By the time the radar appeared in the US bomber group, it was already too late, and the fleet's air defense deployment did not have time to make adjustments, and the US bomber group had already reached the sea surface less than 1o nautical miles away from the aircraft carrier.

Seeing that the fighters who were catching up and the bombers piloted by Qiu Gengbo and others had all participated in the air defense interception operation, Tan Renhao's nerves, which had just been relieved, became highly tense again. He was not allowed to give any orders, and every emperor on the battlefield at this time knew what they could do and what they had to do.

"Let the bombers get out and land at the airfield on Bougainville." Tan Renhao didn't want those bomber pilots to die in vain, "In addition, the 'Li Jing' is the second flagship, if the 'Xingkaihu' is damaged, the 'Li Jing' will take the command in its place, confirm that the US fleet aircraft carrier has been sunk, if not, then immediately carry out supplementary bombing!" ”

The staff officer quickly recorded the orders of the fleet commander.

"That's it, wait and prepare for the evacuation of personnel, we will do our best to protect the last fleet aircraft carrier, if we can't do it, then we can only save the officers and men on the battleship."

"Ren Hao, you go to the 'Li Jing' first, I'll command here." Hao Dongjue walked over.

"No, it's already too late, let's conduct a fleet air defense operation first." Tan Renhao glanced at his partner, "Maybe, we can still create miracles." ”

In addition to the roaring anti-aircraft guns on the outer escort warships, the 12o-mm anti-aircraft guns on the "Li Jing" and "Xingkaihu" were also under the guidance of the radar or under the visual aim of the gunners firing at the group of US bombers.

The efficiency of VT shells is very high, but the distance is too close to make it difficult for VT bombs to fully exert their power. 12o mm shells exploded in the US aircraft group, and from time to time US bombers fell with black smoke in tow, but more bombers continued to approach. When those crisp machine guns sounded, the air defense of the fleet entered the most critical stage.

What made Tan Renhao a little hard to believe was that this time the US bombers did not pounce directly on the aircraft carrier, but first attacked the escort warships that were in front of them. The destroyer on the outside of the "Li Jing" was the first to be bombed, and the part of the battleship was hit by a 1ooo pound bomb.

The destroyer was not sunk, but turned on the surface of the sea, apparently the ship's steering gear was damaged and could no longer maintain direction. Then, four bombers rushed to the large air defense cruiser "Li Jing", which was blocking the side of the aircraft carrier.

None of these four sBd was able to break through the powerful anti-aircraft fire network of the "Li Jing". In fact, the point of attacking air defense warships is not very significant. The anti-aircraft firepower of the "Li Jing" is more powerful than that of any aircraft carrier, and the hull is much smaller, even if the bombing is successful. It will also not weaken the combat capability of the aviation of the fleet. Therefore, in the previous battles, the bombers of both sides would not hit the opponent's escort ships first, but first made sure to sink the opponent's aircraft carrier, and then hit the opponent's escort ships when they had remaining forces. There is actually a sequence for dealing with escort warships, and the battleship is to hit the target, after all, in addition to the aircraft carrier, the battleship is the most powerful warship in the Navy. The second is not the specialized anti-aircraft cruisers with ferocious anti-aircraft fire, but the opposing destroyers and such battleships with poor anti-aircraft fire, and then light cruisers. And only finally it was the turn of the air defense cruisers. In real battles. It will vary depending on the situation on the battlefield.

All four sBds were shot down, but then the other four sBds rushed over, and when the anti-aircraft fire of the "Li Jing" was all concentrated on dealing with sBd at an altitude of more than 4oo meters. Four TBd flew almost close to the sea, and these four bombers flew at an altitude of less than 5o meters. The four torpedoes quickly burrowed into the sea, and the lookouts on the battleship immediately showed thunder tracks. The battleship began to turn, which prevented the anti-aircraft fire from concentrating on the approaching dive bombers. It's in "Li Jing"

When the horn quickly turned 75 degrees, three sBds that broke through the air defense interception dropped bombs.

