afterglow

Chapter 499 Chapter : Door-to-door delivery for zero yuan; robbing a camp is like entering an uninhabited land!

Among the more than twenty fighter jets that went to intercept, the only one who survived was the F4F Wildcat flown by Second Lieutenant Irvine.

He opened the cabin cover, which was riddled with white bullet holes and cracks, and shouted angrily: "Those Army soldiers killed everyone! They must go to court-martial!"

After smashing the interception of US fighter jets, the Ming army's carrier-based aircraft formation reorganized its formation and continued towards Kauai.

In previous air battles, 7 fighter jets were destroyed or shot down. Now the entire fleet has 9 Type 14 ship-driven aircraft, 10 Type -type ship bombers, and Type -type ship mines.

At 16:27, on Kawaikini Mountain in central Kauai, the air defense lookout visually confirmed the menacing Ming army aircraft group through high-magnification binoculars.

"Woo--" The heart-breaking air raid siren sounded throughout the island!
Colonel Mandel, commander of the Kauai garrison, immediately issued instructions - "The air defense units will fire unrestrictedly on enemy aircraft that enter the range, and the remaining personnel will remain concealed."

All air defense positions on Kauai have entered a state of readiness, and the remaining 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns have also opened their safety and are ready to fire at any time.

Each 76.2mm anti-aircraft gun pointed diagonally into the sky. The anti-aircraft artillerymen were holding rangefinders and holding shells, ready to go.

Kauai is a mountainous island with a flatter southeastern part, where the Lihue Airport and town are located.

The core function of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns is to intimidate and deter invading enemies, thereby dispersing and disrupting their formations.

In comparison, the current attacks from more than a dozen 76.2mm anti-aircraft guns can only be regarded as sprinkling water.

There was no need for the third plane to attack it again, but somehow the pilot decided to dive and drop the bomb, perhaps out of a last-ditch mentality.

A Catalina seaplane that didn't have time to take off was blown to pieces. The leaked aviation gasoline spread on the sea surface and was quickly ignited into a flowing floating bonfire.

More than a dozen M1 anti-aircraft guns roared in unison. The first round of anti-aircraft bombardment exploded about meters below and behind the Ming army aircraft group. The second round of bombardment was also far away.

"The sight angle is 16 degrees, about 40 aircraft."

The water-cooled M2 heavy machine gun is installed on an M3 anti-aircraft tripod. The weak air defense capability of the anti-aircraft machine gun is completely insufficient to deal with today's aircraft.

Two 50kg light aerial bombs landed directly next to an L-1 liaison aircraft. The small single-wing, single-engine aircraft was instantly torn into pieces, and the two-blade propellers were thrown into the air like bamboo dragonflies. Fly out dozens of meters.

This one looks good...explosion!

Booms and booms of explosions resounded through the sky, and the bombs dropped by the aerial bombs they dropped were accurately scattered throughout the Lihue Airport.

"Da da da da——"

The Type 37 shipwreck swooped down and fired violently at an anti-aircraft machine gun bunker on the ground.

The pilot of a Type 36 naval mine has a somewhat hesitant character. When encountering a target, he will wait and see if he can encounter a better one. As a result, he missed a series of targets at Lihue Airport.

"They're here, are you ready?!"

The canteen next door was also affected. The salesperson was stabbed in the chest by a broken board and died on the spot.

Four 250kg aerial bombs using short-delay mode landed on Runway , blasting several deep craters;

The Type 250 carrier-based torpedo bomber uses a ground attack mount configuration. Each aircraft carries two 50kg aerial bombs under the belly and one kg light aerial bomb on each of the left and right wings.

In order to facilitate bombing and not be hindered by the mountains, the Ming army aircraft group first flew to the southwest of the island, then turned to the northeast and flew to Kauai in a neat formation.

"boom--"

A barracks southeast of the airport was also hit by air strikes.

At the same time, attacks on other targets were also launched.

When it was pulled up, the oil and gas inside the oil storage tank exploded, and the flames that shot up into the sky instantly swallowed up the aircraft. The violent air waves threw it into the distance like a toy, and it crashed on a road a few kilometers away to the west. Beside the stream.

The wooden houses were turned into fragments of wood of different sizes, and the camp beds were bent and deformed.

By chance, when he was turning around, he saw several barracks, three or four trucks parked, and the Stars and Stripes flying on the flagpole.

After approaching the island, the fleet of two Ziweiyuan-class armored aircraft carriers immediately received a warm welcome from the US military.

【Picture】

For torpedo aircraft pilots who need to brave countless firepower to fly head-on to the enemy fleet, these weak anti-aircraft firepower is really not enough.

They used low-altitude raiding bombing to deal with Lihue Airport, exchanging higher risks for higher hit rates.

