afterglow

Chapter 467 Come back for dinner! Strike TF-31

"It's just a little trick. Just see through it."

On the bridge of the Yongle battleship, Navy Commander Song Zhongkai said in a neutral tone.

Although he looked calm and composed, he couldn't help but feel a little scared in his heart.

What if the submarine didn't generate electricity to report? What if Moresby and Guam ignored this intelligence?

That fleet might really be defeated and return home.

"Arrived at the scheduled location!" a navigation captain reported loudly.

"Captain, let's now..."

All eyes fell on Song Zhongkai, and everyone eagerly waited for his instructions.

It is not appropriate to intervene in the battle between the two aircraft carrier formations for the time being, because the TF-30 task force is cruising south of Tarawa Atoll.

A seaplane ejected by the Kaihuang kept tracking the TF-30 fleet at a long distance. It discovered that the battleship formation suddenly turned sharply and began to sail northeast at a speed of 21 knots, as if it was retreating.

This is exactly the maximum speed of those low-speed battleships, which shows that they are indeed in a hurry.

After a long time, Song Zhongkai, who had a stern look on his face, slowly said: "Abandon the decisive battle, maintain the course, and prepare for the artillery attack on the other side."

"Yes!"

All the officers clasped their fists and accepted the order, then rushed to their posts to perform their duties.

As the leader of the Ming Navy, Song Zhongkai ultimately wanted to preserve his strength. Of course, he represented the common interests of the upper echelons of the Ming Navy.

But this is not a reason to give up the decisive battle.

The Jianwu class and Zhenguan class in the first formation are also low-speed battleships with a maximum speed of 23 knots. This speed difference is not enough to support effective pursuit.

Unless the low-speed battleships are abandoned, only the four ships Longshuo, Kaihuang, Yongle, and Xuande are allowed to pursue the TF-30 task force.

The two battlecruisers Yongyuan and Yuanxing are thin-skinned and big-bodied, and should not be engaged in fleet decisive battles unless necessary.

In that case, it would be four versus eight, and our side would be at an absolute numerical disadvantage. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to gain much advantage in a real fight.

The first formation, composed of dozens of large and small warships, slowly turned and pointed directly at the Tarawa Atoll.

At the same time, a large number of destroyers and transport ships of the third formation also accelerated towards Tarawa under the command of Zou Pu, preparing to capture this important node in one fell swoop.

As for the TF-30 task force, they will naturally not retreat without reason.

Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance received a telegram from the TF-31 task force, which clearly informed the emergency situation - two large Ming army aircraft carriers were missing!

Lieutenant General William Halsey asked him to retreat immediately and avoid a decisive battle with the Ming army's battleship formation before finding out the traces of the two aircraft carriers.

When you are carrying a shotgun and preparing to kill the opponent completely, you find that someone on the other side is missing. He is hiding in the dark with a shotgun and is nowhere to be found. What a terrible situation it is!

A little later, two more fleets were taking off in the vast Pacific Ocean.

第一个机群是美军的，由企业号和萨拉托加号放飞，共16架F4F野猫战斗机、47架SBD-2无畏俯冲轰炸机、19架TBD蹂躏者鱼雷机。

The USS Enterprise and the USS Saratoga are the only aircraft carriers that have been equipped with new carrier-based aircraft. Fighters and dive bombers are both the latest models.

The F4F fighter jet can compete with the Sanqi-type ship-driven aircraft in terms of performance; the SBD-2 dive bomber can carry 1000 pounds of aerial bombs while maintaining a basic combat radius.

After gathering, the fleet of dozens of aircraft divided into four tactical formations and pounced aggressively on the Ming aircraft carrier formation.

The second aircraft group taking off was in the other corner of the battlefield, and was released by Taiwei Zuoyuan and Taiwei Right.

After breaking away from the main force of the fleet, the two first sailed at high speed to the southeast, and then turned to the southwest, successfully hiding themselves in the vast ocean.

At 16:37 local time, after receiving the order from Ouyang Zhanghua, the two immediately began to organize the most powerful full-deck attack.

The risk of an attack now is actually very high. There are only about two hours until dark, and it takes an hour and a half for the fleet to fly over.

Considering that the released carrier-based aircraft need time to assemble and then search the target sea area, time is very tight and there is no room for error. It can be said that every second counts.

The boilers of the two aircraft carriers were boiling, and superheated steam of more than 300 degrees poured into the turbines. The huge propellers rotated faster and faster, driving the entire giant ship to gradually increase its speed.

One after another, carrier-based aircraft that were fully loaded with ammunition and had been warmed up were lifted to the flight deck by elevators, and then lined up one by one.

"...We must pierce the enemy like an awl! Whether we can defeat the enemy in this battle depends entirely on you. I wish you success."

