WesWorld

SAINT Exercises - Q2/1925

Note: does not contain pics from the original thread.

Note: This is a collaborative effort with Hooman, of course, although as the "host" in this exercise it was my task to do the actual writing.

I've chosen not to italicize ships names in the article, as it would probably take me hours to do so.

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From "Jones' Quaterly Naval Review", Summer 1925 edition:

The annual SAINT naval exercises have concluded following almost two weeks of intense activity between Ceylon and Minicoy Island.

As India was hosting, it fell to the Bharatiya Nau Sena to determine the scope of the exercises. This time, it was decided that the Royal South African Navy would be tasked with “attacking” the Indian base at Columbo. After some discussion about where to base the RSAN force during the exercises, it was agreed that Minicoy Island would be the South African base. Minicoy’s small depot had little to offer the RSAN, which was the point - the exercise would test the Fleet Train’s ability to set up a forward operating base to support combat operations.

The RSAN contingent consisted of:

1st Battle Squadron, 1st Division: BB South Africa (Flag), Cameroon
1st Cruiser Squadron, 2nd Division: CL Kimberly, Welkom
5th Cruiser Squadron, 1st Division: CL Libreville, Maroua
Experimental Flotilla: CVX Wim Kraash
3rd Scout Squadron (A), 1st (Half-)Division: AV Mimir
1st Destroyer Flotilla, 1st Division: DD Agaue, Aktaia, Amphitrite, Autonoe
1st Destroyer Flotilla, 2nd Division: DD Doris, Doto, Dynamene, Eione
Fleet Train: FO Marie Celeste, TD Mossel Bay, RS Escartian

Meanwhile, the Indian force, drawn largely from the Central Maritime District, consisted of:

Battle Squadron: BB Dara Shikoh (flag), Babur
1st Naval Aviation Squadron: CVL Otta
1st Cruiser Squadron: CA Male, CL Lucknow
5th Cruiser Squadron: CL Goa, Port Blair, Jaipur
1st Destroyer Squadron: DD G-114, G-115, G-116, G-120, G-121
7th Destroyer Squadron: DD G-129, G-130, G-131, G-132
2nd Escort Squadron: SL S-101, S-102, S-106
1st Submarine Squadron: SS I-2, I-3, I-4
2nd Coastal Patrol Squadron: 12 MTB

Some land-based aircraft, including two AA-3 medium bombers, were also included in the Indian order of battle.

Unlike previous years, there were no rules intended to put the Indian battleships on an equal footing with their South African counterparts. Part of the problem was thus that the Indian battleline was badly outclassed by the South African battleline; it would be up to the Indians to use other options - submarines, coastal forces, aircraft - to overcome this obstacle.

As the exercises began, neither side knew a great deal about each other, apart from the capital ships and aircraft carriers involved. This was also a change, for it had been noticed in previous exercises that sailors in both navies that having the opposition’s OOB in hand did make identification a little too easy.

Thus there was some wariness on both sides - the South Africans were unsure what light forces were at hand, and the Indians spent some time looking for one or more new heavy cruisers in the RSAN fleet. This was a futile effort, as there were none.

11 May

A day of reconnaissance. Both sides used aircraft in an attempt to determine the other’s order of battle. Success is limited.

12 May

Rear-Admiral Falkenburg decided to strike hard and fast, surging his battleline straight at Ceylon. Wim Kraash and its escorts trailed behind, moving at fifteen knots and providing what air cover it can to the battleline.

The Indians were still positioning their submarines, and Rear-Admiral Muivah was holding his surface forces at Columbo, awaiting a spotting report from his aircraft. No such report would be forthcoming that day.

13 May

The RSAN force struck fast and aggressively, arriving off Columbo at 1015. Rear-Admiral Muivah was drawn out from under Columbo’s guns, leaving him in a bad situation. At 1050, Dara Shikoh was ruled to be sinking, leaving Babur to face both RSAN dreadnoughts. Her destruction was not far behind, officially noted at 1123. Though both sides lost cruisers and destroyers, the South African battleships were virtually unscathed, having used their larger guns and superior speed to control the battle.

The RSAN moved into engage Columbo at noon, and although there was some fire traded with the shore batteries, the attackers achieved their objectives and destroyed the naval base. Referees called the battle at 1442, and the South Africans headed back for Minicoy.

14 May

The South Africans returned to Minicoy late in the evening, and took on additional fuel and supplies.

Meanwhile, Rear-Admiral Muivah held a staff meeting to assess his force’s rather severe defeat. Captain Baru, of the carrier Otta, convinced Muivah to cut him loose; a plan was crafted and Otta sailed with a meagre escort that evening.

