In order to be able to transport heavy equipment to the Japanese troops on Kuah Island, the Japanese army decided to organize a large transport fleet to send 13,500 men and heavy equipment of the 38th Division to Kuah Island, this fleet consisted of 11 fast transport ships and 12 destroyers, commanded by the experienced Rear Admiral Tanaka Yorizo, departed from Shortland Island on the 12th, and planned to arrive on Kuah Island on the 14th. In order to ensure the safety of this fleet, the Combined Fleet dispatched a fleet consisting of 2 aircraft carriers, 4 battleships, 12 cruisers, and 36 destroyers to provide cover and support, and will carry out a large-scale artillery bombardment of Henderson Airport on Kuah Island on the night of 12 and 13 July.

In order to meet the Japanese offensive, the U.S. military also made every effort to transport troops, equipment, and supplies to Kuah Island, and Halsey also organized a transport fleet to transport about 6,000 army and marine troops and heavy equipment, and arrived on Kuah Island on the 12th.

It was also on this day that a flying squad armed with specially made torpedo planes was sent to Kuah Island. They were armed with modified B-17s and a torpedo machine adapted for night operations, and a special equipment was installed to control the right altitude in the dark. This kind of equipment is actually very simple, just a pair of small searchlights fixed on the left and right wings, one red and one green. In flight, if the altitude corresponds to the bomb dropping altitude, the light spots of the two searchlights on the sea surface will coincide. If the spot is blue on the left and red on the right, it means that the flight altitude is a little higher, if the left is red and the right is blue, well, if you don't pull up the plane, you are ready to swim in the sea**a**book**read. Novel ybdu bar.

Speaking of which, this device was supposed to have been invented by the British in 43. It was with this stuff that the British used to guide huge Lancaster bombers to fly at ultra-low altitude over the river at night and launch deadly ricocheting attacks on those dams in the German Ruhr. When Ron was on the USS Enterprise, while chatting with a mechanic named Martinez, he casually talked about this method of allowing a group of planes to fly at ultra-low altitude at sea in relative safety. I didn't expect to be really out by that guy.

This thing is of little use to the Navy for the time being, because under the existing conditions, it is really difficult for aircraft carriers to fight at night. However, as a technical reserve, it is still good, and maybe when you can use this to attack people's military ports at night or something. Anyway, the United States was not short of money, so an experimental team was created.

A few months after the detachment was established, it gave several admirals of the Navy a night attack demonstration. Of course, the difficulty of this simulated attack is not too great, and the target of the attack is only two target ships moving at a constant speed at sea, and they can neither dodge nor be fast. An aircraft drops flares over the target ship to reveal the warship's position, and the plane lights up the target with a specially made, high-powered searchlight. Then a group of attack aircraft consisting of 10 torpedo machines quickly dropped torpedoes. As a result, two target ships were hit by 3 torpedoes and 4 torpedoes, respectively. This hit rate, even taking into account that the target did not dodge, is very high, even higher than during the day. The reason for this is that under the cover of darkness, the threat of anti-aircraft fire on the ship to torpedo machines is greatly reduced. This allowed torpedo machines to drop torpedoes at a much closer distance.

The drill left a deep impression on the generals who participated in the exercise. General Nimitz even gave this night-fighting avenger a new nickname: the Night Assassin. It's just that the technology of carrier-based aircraft to search the enemy fleet in a large area at night is not yet mature. Therefore, the use of such fighters on aircraft carriers is still far away.

General Halsey had also seen the drill at the time. When he learned that the Japanese would again use battleships to attack the airfield at night, Halsey immediately remembered the experimental unit and sent them all to Kuah Island.

During the air raid on the 11th, the Japanese suffered heavy losses. Therefore, although the Japanese water reconnaissance planes discovered the US transport convoy on the 12th, they could only send a small group of bombers to harass it. And not in a big way, as in history. But perhaps because there were fewer planes coming, if you were not careful, you really let a Japanese plane come in. The bomber dropped a bomb on a transport ship moored in the harbor, but it missed, not even a bomb! This also shows that the level of Japanese pilots has really declined dramatically. If it was those old birds at the beginning of the war, how could a moored ship fail to hit?

However, the penetrating Japanese bomber caused a small chaos, disrupted the otherwise orderly unloading process, and sounded the alarm bell for the cactus who have won consecutive battles these days. Perhaps, a series of victories made them proud and careless.

