"What? Spotted an unidentified plane 50 kilometers north of the island? ”

Kimmel was stunned for a moment, and he immediately thought that today it seemed that more than a dozen Army Air Corps B-17 bombers were going to fly from the continental United States to Oahu. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Could it be a B-17 flying from home?" Kimmel thought for a moment and asked, "When did you discover these planes?" ”

"It was 15 minutes ago." The staff officer replied, "It's not clear if it's a B-17......"

"What? 15 mins ago...... Why is it only being reported now? Admiral Kimmel roared. Although he did not believe that the Japanese really dared to send an aircraft carrier to attack Pearl Harbor, the Air Defense Command was also so irresponsible that such an important discovery was delayed by 15 minutes!

It's a state of war now! How can you be so derelict in your duties?

Fifteen minutes is enough for the plane to fly seventy or eighty kilometers, which means that these unidentified planes are likely to be approaching the sky over Pearl Harbor by now!

"Pull the air defense alarm!" Admiral Kimmel shouted, "Order the fighter to take to the air, right away!" He then added, "Tell everyone that Pearl Harbor is already at war, and this is not a exercise...... This is not a drill! ”

Kimmmel's anger was justified, and the U.S. Air Defense Command on Oahu was indeed a bit delayed, and they did not call the Pacific Fleet Command immediately after the radar station reported it. However, the Air Defense Command did not violate the regulations by doing this, because the quality of radars in this era is very poor, and there are often failures of one kind or another, and false alarms occur every once in a while. Therefore, according to the regulations of the US radar unit, it must be verified before it can be reported, so it has been delayed for some time.

And just 15 minutes in the eyes of the US Army Aviation and Naval Aviation does not seem to be a bad thing. Because they now have radar that can see 240 kilometers away, if you include the distance from the north shore of Oahu to Pearl Harbor, it is almost 280 kilometers, and it will take enemy planes as soon as 30 minutes to arrive. So the 15-minute delay in the briefing was not a big problem, and it was enough for the anti-aircraft artillery positions and the planes on the airfield to respond.

But the Americans, who live in a peaceful environment, are still a beat slower to react to various new technologies and tactics in the war in Europe. U.S. soldiers in Hawaii do not yet know that aircraft can evade radar detection by flying at ultra-low altitudes, which greatly reduces the distance at which radar can detect enemy aircraft.

However, the carrier-based aircraft unit of the Japanese Combined Fleet learned the trick of evading radar detection at low altitude because of the addition of 80 German foreign aid. Therefore, in the plan drawn up by Minoru Genda, the planes of the first attack wave must adopt ultra-low-altitude penetration to increase the suddenness of the attack. Therefore, the American radar on the north coast of Oahu did not react until the first Japanese attack wave flew 50 kilometers away.

However, the US radar crews responsible for operating these radars did not immediately report the discovery of the unidentified aircraft because they were quite close, but verified and inspected them in accordance with the regulations before reporting them to the Air Defense Command.

After receiving the report, the Air Defense Command did not immediately issue an operational order, but called through the radio -- this is also in accordance with the regulations, after all, the current US military is an army that has lived in a peaceful environment for a long time, and it is not a few simple orders that can make them immediately enter their roles and become a wartime army with a high degree of vigilance.

After the radio call was fruitless, the Air Defense Command felt that something was wrong and hurriedly called the commander of the Hawaiian Army, Vice Admiral Short, and the Pacific Fleet Command.

At this time, 208 Japanese planes led by Fuchida Mitsu Yunakasa, commander-in-chief of the 1st Attack Wave, had already flown over Oahu, and Pearl Harbor could be seen through the eyes.

"No enemy aircraft were found!" The telegraph operator and bombardier sitting behind Mitsuo Fuchida yelled, "Nakasa, the raid was successful, Pearl Harbor is defenseless!" ”

Mitsuo Fuchida also discovered at this time that there was not a single American plane over Pearl Harbor (which would soon be there), which probably meant that the sneak attack was a success.

He excitedly shouted, "Send electricity to the Akagi: Tiger!" Tiger! Tiger! ”

"Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! The code words meant that the sneak attack was a success.

"Onboard! Onboard! ”

All the people in the bridge of the "Akagi" cheered, and the depressed mood of these days was finally swept away with the signal of the successful sneak attack.

Although the five American aircraft carriers were still missing, and the British and American troops in the Philippines and Malaya were already on the highest alert, the success of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor put the Japanese Empire in an absolutely advantageous position after the start of the war.

"Break the radio silence, immediately send a message to the Yamato, and report that the sneak attack was successful!" Nagumo Zhongyi hadn't closed his eyes for a few days, and now his voice was hoarse, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Hay!" A staff officer next to him replied equally excitedly.