15 May

The second round was a much different story. At 0900, just two hours after departing Minicoy, the RSAN force was sighted by a land-based AA-3 medium bomber. This information was reported back to Rear-Admiral Muivah and then to Otta.

At 1220, the South Africans found themselves under aerial attack as Otta flung six fighters and all twelve of her scout-bombers at the RSAN squadron. At a cost of a fighter and two scout-bombers, the Indians succeeded in striking their target - the CVL Wim Kraash. Wim Krassh was ruled to be hit by three fifty kilogram bombs, creating three holes in the flight deck and starting a fire in the hanger, where one bomb was judged to have hit an avgas line.

Leaving the stricken carrier behind with a single destroyer, the RSAN pressed forward, enduring a second attack by Otta’s airgroup at 1940. Attacking out of the low evening sun, the Indians pressed the attack on two ships - the cruisers Welkom and Libreville. Libreville was hit twice and strafed repeatedly, while Welkom avoided being bomb hits, though the Indians strafed her as well. Though two fighters and a scout-bomber were ruled shot down, the two cruisers had suffered a couple dozen casualties to exposed crewmen and some damage to light weapons, searchlights, and other unprotected equipment. The Indian success was marred by the genuine loss of a Baagh fighter, which stalled and crashed while attempting to land on Otta. Despite quick action by the destroyer in the plane guard position, the pilot was lost.

During the evening, chaos broke out as the submarine I-3 was detected on surface by the Aktaia while attempting a run in on the South Africa. I-3 fired a flare in the direction of the RSAN force before crash-diving. As the flare signalled the launch of torpedoes in that direction, the South Africans took evasive action while Aktaia and her sister Amphitrite make multiple depth-charging attacks. Eventually, after a harrowing two hours, the referee aboard I-3 ordered her to surface, where the sub informed the destroyers by signal lamp that she had been sunk.

16 May

At 0920, two AA-3 medium bombers attacked the RSAN fleet train at Minicoy Island. A floatplane from the Mimir engaged the bombers, damaging one and being damaged in turn. Nonetheless, the bombers pressed on and scored two hits, one each on Marie Celeste and Mossel Bay. The Fleet Train thus found itself in the unexpected position of defending itself from attack, and conducting damage control operations afterward.

At 1029, Otta’s exhausted airgroup - now down to nine fighters and nine scout-bombers, the genuinely lost fighter from yesterday being deemed a combat loss from the evening strike - attacked a third time. Once again, the aircraft concentrated on a cruiser, the Kimberley, hitting her twice and strafing her. Two fighters and two scout-bombers were shot down.

As the South Africans approached Columbo, the Indian battlegroup came out. Once again, the Indian battleships began taking the worst of the engagement, with Dara Shikoh suffering in particular. However, the Indian’s aerial tactics did pay off somewhat, as South African cruisers - three of them damaged to some degree - and their seven destroyers found themselves facing a massed charge by all five Indian cruisers, nine destroyers, and eleven motor-torpedo boats. As the two forces met, the engagement became very confused, with the Male nearly colliding with the Doris at one point. The South Africans let loose with their torpedoes, while the Indians conserved theirs for the battleships.

In short order, Male, Goa, three destroyers, and four MTBs were judged out of action, while Kimberly, Welkom, and three destroyers suffered a similar fate for the South Africans. While in reality some would undoubtedly have been sunk, there was more instructive value in the referees aboard each ship submitting the crews to strenuous damage control exercises for the remainder of the battle.

With the cruiser Lucknow leading, the remaining Indian ships hurtled themselves at the South African battleships, which had turned to bring their broadsides to bear on the smaller foes. Lucknow and Port Blair were quickly disabled, but Jaipur, three destroyers, and five MTBs managed to launch their torpedoes. With about twenty torpedoes in the water, it was not surprising that three hit: two on the Cameroon, the other on the South Africa. The flagship was not heavily damaged, but Cameroon’s crew found itself dealing with a list and sufficient flooding to slow the ship to eighteen knots, as the referees gleefully unleashed a stiff regime of damage control drills upon her.

At 1430, the South Africans broke off, have failed to shell Columbo, but still having dealt out tremendous punishment to the defending forces. The only major Indian vessels ruled afloat afterward were Babur and Jaipur. However, the South Africans didn’t return to Minicoy Island unmolested. The submarine I-2 had positioned itself just ten kilometres south of the island, and surfaced in the midst of the formation to signal that had fired torpedoes at the Cameroon. The South African battleship was ruled to be sunk, though I-2 wasn’t long in following her. Round two was concluded at 2100, and the rosters were re-set.

17 May

Once again, a day of rest and replenishment.

