20 Oct update
THE SHOWBOAT Engages THE IRON CHANCELLOR
I have been asked to post in black and am happy to comply.
1 JUNE 1941 1900 ( UTC/GMT -4 hours) The Oval Office, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt 39th POTUS sat behind the "Resolute" desk. This double pedestal desk was made from the oak timbers of H.M.S. Resolute as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes from Queen Victoria in 1880. FDR was sipping on his 3rd Martini and eyeing the super encrypted direct phone link with Prime Minister Winston Churchill. About a half hour ago one of his aides had placed a call to "Winston" via Sigsaly . SIGSALY was a digital speech encryption system using "White noise, developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and built by Western Electric. The secure POTUS to PM link had been operational since March. .
There were times when FDR did not think running for an unprecedentedly winning a third term was all that good an idea. The tremendous burden of responsibility he carried while steering the USA through those turbulent seas in the 1930s, and and now this damn War would have broken a lessor man especially given his health. Perhaps only those who have served as President could even remotely understand what was required. The office, in any period of time, is notorious for the physical and psychological toll it extracts.
It had been a particularly "Tough" day for FDR. For one thing he was always in pain, usually, long experience, made it bearable and he just carried on with his life but sometimes it got much worse and this was one of those days. At such times he turned to his favorite drink; The Martini. FDR insisted on mixing his own and everyone else around him. He started out simple enough, usually as a 3:1 or sometimes 4:1 Gin and Dry Vermouth. Shaken over ice. Cocktail glass. Olive or lemon peel garnish.
Then it gets complicated. Sometimes, if inspired, FDR would add a drop or two of absinthe for flavor. Sometimes a splash of brine to make it dirty. At other times, he might add more vermouth than his guests cared for. Perhaps he might add some fruit juices or liqueurs, or substitute with an alternative liquor for gin when his home bar was limited. Sometimes an extra measure of gin to be on the safe side, as he could lose track of his measurements, especially late in the "Children's Hour", while deep in storytelling. You can see how quickly things could get out of control. Tonight, to ease the pain he added a drop of opium. He thanked God he seldom had to resorted to this.
The sinking of the Queen Mary and the great loss of life had decided him on taking a very big risk. When he went ahead and gave the order to "Sink The Bismarck" and any other Nazi Raider the USN could find, he was actually declaring war on Nazi Germany. and that was a clear violation of the the US Constitution which clearly stated only Congress could declare war.
He was certain the GOP and some of his own Democrat representatives would call for his impeachment. Given the results of the 1940 landslide election against Wendell Willkie, the poor Rube, he was sure he would not be tried by the senate, let alone convicted. A massacre Electoral vote of 449, carrying 38 states, winning the popular vote 27,313,945 (55%) to 22,347,744 (44.8%) and with comfortable Democrat party control of the House of Representative and Senate bought him a lot of political capital and he could afford to loose some and still do what he had to.
BUT
He ran on a platform of, while arming for defense, a strict neutrality to keep our boys out of Europe's never ending wars. That would certainly seem very thin if the USN sank The Bismarck and that cruiser and an outright disaster if our ships were sunk and our sailors drown outside the declared neutrality zone.
The Supreme Court was the Rub and there was no doubt the GOP would file a suit, based on the fact he actually did violate his oath of office to Uphold the Constitution. BUT, big BUT that would take time, he just might win there too ;after all Hitler would declare war on the USA and the Court might just say "screw it he is a wartime leader and the American people both trust and love him".
The nag was doing anything that could possibly, no matter how remotely, make John Nance Garner III POTUS. He really should have replaced Garner with "Hank Wallace" for the last election. Wallace had some very personal baggage that J Edgar Hoover Director of the FBI, the all too cunning and dangerous megalomaniac, only chose to share with him just before the Chicago convention. There really was no time to do anything but, have hatchet-man journalist Charles S. Michelson, appraise Wallace of what the FBI knew and ask him to "Do the right thing for the party". Wallace no fool did "the right thing" immediately.
Michelson, was the ruthless head of the Democrat party's propaganda machine, funded by financier John J. Raskob, the party’s national chairman. He was a hatchet-man journalist who successfully demonized POTUS Hoover as responsible for the country’s economic woes. He was a master of “scathing invective” and “scurrilous venom”. In Michelson’s memoir, “The Ghost Talks,” he wrote with great pride "I could have served as a primer for Machiavelli.”
The America Firsters were not the only American isolationists and the American Nazi Bund were not the only American Fascist sympathizers he had to worry about. In the 1930s the Great Depression and the memory of tragic losses in World War I ( the last three months of that war was a blood bath for the American Expeditionary Force) pushed American public opinion and policy toward isolationism. FDR had all he could do to avoid political and military conflicts (The Panay Incident etc.) across the oceans, continued to expand America's ravaged economy and protect its interests in Latin America.
The isolationist leaders used every trick in the book to attain their ends. They drew upon history to bolster their position. In his Farewell Address, President George Washington had advocated non in European wars and politics. For much of the nineteenth century, the expanse of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans had made it possible for the United States to enjoy a kind of "free security" and remain largely detached from Old World conflicts.
