On that day, 31 ships were sunk, 11 were heavily damaged, and more than 9,000 officers and men died in the bombing on the ground, which was the heaviest day of losses.

In the evening, General Kobayashi reported the day's losses to the army headquarters. He concluded: "Today, painful experience tells us that we cannot stop the air strikes of the Mi army. Indeed, the air force has done everything in its power, and fighter squadrons have been dispatched in turn, and some planes have been dispatched as many as 35 times a day.

On the morning of 20 November, a US reconnaissance plane on patrol spotted a large coastal convoy at sea. Intelligence quickly reached the US front-line command. The command immediately issued a combat alert to 1 bomber group and ordered 1 fighter group to escort the escort, and another fighter group to fly to the same target. These more than 70 US planes quickly took to the air and formed a three-dimensional formation to pounce on the fleet.

Shortly after the US planes took off, several radar stations and observation posts of the Syrian army simultaneously discovered that a large number of enemy planes were gathering over the positions of the Japanese troops. As a result, the fighter jets quickly took off from a nearby airfield to meet the fight. Six "Hurricane" fighters of the 32nd Flying Squadron of the Army Air Corps approached the US planes under the leadership of Captain Yajima. When a powerful lineup of US planes appeared in front of them, they could not help but be surprised: the enemy planes were divided into three layers, forming a three-dimensional formation of low, medium, and high. On top of the 20 bombers was a layer of fighters for close support, and on top of it was an escort fighter.

But they weren't deterred. Captain Yajima calmly ordered his comrades to fly into the cumulonimbus clouds, dodge the American fighter group, and then wait for an opportunity to attack the bombers flying below the fighter group.

The time has finally come. "Attack!" Yajima decisively gave the battle order.

Three "Hurricane" fighters rushed straight toward the US bomber group like hungry tigers, while the other three rushed towards the fighter group, striving to block the US escort plane convoy and create conditions for their companions to annihilate the enemy.

This is a 6:70 aerial hand-to-hand combat, and it is also an aerial attack battle with a huge disparity in strength.

In an instant, the flotilla was filled with planes circling and tumbling, chasing and scuffling. The shrill roar of the engine, the roar of machine guns and machine guns was endless. The US bombers were taken aback by the sudden arrival of the planes, and some of them hurriedly dropped their bombs, and a column of water rushed to the sky on the sea.

A U.S. military plane was hit first, dragging its tail of smoke and plunging headlong into the sea. Then, there was another loud "boom", and the two US planes collided, and a huge fireball suddenly flashed in the sky, and the debris of the burning plane was scattered all over the sea. Faced with this situation, the US planes did not rush back to withdraw from the battle, but continued to attack, hitting six transport ships and two destroyers. All six fighter pilots were also killed.

The U.S. military began to carry out larger-scale air strikes against the Japanese army. On 22 November, the US General Headquarters issued an order to launch the "War Hammer Project," implying that the US military would be like a war hammer to cause the air defense of the Chinese army to collapse within a few days, and the Syrian planes would be completely expelled from the skies over US territory. Many American pilots were so overjoyed at the thought of this "War Hammer Project" that they would win the war, and they drew a map of the islands on the fuselage with a very morale-boosting explanation, "It's all over."

As a prelude to a major air raid, the US military launched a fierce surprise attack on the army's radar stations and observation posts. Sixteen radar stations of the Japanese army were hit and severely damaged, and three were completely destroyed. The Americans have learned from the Chinese about the importance of radar to the air defense of the country, because the Chinese are far ahead of the United States and the country in the development and use of this electronic device.

During the 10-day battle, the US military carried out nine large-scale bombings of the Chinese army, completely destroying the air force of the Japanese army. The tactical means adopted by the US Air Force are to concentrate superior forces, air raids on areas where the main forces of the Chinese army are deployed, use large groups of planes to set sail, and small formations to enter the target in successive waves and surprise attacks, so that the air defense forces of the United States will not be able to carry out concentrated counterattacks.

On 25 November, the skies were overcast and visibility was extremely poor, especially over the coast, where dense clouds often fell as low as 4,000 feet, making the weather more unsuitable for air combat than before. But the US military can no longer wait, and Washington is already impatient, even a little angry. So, the powerful American bomber fleet set off as planned.

However, the escorting fighter fleet did not fly at the same time as planned, and only a few fighters followed, and the American bombers had to attack alone with almost no fighter cover. A huge fleet of 100 "B-26" planes went to bomb the airfields and ports occupied by the Japanese army, and a similar number of "B-17" planes roared over the coast toward Hawaii and Pearl Harbor, while a large group of "B-25" planes flew along the coastline.

Due to the deployment of the alert radar, the command quickly received information about the upcoming air raid by the US military. Two Hurricane and two Gale squadrons went to protect the convoy and airfield, while another squadron patrolled the skies over Hawaii. He said that he kept two-thirds of the "Hurricane" planes and half of the "Gale" planes in his possession in order to carry out concentrated attacks on US planes. Two other squadrons of Gale aircraft patrolled over Pearl Harbor.

