And there was also the economy and government machinery to set up. It would have to be transferred to Indian hands but done slowly so there would be no collapse. Sir Martyn loved India but he was under no illusions about its ability to drift slowly into indolent lethargy. But India was independent now, the British collapse in 1940 had seen to that. He had time to fix things, time to build a strong, stable country that could be a bridge between East and West. That brought another job to mind. He called his secretary and asked her to call his Cabinet Secretary in. As always, Sir Eric Haohoa was in the office in minutes.
“Sir Eric, I would like to consult you on a matter of political relations. As you know, we are about to conclude a trade agreement with Thailand. Our manufactured good for their rice. I would like to seal the agreement by making a gift to our charming Ambassador. You have met the lady, Sir Eric. What would you suggest as suitable? Perfume perhaps? Or a painting? Or some antiquity?”
“'Knowing that one Sir Martyn, I would suggest a pair of matched Purdy side-by-side shotguns.”
“Excellent suggestion Sir Eric. Please see to it at once. Now, I would also like to consult with you over the construction of a new shipyard. One capable of building submarines as well as merchant ships. And I would also like your opinion on the De Havilland company proposal to transfer their aircraft building operations here. We lack the technology to build jet aircraft yet but I believe there are some high performance piston engined aircraft that would suite our needs very well.”
Admiral's Bridge, USS Shiloh, CVB-41 Position 46.8 North, 4.6 West
Admiral Newman realized that he wasn't psychic as soon as he pulled himself from the deck. It was a matter of physics. Shock waves traveled faster through solid, dense structures than they did through air, so he had felt the impact from the explosion in his feet a split second before the shock wave had struck the bridge. It hadn't done him much good, what was left of the bridge glass had caught him on the forehead and cheek but, if it hadn't been for the strafing pass earlier, it would have been a lot worse. But what in hell had happened? CIC would know. It took time to get through, the ship's internal communications system was getting steadily more erratic.
Captain Madrick, what is happening ? What was that explosion”
“We're still trying to sort it out sir, I'll put you through to Howarth in damage control. He has the latest picture.”
“Admiral Newman Sir? Howarth here. We still are not sure what caused that one. We have severe communications problems and have lost contact with large areas of the ship. Sir, could you assist us down here? Please tell us exactly what you can see from your bridge.”
“Forward area of the ship appears to be in good condition. Aft, it’s different. The aft elevator looks as if it has been lifted up then dropped back, it’s twisted out of alignment and at an angle. There's dense smoke coming from the elevator well. There's more smoke coming from the sides of the hangar deck aft. The flight deck itself looks wrong, as if it’s bulged upwards.”
“Sir, this is critical, What color is the smoke.”
“The smoke from the elevator well and the midships fires is black, very black and oily. That from the sides aft is also black but it appears less dense and there is a substantial amount of white smoke as well.” Newman heard Howarth curse to himself. “That's bad?”
“Very bad indeed sir. The white smoke means the hangar deck is burning now, and that means the flames could spread along the whole upperwork of the ship. The spray and fog nozzles on the hangar deck are still only partially operational so we have to get more people - please wait one sir.” There was a pause “Sir, both you and the Captain need to hear this. It’s Chief Engineer Nudge from Number two engine room. I'm going to patch him through”
“Very critical sir, very critical indeed. That explosion made things down here a lot worse. Engine Room Two is filling with black smoke quickly now and the temperature is rising quickly. We'd stick it out sir but for two things. One is that we're losing steam pressure here fast. We're also losing the aft and amidships starboard side boiler rooms. Starboard forward is feeding Engine Room One. The other thing is we're flooding down here. It’s hot water coming through sir, firefighting water and it’s coming from above us. It’s hot enough to burn sir. Another thing, the lights are flickering down here, I expect we will lose power soon. Request permission to abandon Engine Room Two Sir.”
Captain Madrick didn't hesitate “Permission Granted Chief Engineer. Secure that engine room and abandon. We'll keep under way on the forward machinery. Howarth, have you any idea what happened?”
“It’s a guess sir, may be off base completely. But I think one of the bombs that hit the side of the hangar deck did more harm than we thought. I think it ruptured a gas line. The inert gas leaked out then avgas vapor started to leak. It pooled in the aft elevator well. Now, that area is fitted with extractor fans that purge the well and discharge the vapor over the side but I think the whole electrical system in that area is chopped up. The fans didn't cut in, the avgas vapor built up until it was ignited by sparks. Or something, doesn't matter what. That was the explosion, it was deep in the ship but funneled up through the elevator well. It probably started fires on every deck. And sir, if I'm right, the starboard aft five inch magazine is close to that fire. We need to flood that magazine now.”
“Make it so.”
“Thank you sir. Respectfully, I would like to make a suggestion, one that is out of order.”
“Go ahead?”
“Sir, if we have a hangar deck fire as well as the below-decks fires, it’s going to move forward. Unless we can stop it, we're going to lose CIC next then the forward engine room. They're not damaged, like the aft machinery, they'll be untenable, not destroyed. Below the waterline sir, we're in perfect shape. But if we can't stop that fire and if we get more explosions, we're going to lose the machinery to smoke, heat and firefighting water and we'll be dead in the water. Admiral Newman, Sir, it’s time you thought about shifting your flag. In a while, you won't have communications or mobility.”
Captain Madrick started to bristle, Howarth's comments were out of line. But he forced himself to relax. Howarth was doing his job and using his initiative. And, worse, he was right. Admiral Newman was speaking again.
“I'll consider that possibility. We're not at that point yet and I hope it won't come to that. Captain Madrick. When Kittyhawk and her group join us I'll be leaving Shiloh and Samoa with you and taking the rest of the carriers to continue operations. Kittyhawk has enough Bearcats to give you a CAP but the rest of us still have targets to strike and an operation to support. After we split the group you will report to Admiral Theodore.”
Admiral Newman turned away from the Comms Board, tapping his teeth with a pencil. Looking aft from the Island now, he could see the whole aft half of the ship vomiting smoke. Black smoke, white smoke, every shade of gray in between. He couldn't see flames yet, so the fire was still mostly contained. Mostly. In other words, a bad situation that the explosion had made worse but still salvageable. He put his pencil down on the chart table and absent-mindedly caught it as it rolled off. He did it again, then the significance hit him. Shiloh was listing to starboard.