afterglow

Chapter 439: People are more valuable than airplanes; the brave are invincible, kill them!

Countless eyes from the top and bottom of the fleet fell on the Tianshi Zuoyuan. Everyone looked at the damaged aircraft carrier worriedly. They could vaguely see the damage control team members on the deck holding water pipes and pouring water into the hole where smoke and sparks were rising. Irrigation.

A quarter of an hour later, Tianshi Zuoyuan sent out the first damage report: "One torpedo was hit on the port side, two bombs were hit on the runway, the No. 3 boiler room was seriously flooded, the middle elevator was damaged, and the top speed is still 23 knots."

Later, the captain Zhu Yuanwei sent a message saying that the runway was seriously damaged and the aircraft could not be recovered.

"There is nothing serious about the ship itself. It's okay. Tell the fleet that it is recommended to fly to land and then abandon the plane and parachute." Liu Zaiyao acted calmly and gave the order decisively.

The flight deck of the Tianshi Zuoyuan was definitely unable to land. The returning carrier-based aircraft formation was very close to the land and had more than enough fuel left to find a suitable location to collectively parachute.

At this time, Yuan Fenghao's radio listening team also reported that they had discovered a large number of telecommunications in the east, and the communication frequency was very high.

Most likely, this should be an exchange between the US fleets, who must also be troubled by the attack on the Lexington.

Zhou Changfeng felt even more uneasy when he thought that he might encounter two Colorado-class battleships next.

Please! Those two ships have 406mm main guns, but Yuanfeng and Yuanding are old battleships from thirty years ago, and their main guns have a caliber of only 352mm.

Liu Zaiyao did not want to take the risk of putting Zhou in danger. Although he was confident that he would command the fleet to defeat the U.S. military's interception, he could not guarantee that Yuan Fenghao would be safe and sound by then.

So while checking the chart, he said nonchalantly: "I'm afraid there will be a big battle when crossing the strait at night. It would be better for Commander Zhou to sit on the Tianshi Zuoyuan."

"Okay." Zhou Changfeng didn't hesitate and left as soon as he said it.

He actually didn't quite understand why the naval generals were so confident, so he immediately and decisively transferred.

In his opinion, the risk of the next battle can be said to be quite high. It is best to wait until dawn for the land-based aviation force taking off from Darwin to push back the US fleet, and then cross the strait.

What Liu Zaiyao and others considered was that the Tianshi Zuoyuan had temporarily lost its ability to take off and land, and was unable to provide air surveillance for the fleet after dawn. They had to take advantage of the cover of night to quickly approach Moresby.

Of course, the safest way is to return directly, but it also means that the plan to attack Moresby falls apart, and this is obviously an option that no one is willing to choose.

On a macro level, this is true. On a specific level, although it seems that the gap between the battleships is not small, the same cannot be said for the screen frigates - the naval generals believe that their own screen frigates have a huge advantage. This is also the main reason why Liu Zaiyao and others finally decided to continue the action.

已知敌舰队总计有2艘战列舰、1艘重巡、2艘轻巡、1艘航母、9艘驱逐舰；被击伤的航母无法作战，也不可能独自回港，应该会有1~2艘驱逐舰护航。

而丁字三十九登陆舰队有2艘战列舰、3艘轻巡、1艘航母、1艘超级驱逐舰、12艘驱逐舰；其中有4艘是近战能力极强的文昌级驱逐舰。

At the same time, in addition to the Air Force's fighter and bomber units stationed at Darwin Airport, there was also the First Team of the Second Detachment of the Naval Air Force - the only torpedo bomber unit in the entire Ming Dynasty that had conducted night sea attack training.

"Send the order, eject all the reconnaissance planes, and search the strait in a zigzag pattern; let the big names take the lead and send out sentries two thousand meters ahead." Liu Zaiyao ordered.

"Got the order!" The adjutant immediately accepted the order and repeated loudly: "Let all sea reconnaissance fly, search the strait in a zigzag pattern, and the destroyer Daimyo will stand guard at a distance of 2,000 meters from the fleet."

The faint light reflected by the Emei Moon at the beginning of the month is better than nothing. Under the faint moonlight, the sea shows an extremely deep blue-black color.

The fleet headed eastward and disappeared into the endless deep night...

For the carrier-based aircraft pilots who are returning home, the current situation is a typical one of extreme joy and sorrow.

The remaining fuel was quite considerable, enough to fly at cruising speed for almost an hour, but it was far from enough to support Darwin Airport.

Zhou Qi hesitated for a long time, and finally ordered: "Go south, to Cape York Peninsula. I remember someone said that there are our own people there."

"Team Zhou, will we make an emergency landing or parachute directly?" someone asked.

"It's too dangerous to make an emergency landing. Just parachute."

"Yes."

