Clear skies and cloudless skies.

A few fishing seabirds are flying close to the clear blue sea, and once they find their target, they will strike in a flash of lightning.

The humming sound of the engine faded from far to near, mixed with the sound of gurgling gunfire, and a few seabirds scattered in surprise before they had time to catch their prey. The two planes were flying at a low altitude above the sea, a speed that was obviously beyond the reach of seabirds. In front of it seemed to be a huge falcon, pure white with two big-legged pontoons under it, and a shuttle bullet was being fired from its back seat; The one at the back looked small and flexible, with a single wing on the upper part of its spindle-shaped fuselage, a roller landing gear under each wing, and two stubby machine guns with many holes in front of the cockpit, which had not fired for a long time, just waiting for the perfect time to hunt.

Click!

At the critical moment, the machine gun behind the "Falcon Peng" made a chilling sound, and the machine gunner hurriedly changed the magazine while shouting at the driver: "Get rid of it!" Get rid of it! Otherwise, we will die! ”

A leather flight cap and windproof goggles obscured the pilot's facial expression, but there was an same anxiety in his voice.

"Kill it, you have to kill it! We can't match its speed! ”

The Heavy lowered his head and pulled out a new magazine from the cabin, and only by letting his Lewis machine gun roar again could they have a chance of survival. But when the machine gunner raised his head, he saw the plane less than 50 meters away from him spewing flames, and he didn't even have time to warn the pilot......

Seeing that his first prey of the day fell into the sea after being shot, the corners of Lieutenant Anton Liebert's cold mouth had a hint of joy, and he was not happy that the two American pilots were dead or alive, and simply turned and flew in the direction of the aircraft carrier.

Sixty chairs were packed in the combat conference room of the USS Zeppelin, and in the back aisle stood more than a dozen neatly dressed carrier-based pilots, who were pacing in front of the blackboard in front of the conference room.

With the ticking of the clock, the minutes ticked by.

Finally. Hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor outside, and then the door to the conference room was pushed open, and all eyes were on there, and in came the captain of the "Zeppelin", Rear Admiral Horst, and the tactical commander, Colonel Gordon.

"Stand up! Salute! ”

The Wing Commander gave instructions to the pilots at the right time.

The captain and tactical commander walked straight to the front, and Colonel Gordon handed a piece of paper to Colonel Joachim, who glanced at it and then walked over to the blackboard and drew it with chalk.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rear Admiral Horst began to lecture the pilots.

"The enemy's fleet is right in front of us. Boys, it's time for you to play! ”

"All of you here are excellent pilots who have undergone rigorous selection and rigorous training, and although many of you have never participated in actual combat, I have no doubt that you will be able to give full play to your abilities calmly and calmly on the battlefield! I just want to tell you that the difficulty of actual combat is not greater than that of exercises, and sometimes it is even simple and unbelievable, remember the tactics you train day after day, remember that you are a combat unit, cooperate with each other and cooperate closely, and victory will beckon you! ”

"You have to remember one thing. The drill can be repeated. But once a fatal mistake is made in actual combat, everything is over! Well, let's talk about the tactics by Colonel Gordon and Colonel Joyazim! ”

Let's talk about it. Horst leaned sideways to give up his position to the tactical commander, and the wing commander used some simple map drawings to outline the tactical arrangement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to the order sent by the flagship, from now on, you can treat the Desecrated South American Non-Aggression Pact as a piece of waste paper, whether it is a Brazilian, Argentine, or American ship! Not so long ago, reconnaissance planes spotted the enemy fleet at a distance of 160 nautical miles from us, in a direction of 5 degrees east-north! I must remind you that this time we are confronted with a group of enemies whose strength should not be underestimated, especially the American warships, which have increased their anti-aircraft firepower! Everybody look at the blackboard. This is the approximate formation of the enemy fleet, three columns, one in the middle with cruisers and battleships, flanked by destroyers led by light cruisers, our first target is not battleships, listen well, our first target, not battleships in the middle of the enemy fleet, but cruisers and destroyers in the right column of the enemy fleet! ”

Colonel Gordon glanced at the room. Although many people had some doubts about this order, no one stood up to question it, so he continued to arrange:

"Fighter squadrons are responsible for air cover, don't rush to dive strafing, understand?"

