“Given all these other contacts reported, we’re sailing towards a lot of trouble. Helm, let’s come to 270.”
“Aye sir, coming to 270.”
“Mister Fukada, what is our Admiral likely to do here?”
“He’s about 200 sea miles southeast of the reported position of those enemy carriers. His dive bombers could get up there, but the Torpedo planes will only have a 160 mile strike radius, so he’ll hold those until the range closes.”
They did not have long to wait before Fukada’s prediction was verified. Otani reported planes forming up over Hara’s carriers, at 13:40, and soon they began to head northwest.
Aboard HMS Formidable, Admiral Somerville was still stinging from the loss of those first eight planes. Enemy rockets—a most unexpected development, to say the least.
“Opinion, Mister Wells,” he said to his new Captain. A rising star in the Navy, Wells had just come over from HMS Glorious, the ship he had single handedly saved from almost certain destruction when it was caught unawares by the Twins in the Norwegian Sea.
“Well sir, and with all due respect, I don’t think I would want to be here just now, not with the whole of the Carrier Squadron, and not for Port Blair.”
“You would not defend it? There it sits, like a good pawn in the center of the board. From there we can get search planes well down into the Strait of Malacca.”
“True sir, but we have very little at risk there beyond that single utility, and we haven’t even got planes there. Its usefulness now is limited to coast watchers, and its proximity to both Singapore and Rangoon will make it a very difficult square to cover.”
“Do go on,” said Somerville, wanting to hear Wells out.
“So we’re the gallant knight, sir, posted here to cover that pawn. And you’ve sortied the Slow Force battleships like a rook to watch this file we find ourselves on, but Vice Admiral Willis can’t really offer us much in the way of support. We’ve called it the Slow Force for good reason. The Japanese won’t come after us with a surface action group. They’ll strike with their carriers. It’s a fairly good bet those Zeros are on a heading back to their mother ships as we speak, but we don’t know just how far out those carriers are. Our fighters reported one contact, a lone ship passing south of Sentinel Island, but no carriers and only that single ship.”
“Most likely a picket,” said Somerville, “which could mean the main body is southeast of Little Andaman.”
“Yes sir, but those Zeros have a good long mission radius, 800 nautical miles for a recon like this. That could put the enemy carriers anywhere from 200 to 400 miles out.”
“All the same, wouldn’t you get a strike group ready?”
“If I had to stay here, yes sir, I would.”
“Yet you would rather be elsewhere. I see…”
“It isn’t that I’ve lost my stomach for a fight, sir,” said Wells.
“Of course not.”
“It’s just that I would take the fleet west of Ceylon, and not operate here where they could cut us off by simply turning southwest now, and bottle us up here in the Bay of Bengal. We can’t get around the north tip of Ceylon. The reefs and shallows there make such a move impractical.”
“I see. Yet it was my thinking to keep the fleet interposed between the enemy and his obvious objective.”
“That would have been a fine strategy, sir,” said Wells, “assuming…” He hesitated now.
“Assuming what, Mister Wells? Go right on and speak your mind.”
“Assuming we could at least match them.”
That pricked at an inner sore spot Somerville had been rubbing himself for a good long while. He knew his carriers were tough with their armored flight decks, and he had good, experienced crews. But they did not have the planes to match those of the Japanese, nor the skill to match their pilots in a duel like this.
“A point well taken,” he said slowly. “Yet match them we must. Ceylon is at stake here, and we’ve got to stand up.”
“I understand, sir. Shall we get a strike spotted?”
“I think we should.”
“Aye sir. May I suggest a mixed group, Albacores and Fulmars armed with the 1000 pound bombs. Seafires in escort.”
“Give the order and the fleet will come to 265. The wind has cooperated with us today. As we turn into it now, this new course will also take us off that enemy sighting vector, and towards our Cruiser Force.” And it will also take us west, he thought, for much in what Wells had argued stuck to him now, and he was beginning to see the potential trap he might find himself in here.
“Shall I pass the ready order on to the other carriers?” asked Wells.
“Please do so. Have Illustrious post a squadron of Martlets on CAP.”
Somerville knew he was at a decided disadvantage here. They could not match their enemy. The Japanese Admiral now had his location, and planes that could reach him, while he had nothing more than a good guess as to the position of the enemy carriers. He had to be ready to launch in any case, but now he wanted the support of his cruisers and destroyers. The game was on, but who would move next?
A moment later, they saw the enemy making their first big move. “Sir, Type 281 reports a large contact out at maximum range and bearing on our position. 130 miles out.”
Somerville looked at Wells. “Here they come,” he said. “Notify Indomitable to spot a second squadron of fighters.”
“Sir,” said Wells. “If those are strike planes, then they would be Vals or Kates. The former would probably launch no more than 250 miles from its intended target, the latter 160 miles. So I would now estimate their mother carriers to be somewhere here.” He circled a finger on the plotting table. “If I’m right, sir, we can hit them. At the very least we should clear our decks of anything armed and get it airborne while we can.”
“A wise precaution,” said Somerville. “Make it so.”
“We’ve got those two Martlets returning now. I’ll launch as soon as they are recovered.”
They saw Illustrious spotting aircraft as well, and Indomitable was already sending out a group of Martlets, the American Wildcats renamed by the British. Aboard Takami, the screens were suddenly alight with over 36 contacts, all designated friendly as the British planes launched and then were vectored southeast to look for the enemy.
As the British squadrons proceeded, there was one pair of Japanese Zeros out on long range CAP that spotted them, and went after a flight of Barracudas, downing one in a swirling fight that sent the others off in wild directions. The planes carried on, and the fact that they were not massed into one coordinated group would now weigh in their favor. A group of six Seafires with 1000 pound bombs were out in front, but by the time they had expended half their fuel, they had seen only a pair of enemy destroyers entering the gap between the islands. One by one, they began to reach Bingo fuel, and were forced to turn for home.
Other squadrons in the long train pressed on through the Channel, but more Zeros greeted them east of Little Andaman Island and they still had not spotted the enemy carriers. In the meantime, the enemy planes were drawing ever nearer, but Somerville’s sideslip to the west now paid him good dividends. The Japanese Vals had carried on with the heading given them for the initial contact, and they missed the British carriers. For a time, they persisted north, a few chasing and attacking a lone British destroyer, before the strike leader realized his error and turned. Seeing enemy planes to their southwest, he reasoned those must be British planes returning to their carriers, and turned in that direction.