"It seems that ideological work must be grasped unremittingly!" Ron thought silently, "It's a pity we don't have a commissar here." Although there is a chaplain in the army, this is not included in the affairs of the people. ”

For a whole day, the island was preparing to welcome the Japanese fleet, which was coming in the evening. One reconnaissance aircraft after another was sent out. Reports were sent back repeatedly: at about 9 a.m., a reconnaissance plane reported the discovery of two Japanese battleships, one cruiser, and six destroyers 335 nautical miles north of Kuah Island. Later, another reconnaissance aircraft reported the discovery of five destroyers west of Kuah Island. At about 15 o'clock, the reconnaissance plane reported that there were two Japanese aircraft carriers and two destroyers 265 nautical miles west of Kuah Island. In the afternoon, 90 per cent of the supplies carried by the transport ship had been unloaded, and the transport ship could be evacuated at any time, but those unloaded materials were piled up on the beachhead before they could be transported away. In the event of a Japanese artillery attack, these materials would likely be burned. At the same time, the airfield could also be shelled. After consulting with the superiors, the convoy, escorted by three destroyers and two minesweepers, left Kuah for Espírito Santo. Rear Admiral Scott and Rear Admiral Callaghan, who had been escorting them, commanded all the escort ships to escort Turner's transport to the safety of the sea south of Kuah Island, and then returned to Iron Bottom Bay. It was a heroic decision, and of course they knew that their fleet of 8 destroyers and 5 cruisers would not be able to fight against the Japanese fleet with two battleships. What's more, since the Japanese Navy took advantage of the night battle during the Battle of Tsushima, it has attached great importance to night warfare, and its training intensity in this regard is very high, and its combat capability is also quite good. In the previous night battle, against the Americans, even if the opponent had radar, the Japanese really did not suffer a loss. There is no doubt that this is a fierce battle of life and death. In fact, in the original history, Rear Admiral Scott and Rear Admiral Callahan were martyred in this battle. It can also be seen from here that although the Marine Corps is a separate branch of the military, its relationship with the Navy is really unusual, and it is definitely a son.

Ron and Major General Scott and Major General Callahan discussed over the radio what to expect to do in the evening. According to the plan they set, the fleet was under the unified command of Rear Admiral Callaghan, and the fleet's destroyers equipped with radar went out to search for targets using radar superiority, and once the target was found, the target data was transmitted to the air force, and the bombers of the air force were responsible for dropping flares to light up the target, and then illuminating the enemy ships with large searchlights, and the fleet began to fire at the enemy ships, and the night assassin formation launched a torpedo attack on the enemy fleet from the other direction.

Throughout the afternoon, the Night Assassin formation was familiar with the waters around Kuah Island, more precisely, the terrain around Iron Bottom Bay. Major Burke, who led the group, said it would not be too difficult for them to launch a raid in the area.

At 21:30 in the evening, a specially modified B-17 flew into the sky, followed by 10 torpedo planes one after another. At 21:45, the Night Assassin formation completed its takeoff.

Ron sat in the first B-17 to take off. The B-17 had almost its entire magazine removed, leaving room for a huge searchlight. This searchlight, which was originally used for the defense of the fortress, can ensure that the aircraft can use it to illuminate targets on the sea surface at an altitude of 5,500 meters. At such an altitude, the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns of warships are completely ineffective, and the rate of fire of large-caliber high-altitude and flat-purpose guns is too low, and the probability of hitting high-altitude enemy planes at night is not much different from buying lottery tickets. A small magazine was still kept on board, which was used to drop flares.

At about 23 o'clock that night, the first artillery formation under the command of Vice Admiral Hiroki Abe, consisting of 2 battleships, 1 cruiser and 14 destroyers, arrived west of Savo Island and prepared to enter Iron Bottom Bay through the southern waterway of Savo Island. At 23:30, the cruiser "Helena", equipped with a new radar, spotted the Japanese fleet at a distance of 14 nautical miles. Callahan informed the Night Assassin formation of the location of the target, and at the same time ordered the American interception formation to turn to the right, in an attempt to seize the T-head advantage (in a fleet artillery battle, one side intercepted in front of the other side's column in a horizontal formation). In this way, the interceptor can use the main guns in the bow and stern of the ship to shoot at enemy targets, while the enemy can only return fire with the main guns in the bow, and the fire of the ships in the rear will also be blocked by their own men in front).

Upon notification, the B-17 dropped several flares in succession in Area 1. This area of the sea was illuminated, but no Japanese fleet was found on the surface. At this time, because the Japanese fleet entered the shadow of the island, the radar of the US ship was interfered with by the radar waves reflected by the island, and the target was also lost.

"Throw a few more into it." Ron gave the order as he continued to observe the sea with a telescope mounted on the plane. Suddenly, a track caught his eye. "Spot the track of an enemy ship!"

Another string of flares was dropped, and the towering figures of the Japanese battleships Kirishima and Hiei first emerged in the dark sea......

When the first round of flares was dropped behind the Japanese fleet, Abe knew that the fleet was exposed. At the same time, he also judged that the US fleet operating in the area around Kuah Island during the day had not left, and they were preparing to intercept their own fleet and fight a night battle with themselves.