During World War I, however, President Woodrow Wilson made a case for U.S. intervention in the conflict and a U.S. interest in maintaining a peaceful world order. Nevertheless, the American experience in that war served to bolster the arguments of isolationists; they argued that marginal U.S. interests in that conflict did not justify the number of U.S. casualties. In the wake of the WW I , a report by Senator Gerald P. Nye, a Republican from North Dakota, fed this belief by claiming that American bankers and arms manufacturers had pushed for U.S. involvement for their own profit. The 1934 publication of the book Merchants of Death by H.C. Engelbrecht and F. C. Hanighen, followed by the 1935 tract "War Is a Racket" by decorated Marine Corps General Smedley D. Butler both served to increase popular suspicions of wartime profiteering and influence public opinion in the direction of neutrality. Many Americans became determined not to be tricked by banks and industries into making such great sacrifices again. The reality of a worldwide economic depression and the need for increased attention to domestic problems only served to bolster the idea that the United States should isolate itself from troubling events in Europe.
Upon taking office, POTUS FDR tended to see a necessity for the United States to participate more actively in international affairs, but his ability to apply his personal outlook to foreign policy was limited by the strength of isolationist sentiment in the U.S. Congress. In 1933, President Roosevelt proposed a Congressional measure that would have granted him the right to consult with other nations to place pressure on aggressors in international conflicts. The bill ran into strong opposition from the leading isolationists in Congress, including progressive politicians such as Senators Hiram Johnson of California, William Borah of Idaho, and Robert La Follette of Wisconsin. In 1935, controversy over U.S. participation in the World Court elicited similar opposition.
As tensions rose in Europe over Nazi Germany's aggressive maneuvers, Congress pushed through a series of Neutrality Acts which prevented US Flagged merchant ships and US citizens from becoming embroiled in foreign conflicts. FDR deplored the confining acts, but because he still required Congressional support for his domestic New Deal policies, he reluctantly signed the bills. The isolationists were a varied mob, including progressives and conservatives, business owners and peace activists, but because they faced no consistent, organized opposition from the few internationalists, their ideology usually won out.
FDR appeared to accept the strength of the isolationist elements in Congress until 1937. In that year, as the situation in Europe continued to grow worse and the Second Sino-Japanese War began in Asia, POTUS gave a speech in which he likened international aggression to a disease that other nations must work to "quarantine." At that time, however, Americans were still not prepared to risk their lives and livelihoods for peace abroad. Even the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939 did not suddenly dilute popular desire to avoid foreign entanglements especially in Europe. Despite that fact, the fascists atrocities helped FDR to shift public opinion slightly from favoring complete neutrality to supporting limited US aid, especially if it funded American jobs and helped the to the economy in general to "friendly Nations" BUT WELL SHORT of actual intervention in the war.
1 JUNE 1941 1935 ( UTC/GMT -4 hours) the secure phone rang. FDR picked it up and Churchill said "I've been praying you would call Franklyn."
FDR " Winston I am calling to inform you I have decided to order Admiral Hewitt's task group built around our Bttleship North Carolina to actively join in the hunt down of Bismarck and that raiding cruiser. Don't celebrate too soon my old naval Friend, this is not a formal declaraion of war against the fascists and it may, but I don't think it will, get me fired. I will have to use up a lot of what we call "Political capital" that might have been of use in aiding you. "
There was about a minute of silence on the phone until Churchill responded with a great deal of emotion, for him, in his voice. "I can't thank you enough Franklyn. We are in desperate straits this horrible month of May.
I'll have Alfred Pound work out the details with your Admiral Stark immediately."
FDR "No need to bother my CNO, he has a very full plate just now. Have your Admirals contact Admiral King, CnC Atlantic fleet. Stark has deputized King to work this joint hunt. Just make sure Stark is copied on all signals.
Do you have anything for me Winston, it has been a very tiring day and my last Martini has really knocked the crap out of me."
Churchill "I'll ring off now my old naval friend and get straight on to Pound and Ramsay. By the way, I am sacking Pound and giving his job to Vice Admiral Ramsay effective 5 June. I just hope the poor devil has better luck than Alfred."
FDR "I understand completly Winston, given what has been going on with your Navy, mostly just bad luck and a fleet spread paper thin, someone's head has to roll if you are to keep yours. Our ability to back stab our friends is one of the things that really makes our job fit only for heartless bastards. My Admiral King, a real bastard if one ever existed, has a saying. "When things go bad they call for the bastards." I think we both can take some small measure of comfort in the fact we are the best men to safely lead our people to victory, especially you my old naval friend.
Churchill "God bless you." and "Rung Off".
The PM sat back in his chair and found his scotch and cigar both tasted much better now.
He had not been exaggerating about May being a bad month:
Force H badly savaged and God alone knows if what is left can save the big troop convoy. Dear God if Somerville can't, the 15,000 lost in Queen Mary will be considers light compared to what those two Battle Cruisers will do in amongst those transports. That would be absolutely catastrophic and it is far too late for WS-12 to run and there is none but Force H close enough to be of any real help.
The entire convoy was made up of "Liners", many foreign Passenger Liners employed as "troopships" or fast freighters requisitioned as MT ships. This latter category often included refrigerator ships from the Australasian and South American trade. The ability to make a high constant speed was the overriding consideration; average convoy speed was about 13 kts but these liners could all do at least 18.