18 May

As the third round began, the South Africans tried a new tactic. Wim Kraash, Welkom, and two destroyers headed for Ceylon, seeking out the Indian defenders, while the faster battlegroup sped south. Their course would ideally take them in a wide loop around the coast, allowing them to hit Ceylon from the south.

Around 1830, Wim Kraash’s aircraft spotted a formation of Indian cruisers and destroyers steaming in the direction of Minicoy. The South African carrier and escorts changed course to avoid contact, and plans were made for a morning strike - there was not enough daylight left to prep, launch, and recover a strike that evening.

As it turned out, four Indian cruisers and six destroyers were indeed at sea, seeking a night engagement with the South Africans, but they did’t make contact.

Otta, accompanied by two destroyers, steamed up the Indian coast, and was east of Wim Kraash by nightfall - though neither carrier knew of the other.

19 May

The South African battleline reduced speed to avoid reaching Ceylon at night - given the risk of submarines and torpedo craft, Falkenburg preferred to strike Columbo in daylight.

The Indian battleline hovered off Columbo as Muivah’s scouts attempted to locate the RSAN.

At 0700, scouts from the Mimir re-acquired the Indian cruisers, which were now reversing course and heading back towards Ceylon, having concluded that the RSAN force eluded them. At 0810, Wim Kraash began launching her strike.

The strike arrived at 0948. Seeking to thin out the cruisers, the strike commander split his aircraft against Male and Jaipur. The section attacking Male pressed home their attack, losing two aircraft but scoring two hits that left the heavy cruiser burning from a fire amidships. Jaipur was luckier, and took only one hit, knocking down one attacker.

The cruisers, however, notified Otta of the attack and the direction in which the South African aircraft departed. The Indian carrier began preparing a strike package of eight aircraft, as four others fanned out to look for the South African carrier. One aircraft did arrive over Wim Kraash, but was bounced by a fighter and shot down before getting a message off. The scout’s dejected crew returned to Otta on a dog-leg course, and referees on Wim Kraash confirmed Captain Sakkers’ assumption that he could not shadow an aircraft that was theoretically shot down. This left Wim Kraash aware that Otta was nearby, but not where. Uncertain how Otta would react to the lost aircraft, Captain Sakkers began running south.

On Otta, Captain Baru ordered the strike launched in the direction of his lost scout at 1330. They arrived over empty seas an hour later, and split into two groups, one curling round to the north, the other to the south. The southerly group spotted Wim Kraash fifteen minutes later and attacked; the carrier’s escorts and fighters shot down three, and the fourth aircraft missed. With a loaded strike on deck, Sakkers ordered them flown off, and the nine remaining bombers launched in the direction that their one attacker had withdrawn to.

The South African bombers, accompanied by four fighters, reached Otta at 1418 and made their run, opposed by two fighters. They claimed a bomber and a fighter before being downed. Unfortunately for the Indians, AA fire from the carrier and her lone escort were insufficient to drive off the attack, and two bombs landed on the carrier. Otta’s forward deck was holed and a fire started in the hanger.

The South African bombers returned to their carrier and found it, too, burning - having been surprised by Otta’s second section of bombers that arrived at about the same time as the attack on Otta took place. Two hits on Wim Kraash left her unable to recover aircraft from astern. This gave the carrier the rare occasion to reverse course and recover her aircraft over the bow while steaming astern.

Another South African strike, launched at 1900, managed to finish off Otta, though by now the South African carrier was down to six bombers and effectively reduced to a reconnaissance platform.

20 May

As weather began to degrade around Columbo, the RSAN battleline moved in. The Indian motor torpedo boats attacked, managing to sink the Maroua for the loss of five of their own. Kimberley took a torpedo that left her damaged but seaworthy, and she was detached with one escort to return to Minicoy.

South Africa, Cameroon and company arrived off Columbo to find it undefended from the sea. Engaging the city’s defences at long range, they mission-killed the base by noon and set course to intercept the Indian cruiser forces, now being shadowed alternately by aircraft from Wim Kraash, Mimir, and those South African cruisers so equipped.

At 1550, Mimir fell victim to the land-based AA-3s again, as the two bombers swept in from the north and landed three bombs on the seaplane tender, leaving her seriously damaged.

Come early evening, the Indian battleships linked up with the cruisers as a scout from Wim Kraash circles at a safe distance. Rear-Admiral Falkenburg decided to engage them, and steered on an intercept course. As night fell, Rear-Admiral Muivah, wary of just such a possibility, ordered his formation to increase speed and placed his ships at general quarters. Both fleets’ destroyers fanned out in an arc, attempting to seek out their enemies.

21 May

The Indian and South African forces made contact at 0238, as the G-130, on the trailing port flank of the Indian formation, spotted the Doto, on the forward left flank of the South African screen. Unbeknownst to both Falkenburg and Muivah, the Indian formation had crossed the South African T several minutes earlier. Had the destroyers not encountered each other, the formations would likely have missed each other.

