The Rise of the Third Reich

Before Nimitz's order was conveyed to the Lexington aircraft carrier, Halsey had actually made a similar decision - he set a "stop loss point" for this maritime gamble. As long as the two aircraft carrier teams had 1 If one is severely damaged by the Japanese (for example, two aircraft carriers are lost or one is sunk, one is severely damaged, or both are severely damaged), then the other team will retreat immediately. This will have a high probability of ensuring that the U.S. Pacific Fleet will still have two usable large aircraft carriers after this battle.

After setting a "stop loss point", Lieutenant General Halsey decided to dispatch the first fighter of the 1st Aviation Group (USS Lexington and USS Saratoga) at 4:20 a.m. on November 6. Attack wave.

"Sir, don't you need to conduct reconnaissance?" Major General Browning hesitated when he heard Halsey's decision. "We don't know the composition of these six Japanese ship formations now."

Halsey's fleet now knows the approximate locations of the six Japanese ship formations, which were found by Catalina seaplanes using radar at night. But current radar cannot distinguish between aircraft carriers, battleships, heavy cruisers and large freighters.

Therefore, Halsey and Browning had no idea about the composition of these six formations and could only try their luck.

"Then try your luck!" Halsey said, "My luck has always been very good, otherwise I wouldn't have become a vice admiral. And... I believe in God, those damn Japanese monkeys certainly don't believe it, so God must will help."

Major General Browning frowned and asked again: "Then where do we bet our treasure?"

"Bet on... just bet on the Japanese fleet formation closest to us (that was the First Air Battle commanded by Chuichi Nagumo himself)! Send out 2 attack waves! Let Major General Fletcher's 2nd Battle Team also send out 2 Attack waves to hit them."

…

Just when Halsey was placing all his bets, Chuichi Nagumo had just sent out an enemy plane. Since the Japanese had no large seaplanes in the Coral Sea that could carry radar, Halsey and Fletcher's formations could not be detected at night. In terms of the ability to detect enemies, he lost one move first!

However, Nagumo Chuichi, who knew that he had this weakness, also had ways to make up for it. After releasing 6 Comet dive bombers, he immediately dispatched 24 Zero carrier-based fighter jets to serve as direct cover, while also flying on the Akagi and Kaga. There are 12 Zero carrier-based fighter jets deployed on each deck, all placed in a position ready to take off at any time.

At the same time, he also set up an air defense formation early, as if waiting for the American planes to hit him - because he knew that his position was the farthest to the south. If the American aircraft carrier prepared to attack, an air battle would It is very likely to be the first choice to attack!

Nagumo's wait did not last long. In the early morning of November 6, at 6:35 (the autumnal equinox has passed, the nights are long in the northern hemisphere, and the days are long in the southern hemisphere), the radar officer of the Akagi suddenly shouted: "Enemy plane detected. , numbering more than 10, suspected to be an attacking group..."

"It's finally here!" Tadashi Nagumo took a breath and ordered quickly, "Have the air superiority squadron on the deck take off immediately! We must show the Americans how awesome they are!"

"Hai!" Genda Minoru responded loudly.

Everyone in the command tower of the Akagi became nervous. There is nothing foolproof in the battle between the aircraft carrier and the aircraft! If you are unlucky, an American dive bomber may break through and severely damage an aircraft carrier.

But the good news came a few minutes later.

"Your Excellency, Commander, our Zeros exchanged fire with enemy aircraft." Genda Minoru shouted excitedly, "They are F4F and SBD... they should be carrier-based aircraft!"

Because the performance of the F4F is unsatisfactory, there are currently very few F4Fs among the shore-based aircraft in the United States in the South Pacific, and the Americans have deployed P38s with far superior performance than the F4F on the east coast of Australia. If an SBD dive bomber flies out from the east coast, it will definitely be escorted by P38 - according to the description of the Japanese frontline pilots, this twin monster is a very difficult aircraft to deal with, with fast speed, fierce firepower, powerful dive ability, and high altitude. Performance is great. When fighting against the Zero aircraft, if the situation goes bad, they will often raise the altitude. If the Zero aircraft follows suit and raises the altitude, it will suffer a big loss when it reaches a certain altitude. Therefore, the US military in the South Pacific battlefield likes to use P-38.

Now that F4F and SBD are taking the same flight, there are probably American aircraft carriers nearby.

Everyone on the Akagi aircraft carrier firmly believes in this. As long as the US aircraft carrier is nearby, it will be doomed!

Most people in the Allied South Pacific Theater Command also have the same idea.

