When the second batch of bombers sent by Halsey had not yet reached the skies over the Fourth Task Force, the first batch of bombers from the First Task Force "found" the 31st Task Force, and the first to encounter the fighters of both sides was the fighters of both sides.

The first wave of bombers was commanded by Colonel Cho Gengbo, and there were 72 "water birds" and 48 "sea eagles" in the formation, and 36 "falcons" were escorted (according to the mission requirements, these escort fighters will not follow the first wave of bombers back, but will stay and wait for the second wave of bombers to arrive, and will return early if it is confirmed that there are no air defense fighters over the US fleet). As with the previous tactics, 12 escort fighters went forward 5 nautical miles, and the other two squadrons of escort fighters were above the right and left of the dive bomber group, which flew at an altitude of 3,500 meters, while the torpedo bombers flew at an altitude of 2,000 meters. Because the size of the group was so large, the 72 dive bombers were organized into two formations, one in front and one behind, 36 each, and Colonel Qiu Gengbo's plane flew in front of the dive bombers.

"Old autumn, the escort fighters have already fought with the enemy, and there are probably more than 30 air defense fighters."

"Got it, let the 'Eagles' go up first, and we'll follow behind." Qiu Gengbo was already excited, but since Zhang Zhitao left the team, he restrained a lot and didn't seem too excited. "The squads try to get as close as possible, maybe there will be enemy planes rushing over, wait and drop the bombs on the aircraft carrier as much as possible, after killing the aircraft carrier, first deal with the three large cruisers, and then deal with the other warships. Do you understand? ”

"Yes, Colonel!" The pilot replied in unison.

"Very well, let's get on now. Son of a bitch, we're coming! ”

"Lexington" aircraft carrier. Halsey was not much surprised when the air raid sirens sounded, and according to the time calculation, the bombers of the 1st Task Force should have arrived at this time. The performance of the bombers of the Don Imperial Navy has always been above the US Navy, at cruising speeds. In terms of maximum range, the "Shooting Birds" are a little better than the SBD, and the "Sea Eagles" are no worse than the TBD. As a result, the Tang Empire's naval bombers were able to fly faster over the target and at the same time strike the enemy fleet at a greater distance.

36 F4U were the first to meet them, and of this batch of fighters, 24 were temporarily decided to stay by Halsey, otherwise, there would have been only 12 air defense fighters in the sky over Task Force 31 at this time! Halsey had also done his best, and now the only thing he could count on was. Before he was killed, he received the news that Task Force 4 was finished. Perhaps, he can't wait for this moment anymore.

At this time. Fighters on three aircraft carriers continue to take off. These fighters were all escort fighters in the first bomber group.

The fighters returned to the fleet at about 10:40. They began to take off as soon as they were refilled with fuel and ammunition, and when the fighter jets of the cousin country arrived, there was still a group of fighters who could not leave the carrier, and the first batch of F4Us to take off was still rushing to the outer air defense circle.

The fighters of both sides were evenly matched. The 12 "Falcons" that were the first to meet did not entangle too much with the US fighters, but tried their best to delay the time, let the US fighters disperse, and create opportunities for the bombers behind to break through, and at the same time create opportunities for the fighters of the other two squads to catch up. Immediately, a fierce air battle broke out between 36 fighters on both sides, when the US pilots found that the Tang Imperial bombers were breaking through quickly, they immediately got rid of the "falcons" that were entangled with them, and pounced towards the bomber group, and from this time on, the escort fighters achieved a clear advantage, and the F4U had to intercept the bombers, and the result was to expose their butts to the claws of the "falcon", and one after another F4U was hit by machine shells, dragging black smoke and falling into the sea.

"Lao Qiu, we entered from the left, did you see those three aircraft carriers?"

"See, the first squadron comes with me, and the second squadron enters from the right." Under the navigator's reminder, Qiu Gengbo also saw the three US fleet aircraft carriers in front of the right. "Son of a bitch, throw all the bombs on the aircraft carrier, make the Yankees completely desperate, and avenge the brothers of the second task force!"

"Avenge the brothers of Task Force 2!"

