afterglow

Chapter 442 If you don’t suffer, you won’t learn a lesson; capture her!

The friendly forces were fighting hard in the front, and the outcome was uncertain, but Zhou Changfeng could sleep so calmly, which made Zhu Yuanwei look up to him with admiration.

How can I sleep well in this situation? !

It can only be said that Mr. Zhou is worthy of his name, and he does have the demeanor of a famous general - Mount Tai collapses in front of him but his appearance remains unchanged, and the Yellow River reaches the top but his face remains calm. This is the posture of a general.

Combat communications from the naval battle ahead were constantly coming from the bridge. Everyone knew that the fleet was fighting hard with the enemy, and the fight was inextricable.

Actually, Zhou Changfeng had already figured it out at that time.

The enemy's interception fleet is qualitatively stronger than the Ming army's landing fleet; it is enough to attack the strong with the weak. The problem is that the enemy should wait for work and occupy a favorable position in advance.

Do you still have to go ahead despite two major disadvantages? The naval generals were confident of winning, but Zhou Changfeng still felt that this was too risky and conceited.

Because of the losses suffered in the Battle of Darwin, the Ming Army has become much calmer; due to the heavy losses of the Second Parachute Regiment in the Battle of Davao, including the death of the regiment commander, the "invincible theory of divine soldiers descended from heaven" that was popular in the Ming Air Force has ceased Come down.

But the navy seems to be still immersed in the joy of winning many battles in the past. Is it true that throughout the ages, humans must have suffered losses before they can remember?

Therefore, it would be a good thing if they failed to win. It would cure the conceited mentality of the top brass of the Ming Navy.

After thinking about this, Zhou Changfeng had no worries. He casually wrote a few words about his feelings and thoughts in his notebook, then put on his earplugs, closed his eyes... and went to sleep!

As a result, when I woke up, I really won the battle?

"The second team's rescue was really... oh, it came in time!"

"Yeah, if it weren't for them, I think the final result would be to retreat."

The officers were discussing with both joy and fear, praising the first team of the Second Torpedo Aircraft Detachment of the Naval Air Force for finally arriving on the battlefield in time.

The Maryland, which had been severely damaged, was hit by two mines again and tilted greatly. It is said that US sailors were seen abandoning the ship and evacuating.

The heavy cruiser Northampton, a powerful enemy that caused great trouble to our side in this battle, was also hit by a mine and was forced to withdraw from the battle.

"This battle was too risky. Winning was purely a matter of luck, but you can't be lucky every time." Zhou Changfeng felt helpless and then asked: "How is the repair going? Can the plane take off after dawn?"

A major clasped his fists and replied: "I can't make it in time. I guess it will be around the same time."

The Tianshi Zuoguan's flight deck was hit by a 500-pound aerial bomb each in the middle and front sections. The good news is that the hole in the middle section was smaller and could barely be repaired by oneself. The hole in the front section had to be returned to port.

After repairing the middle deck, you can take off the fighter. Let the fighter start to accelerate from the end of the deck. The distance is almost enough for the fighter to pull up when it is about to reach the hole in the front section.

Although the efficiency is low, as long as four or five carrier-based aircraft can hover over the fleet on alert, they can better disperse and intercept the incoming enemy aircraft groups.

"Send the order!" Zhu Yuanwei raised his hand, looked at his watch, and said relaxedly: "Notify all ships that the enemy fleet has retreated. It's time for us to leave. The sea area ahead is clear."

The transport fleet full of army and marine officers and soldiers gradually picked up speed from a slow sailing that was almost at anchor, and continued eastward through the Torres Strait at a speed of 11 knots.

When the Tianshi Zuoyuan passed through the battle waters a few hours ago, the tragic scene had not faded away.

Zhou Changfeng walked out of the bridge, stood on the platform outside and looked around. He saw countless debris floating on the sea for several kilometers around, including clothing, rigging, canvas, life rafts, and the bodies of dead sailors from both sides.

There are many dark spots on the sea surface, where leaked heavy oil has gathered into a thick layer.

The destroyer Fanchang was severely damaged in the previous battle, and the entire ship was engulfed in flames. The fire got out of control and could not be controlled. The officers and soldiers were forced to abandon the ship, but she has remained stubbornly floating on the sea until now.

Zhou Changfeng pointed at her with complicated eyes and asked: "It's not sinking yet, why don't you go rescue it?"

Zhu Yuanwei said calmly: "It's burned from the inside out. It's just a shell. It's not worth repairing. It's better to build a new one."

A quarter of an hour later.

Jiang Ning, who used to love taking photos as souvenirs, still maintains his hobby. The 1st Marine Brigade Field Hospital and other service units all board the Feng'an freighter.

When they were passing by here, the destroyer Ruian carried out a lightning strike on Fanchang.

