USS Enterprise is the sixth aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy and the second of the Yorktown-class aircraft carriers.

The standard aircraft carrier USS Enterprise has a standard aircraft capacity of 81 aircraft when it operates.

has a fighter squadron, 18 F4F Wildcat fighters;

a squadron of fish bombers, 18 TBD-1 Destroyer torpedo attack aircraft;

a squadron of dive bombers, 18 SBD Dreadnought dive bombers;

a squadron of reconnaissance bombers, 18 SBD Dreadnought reconnaissance-bombers;

In addition to the four squadrons, there are 9 spare aircraft on board the Enterprise, which can carry up to 90 aircraft.

After receiving a telegram from Pearl Harbor, Halsey immediately released half of the Enterprise's reconnaissance bombers.

Nine SBD Dreadnought reconnaissance-bombers pulled into a fan and flew north.

After releasing the reconnaissance plane, Halsey led the Eighth Task Force to follow closely behind the reconnaissance plane and sailed north at full speed.

Although the Eighth Task Force was heading north, Halsey's eyes were focused on the west of the fleet, in the direction of Pearl Harbor.

Black smoke hangs over Pearl Harbor like a dark cloud connecting the sky and the sea, and you don't need a telescope to see it clearly.

The fleet was at least fifty nautical miles away from Pearl Harbor at this time, and at this distance the black smoke could be seen with the naked eye, and the height of those black plumes of smoke was at least two thousand meters, or even three thousand meters.

Halsey let out an exclamation with palpitations, thank God, thank Admiral Kimmel, thank you to the two German ** ships.

Since two days ago, when the two German ships were getting closer and closer to Pearl Harbor, Kimmer's nerves have become more and more nervous, and he believes that at this point in the increasingly tense relations between Japan and the United States, the appearance of the two German ships seems to indicate some kind of bad luck.

As soon as Kimmel became nervous, more and more American soldiers in Pearl Harbor lost their vacations.

First light cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, and then, just in case, Kimmel sent the battleships Pennsylvania and Maryland to attack against the mighty battleship Bismarck until the afternoon of December 24. Kimmel made a miraculous decision to send aircraft carriers.

Because it was Christmas Eve, and the next day was Christmas, everyone was jubilant and ready for Christmas, and Admiral Kimmer knew that it was very unkind for him to give the order to sail at this time. In a rare humorous experience, he asked the commanders of his three aircraft carrier formations to draw lots to decide who would set sail to monitor the two German warships.

Halsey's golden finger drew a signature, and then, with a bitter face, Kimmel's comfort, led his men out of port to monitor the transit of the two German warships.

In retrospect, if it weren't for the appearance of those two German battleships. The Enterprise under his feet is now probably as vicious as the other warships in the harbor.

In the final analysis, those two German battleships were their own lucky stars, allowing themselves, the Enterprise, the entire Eighth Task Force and the two reinforced battleships to escape.

In his heart, Halsey expressed his sincere gratitude to someone for the two battleships he commanded.

However, someone could not hear Halsey's thanks, and in Halsey's wordless thanks, someone recruited an aerial killer who pounced on Halsey's fleet.

Nine Type 97 reconnaissance-attack planes flew to the coordinates originally announced by Chen Dao, and as a matter of course, they swooped down, and then launched a search near the sea area of the coordinate point, and soon discovered the Eighth Task Force led by Halsey.

A radio wave full of joy fell into the Akagi's communication room. Nagumo's meaty face smiled again.

As soon as Nagumo smiled, the mobile fleet was busy.

The fourth attack wave, consisting of 32 Type 97 torpedo attack planes, 35 Type 99 dive bombers, 28 Type 97 horizontal bombers, and 32 Type Zero fighters, took off one after another and pounced on the Eighth Task Force.

For a moment, the roar of the engines of one hundred and seventy-seven fighter planes almost tore through the sky.

Nanyun watched the group disappear into the blue sky and white clouds, and the horizontal flesh on his face regained stiffness again.

Unfortunately, time is of the essence, and it is not possible to replenish all the returning fighters of the second attack wave and wait for the fourth wave of attack aircraft to return. It is the time to excite the fleet to return home, and during this time, nothing can go wrong.

Halsey didn't know that he was about to be in trouble, but shouted excitedly: "Caught that group of Japanese miscellaneous pieces." Command the fighters to attack, I will make those Japanese miscellaneous blood debts pay for in blood. ”

Halsey's excitement came from the latest information, among the fourteen reconnaissance planes of various types that took off from Pearl Harbor, a Catalina seaplane was the first to discover the location of the Nagumo fleet and immediately reported it to the base, and Halsey then received the information relayed by the base.