Even the largest of these Liners could not come close to Queen Mary's 15,000 troop capacity but there were 23 of them. WS-12 was a very big Troop convoy and those men were desperately needed. Their loss would be a very heavy, stategic blow to the Army and the nation. Their replacements would be very hard to come by and would not be available for quite a while unless He decided to strip Divisions from UK defenses which was a decision he really did not want to make.
Seven straight nights of bombing of Liverpool by the Luftwaffe, resulted in widespread destruction.
Belfast, Northern Ireland, experienced more heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe.
Heavy convoy losses in the Atlantic continue including HX-123 and Queen Mary.
Nottingham Bombed yet again by the Luftwaffe.
The United Kingdom's House of Commons was damaged by in an air raid.
Hull, Liverpool, Belfast, and the shipbuilding area of the River Clyde in Scotland. bombed repeatedly
Rommel defeated counter-attack, "Brevity", at Halfaya Pass.
German paratroopers captured Crete with heavy loss of Allied troops, aircraft and equipment.
Old Hood was badly damaged and just might be a write off; too soon to tell. Prince of Whales was so heavily damaged she would be in dockyard hands for at least three months, six was more likely based on initial inspection. Invaluable cruisers sunk and many more so badly damaged they will be in dockyard for months.
Operation "Brevity" that started out so successfully turned into another costly failure.
SIS (AKA M16 or Secret Intelligence Service) and Naval Intelligence are becoming ever more certain Japan is about to strike soon. One of Winnie's more terrifying scenarios was that the Japanese would leave US Western Pacific possessions, Especially The Philippines, alone. The superbly trained and equipped IJN and veteran and utterly ruthless Imperial Army would only go for UK and Netherlands East Indies colonies, especially those big Dutch oil fields they needed so much was a real possibility.
The key was not to push the Americans out of their stupor of Isolation. Were the Japanese leaders sophisticated enough to do that? Certainly the Imperial Army had NOT shown anything that dangerously cunning. The Rub was the Imperial Japanese Navy whose senior admirals like Yamamoto were every bit that sophisticated and had a much better grasp of what the Western nations, especially a fully committed American enemy , could bring to bear against them. The question was who would the emperor listen to? His will was still a very potent force, despite the power of militarist cabal. Suddenly his cigar did not draw as well as it had and his whiskey did not taste as good either.
And what do we have to be grateful about in May?
1. U-110 was captured another priceless and updated copy of the "Enigma" machine is discovered and saved. According to his Admirals, Generals, Air Marshals, the boffins and the few of our senior Intel men who know, It will help decisively to turn the fortunes in the Atlantic battle and the war as a whole. Well we'll see.
2. The German paratroopers who captured Crete, truthfully they are Elite, highly valuable shock troops and as close to Nazi Supermen as actually exists suffered catastrophic losses. Those men will not be replaced any time soon, if at all.
3. FDR just moved a long way closer to the alliance I need to win this war.
God help us all If the Americans join us and Franklin is replaced by that Texas "Buckaroo" "Cactus Jack"( AKA John Nance Garner III), I might have to order the hard men of
MI-6 to euthanize him before he costs us the damn war.
1 JUNE 1941 2250 TG-39.1 Commander Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt had just read Ernie King's latest message sent by the most secure code the USN had and marked "Eyes Only TG-39.1 . That message literally ordered him To Sink The Bismarck and her cruiser escort ASAP and about time. It also formally changed his ROE's by order of FDR himself. The president was not going to hang Hewitt out to dry by saying he had acceded his orders to only shadow and Report. Hewitt sagely thought "Nice touch by FDR always the politician." Hewitt knew POTUS would never get away with that; too many people knew it was Roosevelt's orders that sent BB-55 up against Bismarck.
1 JUNE 1941 2300 Captain Willis Augustus Lee Jr. USN CO of BB-55, his XO Commander Joe Stryker, TG39.1's Commander and his Chief of Staff (CoS) looked at each other thinking their own deep thoughts. Hewitt had just read his latest message from CinC Atlantic Fleet ordering TG39.1 to find and sink the German raiders no matter where they found them and that meant outside the Neutrality Zone. He also told them that, in his opinion, Hitler would go even madder than he already was and declare war on the USA because.
" Make no mistake Gentlemen, killing all those German sailors and sinking the Nazi's most powerful warship and symbol of their power was an act of war by anyones standards." For now these orders go no further than us.
He turned to face his CoS I want our SOCs out before first light and I want that bastard found before he knows we are around. I don't want a fair fight. I want to bushwhack those Nazi murderers and the poor sailors they command.
1 JUNE 1941 2315 "Joe get Tolley and his gang into the TC and let's see if we can give those Soc pilots a better chance at finding Bismarck", said Lee.
This would be a very good chance to see how the lateset addition, an air plot, would work out. About two weeks ago Capt. Ching Lee, LT Tolly and CRM O'Shea were in the TC discussing the shortcomings of "their" Tracking Compartment. The DRT was damn fine for keeping tarck of the surface action but not the Air Picture. LT Tolly recomended a Polar Projection plot. Lee agreed but where in the already tight TC would they squeeze it in and how could it be rapidly updated? Lee supected air actions would be very fast short fights in which he would have to make split second decisions. Once again he was troubled by the herresy that the place for the CO was in the TC not on the bridge or armored conning tower.
