1943 (Kirov Series Book 27)

by John Schettler

  Winter had fallen on Karpov’s Sakhalin Operation, and the Japanese now had two full divisions in South Karafuto, enforcing a stalemate. The ice now prevented any ship traffic in the Sea of Okhotsk off Okha Harbor, and he could not hope to reinforce his ground troops by simply using his airship fleet. It took five ships on daily runs just to keep the existing forces supplied. So a stalemate had settled over the Sakhalin Front, now buried under the snows of January, 1943. The offensive there could not be renewed until spring, when fresh troops and more artillery could be delivered by sea.

  So Karpov had decided to leave the bitter cold of the north and seek the warmer waters of the South Pacific. That was where the war was here, and he went looking to find it. He and Fedorov had considered their options in long discussions—what should they do? How should they apply the considerable but limited power of Kirov to the situation now unfolding? There had been no crushing defeat at Midway, and this had allowed Japan to invade Fiji in Operation FS. Yet Fedorov was quick to answer the same question that Imamura passed on in his discussion with Yamamoto.

  “The Japanese are overextended,” he had said. “The operation they concluded in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal was brilliant, and a severe blow to the British Empire, but now they have to sustain those troops. There wasn’t even enough food on Ceylon to feed the local population. Now they will have to run regular convoys from Singapore. And at Fiji, they’ve committed the bulk of all the troops they had in the South Pacific. That needs even more supply runs, that is a problem, now that Halsey is back with those three new Essex Class carriers.”

  They had considered many alternatives. Should they hover off Japan and interdict convoy traffic south to Truk and Rabaul. “That would get tedious,” Karpov had said. “Besides, I would not waste a Moskit II on a tramp steamer, not unless it was a troop transport and carrying an important reinforcement.”

  “Agreed,” said Fedorov. “We would have been an excellent commerce raider if we could have replenished our missile inventory. That being impossible, we should look to engage important enemy surface action groups, and carrier task forces.”

  “What about Kazan?” Karpov had asked. “It vanished in the Atlantic many months ago, and now you say it suddenly reappeared off Murmansk? What is going on here? And why doesn’t this Captain Gromyko answer our hails?”

  “That’s a mystery I’d like to get to the bottom of as well,” said Fedorov. “Remember, that boat had an active control rod—otherwise how could it have reappeared here?”

  “But it could not be Rod-25,” said Karpov. “Chief Dobrynin has that one all bundled up in the Rad-Safe silo. There could not be two Rod-25s here, could there?”

  “That is a very interesting question,” said Fedorov. “Kazan vanished during the engagement we fought with the Germans, or so I learned after the fact. I was not there when that occurred. The entire ship had already shifted… elsewhere. Yet I learned from Tovey that it happened when the Rodney was sunk. There was an incident, and I think it involved a nuke. For some reason, Kazan must have fired it, but I cannot see why. Gromyko has a very cool head in battle…. No offense, sir.”

  “None taken, Fedorov. But this is very interesting. Tyrenkov got wind of that incident, though we never could ascertain exactly what happened.”

  “I thought I would learn all of that when I made my rendezvous with Kazan,” said Fedorov, “but I was… diverted.”

  “Yes,” said Karpov. “And how frightening to think that any airship overflying the coordinates of the Tunguska Event might also be diverted. I have told my brother that the entire area is to be considered a no-fly zone. It would be very dangerous if someone inadvertently went back in time through that portal. On the other hand, it is also interesting to know I could do so if I wished.”

  “You aren’t seriously contemplating anything like that, are you?”

  “Of course not. I have the means of moving in Time right here aboard the ship in Rod-25, and considering that we haven’t been hopping all over the continuum, as in that first loop, this rod is very fresh, and likely very potent. So you see, now I have three ways of moving in time if I choose—the ship, Ilanskiy, and the site of the Tunguska event.” He said nothing of the fact that the Airship Tunguska itself also possessed some rather unique properties.

  As for Fedorov, he said nothing of the pronouncements of Professor Paul Dorland, or the mysterious keys for the moment. There were secrets that had to be held close, even among allies.

