The "Silver Reaper" missile, jointly produced by the German company Henschel and the British company Rolls-Royce, is actually a small jet aircraft -- in fact, it is not too small, with an empty weight of up to 1.8 tons and a total weight of up to 2.8 tons. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info is also equipped with 2 20mm cannons (the optional cannons were not purchased by the Japanese, but after the "Silver Reaper" was shipped back to Japan, Japan's own 20mm cannons were installed), and the firepower is not weak.

In addition, the Silver Reaper also has a "trainer version" with larger wings and tail, as well as retractable landing gear.

Now, as long as the other "Silver Reaper" are modified according to the "trainer version," all 180 "Silver Reaper" missiles can be turned into high-altitude interceptors -- they can be carried by the Me264 to an altitude of more than 12,000 meters, launched after approaching the US bomber group, and use their own high speed and firepower to launch attacks on the US high-altitude bombers.

After the attack, the Silver Reaper aircraft were able to use the landing gear to land at a nearby airfield.

The idea of using some of the "Silver Reaper" as high-altitude fighters was first proposed by Minoru Genda, who had personally flown such missiles (trainer missiles). And it was quickly supported by Takeo Yasuda, the head of the Army Aviation Headquarters, who was no longer a problem in the face of huge expenditures of 120 million Euromarks. The investment of 120 million euromarks is really "too bad for Japan" to be used up at one time.

At the very least, these "Silver Reaper" engines should be put to good use before their useful life expires, and then used to impact them at the end......

"Now we still have 53 Me264s," Yasuda said, "that is, 53 Silver Reaper jets can be launched at a time." The three-type 'Feiyan' II can also prepare 70-80 aircraft in the short term. In this way, we can dispatch more than 120 high-altitude interceptors at a time, and if the number of long-range bombers in the United States is less than 120, it is entirely possible to destroy them all at once. ”

Army Chief Sugiyama Mototoyama laughed a few times when he heard this: "If we can really fight a total annihilation, the American bombers will never dare to come again." ”

"On the naval side...... No problem, right? Hideki Tojo looked at the Navy Minister Isoroku Yamamoto and Nagano Shusui, who looked a little tired, "Now the Navy is not in a hurry to launch a missile attack, right?" ”

Nagano Shusei and Yamamoto Fifty-six glanced at each other, and Nagano said, "There is no need to launch a missile attack for three months. ”

The "missile attack" is the end and climax of the "Jie-1 operation." According to the plan, 180-200 Silver Reaper missiles will deal a devastating blow to the aircraft carrier forces of the US Pacific Fleet!

After the "missile attack," a major counteroffensive by the Combined Fleet will be launched, dealing a devastating blow to the remaining US Pacific Fleet and landing fleet. The US ground forces that had already landed on the islands of the Hawaiian Islands were completely wiped out after losing the cover and support of the fleet.

However, now is not the time to launch a "missile attack", because the Americans have just hit the Palmyra Atoll and have not even touched Christmas Island, let alone landed on the Hawaiian Islands.

"How's the fight going on over there at Palmyra Atoll?" Hideki Tojo then turned the conversation to the ongoing Battle of Palmyra Atoll.

Palmyra Atoll is nearly twice the size of Midway and is also an undefinable atoll. But the Japanese resisted there, for the simple reason that it was an atoll.

As the name suggests, an atoll is a circular reef surrounded by coral reef islands that rise to the surface, with a lagoon in the middle.

This special terrain can be used as a natural anchorage, and the "Truk Anchorage" of the Japanese Combined Fleet is a large atoll.

Of course, Palmyra Atoll cannot be compared to Truk Atoll, which is much larger and can fit the entire Combined Fleet into it. The limited size of Palmyra Atoll, which can only accommodate a dozen ships at most, is too small for the huge four U.S. task forces.

But the Americans can put a floating dry dock in the Palmyra Atoll!

The floating dry dock is a dry dock that can float on the sea, can move at sea, and can load battleships and aircraft carriers with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons into it for overhaul at sea, just like in the port. In order to complete the task of repairing ships, the floating dock cannot be just a dock, but must also be equipped with a power station and workshops for mechanics, electricians, carpenters, etc., and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a movable offshore ship repair yard.

This is a treasure for a fleet fighting in the oceans, as it allows you to quickly repair capital ships near the battlefield. The current Combined European Fleet has four large floating docks, each of which can fit a Hindenburg-class battleship.

Japan does not have this kind of "luxury," and the strength of the Japanese navy is superior to that of the combat fleet and air force, and all kinds of auxiliary ships, transport ships, and work ships cannot be compared with those of the United States, and are even much worse than those of Europe. Not to mention the floating dock, even the much cheaper repair work ship is only the Akashi.