CRM O'Shea suggested using some of that new Plexiglass the latest status boards were made of with the Polar Projection compass rose circles and disatnce lines painted on the front. A sailor with a China marking "grease pencil" (same they used on the status boards) would fill in the info from whatever source. He thought if it was back lighted like the status boards, and hung vertically as high up on the bulkhead as possible. Maybe the Kid could be stationed behind the board with sound powered phones on so not to obscure the plot. Lee chuckled and said "Chief, you better find someone who could write backwards because I sure as hell can't read backwards." LT Tolly agreed with the CRM. CO BB-55 orderd LT Tolly to get with the EMs and SFs senior PO's and make it happen "yesterday". ING and make sure those men and whatever they need are issued. LT. Tolly would get together with the CQM to come up with some standard plotting techniques and what symbols they could use for the Vertical Plot, shortly therafter shortened to the VP.
2 JUNE 1941 0015. Lee told them they were trying to find Bismarck for the Brits to kill. He continued "We have a "Flaming datum" called The Queen Mary. That was about 39 hours ago and Bismarck can do better than 30 knots. So she could be eleven hundred miles from the Datum. Once she cleared datum The questions are:
1. Which direction did she go?
2. At what speed?
3. Will she join up with Prince Eugen?
Joe Stryker the XO was the first to answer "We can "guess" she will reduce to a more economical speed as soon as she can." Lee Just nodded so the XO continued.
" It's about time our land based air patrol started to earn their pay. Hell they just got to spot her soon, don't they?"
"Joe, I have it on good authority that Ernie King is making the life of PatWing 5 utterly miserable. The Brits got o be doing the same. It's the low overcast that makes our SOCs the better choice for this job. I guess our airborn ASE, Radars just aren't up to the area search job yet."
CRM O'Shae spoke up. "Well skipper that ASE set really isn't much for area searches. It's good for a moonless night or really bad visibility daylight local area search and attack but it only has about a 40 miles range because it's only a
7 KW set. So even when it's running good, which aint anywhere near as often as the flyboys woud like us to believe, it's a hell of a lot of ocean for a 40 mile sweep."
Lee said "I think the Chief has answered your question Joe. Even Ernie King can't make it any better no matter how hard he chews on the PBY's boss' ass."
That broke the tension in the TC and they got down to work.
What they finally come up with was some eductaed guesses that dictated the initial Sector Searches. They would launch the SOCs at nautical sunrise 0345 so the patrols could be actively searching by 0401 sunrise today.
Lee, as was his want, had been multi tasking his excellent brain while his "boys" were working up their remommendations. He asked the XO out on deck. The two men, a steaming mug of navy brew in hand just ,enjoyed the fresh sea air for a few minutes and then Lee said. "Joe I think we are going to be in one hell of a brawl before too long. I don't think Krulac has anyone in the brig right now? You can get the word out that I have declared a gneral amnesty for one and all.
We are going to ask those kids to fight and maybe die for us. If I know my sailors and I do Joe, our trouble makers will prove to be invaluable if things really go bad. Might as well give them a break"
Commander Stryker replied " Noone in the brig since F2c Madrick got out. The rest are petty criminals anyway. Too bad we can't do something for the kids that don't break the Regs." As the CO's chief bastard aboard BB-55 Joe Stryker was "The Man" who enforced disicipline and as such knew the trouble makers all too well.
Take Fireman Second class Kevin Madrick. He was an Ex Submarine qualifed Shipfitter 2nd Class AKA SF2c and a very good one with a fine, almost spotless record. That all changed after his rescue from USS Squalus (SS-192), back in 1939.
That boat suffered a catastrophic valve failure during a test dive off the Isle of Shoals at 0740 on 23 May. Partially flooded, the submarine sank to the bottom and came to rest keel down in 40 fathoms (240 feet) of water. Navy divers and salvage ships responded quickly, and the following day began operations to rescue the surviving 32 crew members and one civilian from the forward sections of the boat. At 1130 on 24 May, USS Falcon (ASR-2) lowered the newly developed McCann rescue chamber--a revised version of a diving bell invented by Commander Charles B. Momsen--and, over the next 13 hours, all 33 survivors were rescued from the stricken submarine.
Madrick was a changed man. He drank far too much and he wanted to fight the entire world, especially the old Nav. His favorite "Dancing Partners" were big, senior PO's. He lost a lot of fights but he also won a fair share. Every once in a while he put his considerable talents to good use for the ship. Problem was his devils ensured any progress he made back up to SF2c was, sooner rather than later, made pointless when he started his next fight. Stryker guessed his CO's knowing about Squalus and seeing his talents displayed, actually valued him and that kept him out of Portsmouth Naval prison.
