Haven't retreated yet? That is to say, there is still a chance to beat US imperialism!

Yamamoto Isoroku and Nagano Shusei both cheered up and looked at Ito Junichi with burning eyes. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"The 10th Fleet reported that the airfield in Palmyra Atoll was bombed by hundreds of U.S. carrier-based aircraft early this morning, Hawaii time, 16 aircraft were destroyed on the ground, and another 8 Zero fighters were shot down," Ito said. In addition, 10 Type 97 boats moored in nearby waters were destroyed. ”

Palmyra Atoll, 371 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island, is a small atoll on land that does not allow for a large army, so it is of little military value. Still, the Japanese built an airfield and seaplane dock there, deploying a dozen planes and a few seaplanes to monitor the surrounding sea. But I didn't expect that such an atoll with limited military value would be bombed by hundreds of carrier-based Americans!

"The U.S. fleet has rounded the northwest of Christmas Island? Their goal was ...... "Isoroku Yamamoto would immediately find the location of Palmyra Atoll on a chart."

It is 371 nautical miles from Christmas Island, and if you want to bomb it with carrier-based aircraft, the position of the aircraft carrier is probably northwest of Christmas Island...... That is, the American fleet did not retreat, but bypassed Christmas Island.

"The Americans want to capture Palmyra Atoll?" Nagano Shushen frowned and analyzed, "Maybe they want to deploy P51 fighters on Palmyra Atoll?" ”

"Deploy P51?" Yamamoto Fifty-six took a breath, the problem seemed to be getting worse!

At present, the main model of the P51 fighter in the United States is the P51B/C. P51B and P51C are basically the same, but the manufacturer is different, so it can be regarded as one model. The P51 has excellent performance, with a top speed of over 700 km/h and a very large range. Moreover, the advantage of this kind of aircraft is relatively large, and for Japan, it can almost cover the airspace below 8,000 meters, and any of their fighter planes encountering P51B/C above 7,000 meters is basically equivalent to the pilot becoming a god......

According to the tests of the Germans (Germany had obtained a good P51B/C in both the British and Soviet-German battlefields), only the Fw-190 series fighters equipped with BMW-801S, BMW-801F air-cooled engines and Mercedes-Benz's DB603 series liquid-cooled engines, and the Bf-109K with DB605 series engines could ensure superiority in air combat below 8,000 meters and P51B/C - this is because the P51B/ The C fighter has an excellent aerodynamic shape and a very large airspace, and the Fw-190 and Bf-109 can only significantly outperform each other if they have a large engine power advantage.

However, when the Fokker Zero D encountered the P51B/C alone, it would be difficult to shoot down the opponent if there was no obvious gap in the pilot's skills. And once the Fokker Zero D is lured by P51B/C to an altitude of more than 5000 meters, it will be more than lucky.

Therefore, the German Air Force delegation in Japan made a suggestion to avoid air combat with the P51B/C as much as possible.

Moreover, the Germans also told the Japanese that the P-51B/C could gain a super-large range of more than 3,000 kilometers with the addition of auxiliary fuel tanks.

That is, once the Americans deploy P51B / C in Palmyra Atoll, their combat radius can almost cover the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands!

As long as a few dozen P51B/Cs are loaded onto cargo ships and transported to Palmyra Atoll, the Japanese pilots will suffer even heavier losses in the ensuing battle!

"The United States cannot be allowed to occupy Palmyra Atoll!" Yamamoto Isoroku immediately made a decision, "Order the 1st Mobile Fleet to approach Palmyra Atoll, and ...... The 10th Front fleet was ordered to immediately destroy the airfield in Palmyra Atoll. ”

Because Palmyra Atoll was too small, the Japanese army did not have many troops deployed there, and there were not many fortifications and heavy weapons, so it was easy for the American army to occupy, so Yamamoto Isoroku prepared for the worst at this time.

However, his worst-case plan later proved to be completely redundant. Because while the Japanese troops stationed on the Palmyra Atoll were planting explosives on the airfields, warehouses, barracks, and other facilities they had built with great difficulty, the Americans who had bombed them before were heading for their next target, Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands.

Due to the long distance of the Tarawa Atoll, more than 1,000 nautical miles, at a speed of 18 knots, it will take at least 50 hours to enter the combat radius of the carrier-based aircraft to attack Tarawa.

Thus, more than 40 hours after the attack on Palmyra Atoll, the huge US fleet seemed to have disappeared from thin air. It was not until the afternoon of October 1, Hawaiian Islands time, that the battleship "Yamato", the flagship of the Combined Fleet, which was carrying out refueling operations in the waters near Midway, received a report from the 3rd Patrol Area of the Japanese 4th Fleet (responsible for the defense of Tarawa Island): seaplane reconnaissance found the American fleet, the number of which exceeded 20!