In battle, it is often a single sentence that can lead to unexpected results. The second task force was separated from the first task force, so the veterans of the two fleets were once comrades-in-arms, and the aviation units of the two fleets were not different, and Qiu Gengbo's former boss was Deng Zichao. This brotherhood between comrades-in-arms, superiors and subordinates was ubiquitous in the Imperial Navy. After learning the news that the Second Task Force was almost wiped out, Qiu Gengbo and the others were anxious to go to war, especially after clarifying the location of the 32nd Task Force, Qiu Gengbo also went to Hao Dongjue and asked for the bombers to set off immediately to kill the 32nd Task Force. But as a result, the fleet commander did not let them go at all, and the wait was several hours. If it weren't for the discovery of the 31st Task Force later, Qiu Gengbo would definitely have scolded his mother. And now that he has finally killed the sky above the 31st Task Force, he has also begun to curse his mother.

At this time, almost all the commanders above the rank of squad leader in the First Air Wing were veterans, and many of them had comrades-in-arms and brothers fighting in the Second Air Wing. The news that the 2nd Task Force had suffered heavy losses and that the air force had almost lost was a heavy blow to everyone, but for these strong-willed soldiers, after the blow, they would become stronger, and as soldiers, the best way to avenge their comrades was to take out a few more enemies!

Of the 72 "waterbirds", only 5 were lost by breaking through the interception of the outer fighters. Two groups of bombers surrounded the US fleet from the left and right sides of the fleet, and this posture was clearly aimed at killing the three aircraft carriers, not just to severely damage them. On the sea, 3 of the 48 "Sea Eagles" were also shot down when they broke through the interception of the peripheral fighters, and the torpedo bombers were also divided into two groups and outflanked from the left and right sides.

It was also at this time that the group of US fighters that took off urgently joined the ranks of air defense operations. But the problem is. It was obviously a bit difficult for the 30 F4U to deal with the bombers that entered the ground in four batches from two directions. Although the self-defense firepower of these tactical bombers was not very good, dozens of bombers gathered together. Then there are dozens of self-defense machine guns, and the network of fire formed by these machine guns is still deadly.

"Old Autumn. Attention fighters! ”

"See, the son of a bitch, if you have the ability, follow us in!" Qiu Gengbo pushed the throttle to the maximum, "Call the fighters immediately and let them follow." If you are not afraid of death, you will go around the sky above the US aircraft carrier with us! ”

The navigator in the back seat laughed, and when he heard Qiu Gengbo's words, he knew that his partner was completely excited, which was also a direct sign that Qiu Gengbo had entered the state.

When the anti-aircraft guns on the US warships sounded, the dive bomber group first began to disperse, and after the US military also began to use VT shells, the dense penetration was to send them to death, and the best way was to disperse the action, which could reduce the probability of being hit by anti-aircraft shells. At the same time, it improves the efficiency of penetration.

The air defense fighters in the inner layer had to choose their main pursuit targets, and behind the squad led by Qiu Gengbo there were two F4U biting on, and most of the US fighters followed the bombers into the anti-aircraft artillery fire network.

"Fuck it. They're really keeping up! ”

"On the left, blow up the first aircraft carrier first!"

"No problem, let the brothers all follow!"

Twelve "waterbirds" quickly turned, and then the rearmost one was hit by the F4U that swooped down. The two "pirates" did not care about the threat of anti-aircraft guns of battleships at all. It is still constantly diving and pulling up, constantly attacking the "shooting birds" of this team. When the two F4U were pulled up for the second time, they no longer chose the "waterbird" at the rear, but the one at the front, that is, Qiu Gengbo's landline.

"Old Qiu, be careful!"

Qiu Gengbo instinctively pushed down the control stick, and the bomber immediately began to dive, narrowly avoiding the machine gun bullets fired by the fighters.

"Fuck it, it's fucking thrilling."

"Look, our fighter jets are coming!"

When Qiu Gengbo brought the bomber up and looked back to the left rear, the two "Falcon"

The two "Falcons" fired almost at the same time, and the F4U, which was about to climb to the top, was very slow, and it couldn't avoid the incoming machine shells at all, and immediately turned into two fireballs.