In a fit of rage. Halsey left only six F4F Night Cat fighters, and the remaining sixty-six fighters all took to the air and pounced on the Japanese fleet.

However, less than half an hour after the swarm disappeared into the sky, Halsey received a bad news from the lookout post that the swarm was approaching Task Force 8.

The fleet of planes that took off from the Enterprise took off for at least three hours back and forth, and now it has only been more than an hour, and the group in the sky will not be its own people, so the identity of that group is self-evident.

The battle order was immediately transmitted to every battleship of the Eighth Task Force, and the crew rushed inside and outside the battleship amid the piercing sirens, eight single-barreled 127-mm high-level dual-purpose guns, four four-pack 28-mm machine guns, and 24 12.7-mm anti-aircraft machine guns on the Enterprise.

48 muzzles and muzzles of guns of all sizes are pointed into the sky to welcome the arrival of uninvited guests.

Inside the bridge, Halsey and his staff officers also put on life jackets and stared nervously at the direction of the enemy planes.

Six fighters also scrambled into the air, hovering above the fleet.

Looking at the larger and larger black dots in the telescope, Halsey roughly counted them, and his heart suddenly became nervous.

There were too many enemy aircraft, almost twice as many as the Enterprise carrier-based aircraft.

Eight 127-mm anti-aircraft guns were fired first, and through the thick bulletproof glass of the bridge, Halsey could almost feel the scorching heat of the muzzle flames.

In the fleet, the anti-aircraft guns of two battleships, two light cruisers and five destroyers also opened fire one after another, and the sky was immediately filled with countless gray-black gunsmoke.

The Japanese aircraft group was murderously divided into three routes, and the six Wildcat fighters were instantly submerged in the Zero fighter group.

The Type 97 horizontal bombers dispersed into a five-plane formation and flew over the Enterprise and the two battleships, raining down 250 kilograms of armor-piercing shells and 60 kilograms of high-explosive bombs.

The Type 99 dive bomber followed, also taking the three capital ships as the first target, and the Enterprise was the first to bear the brunt.

In the dense rain of bullets, the Enterprise rushed left and right, shuttling through the white water columns.

The more than 200-meter-long hull drew an S-shaped curve on the sea, and the battleships Pennsylvania and Maryland did the same.

As the object of key attention of the Japanese army aircraft group. The aft deck of the Enterprise was the first to be hit by two 60-kilogram high-explosive bombs, followed by two Type 99 dive bombers.

In front of the armor-piercing bullets that fell at high speed, the hard wooden deck was useless, and the piercing sound of wooden planks breaking. Two more bullet holes were placed in the deck. With two muffled sounds from the ship's interior, fiery red flames swirled around black smoke and erupted from its own bullet holes.

Halsey nervously glanced at the bullet holes in the middle of the deck and the front right and couldn't help but clench his fists.

Oh no, until the two bullet holes were repaired, the Enterprise temporarily lost the ability to take off and land aircraft.

The Japanese planes did not give Halsey almost sorrow. The real killer, the Type 97 torpedo attack aircraft went around in circles and came back to the Enterprise by sticking to the sea.

On the port side of the Enterprise, the aircraft controlled by Izuki Shirt is getting closer and closer to the Enterprise, and the altitude from the sea surface is getting lower and lower.

On his left and right, two Type 97 torpedo planes made the same move, lowering 300 meters, 200 meters, and 100 meters to a height of about 60 meters above the sea surface.

The distance from the Enterprise varies from 600 meters to 800 meters. Four Type 97 torpedo planes dropped torpedoes one after another, but only one plane was unfortunately hit by anti-aircraft fire and plunged headlong into the sea.

Four torpedoes, trailing a striking silver trail, rushed towards the Enterprise, which was swaying from side to side in the sea.

The Enterprise swayed to make a sharp left turn, narrowly avoiding three torpedoes, only to be hit by the last torpedo in the middle and aft port side of the ship.

The Enterprise was only 122 mm thick waterline armor, and the Type 91 torpedo easily burst a crack in the Enterprise with a diameter of more than four meters.

The sea rushed into the Enterprise's cabin, and because of the severe injuries, and in order to control the speed of the seawater incoming, the speed of the Enterprise was immediately reduced to fourteen knots. Not even half the top speed of 32 knots.

The sharply reduced speed of the Enterprise gave the Japanese planes an opportunity to take advantage of it, and it was attacked by two groups of seven Type 97 torpedo planes, and the starboard middle of the Enterprise was hit by a torpedo again.

To add insult to injury, the Japanese fighters had to kill the enterprise. Seven Type 99 dive bombers followed one after another, beating the Enterprise, a water dog.

