"It's over. ”

Looking at the burning wreckage of the fighter plane on the sea, Otowa couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She was so panicked when she was chased by those Zero Battles just now, after all, Kingfisher's mobility can't be compared to that of a fighter. Fortunately, the operation of these AIs is average, so they were not knocked down.

"Do you need to land for supplies?" said Arisha's voice through the headphones.

"Not for the time being, the fuel is quite sufficient. ”

The Kingfisher's endurance is very good, with a range of 982 miles (1,580 km), enough to keep Otowa in the air for hours.

Just as Otowa was about to return to the previous airspace, Jasnia's voice suddenly came over the radio.

"Here is β squad, and another wave of enemy aircraft is approaching, numbering more than 10 units. ”

"A second wave of attacks, prepare for air defense!" Arisa said loudly.

An aircraft carrier must carry more than 8 aircraft, even if it is a light aircraft carrier, and it is very likely that these dozen enemy planes were recruited by the eight that were shot down before.

"It's all Type 97 ship-attack and Zero fighters, and it should be an IJN light aircraft carrier that attacked us. ”

Instead of retreating, Jasnia observed the approaching enemy planes.

If it is a fleet aircraft carrier, the Type 99 shipboard critter will definitely participate in the attack, but now there are only two types of aircraft: the Type 97 shipboard attack plane and the Type Zero shipboard fighter.

"Then these planes should be their last wave, everyone come on. Arisa said energetically.

IJN's light aircraft carriers are generally 18+3 ships with 9 ships in a 9 attack configuration, usually no more than 30 aircraft, which is one of the reasons why Arisa is so confident.

With Jasnia's early warning, the anti-aircraft artillery group on the left side of the ship was activated in advance, aiming anti-aircraft guns of various calibers in the direction of the enemy aircraft.

Almost as soon as the enemy aircraft appeared in the sky, the four 127mm twin-mounted MK12 high-level dual-purpose guns on the Cleveland were fired.

Eight VT bombs flew into the sky in a neat arc, and then exploded in the center of the group in the distance.

Within seconds, another round of VT bombs flew towards these enemy planes.

Although these high-level dual-purpose guns are manually loaded, the mechanical reloading method gives them a rate of fire of 15-22 rounds per minute, and only 8 guns can be quite violent barrage.

In the process of breaking through, several planes in the enemy's fleet were shot down, and the surviving fighters were basically injured.

After being washed by 127mm shells, the group was immediately attacked by Bofors 40mm shells.

The Cleveland-class that Otowa and his party got was considered an early model, so it was not equipped with a four-in-a-row Bofors with a magic change in fire control, but the twin Bofors were enough for these aircraft.

For experienced anti-aircraft gunners, whether there is good fire control or not actually makes little difference. Even with the most basic disc sights in front of her, Theresa was sure to take down the enemy plane.

After all, what she has in her hand is Bofors.

Someone once made a rough calculation that more than half of the number of US anti-aircraft guns in the Pacific theater was contributed by Bofors.

The British Empire, the United States, and dozens of other countries purchased licenses for the production of this artillery, and in the early days of World War II, the Bofors L60 was exported to 18 different countries around the world.

It was not only the Allies who used this artillery, but also captured it in Singapore by Region 11, but it could not be copied in large quantities for various reasons.

The German Navy was equipped with this in 1939, and the L60s captured by Poland, Norway, and France, codenamed Flak28, were equipped on submarines, the Admiral Hipper, and the Prinz Eugen.

Bang bang –

The two Bofors L60 cannons in front of Theresa were fired in turn, and one after another 40mm anti-aircraft gun shells rushed towards the enemy plane.

As the group approached, the 20mm Erlikong cannons arranged everywhere also spat out tongues of fire.

The sight of a large number of tracer shells flying in the sky was spectacular, and the 20mm, 40mm, and 127mm shells formed a rain of death in the sky, constantly harvesting enemy planes trying to approach them.

Of course, although the enemy aircraft group paid a considerable price, there were still quite a few enemy aircraft that broke through the fire network.

Although the Cleveland's air defense is strong, it is not perverted to the extent that it is like in Wowos, and several Type 97 ships have begun to drop bombs.

Four Type 91 aerial torpedoes successfully fell into the sea, and then sailed side by side towards the Cleveland.

Although Shizuku had already ordered the helmsman to evade in advance, the four torpedoes were thrown a little well, and one torpedo hit the front of the hull.

Knock –

The voice was so loud that everyone on the boat could hear it clearly.

Even in the middle of the bridge, Arisa could feel the impact of the torpedo exploding underwater.

"What about the damage?" Shizuku asked unhurriedly.

"The living quarters are flooded, the watertight doors are being closed, and the ammunition depots for turrets No. 1 and No. 2 are in good condition. ”

After glancing at the tactics panel, Arisa couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The Cleveland's survivability is worthy of her tonnage, as evidenced by the fact that none of the 27 ships built in World War II were sunk.

An 800-kilogram aviation torpedo can't kill your father.

"The enemy fleet is starting to retreat. ”

The few surviving fighters turned around and fled.

After throwing the torpedo, of course, he ran away, otherwise would he stay here to brush up on the experience of the anti-aircraft artillery?

In the process of running away, several more planes were shot down by anti-aircraft guns, and finally managed to run away from the enemy planes, and they could count them on one hand.

After getting out of range of the anti-aircraft guns, the surviving AIs slowed down and entered the established cruise mode.

But the AIs didn't know that there was an uninvited guest not far behind them.

"This is Otowa, and now we're tracking these enemy planes. ”

Otowa is not a calm person, and after suffering such a big loss, of course she can't act as if nothing happened.

As the enemy fleet departed, she unwittingly piloted the Kingfisher to follow, trying to find the carrier's mothership.

"It's too messy, and you'll get lost in the sea. Arisa said with some eagerness.

"I'm sure. ”

It took a long time for these four words to come out of Otoha's mouth.

As long as you remember the direction you flew from, and then fly back in that direction, Otowa is still very confident in her sense of direction.

"I still don't agree!"

"No, let her go. ”

At the critical moment, Shizuku spoke.

"Shizuku......" Arisha's expression instantly became complicated.

"I believe in her. ”

……