afterglow

Chapter 505: Forced to fight; the last attempt
"There are so many planes these two days, so strict."

"Normally, according to the headquarters' estimates, the British fleet will arrive in the next few days."

At noon with clear skies, the Ming Army submarine Chun Equinox No. 130 was lurking in the sea kilometers east of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Since the U.S. military aircraft in the sky never stopped, the submariners could not find a chance to surface, and even the periscope did not dare to stick out of the water for a long time. The entire submarine moved slowly underwater at a low speed of 2 knots.

Counting the days, the British aircraft carrier should be almost arriving in Hawaii after more than ten days of sailing.

This is completely consistent with the current situation - US military patrol aircraft have become particularly active in the past few days, and a large number of PBY Catalina seaplanes are searching for Ming army submarines in the waters near Hawaii from morning to night.

At 12:47, on the th day of the Spring Equinox, there was a very light plume of smoke on the eastern sea surface, which was presumably emitted by the chimneys of low-speed ships.

A quarter of an hour later, the target mast appeared in view, and a short while later, its hull was gradually revealed.

"Merchant ship, about 5,000 metric tons, speed nine knots."

"Boss, do we want to lay an ambush?"

The matter was so important that the captain personally boarded the control tower.

"A mere ship is not qualified. Now the sentinel duty comes first."

The game between the two sides lasted for a full seventeen hours, and the cat-and-mouse game evolved into a life-and-death showdown.

The sailors of the Bulmer cheered loudly when they saw this, thinking that they had achieved victory.

At 16:32, one of them suddenly said: "Look to the north, there is a mast."

On the 17th day of the Spring Equinox, seawater poured into the ballast tank, the diesel engine also shut down quickly, and the electric motor drove the submarine at maximum power.

The sun sets, the moon rises, the sun rises and the moon sets.

However, the captain, who was extremely vigilant, asked the sonar crew again. After learning that he had not heard the sound of twisting, deforming and bubbling as the wreckage sank, he immediately instructed the ship to continue cruising nearby.

Several pipe valves also began to seep, and thin water quickly overflowed.

After careful consideration, the captain of Vernal Equinox No. 17 ordered to continue diving to a depth of 80 meters.

Seeing everyone's astonishment, the captain urged them to hurry up, and the submariners began to take action.

The lookout on the submarine's control tower shouted loudly as he climbed back into the boat along the ladder.

The first thing that came into my ears was the noise of the destroyer's propeller, then the sound waves from the active sonar hit the submarine's shell, and then the depth bombs were quickly thrown into the water by the destroyer...

On the 17th of the Spring Equinox, extra debris and even a bottle of spare engine oil were put into the torpedo tube, and they were all fired out after the explosion, in an attempt to get away with it.

As a last resort, the captain had to order to continue diving to 100 meters.

At 13:25 in the afternoon, the Equinox No. , which had surfaced for navigation and charging, was discovered by a US military TBD Devastator torpedo aircraft.

When the submarine was completely submerged under the water, the bullets fired by the US military aircraft also crackled down, and a series of slender water columns splashed on the blue sea.

Huge water pressure acts on this submarine, which was completed ten years ago. The creaking sound of the steel seems to tell everyone that it has reached its limit.

The Chun-class ocean-going submarines designed and finalized in the 1920s are far behind today's Lixia-class in terms of technology. The safe diving depth is only 70 meters, and the ultimate diving depth is only 100 meters.

On the 17th of the Spring Equinox, the remaining power was almost exhausted. Although the submariners who survived the disaster did not want to take the risk of recharging during the day, it was a pity that they had no choice now.

Everyone was exhausted, and many people didn't even have the energy to get up.

The attack of depth charges will affect the destroyer's sonar. After each explosion, it will take several minutes before uninterrupted detection can be resumed. During this period, seconds must be raced to maneuver and avoid.

After a while, the bridge and chimney emerged from where the sky and the sea meet in the distance.

At 16:20, the destroyer USS Bulmer, which was patrolling near the Big Island of Hawaii, came over aggressively. At this time, two Catalina seaplanes were already hovering in the sky.

The Devastator torpedo plane rushed straight towards the Ming submarine. The captain immediately ordered to dive to 40 meters to avoid it.

What we witnessed next was completely in line with our guess. It was the Saratoga that had been missing for many days!
The captain stared into the distance and quickly analyzed the next best decision.

This time the attack was more accurate, and the depth and explosion point were closer than last time. The large vibration caused a torpedo soldier to fall down and hit his head on the hard steel frame next to him.

The two people next to him also turned their eyes and indeed saw the mast and faint black smoke.

"That chimney...uh...did I make a mistake? There seems to be a black line."

Five minutes later, Bulmer dropped eight more depth charges.

"Upright?"

Three lookout posts boarded the command tower and vigilantly observed the surrounding sea area with binoculars.

