Defending the Malay Barrier: Turn 4, 1st - 14th February, 1942. EAF Japanese Patrol intercepts Australian Sweep

Turning now to the east, the Australian Darwin group escaped unscathed from a torpedo bomber attack and now make a dash for an invasion convoy heading for Kendari. Enroute they are intercepted by the Japanese EAF patrol.

This will be yet another night time engagement. The Australians are in line astern with the Australia leading heading due north. The Japanese patrol is approaching from the west at a distance of 15,000 yards (75cm) being the maximum visibility at present.

The weather is a very calm force 2 with clear skies. A new moon limits visibility.

Continued -

For this game I am trialling introducing the ship cards I will be working from detailing the stats for each ship. They are cut and pasted from Mal Wright's excellent ship cards available from Old Dominion Game Works https://www.odgw.com/home.html. A staggering amount of work must have gone into producing these which include almost every ship from the principle nations. Not only that the ships are represented following each refit during the war. They are understandably not cheap but in my opinion are worth it if  WW2 naval is your thing.

They will be added each turn where there is action enabling the reader to more easily follow the course of the battle with regard to damage sustained. I welcome comments below as to whether you find this helpful or not. 

They are cut and pasted onto a document, printed off and placed in a clear plastic wallet. Damage is recorded using a dry wipe marker. A couple of the Australian destroyers were not included (they tend to be included in the Royal Navy list) but that is easily rectified by finding Royal Navy ships of the same class and fit. They are then suitably renamed.

 

A closer look at the Australians with the cruisers in the lead. Both fleets are cruising at 25 knots.

The Japanese flagship the elderly Nagara.

Turn 1

Unlike the Japanese, several Australian ships are equipped with radar. HMAS Australia's radar successfully detects several Japanese vessels but they are out of range of starshells and are not visibly acquired. It does allow though the Australians to react. They increase speed and begin to make a port turn remaining in line.

Turn 2

As the range closes, 3 Japanese vessels are illuminated by starshells.

Under the rules for night time fighting, ships must engage the nearest target. They can test to change targets but for now the Australians are content to concentrate on the nearest. Wakaba is the nearest to the cruisers and narrowly escapes sinking from the impact of several 8" and 6" shells.

The Australian destroyers miss their targets and the Japanese have still not acquired their opposite numbers!

All the hits on Wakaba are concentrated on her hull leaving it just one away from sinking.

Turn 3

The Japanese continue failing to acquire the Australian ships.

At the top of the photo, Hatsuharu overtake the crippled Wakaba and finds itself illuminated from starshells. That ship is now the target from 8" and 6" guns but proves to be luckier with just one hull hit and a turret knocked out.

The 3 Australian destroyers switch to rapid fire with one targeting the cruiser Nagara and 2 the Umikaze (nearest the camera). A lucky shot from Napier destroys the port turret on Nagara and risks a catastrophic ammunition explosion.

Umikaze is hit several times by 4.7" shells one of which hits the depth charge rack causing a fire.

Damage to Japanese ships at the end of turn 3 and still they are impotent to fire back until they acquire targets.

Turn 4

There is a slight change to the weather this turn with the calm conditions continuing and visibility improving extending from 16,000 yards to 20,000 yards (80cm to 100cm).

An overview at the end of turn 4. The Japanese have finally acquired the Australian cruisers and immediately light them up with their powerful searchlights. On this occasion though they fail to assist the Japanese destroyer gunners who missed their targets.

Hatsuhara, having taken over leader of its division, is now the focus of attention for the Australian cruisers. It is utterly pummelled by 8" and 6" shells losing all its deck guns and torpedo mounts. It also suffers a bulkhead breach and two fires when its depth charge racks were hit. 

The state of the Japanese vessels at the end of turn 4 highlighting the extensive damage to Hatsuhara who will have to take a morale test in the next turn. The Australians are still unscathed.

Turn 5 

Alarmed at the extensive damage being caused to their ships, instructions are relayed to the nearest Japanese destroyers to deploy their torpedoes as a matter of urgency. Hatsushimo and Nenohi duly comply. Both empty there torpedo mounts in the direction of the Australian cruisers.

The Australians continue at a steady 32 knots to circle around the Japanese force hoping to capitalise on the chaos they have created. They have a lot to thank radar for!

