afterglow

Chapter 464 Chapter A moth flies into a flame; the target is a wasp!

There are only more than seventy SBD-2 fearless dive bombers recently delivered by Douglas Company, and these cutting-edge bombers are all deployed on the USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise.

目前除VB-3、VS-3、VB-6、VS-6中队以外，其余舰载轰炸机中队仍然装备着SB2U辩护者。

The SB2Us eliminated from the Saratoga and Enterprise were put to good use in places such as Makin, Tarawa, and Kwajalein.

The one currently attacking the second formation is part of it.

Many land-based pilots in the Naval Air Force were severely inexperienced. Many of them had just graduated from flight school, and the rear seat gunners had only done one or two target training sessions.

Most of the pilots were rookies who had only dropped a torpedo model once on the training ground before, or dived and dropped bombs into a rectangular shape painted with white paint on the ground.

But now they really have to use real torpedoes and bombs to attack the most powerful aircraft carrier formation.

At 9:59 local time, the US pilots approaching the Ming fleet saw a fleet of so many aircraft carriers for the first time in their lives. Many people were shocked by such a majestic momentum and their eyes widened.

More than twenty Type 37 naval vessels swarmed in, hunting the moths almost at will.

In the eyes of Ming army pilots, the stupid, big, black and thick F2A Buffalo fighter was a complete waste, while the TBD Devastator torpedo aircraft was slow and clumsy, no different from a living target.

All six Buffalo fighter jets were shot down in thirteen minutes. Not to mention that it was difficult for them to win with two fists. Even in a one-on-one duel, there was still no chance of winning.

The remaining torpedo planes and dive bombers could only fire with self-defense machine guns, but such weak counterattacks had little effect. One after another, the Devastator torpedo planes were damaged and fell out of control into the sea.

A minute later, the torpedo plane formation and the dive bomber formation separated. The former dropped to fly close to the sea surface, while the latter remained at an altitude of 2,500 meters.

The torpedo plane pilot, Lieutenant Donald, struggled to control the aircraft. The Devastator withstood three full rounds of dive strafing. It was riddled with holes, the hydraulic system failed, and a cylinder of the radial engine was penetrated.

"Da da da - da da -"

The rear seat machine gunner fired continuously, and the twin 7.62mm machine guns fired strings of tracer bullets.

When he was attacked by Ming fighter jets in the fourth round, Second Lieutenant Donald suddenly found that the roar of the machine gun behind him had stopped suddenly. He turned around and saw that his partner had collapsed on the seat and was motionless.

When they were about to enter the range of anti-aircraft fire, the Ming army fighter jets flew away one after another.

At this time, only 2 TBD torpedo planes and 4 SB2U dive bombers remained in the incoming US military fleet.

The Mk30 aviation torpedo traveling at a speed of 13 knots is actually not as fast as most Ming army aircraft carriers. Although its fuze quality is acceptable, its overall reliability is poor.

For example, in a historical exercise in July 13, the torpedo squadron of the USS Enterprise dropped ten Mk torpedoes. Only one operated normally, and the remaining nine either yawed severely or sank directly.

【Picture】

"Thunder is lost!"

The Taiwei Zuoyuan was under attack. The sailors saw with their own eyes two torpedo planes flying towards them and dropping torpedoes, causing large waves to splash on the sea.

After the torpedo hits the water, it will plunge into the sea due to inertia, then rise to the set depth and sail forward...

But more than ten seconds passed, why did the torpedo disappear? !

"Where are the torpedoes?!"

"Can you see it? Can you see it?!"

"Fucking gone!"

"Good boy, what's going on?!"

The officers and soldiers of the Taiwei Zuoyuan thought that the Americans had used unknown secret weapons and were greatly surprised.

The captain urgently ordered the right rudder to be full and turned the ship's bow towards the direction where the torpedo hit the water.

As a result, a few minutes passed and nothing happened.

During this period, the four SB2U dive bombers did not attack the same target as the torpedo planes, and seemed to have no cooperation.

One by one, they dived towards the Rikyu, but due to the intensive anti-aircraft firepower, they were forced to drop bombs in a hurry at an altitude of more than a thousand meters.

Four water pillars rose and fell one after another, but the closest one was almost six hundred meters away from the Rikyu. Instead, it splashed a pool of seawater on a nearby destroyer.

In view of the fact that it had been in the air for a long time and had very little ammunition and fuel left, the Type 37 shipwreck gave up after a quarter of an hour of pursuit and returned one after another to prepare for landing.

In the end, almost all the US military aircraft fleet that attacked was wiped out, and only one SB2U returned by chance.

"The performance of this electric detector is still not good. It only has a better detection range for a group of aircraft." Zhou Changfeng said.

