Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

As the chief designer of the Combined Fleet in western Japan, the Sasebo Naval Shipyard has been developing various war machines for the Japanese ships day after day since its establishment at the end of the last century.

The factory not only recruited many compound talents, but also purchased high-end equipment that was no less capable than that of Achou and Daiying.

After the outbreak of the Pacific War, it was responsible for producing new ships and transforming outdated equipment. It can be said that it was the spiritual pillar of the local people.

but!

As proud and arrogant as the devils were in the past, as painful and desperate are they now.

Under the dual blessing of high-explosive bombs and napalm bombs, the originally dark night sky has been dyed bright red. Even in Kagoshima, hundreds of kilometers away, the crew can see the flames on the sky.

Seeing the seven slipways and docks engulfed in flames, the highest-ranking officer on the scene, Minister of the Naval Department, Shimono Mannosuke, almost fainted.

However, when he thought of the death order from his immediate superior, Mataro Tanimoto, he still forced himself to cheer up and gave the order:

"Quick! Put out the fire quickly and do everything you can to minimize the damage!"

"Put the wounded aside for now, and give priority to rescuing the damaged Agano and the Yahagi cruiser that is under construction. Oh, and there is also the second I-400-type submarine carrier at the No. dock. That is Admiral Yamamoto's secret weapon prepared for the enemy!"

"Everyone, get moving. Even the researchers in the technical department must get on the battlefield! Otherwise, you will be punished by military law!"

The Agano class is a new type of light cruiser built by the Japanese Navy to strengthen its own mine warfare team.

There are four ships of this class. The construction tasks of the first ship Agano, the third ship Yahagi and the fourth ship Sakurano were all assigned to the Sasebo Shipyard by the Naval General Staff.

In the battle just now, Agano, because of its high degree of completion, decisively sailed out of the inner harbor under the command of the outfitting captain and luckily escaped a life-and-death disaster.

However, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided.

Even though it left the core strike area, it was still affected by the carpet bombing of the 3rd Air Division and ended up being almost seriously injured.

In comparison, the fate of the third ship Yahagi and I-402 was much more tragic.

The former only started construction at the end of last year, and has not been launched from the No. 2 slipway until today. Facing the bombing of the Eighth Route Army Air Force, the Japanese could only pray for the protection of Amaterasu.

It’s a pity that no one can do anything under the pouring of thousands of tons of bombs.

Now, this new light cruiser and the dock have been hit by three bombs and have been restored to their factory state. According to the industrial strength of the Japanese, the Yahagi will never be able to participate in the war before 1944.

As for the latter, the underwater man used as a decisive weapon by Yamamoto Shichirohachi, he naturally also enjoyed the one-stop service of being crushed to ashes.

There is no way, the construction progress of I-402 is less than %.

You can't expect a premature baby that has not yet formed to withstand the direct damage of a high-explosive bomb. There is no such outrageous thing in the magic world of the Russians.

Under the repeated urging of Rear Admiral Shimotsuke of the Naval Department, all the technical officers had to reluctantly join the firefighting and disaster relief operations.

In this situation, the grassroots marines and boat workers on the scene felt their blood boiling in their hearts.

The Japanese devils followed suit, waving all kinds of tools and rushing into the sea of ​​fire, as if they had endless energy in their bodies.

"Everyone, come together!"

"This is the Sasebo Naval Base, where Tone and Chikuma were built, Akagi and Kaga were remodeled, and the Musashi was outfitted! The soldiers on the front lines are still fighting the ugly British beasts, so we must guard the rear!"

With thousands of firefighters fighting one after another, the fire in the shipyard was actually somewhat under control.

Fortunately, there is always wind near the fire scene.

Whenever the fire in a certain area began to improve, gusts of wind formed by air movement would ruthlessly shatter the Japanese's fantasies.

It is worth mentioning that since both Mataro Tanimoto and Mannosuke Shimono issued a general mobilization order, many researchers who graduated from prestigious universities were forced to go into battle and eventually died in the fire like wild dogs.

After this battle, the Sasebo Naval Base not only lost a large number of advanced equipment, but also suffered a serious blow to its talent pool.

The whole thing is good, it’s just an unexpected gain.

······
Let’s talk about two parts, the main urban area of ​​Sasebo.

For humans, the oldest and strongest emotion must be fear. And the oldest and strongest fear is the fear of the unknown.

In the eyes of the writers who were fleeing frantically on the ground, those invisible but audible bombers were like ghosts who could throw deadly chains at them at any time.

As a large number of napalm bombs and high-explosive bombs fell to the ground, dense fireballs rose up in every street in the main city of Sasebo.

After a series of bombings, this place has become a veritable hell on earth. Flaming debris is blown away by the wind, and the temperature in the core area of ​​the bombing is as high as 1200 degrees Celsius.

Were civilians affected?

