The raid on the Panama Canal was the first real special operation in military history. Compared to those special battles in a few decades later. This time the special operations carried out by the Imperial Marine Corps scouts looked very green and there were many immature places. There are also a lot of loopholes. But there is no doubt that this was a special operation in the true sense of the word, and it was after this that the Imperial Marines selected a large number of outstanding officers and men from among the scouts to form the first special forces.

In fact, before this time, there were many similar special operations . For example, Army scouts who carry out reconnaissance and sabotage missions deep behind enemy lines on the Russian battlefield, and Marine Corps scouts who enter enemy-controlled islands to search for and rescue pilots in the Pacific theater. It can even be said that the Airborne Forces are a force that performs special combat missions. Then. There is no such concept as "special forces" and "special operations", and there is no special forces in the modern sense, most of the troops are temporarily established by excellent soldiers, temporarily carry out one or more missions, and will be disbanded after completing the mission. And. Not many people recognize the importance of special forces.

Tan Renhao also had little hope for Han Shaofeng's proposal to send a commando team to capture the locks, but at that time he had no other choice, only the Marines had the ability to capture the locks, since this was the best way for Han Shaofeng to think, Tan Renhao had to agree.

"It's almost time for them to send a message back." Zhu Rongzhe is also not very interested in this kind of impossible task completed by dozens of "heroes". In the eyes of all the officers and men of the fleet, victory is achieved through collective effort, and by no means through "individual heroism".

Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation clock, it was already eleven twenty o'clock, according to the plan, between half past eleven and twelve o'clock. Han Shaofeng's commando team should send back a message.

"The fleet is ready, right?"

"The mission is all arranged, and our bombers will definitely arrive before dawn."

Tan Renhao nodded. Then wait patiently, I hope they can take the locks smoothly, and the American counterattack is not too fast, we can't help much during the night. Now, where is Task Force 3? ”

"Already in the Bay of Panama." Zhu Rongzhe glanced at the navigation clock, "Now they should be heading towards the Pearl Islands, which are about 250 miles away from San Jose Island. Able to reach the shelled sea area before dawn." (Huaxia Chinese Ding Hao transfer.)

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"What about Han Shaofeng?" Tan Renhao is very energetic now, he slept for nearly ten hours during the day." They're almost leaving, aren't they? ”

"Just behind the Third Task Force, as long as our bombers open the passage and the Third Task Force reaches the waters of the Pearl Islands, Han Shaofeng will let his Marines go ashore."

Tan Renhao didn't ask anything more, he still had to wait patiently.

Fifteen minutes later. An airwave pierced the night sky and activated the "Longgan Lake" radio station. The telegram was sent by Task Force 3 to act as a communication relay and seaplane to the destination. There was only one telegram that four commandos had captured the locks and were strengthening their defenses.

"I just received a telegram that the Marine Scout has succeeded!"

"Then act according to the plan!" There is no surprise in Tan Renhao, this is just the first step in the plan. And to win, they need to take several steps. (Huaxia Novels.com.)

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The light signal is transmitted between the two task forces. Before twelve o'clock, the two task forces turned at the same time and headed straight for the Gulf of Panama to the northeast. Now the fleet is still silent, and until the bombers destroy the US airfield, there will be no communication between the fleets to maintain concealment, giving the enemy the most sudden and violent. The deadliest blow.

Two o'clock sharp." The ground aviation crew of the "Longganhu" was busy, they were the first officers and men on the battleship to enter the combat state, and their task was to check every bomber and make sure that every bomber could take off normally. Other than that. They had to refuel the bombers and fighters and hang up the bombs before half-past four.

At four o'clock, the pilot got up, and Zhu Rongzhe also went to the aviation operations center at this time, and Tan Renhao handed over the affairs of the fleet aviation operation to him to take charge of, which was a rare opportunity to exercise. If you want to become the commander of the aircraft carrier task force, you must be proficient in fleet aviation operations. And accumulate enough practical experience.

