New World War II Eagle Strikes the Sky

At 6 a.m. on June 4th, the Akagi aircraft carrier.The second batch of assault planes was immediately lifted from the lower decks of the aircraft carriers to the upper flight deck one by one by elevators.These aircraft are mainly "6" carrier-based torpedo attack aircraft.The pilot of the torpedo plane is the elite of the Japanese Naval Air Force.Although according to intelligence, it is impossible to have a US aircraft carrier nearby; and according to General Yamamoto's estimation, the US aircraft carrier will not be able to arrive in the waters of Midway Island until June 97 at the earliest.However, Lieutenant Admiral Nagumo kept his best pilots on board just in case, so as to deal with the attack of the US fleet.

Now the war room is busy, and a large group of staff members are busy.Suddenly, an officer ran to the commander of the fleet, General Nagumo. He came to Nagumo, stood at attention, and raised his hands in salute.

"Oh, what happened?" Nagumo asked while returning the salute.

"We just discovered a radio station near the fleet. It is suspected to be an enemy reconnaissance plane or submarine."

"Is that so..." Naruto frowned.The location of the fleet appears to have been revealed.The enemy will definitely attack the fleet.The enemy's attack may come from Midway Island Airfield, or it may come from the aircraft carrier formation.The question now is whether the enemy fleet is really not around.It's okay to be cautious anyway.Obviously, the enemy fleet was a greater threat to his fleet.That was his first goal.So he turned his head and said to his chief of staff Cao Lu:

"Mr. Caolu, are our torpedo planes ready? Is there any news about our reconnaissance plane?"

"The torpedo plane is ready. As long as it finds the enemy fleet, it can launch an attack. The reconnaissance plane has not found anything yet, general. In addition, there is something wrong with the catapult of the Tone. The reconnaissance plane was half an hour late."

"Then now we'll just have to wait."

Time passed by every minute and every second, and the sun was already very high. The golden sunlight dispelled the white fog on the sea, and coated the "97" carrier-based torpedo attack aircraft that were neatly parked on the deck. There is a layer of golden light on it.

"General, Captain Tomoyaga is calling."

"read."

"The bombing of Midway Island was completed, but all the enemy planes had already fled during the attack, so the attack failed to destroy the enemy planes on Midway Island, and the damage to the airport was relatively limited. It is estimated that the enemy airport can still take off and land planes. If you want to destroy the enemy If there is no air power, it is necessary to attack the enemy's airfield again.  …”

"Mr. Caolu, do you think we will launch a second strike immediately?"

"General, let's wait for news from the reconnaissance plane. I estimate that in a few ten minutes, the reconnaissance plane will have news."

"it is good."

To his chief of staff, Rear Admiral Kusaka, Nagumo has always been obedient to what he says, so much so that some people think that Kusaka is the real commander of the fleet.

……

At 7:10, the destroyer Wufeng issued a semaphore: "Enemy aircraft found." The signal flag was raised on the mast of the Japanese ship, and the alarm sounded through the sea and air.

Appearing on the starboard side of the Akagi were 6 "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft and 4 B-26 bombers that took off from Midway.They don't have any fighter protection.Fighters were put into interception operations.

Zero War, responsible for guarding the aircraft carrier, rushed towards these unprotected bombers.The anti-aircraft guns on the ship kept firing.

Those flying these planes are young rookies, many of whom have not yet completed their full training courses.So much so that they could only line up in a single line under the leadership of the captain, braved the gunfire without making any evasive actions, and rushed straight towards the Akagi, because once they dodged, they might not even be able to find an effective attack for themselves. line.

Before they could get close to the aircraft carrier, three torpedo planes were hit by the zero battle and fell into the sea. These planes slammed into the sea and smashed to pieces.One plane leaned over and the wing first touched the sea surface. The huge impact caused the wing to break in two immediately, and then the plane hit the water heavily, splashing huge waves.

The remaining 7 planes continued to approach and dropped torpedoes one by one.

These torpedoes galloped forward with long white trails, and countless eyes stared at these torpedoes.The experienced sailors were all relieved, and they all judged that none of these torpedoes could hit.