Under MacArthur's order, American, Australian and British fighter planes stationed near Brisbane were also dispatched, and all available attack aircraft and bombers were brought out.

In Brisbane, at 6:40, 24 B-25 bombers, 18 B-24 bombers, and 18 Beaufort torpedo bombers attacked under the escort of 36 P-38s.

Ten minutes later, 10 B-25s, 22 Beauforts, and 12 P-38s were dispatched from the Bundaberg base.

Before these 128 shore-based aircraft were dispatched, the two battle groups commanded by Halsey and Fletcher successively dispatched a total of 122 SBD dive bombers and 108 TBF torpedo bombers, which were divided into 4 batches under the protection of 72 F4F fighters. The First Air Force pounced on Chuichi Nagumo.

In this way, the total number of aircraft dispatched by the Allied forces reached 442!

However, so many planes could not have flown over Nanyun Zhong at the same time, otherwise his Zero fighter would not have been able to resist it even with its three heads and six arms. And just when the first wave of dozens of American planes approaching were beaten by Zero planes, Japanese reconnaissance planes also discovered the location of the American aircraft carrier.

"Your Excellency, Commander, there are at least two American aircraft carriers!" Genda Minoru reported loudly, "About 180 nautical miles southwest of the 1st Battle Group!"

"Very good!"

"We will win now!"

There was joy in the command tower of the Akagi, completely ignoring the fact that there were American bombers circling overhead.

"Your Excellency, Commander, you can order the Second Air Force and the Fifth Air Force to send out attack aircraft groups."

Chief of Staff Ryunosuke Kusaka immediately made suggestions, and aviation staff officer Genda Minoru echoed: "Because our team is encountering an air attack from enemy aircraft, we must respond with all our strength."

Nagumo Chuichi raised his head and looked at the pursuit battle taking place in the sky. His own Zero fighter planes had won a complete victory, and the American planes were fleeing.

But this is only the first wave of attacks!

"Okay, let's do it."

At this time, Chuichi Nagumo, Ryunosuke Kusaka and Minoru Genda had all anticipated that the 1st Air Force might suffer an overwhelming saturation attack from the Americans. However, the long-term outstanding performance of the Zero fighters made them think that relying on the 1st Air Force's own strength was enough to resist such a blow. Moreover, they also firmly believed that relying on the strength of the 2nd Air Force and the 5th Air Force would be enough to sink the exposed U.S. aircraft carrier.

But something unexpected happened. The anti-aircraft artillery firepower on the US warship today seemed to be particularly fierce, and the fire was particularly accurate!

When Rear Admiral Takanoge Egusa, the captain of the flight team of the Soryu aircraft carrier and the commander-in-chief of the second attack wave of the Japanese Navy's 2nd Air Force, led the fleet to find Halsey's aircraft carrier formation, a fierce battle was taking place over the aircraft carrier formation.

Jiangcao Takaban didn't immediately lead the plane to charge, but slowly circled in the air, as if he wanted to find the opponent's weakness. But after a moment's observation, he was shocked.

He found that although the number of American ships on the sea was not particularly large, the anti-aircraft firepower was extremely fierce, and the area 4,000 meters below was almost covered in a string of tracer bullets!

"It can hit 4,000 meters! This is the Bofors anti-aircraft gun..." Major Jiang Cao immediately realized that he was likely to face a bloody battle. The shooting height can cover the attack position of dive bombers, and the powerful Bofors anti-aircraft gun has long been the standard equipment of surface ships on the European battlefield, but it seems to be the first time it appears in the Pacific!

"Major, look ahead. At 11 o'clock... one of our planes was hit, above 4,000 meters!"

Asano, the bombardier behind Takashi Egusa, suddenly shouted. Egusa quickly looked over and saw that a plane that looked like a Comet dive bomber was falling rapidly.

"Is it really above 4,000 meters?" Jiang Caolongfan asked. After getting a positive answer, he thought to himself: The downed plane was so unlucky that it was shot down by a 127mm anti-aircraft gun.

"I am Major Takashi Egusa, the commander-in-chief of the attack." Jiang Cao began to issue orders without much thought, "The enemy's firepower is a bit fierce today. Please be careful and wish the military a long life! Now, the attack begins! Execute plan 1. "

The formation and sequence of the attack had been planned long ago. The 2nd Air Force was a place filled with veterans, and the cooperation between them had already been perfect.

Jiang Cao Tongshi found that the American aircraft carrier on the water was still twisting and turning happily with no signs of injury, so he knew that the first wave of attacks had failed. So Case 1 was ordered to be executed, which was the standard attack procedure. First, the dive bomber began to dive from an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. At the same time, the Type 97 torpedo bomber circled and descended, entering the height of the torpedo attack.

