Seizing a liner and getting Birmingham home

The liner seizure begins with Birmingham blocking radio traffic and putting a boarding party aboard, buying time before the ship is reported overdue. Night movement and the absence of mature radar make the cruiser difficult to locate as it opens the distance from Japan. Japanese searches rely largely on flying boats and seaplanes from an earlier generation than the aircraft associated with Pearl Harbor. Birmingham's anti-aircraft weapons make damage more plausible than an immediate sinking. Singapore is the likely refuge, but three or four months of repair would remove the cruiser from the campaign.