The anti-aircraft position received the most attention. Seven or eight Type 100 warships used 7.36㎏ aerial bombs and ㎜ machine gun rounds to flatten it and plow it several times.

The high-speed aviation machine gun sprayed out a series of bullets, and a series of rapidly extending "explosion" points burst out on the ground.

Although some planes were shot down, the Ming army's torpedo plane formation still roared past the airport in a tight formation.

At that time, an entire fleet was firing desperately, with more than a hundred larger-caliber 127mm high-level and flat dual-purpose guns. It was visible to the naked eye that the entire blue sky was filled with blooming black smoke clouds.

The fighter jets were swooping and strafing wantonly, while the remaining bombers pounced on their targets according to the plan.

However, as veterans who had participated in the Battle of Tarawa, the pilots of the two Ziweiyuan-class ships had already seen the overwhelming artillery fire.

The Budweiser beer, Camel cigarettes, and canned fruits on the shelves were blown away by the shock wave, falling like a goddess scattering flowers, and even fell to the entrance of the air raid shelter a hundred meters away.

The Naval Air Station was also hit by two heavy bombs. The buildings were instantly reduced to dust. The steel frame of the radio tower was twisted and deformed, and it fell heavily with a creaking sound.

Subsequently, the port's seaplane terminal was also bombed, with wood chips and metal parts flying in all directions in the explosion.

In the blink of an eye, several U.S. soldiers manning the machine guns were knocked down. The 7.36mm machine gun bullet penetrated the body from top to bottom, entered from the chest, passed through the lower back, and finally penetrated deeply into the soil.

Intense crossfire came from all parts of the airport, and within thirty seconds two planes were hit and smoking.

"Boom!!! Boom! Boom!"

Two dive bombers first attacked an oil storage tank, which burst into flames.

"What? Where did this come from?"

“Why do the Chinese throw cans down?”

"But it's written in English..."

This time it is really free and zero yuan purchase, and it is delivered to your door.

When Lihue Airport was attacked, the third wave of attack formations organized by the US military also approached the target aircraft carrier formation.

At 17:01, the C- air strike fleet was attacked by a fleet of US military aircraft taking off from three airports on Oahu.

Under the escort of 19 fighter jets, 22 dive bombers and 17 torpedo bombers attacked the Ming fleet. However, due to interference and interception by Ming fighter jets, little success was achieved.

The Ziwei Zuoyuan was once again attacked by a 1000-pound semi-armor-piercing aerial bomb. The heavy bombs dropped by the SBD fearlessly posed a severe challenge to the armored aircraft carrier's protective capabilities.

The 1000-pound semi-armor-piercing aerial bomb dropped at a low altitude is already the limit of the powerful deck of the Ziweiyuan-class armored aircraft carrier. Fortunately, the only aerial bomb that directly hit was thrown at an altitude of about meters, lacking sufficient speed to Smashing through the heavy deck.

The light cruiser Xiangjiang in the fleet was very unlucky. She was on the left side of the Tianshi Youyuan. However, an Mk13 aviation torpedo actually passed under the aircraft carrier because the navigation depth was too deep. The torpedo came from the right side of the aircraft carrier, passed from below, and hit the stern of the Xiangjiang, causing her rudder to jam and spin uncontrollably on the sea surface...

The setting sun is like blood, and the sunset in the western sky is particularly charming.

The fleets of the two aircraft carriers were returning home, and the damage control team members of the Ziwei Zuoyuan rushed forward, racing against time to clean the damaged surface wooden decks, and then lay down prefabricated steel plate cushions.

At 17:54, the floodlights of the two aircraft carriers were all turned on, and the flight deck was illuminated as bright as day. Ziwei Youyuan took the lead in starting recovery operations.

Due to the delay in emergency repairs, Ziwei Zuoyuanhao was slightly slower.

More than a dozen carrier-based aircraft could only hover and wait in the sky, looking at the dwindling fuel gauge. The pilots urgently urged on the radio to go faster.

"The commander-in-chief ordered our team to maneuver in the direction of 315!"

After nightfall, the two armored aircraft carriers that completed the recovery operation turned together and followed Ouyang Zhanghua's order to move northwest away from Hawaii.

Because they didn't know where the Saratoga was, various formations of the Ming army continuously launched carrier-based aircraft to perform search missions from dawn to afternoon, but found nothing.

In order to reduce the risk, Ouyang Zhanghua decided to stay away from the sea area at night, so that even if the enemy came for a sneak attack, he would have more time to react.

As everyone knows, the Saratoga is currently sailing in the waters more than a thousand kilometers east of Hawaii, and Chester Nimitz has no intention of letting her attack alone.

At 19:15 in the evening, Song Zhongkai issued the latest instruction—the first formation and the fifth formation were to approach Kauai from the southwest as originally planned.

However, the fleet must maintain a distance of twenty kilometers to guard against enemy shore defense artillery.