Objectively speaking, pilots are not necessarily worth more than airplanes, and it cannot be generalized.

一名初出茅庐的菜鸟飞行员不见得比昂贵的四引擎飞机更值钱，一架B-17价值25.9万美元、一架B-24价值30万美元、一架B-29的采购价更是高达60.5万美元。

However, naval aviation, especially carrier-based aircraft pilots, is different. Each of these elites is highly precious and is much scarcer than ordinary pilots.

Moreover, the most valuable thing is the people's hearts. An army without morale is just a showpiece.

If it is publicized that airplanes are more valuable than pilots, the long-term result will be that the latter will gradually become bastards who dare not fight or fight.

"Please check carefully and take a look at your flight logs. Take them with you." Zhou Qi reminded them when they were about to fly over land.

Later, he opened the hatch cover, and the rear seat machine gunner also reached out and took out the flare gun.

"Boom! Whoosh—"

White flares flew skyward, standing out in the darkness.

Zhou Qi let go of the joystick and stood up from his seat. At his greeting, his partner jumped out first and successfully opened the umbrella.

A few seconds later, he jumped out of the cabin and opened the parachute bag.

Looking up diagonally upward, I saw a group of stars moving. It was a formation of carrier-based aircraft that turned on their night lights.

Before the parachute jump, everyone had agreed that one of the crew members would fire a signal flare five minutes later, and everyone gathered close to him - because he had been injured by fragments of anti-aircraft fire and was unable to move.

If he has an accident and fails to launch on time, Zhou Qi will take over.

A few minutes later, everyone gradually set foot on the sparse grassland of Queensland, only scattered over a wide area of ​​​​a few square kilometers.

The yellow flare took off as scheduled, and the pilots trotted towards that direction with flashlights and pistols in hand...

At 21:37 that night, three more seaplanes ejected from the light cruisers Qiantangjiang, Xiangjiang, and Beipanjiang on the sea 12km west of the Torres Strait.

More than an hour ago, a seaplane ejected by Yuanfeng clearly discovered the TF-12.2 fleet, and the search for the enemy was completed.

Lexington's flooding and engine failure forced her to sail at low speed, and Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher ordered the destroyer Mustin to escort her to Townsville - Moresby, although close, was too dangerous.

Now, the rest of the heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers of TF-12.1 have converged with TF-12.2, preparing to intercept the invading Ming fleet near the channel of the Torres Strait.

The Torres Strait is shallow in the south and deep in the north. The narrowest point is about 60km wide, the average water depth is 50m, and the shallowest point is only 14m. There are a large number of coral reefs and small islands in the strait, and there are many hidden reefs, which is not suitable for fleet battles.

Major General Frank judged that the Ming fleet would definitely take the northern channel, and all he had to do was wait there and seize a favorable position in advance.

As soon as the Ming army appears, they will greet them with artillery shells and torpedoes. Liu Zaiyao graduated from Hangzhou Armed Forces Academy, the cradle of Ming Dynasty naval officers. He worked his way from destroyer ensign navigation officer to lieutenant commander, and served on many cruisers and battleships. He then began to actually command the fleet after further studies at Tianjin Naval Staff University. .

The Torres Strait is shallow in the south, deep in the north, and full of reefs, so it is naturally most appropriate to take the northern channel.

Liu Zaiyao can guess how the US military commander deployed it, and he will know if he puts himself in his shoes.

Therefore... in order to counter the U.S. military's interception, he ordered the four destroyers Qinshui, Qingyuan, Longchuan, and Yunhe to leave the fleet and form a lightning strike team to take the southern channel to surprise the enemy.

Yunhe is the second Jinghai-class super destroyer with a standard displacement of 2920 tons. It is equipped with five single-mounted 5mm naval guns. Its top speed is close to 144 knots. It is quite expensive to build.

Unlike the French super destroyers, the Tranquility class is heavier. These tonnages are allocated to the armor, giving it a certain degree of protection. The situation room can withstand 5-inch naval guns at medium and long ranges, and the power cabin can also withstand 3-inch guns. Naval guns, this level of protection is extremely rare among destroyers in the world.

The Wenchang-class destroyer is essentially a lightning strike ship. This is a freak born under the guidance of the decisive battle strategy thinking of the year-it is responsible for carrying a large number of medium-sized torpedoes to carry out close-range and intensive lightning strikes.

标准排水量1750吨的她们搭载3具480㎜五联装鱼雷发射器、3座双联装128㎜舰炮，最大航速为38节。

This style is very different from the long-distance launching of heavy torpedoes favored by the Japanese in history. Akito, who does not often go to extremes, chose a one-shot deal in this regard.

The D-39 landing fleet abandoned more than 20 transport ships and landing ships, leaving only an old Pingyang-class destroyer to escort the fleet and the injured Tianshi Zuoyuan.