When the strong flash of light from the bomb explosion appeared, Tan Renhao turned his head sideways. The power of 1ooo pound armor-piercing bullet is equal to that of 5oo kg armor-piercing bullet used by the Imperial Navy (in fact, the ground weight of the two bombs is comparable, whether it is 1ooo pound or 5oo kilogram, this is the "caliber" of the bomb). The actual weight of the 1ooo pound aviation armor-piercing projectile used by US naval aviation should have been 45o kg. Approximately 992 pounds. The actual weight of the 5oo kg aviation armor-piercing shell used by the Tang Imperial Navy was 465 kg, not 5oo kg), one such bomb could blow up and sink a 10,000-ton cruiser, and the armor thickness of the "Li Jing" class air defense cruiser was at most comparable to that of a 10,000-ton heavy cruiser, and it simply could not withstand such a fierce blow.

The "Li Jing" quickly lowered its degree and soon broke away from the formation, and except for a few F4U planes that strafed the damage control personnel on the battleship, the other US fighters all "spared" the battleship and killed the "Xingkaihu" aircraft carrier. The anti-aircraft guns on the aircraft carrier roared angrily. A dense rain of bullets blocked the channel of the American bombers, and three bombers were hit at once and quickly plunged into the sea.

The aircraft carrier began to turn high, and Tan Renhao grabbed the handrail next to him. The hull of the ship is seriously tilted to the right, and the aircraft carrier is making the maximum left turn, preparing to aim the bow direction at the enemy bombers, so that the enemy bombers cannot successfully drop bombs.

"Look overhead!" Hao Dongjue shouted.

At this time, the aircraft carrier was no longer commanded by the fleet command, but by the captain, and Hao Dongjue's shouting had no effect. The aircraft carrier is still turning rapidly. The first batch of sBd swept past the aircraft carrier and dropped bombs, but all the four US 1ooo pound armor-piercing shells fell into the sea behind the aircraft carrier and did not pose any threat to the aircraft carrier.

"On the left, torpedo bombers!" Tan Renhao also screamed nervously.

The 4o 2o mm guns on the port side of the aircraft carrier were all aimed at the torpedo bombers, and the shells whistled out, and two of the eight TBd were hit by shells when they made a sharp turn at low altitude, and the other six changed their course immediately after completing the turn, and the Bd flew too low, almost rushing into the sea, and the shells kept falling, and some even fell on the sea behind the bombers, blowing up small splashes. Two more TBs were hit by a dense rain of bullets, but the other four TBs all managed to drop their bombs.

The aircraft carrier is still turning to the left, and the degree of torpedoes of American aviation is 35 knots. The distance of these four TBd ground mines is about 6oo meters, and 6oo meters only takes about 3o seconds to run for a 35-knot torpedo, and within 3o seconds, the aircraft carrier can turn 3o degrees at most. When evading a torpedo attack, the purpose of the turn, in addition to reducing the length of the projectile side, can also shorten the straight distance traveled by the carrier during this time, so that those torpedoes pass in front of the carrier instead of hitting the carrier. Of course. It is up to the captain to make a decision based on the course of the torpedo, and an experienced captain will be able to make the appropriate steering decision as soon as he sees the torpedo's wake.

While the "Xingkai Lake" was evading a torpedo attack, the second batch of sBd dropped bombs. This time the four bombs were much closer to the aircraft carrier. Probably the US dive bomber pilots are not very familiar with horizontal bombing, the first eight bombs did not hit, the bomb that posed the greatest threat to the aircraft carrier fell on the sea about 1oo meters outside the port side of the aircraft carrier, and the huge impact force produced by the explosion made the aircraft carrier shake slightly.

Just as the carrier had flashed four torpedoes, the third batch of sBd dropped bombs about 3oo meters in front of the carrier. Four small black dots quickly smashed towards the aircraft carrier.

It's over! Tan Renhao also saw the four bombs that were about to fall, and he didn't hold out any hope. The first reaction of the navigation staff officer next to him was to press the commander to the deck, and two other staff officers also pressed Hao Dongjue down. The aircraft carrier shook violently. Then the explosion was heard. The explosion had not completely dissipated, and the second explosion sounded again, and at least two bombs fell on the aircraft carrier.

Tan Renhao will be much luckier this time. When the bomb exploded, he had already climbed down and protected his head, and when he was just about to get up on the floor, there was a sudden violent vibration, and a dull explosion was heard.