"It's not easy. After being bombed so many times in one day, we are finally here." Zhou Changfeng sighed.

After many hardships, the A-180 special agent fleet finally spent the whole day without any danger.

The next step is to approach Kauai Island at night and prepare for the next landing operation.

Later, Zhou Changfeng came to a cabin on the lower deck of the Yongle.

Cai Zhichen's voice came from inside, "...In general, it is not necessarily more difficult than before. The enemy is unlikely to expect our night attack. Be careful to bring more explosives. There is nothing else to say."

"We are waiting for the edict to arrive!"

As expected, Zhou's arrival was sincerely welcomed by the officers and soldiers of Yiluan Division.

He glanced around and asked, "How are you? I'm going to stab you soon. Are you confident?"

Cai Zhichen raised his hands and clasped his fists, but before he could say anything, he was choked back by the loud replies from the other officers and soldiers.

Looking at the map spread out on the table in the middle, Zhou Changfeng nodded with satisfaction and said, "I hope none of those cannons will go off tomorrow."

"The fleet is expected to arrive at Yinshi. Let's rest for a few hours. We will set off as soon as the fleet arrives." Cai Zhichen said.

The intelligence on hand indicated that there were four open-air forts on the southern ridge of Kauai, as well as an unknown number of one or two hidden forts.

The so-called hidden fort is to dig out the mountain and create a shooting port on the cliff. There may be a coastal defense gun converted from a 152mm naval gun inside.

The construction of such forts is time-consuming, laborious and costly. There are few on Kauai and most of them are concentrated on Oahu.

Zhou Changfeng had long made up his mind. Carrier-based aircraft could deal with the open-air forts. As for the hidden forts, even if the special forces failed to remove them, the Third Marine Brigade would risk a forced landing.

"Today I was afraid that the Saratoga would suddenly show up, and I would lose my appetite for food all day long. Now I have successfully survived the day, and tomorrow's landing is out of the question, but I suddenly feel hungry."

He casually wrote a few words in his notebook, which was barely a diary, and then called his attendants to find a way to get some midnight snacks.

At 5:10 on May 4, the night has not yet faded, the dark sky is full of stars, and the deep sea is also reflecting starlight.

In such an environment, the Ming fleet, which maintained light control, emitted almost no obvious light source, and each ship's shadow was like a ghost fleet in the night.

Four No. 1 reconnaissance boats were lowered from the port side of the battleship Yongle, and then headed straight for Kauai.

The No. 1 reconnaissance boat made of aluminum alloy is light and flexible. However, due to the use of important lightweight alloys, this type of boat has gradually been discontinued.

At 5:20, after more than half an hour of fast sailing, the small boat sailed by the officers and soldiers of the Yiluan Division quietly approached Kauai Island.

An unexpected situation also came. A small boat hit the coral reef, and the sea water rushed in. Everyone could only use flashlights to scoop out water.

Seeing that the place where the sky and the sea meet in the east has revealed a hint of fish belly white, Cai Zhichen decisively ordered to abandon the search boat.

The remaining three small boats continued to operate, while the officers and soldiers who abandoned the boats could only carry heavy weapons and equipment and carry out simple floating objects for armed swimming.

After rushing to the beach, Cai Zhichen waved his hand while looking at the steep cliff 20 meters high, and the soldiers quickly began to deploy rocket grapple launchers.

This thing is a steel frame with a five-claw hook behind it and a solid rocket to boost it.

The principle is very simple, but it is not very easy to use. It is easy to fail to hook onto obstacles. Even if you are very skilled, you still have to try your luck.

【Picture】

Cai Zhichen stared at his watch. Counting down dozens of seconds later, at 5:30, the Ming fleet began its artillery bombardment on time.

"Okay, let's get started!"

"Huh! Huh!"

The two hooks dragging the cables flew up to the sky driven by the rocket.

After five or six seconds, both hooks fell down.

After another try, one of the hooks finally got stuck firmly, and everyone's uneasy hearts finally settled down.

The soldiers carrying the rope net deftly climbed up the steep cliff along the cable rope, and then dropped the rope net.

The soldiers who climbed up first were guarding the surroundings with automatic rifles, while the others climbed onto the seemingly impossible cliff one by one.

After passing through a field covered with weeds and rocks, the first open-air fort covered with camouflage netting was in front of us.

A few American artillerymen who didn't know their death was imminent were still smoking and chatting here, as if there was no sense of urgency that the enemy was approaching the city.

"Three people here, and a few more in the shelter nearby."

"Do it!"

"Bang bang-bang bang-bang-"

The brief gunshot lasted only two seconds, and at the same time, a grenade was thrown into the shelter next to it.

"boom!"

Wrapped in armor and wearing a hat, robbing the camp is like entering an uninhabited land!
(End of this chapter)