It's small, dark, hot, humid and smelly, and you may die at the bottom of the sea at any time. This high-pressure environment makes people physically and mentally exhausted.

"Wide chimney, vertical black line, my God, this is not the Saratoga!"

About half a minute later, a dull "dong dong" sound sounded, and everyone could feel the submarine shaking slightly.

Six minutes later, Bulmer dropped five more depth charges.

The Devastator torpedo plane, which was not equipped with depth charges, was unable to do anything about it and immediately generated electricity to report the situation to the base.

"Enemy plane! An enemy plane, coming from the direction of 335, is coming towards us!"

The American merchant ship named Carroll did not know that it had been spared by the sea wolf lurking here, and continued to sail through this sea area at the most economical cruising speed.

Such a sound was terrifying to the ears of the sonar soldiers.

It was not until noon the next day that the Bulmer left because she received an order to return to port.

After a brainstorm, he decisively ordered: "Send power to report the enemy's situation! Dive to periscope depth in five minutes and prepare to follow."

Equinox B17 was more than ten kilometers away from the target, and the target was sailing northwest. The speed difference between the two sides was too small, making it difficult to catch up and seize the ambush position.

Instead of that, try tailgating.

In fact, the bigger trouble is that sending telecommunications now is likely to be noticed by the US military. They will inevitably be more vigilant and may not even be able to track them quietly.

According to the initial plan half a month ago, the British fleet will converge with the TF-5 task force around May 20 at point S, 31 kilometers east of the Big Island of Hawaii.

However, because the Ming fleet had already fled away on alert, Chester Nimitz temporarily decided to let TF-31 approach Hawaii first, using a half-luring and half-forcing posture to force the main Ming fleet to respond.

As a result, he planned several simultaneous operations.

First, the Saratoga lifted radio silence and wandered in the waters near the Big Island of Hawaii.

Second, the aviation units of Oahu and Maui organized a moderate-scale air strike to destroy and suppress the Ming army’s airport on Kauai. Third, Army troops should be prepared for landing, or at least pretend to be ready.

In this way, the Ming fleet can be forced to take the initiative to fight. Otherwise, Kauai, which came all the way to capture, will become a lonely island and will be taken back by the US military soon.

In the early morning of May 5, the Army Air Force took the lead in launching a raid.

Twenty-six P-26 fighter jets and seven cutting-edge P-40 Lightning heavy-duty fighter jets taking off from Oahu's Wheeler Airport and Hickam Airport pounced on Kauai.

【Picture】

The sky was clear, breezy, and cloudless. The U.S. military fleet, which had no cover from clouds, was intercepted by the Ming Army fighter jets that scrambled into the air.

A fierce air battle broke out over Kauai Island, but the P-38 formation did not interfere in the battle. They flew straight to Weiyuan Airport, and then used the 20mm cannon and 12.7mm machine gun on the nose to fire violently.

A Type 36 fighter jet taxiing on the runway was destroyed. The damaged and out-of-control aircraft rushed out of the runway and turned into a burning bonfire on the land.

Fortunately, the anti-aircraft weapons of the Ming army's ground forces are a level higher than those of the US military. The combination of the Type 12.8 20.8mm anti-aircraft machine gun and the Type mm anti-aircraft cannon can effectively deal with enemy aircraft at low altitudes.

A P-38 fighter jet whose left wing was broken kept rolling, dragging black smoke and roaring towards the northwest of the city.

It finally crashed just a few dozen meters away from Zhou Changfeng's headquarters, raising a surging fireball. The spilled aviation gasoline caused a small fire. The officers and soldiers worked for half an hour to put it out completely.

At 9:45, the second wave of US air strikes followed.

This time the attacker was the Naval Air Force. 18 F4F Wildcat fighter jets and 13 SBD Dauntless dive bombers once again carried out violent bombing on Weiyuan Airport.

More than twenty 500-pound aerial bombs severely damaged the runway, and surrounding facilities and sheds were not spared. The biggest problem was that one of the aerial bombs destroyed a wooden shed where machines were parked, destroying three bulldozers on the spot.

This left the Ming Army on Kauai with only two usable bulldozers. It was undoubtedly quite inefficient to fill the large craters with manpower.

"How can we be led by others? The 10,000 soldiers and horses on Kauai are not made of clay. Just wait and see what happens."

The Ming fleet center had different reactions after learning about the Saratoga's appearance. Some people proposed that the C-20 air raid fleet, which had not been exposed so far, launch a surprise attack on the Saratoga. However, Song Zhongkai firmly opposed this. If you have a tiger, you will tend to plan a trip to the tiger mountain.

He had asked Mr. Zhou several times before whether he could hold Kauai Island. The latter's answer was that if the US military did not send more troops to Hawaii, Hawaii's existing forces alone would never be able to capture Kauai Island.

In addition to the already short and disabled 9th Infantry Division, the other main force stationed on Oahu is the 7th Infantry Division, but it is impossible for the Americans to come out in force.