The captain of Taiwei Youyuan personally came to the deck and gave a serious lecture. In front of him were a group of pilots and their partners.

Sailing at high speed against the wind, the warm and humid sea breeze blew the clothes back and forth.

"How about..." The gunnery officer who came to watch the excitement hesitated for a moment and asked, "How about some wine?"

"You can't do anything wrong. Prepare the dishes and we'll come back for dinner." Fan Sizhi, the deputy of the detachment, smiled slightly, waved his hands casually, then cupped his fists and said, "Wait for the good news. By the way, remember to make me a bowl of fermented glutinous rice dumplings."

"Okay, I'll wait until you come back." The captain nodded.

More than twenty crew members responded in unison, and then rushed to their respective planes.

Soon after, the main forces of the "Eastern Second Prime Minister" team, the "West Second General" team, the "Eastern Prime Minister" team, the "Left Law Enforcement" team, and the "Right Law Enforcement" team took off one after another from the two aircraft carriers.

24 Type 35 ship-driven aircraft, 13 Type -type naval bombardment aircraft, and Type -type naval mines were divided into two attack formations, one in front of the other, and galloped towards where the target was...

In the hour before sunset, the blue water of the Pacific Ocean gradually turned into a deeper blue, and it was so quiet that there was no wave.

The peace presented in this situation formed a contrast - not long ago and not long after, fierce sea and air battles were about to disrupt this peaceful and peaceful scene.

The war has reached this point, and the anxiety deep in people's hearts has become more and more intense. The outcome of this battle will directly determine which side will take the initiative in the entire war.

In the sea area with Tarawa Atoll as the center and a radius of 350 kilometers, a total of ten aircraft carriers from both China and the United States are busy.

The anti-aircraft gun emplacements everywhere were also replenishing the depleted shells, placing shells of different calibers on the ammunition racks ready to be fired, while smoking and chatting.

At this time, the attack formation was flying towards the target sea area at high speed.

In order to arrive as soon as possible and allow more time for search and attack, Fan Sizhi led his team to fly at a speed of 260km/h, which was far higher than the normal speed.

This means higher fuel consumption, and the fleet is very likely to run out of fuel and crash into the sea when returning.

They agreed to act according to the situation and if things went wrong, they would abandon the plane and parachute together at Mayana Atoll - this atoll is 25km south of Tarawa.

The attack formation separated five dive bombers as the vanguard to search for the enemy, about 17 kilometers apart. The key area of ​​the search was east of the coordinates sent back by the friendly submarine. At 19:, the ocean-going submarine No. on the Equinox sent another telegram.

She reported that the target fleet had turned to the northeast and seemed to be increasing its speed. At the same time, an enemy destroyer was heading towards her.

When the first telegram was sent out on the 31th of the Spring Equinox, the TF- task force noticed something strange.

Now, the destroyer USS Monaghan (DD-354) broke away from the fleet and rushed at high speed to intercept the Ming submarine. The latter immediately dived to avoid it after sending the second telegram.

A quarter of an hour later, the attack formation that received the instructions corrected its direction and headed straight for the TF-31 task force that was about to get rid of it quickly.

The Type 37 bomber flown by Second Lieutenant Xiong Sheng, who was responsible for tracking down the enemy's leading troops, was one of those five aircraft.

He picked up a twenty-cent coin in the restaurant aisle last night - this kind of coin has a small circulation and is quite rare.

Some people said this was a good omen, others said it was a bad omen, but Xiong Sheng still took the coin and set off.

At 17:49, they had flown more than ten kilometers in the direction of the second updated coordinate information. There was still more than half an hour before sunset, and everyone became nervous involuntarily.

Xiong Sheng was distracted unknowingly. He was thinking about what would happen if he died in this mission.

When he came back to his senses, his eyes narrowed and he thought he was dazzled - he saw a large group of warships looming under the dark red clouds in the distance!

"Send the report! Send the report!" He shouted excitedly: "I saw it, the enemy fleet is in the 25th direction, and the four aircraft carriers are clearly visible! These bastards are fleeing north!"

The U.S. military confirmed that an unknown group of aircraft was incoming more than ten minutes ago, and the new CXAM air warning radar played an important role.

The CXAM radar is based on the XAF experimental radar. This two-ton gadget can only be installed on large ships. Radio Corporation of America worked overtime to manufacture three of them. Among them, the USS Enterprise and the Chester among the TF-31 The heavy patrol is one of them.

Because the radar did not support long-term continuous operation, the two were turned on alternately. This time it was the Chester that discovered the Ming Army aircraft carrier attack formation approaching from the southwest.

Lieutenant General John Halsey immediately ordered the ready fighter jets on the deck to take off.