The radio waves passed through the sea and the sky, and in an instant they reached the battleship "Yamato", which was sailing eastward. On December 3, the day after Yamamoto Isoroku issued the order to "climb new peaks 1208," the "Yamato" left the Shan Guanwan anchorage and headed for Hawaii under the escort of the aircraft carrier "Shoho" (this is the 11th aircraft carrier of the Japanese Combined Fleet, because it was commissioned ahead of schedule, and there were engineers and workers from the shipyard on the carrier, and the number of carrier-based aircraft was only 16, all of which were Zero fighters), as well as another light cruiser and five destroyers.

According to Yamamoto's assumption, if the First Mobile Fleet can successfully destroy the US airfields and oil depots on Oahu, and severely damage the main force of the US Pacific Fleet, including aircraft carriers. Then Japan has a chance to capture Oahu! And if you want to capture Oahu, then you must invite the great god "Yamato".

And the captain of the Yamato, Takayanagi Yoshisa, has been working out a plan for shelling the Williston battery (with two 16-inch cannons, which is the key to the defense of Oahu) based on the information at hand. Of course, there was not just one artillery plan, but the most ideal one was to use the large range of the "Yamato" main gun to bombard the Williston battery at visual distance - although the two 16-inch cannons on the Williston battery could fire at targets up to 40 kilometers away. However, it is difficult to shoot by visual sight at such a long distance, and although it can be seen in theory, the problem of visibility must also be considered in actual combat. If the weather is bad, the sky is too dark, or someone is emitting smoke, etc., the visual distance will be greatly shortened. At this time, it is necessary to use airplanes or observation posts to correct the landing point of the shells. And to use aircraft correction, then it is necessary to master air supremacy.

In other words, as long as air supremacy is in hand, the "Yamato" can shoot at the limit of the visual distance of the Williston battery without risk, relying on aircraft correction to shoot, while also taking advantage of the weather or the smoke released by the destroyer to conceal itself. It's almost risk-free!

Therefore, after carefully studying the plan formulated by Takayanagi Yoihachi, Yamamoto Isoroku decided that the "Yamato" would leave ahead of schedule for the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. As long as the 1st Mobile Fleet is able to destroy the airfield on Oahu and inflict heavy damage on the American aircraft carrier force, then the "Yamato" should be launched.

The "Yamato" not only had to shell the Williston battery, but also led four battleships, "Nagato", "Mutsu", "Hiei" and "Kirishima", to carry out a devastating shelling of targets on Oahu!

Yamamoto has now made up his mind that even if he cannot capture Oahu this time, he must completely destroy it with battleships and planes, so that Oahu will not be the home port of the Pacific Fleet for years to come.

"Have you spotted any American aircraft carriers?" Although he learned that the sneak attack was successful, Yamamoto Fifty-six's brows were still furrowed. Because the 5 aircraft carriers of the Americans are still missing.

"Commander, the American aircraft carrier has not yet been discovered." Chief of Staff Ugaki replied, "However, most of the American aircraft carriers are not near Oahu, because our submarines in ambush in the southwest waters south of Oahu have not found anything. ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six nodded, and said expressionlessly: "They will always appear, as long as Nagumo Tadashi can win at Pearl Harbor, the American aircraft carrier will definitely appear." They are no match for Nagumo, and as long as they appear, we can win a big victory. ”

……

"Lieutenant General, Japanese planes are attacking Pearl Harbor!"

On the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Vice Admiral Halsey finally knew where the Japanese aircraft carrier was, but he was not worried about the safety of Oahu at all.

"Damn it!" Lieutenant General Halsey slammed his fist into the railing beside him, "They're near Oahu!" These despicable and shameless Japanese devils actually wanted to attack Pearl Harbor, but this is fine, they will soon be killed by the brothers of Pearl Harbor, these Japanese bastards are not only shameless but also stupid, they dare to attack Pearl Harbor! ”

He took a breath, and then ordered in a loud voice: "Guys, act immediately, carrier-based aircraft attack, target Saipan!" ”

"Lieutenant General, how many planes do we send to bomb Saipan?" Immediately there was a staff officer who asked questions.

"The more the merrier!" Halsey said, "Send as many as you can to bomb the Japanese airfields and ships in Saipan." Immediately after the bombing of Saipan, we sailed north to block the retreat of the Japanese devils! ”

Optimistic by nature, Halsey never expected Pearl Harbor to be blown into ruins, so he now plans to bomb Saipan before heading north to intercept the Japanese fleet that has retreated from Pearl Harbor...... (To be continued.) )