There are no civilians here. Under the wartime economic policy implemented by the Japanese Navy General Staff, every household in the main urban area is a subcontractor of their naval factory.

How could someone who had no merit or contribution be qualified to live in the most prosperous district in Sasebo? "Baka! Anyone who retreats now will be treated as a deserter!"

"You bastards, hurry up and grab your fire-fighting tools and follow me!"

"Yokoo-kun, I will lead the others to start disaster relief work from the south to the north. Our two teams will set out one after the other and meet at the tutelary headquarters building after daybreak."

After saying this, the captain of the Japanese gendarmerie pushed open the door of the underground air-raid shelter and forced hundreds of soldiers to head straight for the urban area not far away.

At first, these people were able to work with the local fire brigade to put out some of the fires on the outermost buildings. But the deeper they went, the greater the pressure, and the thick smoke and flames forced them to pay a huge price for every step forward.

The idiom "a drop in the bucket" is fully reflected at this moment.

Due to the lack of experience in dealing with napalm bombs, the rescue team of nearly 300 people only advanced more than 50 meters before most of them died in the sea of ​​fire.

Fire borrows the power of wind, and wind aids the power of fire.

With the help of strong winds, the fires in the main urban area quickly gathered together and formed a sea of ​​fire that continued to spread to the suburbs.

The tiles were baked into black snowflakes by the high temperature, and the asphalt on the main road was completely melted. After devouring a large amount of combustibles, the fire had a vague sign of being unstoppable.

Seeing that the rescue team was on the verge of collapse, the gendarmerie captain once again took out the turtle box from his waist.

However, he knew very well that relying solely on suppression by force would only do harm, and only by leading by example could he win the hearts of the people.

"Follow me! His Excellency the Vice Admiral is waiting for us! It's just ordinary fire. It will never be able to defeat the descendant of Amaterasu."

Before he could finish his words, the captain of the gendarmerie suddenly fell heavily to the ground.

His expression was distorted, his hands were dug into the soil, and he looked like he was experiencing some kind of painful torture.

In a few breaths, similar symptoms also appeared in the rescue team. The faces of the children were hideous, and their deaths were also bizarre.

After witnessing the death of their colleagues, the firefighters who were about to rush into the fire stopped in their tracks. They focused their attention on their captain, hoping that he could give a reasonable explanation.

"Baga! It's a firestorm!"

"Quick! Everyone get in the car and retreat! Moving forward now is no different from committing suicide. Let's go back to the headquarters to update the equipment, and then return to the fire scene to continue disaster relief."

August is the driest time of the year, and even coastal cities in western Japan are no exception.

The dry weather and the fires caused by the bombing created a firestorm that swept across Sasebo. This natural phenomenon has a special name: firestorm.

In the original timeline, similar situations occurred in Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo and Hiroshima. In a sense, the Japanese also enjoyed the paid advance on-demand.

As for how the batch of books died, of course their internal organs were roasted.

Without professional protective clothing, ordinary people simply cannot survive in the above-mentioned environment, which is why the fire brigade was able to escape the disaster.

Today is such a good day!
······
Twenty minutes later, in the underground air-raid shelter of the Sasebo Naval Base.

A naval colonel, carrying his samurai sword, trotted into his commander's shelter, then took out a folder and began to report.

"Mr. Tanimoto, the Eighth Route Army Air Force has ended its bombing. The Agano is sinking in the inner harbor, and there is no oil spill at the moment. However, the No. 402 ship and the submarine-type I- are in very bad condition. Major General Shimono is leading his men to rescue them."

"In addition, the shipyard's equipment was also severely damaged. In particular, the seven slipways and ship channels were all attacked by air strikes and were the main targets of the enemy's air force."

"Rescue work is underway in the main city, with at least 12,000 to 25,000 casualties."

After hearing the report from his subordinates, Mataro Tanimoto felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He had many hidden illnesses and recently caught a cold at work, otherwise he would not have died of illness in 1942 in the original timeline.

Just as the old devil was upset, the man standing aside hesitated for a moment, then said tentatively:

"besides."

"What else is going on!?"

Mataro Tanimoto frowned suddenly and looked at his adjutant. Judging from the other's expression, it must be bad news again.

"Just now, the aviation team sent to pursue us called."

"They launched an attack when the enemy planes were about to leave, preparing to fight a decisive battle with the Eighth Route Army Air Force in a surprise attack. However, the enemy's escort fighters were too strong, and only five two-plane formations successfully broke through and successfully entered the bomber group."

"But the Zero fighters were no match for the enemy's four-engine bombers. In just five minutes, all ten warriors were killed."

As soon as these words were spoken, Mataro Tanimoto's face began to twitch uncontrollably, and he looked as if he had suffered a stroke many years ago.

After a while, the old devil's eyes went dark, and he completely lost consciousness and ability to move. (End of this chapter)