Tan Renhao has been staying in the command cabin. According to the plan, there will be no communication between the fleets, but this is only a normal state, and if something unexpected happens, he may receive telegrams from other fleets at any time. Or send telegrams to other fleets . And now, the fleet has entered dangerous waters, connecting the Panama Canal to the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the main waterway off the West Coast of the United States, where enemy ships and perhaps American submarines may appear at any time. The fleet is less than 250 miles away from the nearest US airfield, and US reconnaissance planes or patrol planes may appear at any time, and as long as the position of the fleet is exposed, it is very likely that the enemy will strike preemptively.

When Zhu Rongzhe walked in, Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation clock, at 4:45, the combat mission had been deployed, the pilot was making the final preparations for departure, and the first bomber would take off within five minutes. (Provided by HUAXIA members)

"It's all arranged." Zhu Rongzhe took out a cigarette, he rarely smokes, but these days it is almost half an hour." Everything is normal now, right? ”

Tan Renhao nodded. At least I know that I haven't received telegrams from other fleets, so that's good news."

Both laughed, thinking it was a bit of a journalist joke.

At this time, the aircraft carrier took off on the ground and the navigation lights were turned on, and the deck was full of glory. Tan Renhao walked to the porthole on the left, the pilots were boarding the plane one after another, the two "waterbirds" had been towed to the catapult position, and the deck personnel wearing green vests were connecting the bombers to the catapult. Sitting in the cabin, the pilot used sign language to communicate with the take-off director next to him.

With a loud roar, the first "waterfowl" was ejected, followed by the second, and the second two bombers were quickly dragged up. The aviation crew is very fast and very skilled.

Yan Renhao nodded with satisfaction, this is what he wants to be efficient. The ground aviation officers of the 1st Special Operations Mixed Fleet proved time and time again in battle that they were the finest officers and men of the Imperial Navy. Seeing those fighters that were leaving the fleet one after another, Tan Renhao thought of the new bombers in the Harbin enclave. A few days before leaving Zhoushandi. He had heard Gan Yongxing mention the new bomber land, and originally planned to replace the first task force and the second task force with new bomber grounds, and then the first fleet would go to the front to replace the third fleet, so that the third fleet could be reequipped while resting and recuperating. As a result, a temporary decision was made to attack the Panama Canal, forcing Task Force 1 and Task Force 2 to continue using "Shooting Birds" and "Sea Eagles".

Tan Renhao has never seen the new bomber, he has not even seen the drawings. At the time of the last negotiation with Hafei. He's only heard it mentioned. The new bomber adopts the "Peregrine Falcon" geodynamic system. The fuselage has been completely redesigned and a lot of new technology has been adopted. Most importantly. It was the first universal bomber of the Imperial Navy. i.e. no longer divided into two types of bombers . A bomber is used to carry out all bombing missions. Tan Renhao didn't know if such a bomber was a bomber needed by the navy, after all, the naval aviation was used to using two different bombers. And also. He doesn't know how good the ground performance of this bomber is, but the ground performance of the "Peregrine Falcon" is very good, and I believe that the ground bomber made with its core will not be much worse.

Thinking about it, Tan Renhao laughed, the upgrading of naval aviation in terms of equipment is quite fast, from the outbreak of the war to the present. A total of five types of fighters were in service, and the bombers were replaced twice. This allowed the Imperial Naval Aviation to always have relatively good combat aircraft.

The first group of bombers soon left the aircraft carrier. As the bombers went away, it was quiet outside. The aircraft carrier did not slow down and remained in a state of sailing against the wind. Aviation crews are preparing the second batch of bombers for departure. This time, the fleet bombers will still be sent out at one time, which is arranged by Hao Dongjue, and it is also a tactical need.