Hatsushimo leading Nenohi turns hard to port bringing all its guns to bear on the cruisers only to be met with 8" and 6" salvos. The superstructure is reduced to scrap and one shell penetrates a turret barbette leading to a catastrophic explosion. The ship evaporates!

The Japanese hurriedly try to sort themselves out while they still have ships left! In the lower middle of the photo, Hatsuhara has failed its morale test and withdraws, or at least attempts to. Its speed is reduced to 10 knots with bulkhead flooding and 2 fires still raging.

Australian star shells illuminated the Ashigara but with nothing available to target it.

Some success at last for the Japanese. The rearmost destroyer, HMAS Nizam, is struck by 8" shells from Ashigara. It suffers extensive damage, most notably 2 engineering hits leading to a complete loss of propulsion, bulkhead flooking and a jammed rudder.

A quick note about the 3 vertical lines marked on the cards. Some gun calibres are allowed 'rapid fire' increasing the chance of hits. They are allowed a total of 6 turns before reverting to normal firing to conserve ammo. The marks register each time rapid fire is used.

Not looking good for the Japanese.

Turn 6

The Hatsuhara struggles in dealing with a bulkhead breach and 2 fires. With flooding and the fires out of control the ship finally sinks.

Bottom left of the photo are the launch points of torpedoes fired from the port tubes of the Nagara. These are not the powerful Long Lance torpedoes but can nevertheless cause the Australians a headache.

HMAS Nizam is still dead in the water as they struggle to repair 2 engineering hits. Nagara sensing an easy kill manoeuvres into an ideal position to fire its starboard torpedo tubes. Nizam seriously needs to get underway! They exchange broadsides with the Australians getting the upper hand. Their two other destroyers join in on firing at Nagara and between them hull damage was inflicted.

Wakaba crawling along at 5 knots decides now is as good a time as any to offload its torpedoes towards the Australian cruisers.

Oh dear! HMAS Perth observes 3 torpedo tracks streak past Hobart only for 2 to hit themselves. Perth has no chance and begins to sink.

An overview at the end of turn 6. The Australians circle around keeping their broadsides trained on the Japanese. They are seeking to conserve their torpedoes for use against the convoy but that looks increasingly optimistic with the loss of Perth.

Umikaze fails to put out a fire causing more hull damage. Yamakaze, currently leading its destroyer division, loses 'X' and 'Y' turrets when hit by 8" shells from Australia.

Turn 7

HMAS Nizam desperately attempts to repair its engineering damage to get back underway, but again fails. Nagara fires off both of its starboard torpedo mounts sending 4 torpedoes towards the helpless destroyer.

HMAS Nestor on the right of the photo sends 5 torpedoes towards the Japanese cruisers! 

As the two remaining Australian cruisers close the gap on the Japanese destroyers, the Yamakaze fires a total of 8 torpedoes in their direction.

The scene after the torpedoes are in the water as the Australians seek to eliminate the destroyer threat. The Japanese destroyers fail to score any hits but this is not so for HMAS Australia. Once again, accurate gunnery pummels Yamakaze with its 8" guns. 4 shells shatter the destroyer eliminating the last of its gun turrets, both torpedo tube mounts, causes flooding from a bulkhead breach, and an engineering hit reduces it to a little over half speed. Yamakaze fails a morale check and will now seek to withdraw.

Not to be outdone, HMAS Hobart lands 6" shells on the 2nd destroyer in the line, the Suzukaze knocking out 2 gun turrets and an engineering hit reduces its speed.

The 2 remaining Australian destroyers increase their speed to maximum with the aim of closing the gap with the cruisers. They pass the sinking Perth not being able to rescue survivors at this stage. Nestor is struck by an 8" shell from Ashigara knocking out its now empty torpedo tube mount and causing a fire.

The limping Wakaba is put out of its misery by 4.7" shells from Napier breaching a bulkhead and causing it to sink. 

Torpedoes! 2 of the 4 torpedoes streaking towards the static Nizam hit the destroyer sinking it. 

One of the torpedoes fired from Nestor hits the Ashigara causing serious damage. 5 hull boxes are destroyed and it sustains damage to its engineering. (I should add here I diced to determine if they turned to port or starboard to add uncertainty when laying the course of the torpedoes. They turned to starboard which saved Nagara).

An overview at the end of turn 7.

The Japanese have suffered the heavier losses but still all to play for.

