In the early morning of April 17, the huge main fleet of the Axis gradually passed through the strait and rushed towards the Panama Canal. At the same time www.biquge.info Florida's major airports and air bases were brightly lit, and countless ground crews were loading planes with supplies and equipment, ready to rush to the Panama Canal Zone at dawn. According to Admiral King's request, at least 300 anti-aircraft guns and 150 aircraft should be deployed in the Canal Zone, and all combat readiness must be completed within two days -- he estimated that the Japanese would launch an offensive on the third day at the earliest.

It's too late to take a ship at such a tense moment, so the American logistics brand has started again - all by air! Although the United States has enough C-46\C-47 medium transport aircraft, there is no giant transport aircraft similar to the German ME-323, which can carry a complete 88mm gun crew (with equipment and personnel) at a time, while the United States wants to transport a complete 90MM2 anti-aircraft gun crew needs to be disassembled and arranged with 4 C-47 transport planes, and it will waste another 3 hours to unload and assemble after landing - although the performance of 88mm and 90mm anti-aircraft guns is similar. But the former is 4 tons lighter than the latter.

Due to the limited capacity of the Panamanian airport, for the sake of time, the Joint Chiefs of Staff was finally forced to agree to transport only 12 90 mm mm 2 anti-aircraft guns, and to replace the rest with 40 mm 1 anti-aircraft guns as much as possible (the American copycat version of the Bofors anti-aircraft gun), and the 150 combat aircraft were almost at the limit of the airport's capacity - because a part of the space had to be reserved for transport aircraft. In order to prevent Japanese planes from damaging the canal, the US Southern Command was also preparing to deploy smoke devices on both sides of the canal to disrupt the enemy's line of sight -- these materials had to be transported by air.

Neither side knew that the other had entered the final sprint, and they still responded with the fastest and best way they could think of.

At 5:30 p.m., the first day was about to end, the main force of the Axis Fleet had broken into the depths of the Caribbean Sea, only about 1,000 kilometers away from Panama, in the daytime to break the diplomatic operations, the results were still very brilliant, the planes were dispatched continuously, sinking up to 110,000 tons of merchant ships in one fell swoop, the entire Caribbean Inland Sea was cleared, if Horiyoshi wanted, he could even chase the ports of a circle of small countries around for artillery bombardment and bombardment, but he refused this temptation, just let the fleet aim at the final goal, At the same time, let the bomber group clear all obstacles in the advance of the fleet.

One sunken ship after another sent distress signals, tugging at the heartstrings of the Panamanian defenders at every moment - they knew that the enemy fleet was close at hand, but they did not know that it was so close, because no ship or plane had so far had a complete glimpse of the fleet's location, and the distance was remote, and the reconnaissance planes taking off from the Panama Canal Zone had not gained anything.

At 5:37 a.m., an AR-372 reconnaissance plane flew to the Canal Zone to reconnoitre, thinking that it was just a quiet glimpse, but the pilot saw an unforgettable scene -- one after another American transport planes circled over the airport, waiting in line to land, and the ground was full of busy figures; After a few minutes of quiet observation, the on-board observer used the high-powered telescope to see a chilling scene: a plane landed with a flat tire and rushed off the predetermined runway and hit other planes, severely blocking the runway. If this happened in Japan, it must have been rescued first, and then let the mechanic enter the scene to be responsible for emergency repairs and then use other vehicles to tow the plane away, and then try to unload the supplies, but I didn't expect that the US pilot had just been rescued, and other ground crews swarmed up, using fire axes and chainsaws to directly cut off several planes and push them to the side, and then indifferently beckoned the follow-up planes to enter and land.

Millions of yen planes are reimbursed like this? The observers were shocked and sent out the telegram while letting the pilot return quickly, and the airport also noticed this uninvited guest, and the four F4U fighters that came from the field quickly took off to pursue the target, and these fighter pilots were also shocked, because they found that this Japanese water reconnaissance plane could fly at a speed of more than 450 km/h, which was not much slower than the F4F carrier-based aircraft, and compared to the slow, chubby Katarina seaplane, they didn't know where to go. However, no matter how fast the AR-372 is, it can't escape the pursuit of the F4U, which has a speed of more than 650 km/h, and after quickly shooting and sending the reconnaissance telegram, the observer added another one: "The US military dispatched a new fighter jet, and the speed is faster than the zero combat reform......

Just as they were about to describe the shape of the new aircraft further, the "pirates" had unceremoniously shot down the daring reconnaissance plane.

"Sir, a water scout was shot down by the U.S. military, but a telegram came from before it crashed."

After reading the telegram, Horiki said thoughtfully: "It seems that the U.S. military has fully perceived and judged the actions of our troops, and if my guess is correct, the enemy airfield in Panama should be full of planes by now." ”

"What then?" Cao Lu said anxiously, "The enemy has precautions and reinforcements, it is difficult for us to start, and the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us." I knew that I should learn from Pearl Harbor, and I didn't break the relationship, so I quietly touched ......"