When the Ming army aircraft group approached, there were already 31 fighter jets in the sky above TF-31, and there were also 8 dive bombers without aerial bombs responsible for intercepting and driving away the Ming army torpedo aircraft.

The ferocious air strikes started quickly, and the battle entered a fierce stage from the beginning!

The 24 fighter jets of the "Left Law Enforcement" team and the "Right Law Enforcement" team were in a melee with the formation of U.S. fighter jets flying in to intercept. U.S. fighter jets kept trying to break away from the air battle, trying to intercept dive bombers or torpedo planes, but soon He was chased by tail biters and forced to give up.

Major Fan Sizhi, who served as the formation commander, ordered the 35 dive bombers of the "Eastern Prime Minister" team and the "Western General" team to be divided into four groups and simultaneously launch attacks on the nearest Raider and Yorktown.

Even among the aircraft carrier school of the Ming Dynasty, there are differences on the attack mode. Single attack by a large aircraft group and multiple attacks by a small aircraft group have always been the focus of debate.

However, Fan Sizhi is a firm believer in large fleet attack tactics, and he essentially prefers to do a one-shot deal.

18:11, the sun is about a thumb's length away from the sea level, and the sea surface is reflected in sparkling waves.

The Raider was the first to be attacked, and the arc-shaped track she drew as she desperately swerved to avoid it flashed with the afterglow of the setting sun.

The anti-aircraft firepower of the TF-31 task force is far inferior to that of the TF-30. The 12mm anti-aircraft shells fired by the Mk127 high-level dual-purpose cannon continue to explode behind the fleet, but the effect is not satisfactory.

The first 250kg armor-piercing explosive bomb hit the middle of the rear section of the Raider's flight deck - the Ming army pilots used her iconic double-row chimneys on both sides as a reference point.

【Picture】

The second bomb hit the port side and exploded.

The next two hit again, hitting the seam of the middle elevator and next to a chimney respectively.

The attack by the first group of dive bombers was less than ideal, hitting only three of nine shots.

Fan Sizhi, who was overlooking the battlefield at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, immediately ordered the second group to attack additionally, taking advantage of her illness to kill her!

The second group of dive bombers still performed poorly. I wonder if the Raider had magic powers. This time, only one of the seven aerial bombs hit.

In comparison, the attack on the Yorktown was much more precise and deadly.

An aerial bomb hit an air defense platform diagonally on the port side. The five quadruple 5mm anti-aircraft guns here were still roaring "thump, thump, thump" a second ago, but with an earth-shattering loud noise, the fire burst out. and devoured them.

Several Chicago pianos were all turned into scrap metal, two gun crews were all killed, and the remaining three gun crews were either dead or injured. Half of the blown body parts fell into the sea and half were scattered on the deck, adding a touch of beauty to the Yorktown. Weird and miserable patterns.

"They're coming!"

"Damn! The artillery malfunctioned?!"

"boom!!!"

In just two minutes, the Yorktown was directly hit by five 250kg armor-piercing explosive bombs, four of which all penetrated the flight deck and exploded in the hangar.

When the dive bombers launched their attack, the torpedo plane formation was not idle either.

The leader of the team, "Eastern Prime Minister", was a very calm person. He knew very well that the survivability of the slow and clumsy torpedo aircraft was worrying, so he did not choose to charge straight forward, but led 13 Type torpedoes. A half circle surrounded the fleet.

They turned their backs to the setting sun, which had already touched the sea level, and gradually descended to a height of one hundred meters before launching an attack.

This greatly interfered with the sight of US sailors. The already poor Chicago piano made the hit rate even worse.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The heavy cruiser USS Chester used the two triple 2mm main guns at the front to bombard the sea surface, stirring up high water columns.

She tried to hinder the Ming army's torpedo attack, but to no avail.

At 18:28, the slender hull of the Yorktown suddenly shook, and a large group of spray mixed with flashes poured out from the middle of the left hull, and instantly evolved into a water column tens of meters high.

The first Type 79 aviation torpedo hit between ribs No. 80 and No. , and the aircraft parts storage compartment here was instantly in a mess.

But twenty seconds later, the second torpedo exploded at rib No. 71. The yield of the 250kg Qin explosive far exceeded that of TNT. The underwater protection system was torn to pieces on the spot, and seawater immediately rushed into the ship through the torn hole. cabin!

The Yorktown quickly raised the signal flag indicating "our ship has been torpedoed."

More fatal situations followed. As a large amount of seawater poured in, the design flaws of the Yorktown were fully exposed-its power cabin was a whole and was not separated and arranged cross-wise, so there was a hidden danger of losing all power after damage.

The main engine of the Yorktown, which was billowing with smoke, stalled, the power was interrupted, and the entire ship tilted 7° to the left and was intensifying!

【Picture】

(End of this chapter)