afterglow

Chapter 517 Fighting for the sky; no one will be left alive!
On the evening of June 6, another 22 Type 11 dive bombers and 16 Type D fighters arrived at Weiyuan Airport.

These latest models of fighter jets just left the final assembly workshop of the Shanghai Changyang Company factory a few days ago. After passing the acceptance inspection, they were not even sprayed with paint, and they flew directly to Kauai Island, which is more than 7,000 kilometers away from the mainland.

The silver aluminum alloy body sparkles in the sun, reflecting the setting sun.

Along with the reinforcements came Jiang Xuan, the frontline commander sent by the Air Force. This 30-year-old colonel always had a straight face, or rather an expressionless face, and spoke with great care.

After walking into the headquarters in the Kaweijini Mountain cave, he looked at the large sand table in the middle and asked, "May I ask the commander, is there a new plan?"

Zhou Changfeng said "Yeah", "The fleet needs a major rest, and we don't have much time left."

The A-180 Special Agent Fleet, which is the essence of the Ming Navy, has been in continuous operation for almost half a year. It took a break after the Battle of Tarawa, and it was only a short break after the temporary retreat some time ago.

Both the physical and mental condition of all the soldiers and the condition of the large and small battleships are no longer at the optimal level at the beginning. The combat effectiveness of such a tired division after a long battle is slowly and slowly decreasing.

Zhou Changfeng knows very well that he does not have a God's perspective, and he can only make decisions based on known, limited, true and false information.

Based on the information obtained from aerial reconnaissance and interrogation of US military pilots and prisoners, he adjusted the overall deployment after deliberation in the past two days and decided to change the target landing area, abandoning Haleiwa and landing on the Mokapu Peninsula in the northeastern corner of Oahu.

Even if it was a desperate attempt to win, he still wanted to be safer.

Due to its convenient location, the Mokapu Peninsula, located east of Oahu, has become the best choice at the moment.

Jiang Xuan's eyes flicked from side to side on the model of Oahu, wondering: "Why not follow the original strategy and land on Haleiwa?"

"It's a coincidence." Jiang Xuan looked indifferent, showing only a hint of a smile. He clasped his fists in a very capable salute, then took out a plan from his bag and handed it over.

The Koolau Ridge, which runs north-south and runs parallel to the east coast, separates the Mokapu Peninsula from the land to the west. Therefore, if it goes ashore there, the US ground forces cannot gather a large number of troops to carry out counterattacks, and artillery cannot threaten the Mokapu Peninsula. .

The Navy needs to adjust the deployment of submarines in the Central Pacific region and organize forces to establish a hunting zone in the waters east of Hawaii to attack the U.S. military's transport fleets between the mainland and Hawaii.

How to gain air superiority? This is what the Ming Military Department is most concerned about.

"...In the past half month, a total of about fifty destroyer aircraft have been damaged, and more than 60 were lost due to my surprise attack not long ago. According to the prisoners' confessions, about fifty aircraft were added during the period, but half of them are still being assembled. "An Air Force staff officer reported on the status of the estimate.

Because it is assumed that one's own side will conduct a surprise landing without fully controlling the air, which means that it will inevitably be attacked by air attacks during the landing. The whole process will be more time-consuming, more costly, and more likely to go wrong.

Zhou Changfeng unpacked it and browsed it. Jiang Xuan briefly introduced it: "The enemy's aircraft are difficult to replenish, but we are different. We can kill them all."

In contrast, Akito has a huge advantage. Although the mainland is 7,000 kilometers away from Hawaii, there are many islands for transit on the way, and planes can transfer from the mainland.

Cheng Han agreed with this and coordinated the joint action plan of the navy and air force.

Hawaii is nearly 4,000 kilometers away from the west coast, which is far beyond the range of single-engine fighter jets. Therefore, although the Americans can manufacture a large number of aircraft on a wholesale basis, they cannot replenish them to Hawaii in time and can only ship them over by sea.

Moreover, there are existing US military seaplane bases and Beiluo Army Airport there. The former can be converted into a dock for supplies, and the latter can station our own aviation forces.

In order to increase risk resistance, he temporarily gave up Haleiwa as a priority landing point.

The mainstream view of the Metropolitan Governor's office is to use its own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses, and even if it pays a greater price, it must use up all the U.S. aviation forces in Hawaii.

After a series of battles in the past few days, the two armies of China and the United States have realized that the confrontation around Hawaii will be a protracted war, and the decision-makers of both sides have conducted discussions and adjustments.

The Air Force must continue to send additional combat units to Kauai, provide a steady stream of blood transfusions, and at the same time maintain air strikes on Oahu, forcing U.S. fighter jets to take to the skies to fight, thus continuously consuming its available aircraft.

