afterglow

Chapter 468 The end of the naval battle; now is no worse than the most difficult time in the past

"Keep calm! We can do this."

On the bridge of the Saratoga, the chief petty officer shouted to a frightened lieutenant.

The situation that Lieutenant General John Halsey was most worried about happened. The two missing Ming aircraft carriers suddenly launched an attack, and the ferocious attack was almost unstoppable.

The terrifying continuous air strikes have made the entire TF-31 task force terrified. In just nine minutes from the beginning to now, the Raider and Yorktown have suffered heavy damage, and streams of black smoke have gathered together and floated into the sky.

In the air just two kilometers west of the fleet, Fan Sizhi was still flying the plane to survey the overall situation and direct the actions of each group of dive bombers.

He was soon discovered by an F2A Buffalo fighter. Fan Sizhi used the cover of the clouds to dodge deftly and avoid three attacks, but his Type 12.7 bomber still took several rounds of mm machine gun rounds.

With his superb flying skills and calm psychological quality, Fan Sizhi continued to direct the battle while dealing with the U.S. fighter jets that were chasing him.

"Stop! Stop! These two are finished... Group Four, Bai Zhilong, take your people to deal with Saratoga!"

Just as he was talking, another Type 37 ship was destroyed by anti-aircraft fire, and only one person parachuted.

Under the dark sky, the burning plane fell into the sea like a meteor!

Three aircraft in the fourth group had been shot down and damaged, and the remaining six Sanqi-type warship bombers flipped their fuselages one after another and entered a dive state.

The anti-aircraft guns on both sides of the Saratoga were at full fire. 28mm high-explosive tracer bullets and 12.7mm tracer bullets formed a dazzling picture of large and small light spots intertwined.

A Chicago Piano on an anti-aircraft platform on the port side was firing violently, but the violent vibrations and excessive muzzle flash seriously interfered with the control, making it impossible to shoot accurately at all.

"Damn it! This cannon is a piece of shit!"

"Reload! Quick!"

There are eight shells in one magazine, and they are all fired within a few seconds after being inserted. The layout of the four-unit installation in parallel makes it inconvenient to re-insert the magazines in the two middle doors.

The gunners cursed loudly, and the officer commanding at the side was anxious in his eyes and couldn't help but complain.

"What the hell are you doing? Aim in front of the target! I can't believe it..."

“Thump thump thump—bang!!!”

A 28mm high-explosive bomb exploded just as it flew out of the muzzle. The flying high-speed fragments instantly knocked down the officers and soldiers of the anti-aircraft gun and also affected neighboring gun emplacements.

Whether it vibrates violently or gets stuck easily, these are not the most annoying shortcomings of this anti-aircraft gun.

Since it was designed to attack canvas-skinned aircraft, the fuze sensitivity of the 28mm high-explosive bomb it used was very high. From time to time, bad accidents would occur, such as the chamber exploding or the inexplicable self-explosion just after flying out of the muzzle.

Facing the Ming army dive bombers that were swooping down like falcons, the captain of the Saratoga had no other choice and ordered a sharp turn to the left to evade.

However, the Saratoga, which was converted from a battlecruiser, has a slender hull, and its turning radius is as high as 1600m, far exceeding the 1070m of the Yorktown class. The large turning radius makes it inflexible at all when maneuvering and evading.

The opponent has many shortcomings, but the current Ming army pilots still have to face great difficulties-it is getting darker and the visibility is decreasing every minute.

"It's our turn, let's count down."

"Okay! Fifteen hundred meters."

"one thousand!"

"Six hundred!"

A Type 37 bomber carried out dive bombing in a normal procedure, and the standard of the action was the same as in training.

However, a 28mm high-explosive shell happened to hit the speed brake on the left side of the fuselage. It felt a violent shock. The pilot who realized that he had been hit by the shell hurriedly pulled the control stick to recover the aircraft.

The dive bomber approached from behind the Saratoga and dropped its bombs.

Immediately, the aircraft passed over the deck in an almost horizontal attitude, almost touching the aircraft carrier deck. At the closest point, the plane was only a few meters apart!

During this process, the 250kg aerial bomb it dropped flew forward for tens of meters. The wind resistance drove the small propeller blade of the threaded fuze to rotate rapidly, one, two, three times... and finally broke away with a snap.

The firing pin then entered the ready position and the fuze took effect. After just a few tenths of a second, the falling aerial bomb touched the flight deck.

The firing pin instantly triggered the primer, but because this was a delay fuse, the delay fuse was ignited first. During this period, the aerial bomb also smashed through the deck and entered the hangar.

"boom!!!"

