Reluctant Warriors by Jon Stafford

Author:Jon Stafford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BQB Publishing
Published: 2014-06-25T16:00:00+00:00

Preface to “Battle for Huon Gulf”

Ship Types

In World War II, there were three types of surface warships: battleships, cruisers (heavy and light), and destroyers. The general rule was that the bigger the ship, the bigger the guns and the slower the speed. If a ship had armor, as battleships and most cruisers did, it did not cover the entire ship. It was placed in “belts,” on turret faces, and to protect the bridge and deck. The rule of armored protection was that a ship should have enough armor to have some protection against a ship of equal power.

There were great differences between the ship types. Cruisers could speed away from most battleships, but could not catch a destroyer. A heavy cruiser’s guns had about one-eighth the power of a battleship’s, but six times that of a destroyer. Both Japanese and US cruisers fired a 256-pound shell that was eight inches wide. A light cruiser’s guns had a third of the power of a heavy cruiser’s. For light cruisers, one-hundred-pound shells were standard in both navies. Heavy cruisers had armor protection that was two to five inches thick.

Names in the Story

All geographical names used are real. Admiral Crutchley was a real admiral who commanded cruisers in the southwest Pacific. The names of the two Japanese cruisers were names that appeared in the 1940 edition of Jane’s Fighting Ships (which is still in publication as the most authoritative such book in the world). These were ships the Japanese were actually planning to build, though in the end they did not. All other names, ships or otherwise, are made up.

A word about US prewar heavy cruisers, to which I dedicate this story: There were seventeen of them. They were all made to international treaty limitations of ten thousand tons, to which the United States subscribed until 1941. Meanwhile, the Japanese violated their treaty obligations and made the large Myoko class. These cruisers were faster and bigger in size, going about 13,500 tons. Even so, the prewar American heavies had the same gun power as their competitors. In a real sense, they were actually harder to hit, because the Japanese ships were so much longer (seventy feet).

Despite their lack of size, US prewar heavies generally gave a good account of themselves during the war. Some achieved lasting fame: Salt Lake City at the Kormandorski Island battle; San Francisco and “Sweet P,” the Portland, both at the Battle of Guadalcanal; and Houston. Others, such as Tuscaloosa, New Orleans, Louisville, and Augusta, had solid careers. Some were lost, but not due to not being pugnacious. Chicago was sunk by a very skillful Japanese night aircraft attack at the Battle of Rennell Island. Astoria, Quincy, and Vincennes were the victims of poor leadership and unbelievably bad luck.

Only Indianapolis, which carried the A-bombs to Tinian (where they were loaded on to B-29s and flown to Japan to be dropped), had a bad career so far as I know.

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