as he picked himself off the deck.
A corpsman came rushing up to the bridge and came over to the Admiral. He carefully examined the Admiral and then quickly and carefully wrapped a bandage around the Admiral's head. With the help of another corpsman, the Admiral was carefully put on a stretcher and moved away from traffic.
"How is the Admiral?" Captain Toyama asked the corpsman.
"He's unconscious and that head wound is pretty deep. But I couldn't detect any skull fractures. He doesn't seem to have any other injuries. But he's likely to have a concussion, and needs to be in a hospital as soon as we can get him there." the corpsman replied.
For the next hour, Teruzuki's lookouts and gunners nervously scanned the area. The fires were like a beacon, ready to draw the Americans to them, like moths to a candle. The fire crews fought the flames, but were hampered by the lack of power to the pumps and the hand pumps couldn't muster the water pressure to begin to subdue the fires. Finally, a chief petty officer reported to the bridge.
"Sir, we're losing the battle with the fires. We just can't get enough water pressure to fight them. The depth charge racks are starting to glow red, and it's only a matter of time before they cook off from the heat." The chief petty officer said
"Okay, pass the word to abandon ship. Get the Emperor's portrait and the Admiral to one of the boats, and get the crew on deck to go over the side with life rafts and jackets." the Captain said.
"Aye, sir!" the chief said.
"Radioman, do you have any power for the radio?" Captain Toyama asked.
"The batteries are low, but we have enough power for local broadcasts." the radioman replied
"Radio Nakanami and Oyashio to come and pick up survivors," Captain Toyama ordered.
"Aye, Sir!" the radioman said, turning back to the radio.
One of the boats was lowered and the Emperor's portrait and Admiral Tanaka was transferred to it. Life rafts were were launched and the surviving crew went over the side and swam to them. Through it all, a young girl no one could see or hear, was crying and sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry, Admiral! It's all my fault! Forgive me, please!" Teruzuki wailed as she cried.
After a while, Nakanami and Oyashio glided in close and began the arduous task of rescuing Teruzuki's crew. Admiral Tanaka was lifted on board Nakanami, as other crew members were gathered on deck with him. No one noticed the young girl kneeling close to the Admiral.
"He looks bad. I hope he'll be okay." Nakanami thought worriedly.
As the rescue of Teruzuki's crew completed, Nakamani's captain consulted with Captain Toyama on the future course of action. Captain Toyama looked at the ship's clock. 2:00 AM. Captain Toyama turned to Nakamani's captain.
"It will take us another hour to reach the supply drop point. We need to return now to avoid the Americans' morning air patrols. You can be sure they will send swarms of bombers at us, if we're found and I doubt any of us will return to Shortland as a result. Set course for Shortland and go all ahead full" Captain Toyama said, somberly.
"Aye, sir!" the captain replied.
Admiral Tanaka stirred awake, with a tremendous pounding headache. He felt the bandage around his head and deduced he was wounded. Looking at the huddled survivors, the secured supply drums, and the superstructure, he realized he was no longer on Teruzuki. A young girl kneeling by his side turned to look at him with relief.
"Oh! You're alive, Admiral-San!" the young girl exclaimed.
"I take it I'm no longer aboard Teruzuki-San" Admiral Tanaka said slowly.
"No sir. I, Nakanami, will take care of you now!" Nakanami said.
Captain Toyama came up to the stretcher where Admiral Tanaka lay. He knelt down by his superior officer.
"Admiral-San, you were injured when Teruzuki was torpedoed by American torpedo boats. She lost power and the fires that started were burning out of control. We had to evacuate the remaining crew, and Nakanami and Oyashio circled back to pick them up. Sir, it's 2:30 AM and we're still a half hour away from the drop zone. I've ordered the flotilla to turn around and return to Shortland. If we don't turn around now, the American patrol planes will discover us and the American bombers will catch and sink all of us." Captain Toyama reported to Admiral Tanaka.
"Yes, Toyama-San, that was the right decision. We can ill afford to lose more ships during this campaign." Admiral Tanaka replied.
"Get some rest, sir. We should be back to Shortland sometime around noon." Captain Toyama said, as he stood up.
Tanaka laid back down on the stretcher, trying to calm his throbbing headache. As he tried to get comfortable, he thought he heard something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed to be coming from aft. He painfully levered himself up off the stretcher, and shakily made his way to the starboard rail and looked aft. It was then he managed to identify where the sound was coming from, and what it was. It was the crying voice of a young girl, coming from the burning destroyer that was receding astern. He knew who it was and his eyes closed briefly in pain. He had heard a similar voice from Takanami, when the Americans surprised him off Tassafarnoga, and set her on fire with their opening salvos. Then He heard the voice clearly.
"I'M SORRY ADMIRAL-SAN! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! FORGIVE ME!" Teruzuki cried.
"It's not your fault, Teruzuki-chan. There's nothing to forgive. Sometimes, it's just the fortunes of war that do bad things to us" Tanaka said quietly, not knowing if she could hear or understand him.
Nakanami came close to Admiral Tanaka's side, offering him some comfort and presence.
'I'm sure she knows, Admiral-San." Nakanami said quietly, as she huddled close to Tanaka's side.
Some minutes later, the dark night was torn apart by a tremendous explosion that lit up the area, a loud boom that could be heard miles away. It tore the burning destroyer apart, and the bright light of the flames were extinguished as the shattered hull sank.
Admiral Tanaka carefully made his way back to his stretcher and laid down. His mind turned to future events. The way Admiral Mikawa put it, this supply run was the last chance to get supplies to the ground forces on Guadalcanal. If it failed, Combined Fleet was prepared to evacuate the island and concede it to the Americans. This would be a humiliating defeat for Japan, especially for the Imperial Navy. His superiors would be looking for a scapegoat to cover up their own failures, and as a vocal critic of every aspect of the whole campaign, he was the perfect target. This would probably be the end of his naval career. He would be roundly denounced for his failures by Combined Fleet, relieved of command of the 2nd Destroyer Squadron, and sent to some backwater hellhole, never to fight again for Japan.
He only hoped that somehow Japan would survive this war.