G-130 fired a flare towards Doto and then illuminated itself, indicating to the latter that she was under fire (the self-lighting representing the flash of her own guns, which would be visible to other ships). Sensing an opportunity to surprise the South Africans, Muivah order his force to come round to port on a bearing that would take them towards Doto and, he hoped, the South African battleships.

As Doto and the Libreville fired flares back at G-130 and lit themselves up, Falkenburg elected to maintain his course and ordered his capital ships to hold their fire, so as to avoid revealing their position prematurely.

The light cruiser Lucknow arrived to assist G-130, engaging Libreville. A few minutes later, the Male arrived - and in the gloom was mis-identified by the Doto as Dara Shikoh, Soon after, South Africa and Cameroon joined in. Male was soon under heavy fire and quickly damaged - yet Muivah’s actual battleships continued to steer, undetected, toward the now-visible South African battleships.

At a range of eight thousand metres, the Indian battleships opened fire, Dara Shikoh engaging South Africa, Babur the Cameroon. Falkenburg, despite his surprise, was quick to react, accepting the proximity of the engagement and turning to bring all of his guns to bear. Although the heavier South African shells began to take their toll, the range was low enough that the Indian shells were penetrating as well.

Torpedoes began to leave tubes as the light division commanders struggled to retain cohesion in their commands. Male’s searchlights were the first to be turned upward to the sky - the agreed upon signal that she was disabled - and she was quickly joined by the unfortunate Doto and then other vessels.

The most shocking event came as the South Africa abruptly turned her lights upward at 0317; then, a blinker light signalled over to her sister, “HAVE EATEN GOLDEN TWINKIE. SERIOUS INDIGESTION. GOOD LUCK.”

As the somewhat astonished Dara Shikoh shifted its fire to Cameroon, the equally shocked dreadnought let loose another salvo against Babur. To the credit of the South African command team, there was very little confusion despite the loss of the flagship, and Commodore De Klerk was quick to order a torpedo attack against the Indian battleships.

The two on one battle continued as Cameroon pounded Babur into a wreck but took damaging fire from Dara Shikoh - and then the dreaded red flares shot into the sky.

The flares were the signal to terminate the exercise, and as the warships began slowing, the reason became clear: the Indian light cruiser Jaipur had collided with South African destroyer Agaue. The latter had been part of the force sent to torpedo Dara Shikoh, while the former had been defending her. Finding themselves on a collision course, both had veered west, with only a hard turn on Jaipur’s part preventing her from taking the destroyer right amidships. As it was, the cruiser’s bow had bitten obliquely into the destroyer’s stern on the port side, nearly shearing off the last ten metres of it.

Three men aboard the destroyer were killed almost instantly as the cruiser sliced into the destroyer’s aft machinery spaces. The toll could have been worse, as the destroyer’s aftermost gun had been destroyed - the gun captain, seeing that a collision was inevitable, had ordered his men to run forward at the last moment. Nonetheless, there were also several injuries, some serious, and now the destroyer was fighting to maintain power and control flooding aft. Jaipur’s captain chose not to back away, reckoning that it might actually do more harm if the bow was helping to plug much of the hole that it had created.

As wireless signals went out to the Escartian, ordering her to proceed to the site with all haste, the destroyer Doris arrived on Agaue’s starboard beam and manoeuvred alongside. Heavy lines were thrown across as sailors began to lash the two destroyers together. After a short consultation, additional lines were thrown down from Jaipur and she, too, was lashed to her victim.

Escartian arrived within a few hours and began assisting the Agaue’s crew in sealing off flooded compartments. After an inspection by divers, Jaipur was unlashed from the destroyer and slowly backed away, her bow coming loose from the destroyer in a screeching shower of sparks. After further evaluation, it was decided that Agaue, Doris, and Escartian would proceed to Mumbai, the site of the nearest Indian drydock, once Escartian had finished initial repairs to the destroyer. Jaipur, accompanied by G-120, would proceed to Madras for inspection and repair; though she was in much better condition, the bow was distorted and there were leaks.

On that note, it was decided that the exercises would be concluded, for the forces were due to make calls at Alleppey and Trincomalee before arriving in Columbo. Concluding a day early would allow for a modest amount of rest before this last bit of sailing and the Naval Symposium itself.

June, 1925

Then there's the War on SALSA thing, linked for your convenience and mine...

http://wesworld.jk-clan.de/thread.php?th…36bdb564cec48a7

Q3/25

6 July

In a speech today at Agra, the Raj announced plans for sweeping reforms to the nation’s civil service.

