The U.S. Task Force 6, which sent a carrier-based aircraft group to attack Truk, is located in the waters northwest of the Marshall Islands, and is more than 600 kilometers away from Truk in a straight line. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 Because of this, none of the Japanese naval and air forces detected the incoming American fleet.

In previous naval battles, the combat radius of the carrier-based aircraft group was usually within 400 kilometers, so the US carrier-based aircraft attacking Truk were equipped with auxiliary fuel tanks, so that it was possible to attack such a distant target and return to the aircraft carrier.

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At Truk, the Japanese fighters were either pinned down by the US "Eagle Falcon" and "Lightning", or they rushed to the torpedo planes that were chasing the US troops. Virtually unhindered, U.S. dive bombers bombed Truk's ground targets indiscriminately for about a quarter of an hour, destroying airfields, destroying an oil depot and some dock facilities.

After the attack, Major McDelen, who was the leader of the first wave of the US air raid fleet, flew the "Eagle Falcon" to patrol the island. He saw that although Truk had become a sea of smoke and fire, the airstrip on the island had not been completely destroyed, and he thought it necessary to carry out a follow-up attack on the island, so he sent a telegram to the Golden Fleet: "The first wave of attacks has basically achieved its goal, and the current situation is suitable for continuous air raids. ”

The fleet faded away in the glowing red sky.

After receiving a telegram from Major McDron, King's staff officers were immediately divided into two factions, one group believed that a follow-up attack should be launched in order to destroy the Japanese facilities in Truk and the Japanese ships anchored there, and the other group believed that the natural conditions in Truk were conducive to defense, and the Japanese army had been operating here for many years, and would never be easily defeated, so it was recommended to take it as soon as it was good and evacuate after the first wave of aircraft returned.

Weighing the pros and cons, King quickly issued an order to launch a second and third wave of air strikes, requiring each ship to dispatch all remaining carrier-based aircraft in two waves within an hour, which meant that before the first wave of carrier-based aircraft returned and refueled with ammunition, Task Force 6 would lose its air umbrella - only a dozen seaplanes would be used for patrol and vigilance.

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When the second wave of US planes arrived in the Truk Sea with great momentum, the "Kii," the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, along with a number of warships, had just sailed out of the anchorage. Despite the fact that Truk's reef is a natural anti-submarine mine net, Mitsumasa Yonechi and Isoroku Yamamoto feared that the moored capital ship would become an excellent target for enemy dive bombers, and with their character, they were not willing to sit back and wait for death. After the first wave of US air raids, Truk's army and navy units still have more than 200 fighters available, but less than half of them can be quickly dispatched.

Without waiting for the US military plane group to get closer, the Japanese fighters that took off from the military airfield in Truk came head-on, and dozens of fighters from each side immediately became entangled in each other.

At an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, a group of dreadnought dive bombers were looking for an attack position under the command of the leader.

"Guys, show these dwarves how good we are! The first squad, follow me to attack surface ships, and the second and third squads attack targets on shore! ”

On one of the Guardian dive bombers, led by formation, U.S. Navy Captain Stresses radioed tactics to his wingmen.

"Hey, Captain, I don't want to pour cold water on your head, compared to the anti-aircraft fire on land, the anti-aircraft fire of the enemy fleet is obviously more ferocious, we better be careful!" A calm, cautious voice came from the communicator, which was quite different from the usual American colloquial language in terms of accent and word formation.

"I know, Londoners, the Japanese are indeed very fierce, like barbarians who lived a thousand years ago, but don't worry, their teeth are not sharp enough, come on, let's give them a little bit of a look!"

The anti-aircraft shells fired by the Japanese ships were still pounding and noisy in the ears, but as one of the three main carrier-based aircraft of the US Navy at the beginning of the war, the flight performance of the "Guardian" was still relatively good. Due to the use of mature metal skin technology and perforated air brake flaps, the stability of the fuselage during dive has been enhanced, unlike the German Ju-17 and Japan's 94 shipburst that must be equipped with additional ailerons to maintain stability, and the retractable front and rear landing gear also reduces more wind resistance than the first two. In addition, due to the honeycomb wing and powerful fuselage structure, the survivability of this dive bomber is much higher than that of its similar-class rival in the Pacific, the Japanese Navy's 94 ship. However, the slow speed may be a common problem of dive bombers in this era, coupled with the relatively weak armor of the early model, after the outbreak of the Pacific War and the Japanese army several times, the "Guardian" was completely in a passive disadvantageous situation, knowing that the use of self-sealing fuel tanks and bulletproof armor, its survivability has been steadily improved.

