A/N: Hello, fellow readers. Here is the second chapter to Tales from the Tokitsukaze. I've been in a slight rush to get this out of the way. I hope there hasn't been any marked drop in the quality. If there is, please let me know constructively, and I'll take steps to rectify it.
Special thanks to fanfic user axel100 for his help in my choosing the topic of this chapter.
January 20th, 1941
15:20 Hours
Kaneda Bay
About 10 kilometers south of Uraga
A sizable crowd had gathered on the shore to watch the four destroyers sail out of the mouth of nearby Tokyo Bay. For them, watching the navy's men hard at work was a source of both pride and entertainment. While some observed stonily, others cheered and waved tiny flags.
Though by the far the most memorable part, at least for Zuko, was watching some of the enlisted men on the deck of his Tokitsukaze wave awkwardly back to a group of geishas who were waving and shouting cheers at them with remarkable enthusiasm. He and the other officers on the bridge had struggled to contain their mirth at their subordinates' squeamishness.
To him, however, the attention that he drew from civilians wasn't important. He was a military man who needed to stay concerned with military affairs whenever he was on his ship.
However, they hadn't gone to war yet, so there wasn't as much of a need to be completely aloof. Thus, he had allowed himself a small smile as he gazed from Tokitsukaze's bridge out at the shores of Kanagawa Prefecture.
In the distance, he could see the snow-capped peak of Fujiyama rising high into the sky. Even from far away, it was a beautiful sight. He'd often dreamed of scaling that volcanic mountain. Perhaps he would do so when this was all over, and the pressures of war were no more. Whether or not he would live to see those days was another matter.
"Sir?" Jee's voice shook him out of his musings. He cursed himself for letting his mind wander. This was a torpedo warfare exercise. It was most certainly not the time to be daydreaming.
Just six days earlier, Zuko had taken Tokitsukaze up to Tokyo Bay with orders to link up with three other destroyers. To his surprise and elation, one of them had been none other than Hara's Amatsukaze, the other two being the slightly older Hatsukaze and Yukikaze.
Three days later, in a formal ceremony, the four ships were joined together to create the 16th Destroyer Division, the second such formation to consist solely of Kagerō-class destroyers.
Now, the division was to take part in its first ever torpedo exercise, their targets being a pair of old dreadnought-era battleships that had been decommissioned in compliance with the Washington Naval Treaty and converted to radio-controlled target ships.
Hara had always told Zuko that a destroyer's punch was packed in its torpedoes. And given the recent developments in torpedo tactics, it seemed to him that the IJN's destroyers were packing an even greater punch than their American counterparts.
Just eight years earlier, Rear Admiral Kaneji Kishimoto and Captain Toshihide Asakama of the Kure Torpedo Institute had developed a remarkable and deadly innovation: A torpedo propelled by pure oxygen rather than compressed air.
Designated Type 93, the Sanso gyorai ("oxygen torpedo") was, according to reports from IJN naval attachés who had visited the US and Great Britain, superior to the newest torpedoes of both nations. Because it used oxygen as a fuel source, it left no telltale trail of bubbles when travelling through the water, making it harder to detect. It could also travel for anywhere between 22,000 meters at 40 knots and 40,000 meters at 36 knots, more than four to five times the range of its American and British counterparts.
But its real edge was its hitting power. Compared to the 300 and 320 kilogram warheads of American and British torpedoes, the Type 93's warhead packed an astonishing 500 kilograms of explosive charge.
Based on live-fire tests carried out on target ships, it had been determined that a single torpedo could sink an enemy destroyer and a well-placed hit could severely damage larger vessels. If more than one torpedo managed to hit the target, the powerful explosions were enough to sink a cruiser or, depending on the number of torpedoes that were on target, even a battleship.
The idea that a single destroyer could unleash such devastating firepower with just a few torpedoes had served as a great morale booster to the men of the Japanese destroyer force, and the Navy High Command had soon realized the important role that this force would play in any war, especially against a great naval power like the United States.