"Torpedo!" Hao Dongjue, who was crawling a few meters away, looked at Tan Renhao.

The third time it hit the aircraft carrier was an aviation torpedo, and Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue both felt at the same time that the degree of the aircraft carrier was decreasing, and the thick smoke had enveloped the island of the aircraft carrier, and a group of damage management personnel wearing asbestos fireproof clothing rushed in. Then there were two medics carrying medical kits. It was only when their current commander and chief of staff were safe and sound that they breathed a sigh of relief.

"How's it going?" Tan Renhao walked out of the command cabin.

"The second boiler room was destroyed, and now it can only be maintained at about 24 knots." A staff officer on the battleship had already rushed over, "another three hangars were blown up, and the second bomb fell on the front lift, but did not enter the hangar, only shattered the catapults." ”

Tan Renhao also saw the situation on the aircraft carrier, the front and rear ends of the flight deck were bombed, that is. Aircraft carriers have lost the combat capability of aviation.

"Captain, are they alright?"

"It's all fine, just a little bit injured, and the American bomber has left."

Tan Renhao looked in the southeast direction, nearly 30 US bombers were evacuating, and another group of US bombers were also leaving in formation. While the "Xingkaihu" was coping with the bombing, at least 20 US bombers were shot down by nearby air defense warships. In addition to the aircraft carrier "Xingkaihu", the cruiser "Li Jing", the cruiser "Daxue", and two destroyers were heavily damaged, and two other destroyers were sunk.

"." Hao Dongjue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Let the sneak attack of the son of a son be successful, it's really embarrassing." ”

"Are you alright?" Tan Renhao looked at his partner.

"It's okay, I knocked out a tooth, and I can't die." Hao Dongjue took out the broken tooth, and then covered the left side of his face, his expression already distorted in pain.

"Treat it to the chief of staff and prescribe some painkillers." Tan Renhao gave an order to the medical officer, "Let the 'Wei Chi Gong' come over, and the fleet headquarters will transfer to the 'Wei Chi Gong', in addition, the fleet will return to the northwest direction, run as fast as it can, and this aircraft carrier must be rescued!" ”

As soon as Tan Renhao was about to leave the shipyard, the communications staff officer ran over. "Commander, I just received a telegram that the bombers of Task Force 4 have killed those two aircraft carriers of the American fleet. In addition, we received a telegram from a reconnaissance plane, but ......"

"But what?" Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and immediately walked back. The reconnaissance planes that had been used to find Halsey continued to fly southeast after completing their mission, and their new mission was to find the three small fleet carriers.

"The telegram was only half received, and then contact was lost, and we checked and it was the antenna that was blown off."

Tan Renhao frowned slightly. "What is the number of the reconnaissance plane that returned the telegram? Can we send out telegrams now? ”

"The reconnaissance aircraft has the number O7, and the radio is no longer available."

Tan Renhao had a headache, he hesitated for a moment, and said: "Immediately go to the 'Wei Chigong', let the cruiser report, and in addition, contact a bomber with relatively sufficient fuel and let it go to the Fourth Task Force." ”

The personnel of the fleet command on the flagship began to be transferred, and the officers of the communications department were transferred first, then the wounded, and then Tan Renhao and others. Since the "Wei Chigong" was not the flagship of the fleet, since the flagship of the fleet was damaged many times, Tan Renhao asked the "Li Jing" to also install all the communication and command equipment that the flagship must have, and regarded the "Li Jing" as a reserve flagship. However, only the "Li Jing" of the First Task Force had a perfect fleet command system, and the "Wei Chigong" did not make improvements in this regard. That is, the battleship was not actually used as a flagship. The most lacking thing on the battleship is a radio station for long-distance communication, as well as a complete fleet cipher machine. It was a big trouble to build a new fleet headquarters on the "Wei Chigong", but at that time only this cruiser could accommodate dozens of fleet command personnel.

It was precisely for this reason that Tan Renhao had to arrange for a bomber to go to the Fourth Task Force, and he did not know if the bomber could fly to the Fourth Task Force. In fact, even if he could contact the Fourth Task Force at this time, what Tan Renhao could provide to Huang Xiaotian was only the course of the O7 reconnaissance plane and its approximate location now, not the specific situation of the US small aircraft carrier formation.