At 12:15 p.m., the 22 SBD captains arrived about 8 nautical miles northeast of the "Lake Bell" aircraft carrier, and when the US pilots found that more than 20 bombers were neatly parked on the aircraft carrier, they immediately sent back a report and ordered to concentrate on bombing the aircraft carrier, instead of the two large cruisers that Spruance had ordered to bomb first!

In the sky, there is not a single fighter of the Tang Empire patrolling, and there are only two large cruisers on the sea, and a few destroyers are just near the aircraft carrier, this is the best opportunity.

All 22 SBDs entered from the right front of the aircraft carrier of the Tang Empire, and were divided into three echelons and entered the bombing channel in turn.

On the starboard side of the "Bell Lake" aircraft carrier is the large air defense cruiser "Li Xiaogong"; this cruiser was originally the escort battleship of the "Hulun Lake" aircraft carrier battle group, but was later replaced by the "Xuanwu" and was assigned to the "Bell Lake" aircraft carrier battle group, which is the number one escort warship of this battle group. In more than a dozen battles before that, the cruiser shot down more than 30 enemy planes in total, making it a veritable "ace ship".

There are at least four destroyers in the vicinity of the large air defense cruiser "Li Xiaogong", and the anti-aircraft firepower of these "City" class destroyers is not as good as that of the cruisers, but they are not weak. There were more than two dozen anti-aircraft guns on each destroyer.

When the first seven SBDs entered broke through the air defense network of the fleet, six of them were directly killed, of which three were shot down by the 120-mm anti-aircraft guns on the "Li Xiaogong", the other two were shot down by the destroyers, and one was shot down by the 80-mm anti-aircraft guns on the "Li Xiaogong." The only SBD that succeeded in penetrating the defense was eventually shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of the aircraft carrier "Lake Bell".

The second batch of eight SBDs entered almost simultaneously, as a result of which the anti-aircraft guns on the escort ships were all dealing with the first batch of ground SBDs, and the number of anti-aircraft guns against this batch of SBDs was quite small. Only two of these bombers were killed when they broke through the ground air defense network of the escort warships. And before entering the dive channel, two more were shot down by the anti-aircraft guns on the aircraft carrier, and finally four entered the dive bomb throwing channel, and three of them successfully dropped their bombs!

At that time, Zhang Naiding happened to leave the aviation operations center and was about to go to the hangar to see how his bomber was repaired. When the familiar sound of the dive bomber entering the dive channel came. Zhang Naiding immediately turned around and rushed onto the flight deck, then looked up.

The four SBDs "collided" with an almost 80-degree dive angle towards the aircraft carrier on the sea surface, Zhang Naiding's eyesight was very good, and when the bombers were still about 600 meters away from the aircraft carrier, he could almost see the other pilot's appearance wearing goggles. One SBD was torn to pieces by blazing anti-aircraft fire before dropping the bomb, and then three other SBDs dropped their bombs, and one SBD slowed down when changing course, and was immediately hit, dragging black smoke and falling down.

"Get out of the bomber!" Zhang Naiding yelled at his comrades who were still sitting in the bomber. He himself was the best dive bomber pilot. He instantly judged the landing point of the three bombs, but at this time, Zhang Naiding himself forgot to hide.

Soon. Several pilots climbed out of the cockpit, and instead of escaping alone, they were directing the surrounding aviation service personnel to immediately take cover, but the problem was. It only takes a dozen seconds for these bombs to fall, and in a dozen seconds, they simply can't escape the range of the bombs.

The aircraft carrier was already leaning heavily to the left and was making a left turn at full speed, but it was too slow, too late, and the US bombers had already anticipated this when they dropped their bombs, so they aimed at the left side of the aircraft carrier, not the right side. An aircraft carrier sailing at a speed of 33 knots turns at most 20 degrees in more than ten seconds after the bombs fall, and sails less than two-thirds of the length of the ship, that is, it is impossible for the aircraft carrier to force away all the bombs!

