The bomber formation led by Zhang Naiding that took off from the aircraft carrier "Xuanzong" did not take part in the brutal air battle that was decentralized. Because both the Kingfisher and the Osprey use turbocharged engines, their high-altitude performance is very good. If an ordinary supercharged engine is used, the power of the engine will be reduced by more than 30% when flying at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters, while the power of the engine with turbocharging will be reduced by less than 10%. Both bombers can fly at an altitude of 4,500 meters at a speed of 180 knots when fully loaded. And the Japanese bombers, when fully loaded, simply could not fly so high!

The disadvantages of turbocharged engines are also prominent. One is bulky, which limits the ability of the aircraft to maneuver, perhaps not so obvious on bombers, but it is obvious on fighters. Second, the high cost of manufacturing limits mass production in wartime situations. Third, the failure rate is high, and at least 15 spare engines are prepared on each ship so that the engine in question can be replaced at any time. Finally, and most obviously, the high-altitude performance brought to HNA is not actually that important to HNA fighters. Later, the Tang Empire abandoned turbocharging technology (to be precise, it should have been temporarily shelved in wartime situations) and switched to mechanically charged engines, which was caused by these reasons.

Zhang Naiding's target was the Japanese First Air Fleet in front of him. As soon as the group he led flew over the battlefield of air combat, he immediately called the escort fighters who were still fighting with the Japanese group. Although intercepting the enemy's bomber group was also a very important task, Zhang Naiding did not want to break through the Japanese fleet's air defense interception network alone without any fighter cover, which was simply risking his death (he did not know that there were not many fighters in the sky over the Japanese First Air Fleet, and it could not pose a mortal threat to his bomber group at all).

After the two sides struggled for 25 minutes, that is, after the "Taizu" aircraft carrier group led by Deng Zichao passed over the battlefield, Major An Shile immediately followed with 44 fighters on escort mission. They were already starting to throw away the drop fuel tanks, but the remaining fuel would still allow them to return to their own fleet after half an hour of combat flights over the Japanese fleet.

Another 18 Vultures were still dealing with the Japanese bombers and fighters, and their mission was not to escort them. Instead, it was designed to slow down the Japanese fleet so that the returning bombers had enough time to land on the carrier, while the other fighters could take off in time. This is an imposed order, and all the pilots are well aware of it, and one more minute of their drag out of the Japanese fleet here, then the fleet has a little more hope.

At the beginning of the fierce ground air battle, the "Vulture" group shot down at least 1 "Zero Battle", 22 bombers at the cost of 23 Hao. The exact results of the battle cannot be counted immediately. Because the battlefield is so chaotic, many pilots double-count the results when attacking one target at the same time. However, this was not a problem, and Yang Shihong still carefully followed behind the Japanese group. I have to admire Yang Shihong's courage and carefulness!

After 15 minutes, 14 "vultures" withdrew from the battle, they had used up all their ammunition, unless the plane itself was used as a shell to hit the enemy, otherwise they could only retreat, and Tan Renhao had already given the order, unless the fighter could intercept the enemy plane by ramming during the air defense of the fleet. At any other time. Fighter pilots can't mess around. Tan Renhao has long recognized the importance of preserving experienced and excellent pilots.

At the end of the fierce air battle, 14 "Vultures" were exchanged for a full 26 "Zero Battles" and 32 bombers. That is, this time interception. It has already hurt the vitality of the Japanese fleet. And this is only the first level, there are still two air defense interception lines behind it!

Zhang Naiding did not know the result of this battle, and when the interceptor fighters in the rear separated from the Japanese group, Zhang Naiding, who was flying in the front, had already seen the Japanese fleet in front. And the 44 "vultures" led by Ellsler have already rushed to the front and are ravaging the "Zero Battle" that came to intercept several planes. Zhang Naiding was very surprised, because within his line of sight, there were only a few "Zero Battles" struggling to break through the interception of the escort fighters, trying to deal with the bombers behind. And in the entire sky, there were no Japanese air defense fighters as densely packed as locusts as Zhang Naiding imagined!

