At 4:40, Kincaid, who had been thinking for 2 minutes, finally made up his mind: "The Enterprise formation attacked the enemy battleship formation according to the direction instructed by Major General Lee, and the Wasp took off the SBD search formation, which was responsible for searching the 160-degree sector from due west to northeast. ”

Sixteen SBDs carrying 250-pound bombs quickly took off from the Wasp, and to compensate for the lack of aircraft, each SBD that took off for reconnaissance carried bombs in order to attack as soon as the target was discovered. They will use a one-way search method in which each aircraft is responsible for a 10-degree sector, covering the entire sector within a 160-degree range from due west to northeast. A total of 61 aircraft of the Enterprise attack group (the rest are F4F fighters set aside to cover the aircraft carrier) are taking off one after another, preparing to attack the Japanese artillery fleet about 200 nautical miles away.

At about the same time as Kincaid gave the order, the Japanese pilots at the Munda Island airfield, with their heads wrapped in a white cloth of "Victory," were listening to a lecture by the new commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Ugaki, who had flown from Rabaul and arrived on Munda Island only yesterday to give a mobilization speech. At this moment, not only Munda Island, but also all the air fleets including Bougainville, Rabaul, Lae, and New Britain, all the pilots gathered together to wait for the order to attack.

"You are the first group of aircraft to be dispatched to cover our fleet today, and the combat mission is to go to the waters southwest of Kuah Island to support the Yamato, the general flagship of the Combined Fleet, and the commander, and to hold up an air umbrella for the entire artillery fleet...... Our aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft should concentrate on attacking the enemy fleet. Didn't do much to cover them. Ugaki said to the pilots, "After finding the fleet, he has been guarding the sky over the fleet, shooting down any intruding American planes." Until there is no gas or new instructions......"

What the? The pilots all looked at each other - what does this mean that we all want to die there?

"Of course it's not for you to die, you are the most valuable treasure of the empire, how can you die easily." Ugaki's face was hideous, his muscles were violent, and he waved his fist and said, "When you run out of oil, you will parachute, and as long as the fleet below is still there, someone will scoop you up." Give me a good life one by one, don't die! Airplanes are trifles, don't take them personally. There will be newer and better ......"

Everyone is dizzy, what kind of rhythm is this? From the first day I became a pilot, I was told to take care of the plane as much as I love life, but now it's good, more than 200,000 yen per plane (30 admirals can't afford to buy a Zero for a year). Say don't want it?

Look at the look below at a loss. Ugaki raised his voice and yelled, "What are you thinking? What about a large and top 1000 airplanes...... If Yamato sinks, is there any hope for the Combined Fleet? Is there any hope for Japan? ”

"Yes!"

"Report to the sir, the Munda Air Force is fully prepared and ready to take off."

"All Zero Combat Pilots ...... Ranked"

The 36 fighter pilots took a step forward in a neat manner.

Ugaki asked, "Do you remember the location of the Yamato?" ”

"Remembered." All the pilots shouted together.

"Gentlemen, please!" He bowed his head.

"Combined Fleet onboard!"

At 4:45 a.m., 36 Zero fighters with auxiliary fuel tanks on them took off from the airfield on Munda Island and flew southeast.

At 4:45 a.m. on November 5, 1942, the sun slowly rose above the horizon. The East has cleared, and the time for Armageddon in the Sea of Solomon has finally arrived!

Although the radar is good for American warships. But eyesight was clearly a little better than that of Japanese sailors. At 4:55 a.m., when the distance between the two fleets had narrowed to 47,000 meters, far beyond the radar detection range, the Japanese lookout post at the top of the bridge of the Yamato had taken the lead in spotting the American warship looming in the distance, and as time passed, the silhouette of the other side became clearer and clearer.

Commander Tari rang loudly, and everyone held their breath to listen to the information from the lookout.

"Enemy fleet: North Carolina-class battleship Ichi (USS Washington)." (Note: When fighting on the surface of the water at a long distance, it is generally impossible to distinguish the clear ship number of the other party, and can only be called by rank, for the convenience of the text, the author will be called by the clear ship number)

"One New Orleans-class heavy cruiser (USS San Francisco), one Pensacola-class heavy cruiser (USS Salt Lake City), one Atlanta-class light cruiser (USS Atlanta)...... Destroyers 6 strips. "When the distance was reduced to 36,000 meters, the observation post had basically identified the TF64 formation.

At this time, the American warship lookout post discovered the Japanese fleet not long after, and Rear Admiral Lee was also nervously listening to the information on the USS Washington.

"Report, enemy fleet: two Nagato-class battleships...... No...... An unnamed class battleship...... 9 heavy cruisers, including 3 Takohsiung-class (Atago, Maya, Takao), 2 Myo-class (Myoko, Haguro), and 4 Aoba/Furutaka-class (Aoba, Kinukasa, Furutaka, Kako) ......"

"Unknown class battleship?" His brow furrowed quickly, "What the hell is this?" Is it stronger or weaker than Nagato? ”

"This ......" The lookout post was speechless for a moment, and could only observe it more closely.

