In the proposed scenario, three faster Japanese cruisers pursue a convoy limited by the merchantman's eight- or nine-knot speed. Ashigara launches a small spread of 24-inch torpedoes at SS St Vincent de Paul and immediately turns away. The imagined attack is deliberately limited: Japan destroys the vessel it says escaped custody while claiming that no ship flying the White Ensign was attacked. Daylight and the Royal Navy's lack of operational shipboard radar in January 1939 create the narrow tactical window that makes the pursuit plausible.
Chapter · 57:35-59:58
A daylight pursuit and limited torpedo attack
The scenario diverges when Ashigara pursues the slow convoy in daylight and torpedoes the merchantman while avoiding direct fire on the Royal Navy escorts.