"Tarawa ......" General Koga Mine and Chief of Staff Ugaki glanced at each other, both of them with ugly expressions that things were not good.

"Baga, what kind of battle are the Americans fighting?" Koga said, "Are they going to take the island or break the war?" ”

Ugaki frowned tightly, shook his head and said, "Commander, the Americans probably want to drain our strength......"

Koga Fengichi was silent for a while, then sighed with a wry smile: "Ugaki-kun, what you said is good...... The Americans fought this idea, draining our vitality, and it looks like they have succeeded.

Since the U.S. fleet approached the Hawaiian Islands, we've lost more than 600 planes (including planes lost in the Battle of Christmas Island, reconnaissance planes shot down by the U.S. fleet, planes lost during the night transition, and losses at Palmyra Atoll), and it looks like we're going to continue to lose.

In addition, fuel and consumption and losses are also very distressing. Almost all of the Combined Fleet's ships are now operating at sea, followed by a large number of supply ships and oil tankers, and hundreds of sorties are sent every day to carry out search and direct cover missions...... The daily fuel consumption is probably not less than 15,000 tons! ”

15,000 tons a day has to be fought hard, you can't let the US fleet wander around the Pacific Ocean casually, right? Moreover, the US fleet that broke into the middle of the Pacific Ocean this time seems to be of unprecedented scale, and it is very difficult to deal with!

Just a few hours after the main force of the Combined Fleet had completed its refueling (the refueling ships were all from Pearl Harbor), the news came that Tarawa had been bombed.

This time, the Americans dispatched at least 150 warplanes, not only dropping dozens of tons of bombs on Tarawa, but also shooting down and destroying 34 Japanese planes (15 of which were Type 1 land attack in hangars and 5 Type 97 boats), resulting in the death of 15 Navy pilots and captains. However, the US military has only lost one F4U and one F6F -- the exchange ratio between the two sides is so disparity, in addition to the fact that the US military has superiority in the number and quality of its aircraft, it is because Tarawa is not a first-line aircraft, so the quality of the pilots placed there is not high, and it cannot be compared with the Japanese pilots in the Hawaiian Islands, Christmas Island, Holland Harbor, and the South Pacific frontier.

"At least 150 warplanes...... All fighters! Koga Mine, who was leading the fleet to join Ozawajizaburo's First Mobile Fleet, had a gloomy look on his face even more gloomy after receiving the report.

"At least 2 Essex-class, maybe more!" Koga said to Ugaki, "Not only Tarawa, but most of our strongholds in the central and western Pacific can't withstand the nearly 200 fighters above!" In this way, the Americans can completely accumulate small victories into big victories and deplete our strength fiercely! ”

This is the biggest difference between breaking with Essex and breaking with Independence.

Just 2 Essex-class aircraft carriers have the ability to attack Japanese strongholds on islands and reefs in the Central and Western Pacific!

Therefore, Fletcher's broken fleet can completely sweep these islands and reefs where there are not many planes (even dozens of them can't be stopped) and garrisons, and if they are allowed to sweep all the way, they can casually cut the lives of two or three hundred Japanese pilots!

However, it is also extremely difficult to destroy this broken fleet, because the US broken fleet is not slow, and the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet cannot catch up at all...... It's another Christmas island-like waste!

"Commander, you must not let go of this hateful American fleet of broken diplomatic relations!" Ugaki is worthy of being the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet for a long time, and in the blink of an eye, he has already had a countermeasure.

"The First Mobile Fleet can be reorganized, and a new First Mobile Fleet can be formed with the three aircraft carriers Xianghe, Zuihe, and Dafeng as the core, and go all out to pursue it." Ugaki continued, "At the same time, the main force of the Combined Fleet is following behind the First Mobile Fleet, waiting for the planes of the First Mobile Fleet to severely damage the US Fleet before annihilating it!" ”

"Can you inflict heavy damage on the American fleet with three aircraft carriers?" Koga asked very skeptically.

"At least it can be damaged, as long as it can slow down the U.S. Broken Fleet, the Combined Fleet will have a chance to annihilate it!" Ugaki almost gritted his teeth and replied, "The Japanese Empire must not allow 2 or 3 Essex-class aircraft carriers to run rampant in the central and western waters of the Pacific Ocean, otherwise the Americans will adopt the same tactics again and again, and the vitality of the Japanese Empire will be exhausted by the Americans in the near future!" ”