The first bomb landed on the sea outside the starboard side of the aircraft carrier and exploded, and the aircraft carrier shook violently, and Zhang Naiding's feet were unstable, and he immediately fell on the flight deck outside the ship island. Then, the second bomb fell on the port side of the aircraft carrier, with a deviation of less than 50 meters, and the third bomb that fell three seconds later landed in the bomber group in the middle of the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, and the three bombers near the bomb impact point were immediately shaken, and then the bombs that exploded in the hangar below threw all the flight decks in this section, and more than a dozen bombers were shaken into the air, and several bombers near the side were immediately thrown into the sea. A huge pillar of fire emerged from the flight deck, fragments of the flight deck, fragments of bombers, and limbs of officers and men on the battleship flew in all directions. If this bomb exploded on the flight deck, then Zhang Naiding must have been finished, because the bomb was through the armor of the flight deck and exploded when it hit the main deck of the hangar, so the armored flight deck blocked most of the shrapnel and debris, and Zhang Naiding had already fallen on the flight deck at that time, and he escaped this catastrophe.

The aircraft carrier groaned like a giant monster, the sound of ignited aviation gasoline burning steel plates. The sky over the battleship was shrouded in smoke, and the aircraft carrier was still sailing at high speed. Zhang Naiding felt as if a tweeter was roaring in his head, and he struggled to get up, and the scene in front of him made him unable to believe it at all.

On the deck lay the bodies of dozens of officers and soldiers, most of them aviation service personnel in uniforms of different colors, and some pilots who did not have time to hide.

The bombers that were not blown up were burning, and from time to time there were small explosions, and these bombers were filled with fuel. Then, Zhang Naiding saw the bombs in the flames, which were bombs hanging on the bomber.

"Colonel, get out of here and go down there!" A damage management team member wearing an asbestos fireproof suit rushed over, still holding a dry powder fire extinguisher.

"Quick, quick, quick-" Zhang Naiding felt like his throat was on fire, "Go and move those bombs quickly, don't let the bombs explode, go!" ”

At this time. Having rushed to the flight deck, the team members also found the 500-kilogram aerial bombs in the flames. These bombs use inert explosives, and they are not easy to explode until the insurance is lifted, but the problem is. If the temperature exceeds 800 degrees Celsius, the bomb can explode at any time!

"Go and shove those bombs into the sea now!" The officer in charge of the damage management shouted. While rushing over.

The first batch of more than a dozen damage management team members rushed over, and the asbestos fireproof suits on their bodies could withstand a maximum of 600 degrees Celsius, and could only last less than 30 seconds in this situation, while the temperature of the ground fire caused by aviation gasoline was above 1,000 degrees Celsius! Then, a second group of damage management team members also rushed over.

Within 30 seconds, no one withdrew, and Zhang Naiding wanted to rush over, but the two Marine officers and soldiers who arrived at this time dragged him towards the passage. When leaving the flight deck, Zhang Naiding saw that the first batch of damage management team members had fallen into the fire, they did not struggle, did not groan, and did not think about escaping......

The third batch of SBDs also broke through the fleet's anti-aircraft fire network at this time, and three SBDs entered the dive bombing channel and quickly dropped bombs. The anti-aircraft artillery fire on the aircraft carrier has been weakened by more than half. There was simply no way to stop these bombers. And all three SBDs were safely evacuated after dropping the bombs.

When the aircraft carrier was hit by the first bomb, Zheng Guanhua was also stunned, and most of the officers and men in the command cabin were almost injured. When he got up. A large fire on the flight deck was immediately seen, and then a group of Marine officers and men rushed in and began to evacuate the officers of the fleet command. And the first to be evacuated was Zheng Guanhua.

"Rescue the aircraft carrier, save the aircraft carrier!"

There was no need for Zheng Guanhua to give any orders, and the officers and men on the aircraft carrier knew that they had to rescue the aircraft carrier. But the problem is that the third batch of SBDs arrived quickly, and when Zheng Guanhua was sent below the hangar deck, the aircraft carrier was again hit by two 160-pound bombs, one of which hit the middle of the two catapults of the aircraft carrier and exploded in front of the No. 1 hangar, and the catapult weighing dozens of tons was thrown directly. The second bomb landed near the No. 2 elevator of the aircraft carrier, and exploded after entering the No. 3 hangar, destroying several bombers that were being repaired here, and killing and wounding dozens of aviation crews.

At 12:23, the aircraft carrier began to slow down, and if the speed was too fast, then the fire extinguishing work on the ground on the aircraft carrier could not be carried out, and by this time the American bombers had already left. Zheng Guanhua was also forcibly sent to the fireboat that had already approached at this time. The first thing he saw was Zhang Naiding, who was sent over one step earlier.