The fact is the same, all the torpedoes passed by the side of the aircraft carrier, and none of them hit.On the contrary, the torpedo planes pulled up after the torpedoes were shot by anti-aircraft guns and attacked by Zero War, one after another were shot down.

There was cheering on the Akagi aircraft carrier, not only the Akagi, but the entire fleet was cheering.

Yamaguchi Tamon was also watching the battle from the bridge of the Hiryu aircraft carrier at this time, and the staff officers around him were also cheering when they witnessed the American torpedo planes being shot down one by one.

Yamaguchi said to Tsukio Karai, the captain of the Hiryu who was standing beside him watching the battle, "Karai-kun, what do you think of these American pilots?"

"General, their technical level is very low, and they obviously lack training. They are no match for Imperial pilots at all, but..." Kalai Tsukio hesitated for a moment, and Yamaguchi gave him a light look and said:

"But they're all brave, aren't they?"

"Yes, sir, they are all respectable warriors. It is hard to imagine that the Americans can be so brave, and they are no less than the warriors of the Empire."

Yamaguchi nodded, and said worryingly: "Chief Yamamoto once mentioned a conversation he had with a guy from the Army—of course, the guys from the Army are all brainless idiots... When Chief Yamamoto said that the industry in the United States is far away When they surpassed our country, the guy said, "We have the spirit of Yamato!" Really let those fools come here to see, they also have the spirit of America! Once this spirit is combined with huge material power, the prospect of war is really great ..."

"General..." Shizuo Kalai looked at the mountain pass in surprise.

"So this battle must be won, and it must be a big victory, a complete victory. Only in this way can the empire have a bright future. Perhaps, we have come to the time to raise the Z flag again." Yamaguchi patted Kalai. shoulder, smiled, and said, "Mr. Calais, we all have to work hard."

"Yes, General!"

At this time, on the Akagi aircraft carrier, Nagumo was discussing with his Chief of Staff Kusaka.

"Mr. Caolu, these planes should belong to Midway Island. The airport on Midway Island is really a huge threat."

"Yes, General, Youyong-kun also mentioned that the airport has not suffered a devastating blow. If it cannot be destroyed, such blows will follow one after another. Although we have not been injured just now, we may suffer losses if we are negligent." Cao Deer said thoughtfully, "General, I think we must completely destroy the air power of Midway Island now. I suggest that the planes that have been parked on the flight decks of the "Akagi" and "Kaga" aircraft carriers be replaced by elevators. Return to the lower deck so that the under-fuselage torpedoes can be removed and the plane loaded with bombs. Then sortie and destroy Midway Airfield!"

After thinking for a while, Nagumo followed Kuolu's suggestion again.

"Notify Akagi and Kaga, send the torpedo plane back to the lower deck, unload the torpedo, and replace it with a high-explosive bomb."

As the order was issued, through the window of the bridge, one could see that the deck was immediately busy, and the planes were carefully moved to the elevator and then lowered to the lower deck.Maintenance personnel wearing vests of various colors ran around the plane, and various flags and signal lights danced non-stop.

At 7:30, the aircraft had basically been retracted to the lower deck, and the work of replacing the torpedoes with bombs was also in full swing.At this time, a staff officer hurriedly ran towards Nan Yun and Cao Lu with a document.

"General, the reconnaissance plane spotted the US fleet!"

"What!" Cao Lu turned his head in astonishment, and snatched the document directly from the staff officer's hand.

This gaffe is not due to lack of education, but its consequences are too terrible.If there is a US aircraft carrier formation, it means that the enemy's attack will immediately fall on their heads.The entire fleet would be in danger of being destroyed.

The report was very succinct: "Ten US warships were spotted in the southeast direction."

"This damn reconnaissance plane, can't that damn liaison officer explain it more clearly? Ten warships? Is there an aircraft carrier here!" Cao Lu thought angrily.

"Quick, immediately notify the drawing room to calculate the distance! — General, there is no description of the enemy's ship type, the key is that we don't know if there is an aircraft carrier."