"The observation posts paid attention to the sea surface, and the ships immediately replaced the high-explosive and incendiary bombs that were originally intended to shoot at the airfield with armor-piercing shells for attacking the warship." Abe immediately gave the order.

Abe did not think that in addition to hiding the enemy's fleet in the dark, there were even torpedo attack aircraft. Of course, he can't be blamed for that. It is simply unthinkable to attack a moving target with an airplane in such a dark night.

In the light of the flares of the second round, the Japanese fleet was completely exposed to Callaghan. Callahan was surprised to find that the distance between the two sides had been pulled to about 6,000 meters, and if he continued to turn right, his fleet would directly mix with the Japanese fleet!

"Stop turning, the destroyers fire torpedoes, and all the cruisers attack the closest battleship with artillery fire." The T-head advantage is no longer available. Then, while the enemy ships have not yet discovered us, launch a preemptive strike. The 155-mm guns on the cruiser could not penetrate the 203-mm broadside armor of the Kongo-class battleships, and even the 96-165 mm horizontal armor was definitely not something that a 155-mm shell could gnaw. Turrets and conning towers don't even need to be thought about. Still, 155-mm shells could sweep the battleship's superstructure hard. Especially those delicate things related to observation and sighting, they can't withstand the bombardment of the 155 guns. And once these are destroyed, the battleship will be deaf and blind.

At 23:40, the American destroyers began firing torpedoes at the Japanese fleet. At the same time, under the leadership of the cruisers San Francisco and Atlanta, five American cruisers began to fire at the battleship Hiei.

As soon as the U.S. troops opened fire, the muzzle flame was immediately detected by the Japanese observation post. To say that the Japanese army was indeed well-trained in night fighting. As soon as the U.S. troops fired a volley, the Japanese had already judged the approximate position of the U.S. troops. At this time, Abe estimated that most of the US destroyers had already fired torpedoes, and the threat of torpedoes was obviously greater than that of US artillery fire. So Abe ordered the destroyers to go forward and launch a torpedo attack on the enemy's artillery formation, while leading the formation to turn to dodge the American torpedoes that should have been fired.

At a distance of 6,000 meters, it took no more than ten seconds for the shell to be launched to fall. In such a short period of time, the battleship Hiei did not have time to react at all, but the shells fired by the American troops still missed a lot. After this round of blows, the superstructure of the battleship Hiei was quite damaged, but this did not have much effect on his combat effectiveness. By this time, the Japanese fleet had completed the task of replacing shells, and the 14 Japanese destroyers had begun to turn to the American fleet and prepare to launch a counterattack.

"Port torpedo launch!" After arriving at the corresponding position, Nakasa Kanma gave the order. So several powerful 93 acid torpedoes were fired into the pitch-black sea. Yoshiyoshi Nakasa was the fourth captain of the legendary destroyer Yukikaze. But at the time, Yukikaze was nowhere near as famous as it would have been.

The reason why Yukikaze is famous is because it is really a well-deserved broom star No. 1, and it can even be said that she is the king of broom stars throughout the ages. Later generations even described her as follows: "When the curse of the snow wind brought the entire Pacific Ocean into range, the Great Japanese Navy was still ignorant of the fate it was about to face." ”

On January 20, Showa 15 (1940), the Japanese Navy's "Yangyan"-class destroyer No. 8 "Yukikaze" was completed. At this time, no one has realized that this is a super armor-class broom star with a mysterious curse that can suck the luck of nearby allies. From that day on, the "Great Japanese Empire", which had been constantly sucked away from its national fortunes, gradually moved towards the fate of inevitable defeat...... She participated in almost all naval battles in the Pacific War, and in any battle, no matter how strong the enemy, the Yukikaze was always able to retreat with all her body. But her friendly ships weren't so lucky. Go on a mission with her, and the chances of sinking are amazing. So much so that on the post bar of later generations, Ron also saw such a post: "Who wins Yamato + Yukikaze vs Bismarck + Prince?" As a result, everyone generally believes that if the battleship Yamato singles out the battleship Bismarck + the heavy cruiser Prince Eugen, the probability of victory is very high, but if you add the snow wind, well, in a word: "Ya's death is decided, and there is no immortal who comes out with the snow wind." ”

After firing the torpedo on the port side, Yukikaze began to turn and prepared to fire the torpedo on the starboard side. In the gorgeous turn of the snow wind, a torpedo fired by the US army passed by the snow wind, and the waves set off by the snow wind turned and the course of the torpedo changed slightly...... As a result, the torpedo ghost miraculously hit the destroyer Yutachi, and the Yutachi sank instantly. It was also the first warship sunk that night, and of course, it wasn't the last.

I accidentally got the order wrong and dropped a chapter, sorry.