"General, you first transfer to the cruiser 'Changsun Wuji'......"

"It is necessary to keep the aircraft carrier and do our best to save this aircraft carrier." Zheng Guanhua hesitated for a moment, "Tell the captain that if the aircraft carrier can't be saved in the end, then order the ship to be abandoned and let the officers and soldiers evacuate as soon as possible!" ”

The Marine officer nodded, and the fireboat was pushed away. A second fireboat arrived immediately after taking up the other fleet staff officers, as well as some of the seriously wounded.

When the fireboat was heading towards the nearby cruiser "Changsun Wuji", Zheng Guanhua and Zhang Naiding looked at the "Bear Lake" aircraft carrier burning in the flames, neither of them spoke, they knew that this aircraft carrier must be finished!

At that time, there were 25 bombers on the aircraft carrier with bombs, and these bombers were filled with aviation gasoline, and what was more troublesome was that the pipelines for transporting aviation gasoline on the aircraft carrier were not closed, but all opened, and when the aircraft carrier was shot, it was impossible to completely close these pipelines, and as long as the gasoline in the aviation fuel depot leaked, then the aircraft carrier was finished. Similarly, if the bombs are not pushed out of the fire zone in time, the aircraft carrier will be doomed!

At 12:31 p.m., before Zheng Guanhua and the others reached the cruiser "Changsun Wuji," the "Bear Lake" aircraft carrier exploded violently for the first time, and a huge fireball rose up and rolled in the air.

"It was the bomb that was detonated." Zhang Naiding gritted his teeth, "Those aerial bombs exploded, it's over!" ”

Zheng Guanhua's face was blue, and he also knew that the aircraft carrier would definitely be finished.

At 12:38 p.m., about three minutes after Zheng Guanhua and his men boarded the cruiser "Changsun Wuji," the aircraft carrier "Bear Lake" exploded violently again, this time with a much larger fireball, and it continued to roll and burn in the air. This is the result of an explosion of aviation gasoline leakage on board the aircraft carrier.

"Let the captain immediately give the order to abandon the ship, evacuate all the officers and men, and act quickly!"

At 12:40 p.m., the captain of the aircraft carrier "Lake Bell" gave the order to abandon the ship and ordered the officers and men to leave the aircraft carrier in order. There was no chaos on the carrier, and the damage management team was still making a last-ditch effort. The officers and men of the aircraft carrier were all moved to starboard, and the wounded were the first to be sent away (there had been fireboats from nearby warships to pick up the wounded on the carrier), then the non-combatants, then the ordinary officers and men, the loss management team members, and finally the officers. The captain of the aircraft carrier is the last to leave the aircraft carrier, and when the ship is abandoned, the highest officer on the battleship must be the last to leave, this is an unwritten rule in the navy, if the captain leaves his battleship before his men leave, then he is likely to be sent to a military court and punished for desertion!

Several destroyers approached, and in addition to continuing to spray seawater on the aircraft carrier to give the officers and men on the aircraft carrier more time to evacuate, they were also salvaging the people who had fallen into the water nearby. The cruiser also sent lifeboats and fireboats to assist in the removal of the officers and men on the carrier.

At 12:58 p.m., an even larger explosion occurred on the aircraft carrier "Lake Bell," which occurred near the aircraft carrier's headquarters, when an antiaircraft gun ammunition depot on the aircraft carrier was detonated.

Then, there were more than a dozen small explosions on the aircraft carrier, which was the detonation of ammunition in the vicinity of individual anti-aircraft guns.

"General, do you want the destroyer to sink the aircraft carrier?"

Zheng Guanhua trembled slightly, he hesitated for a moment, and then said: "After confirming that the retreat is completed, let the destroyer fire torpedoes at the aircraft carrier." ”

Everyone knew the meaning of this order, the aircraft carrier "Lake Bell" had been abandoned, this aircraft carrier had lost the value of saving, but no destroyer was willing to fire torpedoes at the aircraft carrier that had been desperately protecting and sink its own warship, which was the most painful thing.

Just after one o'clock, a huge column of white water vapor burst out of the aircraft carrier, which was sprayed out after the explosion of the boiler on the aircraft carrier, and the aircraft carrier was completely finished, but the battle was still not over!