"Mr. Caolu, pay attention to calm down!" Nanyun was a little dissatisfied with Caolu's a little gaffe, "Let me see, ah, ten warships, with such a scale, there shouldn't be no aircraft carrier? ——Sent to the reconnaissance plane Report, requesting confirmation of the enemy's ship type. Order the patrolling fighter unit to strengthen vigilance."

The drawing room quickly reported the distance of the enemy fleet: 320 kilometers.

"General, maybe the situation is not that bad." Cao Lu calmed down seeing the number within the strike range of the opponent's bomber, "Our position has already been exposed. If the enemy has an aircraft carrier, then the enemy's carrier-based bomber has already It's time to attack us." This guess made everyone on the bridge breathe a sigh of relief.

Fifteen minutes later, the reconnaissance plane still did not send back information.A feeling of uneasiness gradually emerged in everyone's mind: what happened to the reconnaissance plane?Was it shot down by an American carrier-based fighter jet?

"Order, lower deck, suspend bomb replacement." Nagumo broke the uncomfortable silence and gave the order.

At this moment, the alarm sounded again.The fleet was again attacked by air.

This time it was 16 "Dreadnought" dive bombers, without fighter escort.These planes failed to break through the defense circle of fighter jets at all, and were dispersed by zero battle.They either dropped bombs in panic and escaped, or were shot down mercilessly by fighter jets.

"Mr. Caolu, where do you think these planes come from?" Nanyun asked.

"General, it should still be Midway Island, otherwise it is impossible to not have fighter escorts."

As if to confirm this, another batch of 15 bombers appeared.This time it is the most typical road-based bomber - B-17 Sky Fortress.It was a heavy bomber with four engines.They have strong self-defense firepower, good high-altitude performance, good ammunition load and range, and are a good strategic bomber.However, this kind of bomber is not suitable for attacking active targets on the sea.None of the bombs they dropped at an altitude of 6000 meters hit.Then came 11 more dive bombers, whose fate, of course, was not different from that of the previous batch.

Although several attacks failed, the threat of Midway Airport has been fully revealed.

"General, call back from the reconnaissance plane! The enemy has no aircraft carrier!"

"It's flustered, what does it look like! Bring it here and let me have a look."

Nan Yun opened the file, and Cao Lu leaned over to read it together.The telegram clearly stated that "the 10 US warships are 5 cruisers and 5 destroyers."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a fleet without an aircraft carrier is almost no threat.What are a few cruisers and destroyers? Even if there are battleships, after Midway Island is cleared away, the bomber and torpedo forces are confident that they can all be sent to the bottom of the sea with a single assault.Just like killing those two British warships.As a result, Nagumo ordered to continue preparing to attack the land target of Midway Island.There was chaos on the deck again: the plane continued to unload torpedoes and replace them with ordinary bombs.Although hectic, compared with just now, everyone felt very relaxed.Now, the bomber has been re-armed and sent to the flight deck again.The aircraft carrier began to turn against the wind, and in a few minutes, the second wave of bombers would take off and bomb Midway again.

However, at this moment, the reconnaissance plane sent back a telegram again: "An enemy fleet has been found, and there seems to be an aircraft carrier behind it."

"My God, Amaterasu, what's going on with these guys! Is there an aircraft carrier? What does it mean to seem!" Anger was burning in Nanyun's heart, and he wanted to pull those damned guys out of the reconnaissance plane and replace them with himself, " Can't these guys see clearly?"

Taking a deep breath and calming down his emotions, Nagumo turned to Caolu.

"Mr. Caolu, what do you think of this information?"

……

Cao Lu pondered for a while, "General, this information should be reliable. A fleet of this size should not have an aircraft carrier. General, we must give priority to attacking enemy aircraft carriers."

"But now the bombers are all carrying high-explosive bombs for ground attack, and the effect of using these bombs to attack warships is very limited." An officer next to him said.

The one who spoke was Genada Minakasa, one of the best bomber commanders in the United Fleet. Today he should have directly commanded the first wave of attack aircraft against Midway Island, but he had to stay because of a bad cold.Genda, who participated in the battle of Pearl Harbor, is absolutely the authority on how to strike at sea targets.

"Then, let the ground crew immediately replace the bomb with a torpedo." Cao Lu said.