The first to attack by the United States was the 1st Fighter Group of the 5th Flight Training Regiment. Twenty-three P-38 Lightning-type fighters, led by Group Leader Captain Raines, entered the target area.

As Captain Raines crossed the shoreline, one of the last planes in the formation sounded the alarm: "A 'Gale' aircraft has been spotted in the rear. ”

The sound of the alarm made the nerves of the American pilots tense up suddenly. They understood that the somewhat clumsy twin-engine "Lightning" aircraft could not fly as well as the "Gale" fighters. Although the speed and climb rate of the "Gale" aircraft were not much higher than those of the "Lightning", its turning radius was small, it was easy to maneuver, and it appeared to be maneuverable and flexible in battle.

Raines immediately ordered the whole team to form a circular defensive formation and cover each other's tails. Raines took the lead in the formation and began to turn. Before he could fully turn around, the fighter plane, which was flying at a high altitude, suddenly caught up from the rear at high speed.

Raines's plane immediately turned to the right, skillfully avoiding the Gale's fire. It's dangerous! Bullets grazed his left side, and the Gale fighter swooped down. Another US military plane tried to evade with a dive maneuver, but it was not as lucky as Raines, and the speed of this US military plane could not be raised at once, so it was tightly bitten by this plane and attacked.

Tongues of fire spewed out under the wings of the Gale, and with all their might they swooped towards the circular phalanx. Horizontally flying fighters were able to capture fighters for only a brief moment within range, so the machine guns of the Gale aircraft were fired at the American planes together. In a short time, two US military planes were shot down.

Captain Raines' fighter squadron returned to base with more than half of them damaged, with five destroyed and more than 10 wounded. The aftermath of the sortie reverberated in the U.S. military two days later. The situation of the American forces in other directions was similarly bad, and the American bomber group that targeted the military airfield apparently carried out the bombing successfully, but also paid a heavy price; The group of bombers destined for ports and landing sites was even more unlucky, and was tightly bitten by the "Hurricane" planes, but the American pilots did not throw bombs indiscriminately, but insisted on accurately bombing the targets. At the end of the operation, the US military lost a total of 77 planes and more than 80 were damaged, while the Japanese army lost 65 planes. The U.S. military can afford such losses, while the Japanese army cannot. "We're going to fail." General Kobayashi wrote sadly and helplessly in his memoirs.

On 27 November, the weather began to improve unexpectedly, the clouds and fog gradually dissipated, and the gloomy weather that had lasted for several days suddenly cleared up, which was a good weather for the implementation of large-scale air raids. The US high command immediately issued an order to the units to attack. No one could have predicted that this day would become the fiercest and most spectacular day in the air battle on the American homeland.

According to the order of the command, the US air force poured out of the nest, and the huge fleet consisted of more than 1,800 aircraft, including more than 600 bombers and more than 1,200 fighters. The sky over southern California was filled with the clamor of battle: bombers rumbled, fighter jets soared and dived, shuttled and weaved, machine guns fired wildly, and machine guns sprayed fiery warheads...... This is a great spectacle unprecedented in the history of world air warfare.

Just as the air battle over southern California was in full swing, fierce fighting was also launched over the northern region, which was another-for-tat battle. At 13:45, a total of 175 "B-25" planes of the first attack wave of the US military flew to the northern part of California. When the group was still about 10 kilometers from the coast, the radio equipment on board suddenly became noisy, and the enemy situation was reported one after another:

"Found the Gale fighter on the left!"

"Enemy fighters are coming from the direction of the sun!"

"Our plane was attacked by enemy aircraft!"

Escorting the group were 76 fighters of the 1st Group of the US Army's 52nd Fighter Regiment. This brigade has strong combat effectiveness and has achieved brilliant results in history, and in the air battle of Hawaii, it shot down many carrier-based planes that participated in the war at that time. Although today's task looks a little tricky. They are more tenacious than they imagined, but they have an absolute numerical advantage.

At the head of this fighter cover formation was Captain McFarron, the squadron leader, who was tasked with cooperating with Squadron Leader Patrok in charge of the interception to monitor the communications between the fighters. He wanted to use this as a breakthrough to master the defense system of the Japanese Air Force, so as to formulate the corresponding tactics and flight routes of the US bomber force. However, before they could hear anything clearly, one of the "Gale" planes of the Zoben swooped down on the US command plane in the sunlight. Before McFarron could turn around and enter the confrontation state, he was hit by the enemy's dense fire, and the plane fell headlong screaming, and the captain of the group, Captain McFarron, exploded to pieces along with the plane.

It was the "Gale" fighter of the 22nd Flying Squadron that shot down the command plane. Fifteen minutes later, the planes that came to stop the attack launched a three-dimensional offensive against the US planes from all sides, and one more US plane was damaged. Although the command plane was shot down, the two sides engaged in a life-and-death battle in the face of a formidable opponent, and soon several planes were destroyed or withdrawn from the battle due to injuries.

