A call came up that the damage control parties were having great difficulty getting the fires under control. The ship’s speed was exacerbating that effort, but if they slowed down, those fast enemy cruisers could find them. The reality of what had just happened finally hit Wells like a blast of cold air.
They were going to lose her.
That was the only thing running through his mind now—no more strategy, and nothing of chess moves as he had put it to Somerville earlier. His ship was going down. The Admiral, being much more experienced at sea, also knew the worst. He edged a bit closer and spoke to Wells, his voice low and controlled.
“I think we should see to getting the crew off as best we can. I’ll see to some documents from the plotting room. You see to the men and boats.”
“Very well.” Wells had a defeated look on his face, and Somerville saw it. The Admiral put his hand on the Captain’s shoulder.
“It happens, Mister Wells, and this is my fault, not yours. We get some of theirs, and they get some of ours. I’m afraid the two of us will likely look like a pair of wet dogs when they pull us out of the sea. Nestor is close by, and Napier. They can lend a hand. I’ll have signals sent to all other destroyers to muster on our position. As for Illustrious and Indomitable, they should continue west with all speed until we can sort ourselves out. Rear Admiral Boyd is on Indomitable, and he can manage. I’ll want him to effect a rendezvous with Admiral Willis and the Slow Force. Those battleships can put up a good deal of flak if the enemy comes looking for more trouble. Then I think the whole lot should move southwest…. Where we should have been all along.”
It was as much an effort to shore his Captain up as it was an admission of his own fault. The two men had a lot on their backs in the brief time they had collaborated. There was Mers-el-Kebir, and the dreadful consequences of that action that sent France firmly into the enemy camp. Then there was the action off Dakar, and the Canary Islands, where they got back in the game. This time, another island of great importance was at stake, and Somerville was beginning to doubt if they could defend it.
For his part, Wells realized the Admiral was trying to buck up his morale, but that he was also giving him his intentions as to future operations. When one went over the side in a situation like this, it was never certain where he might end up. The Admiral’s launch was readied for senior officers, but Somerville wanted to see the men off first. He had over a thousand souls on his mind now.
This was a blow that could cost us Ceylon, thought Wells. Every plane we’re carrying will go down with this ship, and what we have left on the other two carriers may not be able to hold the enemy off. If I had it to say, I would get those planes to bases on Ceylon, and get those last two carriers well west to safe waters. We weren’t ready to mix it up with the Japanese carriers like this, but what else could we do but our best?
Paladin, Panther, Hotspur, and Foxhound, would soon arrive on the scene to lend assistance as Formidable began to list heavily. There would not be enough boats for all the men, but those six destroyers would be able to pull the lion’s share out of the sea. In the end, they would lose only 76, mostly those already killed in the attack itself, and some to mishaps during the evacuation. That was the only solace Somerville could take from his fate, but the real sting was that Britain had lost a very valuable ship, and his carrier force as a whole was now much diminished as a defensive foil.
In fact, Indomitable had repaired most of its damage, though Illustrious was a little worse off. Both carriers were still seaworthy, and after being pull up onto Indomitable three hours later, Somerville now had to decide what to do. They had 44 planes left between the two carriers, and Wells sought him out to offer his own thoughts.
“Sir, if the enemy is still coming, and I think he is, then wouldn’t our remaining planes be better served ashore? Hermes has twelve more at Trinco, but that just leaves us 56 aircraft. We could be facing twice as many enemy planes from what I saw in that attack. If they joined the Hurricane squadrons ashore, our defense there might be thicker.”
“Sound thinking, Wells, but rather emasculating to order our boys landward like that. We’ll run west for Trinco, and then take stock of the situation.”
“They can’t sink the island, sir,” Wells put in one last argument. “We can hold back a few fighters on the decks, but move most of the strike planes ashore. The carriers would become a scouting force to try and locate the enemy on his approach, and they might do better southwest of Colombo. That way, if we have to retire, we’ve a clear route and open sea. As it stands, if we linger off Trinco, we can only go south to get around the island, and that could put us in a fix if the enemy is heading southwest from their last position.”
Somerville nodded, smiling inwardly. The man was already thinking about tomorrow, when he hasn’t even got the seawater out of his ears today. I like that.
“I’ll keep your suggestion in mind, Mister Wells. Now then… I think we’d best present ourselves to Captain Troubridge and inform him the flag is now planted firmly on his ship. I’ll post you to the plotting room, and do sound off if you have anything more to say.”
“The plotting room… Yes, sir.” Wells seemed a little despondent.
Somerville gave him a look. “Don’t worry, Welly,” he said, using the nickname he had heard the other men hang on Wells. “We’ll get you another ship. All in good time.”
Off to the southeast, Admiral Hara was also counting the eggs left in his nest. When darkness settled over the sea, Hiyo had 27 planes, Junyo 22, and Taiho 65, for a total of 114 aircraft now available to carry on the operation. It had been a costly day, but the pilots were still jubilant. They had hurt their enemy much more, and knew they had sunk at least one of the three enemy carriers.
This cruiser Yamamoto sent me was at least of some use, thought Hara. It covered that landing at Port Blair well enough, took down that first enemy squadron, and sent me a lot of useful and accurate information as to the location of the enemy carriers. So I will continue to post it as a picket, only this time I think it will operate with Tone and her seaplanes. Together they will make an excellent scouting force.
Losses were heavy. We lost twelve fighters, twenty-three dive bombers, but only six torpedo bombers. Forty-one aircraft gone… but I still have enough to carry on. I will move southwest now, for if the enemy retires west, that course gives me every chance of cutting them off. Tomorrow should see us in a very good position, and I will post Ozawa’s force about 30 miles north of my position as a screen.
The short night was ahead of them, and the service air crews worked feverishly to repair damage, refuel, and rearm all the planes scheduled for operations the next day. That night, the Japanese also flew in four seaplanes to Port Blair, and they began preparing for scouting operations. One plane went up that night for a long range patrol, scouting west to look for the British at their last reported position. With the night clear it was able to spot the wakes of several ships gleaming in the wan light of an evening crescent moon, low on the horizon as it began to set.
Hara got the report at 22:15, one carrier, one battleship, with numerous destroyers, and additional light units spotted further southeast of that position. It was immediately clear to him that the British were now running on a parallel course, possibly to attempt to cover Trincomalee, or perhaps in an effort to reach Colombo. He immediately gave orders for all fleet units to increase speed, ahead full, and the race was on.