Turn 8

A Japanese torpedo strikes Napier but it luckily survives the explosion losing 3 hull boxes and it gun control.

The Japanese destroyers are having a tough time of it with the Yamakaze now dead in the water following more damage (bottom of photo). 

The rest of it's destroyer division turn hard to port (right of photo) a full 180 degrees hoping to lure the Australian cruisers towards the guns of the Ashigara which is currently limited to 15 knots. They are though coming under fire from those cruisers and the Kawakaze finds itself having to fight 2 fires (middle right).

Turn 9

HMAS Australia passes the still static Yamakaze aiming to wipe out the Japanese destroyers before taking on their cruisers. For good measure the cruiser fired 8" shells from its aft turrets into her causing two fires but she remains afloat! All Yamakaze's guns and torpedo mounts have been destroyed. All slightly dispiriting for the destroyer's crew!

All 3 Japanese destroyers from Yamakaze's division struggle to survive as they are hit by more shells from the Australians and decide they would be more likely to survive if they are able to acquire good torpedo firing solutions and make a further turn to port in the hope of achieving that. Their own gunfire proves to be notoriously inaccurate, as usual it would appear. 

The Japanese cruisers along with the destroyer Nenohi aim to close the gap as quickly as possible to maximise the firepower of Ashigara but with the latter's speed at a stately 15 knots it is painfully slow. It attempts and fails to acquire Australia but instead, uses 'A' and 'B' turrets to target the nearest Australian vessel, the Nestor. Nagara joins in with its forward 5.5" turrets and are rewarded with several hits leaving the destroyer badly damaged, and critically with flooding from a bulkhead breach.

An overview at the end of the turn. The Australians have for the most part successfully avoided the danger posed by Japanese torpedoes and at the same time doing a good job of neutralising that threat.

Turn 10

HMAS Hobart fires a full 6" broadside into the helpless Yamakaze putting it out of its misery. Several 6" shells hole the destroyer to such an extent there there is no way back leading to its abandonment as it sinks.

HMAS Australia hits the Umikaze (top middle) with its 8" guns hitting the bridge and knocking out its sensors. An engineering hit reduces its speed. 

All Japanese destroyers that are able fire back with only one 5" shell hitting Australia but failing to penetrate its armour.

The Japanese cruisers along with their only accompanying destroyer, Nenohi, sail at their maximum available speed to intercept the Australian cruisers as quickly as possible.

No further damage was caused to the Australians this turn.

Turn 11

Napier unloads her 5 torpedoes in a spread towards the oncoming Japanese cruisers. Its a long-shot but may strike lucky.

The Australian destroyers are in a precarious position as their cruisers widens the gap between them hoping to engage the Ashigara. They fire on the approaching Japanese vessels successfully hitting the Nenohi (middle of photo) knocking out a gun turret and a torpedo tube mount.

Australia and Hobart inflict more damage on the nearby destroyers who are desperately attempting to acquire torpedo solutions on the cruisers. The nearest destroyer, the Suzukaze, is particularly badly hit leaving it dead in the water and all its guns out of action.

Another turn with no damage inflicted on the Australians.

Turn 12

Umikaze and Kawakaze decide they cannot wait any longer to get the best firing solution for their torpedoes. They fire spreads hoping that one will find its mark.

The Japanese cruisers find themselves directly in the path of the 5 torpedoes fired by Napier the previous turn. 1 strikes the Nagara causing an ammunition detonation resulting in full disassembly! The vaporisation of the ship also kills their commander Rear Admiral Kara.

The remaining 4 torpedoes speed towards the Ashigara but luck is on the Japanese side here and all pass by harmlessly.

The Australian destroyers continue to slug it out with the nearby Japanese destroyers and continue to outgun them. In the middle of the photo the Umikaze is dangerously close to sinking and on the left the Nenohi has lost its last torpedo tube mount. All this and still the Japanese fail to hit the Australians.

low

HMAS Hobart is sorely tempted to finish off the dead-in-the-water Suzukaze (lower middle of photo) with torpedoes but with precious few available, decides to save them for the Ashigara. Instead it fires a full 6" broadside into her utilising 'rapid fire'. With enough ammo for just one more round of rapid fire it turned out to be wasted on this occasion. Some hits were scored which did achieve in knocking at one of its dangerous torpedo tube mounts.