"But... Admiral, you have to think carefully. There are still one or two thousand (U.S. military) people in the mountains of Kauai. They are all well-established and organized. If Oahu sends troops to land and attack from both front and rear, the situation will be very different. ...It's very dangerous." He Wu, the captain of the Yongle, said with a hard smile.

Ouyang Zhanghua, who was in Ziwei Zuoyuanhao, was also quite confused at the moment. The current situation was too depressing.

The US military, whose core goal is to defend Hawaii, does not want to take the initiative. The aircraft carrier can hide within the combat radius of shore-based aircraft. As long as it can make the Ming army sigh at the island and withdraw its troops, it will be considered a success.

The combat radius of shore-based aircraft is too wide, which greatly limits the actions of our own aircraft carriers.

If you choose to go forward, the risk is huge; if you choose to retreat, you are too unwilling to do so.

He looked out the window at the vast blue sea and hesitated for a long time, and finally made up his mind: "Just give it a try. If you don't give it a try, it won't make sense to withdraw the troops."

On the same day, after informing him of his ideas, Song Zhongkai approved it, and Ouyang Zhanghua immediately issued a series of orders.

"After the order is passed, our fleet will turn to the 135 direction and plan to maneuver to the southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii to search for the British ships coming to help. Fleet C 20 will decide its own route to follow."

The C-330 air attack fleet affiliated with the two Ziweiyuan-class armored aircraft carriers is now located 3 kilometers southwest of Kauai Island, and has been reinforced by three destroyers and one super destroyer.

The C-20 air raid fleet to which the Tianshi Zuoyuan and Taiwei Zuoyuan belonged were farther to the west and had not been discovered by the US military.

Ouyang Zhanghua believes that the assembly point of the British and American fleets should be in the waters east of the Big Island of Hawaii, probably in a fan-shaped area with a radius of two to three hundred kilometers from the northeast to due south.

After appearing in the north, the Saratoga will most likely turn around and join the British fleet.

Whether you can track the enemy next depends on your luck, but I can barely comfort myself because this can be regarded as a disguised "encirclement and reinforcement", which is much easier than finding a needle in a haystack.

The air raid fleet galloped across the vast Pacific Ocean, leaving a trail of tracks.

This is a last ditch effort.

If it fails to do so, the expedition to Hawaii will be suspended, or it should be suspended when the British fleet is informed of the arrival of reinforcements.

At noon on May 5, the weather was clear, but there were more white clouds in the blue sky than in the past few days. The C-22 air raid fleet was still one hour away from its scheduled position.

At 12:33, a submarine on sentinel duty suddenly sent a message stating that an unknown fleet was found 85 kilometers away from the 140th direction of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Ouyang Zhanghua immediately ordered the battle alarm to be sounded, and every warship sounded a rapid ding-ding-ding bell.

As a result, the submarine sent another telegram half an hour later, reporting that this "unidentified fleet" was a merchant fleet with 7 to 8 merchant ships plus 3 destroyers.

A false alarm!
At 13:55, the radar soldiers of the Ziwei Youyuan detected a target in the sky more than kilometers north of the fleet.

Several air defense lookouts looked there for a long time, but saw nothing but white clouds.

At 14:20, the unknown target still existed, and the Ziwei Zuoyuan also detected it.

The guidance officer immediately assigned two fighter jets to take off and go into the clouds to find out.

But at this moment, a reconnaissance plane dispatched two hours ago suddenly sent back a message.

"We found two enemy aircraft carriers and several destroyers, heading 275, speed 15 knots, coordinates..."

The captain staff officer who learned of this situation could not conceal his excitement and shouted, "Found it! Found it! The enemy ship is to the east!"

Ouyang Zhanghua maintained a calm appearance and said calmly: "Each team is ready to attack."

The battle mounting order came from the Ziwei Zuoyuan's broadcast: "The Shaozai team has mounted aerial bombs, Category A-1; the Shangzai team has mounted torpedoes, completed!"

As the order was issued, the hangar became busy in the blink of an eye.

At 14:34, the two Type ships climbed to the height of the clouds and began to search for nearby abnormal targets.

"What were they talking about just now? It was so noisy that I couldn't hear it clearly."

"It seems that the enemy fleet has been discovered."

"Really or not? Did we really meet each other?"

"The British fleet can only pass through this sea area, of course... wipe! Ahead! Look ahead!"

In the sky diagonally ahead of the two carrier-based aircraft, an SB2U Vindicator dive bomber loomed among the clouds.

The two pilots instantly knew the cause and effect - Damn, this guy was hiding in the clouds and peeping!
The two men immediately set up a plane and pounced on it. The discovered US aircraft flipped down deftly, dived and accelerated away, trying to escape to the north.

[I didn’t hit the word limit, so it’s a little over. Let’s have some fun filling in some historical photos. 】

(End of this chapter)