Two white tracks appeared on the sea, heading straight for the still-burning Fanchang.

"Boom! Boom!"

Due to being scorched by the flames for a long time, the strength of Fanchang's hull steel was greatly reduced, and some of the rivets and welds failed. Two 512mm naval torpedoes easily cut her in half.

In just a few sips of tea, there were only a few debris, oil stains, and waves left on the sea.

Jiang Ning took a few photos with his newly purchased Jingrui camera, which just happened to record the whole process.

Zhou Changfeng also saw this scene on the left wall of Tianshi. He thought for a while and asked, "Should the newly commissioned destroyers in the future be able to use this ship name, right?"

"I'm afraid there's no chance. I'll be gone after my membership is revoked in a few days." The major said before.

"Huh? Why?"

"There are so many counties in the east, west, north and south of the Ming Dynasty, all waiting for their names to be chosen. Only ships that have made military exploits and sunk can be named a second time, just like the Qinshui. They are brave and resourceful, and can kill with a small but powerful blow."

After hearing this, Zhou Changfeng felt a sense of desolation and sadness well up in his heart for some reason.

The Fanchang is destined to be lost in the long river of history and become unknown. Even military history enthusiasts a hundred years later will only notice it when they carefully study the construction history of the Ming Navy destroyer and the beginning and end of the Torres Strait naval battle... Oh, It turns out that there was such a destroyer in history.

A destroyer worth more than 9 million yuan is like this, but an individual is so insignificant.

The battleship Yuanfeng, which received more than a dozen rounds of 406mm armor-piercing bombs, was severely damaged and tilted seriously.

The light cruiser Xiangjiang tried to connect a steel cable to assist in righting it, but it almost dragged itself over. The captain hurriedly ordered the steel cable to be cut off.

Finally, the Ruian, which had just carried out lightning strikes on the Fanchang, came to Yuan Fenghao.

After all personnel were evacuated, Ryan fired two torpedoes at her.

At 12:4 on December 7, the third domestic battleship Yuan Feng, which was commissioned in the 19th year of Zhichang and built by the Ming Dynasty, sank near the junction of the Torres Strait and the Coral Sea.

In this battle, the D-12 Task Force relied on good training, brave tactics, successful surprise attacks, timely foreign aid, and good luck to successfully repel and severely damage the TF- Task Force.

The Ming army lost four destroyers, the battleship Yuanfeng sank; the light cruiser Qiantangjiang was severely damaged, but the damage was controllable.

The US military lost three destroyers, the light cruiser USS Phoenix sank, and the battleship USS Maryland sank; all other battleships suffered varying degrees of damage.

Because of the heavy losses, the Ming fleet did not pursue it.

At this time, the entire TF-12 fleet was filled with frustration, and the officers and soldiers were particularly depressed and annoyed.

hateful! The Ming fleet has obviously been contained, but who would have thought that these Chinese would take the risk of sending a night flight!

"How is the condition of the Lexington?" Rear Admiral Frank asked, exhausted both physically and mentally. “There is no update report yet, it should still be repaired.”

The Lexington was inexplicably attacked by two Ming army torpedo planes in the latter half of the night, and was hit by another torpedo. It was really puzzling.

The explosion of the torpedo triggered fires in multiple compartments, causing some aviation gasoline vapor accumulated in the 1.1-inch anti-aircraft gun ammunition magazine due to damaged pipes to deflagrate, causing the magazine to explode.

As a result, the entire Lexington lost power and electricity, and damage control units have been trying to restore it.

Just like that, after daybreak, a group of Ming army aircraft taking off from Darwin came to this sea area again. The mission was to verify the claimed results of the YH-2-1-5 aircraft.

Because it was a long-range patrol, the six Type 250 twin-engine torpedo planes only carried two kg aerial bombs. The pilots noticed from a long distance that the Lexington was still floating on the sea, with wisps of black smoke rising straight into the sky.

So six planes launched an attack, damaging the escorting USS Mustin and hitting the Lexington again with an aerial bomb, but it had no effect.

The situation at the scene was immediately sent to the D-39 Squadron, and Liu Zaiyao ordered the super destroyer Yunhe and the light cruiser Beipanjiang to chase them.

During this period, water continued to seep from the Lexington's bilges, and the emergency diesel generator could only power a few water pumps.

There was no way to get out, and most of the bottom tank was completely submerged in sea water. The damage control unit, which was fighting with flashlights in the dark, was forced to evacuate.

The damage control team members had been working at high intensity for more than ten hours and everyone was exhausted.

At 16:42 that afternoon, two Ming warships appeared on the sea level in the northwest.

Colonel Frederick Sherman reluctantly ordered the ship to be abandoned, and the sailors began to lower the rope nets and kali rafts one after another.

