1 January
The aircraft carrier Otta is headed into drydock for some overdue maintenance. “No ship has been busier over the last two years than Otta - three major fleet exercises and the Andaman conflict on top of the normal operating cycle”, noted Captain Mahatma Baru, the carrier’s commanding officer.
“There’s no serious problem with the ship. Just a lot of minor things that collectively add up to degraded performance - dated wireless units, rusted plating, leaky water tanks and so forth. We’ll head into Columbo, get that taken care of now so we’re back out in time for SAINT if necessary.”
Although most of the fleet’s ships have experienced some wear and tear over the last while, only one other ship - the battleship Babur - is nearing a similar situation to Otta. However, her repairs will be less intense, and aren’t expected to begin until after the SAINT exercises this spring.
Captain Baru noted that Otta’s repairs come at a useful time for her airgroup. “Our scout-bombing squadron is going to replace their old Dhairyas with the new Toofanis, so they’ll spend the next several weeks transitioning to the new machines. Only four of the Dhairyas are going to remain aboard for training purposes - we can make room for them, and conduct training ops without taking away from our combat capabilities.”
10 January
There’s a new nation in Asia: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdul-Aziz Ibn Saud, who has campaigned across the peninsula for several years now, made the declaration two days ago in Riyadh. He also proclaimed himself the nation’s king.
Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Jal Kadharni told AWNR, “Aggressive warfare is what allowed this kingdom to be formed. Our concern now is that it not also be used to expand the kingdom.”
Irregulars under the new king’s command have clashed with Indian troops stationed around As Salif in the past few years, resulting in a number of deaths on both sides. Minister Kadharni noted, “We haven’t seen much trouble in the past year and some, which may be evidence that our garrison has deterred aggression. Of course, it may also mean that they have simply been busy with other things.”
3 February
The elderly light cruiser Sittwe is in the midst of a complex rebuilding process in Chennai.
The eight year old cruiser and its three sisters are essentially obsolete compared to the newest cruisers being built here and abroad. Their main battery, consisting of the reliable 10.5 cm guns, is small and inefficiently laid out, their torpedo armament is small, and they are coal-fired, with a top speed of 27 kts.
The new rebuild will see the ship receive a set of oil-fired boilers that can produce a top speed of 29 knots. Six fifteen centimetre guns will be installed in three shielded mounts on the centreline, while a twin 10.5 cm mount will be installed aft, superfiring over the aft main mount. Two of the single 10.5 cm mounts will remain where they are on the beams.
Amidships, the cruiser will replace its twin forty-five centimetre torpedo tubes with quadruple fifty-five centimetre carriages, and a floatplane and catapult are being installed.
“It’s a dramatic change, bringing us on par with the Columbos”, noted Sittwe’s commanding officer. “We’re not going to be a front-line cruiser, but we’ll still be a challenging opponent for anybody seeking trouble.
14 February
Sources within the Meteorological Service of India have told AWNR that the yacht Sharmilla, sent to Antarctica last year, is now overdue at Durban.
“She was supposed in South Africa at the start of the month”, one unnamed official commented. “The Service is starting to get nervous - and it ought to, there’s not much time to attempt a rescue before the freeze-up begins again.”
23 February
Speaking at a gathering of businessmen in Bangalore, the Raj commented on SATSUMA:
“I have to admit in being disappointed at how our alliance has been viewed thus far. I had hoped that the world would applaud us for resolving to stand up for Asia. Instead, our announcement has been met with fear and alarm. France and Russia have quietly built up their forces in Indochina. The Netherlands has a battle squadron in Siam - clearly a reaction to the events of two years ago. And, of course, there were the AANM exercises, in an area where AANM doesn’t really have much to be concerned with, frankly.
“Now, we’ve been fairly up front about our intentions. The five nations of SATSUMA don’t want to see our neighbours ruled from afar, or have those lands systemically stripped of wealth so that men on the other side of the world may prosper at the expense of our cousins. It isn’t right. It also goes against the Treaty of Versailles, which specifically charges the imperial powers to work for the betterment of the people in their care.
“We’ve made it clear that we will consider any means necessary to liberate Asia. Unfortunately, this has generated considerable hysteria in the West, causing those governments to forget that diplomatic solutions are possible and indeed desirable.
“So let me make this offer to the imperial powers. Commit to self-government for your colonies within a reasonable time-frame - fifteen to twenty years - and I will travel to your capital to sign a treaty of non-aggression with you. I will offer the assistance of India in facilitating this transition. I might even support your joining SATSUMA, for, having committed yourself to our cause, you would have demonstrated that you share our goals and values.”
1 March
A chartered South African yacht is steaming towards Antarctica, carrying a hastily assembled rescue team of medical and military personnel. Their mission? Locate the yacht Sharmilla, and render any assistance necessary to the yacht’s Indian and South African sailors and scientists.
Kamal Pashira of the MSI told AWNR, “The loss of the wireless was in itself not an alarming event, and the ship had supplies for a second winter if necessary. However, as we’ve seen from Shackleton’s expedition, ships can be lost in Antarctica. The Lady Anneke will ascertain if in fact something has happened to the Sharmilla herself.”
Pashira says that the steamer is well-equipped for the mission. “She also has supplies for two years, though to be fair those supplies were hastily loaded and not sorted in any way. We have a South African medical team aboard, and a section of troops from the Indian Army’s elite Fifth Himalayan Division, complete with sledges if they need to mount searches on foot.”
It’s not known how close the Lady Anneke will manage to get to Sharmilla’s last reported position before pack ice sets in. It is possible that the ship will be forced to turn back completely if the freeze-up takes place early.
29 March
Once an importer of all its warships, India is now posed to export warships.
The first such transaction will take place in a matter of days as the Royal South African Navy takes possession of four modified M 1 class anti-submarine launches. These diminutive craft, along with two Indian units, are building at the yards in Mumbai and Sittwe.
Admiral Sanjay Das said, “We shared the design with our allies and they became very interested in producing a licenced version. Considering how helpful they’ve been in assisting us with the Goa rebuilds, we were more than happy to give them this licence.”
The four South African boats will be joined later in the year by others built domestically. “The South Africans were very enthusiastic to obtain a few immediately - to test the type, develop doctrine, and so forth - so four of what were to be our own boats will go to them, with some modifications to the gun armament. To replace those hulls, we’ll be building them on our class three slipway, three at a time, through to the summer.”
Meanwhile, Admiral Das confirmed that the Chennai yards will be building a modified Urumi-class aircraft carrier for the Philippines starting sometime next year. “The type seems to be compatible with their strategies. The ship will be very similar to Urumi, with some modification to the armament.”
Although the admiral didn’t rule out building other major warships on contract, he noted, “We’re going to be needing the class three slipways for other projects in 1928 and 1929. It may be tough to fit them in.”
(Edit: Changed "Goa" to "Sittwe", as Goa's off to the breakers in 1930 anyway. Makes more sense to rebuild a ship I'll have into the early thirties).
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