A fire lit up in the eyes of the rear seat gunner. That was the scene when the Saratoga's rear flight deck burst into flames.

And this Type 37 bomber showed some signs of tilting to the left because the speed brake of the fuselage was destroyed.

The pilot didn't have time to think. He subconsciously took advantage of the situation and made a rolling motion, then pushed the throttle to the bottom and accelerated towards the distance.

The officers and soldiers of the Saratoga were stunned - this was a war! Do you still have free time to do stunts?

Looking down from mid-air at this moment, half of the sun has disappeared where the sky and the sea meet, and the faint light is unable to resist the spreading darkness.

The sea surface is like a blue-black rag with many small holes. The small holes with the firelight are particularly dazzling and dazzling, making it difficult to distinguish the outline of the target.

The remaining aircraft did not have the good luck of the previous Type 37 ship bombing. It can also be said that they did not encounter a good opportunity.

Environmental factors have already determined that the attack will most likely be ineffective, and this is indeed the case for the five subsequent attacks, with none of them hitting the mark.

Done! knock off!

As the retreat order was issued, the scattered Ming army aircraft groups began to reorganize while flying westward.

Everyone happily shared their recent experience, and the person who made the hit was especially excited, as if he had just killed a tiger.

At 18:42, the attack formations of Taiwei Zuoyuan and Taiwei Right Yuan ended the air attack and sent back a rough battle report telegram.

"The enemy fleet was severely damaged. The Raider was hit by four bombs; the Yorktown was hit by five bombs and two torpedoes. Retreat and return."

Suddenly, Fan Sizhi's voice appeared in the radio frequency band.

"The remaining fuel I have should not be able to fly to Mayana. I can still fly like this for half a quarter of an hour... When you guys arrive, parachute and then assemble as soon as possible."

Originally, this attack was at the limit of the combat radius, and it was flying at a high speed on the way out. Now the remaining fuel on the return trip is not enough to fly back to the aircraft carrier, so everyone will abandon the plane and parachute collectively at Mayana Atoll as originally planned.

However, Fan Sizhi's situation was even worse. His plane was hit by several 12.7mm machine gun bullets. The rubber expansion layer of the self-sealing fuel tank did not take effect instantly. It took a little time to expand and seal the breach. During this period, additional leakage occurred. The fuel caused Fan Sizhi's Type ship bomber to have its fuel gauge bottom out.

There is still a little dim red left at the junction of the sky and the sea in the west, blending with the black on the edge, and the fleet flies west like this...

The past half hour determined the fate of Task Force TF-31, but the attack waves released by the Enterprise and Saratoga also completed the attack on the second formation of Task Force A- in the same time. blow.

The pilots of the two Taiweiyuan-class ships were sorting out for the first time, but the Enterprise and Saratoga were already sorting out for the second time. After running back and forth all afternoon, fatigue is inevitable, and the chocolate containing refreshing ingredients can only offset part of the mental fatigue, but the physical fatigue is still there.

Low visibility and physical exertion at dusk largely offset the performance advantages of the new aircraft.

VB-3、VS-3、VB-6中队的47架SBD-2无畏俯冲轰炸机全都挂载了1000磅半穿甲航弹，理论上这可以对任何一艘明军航母构成严重威胁。

The Ming army pilots were also surprised to find that the enemy's fighter jets were different this time and were more difficult to deal with than the stupid Buffalo fighter jets.

At 18:19, the light aircraft carrier Tiangang was attacked first.

The heavy bomb was dropped at a height of more than 500 meters, and the impact point was in the first third.

It penetrated the wooden flight deck and steel frame like drilling through an egg shell, and then easily penetrated the hangar strong deck made of 48mm B-shaped structural steel.

"Boom!!!"

This 1000-pound aerial bomb exploded inside the No. officer's cabin. It was a typical closed-space smothering explosion.

Because the officers and soldiers were at combat positions, there were not many casualties, but it caused a fire and damaged some communication cables.

In the next half-quarter of an hour, the Tiangang was hit by a total of three 3-pound semi-armor-piercing aerial bombs.

Although it seemed harmless on the surface, a fire broke out inside, the flue was destroyed, causing a large amount of exhaust gas to spread, and the boiler was forced to shut down.

The captain ordered the ammunition depot to be filled with water to prevent it from exploding, and then ordered the hoisting of the signal flag "This ship has been severely damaged".

The members of the fire prevention team of the damage control team were wearing white flame-retardant clothes and pants, steel helmets on their heads, and oxygen masks. They held water cannons and fought the spreading fire in the black smoke-filled cabin, but there were too many fire points. Got it!

As the flagship, the Ziwei Zuoyuan was also heavily attacked. Excluding those that were intercepted or shot down, a total of 14 dive bombers attacked her in turn.