At 16:45, the fight was still going on in the airspace of southern California. At this time, a formation of more than 1,000 American planes flew forward across the valley.

The "Gale" and "Gale" planes, which had just finished fighting one hour earlier, were on standby on the ground. After a while, almost all squadrons gave the signal "ready for takeoff." At the sound of the order, more than 170 planes took to the air at the same time to meet the incoming American planes.

The US pilots personally experienced the stubborn resistance of the Japanese army. The experience began again when the target area first appeared in front of the eyes of Captain Terrance, the navigator. Almost simultaneously, all the planes at the end of the squadron formation raised the alarm: "Enemy fighters spotted behind!" ”

Flying from behind the US planes was the "Gale" planes, all of which were spitting out terrible tongues of fire from their machine guns, and dived down from above the formation of US planes with surprising speed. As soon as the planes had passed through the effective firing position, they pulled up again, quickly rose and turned, and took up a vantage point, ready to attack again. Suddenly, a graceful arc of wakes appeared in the sky.

Terrance saw that the fighter group escorting the bombers was desperate for several kilometers above him, and he had no time to do anything else. It seems that it is impossible to rely on them for protection, so we have to rely on ourselves. The US military plane did not change its original route and continued to fly towards the target. In order to ensure that the tail shooters could cover each other, the US planes adopted a dense formation.

The "Gale" fighters began a new round of attacks. In view of the new formation of US planes, the military planes adopted the tactic of flanking the bombers behind the palace. But the formation of American aircraft was not disrupted. Soon, the US escort fighters rushed over in time, and the planes were caught in front and rear, and they immediately began to disperse and escape. The US fighter planes pursued the fleeing plane, and a scene of chasing suddenly appeared in the sky, and the US military's "hunting battle" began. The plane was caught in a chaotic flight.

In this battle, 52 planes were shot down, and the US military lost 63 planes, but the US troops successfully bombed the Japanese army, and the poorly covered soldiers suffered heavy losses under the US bombardment, and nearly 5,000 people were killed.

In the following days, the air battle was interrupted due to bad weather. By the 28th, the first phase of the air battle was over. During this period, 12 temporary air bases were destroyed, 9 radar stations were incapacitated, 2 command centers were bombed, ports and landing sites were damaged to varying degrees, and 1 ammunition depot and 1 oil storage depot were blown up. However, due to the fact that the United States chose too many targets and the area of activity was too vast, it dispersed its forces and reduced the effectiveness of the bombing. At the same time, the US Air Force itself suffered heavy losses, almost a quarter of the bombers were consumed, and as a result, its intended purpose was not achieved. What made the American pilots feel most intriguing was that they were obviously flying and bombing according to ground commands, but many of the bombs did not hit their targets, but they were dropped on barren mountains and wilderness. And although the fighters suffered heavy losses, they continued to fight even at every moment, and although their numbers were decreasing day by day, they did not disappear.

From this point on, the US military learned the lessons of the previous stage and concentrated all its efforts on bombing the area where the fighters were deployed. In order to achieve this goal, the US military has made an average of more than 1,000 sorties a day. It is said that the military air force has been on high alert for a month, and they have to be dispatched several times a day, and they are already too tired. Despite their last-ditch efforts, the numerical superiority on the part of the US military began to take effect. Five forward airfields in Southern California were severely damaged. To make matters worse, six of the seven key radar stations along the coast were bombed very fiercely, and the entire communications and command and control system was on the verge of complete paralysis. At the same time, the defense of the fighters has become very weak, and in just 10 days, 622 fighters have been destroyed or destroyed. 305 pilots were killed and 227 were seriously wounded, which was an irreparable loss for the military aviation. The army was in danger of disaster, and the entire front line was in a panic.

At 7:45 p.m. on 29 November, a huge fleet of 1,125 bombers, 876 fighters, and attack planes crossed the sea and flew straight into Hawaii from different courses and at different altitudes. The fighter unit still estimated that the US military would attack their fighter advance base again, so it took the initiative to give up the passage to Hawaii. However, this time they were fooled, and the US military has changed the target of the attack. When the pilot realized that something was wrong, it was too late to intercept the American bomber before it flew over the target. The first wave of U.S. planes accurately dropped high-explosive bombs on Pearl Harbor, Fort Oahu, and naval repair factories. All 23 squadrons roared angrily toward the American bomber group and engaged in a fierce battle over Pearl Harbor. However, they were a step too late, and in just one hour, the US military successfully poured more than 300 tons of high-explosive and incendiary bombs into Pearl Harbor. The harbor was suddenly in flames. Large and small ships, industrial facilities, transportation hubs, power networks, and barracks were destroyed one after another, and the sound of explosions, collapses, cries for help, screams, and the whistling of police cars and fire trucks soared into the sky with black smoke. The town was reduced to rubble, the grass and trees were burned to ashes, the earth trembled, and the sky groaned.

(To be continued)