  Yet now the two men had a more immediate problem to discuss. Fedorov and Nikolin had discovered that the Japanese Navy had commissioned ships that never existed, and this would become a matter of obvious interest to Karpov.

  They had discovered the Shadow Fleet.

  Part VII

  The Rose

  “He who dares not grasp the thorn

  Should never crave the rose.”

  — Anne Brontë

  Chapter 19

  “Ships that never were,” said Karpov. “Very interesting. Do we have a fix on their location?”

  “Not yet,” said Fedorov. “These were long range intercepts. They were on shortwave when they transmitted, and those signals can propagate a good distance.”

  “It’s clear we have no further business up north for a while,” said Karpov. “What course would you recommend?”

  “Due south. There’s a 1400-mile gap between the first two Japanese outposts we’ll encounter, Guam and Wake Island. We can go right through the center, and the only planes that might spot us would be very long range seaplanes—flying boats. Frankly, I doubt they even mount regular patrols in that sector.”

  “Then make it so,” said Karpov.

  “After that, we’ll be approaching the Marshall Islands from the north, and Ponape will be due south of us on that course. That island will probably be lightly held, but a few degrees to starboard is Truk, about 450 miles from Ponape. That is the main operating base of the Japanese Combined fleet. It will have airfields, large anchorages in a protected lagoon that will probably be well used. There will be transports, tankers, and a lot of warships come and go. The fleet headquarters is presently operating from the battleship Musashi. That is the sister ship of the vessel we encountered earlier, the Yamato.”

  “A tough ship,” said Karpov. “Will it be at anchor?”

  “Most likely.”

  “Carriers?”

  “Yes, they use that base to refuel and replenish. There might be a full carrier division there, but we won’t know until we can recon the area. That could be risky, as there will be a lot of naval air patrols originating from that base, and probably a strong fighter presence.”

  “Excellent. Then we move on Truk.”

  Fedorov raised an eyebrow. His warning had been received with enthusiasm. “You mean to attack that base?”

  “Didn’t the Japanese take the war right to the heart of their enemy when they started this? Two can play the game.”

  “Yes sir, but it will likely involve some risk. Don’t forget what the Japanese did to the aft battle bridge.”

  “Forewarned is forearmed. We were running low on SAMs, if I recall. That won’t be the case for this raid. Was this base ever attacked by the Americans?”

  “Not until mid-February of 1944—Operation Hailstone. They simply did not have the power to penetrate that deeply into Japanese held waters through most of 1943. The US wanted to invade Eniwetok in the Marshalls. Any reinforcements and support would have come from Truk, so they wanted to neutralize that base before the invasion. They hit it with five fleet carriers, three light carriers, seven battleships and over 40 other warships—a massive attack. The base was useless after it was over, and it was bypassed as the Americans continued north into the Marianas.”

  “We’ll see what we can do now,” said Karpov, eager for battle.

  “You plan on expending missile ordnance on ships anchored there?”

  “Possibly. Particularly warships. I think we can get close enough for the KA-226 to
sneak in and get us some camera footage. We can jam any radar they might have to spot our helo, and it is fairly nimble, and will see any enemy planes long before they could spot it. Let’s go have a look at Truk and see what they have in the cupboard. Then I can make a decision as to what ordnance we might expend. I will say one thing. If this battleship is there, I’m putting a missile on it.”

  “Musashi? You know a single missile won’t sink it. Look what we threw at Yamato. It took a lucky torpedo hit aft to force it to withdraw.”

  “Yes, but we’ll certainly shake up the General Headquarters staff, won’t we?” Karpov smiled.

  “That will likely be like poking a beehive with a stick. They could have a lot of planes at Truk, and you can bet they’ll get them airborne as soon as we attack.”

  “Fair enough. But they’ll have to find us to attack us, and I won’t let a search plane get close enough to see us. This is going to be a good deal easier than you think.”