Instead, as XO he assigned him to Engineering Dept Repair Division. CSF Slade was his Divisiional CPO. He was a big man who, in his younger years was Atlantic Fleet heavyweight Champ for 5 years. He was now in his late 40's, had a wife and four daughters. His competetive boxing days were over but he still kept "His hand in" as he liked to say "adjusting the attitude" of sailors who needed it. Naturally Kevin had tried him on and the Chief handled the matter "Off the Books".
For General Quarters The XO assaigned FM2c Madrick to one of the repair Parties.
Repair I Deck or topside repair party.. Deck or topside repair party.
Repair II Forward below decks repair party.
Repair III Aft Below decks repair party.
Repair IV Amidships below decks repair party
Repair V. Engineer repairt. Amidships below decks repair paRepair V. Engin
Which one varied a lot. As soon as a Repair Party Leader had enough of Kevin there was usually a Captain's mast, he got busted if he had managed a promotion and a transfer to another repair party. He really got to learn BB-55's DC system better than anyone but BB-55's DCA (damage Control Assistant).
EWO (Engineering Warrant Officer) Becker came aboard with the very first Precom draft and never left. Because he saw her being built and his 42 years, man and boy, at sea he had a considerable edge on our FM2c. Becker had once served in the Kaisar's Navy but now had 28 years in the USN. He had mixed feelings about killing German sailors, after all, they could not all be gottverdammt Nazi bastards, could they? Deck our troubled FM2c.
FORCE H Vs The TWINS the savior of WS-12
2 JUNE 1941 Force H had won her race to interprose between WS-12 and TG Cilax. Admiral Somerville had made it perfectly clear to his staff and his Commanding Officers the only way TG Cilax would get to WS-12 was over the their dead bodies and the sunken wrecks of their ships. He also made it clear if they failed many tens of thousands of their countrymen would also die, men the UK could not afford to loose. It was
a sobering thought but he had to impress on them just how desperate the Admiralty and PM were at this point in time.
The weather was not completely cooperating but it could have been worse. The overcast of low lying clouds that had partially shielded TG Cilax from Ark Royal's air search so far but it would be a God Send for the String bags and Glide Bombers later. The moderate seas and winds made the destroyers partial refueling from his three capital ships much safer, and he could NOT afford to loose any to collisions. The 22 kt run had not exactly drained their fuel bunkers but none was much above 50% and high speed operations were certainly on the dance card this day. He had ordered an oiler to rendesvous with them tomorrow, if any of them were alive.
Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville's plan for Force H was pretty simple. Ark Royal's Swordfish and Fulmars, a damn good scout, a fair glide bomber and absolutely terrible fighter but more than a match for any number of Arados, would do their best to cripple the Twins and lay smoke. Then in would go his Destroyers for a try at them with their torpedoes covered by Shefield's Type 79Y radar directed twelve 6-inch Mk XXIII guns and 8 QF 4-inch guns. Those 6 inch guns had a max effective range of 25,480 yds at 45 degrees elevation, fired a 112 pound AP shell, had maximum rate of fire was eight rounds per gun, per minute. So even splitting the fire of the main battery between Scharnhost and Kniesnor she could fire 49 RPS per minute at each of the twins. And if Renown's radar could lock on she could add her own brand of misery to help the destroyers get close enoug to score a few vital hits.
Aside from a very lucky shot Shiny did not have much chance of doing any serious damage to the Twins hulls or main battery but she just might be able to smother the Battle cruisers sensors, fire control, secondary battery long enough to make the DD torpedo attack hit home. Finally it would be up to venerable "Refit" Renown and her old but more than capable ship killing 15 inch guns to put them down or at least drive them off. That is if Renowns own Battle Cruiser armor was proof against 18 modern German 11inch gunns fring the much better german AP round. Of all the ships of Force H he would bet his Flag was the most likely to survive and he really had mixed feelings about that.
2 JUNE 1941 0812 Somerville ordered Force H into a "Flight Corpen", turn into the wind at 22 kts to allow his carrier to launch her first strike of the day. The Ark Royal was launching all 11 of her reduced compliment of Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers and Argus's 10. Their Mark XII 18 inch, 388 lb warhead torpedo had a range of 1,500 yards at 40 knots or 3,500 yards at 27 knots.These were his best bet for slowing down The Twins.
There would also be 8 Fairey Fulmars. They would each be armed with a single 250 lb AP bomb but they were not capable of dive bombing so they would have to make a glide bombing run and that was the ideal target for medium and light Flak gunners. They were also armed with eight fixed forward 0.303 Caliber machineguns with at least 400 rounds per gun. These would be devastating to sensor and communications aerials and topside stationed sailors if the Fulmars could get close enough and time their attack to support his Swordfish torpedo runs. Two Fulmars were out doing a thorough sector search out to 70 miles and one was bird dogging TG Cilax as they closed with Force H. One Fulmar was doing anti submarine patrol along the direction of advance. Three more fulmars were on deck armed with smoke canisters.
Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville, had struggled with a decision of what to do with WS-23's escorts which inlcuded the old CV HMS Argus pennant # I49 Good old "Hat Box" was purchase by Admiralty in August 1916 and Converted to CV at a cost of £1.3M. She was old, small and slow with max speed of only 20 kts but she was another flight deck and had been modernised shortly before this war. 20 She also carried a small air group of 10 Swordfish and 6 Sea Hurricanes. He wrestled with the idea of combining The Hat Box's 10 swordfish into his first strike and in the end decided to add them to his own 11 String bags. That still left WS-23 with the Sea Hurricanes and the Supermarine Walruses of the two cruisers. The Fulmar pilot circling TG Cilax just out of AA range had already killed one Arado and Force H's fulmar scout was salivating to get a few more. The remainig Arados were kept in their hangars, defuled and disarmed. This would give Somerville a significant tactical advantage in the upcoming surface action.
2 JUNE 1941 0815 TG Cilax is steaming in what the "cousins" in the USN call a formation 52. AKA a circular AA formation with the heavies at the center and the escorting DDs along the perimeter. It makes things difficult, especially for Torpedo bombers, and also still provides ASW protection. Best way to defeat it is dive bombers. Somerville's dilemma was how to arm his Swordfish. In the end he chose the Mark XII 18 inch, 388 lb warhead relying on Jackie Fisher's old saying that the best way to sink a capital ship was to "Let the water in".
Once again he angered at the fact his largest carrier did not have a full Air Group embarked. With a full squdron of string bags he could split the first strike (he really feared he would have few aircraft left for a second strike) between Fish and 500 lb AP bombs. If timed right, BIG IF, the dive bombing String bags would cause TG Cilax to split it's AA batteries giving the torpedo bombers a better chance of surviving long enough to put a few of their Mark XIIs into those two Nazi battle cruisers. His swordfish pilots were considered the best in the fleet and they just might land a few 500 pounder AP blows themselves. He would not give them much of a chance at returning to Ark Royal. He gave the glide bombing Fulmars no chance of scoring a hit or returning.
There were times he found himself disgusted by his admirals gold lace and the fact that gaudi shit meant he willingly sent good men to their deaths. He tried to assuage his conscience, not that he had much of one left, with the fact he was just doing his duty to his God and country to put down the Mad Dog nazis. If his boys saved WS-12 Pound, Churchill, the civilians back home, all the senior officers of the fleet and most of the RN professionals would say it was worth the sacrifice. He still had to live with himself and he would KNOW he was guilty of murdering his own boys. He once read somwhere "At times like these all we can do is our duty and when it is all over say our prayers for HIS forgiveness because I will never forgive myself."
2 JUNE 1941 0840 The last of the strike, a Fulmar, was launched. It had been a good launch; all aircraft had made it into the air, formed up and headed for The Twins. TG Cilax was a a mere 160 nautical miles away. Given the need to coordinate the attack the Swordfish's max speed of 143 mph with 7,580 lb torpedo at and 5,000 ft. dictated a cruising speed of 125 MPH and a hour and a half flight time. The strike commander had decided he would drop his flight down to 300 ft when they were 75 miles from TG Cilax, make a dog leg apprach to the north splitting his fulmars into two groups, 4 would lead the String bags in hosing the upper decks of the Nazi's with .303 fire ending in a glide bomb attack. The other fulmers would make individual runs from vatrious points of the compass with the same plan of gunning the brains out of the AA gunners and bridge watch followed by their single 250 lb glide bomb run.
The string bags, piloted by very experienced aviators with a lot of hours in the biplane, were to make a by the book doctrine torpedo bomber attack.
Approach at 300 feet followed by a dive to torpedo release altitude of 18 feet. The maximum Range of a 1941 Mark XII torpedo was only 1,500 yards at 40 knots but max range did not give a pilot max chance at a hit. The torpedo traveled 200 feet from release to water impact, and required another 300 yards to stabilize at preset depth and arm itself. Ideal release distance was 1,000 yards from target, if the Swordfish survived to that distance.
With so few aircraft and three major targets a hammerhead attack was their best bet. He split his String bags into three packs, 6 for each Battle cruiser and three for the cruiser.
The deadly beauty of the hammerhead attack was that three aircraft of each pack would approach thier battlecruiser victims from each bow at the same time. No matter which way the target turned there was an excellent chance of her eating at least one fish and an even chance of being hit by two. By making the run from ahead at 18 ft it would split the already weak forward AA battery. The problem was that after release you could try to make it out the way you came in which meant loosing speed and providing the AA gunners with an excellent target or shoot down the side of the target with the throttle full open. Niehter was all that inviting or likley to make for a long life.
If half his String bags survived he would press his boss to authorize a second strike as Dive bombers to clean up any survivors.
The Swordfish was also capable of operating as a dive-bomber. What was known to few outside the FAA was in 1939, Swordfish on board HMS Glorious participated in a series of dive-bombing trials, during which 439 practice bombs were dropped at dive angles of 60, 67 and 70 degrees, against the target ship HMS Centurion. Tests against a stationary target (say a DIW Nazi Battle cruiser) showed an average error of 49 yd from a release height of 1,300 ft and a dive angle of 70 degrees; tests against a manoeuvring target (say a crippled Nazi battle Cruiser) showed an average error of 44 yd from a drop height of 1,800 ft and a dive angle of 60 degrees. He and his pilots had practiced this Swordfish Dive Bomber doctrine in the Med and now was the time to put it into practice if there were enough of them left.