“Following discussions with the Concerned Citizens’ Coalition, I have become convinced that change is required. There are too many people making decisions in my name that do not reflect my values and objectives. Some of these individuals lack the necessary education and experience to be making these decisions or effectively carrying out their instructions.

“Therefore I am creating a new Ministry of Government Operations, which will be tasked with reviewing and revising job descriptions for the entire government, hiring employees, and overseeing payroll operations in other ministries. This ministry will also contain the Review Division, which will audit select ministries to determine if the hiring and payroll decisions made there are consistent with overall government policy.

“I am also tasking the Ministry of Justice with investigating the Disaster Relief Agency’s conduct over the past three years, during which we have had numerous complaints about fraud, nepotism, and other crimes. These led to the Chittagong uprising by the CCC and the use of force against my military. As such, I have advised the Ministry of Justice that charges of treason may be filed against wrongdoers if there is evidence of deliberate and prolonged criminal behaviour.

“Finally, I have agreed to implement a limited degree of democracy at the municipal level. Starting in 1927, municipal leadership positions, such as mayors, reeves, and councilmen, will be elected by popular vote. I will retain the power to veto elections I consider unacceptable, but doubt it will be commonly used if the people choose responsibly.”

Observers noted that the Raj appeared to still be weak as a result of his latest relapse of malaria. The emperor is thought to have been infected with the disease during a safari near Sittwe in 1921, and has suffered several relapses of varying severity since.

8 July

The spokesman for the Concerned Citizen’s Coalition says that the insurrection is over.

“The majority of our concerns have been addressed”, said “K” over the telephone. “The reforms announced by the Raj will have significant impacts upon local government and be of tremendous benefit to the citizens of India.

“Henceforth, I say to all of our members: lay down your weapons. Our armed struggle is over.”

Authorities in Chittagong say they will not prosecute any CCC members who turn in their weapons to the Constabulary before 23 July. As for those CCC members arrested already, judges presiding over their cases have been instructed to consider the government problems that inspired the uprising in the first place when determining guilt and sentencing.

1 August

The Indian Navy has laid down its first purpose-built aviation ship in Madras.

“The Urumi is designed with fleet scouting and air defence missions in mind”, commented Admiral Sanjay Das after the lay-down ceremony. “As such she is armed and armored against light surface combatants, including the installation of six fifteen centimetre guns aft. Her airgroup will initially consist of thirty-two aircraft, a mix of fighters and scout-bombers. There is capacity to carry more aircraft, however, so there may be up to forty aircraft embarked once the ship is in service.

The carrier is expected to be completed in mid-1927, at which time the converted aircraft carrier Otta will be taken out of service. “We haven’t decided yet what will happen with Otta”, Admiral Das remarked.

As for additional carriers, Admiral Das said, “I expect we’ll spend a year or two learning from Urumi before moving on to another unit.”

20 August

In Sittwe, the navy’s first ocean-going submarine has been launched. The I-6 is the first of three planned units in its class, with I-7 recently laid down and the I-8 projected for 1926.

“The I-6 class gives the navy a sea denial capability it has so far been lacking. This gives us an ability to neutralize enemy vessels at great distances, and would be essential in preventing enemy vessels from entering the Indian and Pacific oceans through the few choke points available”, Admiral Das noted.

The submarines are equipped with eight fifty centimetre torpedo tubes, though the navy has not said how many torpedoes are carried.

“Overall we’re anticipating eight such submarines”, Admiral Das said. “As for the remaining two hulls we’re entitled to, we’re investigating other ways of utilizing them.”

26 August

An investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Navy has revealed that the fifty centimetre torpedos manufactured by TorpedoWorks Alleppey are badly flawed, and more significantly, that the crown corporation was aware of the flaws.

The investigation began after reports from last year’s Andaman conflict indicated that a high proportion of the weapons used at the Battle of Ko Racha Yai were duds. Test-fires later in the year revealed that almost a third of the weapons were inaccurate, and of those that did travel on course, nearly half were duds.

Documents seized from TWA show that upper management was aware of problems with the design’s fins and detonators, but chose not to make changes to the torpedoes or notify the Navy of the problems. In fact, employees who recommended such actions were threatened with disciplinary action.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said, “This was a deliberate conspiracy on the part of TWA’s management, and it cost the lives of numerous Indian sailors last year. We have charged eight TWA officials with a variety of charges, including fraud and treason

2 September

The Meteorological Service of India says it isn’t concerned by the cessation of wireless traffic from the Sharmilla expedition in Antarctica.

Kamal Pashira, Director of Field Operations, told AWNR, “It’s not unexpected to have communications issues. A wireless is a complicated machine, and prone to failures. There was limited provision on the Sharmilla for spare parts, so it’s quite likely that they’ve run through their stock of a key part.”