"The first 'Kingfisher' team, the first 'Osprey' team will follow me to take out the 'Zuihe'. The other squads split up to attack the other two carriers! Zhang Naiding immediately gave the order to attack, "Everyone keep up, don't disperse, let's give the Japanese dog a little bit of power!" ”

"Little Japan, grandpa has a gift for you!"

"Holy shit, look at the bomb that grandpa dropped!"

"I'll give you a few torpedoes to try, don't hide in the clouds anymore!"

……

A group of pilots screamed frantically. Zhang Naiding also laughed, and the anti-aircraft artillery on the Japanese battleship on the sea roared angrily, at this time Zhang Naiding did not think of life and death. All he could think about was how to drop the 500-kilogram aviation armor-piercing bomb hanging under the belly of his landline plane onto the deck of a Japanese aircraft carrier.

The four "Kingfishers" led by Zhang Naiding first entered the attack channel. Almost as soon as they reached the sky directly above the "Zuihe", the four "Kingfishers" began to dive almost simultaneously. Before they entered the dive channel, the anti-aircraft artillery of the Japanese battleships could hardly pose a threat to them. At an altitude of almost 4000 meters, only the shells of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns were able to reach them, and before the appearance of VT shells, the anti-aircraft efficiency of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns was not very high.

While pressing down the nose, the fuselage of the "Kingfisher" began to rotate slowly. This is an easy way to control the subduction channel. Of course, only a highly skilled pilot like Zhang Naiding would dare to make the plane rotate around the centerline during a dive, and if the angular velocity of the rotation exceeded 30 degrees per second, it would be difficult for the bomber to change the dive course in time and smash it to the surface of the sea like a weighing camel.

The sharp whistling sound actually announced that the "Zuizuru" had reached its limit. The aircraft carrier had escaped the last naval battle, but this time it was not so lucky. Lady Luck will not always favor this aircraft carrier, and Zhang Naiding will never let himself miss again!

The first four "Kingfishers" to dive dropped two bombs on the "Zuihe". Less than ten seconds later, the second group of four "Kingfishers" also swooped down from a high altitude, and at this time, Zhang Naiding had just leveled the bombers, and when he pulled them up, he also strafed the gun emplacement of an anti-aircraft gun on the aircraft carrier. Within a minute, all three groups of "Kingfishers" dropped bombs, and the "Ospreys" of the first squad also took advantage of the opportunity of the Japanese battleships to cope with the dive bombers. Breaking through the air defense network of the Japanese fleet at high speed from the sea, eleven "Ospreys" dropped torpedoes, and in the end nine escaped.

When Zhang Naiding operated the bomber and began to climb, thick smoke had already risen from the deck of the "Ruihe", almost covering half of the sky. The other eleven Kingfishers managed to escape without any losses. The "vultures" who escorted the convoy also joined the ranks of the attack sites after sweeping the "Zero Battle" over the Japanese fleet. The fighter pilots who did not have high bombing technology but were not brave chose those escort battleships on the periphery of the aircraft carrier and began to pour the remaining shells onto the anti-aircraft guns of these ships. In order to cover the bomber penetration.

"Captain, how many bombs did we hit?" The navigator in the back seat was supposed to be in charge of counting the results, but he couldn't see the situation on the sea at all.

"I don't know, I can't see clearly." Zhang Naiding was also a little annoyed, he didn't want to report the wrong results again, he was already very guilty last time he was carried by the fleet commander. "Osprey, can you see clearly?"

"Captain, we have four torpedoes that hit the 'Zuizuru', and the puppy ate at least six bombs. Maybe eight. ”

". Lao Tzu went down to take a look, and the rest stayed on the periphery! Zhang Naiding was also anxious, he had to witness the end of the Japanese aircraft carrier. He lowered the lever, and the Kingfisher roared down again.

When the Kingfisher descended to a height of about 2,000 meters, suddenly several waves of ripples appeared on the surface of the sea, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm pool. Then, it was as if an invisible hand had swept away the black smoke from the sky. When the violent explosion came, Zhang Naiding was also startled, and he immediately pulled up the fighter. When the Kingfisher began to climb, he quickly glanced out to sea.

