ps: I have arrived in Foshan and seen a bunch of big gods and small gods......

In the second attack wave, Nimitz arranged for a total of 176 aircraft to go on the offensive, leaving the fleet with 57 fighters. www.biquge.info Of the 176 aircraft that sorted, there were only 41 fighters, and 135 were all attack aircraft, both BTD and SBD.

The fighter pilot Nimitz also tried to rotate as much as possible, but most of the attack plane pilots did not change, and many of them could only drag their tired bodies into battle again, and this group of pilots was the only remaining skilled pilot in the Atlantic Fleet. Nimitz thought about giving up more than once, but after thinking about it again, he hardened his heart and gave this impersonal order. Several pilots even gobbled up hot dogs while comforting him in turn: "Don't worry, sir, we can do it!" I will definitely persist in completing the combat mission. ”

Witnessing the departure of the last plane, Nimitz gave the order: the fleet turned 105 degrees, took the southeast route, and prepared to turn into the waters of South Africa.

After the deployment was completed, he hid his face and wept loudly -- these 176 planes could only come back half at most, maybe not even half of them, and he was personally sending young people in their prime to a dead end, but he had to do it.

Smith stood behind him with his staff, and everyone's mood was as sad as Nimitz's. It was the second time they had seen Nimitz so out of shape, the last time it was when Cunningham led the fleet as a firepower magnet and died generously. Since then, Nimitz has been planning revenge all the time, but he didn't expect it to turn into the situation in front of him.

The encounter of the Spruance fleet in the final stage of the South Pacific reached Washington by telegram, and some high-ranking officials appreciated the heroism and determination of the pilots' "suicide attack" at the last moment, and wanted to publicize it widely through the media, but Nimitz argued at the meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and opposed such an exaggerated exaggeration.

"Human life is the most precious, and we can demand that officers and men fight bravely, but we must not ask them to do so by suicide or by dying together, which is a disgrace to America and a disgrace to civilization. If we do this, what's the difference between it and the Japanese making suicide rockets? What is the significance of the free world's opposition to Axis fascism and Japanese militarism? ”

Under its loud voice, all the fallen soldiers were honored, but the media only described their heroic feats and did not mention suicide attacks.

Truman was pleased with Nimitz's sober understanding that it was not easy to remain calm in the midst of war fever, and that such incitement and appeals would come at a political cost in the future, and that the American people, once they came to their senses, would hang those who gave such orders on a pillar of shame.

Due to the lack of space for the aircraft carriers of the German fleet, it took a lot of time to dispatch and turn around, so this round of sorties was slower than that of the US troops, and the time difference between the last attack was narrowed again, and finally all combat planes were released only 20 minutes earlier than the US troops.

Before the attack group took off, Crake personally talked to the commander of the brigade and asked him to grasp the rhythm of the attack, not to fight hard, and to retain the pilot to the greatest extent.

"What if the Americans keep an aircraft carrier and run back? Chief Machar still has 4 aircraft carriers in his hands, and there is a steady stream of new aircraft carriers on the slipway, and the South Atlantic will be our world for the foreseeable future! ”

"Got it!"

Hintz expressed surprise that Cranke seemed to be putting too much emphasis on preserving his life lately, and that his style was different from his previous style, which could be demoralizing.

Kranke explained: "In the past, we were at a disadvantage, so naturally we had to fight hard by all means, starting with the Battle of the Azores, which time was not gritting our teeth and fighting? But now it is different, the war in Europe has been won, and the war against the United States is not premised on the defeat of the United States, but is entirely for the sake of Germany's world hegemony. The ship can be rebuilt if it is gone, and the pilot will never survive if it is lost. I'll just wait for the Americans to fight us, and see what kind of war Nimitz will fight with this group of pilots in the future! The Führer told me that it is never one or two advanced weapons that will determine the success or failure of a war, it is people! He is a smart, capable, brave and fearless person! ”

Hindz found Crank's words inconsistent, asking for his life to be spared, and at the same time saying that he was brave and fearless.

"The bravest are all dead, will there be any warriors left? How long can the Americans maintain this morale, which loses half or more of their troops in every sortie? How did their strategic bombing fail? ”

As the U.S. fleet turned around and headed southeast, the Germans spent another 10 minutes searching for it, and finally found the fleet, which had been greatly reduced.

Seventeen destroyers were tightly packed around the aircraft carrier's side, forming a fine close protection, and the two remaining air defense cruisers were able to fire maximum firepower. U.S. air defense fighters bravely pounced to meet the challenge and fought with German fighters and attack planes.

"Cut in on the left and right sides at the same time, and solve the cruiser with bombs first!"

Four groups of bombers immediately pounced and dropped bombs, and just after 5 o'clock, the two outnumbered American air defense cruisers were sunk one after another, leaving only the two lone aircraft carriers in the formation.