Since the Lexington had as many as 2,000 personnel, the USS Mustin alone could not pick them all up, so only the pilots, officers, and wounded were picked up on the USS Mustin.

At 17:20, the damaged USS Mustin fired eight torpedoes towards the starboard side of the Lexington, but only four detonated.

At this time, the two Ming warships were very close to each other, and the shells fired by the two continued to fall on the nearby sea.

The situation was urgent, so the Mastine hurriedly accelerated and fled this land of right and wrong.

【Picture】

What no one expected was that the Lexington, which was originally tilted 16° to the left, regained its balance due to a large amount of water entering the right side of the hull.

Later, because more water entered the front part, she took on a posture with the front low and the back high, with the stern slightly tilted and leaning slightly to the right.

The Beipanjiang and Yunhe that rushed to the scene were also confused. The two ships circled her several times, not knowing what to do.

The two asked Liu Zaiyao for instructions, and Liu Zaiyao ordered to first evaluate whether there was a possibility of rescue, and then sent the telegram directly to the naval commander Xia Jinbo.

The latter quickly gave instructions: try to save it and try to capture it; if not, you must seize the time to inspect its hull structure.

Because it will be sunset soon, there is a high probability that the US-Australian coalition will not carry out air strikes, so the Ming army has enough time to think of a solution.

The light cruiser Beipanjiang has a standard displacement of 8800 tons and a power of 10 horsepower, barely capable of towing; the super destroyer Yunhe is responsible for patrolling and warning nearby.

At 19:22 after nightfall, the first damage control team boarded the Lexington.

While attaching the towing steel cable, they also attached the cable and tried to integrate it into the Lexington's power grid, but failed.

The good news is that although the hulls on both sides are damaged in many places and the bottom tank is filled with seawater, the overall sealing is good. Although water is still seeping, there is no risk of sinking for the time being.

Integration into the power grid is ineffective, but direct connection to the water pump is successful.

That night, the damage control team members worked all night long. Naval officers from the two Ming warships also formed three teams, racing against time to explore, inspect, and record the design of the Lexington.

"The hangar of an American aircraft carrier is so high."

"Interestingly, it's actually two decks high, but with a steel frame in the middle."

"Is that an airplane hanging up there?"

"Wonderful, if we hang the spare aircraft on top, we can carry at least ten more aircraft."

The Americans did not know that the Lexington had not sunk. The Mustin truthfully reported the situation at the time, but who would have thought that the already severely damaged warship had been hit by four more torpedoes but had not yet sunk?

So the Beipanjiang slowly towed the Lexington all the way west.

After a night of hard work, most of the water in the lower deck of the latter's bow was drained. Now the attitude of the whole ship is no longer low in the front and high in the back, and the drag resistance is also much smaller.

The next day, noon.

The two Ming destroyers that had hit the rocks and ran aground while taking the southern channel were freed and rebuilt.

The T-39 Squadron arrived off the coast of Moresby and was attacked by three rounds of air attacks along the way.

To be honest, Zhou Changfeng felt very unsure that such a fleet that had suffered heavy losses continued to carry out the landing mission. He repeatedly requested to retreat, but was dissuaded by calls from many parties.

Among the air force troops stationed in Rabaul is the Sixth Light Bombing Detachment. Mu Yu, an old acquaintance, has now been promoted to the chief officer of the detachment. He personally guaranteed the ticket, which made Zhou reluctantly agree.

The Ming Air Force organized four consecutive large-scale air strikes and nine small formation harassment air strikes, basically destroying Moresby's airport and backup airport, and making them unusable most of the time.

This greatly reduced the pressure on the landing fleet, which only had to occasionally deal with enemy aircraft attacking from Australia.

The cannons rumbled, the fleet fired ten thousand guns, and the two selected landing points were blown into a sea of ​​flames in depth.

Several minesweepers were clearing mines on the channel, and from time to time a few sporadic shells landed near them.

"It's so difficult. It's a lot of hard work. You guys are doing this and I'm so stressed out."

On the bridge of the battleship Yuan Ding, Zhou Changfeng covered his forehead and complained.

In front of him was Liu Zaiyao who was bandaged like Ah San - the Yuan Feng had been so severely beaten that the bridge was almost destroyed, the deputy captain and navigator were both killed, and all the survivors were injured.

Fortunately, he was transferred to the Tianshi Zuoyuan before the battle that day, otherwise he might also be finished. Now Xia Xiaoshi might be preparing to host the first seven banquets.

"That's not necessary." Liu Zaiyao waved his hand, sighed again, and said casually: "Everyone knows that there is no one better than you in landing operations, so just command calmly."

　()

　　Today is the winter solstice. Have you eaten dumplings yet?

　　

　

(End of this chapter)