Pashira says that the last message indicated all was well. “Our most recent transmission was from the fifth of last month. The message said that the winter-over was going well, that the crew and staff were in good spirits and health, and that their supply of food, water, and coal is fine.”

The yacht is expected to depart Antarctica in December with the seasonal break-up, and return to South Africa in mid to late January.

7 September

As expected, His Royal Highness Able Seaman Shrinivas Canangasundrum has been accepted into the navy’s Officer Training Program. He reported to the Nautical College in Columbo last week.

Commander Javed Ratnayake, the crown prince’s commanding officer on the light cruiser Chennai, said that the prince’s royal status had nothing to do his acceptance into the OTP. “Able Seaman Canangasundrum had demonstrated courage and coolness under fire, and impressed his superiors with his work ethic and intelligence. I was more than happy to recommend him for the OTP, and would have been astonished if he had been rejected.”

The crown prince will undergo a gruelling ten month course, at which time he will either pass and be promoted to lieutenant, or fail and be returned to service as an able seaman.

18 September

The worst of this year’s cyclones has struck near the Mouths of the Ganges. The storm came ashore near the town of Barguna, where casualties are reported to be in the hundreds. Flooding from rain and storm surges are reported as widely as Mungla and Patuakhali, and as far north as Bagherhat.

A number of fishing vessels and other small craft have been reported missing, but no large vessels have been lost. Naval and Coastal Security Force ships are now searching the Bay of Bengal for disabled vessels and lifeboats, with the assistance of several aircraft operating from Kolkata.

29 September

The Ministry of Justice says that seven of eight officials charged in the TorpedoWorks Alleppey scandal have been arrested so far.

“We’ve detained the corporation’s president, three vice-presidents, two directors, and two managers. One individual - Daya Chopras, who was in charge of the corporation’s detonator development section - appears to have fled the country. We’re following his trail but haven’t yet determined where he ran to.”

Interestingly, Chopras’ brother, Saif, is one of the other men arrested in the case. He was TWA’s Vice-President of Government Liaison, and has been charged with fraud, uttering threats, and treason. The seven will be tried in one trial, beginning in November.

Q4/25

11 October: Compensation Payments Concluded

The Indian government has now delivered payment to every family who lost a loved one aboard Danish warships engaged with Indian forces in 1924.

“We had no quarrel with them, nor with Denmark”, the Raj noted. “Denmark led by example in its treatment of its Asian friends and I regret that it was necessary to use force against them in this specific instance. That force cost the lives of brave and honorable men with families to support, families I do not wish to see left bereft of income as a result of their losses.”

28 October: TWA Trials Conclude

In Alleppey, the trial of eight men charged in the Torpedoworks Alleppey scandal has concluded after just nine days of testimony. Chief Justice Rustam Dasgupta heard testimony from investigators, witnesses, and two of the accused, regarding allegations that TWA’s senior management conspired to hide serious flaws in its torpedo products - flaws the Prosecution claimed cost the nation the lives of numerous sailors in last year’s conflict with Denmark and Siam.

TWA’s Vice-President of Finance and Manager of Propulsion Systems were surprise witnesses, having struck deals with the Ministry of Justice beforehand. Both men testified that TWA’s management was aware of problems with its torpedos as early as 1922, but feared losing contracts if any information was passed along to the Navy.

2 November: Sentencing in TWA Trial

Chief Justice Dasgupta has found all eight members of TWA’s management team guilty on charges of Fraud, Uttering Threats, and Treason. Ajay Kajol and Kuku Devgan, who testified for the Prosecution, were sentenced to twenty years imprisonment.

Aksay Kapoor (Director, Product Development), Ram Bhansali (Director, Client Services), and Daya Chopras (Manager, Warhead Development), who was in tried in absentia, were sentenced to life in prison.

Bhagat Ghosh, the company’s president, was sentenced to death, as were Saif Chopras (Vice-President, Government Liaison) and Veeru Johar (Vice-President, Operations). As is the case in all treason cases, the method of execution was referred directly to the Raj, who decreed that all three would be thrown to the tigers. The date of execution is to December 9.

1 December: India Announces 1926 Estimates

The focus continues to be on new construction, says Admiral of the Navy Sanjay Das.

“Over eighty percent of our capital budget will be spend on construction this year”, noted Admiral Das. “Our three largest projects - Akbar, Jahangir, and Urumi - alone take up over a third of our overall budget. This burden will, of course, be eased by Akbar’s completion at the end of the year.”