"It's useless! The island chain around the Caribbean Sea, unlike Pearl Harbor, will be discovered by the enemy no matter which direction we go covertly. Horikichi looked at the time, then at the chart, and asked, "How many miles are there from Panama now?" ”

Immediately after working on the charts, the staff officer replied: "The ship is about 1,015 kilometers from the Panama Canal in a straight line......"

Hori Yiji nodded, and after thinking about it, he issued an order: "The mobile formation will speed up to 27 knots, take the shortest route to advance, and do not consider taking the anti-submarine Z-shaped route, and the battleships and cruisers that can keep up will provide close cover, and the ships should not worry about fuel losses!" ”

"Sir, what do you want?"

Hori Yiji nodded: "Since the U.S. military is on guard, then we can only take some risks, tomorrow's sunrise will be around a quarter past six, right?" ”

"Yes! It was about 6:10 to be exact. ”

"Excellent! It should be in time. ”

After the fighter reported that it had discovered and shot down a Japanese water reconnaissance plane, the US military also felt that the situation was serious: on the one hand, it sent a large number of planes to search the nearby sea area, but at this time, the Axis Fleet was still 1,000 kilometers away, and in the end it found nothing; On the other hand, the pace of rushing to transport materials was further accelerated, and the staff officers judged that the Japanese army might launch the first attack wave early tomorrow morning. Panama will be defended in less time than Admiral King had predicted - not two days, only one.

In the end, Vice Admiral Ross, who was stationed in the local area, made arrangements for air defense overnight, released smoke and strengthened vigilance, the radar station was on duty all night, and the fighters and bombers completed the replenishment of oil bombs ahead of schedule -- striving to release a group of attack planes to attack the enemy fleet early tomorrow morning.

In the middle of the night, after Roosevelt had descended, the Washington command headquarters had been gathered, and all the high-level officials had no intention of sleeping, and they listened to the reports sent from the front one by one; while determining the emergency defense policy for Panama, Admiral Ingersoll's Atlantic Fleet also went south to meet the battle as quickly as possible, and Admiral King, Marshall, and other generals were all bloodshot -- since the policy of meeting the enemy was determined, they continuously dispatched troops and sent generals, and they had been working without sleep for 30 hours.

"As of 11 o'clock local time, the 300 new anti-aircraft guns have been unloaded, and emergency deployment is currently underway, and the operation is expected to be completed before dawn......"

"All the stranded ships in the canal have been emptied, and civilians around 50 kilometers of the canal zone have been evacuated urgently."

"General Ross reported that smoke was released from the Canal Zone at 4 a.m., with maximum effect expected at 7 a.m."

"The air base currently has 186 planes and more than 200 pilots (groups), of which 154 can be put into combat immediately, and the rest are in the state of loose parts.

"This afternoon, the shore fire resistance completed the live-fire test, and the personnel are now neat and the ammunition is sufficient."

"The follow-up reinforcements of the Florida base have been prepared, and emergency reinforcements can be dispatched tomorrow."

"Reinforcements from the Army Aviation Corps have been successfully stationed at Nicaraguan airports, and currently have 36 P-47 fighters and 48 bombers of various types."

Roosevelt turned his head and whispered to Admiral King, "Can such a deployment withstand the Japanese?" ”

"There's a lot of certainty." Admiral Kim didn't say too much, "As long as we can withstand the first wave of enemy attacks, we have a chance to win, and as time goes by, our army will continue to receive reinforcements, but the enemy will fight less and less." ”

"Will the canal locks be in danger?"

"It should be a major attack, and if a few bombs hit, the overall damage will not be too large, and it is estimated that it will be repaired in a few months."

Roosevelt nodded, his heart was half relieved, and he said to Admiral King, Marshall and others with concern: "You guys go down and rest first, we still have a long time to fight with the Japanese and Germans, even if they destroy the Panama Canal, it can't mean anything, at most they will make us more trouble, and they can't change the prospect of the United States winning, and I am full of confidence in the future!" ”

This sentence was both an encouragement and a stress reliever, and everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief and cast a grateful glance at Roosevelt.

At 3:15 a.m. on April 18, 1943, the Axis Fleet had arrived less than 600 kilometers from Panama, and on the deck of the Xianghe, the flagship of the Mobile Fleet, the pilots with white strips of white cloth with the words "Victory" on their heads lined up in a neat line, watching the Z-shaped flag slowly rise on the mast and flutter in the wind.

The sea breeze blew the left sleeve of Vice Admiral Tsukahara 243, commander of the mobile fleet, and he read Horiyoshi's instructions in a subdued voice: "The commander of the combined fleet ordered, 'The imperial kingdom is in ruins, and in this battle, everyone will work hard!'" (To be continued.) )