The explosion occurred in the ammunition compartment in the middle of the "Ruihe", and as for the cause of the explosion, Zhang Naiding did not know. He wasn't interested either. The aircraft carrier "Zuihe," which is more than 200 meters long, is as if it has been slashed from the middle by a huge broadsword. The explosion caused flames to rise hundreds of meters high, and the aircraft carrier was lifted out of the water. By the time it fell again, the aircraft carrier had already been blown in two.

Within five minutes, the "Zuihe" disappeared from the sea. This is the fastest aircraft carrier to sink since the start of the war. Among the officers and men of the ship, more than 1,100 people sank with the aircraft carrier, and this lifting included Vice Admiral Yamaguchi Bunta.

Zhang Naiding didn't know that he had killed a Japanese vice admiral at that time, what he knew was that this time the "Zuihe" was completely finished. He won't be misreporting his results again. And Yamaguchi Bunta, the young general who was considered the most likely to succeed Yamamoto's sixty-five generals, was only short-lived, and completely disappeared from the Pacific Ocean. In fact, even if Yamaguchi Bunta was able to escape this catastrophe and even be lucky enough to survive after the war, then what awaited him would still be the shame of defeat, not the glory of victory.

Within these five minutes, the "Falcon" and "Flying Eagle" were also besieged by two other groups of bombers. When Zhang Naiding was dealing with the "Ruihe", the other four bomber squads divided into two groups attacked the other two aircraft carriers separately.

Zhang Naiding did not command the bombing operations of these two groups, and he was very confident in the commanders in charge, Yang Qinkai and Major Zhang Zhitao, who were also his most effective officers. Therefore, when Zhang Naiding's eyes shifted to these two aircraft carriers, the 16k mobile phone station ap.1...... "Falcon Eagle" and "Flying Eagle" were also emitting smoke and were making the final struggle.

The entire bombing operation lasted only 10 minutes, and when Zhang Naiding was preparing to return home with the group, the "Taizu" group led by Deng Zichao also reached the skies over the Japanese First Air Fleet. Zhang Naiding didn't eat alone, but still left some leftover soup for Deng Zichao. At the same time, Zhang Naiding quickly sent back the results of the first round of bombing, and his landline was accompanied by a long-distance communication radio.

When Tan Renhao got his hands on the telegram (it wasn't until two years later that the Imperial Navy was equipped with a long-distance radio station that could communicate with voice), he couldn't believe his eyes. The first round of bombing by only 72 bombers killed the aircraft carrier Zuihe, and also caused heavy damage to the other two aircraft carriers. What made Tan Renhao even more unbelievable was that only a slight loss of 8 bombers had been exchanged for such a huge result.

"It seems that there is no need for us to prepare for a second round of bombing!" Lei Shaoqing was also very excited. When Tan Renhao was arraigned, Lei Shaoqing talked to Zhang Naiding once, and he talked about the issue of reporting the results of the battle. This time, Zhang Naiding witnessed the sinking of the "Ruihe" aircraft carrier, so there should be no fake!

"Let's see, it's still a question of whether we can block the enemy's arrows." Tan Renhao handed the telegram to the staff officer next to him, "Jiang Wenhan, when will they be able to take off?" ”

"Commander, the first fighters will take off right away!"

Ten minutes ago, all the fighters led by Jiang Wenhan landed on the aircraft carriers "Taizu" and "Xuanzong." These fighters are serviced directly on the flight deck to refuel and ammunition. As a result, two fighters had engine failures that could not be repaired immediately.

When Tan Renhao looked at the "Taizu" aircraft carrier, the first one had already ejected. This is Jiang Wenhan's landline. He didn't even leave the cabin, but asked the orderly to get him some cookies and water. When the fighter plane was loaded with ammunition and refueled, he was the first to take off.

Within five minutes, all 32 "vultures" took to the air and joined the ranks of the fleet's air defense operations. Their task was to create an air defense interception line 20 nautical miles from the fleet to intercept those who slipped through the net. And at a distance of 50 nautical miles from the fleet, another 24 fighters were ready for battle, and the Japanese fleet was less than ten nautical miles from them.