【Picture】

The Haleiwa area is easy to attack and difficult to defend. If we manage to open up a landing site despite losing some equipment and personnel, and the US military deploys reserves to launch a massive counterattack, the situation will be dangerous.

"Haleiwa Beach is indeed good and suitable for large-scale landings. However, the terrain is relatively gentle, which makes it easy for the enemy to launch a large-scale counterattack and is difficult to defend." Zhou Changfeng explained.

Looking at fighter jets alone, the US military deployed about 150 before the battle began. After deducting the losses and adding in new additions, there are still about 100 left.

The remaining hundreds of bombers and torpedo planes have no air combat capabilities and need not be considered.

"Then let's increase our efforts." Zhou Changfeng glanced at the several air force officers present and said thoughtfully: "The land in Hanapepe is very convenient for construction. The prefabricated runway will be paved soon. It will probably be completed tomorrow. It works.”

Jiang Xuan nodded and saluted: "I will go check it out later, but I will leave first."

Previously, because it only controlled one airport, the efficiency of Ming army aircraft sorties was not high, and only forty or fifty aircraft could be put into combat at a time.

Once Hanapepe Airport is completed and put into use, the Ming army can organize a formation of 100 aircraft to exert greater pressure on the US military on Oahu.

Jiang Xuan believes that it is possible to exhaust the US military’s aviation power in three to four days, and no later than the end of the month.

The transport boat sailed slowly on the sea, carrying him to the small village of Hanapepe in the southwest.

The sea breeze blows in the face, the flags are fluttering, and the soft sandy beach makes people think of stepping on it.

The slender runway has been formed, with a large number of perforated steel plates stacked next to it. Engineers are laying these things on the flat runway, while several bulldozers are continuing to build the second runway.

The next day, afternoon.

Planes fell from the sky one after another and landed steadily on the runway.

Thanks to bulldozers and prefabricated perforated steel plates, the first phase of this field airport was completed in just a few days. As the highest-ranking military officer in the Ming Army Air Force on Kauai, Jiang Xuan named it Huaiyuan Airport.

He and a group of officers planned the next large-scale air raid plan, and the pilots eagerly accepted the mission. It can be said that everyone in the Air Force is determined to gain air supremacy over Oahu.

On the morning of June 6, the sun rose in the east.

Although the temperature in Hawaii can reach 30°C in summer, it does not feel unbearably hot due to the presence of sea breeze and water vapor. As a yellow flare shot up into the blue sky, the fighter jets that were ready to take off at the end of the runway at Huaiyuan Airport began to accelerate and glide. The planes roared into the sky, retracting their wheels as they climbed.

Not long after, dozens of planes gathered in the sky and then headed east.

这次威远机场升空了47架三六式战斗机、8架三八式重型战斗机、6架三八式俯冲轰炸机；怀远机场升空了32架三六式战斗机，除2架因机械故障返航以外，总共有91架飞机投入战斗。

Realizing that the Ming army was approaching menacingly, the U.S. military quickly organized an attack force. The Navy, Army, and Marine Corps Air Force all participated in the defensive battle.

A fierce air battle broke out between the two armies over the Waianae Ridge in the west of Oahu, with countless aircraft fighting among the lush green mountains.

A downed F4F Wildcat fighter rolled out of control and crashed into Oahu's highest peak, Kaala Mountain, which is more than meters above sea level.

The good performance of the Type 4 D coupled with the high-quality Ming army pilots, this combination puts great pressure on the US military pilots. The most powerful F40F Wildcat and P- are at a disadvantage when facing such opponents.

Second Lieutenant Paul drove his P-40C to seize the fleeting window, opened fire decisively, damaged a Type C, and forced it to escape towards the sea.

But then another Ming aircraft nimbly came to his six o'clock position, bit its tail tightly, and fired several bullets, hitting them continuously. He could clearly feel the tremor of the bullets hitting the fuselage.

The P-40 was subsequently damaged, the vertical tail lost control, and a rapidly expanding flame ignited more than ten seconds later.

As a result, Warrant Officer Tong Mingan of the Second Team of the First Team of the Ming Army achieved his second kill result, and at the same time successfully avenged his comrades.

However, he was attacked by two F4F Wildcats four minutes later. He was hit by multiple bullets and was surrounded by dangers. Thanks to his lead aircraft arriving in time to help, he was able to push back the two enemy aircraft with obvious murderous intent.

After getting out of the predicament, Tong Mingan found that the steering of the plane was sluggish, and he was afraid that the control device was damaged, so he flew the plane back to Huaiyuan Airport.

The ground crew counted a total of forty-two bullet holes on his plane, five of which were right behind the cockpit - the 12.7mm machine gun bullet fired by the enemy plane penetrated the aluminum alloy skin and smashed into the armor behind the seat. .

This discovery made Tong Ming'an frightened for a while and broke into a cold sweat.