New construction for the navy will include two light cruisers, four destroyers, two minelayers, twelve coastal torpedo-boats, twelve anti-submarine launches and the third unit of the I-6 class of submarines. “The commencement of the Agra class is an important step in Indian cruiser evolution”, Admiral Das observed. “They’ll take on a front-line role in our critical sectors, and will logically lead to a follow-up class later in the decade.”

Admiral Das said that the early order of the minelayers, ASW launches, and coastal torpedo-boats reflected renewed interest in littorial combat. “The minelayers are derived from the T-19 torpedo-boat design, and are intended for short range, high-speed laying operations. We expect that there may ultimately be several built over the coming years. Meanwhile, we’re going to bolster the coastal torpedo-boat fleet with additional construction of some forty tonne models. The ASW launches, displacing 200 t, will be used for coastal escort and submarine hunting work. All three programs will help with the Hornets’ Nest strategy we’re adopting in our eastern waters.”

Also on the agenda are extensive upgrades for the elderly cruisers Goa and Chennai. “Our intention, frankly, was to delete the class in the next couple of years. However, after some consultation with our South African friends, and looking to some recent Russian work, we’ve concluded that we can upgrade their capabilities significantly. They won’t be on par with a full-sized treaty cruiser, but they’ll be as good as anything in their size category, and useful in the quieter sectors of our operating area.” It’s not currently known if the Pondicherry and Sittwe will receive similar work in the future.

Admiral Das confirmed that the navy is now starting to look at alternate uses for its four Godavari-class colliers. “Within two years we’ll have no coal-fired warships left in front-line service. Those hulls offer some opportunity - what it is has yet to be determined. It’s possible we’d be willing to sell some of the class, convert them, or we may just scrap them.”

There will be no infrastructure development this year as a result of all this construction, but Admiral Das expects this to change in 1927. Three old destroyers and two old torpedo boats will go to the breakers. “It’s reincarnation in a sense; the old warships will live on as part of new warships.”

9 December: Executions Carried Out

The three men sentenced to death in the Torpedoworks Alleppey scandal have been executed in the most gruesome manner possible in India.

At 1 PM, Daya Chopras was thrown into the fifteen-foot pit on the grounds of the Imperial Court in Hyderabad. Two of the court’s tigers were released in to the pit soon afterward, and quickly mauled Chopras to death.

At 2 PM, after the tigers had been removed from the pit, Veeru Johar called out an apology to the Raj and asked for permission to jump into the pit, rather than be thrown. The Raj agreed, and Johar jumped in head first, striking his head on the stone bricks that make up the pit’s floor. It is not known if he was alive when the tigers were released, but he was certainly not conscious.

At 3 PM, TWA President Bahgat Ghosh was thrown into the pit after unsuccessfully begging for his life to be spared. As is often the case, the Raj took some time in ordering the tigers to be released, with the result that Ghosh was not actually attacked and killed until almost six in the evening.

They were the first executions by mauling in over a decade, and drew fire from human rights groups worldwide. The Raj did not comment on the criticism.

14 December: Insight into SAINT and SATSUMA Exercises

Recently, AWNR had an opportunity to speak with Captain Subhash Baru, of the aviation ship Otta, and Captain Puneel Gandhi, of the battleship Babur, for their thoughts on the two major naval exercises in which India participated in 1925.

AWNR: You gentlemen are in a unique position, having commanded the only vessels to take part in both exercises. How do you feel?

B: Glad we’re done until next May. These are very exhausting events - granted, SAINT lasted longer than SATSUMA.

G: Quite a bit longer. Bit surprising, hey?

AWNR: First off, then, your impressions on SAINT?

G: Good exercises. A little humbling, perhaps, as there was no effort to put our battleships on par with the South Africans’. Dara Shikoh in particular was sunk a lot.

B: It was good, though, in that we used pretty much every type of weapon platform we had, and in multiple scenarios. It avoids putting too much emphasis on something that did or didn’t work well in the first go-round.

AWNR: What was the most challenging aspect of SAINT?

G: Trying to deal with the South African battleships. We had no perfect solution. We still don’t.

B: Its duration. My boys were exhausted when it was all said and done. The stokers were black with coal dust, the pilots were half-awake, and the mechanics were going overtime just keeping the aircraft serviceable.

AWNR: How did that work out?

B: As well as can be expected. We’d start with pretty much everything ready, but after the first mission we usually had as many aircraft genuinely sidelined for maintenance as we had been ruled to have lost. It was tragic to have lost one aircraft and its pilot, but over a long and intense period of operations like that, it’s not a bad loss rate.

AWNR: Now, SATSUMA - your impressions there?

[G & B look at each other]

B: Well, to me it reinforced the fact that aircraft carriers are going to replace battleships as rulers of the seas.

G: Come on now. Whose ship was sunk, and whose ship wasn’t?