"Colonel, you guys hurry up and attack, we'll cover behind!"

"No problem, then we'll go first!" With the direct cover of the fighter jet, Qiu Gengbo also breathed a sigh of relief, "Brothers, keep up, concentrate on bombing the aircraft carrier in front, don't let the son of a bitch slip away!" ”

Amid the roar of the bombers, the eleven "waterfowl" quickly divided into three groups, Qiu Gengbo first led the first group of four bombers to drop bombs, and the other two groups began to circle while scattering, waiting for the bombers in front to drop their bombs and then drop bombs.

On the sea, the aircraft carrier "Bunker Hill" (CV-17) was rapidly turning, and when more than a dozen bombers appeared overhead, a group of torpedo bombers were also rapidly approaching on the sea. After breaking through the anti-aircraft battleships on the perimeter, the torpedo bombers of this squad only needed to bypass the large cruiser in front of them, which was nearly 250 meters long, to fire torpedoes at the aircraft carrier.

In the sky, after making sure that the torpedo bomber was also following at the same time, Qiu Gengbo immediately piloted the bomber into the bombing channel, and now he didn't need to give orders, and the three pilots who dropped the bomb with him followed closely and began to dive. The four "waterbirds" began to rapidly reduce their altitude at intervals of about 300 meters, and entered the dive channel at an altitude of about 1,000 meters above the head of the US aircraft carrier.

When the familiar scream came, at least eight "sea eagles" successfully bypassed the large cruiser "Puerto Rico" escorting the "Bunker Hill" and entered the mine-throwing channel.

The commander on the aircraft carrier did not notice the eight torpedo bombers that were quietly approaching while trying to avoid the dive bombers overhead. By the time the lookout raised the alarm, eight torpedo bombers had dropped torpedoes at a distance of 600 to 800 meters from the carrier, and quickly changed the bombing course and drilled towards the perimeter of the fleet. Most of the anti-aircraft guns on the American warships were dealing with bombers that had not yet dropped bombs or torpedoes, so all eight bombers were withdrawn safely.

The aircraft carrier "Bunker Hill" had to immediately turn at full speed, ready to align the bow at the torpedo course. It was also at this time that Qiu Gengbo's plane reached the limit bomb dropping altitude, he dropped the bomb first, and immediately pulled the bomber up, and the three dive bombers behind also dropped the 500 kg aviation armor-piercing bomb carried at an interval of three seconds.

Before Qiu Gengbo's plane had climbed to an altitude of 3,500 meters, the bombers of the other two groups also successfully entered the dive channel and dropped bombs. The second squad of dive bombers also followed at this time, preparing to drop bombs.

On the sea, the torpedo bombers of the second echelon also quickly bypassed the cruiser "Puerto Rico" and dropped torpedoes on the port side of the aircraft carrier.

Within 10 minutes, the USS Bunker Hill was attacked by at least 15 torpedoes and 20 bombs, and the carrier avoided most of the bombs and torpedoes, but in the end it was still doomed.

Qiu Gengbo was sure that the bomb he dropped hit the target, but the height of the bomb he dropped was too low, because it had to be pulled up immediately, and there was no way to confirm whether the bomb he dropped hit the aircraft carrier. And in the end, it was determined that at least three torpedoes and six bombs hit the aircraft carrier!

At the other end of the battlefield, the USS Wasp (CV-18) was also attacked by more than forty bombers, and the aircraft carrier was hit by five torpedoes and seven bombs. Because the torpedo bombers ran out of ammunition on the two aircraft carriers attacking the periphery, there were only more than 20 "water-shooting birds" in the end

Attacked the aircraft carrier "Lexington" in front of the formation, that is, Halsey's flagship. Less than 10 of these bombers managed to drop their bombs, and none of them hit! Of the 16 bombers lost, 9 were shot down by the large cruiser "Saipan" next to the "Lexington"!

"Damn, call Yang Qinkai, let him hurry up, whether we can kill the son of a bitch when we run out of bombs depends on his ability!" Qiu Gengbo was a little breathless, "The group is preparing to return, I hope to come back in the afternoon!" ”