As such, training among the destroyer force had grown much more strenuous to familiarize the men with the new torpedoes. Additionally, with Hara's torpedo manual having been accepted as the official doctrine, the maneuvers he had proscribed, which involved a great deal of mathematics, had been adopted as standard procedures for carrying out torpedo attacks.
And so, the ships of DesDiv 16 steamed into Kaneda Bay in a column, the standard cruising formation for a destroyer division, to put the maneuvers to the test.
The destroyers each carried sixteen Type 93 torpedoes, enough to fire two whole salvoes from their eight tubes. Though for the sake of practice, all of the torpedoes had been fitted with dummy warheads. A hit would be determined by whether or not they passed under the hulls of the target ships.
As the torpedo maneuvers were Hara's brainchild, his Amatsukaze was at the lead of the column, followed closely astern by the divisional flagship Yukikaze, Zuko's Tokitsukaze, and Hatsukaze.
Aboard Tokitsukaze, there was a general atmosphere of seriousness. There was no bantering among the officers as they were usually wont to do. Unless there were orders to be given or received, everyone stayed silent and alert, as if they were actually on wartime patrol.
Even Lieutenant Kuramochi, who usually seemed hesitant and unsure of himself, stood ramrod-straight next to Zuko with a gaze harder than the steel of a katana. It was probably to be expected, given his position as Chief Torpedo Officer.
"Beginning hyperbola," the Chief Navigator announced as Tokitsukaze turned to starboard and followed Amatsukaze and Yukikaze in a hyperbolic turn. Behind them, Hatsukaze followed suit.
"Distance to target, 2,000 meters!" The lookout on the port side of the bridge reported.
"Kuramochi, tell the fishermen to get ready!" Zuko ordered, "Target twenty degrees to port!"
"Target twenty degrees to port, aye!" Kuramochi relayed the order across the PA to the men manning the torpedo launchers amidships, who rotated them accordingly.
Tokitsukaze was now almost parallel to the target ships.
"Torpedoes ready to fire, sir!" Kuramochi shouted in confirmation once the launchers had the targets in their sights.
"Steady," Zuko replied calmly, "Steady,"
As they neared the end of the hyperbolic turn, the time came to fire. Amatsukaze loosed a spread of eight torpedoes at the target ships. Seconds later, Yukikaze did the same. Next came the turn of Zuko's Tokitsukaze.
"Torpedoes, fire!" he yelled. In response, sharp blasts of compressed air hurtled eight of Tokitsukaze's torpedoes into the water.
"Torpedoes running!" The lookout announced tersely. Meanwhile, Tokitsukaze followed Amatsukaze and Yukikaze out of the hyperbola as Hatsukaze launched her own torpedo salvo.
Zuko waited with bated breath to hear the results. Beside him, Kuramochi checked his stopwatch, counting how much time had elapsed since releasing the torpedoes.
Then, about a minute later, "Eight hits on the target ships!" the lookout's voice sounded much more cheerful as he broke the news.
Everyone present on the bridge cheered, and Kuramochi sported an unusually wide grin as Jee clapped him on the back.
"Good job, men." Zuko declared. Even if it was a practice exercise, his men had still performed admirably.
"Kuramochi," he turned to the other officer, who was still grinning, "Pass along my congratulations to your fishermen."
"Yes, sir!" Kuramochi replied enthusiastically with a salute and promptly left the bridge, presumably to go amidships to the torpedo launchers.
Good to see him in high spirits for once, Zuko thought to himself.
"Sir!" A young ensign ran up to him with a telegram in hand, "Message from Captain Shiro Shibuya, ComDesDiv 16, transmitting aboard Destroyer Yukikaze. It's addressed to all ships of DesDiv 16."
"Well go on, read it." He said encouragingly.
"He says, 'All ships have reported hits on target. Congratulations on excellent torpedo run. Begin retrieving torpedoes. Once complete, we head for Uraga. Our presence has been requested for a launching ceremony. Afterwards, we are to make for Yokosuka. The crews of all our ships are to be granted shore leave.'"
Once more, the men erupted in cheers. They were clearly more than happy to have some time ashore.
