"Commander, Saipan was hit by an air raid by American aircraft, and the southbound detachment and the Guam raiders suffered heavy losses!"

In the command tower of the battleship "Yamato", the flagship of the Combined Fleet, everyone heard the news that made them unbelievable -- Saipan actually made the Americans blow up chickens and dogs!

"Baga!" Ugaki, chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, scolded, "How did Kasuga Atsushi, a big idiot, actually be attacked by the Americans in Guam!" It's so stupid to be real...... How much was lost? There won't be a destroyer sunk, right? ”

In Ugaki's thoughts, it should have been that the U.S. military in Guam immediately dispatched planes to bomb Saipan after learning that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 However, the US military in Guam does not have a few planes, and there will not be much loss on the Saipan side. The most "tragic" is the sinking of a destroyer or something.

"There is a destroyer that sank in battle...... "The staff officer read out loud the situation of the losses, "the 'Tsugaru' laying ship was sunk, the 'Saikawa Maru' seaplane carrier was sunk, and the destroyers 'Kikuzuki', 'Yuzuki', 'Ugetsu' and 'Hatsuki' were sunk in battle......

"Ahh Ugaki could put his fist in his mouth when he heard this, and then he roared like thunder, "It's incredible that such a big fool can become a naval officer...... By the way, is Atsushi Kasuga seppuku? Is there a seppuku? ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six seemed more calm, he coughed lightly, interrupted Ugaki, and asked, "How many planes did the Americans dispatch?" ”

"At least 300 sorties, all single-engine, split into two waves, the first arriving in Saipan at around 6:30 Tokyo time and the second at around 7:20 Tokyo time."

Hearing the detailed military intelligence report, Ugaki, who was thunderous just now, also quieted down. And turned back to Yamamoto Isoroku and said, "It's an aircraft carrier!" It must be an American aircraft carrier that attacked Saipan! ”

The two attack waves were less than 1 hour apart, and the total number was more than 300! This is simply not something that Guam can send out. It is simply impossible for the airport in Guam to send so many planes in such a short period of time, and the US military airfield in Guam cannot accommodate so many planes.

"We've found an American aircraft carrier!" Yamamoto Fifty-six actually showed a relaxed smile when he said this. "Although the loss of some ships, it was worth it."

It is of course very worthwhile to exchange 4 destroyers, 1 seaplane carrier, 1 laying ship and a number of submarine and patrol boats, as well as dozens of aircraft, for the approximate location of the US aircraft carrier force.

"Alright," Yamamoto laughed, "now Nagumo Tadaichi doesn't have to run away like a thief who stole something!" ”

Nagumo Tadaichi's 1st Mobile Fleet has now completed two attack waves, and has achieved major results in sinking 1 US battleship, destroying 6 ships (in fact, 2 ships can reach a medium break at most), blowing up 300 aircraft, shooting down 40 planes, and blowing up 14 oil storage tanks. And its own losses were only 49 aircraft that failed to return.

However, Nagumo Tadaichi, who had achieved a great victory, did not dare to continue the attack, but was in a hurry to slip away, and even advised Yamamoto Isoroku to abandon his plan to land on Kauai and further attack Hawaii. The reason is that 5 American aircraft carriers are missing!

These aircraft carriers now seem to be a few super explosions hanging on the head of the First Mobile Fleet, and once they fall, the First Mobile Fleet will be finished!

And the Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, Ugaki, is also very worried about these American aircraft carriers, like Nagumo Tadaichi. Therefore, it was also suggested that Yamamoto Fifty-six should accept it when he saw it and give up the unrealistic Hawaiian landing operation.

"Now the U.S. aircraft carrier is at least 3,000 nautical miles from Hawaii," Yamamoto said with a smile, "and Nagumo and Takasu still have 6 to 7 days to destroy Oahu!" Even if the plan of strategic Hawaii is abandoned, the airport, oil depot, dock and other facilities on Oahu must be completely destroyed so that it can no longer become the home port of the US Pacific Fleet! ”

Halsey's attack on Saipan was actually a strategic blunder! Originally, the Japanese didn't know where the US aircraft carrier was, and with the courage of Nagumo Tadaichi, most of them would have begged to escape as soon as possible. And although Yamamoto Isoroku is the commander, he cannot disrespect the opinion of the front-line commander at all, and agrees that it is only a matter of time before he withdraws.

Even if Yamamoto insisted on asking Nagumo to fight, Nagumo Tadaichi would not dare to let go of his hands and feet to fight, and he would definitely delay things.