"Xiao Zhu. Let the cruiser prepare to start the radar! Tan Renhao turned around, "We're close enough to the enemy. Luck will not always go our way, and if the US military had reacted quickly, their ground reconnaissance planes might have reached the top of our land! ”

"So, do you want the air defense fighters to take off first?" Zhu Rongzhe called a staff officer. (Huaxia Chinese Ding Hao transfer.)

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Tan Renhao hesitated. No, let Yang Qinkai's group set off first, we have enough time to let the fighters take off before dawn, and the US military will not choose to bomb the fleet at night, they don't have that ability yet."

Zhu Rongzhe immediately conveyed the commander's order, which was part of the plan, until now. Tan Renhao has not revised the battle plan.

The second batch of bombers took off only fifteen minutes late. At this time, the three "Rui Beast"-class radars in the fleet have been activated. The other cruisers were replaced with the same radar as the "Rui Beast" class when they were repaired. It's just that the ground air defense command capability of the "Rui Beast" class cruiser is stronger, so under normal circumstances, the "Rui Beast" class is still responsible for the fleet's air defense search mission, and the ground radar of other cruisers is generally not activated, and it is only used when fighting in the field.

By this time, the fleet had still not restored communications, the Panama Canal was not part of the front line, the US military may not have deployed a ground station here to detect radar signals, and there was no need to communicate with other task forces at this time, as long as no news was received, it would prove that other ground fleets were also acting according to the battle plan. The biggest question is whether the commandos will be able to hold out until dawn. Tan Renhao had to worry about this.

In the first round of ground bombing, the 1st Task Force and the 2nd Task Force each arranged four squadrons of ground bombers to support the assault team, and at that time, the fleet would restore communications, and Han Shaofeng's landing fleet would provide bombing guidance for these four squadrons of ground bombers. However, before that, the U.S. military must have launched a counterattack, and each commando team has only a few dozen officers and soldiers, how long can they hold out?

The third task force is the third task force that can really provide strong support for the commandos, but the third task force must first suppress the US artillery positions near Panama City, and perhaps provide artillery support for the commandos near the two southern locks at about eight o'clock, but it can only provide artillery support for the commandos on the two northern locks at noon at the earliest, provided that the third task force successfully destroys the US artillery positions and the fleet aviation forces seize air supremacy. You can have the 3rd Task Force groundplane to direct the shelling.

There are a lot of troubles and a lot of problems. This is Tan Renhao's overall feeling about the place of this combat operation. Even if Han Shaofeng's local assault team can hold out until noon, the supporting ground marines may not be able to arrive at noon. According to Han Shaofeng's landing plan, it would be good for the Marines to land on the beach near Panama City at noon, and if the U.S. troops resisted stubbornly, they might not be able to reach the vicinity of the two locks in the south until night, and two or even three days later in the vicinity of the northern locks.

"General Tan, our bomber group has arrived!" (Huaxia Novels.com.)

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Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and immediately looked up at the navigation clock, it was past six and fifteen, fifteen minutes earlier than the scheduled time, it must have been Qiu Gengbo's bastard who sped up his flight speed on the road. The sky was already slightly bright, and he nodded at Zhu Rongzhe.

"Do you want to contact the other fleets now?"

"Go telegraph, the operation has officially begun." Tan Renhao turned around, "Let the Third Task Force speed up its actions, don't delay time, the U.S. military may react much faster than we imagined. Ask Task Force 2 to act according to the battle plan if nothing unusual happens. In addition, tell Han Shaofeng that the time has come to test the Marine Corps, and I don't want Panama City to be under the control of the US military when the fleet arrives! ”

A series of commands were sent out immediately by telegram. The four huge fleets seemed to be activated, and Tan Renhao came outside the cabin after giving the order, and the battle had officially begun, if the commando operations were counted in the mainland. Then the battle had already begun more than seven hours earlier.

The sun was slowly rising, the color of the sky and the ground was changing from dark gray to light gray, then to light blue, the dawn was already shining on the sea, and the battleship broke through the waves and headed for victory