"Dong dong - dong dong dong -"

"Back on course!"

"Yes!"

The single 20.8mm anti-aircraft cannon, the twin 20.8mm anti-aircraft cannon, and the twin 38.4mm anti-aircraft cannon were all roaring into the sky, and the hot shells emitting green smoke kept flying and falling, making crisp sounds.

Under the personal command of Ouyang Zhanghua, the Ziwei Zuoyuan escaped several aerial bombs. Several tall water columns sprang up in the sea on the left, one after another.

18:27, the huge armored aircraft carrier failed to avoid this aerial bomb, and it hit the middle of the flight deck solidly!

The 64mm thick strong deck is barely enough for a 1000-pound semi-armor-piercing aerial bomb dropped at a low altitude. This is almost its limit.

The aerial bomb still failed to penetrate successfully, and then exploded violently.

"boom!!!"

The shock wave swept through the surroundings instantly, and the reinforced glass of the bridge was shattered on the spot.

A lieutenant who was observing the situation on the platform outside the bridge was hit in the head by high-speed fragments and died on the spot. The steel helmet could not withstand such large pieces of bomb shell.

Someone also screamed in the bridge. A Guantong soldier was hit in the left eye by broken glass and his face was covered with blood. Ouyang Zhanghua also had several cuts on his face and hands.

Zhou Changfeng was taking the stairs from the first floor to the third floor of the bridge at this time. The violent vibration caused him to lose his footing and fall, landing heavily on the hard steel floor.

Four minutes later, the Ziwei Zuoyuan, which had avoided several aerial bombs, was hit again.

This time the bomb was dropped at a higher altitude. The pilot was timid in the face of the fierce firepower at the last moment and pulled the lever to drop the bomb at an altitude of more than 600 meters.

This actually gave the aerial bomb a higher terminal velocity, successfully smashed through the solid and powerful deck, and exploded in the front hangar!

Several Type 37 warships were blown up on the spot, and more than a dozen ground staff and crew members waiting here were either killed or injured...

It must have been a day worthy of careful study every minute, for twelve hours of unprecedented naval and air warfare lasted from before sunrise to after sunset.

As of 18:2 a.m. the next day, the 00th, multiple aircraft carriers from both sides sank in the deep sea of ​​the Southwest Pacific.

The Yorktown, which lost power, could not stop the flooding and was sunk after abandoning the ship; the Raider's condition also continued to deteriorate, and some scattered ammunition exploded and was also abandoned.

The fire intensity of the Tiangang has not weakened, and the overall condition has been good and bad. For a time, all power was restored, but this was just a flashback. In the end, the rescue was abandoned because of the excessive damage.

In the vast darkness, the solemn-looking Lieutenant General John Halsey looked at the slowly sinking Raider in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.

The sea was densely populated with lifeboats and kali rafts. Those were the crew members who were too late to wait for the destroyer to pick up the ship and throw cables for rescue.

The officers were despondent, and an air of sadness filled the Saratoga's bridge.

"One thing we know in this battle," John Halsey continued, "is that a dive bomber raid is unstoppable, on both sides."

"Sir, the battle is not over yet, the Enterprise can continue to fight." A lieutenant colonel said unwillingly.

"No, we can't take any more chances."

After receiving the evacuated sailors, the TF-31 task force continued sailing northeast and returned to Pearl Harbor.

News of the defeat in the naval battle demoralized the US military troops stationed at Tarawa Atoll and Makin Atoll.

For the former, the Ming army's battleship formation was already right under their noses, and they could see the hazy shadows of the ships in the night when they looked towards the seaside. Those battleships had fired several cannons at the airport before, and the flames were soaring into the sky. Tons of cannonballs would definitely fall down as soon as daybreak.

For the latter, once Tarawa falls, Makin will be next.

"This battle will not decide the outcome of the war and I can't believe some people are already discussing surrender."

Major Hall is the commander of the 49th Bomb Squadron. They were deployed at Tarawa Atoll. They hurriedly took off and transferred to Makin Atoll a few hours ago, otherwise they would have been destroyed on the ground.

He approached the commander of the Marine Corps Air Force and summoned pilots from both units.

The light bulb in the simple machine shed emits yellow light, which is not very bright and looks a bit dim.

"The navy has retreated, but we can continue to fight. We still have the weapons to destroy those Chinese. All we lack is the right strategy and the courage to continue fighting..."

Hall raised his fist and said loudly: "In the winter of 1776, the British captured Fort Washington, George Washington led his defeated army to retreat to New Jersey, and the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia. This is what I want to say. , the situation now is no worse than that time.”

(End of this chapter)