HMAS Australia successfully acquires the Ashigara and lights it up with star shells. In return the Japanese utilises its powerful searchlight to illuminate the Australia. And so the final showdown begins!

All 5 x 8" turrets on the Ashigara are brought to bear with their opening salvo straddling Australia scoring 3 hits. 'Y' turret is destroyed along with a secondary turret and a hull box. No damage is done in reply. 1-0 to the Ashigara.

Not looking good for the Japanese!

Turn 13

The still static Suzukaze fires its last torpedoes towards where it thinks the Australian cruisers are heading while it still can. HMAS Hobart decides now is the time to launch its port torpedoes the Ashigara. 

Similarly, Ashigara launches its port tubes towards the Australian cruisers.

More success for the Australian destroyers. Nestor sinks the already badly damaged Umikaze (top middle of photo) with accurate gunnery. Something the Japanese are unable to replicate.

8" shells from the Ashigara hit Australia taking out 'B' turret and 2 hull boxes. 8" shells, already in the air from Australia, hit the Ashigara. The first hits a floatplane causing a fire. The second hits a gun turret and ignites ammunition resulting in a catastrophic detonation. The Japanese cruisers appear determined to explode spectacularly! 

This is proving to be a humiliation for the Japanese! A fleet morale check is failed. An order goes out to surviving ships to disengage and withdraw.

Turn 14 

Australia and Hobart, elated by their success, both turn hard to starboard intending to close on the last of the Japanese destroyers to finish the job. As they almost complete their turn disaster strikes. One of the 4 torpedoes fired by Suzukaze hits Australia crippling her with 2 hull boxes lost and 'A' turret destroyed.

Of the 8 torpedoes fired by Ashigara, 1 hits Hobart crippling her with 4 hull boxes lost. Both ships are reduced to 10 knots.

To rub salt into the wounds, Suzukaze (blurry vessel at bottom of photo), successfully repairs one of its engineering hits enabling it to get underway.

The scene at the end of turn 14 with Japanese destroyers turning away. A parting shot from Hobart hits the Suzukaze breaching a bulkhead. Suzukaze fails 3 times to contain the flooding and only on the 4th did it succeed. Another failure would have resulted in it sinking.

The crippling of their 2 cruisers by torpedoes killed any chance of continuing by the Australians. Preservation was the order of the day. They also disengage bringing an end to the battle. 

Japanese underperformance continues. It could though have been worse.

The relative strengths of each fleet was very apparent here. The availability of radar, albeit a basic early version, for the Australians gave them an advantage. As the Japanese struggled to acquire the Australian vessels the latter were able to capitalise on this technology lighting up radar contacts using star shells and subsequently punishing them.

Another Australian advantage which worked well was the ability to use 'Rapid Fire' on calibres of guns up to 6". This enabled all their destroyers and light cruisers, along with secondary armament on their heavy cruiser, to deliver some serious punishment on the Japanese destroyers in particular. The Japanese have this capability but only on their smallest calibre guns which in this action only applies to the secondary turrets on Ashigara.

For the Japanese, their Long Lance torpedoes and an ability to reload their tubes were the main threat to the Australians. That was compounded by night action leading to reduced distances to engage gunfire and a reduction in ability to avoid torpedoes. Their powerful searchlights with a range of almost twice that on the Australian ships reduced the need for starshells to illuminate their targets.

It was those torpedoes that saved Japanese face. While still a decisive defeat it avoided total humiliation. For the Australians it was a bitter blow that in their moment of total victory the last event of the night was for two torpedoes to cripple both cruisers removing them from the campaign.

Japanese losses:

Sunk: 1 x heavy cruiser, 1 x light cruiser, 5 x destroyers

Crippled: 2 x destroyers

Disabled: 1 x destroyer

Australian losses:

Sunk: 1 x light cruiser, 1 x destroyer

Crippled: 1 x heavy cruiser, 1 x light cruiser, 1 x destroyer

Disabled: 1 x destroyer

This translates to the following victory points for this turn:

Japan: 11.5

Allies: 22

The allies continue to wrack up the victory points inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese. However, it is crucial that convoys are intercepted and destroyed, or at least stopped from completing their missions, for the allies to enjoy campaign victory.

To that end, the final surface action of this turn will be the successful interception of a small convoy heading for Borneo by the USN EastGroup. This will be the subject of the next post.