"It's just a test thing. I didn't expect it to be of much use." Ouyang Zhanghua said casually.

Ship-based radar has more restrictions on the size of the equipment, and it is too hasty in just half a year. The land-based radar developed by the Electric Exploration Research and Development Association is quite decent, but the performance of several ship-based radar samples is still being tested. Still very elementary.

Currently, only the Ziwei Zuoyuan, Taiwei Zuoyuan, and Xuande are equipped with experimental air warning radars, and the Huangpu River light cruiser is equipped with an experimental microwave sea search radar.

The former has an operating frequency of 200MHz and a peak power of 10.5kW. The detection distance for aircraft formations is about 70km, and the detection distance for a single medium-sized aircraft is about 45km. It is sometimes affected by clutter.

Therefore, the US military aircraft fleet taking off from the Tarawa base has been detected outside the visual range, but the Catalina a few hours ago clearly exceeded the capabilities of this radar sample.

"The U.S. fleet should still be on the outside. The enemy is in the dark and we are in the dark. It's too dangerous." Zhou Changfeng felt particularly uneasy about this unilateral situation of information transparency.

"If you were in charge, how would you respond?" Ouyang Zhanghua asked nonchalantly.

"Me?" Zhou Changfeng thought for a while and replied: "If we use the idea of ​​​​land warfare... I should get the fleet away from here as soon as possible and send planes to intercept the planes on the opposite side so that the other side cannot find them."

"This would be a good idea on land. Hiding in the woods or going into ravines can avoid being tracked by others." Ouyang Zhanghua smiled, "But this is the sea, and the fleet's target is too big to escape in a short time." It’s not far away and can easily be found again.”

He then coughed dryly and issued instructions, "Send the order, Too Left, Too Right and a group of destroyers will immediately leave the unit, move away at full speed in the direction of 165, and maintain radio silence; the unit will turn to the direction of 70."

The two Taiweiyuan-class aircraft carriers are the most offensive-capable aircraft carriers in the Ming Dynasty's navy. They were modified from the Yongyuan-class battlecruisers No. 32 and No. . They can carry eighty to ninety carrier-based aircraft, and they can also Reaching a top speed of knots.

Now, escorted by a light cruiser and four destroyers, they left the second formation and turned to starboard.

The seven warships of different sizes gradually increased to their maximum speed and galloped towards the depths of the ocean in the southeast direction.

At this time, it had been three hours since the reconnaissance aircraft were released in the early morning. In theory, they had reached the farthest distance required by the mission-about 600 kilometers.

According to common sense, the US aircraft carrier formation should not be located further away, because the combat radius of carrier-based aircraft will not exceed 400 kilometers.

There is also another possibility, that is, the Americans misjudged the strategic direction of the Ming fleet, so they did not deploy the aircraft carrier formation near the Gilbert Islands. "If that's the case, the US fleet should be in the Marshall Islands and can't make it in time." said a lieutenant colonel and staff officer.

If the US military misjudges, the task force near the Marshall Islands will now be out of reach.

The distance from there to here can range from 600 to 800 kilometers, which is far beyond the combat radius of a carrier-based aircraft under combat mounting conditions.

Maybe the enemy will attack one way?

But just when everyone was discussing the possibility of a forced one-way attack by the enemy, a sudden telegram was like a stone thrown into a pond, causing ripples in an instant.

"Shangbi No. 3 found an enemy fleet, suspected to be multiple battleships, located due south of Dating."

Dating is the code name of Tarawa. This message was sent back by a Type 37 naval reconnaissance aircraft of the Ziwei Zuoyuan reconnaissance fleet.

This lack of detailed information made the generals on the bridge a little confused, and they immediately called back to ask for clear reconnaissance results.

However, Shangbi-3 missed the call back from the flagship. The pilot and rear seat gunner saw several fighter jets coming towards them from the US fleet and had to get away quickly.

In the process, it sent a second telegram.

"The enemy fleet consists of about ten battleships and one aircraft carrier. The coordinates are 0°2' north latitude and 173°4' east longitude. The speed is slow."

In fact, the TF-30 task force only has 8 battleships and 5 heavy cruisers.

A battleship formation including an aircraft carrier?

The two sides are only three hundred kilometers apart, and this aircraft carrier may release carrier-based aircraft at any time!

Even...its carrier-based aircraft may already be on the way.

The current situation facing Ouyang Zhanghua is now very clear.

The US military has not misjudged its strategic direction. So many battleships operating together are definitely not here for sightseeing, so the remaining aircraft carriers must also be near the Gilbert Islands.

So should we attack this fleet now?

If the attack is given up, the aircraft carrier will be a huge hidden danger!

If you choose to attack, what size of carrier-based aircraft formation should be sent?