2 JUNE 1941 0900 Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax OTC TG Ciliax turned to Kapitän zur See Harald Netzbrand of his flagship Gneisenau. Anything on the radar yet Netzbrand?" "just that damn Scout circling us like a hungriger Bussard (hungry buzzard) Vizeadmiral."
TG Cilax had been at "Battle stations" since one of his Arado's had made a sighting report on Force H at 0730. That brave air crew had been allowed to survive in order to lead a Fulmar scout fighter back to them. That bastard Englander had then flamed the Arado in front of his entire TG. He had been circling just out of heavy flak range transmitting his posit and every course and speed change he made.
Ciliax then said "My staff Air officer figures us to feel Somerville's first strike anywhere from 1000 to 1100. He expects it to be a maximum strike of 30 of those Swordfish torpedo biplanes and 20 Fulmar fighter scouts armed with bombs. We will have our hands full but I am confident we will come through the air attack pretty much intact.
Thanks to Lutgen's reports of the battle of the Denmark Straight we have made the necessary adjustments to our Flak fire control systems to deal with the very slow speed of the biplane's attack runs. Just the same Kapitan Zur See 30 torpedoes bombers is a lot to counter IF the Englander strike leader is not a fool. The Ark Royal has been operating to great effect in the Mediterranean for some time now. Those pilots are not novices and after the punishment we have given their Royal Navy of late they are most likely coming for us with blood and iron. They also know what happens to their important large troop convoy if we are not stopped."
Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax had ordered the Air defense circular formation and a course change to intercept Force H as soon as possible at 25 kts. He wanted to force the surface action. With luck, his TG would savage the first air strike, be able to maintain a high speed and come to grips with Somerville before he could launch another air strike. Somerville could not run but he could slow down when not at flight quarters, buy time for more air strikes and still stay between TG Cilax and WS-12.
He knew from Rudel (Wolf Pack) Werwolf OTC's after action report to BdU that Force H, was now down 4 destroyers. He also knew Force H speed had been cut to 22 kts and both Ark Royal and Renown had taken torpedo hits. The report stated emphatically both capital ships appeared to still be combat effective, as their main batteries were intact but with reduced engineering capabilities. He also reported Renown had taken four (actually only three) torpedo hits and Ark Royal had been hit twice (actually only once).
2 JUNE 1941 1015 the junior "Radarmann" in the flag reported a large intermittent air contact to his watch Unteroffizier who immediately came over and studied the younger man's O scope. It certainly was a solid return and it was also a large contact bearing dead ahead. Range was 45 miles and closing. The PO immediately informed the watch officer who informed the bridge watch including the Kapitan and Vizeadmiral. Cilax immediately ordered a signal informing the other ships of his TG of the contact. On each ship the radar operators quickly searched on the reported bearing and it was not long until all had the incoming raid. The watch Petty Officers ensured the operators did not become target fixated. They reminded them to maintain a 360 search.
Since the TG was already in an AA formation at Battle stations the only orders necessary was to train out on the expected bearing, load and reiterate "Guns tight" until the Vizeadmiral countermanded that signal. The four type 1936A destroyers screen would be the first to engage when batteries were released, or the aircraft came within effective AA Gun range per Cilax's battle doctrine. Each DD mounted 2 twin 37 mm SK C/30 AA and 8 20 mm C/38 AA guns but their main battery of five 150 mm TbtsK C/36 guns were not dual purpse and so useless against aircraft.
The air strike would then be engaged by heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. Hipper carried the latest radars, fire control systems and a formidable AA battery. Hipper mounted a heavy Flak battery of 12 4.1 in SK C/33 guns with a rate of fire of 15–18 rounds per minute. The maximum effective range of the 33 lb 5 oz AA Frag round was 19,000 yds at effective ceiling of 31,003 ft. They were mounted in pairs on an electrically powered tri-axial mounting, intended to compensate for the motion of the ship and maintain a lock onto the intended target. The mounting were open to the weather and sea spray, resulting in a high maintenance but the Kriegsmarine highly motivated and technically competent gunners mainted the mounts at high reliability.
The medium AA FLAK battery consisted of 12 37 mm SK C/30 auto canon. The 37 mm had a Dopp L stabilized mount, a practical 30 rounds per minute sustained fire, maximum effective range of 9,000 yds at maximum effective ceiling of 6,500 ft.
The light Flak battery consisted of 8 20 round box fed 20 mm C/38 guns with a practical rate of fire of 180 rounds per minute. The light auto canon had a maximum effective range of 2,500 yds and an effective ceilining of 6,500 ft.
2 JUNE 1941 1030 The strike leader , flying in a Fulmar ordered his aircraft to transition from their cruising formation to their attack run formations. The Fulmars pulled slightly ahead into a weave, reduced their throttles, and lowered their ailerons to reduced speed to just above a stall. That kept them from opening the range too much from their charges. They took station to lead the torpedo bombers to their drop points. They were to rely on their 8 machine guns initially against the destroyer screen, then use them to hose down the upper works, especially the AA batteries, fire control directors, radar and communications antennas and only use their single 250 lb bomb against the Battle & heavy Cruisers armored bridges. With a single bomb and 400 rounds per gun the pilots had to keep a close eye on their remaining ammo.