"Understood!" From the left rows of the conference room, neat answers came.

"The attack aircraft squadron carries C-type bombs, which do not need to be dropped at ultra-low altitudes, they can be bombed at medium altitudes, and if the enemy's fire is too fierce, they can not strafe the enemy ship with machine guns, understand?"

"Understood!" From the middle rows of the conference room came the same neat answer.

"The bomber squadron carries C-type bombs, bombs at medium and high altitudes, and returns immediately after the bomb drops, understand?"

"Understood!" This time the sound came from the right side of the room.

"The squadron of torpedo machines carries Type E torpedoes, from the right front of the enemy fleet, that is, here!" Gordon pointed to the right side of the circle on the blackboard and said, "Torpedoes are thrown at a distance of 1,500 to 30,000 yards and at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 meters. Do you understand? ”

"Understood!" An answer came from the back of the room.

"Well, the attack squadron and the 1st and 2nd fighter squadrons took off in the first batch, and were responsible for escorting the bombers and torpedo planes that took off from the Lisa; The bomber squadron and the torpedo squadron then took off, escorted by the fighters and attack aircraft that took off from the 'Lisa', and the 3rd and 4th fighter squadrons remained in the air, and the mother was on standby! Do you have any questions now? ”

Pilots, look at me, I'll look at you, the C-type aerial bomb is a 50-kilogram high-explosive bomb, which is more than a grade less powerful than a 533-mm heavy torpedo. The attack effect of using these low-powered weapons will naturally be somewhat reduced, but the above arrangement naturally makes sense, so they just asked a few simple tactical questions.

"If there is no problem, let's go now! Remember, safety is the number one element in this operation! Wing Captain Joyazim advised.

"Understood!" The pilots answered in unison and left the conference room one by one.

After all the pilots had left, Colonel Joyazim whispered to the captain, "General." Is this really possible? ”

The expression on Major General Horst's face was not so bright, and he just said in a deep voice:

"The Americans and the Japanese are watching us!"

When the pilots came to the flight deck, the first batch of 16 attack planes and 8 fighters were already neatly lined up in the take-off position, and the crew was busy installing small 50-kilogram bombs for the last few "Sea Hawk DDD" attack planes; due to their small size and light weight, one "Sea Hawk DDD" could carry four, and the "Ostrich DD" bombers could carry eight to 10 bombers.

The attack pilots walked to their landlines while whispering in pairs, and the crew members who were busy next to the plane were familiar faces, and although they didn't ask, the pilots always felt that their smiling expressions were asking: Guys. Are you bringing such a small bomb to blow up fish?

Compared with. The pilots of the torpedo planes who came to the hangar were not in a very good mood, the Type E torpedo was one of the lightest of the aviation torpedoes, and it was barely enough to deal with light ships. But in front of the battleship, it was a little cold, and it was estimated that 5 or 6 could not blow up a capital ship.

20 nautical miles in front of the aircraft carrier formation, the allied battlefleet has changed its position according to the position of the enemy fleet pointed out by the reconnaissance plane, and the six battleships immediately formed a battle diagonal column, and the Chilean battleships "Cochran" and "Santiago" are in the front, and the firepower of the Helgoran-class battleships is arranged in front of 3 in the front and 3 in the rear, which is also a model of rough-skinned and thick-skinned battleships, and it is also very reassuring to be placed in front of the fleet; The German battleships "King Albert" and "Kai-2" were in the middle of the fleet; At the tail of the Japanese battleships "Fuso" and "Yamashiro" are the two warships that are the oldest and most powerful in the coalition fleet, with a standard displacement of 30,600 tons. All are equipped with 12 360 mm guns, the tonnage and firepower are almost twice that of the South Carolina class of the United States, and the speed of 22 knots.

Prince Fushimi Miyahiro, the commander of the Japanese task force, chose the "Fuso" as his flagship, and the Japanese prince did not object to the fact that the two powerful Japanese warships were arranged to the end of the fleet, after all, the government sent him to South America to seek an opportunity to expand Japan's influence in South America. By the way, he claimed from the vanquished a South American colony that he had never touched, but neither the government nor the navy wanted their very valuable battleship to slip away.