"This bait is quite tempting." Ouyang Zhanghua took a deep breath and calmly ordered: "Send the order, Bei Division, Tiangang, and Li Gong immediately prepare for war and attack the enemy aircraft carrier. Telegraph Yongle, please ask the first formation to go south as soon as possible. , to meet the enemy battle fleet."

"I have the order!" the adjutant stood straight and repeated with his fists clasped: "Fomalhaut, Tiangang..."

Because the main enemy aircraft carrier formation at an unknown location may appear at any time, Ouyang Zhanghua hopes that this attack can go back quickly.

He originally planned to only send two light aircraft carriers to launch the attack, but considering the precedent of the Lexington, he finally decided to send more.

In order to release the air attack formation as quickly as possible, the three aircraft carriers turned to sail upwind, each responsible for one type of aircraft.

The Fomalhaut Division launched 14 Type 18 destroyers, the Tiangang launched 10 Type naval bombers, and the Rikyu launched Type naval mines.

In the eyes of journalists accompanying the army, this fleet of dozens of carrier-based aircraft is like wild geese flying in the blue sky in formation.

At about the same moment, a group of US carrier-based aircraft came to the southwest of the second formation of the Ming fleet, but only saw an empty sea.

Previously, the TF-31 task force was located 50 kilometers east of Tarawa.

After learning about the situation of the Ming Army's aircraft carrier formation, Lieutenant General William Halsey ordered the fleet to turn due west, and all four aircraft carriers were ready for battle, preparing to carry out a fierce full-deck attack.

According to the scheduled plan, the carrier-based aircraft released by the four aircraft carriers gathered at a coordinate southwest of Tarawa, and then carried out a coordinated attack with an unprecedentedly large fleet.

However, because the distance is 400 kilometers and the fuel is tight, the error tolerance rate is very low.

Unfortunately, the weather was not good on the west side of Tarawa Atoll, and there was a large thick cumulonimbus cloud.

As a result, the VB-4 and VS-4 squadrons of the Raider lost their way and were forced to give up halfway.

The Yorktown's VT-5 and VB-5 squadrons tried to get around the cumulonimbus cloud, but underestimated its scope and had to return due to more than half of their fuel.

In fact, only the forty-odd dive bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes of the Saratoga and Enterprise arrived at the assembly coordinates on time, and they chose to continue flying to the predicted location of the Ming army fleet.

But when they arrived at the predicted sea area, they found that there was no trace of the Ming fleet at all, and the vast sea was as calm as a mirror.

They continued to fly more than 60 kilometers to the southeast, but still found nothing. At this time, the fuel gauge pointer was halfway through, and they had to return.

When returning to Tarawa, the frightened and nervous American officers and soldiers regarded the group of aircraft flying from the west as a hostile target - they received orders to fire on all unidentified aircraft.

"The enemy plane is incoming! Seek cover!"

"Knock those sons of bitches down!"

The shrill and piercing air-raid sirens resounded throughout the island, and for a moment there was a loud roar of gunfire.

More than a dozen M3 76.2mm anti-aircraft guns fired fiercely, and hundreds of black smoke suddenly appeared in the sky. The effective shooting height of those 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns was obviously out of reach, but they were still firing aimlessly...

He couldn't find the target and had to return in frustration, and was beaten up by his own people on the way back? What the hell is this?

The embarrassed and depressed American pilots planned to question the aviation group combat staff who had sworn to them after landing.

But just as they were landing one after another, a piece of bad news reached their ears - the radars of several warships in the TF-30 fleet had discovered that unknown air targets were approaching!

"Have the Raider and Yorktown send all available aircraft to TF-30, now!" Lieutenant General Halsey ordered loudly.

Several squadrons of these two aircraft carriers were forced to return due to weather reasons. Now the flight decks are clear except for the rear section, and carrier-based aircraft can be released immediately.

There was only a two-minute difference. When the last TBD torpedo plane left the Raider, the Wasp light aircraft carrier ushered in the first aerial bomb that hit her.

"They're coming from seven o'clock! Captain!"

"Left full rudder!"

The Wasp drew an obvious track on the sea, trying to avoid the attacking Ming dive bombers, while the Chicago pianos on both sides played continuously.

"Ding-deng-deng-deng-"

The seemingly dense tracer bullets came towards me, and streaks of light passed by!

However, most Ming army pilots felt that the short-range anti-aircraft firepower of US warships was far inferior to the long-range firepower. When they broke through the outer layer before, the high-level and horizontal dual-purpose guns of more than a dozen battleships and heavy cruisers almost blackened half of the sky.

"Boom!"

At 13:01, a 250kg armor-piercing explosive bomb pierced the bow of the Wasp!

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)