So, thought Yamamoto, what have I here? Two fresh horses come from some far off wild place, and all those other ships look very much like the one this Captain Harada brought to me last year. How very strange. He would soon learn all that had happened. The meeting would be held aboard Yamato, for Admiral Kita was every bit as eager to see that ship up close as Yamamoto was to visit those two new carriers.
The experience the Admiral had with Harada and Fukada made all these impossible things easier for him to grasp. How this had happened would never be known, but he would accept the verdict of his own eyes. There, just beyond that headland and into the deep blue bay, was a harbor full of miracles. The ships were sitting at anchor and flying the flag of Japan, warriors from another time, returning to fight for the Empire.
After introductions, Admiral Kita, with Captain Harada and Lieutenant Fukada, were sitting at the table in Yamamoto’s stateroom aboard Yamato. Kita had offered a deep bow when he first laid eyes on the legendary Admiral, for there was the living history of the fleet, the most significant officer to serve Japan since the great Admiral Togo. Then these strange men from another time told their story, while Yamamoto listened quietly, struggling to believe in spite of his own eyes.
“The question now is how we should proceed,” said Admiral Kita. “My Captain Harada here has told me he pledged the service of his ship and crew to fight for Japan. They were here, impossibly here like I now find myself, and like them, we have no way of knowing if we will ever be able to return to our own time. So we put the same question to our own Captains and crew, and the answer was that we would stand and fight for Japan, in any time, any era of our nation’s history. So my little fleet is at your service, Admiral, and it is a most capable force.”
“Tell me. What are these ships I have seen? Are they the same as that of Captain Harada?”
“For the most part, Kita gestured to the nearest porthole, and the admiral followed. “That ship is the Atago, a vessel in the same class as Takami, those others are Kongo and Kirishima, capable destroyers, and with systems and weapons much like those of Atago. There is Omi, our replenishment ship, guarded by the helicopter destroyer Kurama, and that is yet another destroyer, Takao, sitting off the bow of the carrier Kaga, my flagship. The other carrier is the Akagi. All these names are familiar to you, for these ships were all named after their historical counterparts, now under your command.”
“Yet I see only two planes on the decks of each carrier. I assume you have others?” Yamamoto, always the pragmatist, came right to the point. A carrier had no more power than the planes it brought to sea. These ships seemed the same size as his own fleet carriers. His Kaga displaced over 38,000 tons, with a length of 247 meters. Admiral Kita’s ship was actually two feet longer, but not as heavy, displacing only 27,000 tons.
“At the moment, Kaga has seven fighters and an equal number of helicopters. Akagi has five more fighters, and six helicopters.”
“Twenty-five aircraft, and only twelve fighters? Then you have no strike aircraft?”
Admiral Kita smiled, giving Harada a sidelong glance. “These fighters are a good deal more capable than planes of this era,” he said calmly.
“May I sir?” asked Fukada, and the Admiral nodded.
“Admiral Yamamoto, sir,” Fukada bowed slightly, “The planes we carry are dual purpose fighter bombers, capable of serving in both roles. As a fighter, we can provide CAP coverage out to 250 miles, and see any approaching enemy plane within that envelope—unfailingly. Each plane is equipped with highly advanced sensors and radar, and so there is no question of our ever failing to detect an inbound aircraft. Each of our planes can then carry up to eight missiles similar to those we demonstrated to you here when we first met. That means that each of these twelve fighters can destroy eight enemy aircraft, again without fail, or a total of 96 enemy planes. That is, in effect, the entire compliment of an American Essex Class carrier. Our planes can kill from an extremely long range, and furthermore, they will be entirely invisible to the American radar.”
“Invisible? How is this possible?”
“The structure and shape of these aircraft is quite unusual, and you will see when we tour the modern carrier Kaga. It is a combination of that shape, and the special materials used in the construction of the plane, but I can assure you, they cannot be seen on radar of this era. We call this technology, ‘stealth.’”
“Indeed,” said Yamamoto, raising an eyebrow, and obviously surprised. “How do they perform in the strike role?”
“In much the same way, only we can extend our strike range with certain loadouts out to 470 nautical miles. At slightly shorter ranges, we can put up to six 500 pound bombs on a single plane, or two 1000 pound bombs, and each and every one will strike its target.”
“They do not miss? Ever?”
“That may be possible in modern defended airspace, but not likely here. So our twelve planes could deliver two dozen bombs in the 1000-pound category, or seventy-two 500 pound bombs. I do not have to tell you the kind of damage that will do to enemy carriers and cruisers.”
“Great Buddha,” said Yamamoto. “We might send many squadrons all in the hope of obtaining two or three good hits.”
“Our planes will deliver much more, sir, and after that, they can become fighters, for they also carry missiles in the strike role, though only two to four instead of eight. That said, our Kaga and Akagi could probably find and sing any American task force we face in battle, and the enemy will most likely not even know they are under attack until our bombs actually begin striking their ships. We should take no losses whatsoever.”
“Surely you make close dive bombing attacks to be this accurate. What about enemy flak?”
“No sir, these are not dive bombers, nor are they torpedo planes. These are high altitude strike fighters. In some loadouts, we can deliver our ordnance from altitudes of 50,000 feet.”
“What? That is well above our highest flying fighters.”
“It is, sir. Other loadouts require us to release weapons at about 36,000 feet, but that is still 4000 feet above the service ceiling of the American F4F-Wildcat, which is why the enemy will most likely never see us coming.”
“But how could you possibly hit anything if you release your bombs at such altitudes.”
“These weapons have sophisticated guidance capabilities. Our planes can vector them right into the targets. With some ordnance, we release as far away as sixty nautical miles, but can still hit the targets we aim for, almost without fail.”
“Astounding.” Yamamoto was deeply impressed. “If this is all true, then we can do exactly what you boasted earlier, and destroy an entire American carrier task force, and with only twelve planes. I cannot imagine what war must be like in your time—truly frightening. How does any sea Captain hope to ever prevail when he sets sail against such aircraft?”
“Because we sail in task forces like this one,” said Admiral Kita. “Each of our destroyers carries missiles. Atago, for example, like Takami, carries 96 missiles, and 84 of those could shoot down an incoming enemy plane. You can multiply that, roughly, by the number of destroyers you see out there, though some carry fewer missiles. And we have reloads aboard our replenishment ship Omi, which we also use as a fleet oiler.”