Thanks to the 11.2-type D-type reinforced cockpit armor, the back of the seat is replaced with mm thick surface-hardened armor steel, which is mm, otherwise I would be doomed today!

Today's large-scale attack exceeded the enemy's expectations - the US military did not expect that the Ming army would accumulate enough aviation power so quickly.

当日的空战中，陆军航空队一共有11架P-36和P-40战斗机被击落；海军航空队有7架F4F野猫和1架PBY卡特琳娜被击落；海军陆战队航空队亦损失了2架F2A水牛和3架F4F野猫。

In addition, the Ming army's heavy fighter jets and dive bombers also bombed the Babos Naval Airport. Five US aircraft on the ground were destroyed and eight were damaged.

In the air battle against a sudden large-scale air attack, the squadrons participating in the US war achieved mediocre results, shooting down only 10 Type 1 fighter jets and Type heavy fighter jet.

According to the formulated plan, large-scale attacks by the Ming army on Kauai continued in the next few days.

The Ming army pilots were particularly excited, their morale was high, and they fought more and more energetically; the U.S. military on the defensive side gradually adapted to such high-intensity combat and did their best to make defensive arrangements.

In the afternoon of June 6, a group of Ming army aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor.

The destroyer USS Clark, which was seriously damaged by a mine and ran aground a few days ago, is still parked at Iroquois Point at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. She was attacked indiscriminately by Ming army aircraft.

The Browning anti-aircraft machine gun and the Chicago Piano anti-aircraft gun were in exposed combat positions, without turrets and shields. The US sailors were beaten to pieces by the dense bullets fired by the fighter jets!
But at this moment, the shadows of a large number of US military aircraft suddenly flashed in the sky above, but it was confirmed that there were actually only a dozen or so.

The U.S. military aircraft had a slight advantage in number and altitude. The wildcats swooped down from an altitude of 4,000 meters with murderous intent. However, the Ming army pilots showed no fear and immediately maneuvered to defend, ready to seize the opportunity to counterattack at any time.

The tracer bullets flying past the fuselage are undoubtedly a test of mentality. If you can't calm down and panic at this time, there will be no chance.

The imposing Major Cui Xusheng was among this group of planes. He calmly piloted the plane to evade several attacks, and even luckily took a bullet.

The Wildcat fighter that attacked him seemed to be very unwilling, or thought that it had already hit it and could shoot it down with just one more shot, so it did not choose to climb vertically and prepare for a second attack, but followed it directly and tried to bite its tail.

Cui Xusheng turned his head and took a few glances, then immediately twisted left and right to perform a scissor maneuver, while descending to a height of 500 meters, and then suddenly flipped the fuselage and performed a breaking S maneuver.

His car turned around in the air with great dexterity and successfully caught the Wildcat. Cui Xusheng saw the right moment and shot decisively when the target entered the intersection of aircraft and machine guns, killing it with fatal precision.

The 36-type D-types imported from the mainland of Daming are basically unpainted. The completely exposed aluminum alloy body is not only more likely to be exposed due to reflection, but also easily corroded by salty vapor. However, the advantage is that this reduces a bit of weight. , slightly improving flight performance.

Type 100-D is already cutting-edge, and it is also filled with seized US-made No. high-octane aviation gasoline, making it even more powerful.

Rumors about these fighter jets spread among U.S. military pilots. They called the unpainted Type 36-D the Silver Phantom and hated this aircraft with its outstanding rolling ability.

On the last day of this month, June 6, the third pilot of the Ming Dynasty Air Force who shot down six aircraft was born, becoming the first ace in the Pacific battlefield since the war began.

The ace card specified by the Ming army is a little special. It needs to shoot down six non-old enemy aircraft. The shared victory will not be counted in the number of kills. The two previous aces were both born on the battlefields of the South Asian subcontinent, and their results came from the British Royal Air Force.

Because of the lack of supplements, the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii was at a disadvantage and gradually became exhausted.

截止7月1日，航空兵指挥官克拉伦斯上校表示只剩下33架战斗机处在可用状态，还有4架在组装、10架在维修。

In fact, the losses of the Ming army were not small. A total of 67 light fighters and heavy fighters were shot down. If other types of aircraft are included, the number would have exceeded .

However, starting from this day, U.S. military aircraft with the white star logo on a blue background were rarely seen in the sky over Oahu, and all remaining forces retreated to Maui, Lanai, and the Big Island.

"Thank you for your hard work. After so many days of continuous sorties, the enemy (aircraft) was really driven away." Yu Daixin, who was beaming with joy, said happily.

"There are no jokes in the army, and I never say anything that I am unsure of." Jiang Xuan said nonchalantly.

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you next." Zhou Changfeng, with bright eyes, pointed at the mountains of the Oahu model with his baton, "Forts, count as many as you have, leave no one behind!"

(End of this chapter)