B: I wasn’t sunk.

G: Fine - your “survival was doubtful” or something. You were a mission-kill at the least.

B: Said the referees. And that only happened because of the stunt.

AWNR: The what?

[Silence]

AWNR: A stunt?

G: Let’s say that not everybody was entirely satisfied with how the night engagement proceeded. It seemed, shall we say, optimistic to have the MAS boats manage to get every one of their fish off, score a 12.5% success rate and manage to hit every major target they faced - with the loss of what, one boat?

B: And then Presidente Malvar happened to time her attack perfectly. It left some of our colleagues questioning whether it was just how things worked out, or if there was some sort of pre-arrangement at work.

AWNR: Meaning...?

G: Meaning that there was speculation it was set up this way specifically to cast a good light on recent Filipino acquistions.

AWNR: You think it was?

G: No, I said there was some speculation. I didn’t say I was doing the speculating.

AWNR: So do you think then that MAS boats aren’t a threat?

B: No, that’d be silly. We’ve seen how effective they can be in the Med and off Phuket. However - with an alert screen and the larger ships all firing off tremendous volumes of ammunition, you might expect more MAS losses and less accurate torpedo spreads in reality.

AWNR: It didn’t work for Delhi at Phuket.

B: That was six MAS boats taking on one small cruiser, rather than five MAS boats taking on four capital ships. Bit of a difference there.

AWNR: Point taken. So, that aside, what was the most challenging aspect of SATSUMA?

G: I’d say language and liaison. Whereas SAINT was strictly split up along national lines, we had opposing forces each containing elements of up to five different nations, some of which we’ve only been interacting with for a year or so. Finding liaison officers to work with the South Africans and Japanese was not too difficult, but the good luck finding men who speak Tagalog or Iberian or Chosenian.

B: Agreed. We were working with ships and men we’d never met before and it made for a lot of confusion. But I suppose that’s something that any alliance has to work through at some point.

AWNR: Aircraft and aircraft carriers got a lot of attention in both exercises. Is their ability being accurately portrayed in these exercises?

Both: No.

G: It’s being overplayed. Yes, they’re invaluable as scouts, but they just haven’t got the bomb load to seriously affect larger warships, and as with the MAS boats, I think the referees continually under-estimated the distraction value that comes from all those light guns when they’re spitting lead in the airplane’s direction.

B: I was going to say that the effects were being under-estimated. The Japanese carriers gave us a good look at the future - big, fast strike platforms with airgroups capable of dropping dozens of bombs on the targets. Those bombs are going to have excellent deck penetrating ability. They’ll hurt even the battleships.

G: You’re speaking of the future. Look at SAINT - the three engagements were all settled in capital ship fights. The aerial stuff was all just preliminary stuff aimed at weaker ships.

B: SATSUMA wasn’t. Look at the effects of those air strikes.

G: Compare it to your actual live-fire strike on the Danes. That showed some potential, but didn’t do much to impair the Danes themselves.

AWNR: Okay, moving on...Captain Gandhi, were you bothered that Admiral Sen hoisted his flag on the Filipino battleship rather than yours?

G: I was a little perplexed, perhaps. I believe it was a political decision, rather than an operational one. Note that the Filipino battleship Fernando ended up being the victorious flagship, not an Indian or Japanese ship.

AWNR: The reports noted that your battle squadron routed what remained of the opposing force’s battle squadron. Yet the Mutsu was in that force - did Babur and Fernando overwhelm her?

G: Gods, no. We never saw her, just the so-called cripples. That’s just as well. She could have handled us both with ease.

AWNR: Where was she?

B: I believe she was dis-engaging. From what I heard, there weren’t sufficient light forces to protect her from the MAS boats and aircraft still available to Admiral Sen. We’d been mauled pretty badly at that point and there was no sense in getting her sunk too.

G: She could’ve made a draw out of it. She could have wiped out my entire battle squadron.

B: With those MAS boats still lurking about? She wouldn’t get anywhere close.

G: True. Never mind then.

AWNR: How have these exercises affected senior level thinking?

B: Something’s in the works, but I’m not sure if it’s related to the exercises directly or not. I think Admiral Das referred to it the other week when he mentioned the “Hornet’s Nest”, but that’s as much as anybody at our level seems to know about it.

G: I’d say the brass has been reminded of the need for a balanced fleet that can address every threat we face. From what I’ve seen of the 1926 estimates, that’s being acted on.

AWNR: What would you like to see happen next year, when India hosts?

G: Multiple scenarios. Three days isn’t enough for something like this.

B: I’d like new bombers, so I can put some holes in Captain Gandhi’s deck.

AWNR: Thank you both for your time.

Both: Thank you.