Zuko chuckled to himself. The next few hours were going to be most interesting.
20:25 hours
Japan
Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
Komatsu Restaurant
Zuko, Hara, and the other two destroyer skippers seated at the table with them watched with both awe and amusement as Captain Shibuya, their own divisional commander, downed his fourth cup of saké with all the poise of an experienced drinker.
Amid the chuckling and cheers, Yukikaze's skipper, a man by the name of Kenjiro Tobita, reached around and clapped Shibuya on the back while a geisha poured him another cup.
Once it was filled, Shibuya raised his cup in toast, "Cheers to a successful exercise!"
Zuko and the others followed suit and downed their cups. It certainly had been an interesting day for the 16th Destroyer Division.
After retrieving their practice torpedoes, they had stopped at the Uraga shipyards to witness the launching ceremonies of two new destroyers: Akigumo, apparently the last of the Kagerō-class, and Kazagumo, one of the brand-new Yūgumo-class ships, which were essentially a repeat of the Kagerōs but with a redesigned bridge and improved anti-aircraft firepower. At Hara's insistence, they'd also stayed to watch the keel-laying ceremony of Takanami, one of Kazagumo's sister ships.
They'd then sailed up to nearby Yokosuka, where the crews of all four destroyers had been granted shore leave until 2300 hours.
While the enlisted men wandered about the city, the officers had all made for the Komatsu Restaurant, a large establishment frequented by men from the Japanese Navy, including Isoroku Yamamoto himself.
Zuko and the other three skippers had commandeered a table for themselves, along with Shibuya, leaving their subordinates to their own devices. To the endless amusement of all five men, some of the other officers had joined the geishas in musical performances. Jee in particular had given a wonderful accompaniment with his sanshin.
"So, Hara," Tobita interjected, "How's the family?"
"Chizu is doing well," Hara replied with a broad smile, "She writes me constantly, which is nice, given that I only see her once every few months. The children are happy and healthy. Though from what Chizu tells me, they really miss their daddy."
Zuko had often heard Hara talk about his family whenever they were working together, whether at sea or ashore. Judging from the happiness and wistfulness of his tone when he spoke of them, it was clear that they were extremely dear to him.
"Come boys," Shibuya declared suddenly, "Let's go get some more saké."
He got up, followed by Tobita and Hatsukaze's skipper, Commander Kerashimo Takahashi. The three of them headed towards the bar at the far end of the hall, leaving Zuko and Hara alone at the table.
"How are you feeling?" Hara asked his former pupil.
"I'm fine, sir." Zuko replied.
"You can drop the sir, Zuko," Hara commented wryly, "Since we're division-mates now and of equal rank, there's no need for formalities."
"Alright, Hara," It felt strange to refer to someone he looked up to by his name, "As far as having my own ship goes, I'm faring well. My officers are a pleasure to work with and can do their jobs to the letter. The same goes for the enlisted men."
"That's good to hear, how is your ship herself performing?"
"She's suffered no major setbacks since I came aboard. Of course, the time I spent aboard your Amatsukaze helped with the transitioning. And if today's results are any indication, she seems just about ready for…" he trailed off.
"Ready for what?" Hara pressed him to finish that statement.
Zuko took a deep breath that sounded more like a sigh, "Ready for war."
"Is there something troubling you, Zuko?" his mentor questioned.
"Yes. Remember what you told me a couple of months ago when we were having tea together?"
"How we'd be war at America within a fortnight?"
"Not that," Zuko said dismissively, "I meant what you said about 'slipping towards the point of no return.'"
"What about it?"
"If war with America is unavoidable, how can we possibly defeat them? You've heard what Admiral Yamamoto said about their industrial capacity."
"Yes I have," Hara said in the same grim tone that he'd used that day he'd made his claim, "As for your question, I'm still considering a possible solution. For now, however, it seems we will have to fight them in the fashion of Sun Tzu."
"We must know our enemy and know ourselves," Zuko indirectly recited the quote from The Art of War.
"Yes," Hara affirmed, "We must make good use of our strengths and address our weaknesses and at the same time, we must exploit the US Navy's weaknesses and develop ways to counter their strengths."