Five near-miss bombs were lifted on the left and right sides of the Enterprise, and the shrapnel crackled the hull, and four 250-kilogram armor-piercing shells drilled into the Enterprise's body, stirring up the "internal organs" of the Enterprise beyond recognition.

Whether it's a bullet hole cut out of an armor-piercing projectile, or a lift platform. Or the vents on the sides of the ship's hull, black smoke pouring out of every crevice of the Enterprise, circling around the Enterprise.

From a distance, the Enterprise looks like a demon god from hell, "seven orifices of smoke", spewing flames from time to time, strolling on the sea with elegant steps, and its huge body leaning towards the starboard side, as if it will die on the spot at any time.

However, it seems that until the Japanese aircraft group dropped torpedoes and bombs and left unwillingly, the Enterprise still stubbornly survived on the sea.

Not only the Enterprise, but also the battleships Pennsylvania and Maryland had a very good "character", the beam on the starboard side of the battleship Pennsylvania was torpedoed, and the middle chimney was hit by a 250-kilogram armor-piercing shell. The battleship Maryland was hit by two torpedoes and an armor-piercing projectile, the engine room was flooded in large quantities, and the stern of the ship was slightly submerged in the water.

On the starboard side of the Enterprise, the American soldiers in the water threw down all the lifeboats, and the surviving crew jumped on the lifeboats and rowed towards the friendly ships that rushed to the rescue nearby.

Although the Enterprise was still floating on the sea, Halsey received a report from the damage management department that a fire had broken out inside the Enterprise and that the fire was spreading to the ammunition bin where the aerial bombs were stored.

Although reluctant to leave the Enterprise, Halsey chose to respect the advice of the damage management department and gave the order to retreat.

Soon after Halsey was transferred to the battleship Pennsylvania, which was the least wounded, he gave the order to return.

The three capital ships of the Eighth Task Force were wounded, and the Eighth Task Force had lost the ability to fight, and even the returning fighters could not land, so they had no choice but to return to Pearl Harbor.

Looking at the scarred Enterprise, Halsey prayed secretly.

God forbid, the Enterprise must insist on returning to Pearl Harbor, believing that with the strong repair ability of those workers in the Navy Yard, the beloved Enterprise will soon be back to combat effectiveness.

The Eighth Task Force will rely on the power of this flagship to avenge its revenge in the future.

As if he had a heart-to-heart with Halsey, Halsey's intent, non-stop prayer, the black smoke coming out of the hull of the USS Enterprise became less and less, the angle of tilt to the right became smaller and smaller, and the speed of the ship became faster and faster, and the most exciting thing for Halsey was that the Enterprise was getting closer and closer to Pearl Harbor.

The topography of Pearl Harbor looks like an inverted Erlenmeyer flask, and the fjord at the mouth of the Erlenmeyer flask is the only way to get into Pearl Harbor.

As the Enterprise slowly approached the fjord, Halsey's tangled heart gradually soothed, and as she sailed through the fjord in front of her, the Enterprise could enter the harbor and receive a more thorough restoration.

The battleship USS Maryland also sent good news at this time, and the damage of the battleship was completely controlled, and there was no danger of sinking.

Halsey looked up at the creeping night.

It's getting dark, and those Japanese miscellaneous will not launch new air raids, and there is no naval aviation of that country in the world that has the ability to fight at night, the United States does not, and the Japanese will not have it.

Halsey stared at the military port, which he could barely recognize, and was eager to fly to the shore immediately to discuss with Kimmel the plan to counterattack Japan.

The captain of the Pennsylvania interrupted Halsey's hateful obscenity.

"The Enterprise is in big trouble." The captain of the Pennsylvania said with a frown.

"What's the trouble?"

"The damage management department just found a dud in the hold of the Enterprise, unfortunately, the dud is in the torpedo compartment, and they are asking for your instructions."

Halsey was speechless, a fine bead of sweat on his forehead.

The Enterprise is now sailing at the entrance to the fjord, once the bomb explodes, detonating the torpedo bay, the Enterprise is a trivial matter, with the huge size of the Enterprise, sinking in the fjord, it will definitely block the entrance to the fjord, like a hidden reef as dangerous, other large ships do not want to enter and exit the fjord.

Immediately exiting the fjord, not allowed to enter, Halsey made a decision at once.

Soon, Halsey saw the Enterprise slowly stop in the fjord, and the huge hull then began to reverse.

However, at the very moment when the Enterprise reversed, the 250-kilogram bomb leaning in the torpedo compartment of the Enterprise slipped slowly but firmly to the ground under the action of the ship's actuating inertia (to be continued). )