And now Halsey's attack on Saipan has won a big victory, but it has exposed the position of the American aircraft carrier. Now Nagumo Tadaichi has at least six days to go free and do his best, not only to continue to send carrier-based aircraft to bombard Oahu, but also to send the 1st Mobile Fleet and the Hawaiian Dispatch Fleet to bombard Oahu (at night, of course). This is much more efficient than dropping bombs from carrier-based aircraft, and four battleships can rain at least 10,000 shells (main and secondary guns) on Pearl Harbor in one night, and two nights, combined with air raids during the day, can definitely blow Pearl Harbor to the surface of the moon.

"Ugaki-kun," Yamamoto said to Ugaki with a smile, "go and give orders to Nagumo and Takasu to carry out the Hawaiian Raiders as originally planned!" ”

……

On the aircraft carrier Akagi ...... "3,000 nautical miles," after receiving Yamamoto's order and the news that "the US aircraft carrier is near Saipan," Nagumo Tadaichi only felt a wave of fatigue and sleepiness coming over him -- Nagumo Tadaichi, who had not closed his eyes for several days, could now finally let go of his hanging heart and go to sleep beautifully.

However, before going to bed, Nagumo Tadaichi had to telegraph with Takasu Shiro, who had sent the Hawaiian fleet, to arrange for the fleet to be reorganized (the battleship Kirishima and the Hiei would be incorporated into Takasu's fleet), as well as arrange the third, fourth, and fifth waves of attacks!

Since the US aircraft carriers are all on Saipan, there is no need for Nagumo Tadaichi to slip away in a hurry like a thief.

Pearl Harbor has now been destroyed only in half of its size, and even the airfields and oil depots that were the focus of the bombing are far from being completely destroyed. Because the oil depot at Pearl Harbor was built with bombing in mind, each tank was separated by a mound of earth, because there was no problem of the fuel being blown up and the fuel burned leaking out to ignite the other tanks. If the attack were stopped now, the airfield would be repaired in a few days, and the remaining tanks that had not been blown up would be unharmed.

If God helps to rain another rainstorm, the heavy oil that is burning will most likely be extinguished quickly because the rain lowers the oil temperature. In this way, the heavy oil that has not been leaked out of the destroyed tank can be salvaged, and perhaps more than 70% of the heavy oil will remain.

"Genda," Nagumo Zhongyi yawned and ordered Minoru Genda, the staff officer of the fleet aviation, "If the weather allows, two more waves of bombing will be arranged today, and the targets will still be airfields and oil depots!" ”

……

"Admiral, Lieutenant Admiral Halsey's telegram, the planes of the 1st Task Force (Halsey Fleet) sank 1 light aircraft carrier (the mother ship Seikawa Maru seaplane carrier), 1 light cruiser (Tsugaru laying ship), 4 destroyers and 8 small ships, and also blew up the airfield on Saipan......"

At the Pacific Fleet headquarters at Pearl Harbor, staff officers were reporting to Admiral Kimmel on the exaggerated good news. However, Kimmel's face was still pale, because he also thought about the consequences of Task Force 1's exposure.

Kimmel looked out the window at the burning harbor and the dilapidated fleet, and his brow furrowed as he smelled the choking smell of fuel and gunpowder smoke wafting in the wind.

He asked, "How many planes are still available on Oahu?" ”

"There are 107 more, of which 21 are P51, 18 are P40, 16 are F4F, 12 are Catarina seaplanes, 10 are SBDs, 9 are TBDs, 8 are B-17s, 7 are B-25s, and 6 are B-24s...... In addition, at least 150 aircraft were repairable, and about 250 aircraft were completely damaged. ”

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, there were more than 500 U.S. planes on Oahu, but now there are 107 that can fly and about 150 that can be repaired.

"Send me the flying SBD, TBD, B-17, B-24, B-25 and Katarina seaplane!" Kimmel ordered loudly, "Go and search the west and north sides of Oahu, where the Japanese fleet must be hiding, and they must be found!" Other than that...... Where is Fletcher's Task Force 2? ”

Frank. Rear Admiral Fletcher's Task Force 2, with the USS Raider at its core, was dispatched to deliver planes to the Marines on Wake Island a few days before the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor. It was supposed to return to Pearl Harbor on December 7 (Hawaii time), but there was a storm on the way, so it was delayed.

"Task Force 2 is about 50 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor and can return to Pearl Harbor in about three hours."

"Don't let them go back to Pearl Harbor, and wait in the sea 50 kilometers south of Pearl Harbor." Kimmel said, "Let the carrier-based aircraft on the Raider be ready to attack, and as soon as the Japanese aircraft carrier is spotted, immediately attack and take the Japanese by surprise!" ”

Yamamoto's conclusions from the air raids on Saipan are not entirely correct, and most of the aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet are indeed near Saipan, otherwise they would not have been able to send so many carrier-based aircraft.

However, because of the aircraft delivery mission, the aircraft carrier "Raider" did not operate with Task Force 1 in Halsey. This gave Kimmel a little bit of the power to fight back...... (To be continued.) )