The escorting Zero aircraft are responsible for covering the Type 97 torpedo bombers - the dive bombers currently used by the Japanese combined fleet are Comets equipped with air-cooled engines (the same as the Fokker 100). Because they are very fast and difficult to intercept, according to the Japanese Navy The current combat mode of the aviation force does not require Zero cover.

After Jiang Caolongfan issued the order, he took the lead and rushed towards a large American aircraft carrier shrouded in a net of fire.

boom……

As soon as he rushed into the fire net, Jiang Cao Tongfan found something wrong. An anti-aircraft artillery shell exploded very close to his plane. Under the impact of the heat wave, his plane shook violently several times.

Jiang Cao is a veteran and knows that masturbation with heavy anti-aircraft guns is a matter of character. Because the heavy anti-aircraft gun fires slowly, the probability of directly hitting an aircraft is very low. At the same time, the height-fixing fuze used by the heavy anti-aircraft gun is very unreliable. It is difficult to measure the altitude accurately and then set the high fuze on a busy battlefield. Therefore, even the strictly trained Japanese anti-aircraft gunners found it difficult to hit enemy aircraft with heavy anti-aircraft guns.

And the shell that exploded near Jiang Cao's plane just now was not only accurate, but the setting of the height-fixing fuse was also accurate - this must be a coincidence!

Jiang Cao quickly pressed down the joystick and lowered the height.

boom……

Two more 127mm anti-aircraft artillery shells exploded near his plane! The fuselage shook again and began to tremble. It must have been hit somewhere.

Baga! Did you meet the Master Gunner?

Jiang Cao quickly flew the plane to dodge, but after a few dodges, there was another bang in his ear.

The plane was shaking even more now!

Did he meet a group of sharp artillerymen? Are you going to become a god? Beads of sweat suddenly appeared on Jiang Caolongfan's forehead. He knew that his plane had been hit three times, and he didn't know how long he could hold on? When he got on the plane, he only brought a machete and no parachute...

At this moment, he discovered that his plane had arrived above an American aircraft carrier!

"Go!" He regained his mind and ordered loudly. Then he pushed the control stick hard, pressed down the nose of the plane, and dived down almost at a right angle, hoping to complete the bomb release before the plane disintegrated.

But his plane soon seemed to have been hit by a hail of bullets. First, the fuselage shook violently, and then thick smoke came out from where the nose engine was!

Now he is going to become a god! Jiang Cao knew that he was destined to die, but his long-term Bushido education told him that even if he died, he would have to drag a boatload of people to support him.

"Onboard!" he shouted, holding the control stick tightly with both hands, and drove the plane towards the US aircraft carrier below.

Tens of seconds later, the plane hit the rear deck of the USS Lexington aircraft carrier with a bomb. It suddenly turned into a ball of fire and ignited several F4F carrier-based fighter jets on the deck that were refueling and refueling...

Fire and thick smoke enveloped the Lexington aircraft carrier. Although it did not cause serious damage, it temporarily blocked the sight of the anti-aircraft gunners. The aircraft carrier's anti-aircraft firepower suddenly weakened, which created an opportunity for the Comet dive bombers following Jiang Cao. .

In just two or three minutes, six heavy bombs hit the Lexington, plunging the aircraft carrier into a sea of ​​flames!

I don't know if he was encouraged by "Military God" Jiang Cao, but 10 minutes later, another Comet dive bomber also hit the Saratoga. Although it did not cause a fire, it also caused chaos, allowing subsequent aircraft to succeed. Three bombs were dropped.

…

"Your Excellency, Commander, the two American aircraft carriers have been severely damaged and may sink soon!"

When the sound of Ryunosuke Kusaka's victory came, Nagumo Chuichi was sweating profusely as he watched the densely packed planes in the sky fighting together.

American planes came in waves, as if there was no end, although the Zero fighters on the Akagi and Kaga ships performed excellently and blocked almost all enemy planes. But losses still inevitably occur!

There are fewer and fewer Zeros in the sky. The American P38 is obviously an aircraft that can fight against Zero fighters! Moreover, the Americans also understand the performance of the Zero and have found some tactics that can effectively counter it. The swap ratio is not overwhelming...

Nagumo put down the telescope, frowned and ordered: "Order the 5th Air Battle to continue attacking until they sink two American aircraft carriers. Then let the 2nd Air Battle send half of the Zeros to support us after recovering the fighters. We... …I’m afraid we’ll have to fight for a few more hours!”