Patrolling the Java Sea
1-15 March 1942
0800 hours. The wind is a Force 4 Northeasterly at 15 knots. Visibility is 27,000 yards. There are 4 squalls scattered in the area that reduce visibility in or through them by 2,000 yards but they would play almost no part as the ensuing action would move West and leave them behind. There is sea haze to the West that reduces visibility by 3,000 yards. The sky is overcast.
Task Force 5 was steaming at 25 knots on a heading of due North. TF% was deployed with the Brooklyn’s leading, followed by Houston, Marblehead, Mauritius, and Exeter. Then came the destroyers, DesDivs 1, 57 & 58. Glassford liked the result from this deployment in the fight before and was prepared to try and repeat. Glassford had all his spotter a/c up.
Boise’s masthead reported enemy in sight at 0806 hours bearing 4 points to starboard at max visibility. The enemy was heading due South. Glassford ordered an increase in speed to 30 knots and a 4 point turn to port to open up his arcs. The enemy appeared to be doing the same as both sides headed towards the haze. Phoenix was smoking the cruisers behind her.
0812 hours. The range was under 24,000 yards and Boise opened on Chokai while Phoenix opened on Sendai. Chokai fired back at Boise but Sendai was out of range. Boise hit Chokai once and Chokai missed in return. Phoenix firing unengaged managed to miss outright. Chokai took minor hull damage.
0818 hours. The range was down to 21,000 yards and Glassford ordered a 2-pooint turn to port. The Japanese followed suit and was still heading for the haze. Boise missed Chokai and Chokai hit her once in return. Phoenix hit Sendai once and Sendai hit back. Chokai’s hit bounced. Sendai suffered a rudder jam to port and began to turn out of line. Her return fire caused minor damage to the Phoenix that coupled with earlier damage hindered her max speed (but the point was moot because the RN cruisers were already limiting max speed).
0824 hours. Sendai repaired her rudder. The range was down to 18,000 yards and the Allied cruisers came out from behind the smoke firing at their opposite numbers. Boise hit Chokai once. Phoenix hit Sendai once. Houston hit Naka twice. Mauritius hit Yura twice and Exeter hit Kuma twice. Marblehead held her fire. Japanese return fire missed completely. Chokai lost her fore turret. Sendai took a critical hit to her bridge killing RAdm Hashimoto. Naka took a hit to her a/c facilities and a minor fire as well as damage to a bulkhead. Yura took an engineering hit and a magazine hit that knocked out her fore gun. Kuma took an engineering hit and damage to a bulkhead.
0830 hours. Neither Naka nor Kuma repaired their bulkheads, but Yura repaired her engineering hit. VAdm Ozawa ordered his destroyers to attack the Allied cruisers with torpedoes while he tried to tie up their attention with his cruisers. All three destroyer divisions went to flank speed and crossed Chokai’s bow from their former station on the unengaged side. Glassford would have liked to increase speed beyond 30 knots but the damage to Phoenix and the speed limitations of the Brits precluded it.
The range was still over 15,000 yards. Boise hit Chokai once. Phoenix missed Sendai. Houston hit Naka thrice. Mauritius hit Yura once and Exeter missed. Japanese fire missed. Chokai’s hit bounced. Naka lost 2 guns and suffered hull damage. Yura lost her starboard TT and suffered a major fire. Marblehead fired at the nearest DD and missed.
0836 hours. Naka failed to repair her bulkhead and fell out of line. Kuma repaired her bulkhead but her speed was greatly reduced. Yura put her fire out. The range was finally below 15,000 yards. Boise hit Chokai thrice. Phoenix missed. Houston hit Naka once. Mauritius hit Yura thrice. Exeter hit Kuma once. Marblehead hit Wakaba thrice. Chokai hit Boise thrice. Naka hit Houston once. Kuma hit Exeter once.
Chokai lost another turret and minor hull damage. The third hit bounced. Naka took further hull damage. Yura took another bulkhead and engineering hits as well as a rudder jam that prevented her turning, Kuma took further hull damage. Wakaba lost her fore gun mount and suffered damage to her hull and a bulkhead.