Nanyun thought for a while and ordered: "Follow the chief of staff's opinion."

"Don't send the plane down again, just change it on the deck, be quick!" Cao Lu added.

The deck was busy. The bombs on the torpedo plane were removed and replaced with torpedoes, and the high-explosive bombs on the dive bomber were also replaced with semi-armor-piercing bombs.In order to save time, the unloaded high-explosive bombs did not have time to be sent back to the ammunition depot, but were piled up here and there on the deck of the aircraft carrier.This became the key to determining the fate of these aircraft carriers later.

It is now 8:30 in the morning, and at this time there is another roar of aircraft engines over the fleet.But this time it was no longer American bombers, but Japan's own fleet.The Tomoyong aircraft group returning from the attack on Midway Island has flown over the Japanese fleet.

Now the most troublesome situation happened: the first batch of assault planes to Midway Island had already returned, their fuel was almost exhausted, and they had to be landed on the mothership immediately; the second batch of assault planes were not ready yet, They also occupy the flight deck.And those "Zero" fighter jets protecting the aircraft carrier are about to run out of fuel, and they have to land for refueling.

"My God, how did all these messy things come together!" Nan Yun gradually had an ominous premonition in his heart.

Now there are several choices before Nagumo:

First of all, he can immediately send the attack aircraft on the flight deck to attack the enemy ship, thus clearing the runway.However, these aircraft have not yet completed the refitting of torpedoes, so they can only use bombs with lower lethality mounted on bomb racks for air strikes, and there is no fighter escort.And using bombers without fighter escorts to attack heavily defended aircraft carriers, the American planes that suffered heavy losses but gained nothing just now are an example.If we send them out now, I'm afraid they will be beaten by meat buns, and they will never return.Moreover, the time required for takeoff is not short. I am afraid that some aircraft will run out of fuel before the deck is empty.Maybe dozens of planes would crash in front of their own people because they ran out of fuel. The Japanese Navy will lose dozens of its best pilots in vain.This loss is unacceptable for Japan, which has insufficient pilot reserves.

Secondly, he can order the attack aircraft on the flight deck to be sent to the lower deck immediately, leaving the flight deck empty.After these planes landed, they were sent to the hangar, and those bombers that were fully prepared were lifted to the flight deck again, and then launched the deadliest blow to the enemy.But, will the enemy give him so much time?

It's a tough choice, and whichever you choose comes with a huge responsibility.Nanyun felt that it was difficult for him to make up his mind. In fact, he was not a person with steel-like endurance.So he habitually consulted the chief of staff, Major General Cao Lu.

Caolu also felt a headache. He pondered for a moment, and saw that the bomber commander Genda was beside him, so he asked him, "Genta-kun, what do you think we should do?"

Genda looked at the aircraft fleet circling above the aircraft carrier, there were many people there who were his brothers who lived and died together.So Genda said, "I see, our plane has to land first to refuel."

Thus, a decision that should have been made by the supreme commander of the fleet that affected the entire campaign and even the direction of the entire war was made by a lieutenant adjutant.

So the planes parked on the decks of the two aircraft carriers "Akagi" and "Kaga" were urgently put into storage again, so as to make room for the "Zero" fighters who were in urgent need of refueling and the exhausted attackers returning from Midway Island. out of place.Once again the deck was as busy as a construction site.These poor planes were raised again and again, and were sent back again and again, thus creating a record in the history of naval warfare that no one can match—in 3 hours, a group of planes were transported between the hangar and the Moved between the flight decks as many as 5 times, but ultimately failed to send them out.As the deck was emptied, the Tomonaga fleet circling and waiting to land began to land one after another.It took a total of 40 minutes for this large number of aircraft to land on the ship one after another.It was 9:18 am when the wheels of the last plane touched the deck.The most precious time was lost in vain.

At 9:25, the attack fleet, which had been sent back to the hangar, was lifted to the flight deck again and for the last time.The aircraft carrier began sailing against the wind.Prepare to launch the long-delayed attack.At this moment, someone came out from the air observation post and shouted: "Enemy torpedo planes have been found!"