However, although the Japanese Navy does not have a floating dock of its own, its generals know that there is something.

Moreover, there is a small airport on Palmyra Atoll that can park a dozen or twenty single-engine aircraft. Enough for a squadron of P51B/C, although not much, but enough to provide some air cover for the floating docks in the atoll.

Therefore, the Palmyra Atoll, which is suitable for floating docks, must be guarded no matter what, even if it is good to delay a little time.

In addition, the Japanese defense of Palmyra Atoll could also attract the U.S. Navy's landing fleet, creating an opportunity for submarines and heavy mineships to attack.

"Your Excellency," said Isoroku Yamamoto, "the Central Pacific Front Fleet reports that the US assault ship group has formed an 8×8 square nautical mile phalanx in the sea near Palmyra Atoll, and naval artillery firing has begun this morning. ”

A landing ship ×8 square nautical miles? Tojo Shin said: Japan's landing ships are based on "strips," and the Americans' landing ships were originally calculated in terms of how many square nautical miles they had......

"Then the 8th Fleet won't do nothing, right?" Tojo asked.

Yamamoto replied confidently: "The heavy mine assault force of the 8th Fleet has set off, and it will soon launch a heavy mine assault on the US landing fleet!" At the same time, the submarine will also launch a sneak attack...... Dozens of U.S. ships will be sunk around Palmyra Atoll this evening, Hawaii time! ”

……

"Ali, our men have boarded, do you know what that means?"

Seeing the amphibious tank leading the Marine Corps infantry to the beachhead of Palmyra Atoll, Vice Admiral Kincaid, commander of the U.S. Task Force 31, lowered his binoculars and asked Arleigh, who was standing beside him in uniform in uniform and tall in military uniform. Brigadier General Burke.

Ali. Burke was promoted to Commodore after the last "Pacific Cruise" of the 58th Broken Fleet. His day-to-day duties have also changed from chief of staff of the aircraft carrier group to commander of the destroyer group.

By the way, this Ali. Burke was actually the best destroyer force commander in the U.S. Navy, and he made a name for himself in the Atlantic and Caribbean theaters, and even the German Navy knew that there was such a guy who made good use of the destroyer force. The destroyer squadron under his command won a total of 11 combat victories during operations in the Caribbean, sinking 12 European mine-strike ships (8 of the German "Beast" class and 4 of the Italian "Mine-Strike" ships) and 4 destroyers, including one of the terrible French "Utopian" class destroyers!

In addition to his remarkable achievements, he also invented a special trick to deal with the 93 oxygen torpedoes, that is, to fire Mk11 or Mk15 torpedoes before the enemy ships fired the 93 torpedoes, the purpose of which was not to destroy the enemy with torpedoes, but to force the enemy ships to evade and delay the torpedo launch, so as to gain time for his own artillery bombardment -- because he had discovered that the enemy's torpedoes were easy to detonate in the course of confronting the mine-striking ships of the European Combined Fleet. Therefore, in the case that the torpedo is inferior to the opponent, simply use accurate artillery fire to blow up the opponent's torpedo.

Relying on this trick, many European lightning strikers were damaged in his hands, and later he also got the nickname "Lightning Strike Ship Killer".

In the Pacific, however, he had to deal with not the weak European mine-striking ships, but the powerful Japanese heavily mine-armed destroyers and cruisers, which the Americans had realized after the "First Midway Night Battle" that the Japanese would use torpedo night warfare, a formidable means in the Caribbean theater of war.

"Sir, tonight the landing fleet will be attacked by Japanese destroyers!" Ali. Burke replied, "But I'll let the Japanese destroyers who come for the night attack know that it's powerful." ”

"That's great," Kincaid patted Arley. Burke's shoulder, "Arley, tonight I must lead the main force of Task Force 31 to the open sea, so the landing ships near Palmyra Atoll and the marines on the atoll will have to rely on your patrol formation. ”

He paused, "Ali, are you enough?" ”

"Enough!" Ali. Burke said, "Four treaty heavy cruisers and 16 Gridley-class heavy mine destroyers are enough to deal with the Japanese devils." ”

It turns out that the United States also has heavy mine destroyers! It is the Gridley class designed and built in the 30s, with a theoretical maximum speed of 38.5 knots, but in fact it can run at an upward speed of 40 knots, which is only slower than the French "Utopian" class. The torpedo firepower is 4 4 533mm torpedo tubes, which cannot be reloaded, and it cannot be compared with the Island Wind level, which has 3 5 610mm torpedo tubes and can be reloaded once.

However, there are many more of the "Gridley" class than the "Island Wind" class. Due to the needs of the tug-of-war in the Caribbean, such fast destroyers with a standard displacement of 1500 tons were built in large numbers by the United States, and the total number was up to several dozen.