"The turrets of this ship are ready." The voice of the captain of the Yamato, Takayanagi Yi Hachisa, came from the intercom.

"Don't be in a hurry, keep waiting." Nobutake Kondo smiled, "Let the Americans get closer...... Now firing artillery is a complete waste of ammunition and will scare them. ”

The distance between the two sides narrowed by another 3,000 meters, "Sir, see clearly, it should be more powerful than the Nagato class, at least the same ......level as the Nagato class," and then the observation post on the Washington called out in surprise, "The overall speed of the enemy fleet is currently 25 knots...... Hell, didn't you say that the Nagato class can only run 23 knots at most? ”

23 knots is a nickname for the speed of the Japanese Navy when it built the Nagato class, in fact, the Nagato class can run 26 knots, but the news is not clear to the US Navy. Hearing this incident, Major General Li felt a "chuckle" in his heart, and hurriedly asked the chief of staff of the formation: "Has there been any news from the reconnaissance plane about the enemy aircraft carrier?" ”

"Still not."

"Did our attack aircraft group depart?"

"We have departed, and we expect to arrive at the battlefield in another 50 minutes."

Hearing that it would take 50 minutes to get air support, his brows furrowed even deeper: the Nagato-class was also known as the world's seven battleships, and although the Washington in his hand had a slight advantage due to the small age of the ship, it was more difficult to pick 1 to 2, and he thought that he would have to face those old guys of the King Kong class, but he didn't expect to run into hard stubble. The opponent's speed is not weaker than his own, and now he suddenly has an unknown class battleship with a combat power no less than the Nagato-class, which makes people feel even more tricky, not to mention that Japan also has more heavy cruisers than his own, and he must survive this time, he thought for a moment before issuing a follow-up order.

"The left rudder is 25 degrees, the speed is increased to 26 knots, and the distance between the enemy fleet and the enemy fleet is widened...... "While thinking about a proper solution, he gave an order, "Inform TF16\17 that the enemy fleet has a great advantage at present, and this fleet intends to take advantage of the speed advantage to try to maintain contact with the enemy and avoid engagement." ”

"Twenty minutes have passed, and there has not been a telegram from the reconnaissance plane...... It can be concluded that the enemy aircraft carrier is at least 100 nautical miles away, and our covering aircraft group will inevitably arrive before the enemy attack aircraft group. Kusaka yelled excitedly in the command tower when he returned from the telegraph room—it was the most nervous time for him, and although Horikichi had comforted him, he still felt as if his heart was being clutched.

Awakened by this shouting, Horiyoshi finally "recovered" from a nap with his eyes closed - in fact, he was not asleep, he joked: "Kusaka-kun, I didn't expect it-I didn't notice that the enemy aircraft carrier has become a good thing now!" ”

"Sir......" Kusaka lowered his head in embarrassment, "I'm very sorry, my judgment is insufficient. ”

"Inform the Munda Air Force that the attack aircraft group will depart, and the target of the attack will be the enemy battleship formation, and the expected position of the enemy will be notified in 30 minutes." Horikichi looked at the charts and issued two more orders, "Inform the Rabaul Air Force of the departure of the 1st Cover Group, and inform it of the expected position of the fleet in 45 minutes; Inform the mobile fleet to remain concealed and wait for the order to attack. ”

Cao Lu Ren shouted: "Yes! ”

"The enemy fleet is turning to ......"

"Want to run? It's too late. Nobutake Kondo, who commanded the fleet to fight, sneered, "The whole fleet follows the flagship assault, and the Yamato is ready to shoot first." ”

"Currently at a distance of 32,470 meters from the Washington......" Although the TF64 formation tried to turn and disengage, the relative distance between the two sides continued to approach because the speed of the ship slowed down during the turn.

"Assign firing targets: Yamato target - USS Washington; Nagato target - San Francisco; Mutsu target - USS Salt Lake City, armor-piercing shells ready ......"

"31080 m ......"

After the "boom", the Washington stubbornly turned and took the lead in firing with the triple 406mm main gun on the stern turret.

Dozens of seconds later, three shells entered the water more than 1,500 meters in front of the Yamato, splashing three high columns of water.

"Hmph, it's far away." Nobutake Kondo was unmoved, "Ignore it and move on......"

"29,420 meters." When the observation post reported this distance, the Washington, which had completed its initial turn and could use all the firepower of its sideboard, began to fire in turn, and all nine shells crossed the bridge of Yamato and entered the water, and the nearest was more than 1,200 meters behind it, still posing no threat.

"It's a little closer." Kondo Nobutake carefully observed the landing point of the shell, his face began to become solemn, and he also put away his contempt.

"27,835 meters." The lookout post reported the latest distance, and it was 5:15 a.m., and he finally gave the order: "Fire!" ”

The impatient gunners quickly fired the famous 460mm gun, but since the Yamato was the bow of the ship, only the two turrets on the foredeck could fire.

After the Yamato fired, Nagato and Mutsu opened fire in turn...... (To be continued.) )