"Torpedo attack!" The Germans learned from many operations that it was difficult to sink the Essex class with 400-kilogram bombs alone, emphasizing the use of torpedoes to solve the opponent.

More than 20 Ju-198s quickly pounced and released torpedoes, streaking one trail after another on the sea.

"Defend the flagship!" All the destroyer captains shouted and fought desperately to build a strong line of defense for the aircraft carrier.

The destroyers were unable to block the guns of the aircraft carriers because of the shallow draft, so they concentrated on the torpedo passage road, and while intercepting the torpedoes intensively, they released a large number of hedgehog shells by the method of dealing with submarines -- this method was occasionally found last night when dealing with submarine attacks, and it was found that the hedgehog shells had a certain detonating effect on the torpedoes, and today the destroyers are using all their might.

However, today is obviously not as good as yesterday - yesterday many of them were oxygen torpedoes, which were relatively easier to explode, but they still detonated 5-6 torpedoes, and some of them were intercepted with 20mm Erlikon cannons, and the captains of the Franklin and Bennington used all their strength to speed the ship at a speed of 33 knots, twisting and turning on the sea, and as a result, more than 20 torpedoes hit only one of the Bennington, and the Franklin miraculously escaped unscathed.

Originally, there was a torpedo that rushed straight towards the Franklin, the ship had just avoided 3 torpedoes, and there was no way to avoid the last one, just at the last moment, an F6F at a low altitude did not hesitate to dive in the air and detonate the torpedo with its own body, the pilot and the entire plane were left with no bones, and all the American officers and men on the ship were moved to pay tribute to this unsung hero.

"It seems that we have to continue to use dive bombing to slow down the enemy ships first."

At the same time as the attack with the American aircraft carrier, the German fleet also ushered in the last wave of attacks by the American army.

These brave and fearless pilots ignored the oncoming German fighters and the blazing artillery fire in the center of the formation, led by Richelieu, including the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and only aimed the spearhead of the attack at the last two German aircraft carriers.

At 17:13, the U.S. military sank the L12 with 5 bombs after paying the price of sinking more than 20 planes, and at the same time 16 planes took advantage of the gap in which the German anti-aircraft fire was concentrated at high altitudes to release torpedoes, although 7 planes were blown up on the spot during the bomb dropping, but the other 9 successfully launched torpedoes.

The whole German formation suddenly changed direction to avoid the main fan, and 2 torpedoes penetrated the entire formation and rushed straight to Jean-Bar, considering that it was easy to cause confusion by changing formation again, the light cruiser Jean-de Viennes, which had been obtained from France, bravely pounced and blocked these two torpedoes for the flagship, but the light cruiser was quickly torpedoed and sunk,

At this point, all six Galissonuet-class ships built by France had been sunk in the war, and the first stage was quickly replaced by the Hipper, which was also the only remaining heavy cruiser in Germany.

"Have you come out of the battle on General Nimitz's side?" While wiping the sweat from his forehead, Truman asked Turner that 20 minutes ago, the transport fleet had entered the protection of his army's air fleet, but the main Atlantic fleet was in a very dangerous situation.

"Not yet, the two sides are fighting fiercely......"

"May God bless America!"

"Latest Situation......

At 18:19, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the German attack group took the lead in returning from the battle, and the attack group consisting of a total of 95 aircraft sank 2 American air defense cruisers and 3 destroyers at the cost of losing 23 aircraft, and severely damaged the Bennington with torpedoes. The Franklin only ate one bomb, and in the non-core area, it still had the ability to take off and land after emergency rescue, but the top speed dropped by 2 knots.

Fifteen minutes later, the few remaining US attack planes also began to return.

In Nimitz's desperate attack, the U.S. forces sank the aircraft carrier L12 and inflicted heavy damage on the Jean-Bar, which ate six 1,000-pound bombs and two torpedoes, blasting the entire deck, destroying the hangar, and flooding the hull with more than 5,000 tons. But the sturdy defense of the Richelieu-class battleship saved him, and he remained tenaciously afloat on the surface of the sea, and finally moved slowly at a speed of 8 knots.

In addition to the light cruiser Jean-de-Vienna, the Germans also lost an additional cruiser - the Italian light cruiser Dausta, and in order to replace Jean-Balde, the three battleships Richelieu, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau all ate at least one torpedo and were hit by 1-2 bombs each, and all the capital ships of the entire fleet were scarred, but struggled to float on the sea.

"Sir, the enemy plane has retreated."

Cranke sighed: "The losses are a bit heavy, but we finally repelled the enemy and let the returning aircraft group land in Rio, and we can only go to Rio for emergency maintenance for the time being." ”

This remarkable comeback ended in a defeat for both sides......