  “There’s one other consideration,” said Fedorov. “These new ships I was telling you about—we think they are already at sea. If that is the case, and they are deploying to the South Pacific, then they will likely be bound for either Truk or perhaps Rabaul. That’s the other big base they have in the Bismarck Archipelago.”

  “New enemy carriers,” said Karpov with a smile. “Mister Fedorov, let’s hope they are heading for Truk. The more the merrier. It’s time we let the Japanese know they can no longer dismiss us as a fringe nuisance on their northern front. I intend to show them I can strike them anywhere, and anytime I choose. The gloves are coming off now, and it’s going to be a bare-knuckled fistfight from here on out.”

  * * *

  It was Nabuo Kita on a Mitsubishi F1M float plane out of Maloelap in the Marshalls who started everything. He had been out on a routine patrol to the east, about 180 nautical miles from the island, and was ready to turn for home. His plane had a radius of about 200 nautical miles, and it was always a good idea to leave some fuel in the tank for the landing cycle. He never knew if there might be storms over the island upon his return.

  Yet today the weather looked good, with banks of fleecy clouds and other wise clear blue skies. So he made one of those little one man decisions that acted like a match lighting a fuse. He decided to push his plane out that last 20 miles, to the point of no return, and see if anything might be lingering out there in a place they believed was safe from prying eyes.

  He was correct, for two American light carriers had been out on their maiden voyage to train off Midway. Now they were ready for combat drills, and gained authorization to approach the Marshalls and conduct routine recon patrols of their own.

  Kita was going to run right into them, and make the acquaintance of a new F6F Hellcat that day. He saw it up above, a blue speck descending on him like a hawk diving on its prey. Looking quickly over his shoulder for a place to hide, he finally saw where that plane had come from. There were a series of thin white wakes making a broad letter C turn on the sea, and right in the middle were those aircraft carriers.

  With no clouds close enough to hide in, he had two choices. Dive his plane and head for the drink, hoping to save himself and evade that fighter, or instead use those precious few seconds to get on his radio and report this contact. That was why he was out there, and he had always accepted the potential hazards of his trade. So he took that right hand fork in the road, and began his radio signal. It would be received at his home base, and then passed on to Kwajalein—a small task force approaching the Marshalls, and with two aircraft carriers.

  That was the last anyone would hear of Nabuo Kita, but his message would live on after his passing, lighting up the signals traffic airwaves and leaping from one island outpost to another, Kwajalein to Eniwetok to Ponape to Truk, a distance of over 1300 nautical miles. Those two words—American Carriers—immediately got the attention of Combined Fleet HQ Staff aboard Musashi. The big battleship was anchored in the main anchorage, its bow pointed at the bustling airfield that sat right on the northwest edge of that small islet.

  The problem this message posed was now apparent. While Japan had occupied all the main islands and atolls in the Gilberts and Marshalls, many of those outposts were lightly held. The few aircraft assigned were mostly seaplanes, and a few Squadrons of A5M4 Fighters, the plane the Allies called “Claude.” There were no planes that could bother those carriers at all, which meant that if the Americans were coming to raid the Marshalls, they could feast on those islands at their leisure.

  Even at Truk, the only strike capable aircraft based there at that moment was a single squadron of nine C3M2 twin engine Bombers. Called “Nell” by the Americans, they were capable of carrying torpedoes, but those nine planes would not make much of an impression on a carrier task force. What the Japanese needed to do was fight fire with fire, but Admiral Hara had his 3rd Carrier Division at Rabaul, and in fact, it had already moved into the Coral Sea on the mission Yamamoto had authorized to oppose the American landings on Efate.

  The only other force capable of intervening was the Shadow Fleet, which was just 50 nautical miles north of Saipan at that moment. While the Japanese did not want this force put into combat so soon, they now had no choice. The Shadow Fleet was ordered to turn southeast to a position 500 miles east of Truk, as the American carriers had been reported as moving south.