0842 hours. Naka failed to repair her bulkhead and sank taking RAdm Nishimura with her. Yura repaired her bulkhead but her fire further damaged her hull. Wakaba failed to repair her bulkhead. The Japanese cruiser line was seriously reduced in speed and the Allied cruisers began to pull away opening the range to above 15,000 yards.
Boise and Phoenix shifted their fire to the destroyers while the remaining four cruisers engaged the four remaining Japanese cruisers.
Boise and Phoenix each fired rapidly at the destroyer divisions that had been unengaged to this point to slow them down as they were about 5 knots faster and over taking the Allied cruisers. Boise fired at Murasame and hit her 6 times. Phoenix fired at Umikaze and hit her 9 times. Houston fired at Chokai and missed. Marblehead fired at Sendai and missed. Mauritius fired at Yura and hit her 4 times. Exeter hit Kuma thrice. Chokai fired at Houston and hit her once. The Japanese light cruisers all missed.
Murasame took a hit in her DC racks that started a minor fire, she lost her fore gun mount, was hit in the hull twice and took an engineering hit. A critical hit to her engineering knocked her DIW. Umikaze took 2 hits to her DC racks that started 2 minor fires and lost all her TT along with 2 major fires, damage to her hull, a bulkhead, and a hit to her engineering. Houston lost her fore turret. Yura suffered a hit to her a/c facilities that started a minor fire, damage to her hull and a bulkhead. Kuma took 2 hull hits and a critical hit to her engineering.
VAdm Ozawa checked morale over the loss of Naka and passed (needed a 1-10 and got a 9).
0848 hours. Murasame failed to put out her fire and took minor hull damage. Umikaze failed to repair her bulkhead and the damage from that and 4 fires reduced her 5 knots and being barely afloat. Kuma repaired her bulkhead but took major and minor hull damage from her fires.
The Brooklyn’s shifted fire the second destroyers in DesDivs 2 and 24. Boise fired rapidly at Harusame hitting her 6 times. Phoenix fired rapidly at Kawakaze hitting her 4 times. Houston fired at Chokai and hit her once. Marblehead fired at Sendai and missed. Mauritius fired at Yura and hit her once. Exeter fired at Kuma and hit her once. Chokai hit Houston twice. All the Japanese light cruisers missed.
Harusame took two hits her DC racks that started two minor fires, lost a gun mount and took three hull hits that slowed her to 21 knots. Kawakaze lost both TT and suffered 2 major fires, lost 2 gun mounts and 2 hull hits that reduced her to 28 knots. Chokai took another hull hit. The hit on Yura was not effective. Kuma suffered another hit to her a/c facilites and another minor fire. Houston lost her last fore turret and a hull hit.
0854 hours. Murasame and Umikaze sank from on going damage. Kuma put out her major fire but the damage from her minor fires sank her. Kuma failed to put her minor fire out and took further damage that reduced her to 5 knots. Harusame put out a fire but the other fire caused minor hull damage. Kawakaze put out a fire but remaining fire damaged her hull. Glassford turned his cxruisers away together to port under smoke to deny the on coming Japanese destroyers a target solution for their torpedoes but Harusame, Samidare, Yudachi, Suzukaze, Yamakaze, Hatsuharu, Hatsushimo and Nenohi had already fired off all their torpedoes in third range band. Glassford ordered his destroyers to torpedo attack the Japanese cruisers. The Japanese cruisers were trying withdraw under smoke and their destroyers having launched torpedoes were following suite.
4th DesFlot (minus its admiral) checked morale over the loss of Murasame and Umikaze and passed (needed 1-7 and got a 7).
0900-0930 hours. The Allied destroyers felt out gunned by the remaining Japanese destroyers and never really tried to penetrate their smoke screen (I rooled for morale to see if they would take the risk and they failed). Yura failed to repair and sank as did Harusame and Kawakaze caught by the RN destroyers and sank by gun fire.
Glassford detached Houston with a Clemson to escort her and continued his sweep. He would engage the Surabaya Invasion convoy with his cruisers reduced to 30 knots and minus Houston a few hours later. Oh, the IJN torps reached the Allied cruisers at 0912 hours but were attacking a rear aspect in the third range band and all missed automatically.
The Japanese patrol had fought bravely (they never failed morale) but their light cruisers were just not a match for the Allied light cruisers and Chokai was not enough to turn it around.