2 JUNE 1941 1040 the three Swordfish "packs" dropped down to 18 feet and throttled back to prevent the Mk XII from breaking up on impact. Low and slow was doctrine to maximize the chance of a hit but really reduced the chances of air crew survival. At the same time the Fulmars selected their destroyer targets, charged their .303s, ceased their weave, raised their flaps, opened their throttles to 175 Mph and began their strafing runs. At 1000 yds they hosed their targets with a short ranging burst, adjusted their approach and then hammered the Destroyers with medium length bursts as they filled the Fulmar's gun sights.
The problem was that half of the Fulmars never made it to their destroyers firing points. The Type 1936A's two twim 37 mm stabilized AA mounts had a much longer "Reach" than the .303 and opened at 9000 yds putting out 30 rounds per minute per barrel or 120 total barrage. At 2,500 yds each type 1936 added 8 box fed 20 mm C/38 guns joined in 180 rounds per minute. The cost had been high but the Fulmars that survived got a mission kill of the destroyers Flak batteries on two of the type 1936 and managed to materially reduce the AA batteries on the other two, one of which was also DIW.
The four remaining Fulmars, all damaged but still air worthy went for the heavy cruiser and finally had some luck. At their low altitude the heavy flak battery of Admiral Hipper's 4.1 in SK C/33 guns were held "Guns Tight" because the Fulmars were coming in directly from the damaged destroyers and would certainly sink them while engaging the incoming raid. So it was left to Hipper's 8 of the 12 30 rounds per minute 37 mm SK C/30 to eliminate the 4 Fulmars . Those 37 mm director controlled, stabilized mounted Flak guns were putting out 240 rounds per minute and they were firing well within their max effetcive range. One of the Fulmars got into .303 range and took out a 20 mm Flak and it's entire gun crew and even managed to score a near miss on Hipper with his 250 lb AP bomb. Damage was minor but a few small holes had been punched into her hull.
2 JUNE 1941 1045 the String bags got past the destroyer screen unscathed hugging the surface at 18 ft, in good formation, at max allowable torpedo drop speed. The three packs bore into their hammerhead runs.
Now Vizeadmiral Otto Ciliax ordered his three capital ships to break formation but stay within mutual AA desfense range and all guns were now free. The hailstorm of 4.1 in, 37 mm and 20 mm Flak directed by fire control systems that had been recalibrated with the hard earned lessons of TG Lutgens was devastating. Only 5 Swordfish survived long enough to launch their Mk XIIs and only two of those made a coordinated hammerhead run, the others just launched at the nearest target before they were shot down.
Results were better than any peacetime empire would allow. Three of the Mk XIIs actually scored hits. One caught the flag just aft of Bruno on the ship's 3 inch Wh (Wotan hard) steel armored belt. The belt, excellent designed TDS and usual high standard of Kriegsmarine damage control caused minor flooding but did not impair the ship's combat effectiveness. The two Swordfish that actually pressed home their text book hammerhead run both were rewarded with hits on Schranhorst. They Approached at 300 feet followed by a dive to torpedo release altitude of 18 feet. They pressed on to well within the 1,500 yds Range of a 1941 Mark XII torpedo only at 40 knots to ensure hits. The torpedo traveled 200 feet from release to water impact, and required another 300 yards to stabilize at preset depth and arm itself. They dropped at 1,000 yds the text book target run. None of the 5 made it back to Ark Royal but more than half the brave flight crews were reused.
The fish hit stbd 30 ft aft of the bow and amidships port but the puny 388 lb 18 inch warheads only partially defeated the belt armor. For a while it was feared the ship was mortally wounded because a lot of vital systems in propulsion, interior communications and weapons were knocked off the line. A combination of the well engineered TDS, excellent damage control, and superbly professional technical training brought the most combat vital systems back up in short order. The old girl would be back up to her pre attack combat effectiveness within two hours of the torpedo strkes.
2 JUNE 1941 1110 TG Cilax was conucting emergency repairs, restocking ready AA ammunition and rescue operations. The Vizeadmiral his Chief of Staff and his "Air Officer" had come to the conclusion another air strike was on it's way because the first strike was much smaller than they expected from Ark Royal. Therefore, the TG was maintaining AA formation and battle stations as they closed Force H at 25 kts.
The rescue operations were being conducted by the two of the damaged destroyers, one of which had been DIW was able to get steam up and had reported it was capable of 20 kts.
One thing that had not changed was the circling Fulmar sending out their posit, course, speed and damage estimate. So they were going into action with no air scouts.
2 JUNE 1941 1120 The scout Fulmar radioed back to Force H the lack of results, his opinion none of the strike would make it back to Ark Royal and his fuel state. Vice-Admiral Sir James Somerville commander of Force H. Read the message a number of times. He was not ready, just yet to believe he had wasted the entire Air strike. He did order an initial report of the strike be sent to Admiral Pound stating his air group had sutained heavy losses and inflicted only light damage to TG Cilax which he expected to engage in a mainly surface action in the next few hours. If the air group was anihilated he would detach Ark Royal with a detroyer escort so she could fight another day. She would be of no use in a sufrace action anyway. Old Hat Box, HMS Argus, would provide a deck if one was needed.
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