  In truth, after they got sniffed out, the man in charge had orders to be very cagey and avoid combat as well. He had two carriers to break in, and inexperienced pilots. It was not that he was faint hearted, for this was one Captain Clifton Sprague, recently transferred in from Naval Air Station Sand Point near Seattle to start drilling for carrier operations. Those that knew him well had come to call him by an odd nickname, because of the errant way he would sometimes walk, heading one direction, then quickly changing his mind and turning elsewhere.

  They called him Ziggy.

  Sprague had a few newly hatched eggs in Independence and Princeton, but instead of pressing on into the Marshalls, the he turned south for the Gilberts, where he had orders to scout out Makin and Tarawa, and send the photos back to Pearl. The Shadow Fleet would move southeast towards Ponape on a course to intercept, but it was taking them right across the path of another shadow, that of a sea monster they had come to call Mizuchi.

  * * *

  Admiral Chuichi Nagumo stood on the bridge of the battle carrier Ryujin, watching the planes being spotted for takeoff. Today’s drill was being led by Commander Amagai Takahisa, an able man with over 2500 flight hours at the start of the war. He led the strike off the Hiryu at Pearl Harbor, then transferred briefly to Kaga before being sent home to Japan to a classified assignment. The official orders were that he was to take charge of aircraft carrier flight deck installations for new construction projects. In that capacity, he would soon find himself at the heart of the Shadow Fleet.

  Nagumo had also been asked to fly home to Japan after the fleet had returned to Rabaul. He initially believed it had been due to the damage the Americans put on Kaga and Soryu, but Yamamoto dispelled that notion immediately.

  “No, Admiral, there is no shame in what happened. War is war. Thankfully, the damage to both carriers was not serious. Yet Admiral Nagano has asked me for a senior officer with carrier experience. Seeing that Carrier Division 1 will be laid up here at Rabaul for the next several weeks, I ask you to fly home and see to his concerns.”

  At that time, Yamamoto was not even aware of the advanced state of readiness of the Shadow Fleet vessels. Nagumo was also quite surprised when he arrived at Sasebo and saw the cluster of many small carriers near the naval dockyard. Where did all these ships come from? He was soon briefed by Nagano and learned the truth, and now he was proud to be leading out this flotilla, and made sure he got the most experienced men he could find. There were many in Japan from the early loss of Hiryu, and most had been reassigned to local naval air stations to train new arrivals. Nagumo gathered a handful of the best men he could locate, personally asking Nagano to
push through the transfer orders.

  So he now had Torpedo Squadron Leader Heita Matsumura off the old Hiyo, and also Dive Bomber Squadron Leader Michio Kobayashi, and Fighter Operations Leader Kiyokuma Okajima. That group was here aboard his flagship Ryujin, the Dragon Lord. Trailing in its wake was the second battle carrier, Kinryu, the Golden Dragon; with the two smaller Kami Class escort carriers to port and starboard in the diamond pattern he was sailing. Far ahead, a pair of Gozo Class light scout carriers were in the vanguard, Kaya and Kiryu. The two super cruisers and five new destroyers were in a wide fan forward of his carriers.

  The drill went off with expected precision, and in very good time. The orders Nagumo had just received had not been expected. This was to be a simple transfer operation, the inaugural cruise of the Shadow Fleet to Truk, where it would be formally received by Combined Fleet Headquarters, the Captains lining up to make their first deep bow aboard Musashi. Then these orders came to divert southeast towards the Gilberts to look for a pair of American carriers that had been snooping around the Marshalls off Marcus Island, and were now believed to be heading south.

  The men are certainly ready, thought Nagumo. As for the planes, they look splendid. There will certainly be a few bugs to work out, but the pilots seem very pleased with these new aircraft, and the performance statistics on this new single engine recon plane are unbelievable. The Saiun truly gives us eyes at sea to find our enemy. They will soon be put to the test.

  He had three of the new long range recon planes aboard each of the two battle carriers. So these were to be the two Kii Class Battlecruisers, he thought. I see they left me the two forward turrets, though I have no idea what I will do with them. They should have just removed them and extended the flight deck. In fact, I will recommend this if these ships ever return for a planned fleet upgrade.