When the German carrier-based aircraft group flew in from the south, Prince Fushiminomiya and his staff came to the bridge one after another, regardless of the scorching sun, and although the Japanese Navy's aircraft carrier construction was under the guidance of the German Navy, it had never witnessed the German aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft participating in actual combat, and the great achievements of the German naval aviation were only "heard." Taking advantage of this opportunity, Prince Fushiminomiya and the Japanese admirals were very similar to seeing with their own eyes how divine the German navy really was.

The first to fly over the battlefleet were two groups of 56 fighters, led by 8 fighters and 16 attack planes that took off from the "Zeppelin," followed by 16 bombers and 16 torpedo planes from the "Lisa." Although the scene of the formation flight did not cover the sky and the sun, Prince Fushimi Palace and other spectators all felt a sense of emotion.

At this moment, the reconnaissance plane again sent back the latest reconnaissance report, and the enemy fleet had moved to 110 nautical miles northeast of the coalition fleet, no more than three hours before the two fleets entered the firing range. Soon, a signal came from the flagship of the battlefleet "Santiago", the ships accelerated to 20 knots, and the main guns were put into a state of readiness for firing.

Facing the bitter sea breeze, the six battleships began to gallop like war horses entering the track, and the huge bow of the ship crashed into the oncoming waves at a speed of 20 knots, and the white waves spread outward from both sides, and the eye-catching tail marks stretched for thousands of meters on the sea surface.

"Your Excellency, do you think we have the possibility of participating in an artillery battle?"

Fushimiya smiled and asked the captain of the "Fuso", Yashiro Gonbei.

"Your Royal Highness means that those planes can annihilate all the enemy fleets in front of you?" Rear Admiral Yashiro was first surprised, and then shook his head very resolutely, as a battleship commander, he still believed in large-caliber naval guns.

Fushimi was still holding his head up, but as Tokuki faded away, the angle at which his head was raised was not so high.

"Maybe you can't wipe them all out, but at least you can hit the other side hard! By the time we arrive, we'll probably have a few dying ships to pack! ”

Rear Admiral Yashiro still insisted on his opinion, "I have read the written account of the naval battle of Pascalflo below, and the carrier-based aircraft is indeed powerful that cannot be underestimated, but that time the British were unprepared after all, the battleship was in a stationary state, and the anti-aircraft fire was also very weak!" Today, the situation has changed radically, and the enemy fleet is moving at high speed at sea! ”

"You might as well make a bet, just bet...... How about betting on a table at the best restaurant in Tokyo and feasting the Witnesses here? Fushiminomiya proposed.

Major General Yashiro owes and says: "Since His Royal Highness the Prince is interested, then he should naturally make this gamble!" ”

Fushiminomiya looked triumphantly at the sea ahead, as if he had seen the tragic scene of the alliance fleet suffering heavy losses. By the way, the eldest son of the Fushimi Miyaya family is also one of the senior admirals in the Japanese Navy who supported the development of aircraft carriers.

Just an hour after Fushimi Miyahiro made a bet with the Yatsuyo Gonbei Palace, the German carrier-based aircraft group found the Allied fleet on the sea. Although there are no aircraft carriers in the coalition fleet, many cruisers in the United States and Brazil have carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft, so they already knew that the coalition fleet was approaching, and the other side had at least one aircraft carrier. By the time the German planes appeared, the Allied fleet had already prepared for air defense, and the two light battleships kept a distance of about one meter from the battleship in the center, so that they could use their own anti-aircraft fire to prevent the German torpedo planes from releasing torpedoes from the two wings, and moved the Brazilian battleships, the American battleships, and the Argentine battleships were also distancing, the main guns on the ships were equipped with special grenades, the secondary guns were pointing their heads up to the sky, and the ammunition men of the machine guns and machine guns were ready to fill their weapons with ammunition at any time.

After the elimination of the only water reconnaissance aircraft over the coalition fleet, the attack of the German aircraft group began.