The remaining warships gradually increased their speed to 18 knots and crossed the strait in the dark night.

All battleships have their main lights and blinds closed to ensure that no light leaks and exposes their whereabouts.

Time passes by, and we have passed more than half of the voyage through the strait. We will soon leave this ghost place full of islands and coral reefs.

At 12:4 on December 1, the fleet became increasingly nervous and sleepy.

The seaplane sent back a search report and confirmed that there were multiple navigation light sources and ship shadows in the waters east of the strait, which was judged to be the US military fleet.

After a while, the lookout post of the Daimyo destroyer also spotted an unknown light spot about 8,000 meters away.

He initially thought it was a reflection of starlight, but soon discovered that it was the ship's navigation light and identified it as a destroyer.

Then, the lookout post discovered two more boat silhouettes one after another.

"Pass my order!" Liu Zaiyao ordered sternly: "The whole team is deployed for combat, the whole team speeds up and prepares to avoid torpedoes!"

At the same time as the battle alarm sounded, the four seaplanes that were already hovering in the nearby night sky on standby began to fly towards the center of the sea, preparing to perform their unique skills.

In fact, all this has been known to Major General Frank. The radar detected the ship ten minutes ago - however, due to too many islands and coral reefs, the XAF experimental radar performed poorly, otherwise it should have been detected earlier.

More than a dozen US warships have been waiting here for a long time. They are arranged in a slender single column, occupying the natural T-shaped horizontal head position.

Both sides were mentally prepared for this encounter, so there were no surprises at all.

The naval battle began with the first salvo fired by the destroyer Nashville, followed by a salvo and a half from the heavy cruiser Northampton.

Several rounds of 127mm artillery illumination bombs hung high in the night sky, illuminating the sky and sea.

Then, the twin 406㎜ main guns of the USS West Virginia and the USS Maryland also began to roar, and the armor-piercing projectile weighing 1016kg flew out of the muzzle at twice the speed of sound!

The sea around the Ming fleet immediately splashed with water columns of varying heights.

At this time, the U.S. sailors in the battle position suddenly heard the subtle noise of aircraft propellers amidst the rumble of gunfire.

Two seaplanes belonging to Yuan Feng passed in front of the US fleet at an altitude of about 100 meters, and at the same time spread a long curtain of smoke.

This is a solution of sulfur trioxide mixed in chlorosulfonic acid liquid. After release, it will react with water vapor in the air to form a mixture of sulfuric acid mist and hydrochloric acid mist. It is extremely corrosive, but the effect is also very good.

The Ming Navy has always attached great importance to the use of smoke. Each screen frigate has a smoke and mine department, which refers to smoke and fish (water) mines. How to use smoke in various aspects is a required course for officers.

Whether it is a land battle or a naval battle, smoke is indispensable. In some special situations, it is a force multiplier and a life-saving trump card.

Two long white smoke curtains quickly hung down from the sky, like waterfalls in the fairyland.

The TF-12 fleet occupying the dominant position was still firing fiercely just now, but now it was blocked by such a smoke screen, and the artillery fire suddenly stopped.

【Picture】

"Sir! What should we do?!"

In the command tower of the Maryland, a lieutenant colonel asked eagerly.

Major General Frank said calmly: "You are an officer, calm down. Now, launch the torpedo and adjust the course to 115."

As his order was issued, several U.S. destroyers began firing torpedoes.

One after another, Mk15 torpedoes sailed aimlessly towards the smoke curtain, passing through it one after another and disappearing.

Major General Frank intended to use this to disrupt the formation of the Ming fleet, but to no avail.

The threat from the approaching torpedoes was very small, not to mention that the agile destroyer was approaching at high speed at this moment.

Some warships had already sailed away from the place covered by the smoke curtain and resumed the bombardment, but the five or six Ming destroyers that launched the attack had already closed more than two thousand meters during this time.

The two sides once again launched a fierce exchange of fire, and the light cruisers Xiangjiang, Qiantangjiang, and Beipanjiang focused on the Phoenix.

The 144mm, 54-fold naval gun carried by the three of them not only has a slender barrel, but also has a heavier propellant pack, so it has a fairly flat ballistic performance and can be called a laser cannon at medium and short range.

The Phoenix was hit by 17 shells in just four minutes, with ignition points everywhere.

One of her turrets was knocked out, the superstructure was in shambles, the bridge was hit four times in a row, and the officers suffered serious casualties.

For a time, the entire sea area was filled with gunshots and flames, and the scene was unprecedentedly chaotic.

The operation of the Ming fleet completely exceeded the expectations of the US military, and the confident wait and wait was disrupted into chaos.

Changyi took the lead and rushed out of the smoke curtain. The captain shouted on the radio: "The brave is invincible. This battle will be won. Kill it!"

"Long live!"

(End of this chapter)