Джон Шеттлер: Sea of Fire

An hour later, by 16:40, the first groups of that strike wave had already arrived at the last reported location of the carriers, and then turned west to look for those long wakes. The British could see them coming on radar, and they would surely vector in all the other groups in their train.

“We had better look to our defense,” said Somerville.

“ Indomitable reports they have six Seafires ready on deck for immediate launch. Illustrious has two more on ready standby. I’ll have them scrambled at once. As for us, I’m afraid we’ve just got the Barracudas left below deck.”

“Leave them there for now. But we must be ready to arm them at a moment’s notice. Not just now, however. Particularly with enemy planes coming at us. Gentlemen, it may soon be every man for himself, but we’re likely to take the heat first, trailing the other two carriers as we are now. Let’s get off this heading and see if we can dodge another arrow.”

“Aye sir,” said Wells. “Helm, come to 320 and ahead full.”

Thoseeight Seafires were not going to be enough. The long range CAP already up for the British had pounced on one of the squadrons of Vals, and took down five in a heated duel, but now they could see lower flying formations of Kates, and more Vals coming in higher up. They radioed home, telling their comrades the enemy was throwing the kitchen sink at them.

This time Somerville’s dodge would not work.

It was Lieutenant Ichihara off the Taiho that saw the carriers first, leading in two Shotai of B5N2 torpedo bombers. At a little after 17:00 the enemy planes swooped low over the water and began their attack runs, racing in at very high speed, which was a hallmark of the Kate. Soon the long wicked wakes of the torpedoes were clawing through the water, and one struck Formidable amidships, blasting through the torpedo bulwark and achieving partial penetration of the main hull.

The resulting explosion buckled the second deck where those Barracudas sat in open parking, but thankfully, only two were then armed with torpedoes, and neither of those were damaged. Several flak guns on that side of the ship took bad splinter damage, the crews cruelly clawed by shrapnel caused by the explosion. A fire broke out and a call came up to the bridge to report minor flooding amidships.

“They’ve gone and stuck one to us,” said Somerville coolly.

“It seems they have, sir,” said Wells.

The buckled deck had also thrown both elevators slightly off their bearings, and the engineers were now trying to see if they could keep them operational. Above, chaos reigned over the scene, with planes seemingly everywhere. Vals were swarming over Illustrious off their port quarter, and the few Seafires they got up were battling the enemy against steep odds. Between their efforts and the AA fire, at least eleven Vals were taken down in that wild attack.

Bombs were falling around Indomitable , escorted by the destroyer Napier . Vals that had already dropped their bombs then bravely went after the Fireflies. Planes were cartwheeling into the sea on every side, and losses were beginning to mount. Then two Vals got through the intense flak and both were able to put 125kg bombs right on the armored flight deck of Illustrious . Neither were able to penetrate all the way through to the hangar deck, but now came a group of eight Kates off the Junyo , bearing down on both the other two British carriers. One would hit the Illustrious aft with a torpedo that would put most of her remaining planes out of the game for a time when the explosion sent fire and smoke through the hangar deck. The minor flooding would be controlled, and the fires suppressed, but she was out of the fight at a critical moment.

By 18:00 it was all over, the smoke trailing up into the sky from all three British carriers. Formidable had it the worst, her fires spreading to ignite an aviation fuel bunker, with a violent explosion rocking the ship. Wells was thrown from his feet, Somerville holding on to the binnacle as the ship swayed, then righted itself. The Admiral came to his Captain, extending a hand.

“Mister Wells,” he said. “I am beginning to see the wisdom of your earlier arguments. We’ve no business being here now, and perhaps I was rash to put us in harm’s way, but that was my charge. Now we must look to our ship.”

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.