"Oh my God! That's Second Lieutenant Antera's plane, and it's falling! God forbid! ”

The voice from the communicator was terrifying, and a hapless Guardian was seen spiraling toward the sea. If you get closer, you will find that its canopy has been completely smashed by shrapnel, and the bloody scene in the cabin is even more miserable!

There was a sudden chaos in the communication channel, some people chattering and repeating prayers, others screaming for evasion, and just then, Captain Stresses shouted:

"The brave are fearless! Warriors of the United States of America, it's time to attack! Come on! ”

The captain's dive bomber was the first to rush towards the battleship, which was moving at high speed and constantly changing directions. The Japanese battleship, which looked like a salmon from above, was maneuvering at sea to avoid the imminent bombardment, and behind its buttocks, a long, curved mark of water formed a large "S".

The American dreadnought does not emit a high-pitched and piercing whistling sound when diving, but the seemingly ungraceful bomber has an equally impressive attack power.

In the process of diving, the speed of the plane became faster and faster, and the clumsy goose had transformed into a sharp dagger by this time. The distance was rapidly approaching, the target was rapidly enlarged, and a rather majestic battleship was becoming clearer and clearer in sight, and the muzzles on it were constantly jumping with yellow flames like a match; Closer, the captain could already count how many guns there were on that deck, and of course, there must have been so many that it was a headache for him.

"Attack ......"

The captain roared like a cowboy on horseback, and the moment he released the bomb, the whole person's mood became as relaxed as the plane, but then, as the pilot quickly pulled up the control stick, the plane and the pilot were subjected to huge acceleration, and the pilot and bombardier were naturally pressed to the seat. After overcoming the initial physical reaction, Lieutenant Runge turned his head with difficulty to look out of the cockpit, and during the previous high-speed dive, the lowest point of the bomber did not seem to be much higher than the mast of the Japanese battleship, and this also allowed the American pilot to observe the large Japanese ship up close - due to the recent complete refurbishment, the super battleship looked almost like a new warship that had just been launched, in order to better adapt to the needs of fighting in the Pacific waters, Its hull was painted with striped camouflage.

The biggest feature of dive bombing that is different from horizontal bombing is the high hit rate, and when Captain Stress looked back for the second time, several bombs had already blasted up huge columns of water just a few steps away from the Japanese battleship, and these white mushroom-shaped objects almost surrounded the battleship -- although it did not directly hit the target, according to the combat standards of the US Navy, this was already a relatively ideal bomb drop, and perhaps the huge power of the bombs had greatly oppressed the hull of the Japanese battleship.

The subsequent dive bombers were still making a brave dive, and not far away, two groups of torpedo bombers also took this opportunity to rush towards the enemy battleship at a height close to the water, and a few seconds later, Captain Stress watched as the black torpedoes left the plane and fell gracefully into the sea, and then pulled up white, faint water marks on the surface of the sea. Such a dense attack made him feel quite sure-what kind of luck would it take if he could still escape so safely!

"How's everyone doing?"

After his mood and body had regained a little calm, Captain Stresses finally remembered his men, and it was a long time before the first voice came out of the communication channels as the squads continued to attack.

"Number 4 has completed the attack, but he didn't hit the heart! Misfortune! ”

Immediately afterward, another voice said in a mocking tone: "No. 6 is also pregnant, and I think the bomb is still thirty yards from the ass of the Japanese!" ”

"Bad luck third, this is number 02, I don't know which bomb I dropped, but so far...... Haven't seen a single bomb hit a heart! ”

After counting, Captain Stresses found that the entire squadron was unharmed, except for the plane that was initially shot down by artillery fire, which made up for his failure to hit the heart. He was soon told, however, that the torpedo bomber squadron might not be doing well, that at least three torpedo planes had been damaged, and that the torpedoes all seemed to have deviated badly from target.

"Bad luck!" The lieutenant scolded fiercely, but this sentence seemed to be too early, because on the side of Truk Island, the two squads that attacked the ground target seemed to have achieved good results. In just about 10 minutes, several islands and reefs were filled with flames and smoke, and several wharves and two floating docks were also attacked, and such an attack not only weakened the supply and maintenance role of Truk Island as a naval and air base, but also had a considerable negative impact on the strategic layout of the Japanese army in the Pacific Ocean and even on the confidence and morale of the officers and men of the navy.

(End of chapter)