"It seems our destroyer force should have no problems," Zuko declared.
"Perhaps," Hara admitted, "But the greatest problem we face is attrition. If our Navy and the US Navy both lose equal amounts of ships in one battle, based on Yamamoto's claims about America's industrial capacity, it will take longer for us to replace our losses than it will for the Americans."
"So now," Zuko commented grimly, "We not only have to whittle down the American Navy, we also have to make sure we don't incur significant losses of our own."
"Indeed," Hara observed drily, "Seems to be quite the task, don't you think?"
"I wonder if the Army hotheads have considered the feasibility of that," Zuko grumbled.
"Given how lightly they speak of war, I highly doubt it," Hara said with a derisive chuckle before turning serious, "We are Navy men, Zuko. Sadly, we do not have any say in Tokyo's affairs. But whatever happens, we must do our duty to the country."
"I suppose so," Zuko replied as Shibuya, Tobita, and Kerashimo returned with a large bottle of saké.
As he downed his cup, Zuko tried to push his foreboding thoughts out of his mind and enjoy himself, with the saké washing his worries away like the tides.
About three hours and several cups later, as he staggered tipsily into his bunk aboard Tokitsukaze, he felt somewhat lighter than before, even if the floor wouldn't stop spinning.
"Good night, sir," Jee said amusedly. Even if he was Zuko's XO, he clearly could handle alcohol better than his commanding officer could.
"G'night, Jeeee," he slurred.
As the other man left, Zuko fell into a surprisingly deep sleep, his dreams centering around climbing Fujiyama with his Uncle.
Author's Notes:
-I've been debating whether or not I should include Mai in this story. Let me know what you think and, if you think I should, how I should include her.
-So, the 16th Destroyer Division makes its first appearance together. Alongside Zuko's Tokitsukaze, we have Hara's versatile Amatsukaze, the unfortunately not-so-famous Hatsukaze, and the venerable Yukikaze, once described by an anonymous YouTuber as "the destroyer that had half the Shinto pantheon looking out for it." If you look up the numerous battles she took part in and how she emerged from almost every single one unscathed, I think you'll find yourself agreeing with said YouTuber's assessment.
-I'm pretty sure this shouldn't need clearing up, but just in case, "Fujiyama" is the Japanese name for the dormant volcano the rest of the world knows as Mount Fuji.
-In case it isn't clear, "fishermen" is a term used to reference men manning torpedo tubes on a destroyer, just like how sailors refer to torpedoes as "fish"
-Although the Type 93 torpedo is more widely referred to as the "Long Lance," I'm not using its much more famous nickname in this story because it was coined AFTER the war.
-All historical information regarding the Long Lance comes from both Japanese Destroyer Captain and the highly informative website "Combined Fleet." I would highly recommend both sources to anyone interested in the Pacific War from the Japanese Navy's viewpoint, especially considering that the latter contains detailed records of movement of all of the IJN's ships. (And yes, the figures for the American and British torpedoes are accurate. Our early torpedoes were really that bad.)
-All information regarding the order of battle of the Japanese Navy, in particular its destroyer divisions, comes from a report in the Nafziger Collection of the US Army Combined Arms Research Library. If anyone is interesting in seeing this report for his or herself, simply search "941JLNA" in your browser's search engine.
-As far as historical changes go, the dates for the launchings of Akigumo and Kazagumo have been moved up by two to three months respectively, and the date for the keel-laying of Takanami has also been moved up by three months.
-A Sanshin is a three-stringed instrument from Okinawa that's often likened to a banjo.
-Even though Zuko shares the same surname as Hatsukaze's skipper, there is no relation between the two of them, just like how Tameichi Hara has, to my knowledge, no relation to Rear-Admiral Chuichi Hara, the commander of the IJN's 5th Carrier Division (Shōkaku and Zuikaku) from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Santa Cruz.
Okay, so now I have to get back to studying, exercising, eating dinner, and the rest of the mundane parts of college life (bleh). As always, R&R, and I'll see you guys later for the next chapter.
