Minoru Minakasa Genda is a well-known fighter pilot in the Navy, and his flying skills are outstanding. During the airplane donation campaign, Gentian's three aerobatic performances amazed the people present and won the name of "Genda Stunts". Not only was he an excellent pilot, but he was an honor student when he graduated from the Naval University, and he was once given a saber by the Emperor. He has a keen eye and is quite knowledgeable, and he is indeed beyond ordinary people. At a time when the Navy had not yet awakened from the dream of "big ships and huge guns". It is by no means accidental that Yamamoto Isoroku Yamamoto revealed to Rear Admiral Takijiro Onishi, who was a professional in the air force, the idea of attacking Pearl Harbor with an aircraft carrier, and then Onishi explained it to Admiral Genda. For this, Genda Navy Nakasa knows better than anyone else. It's not a faction, it's a like-minded group of enlightened people.

Since then, Minoru Genda has been working day and night to formulate a battle plan. He immersed himself in stacks of documents, considering the terrain and studying the troops, sometimes calculating the numbers, sometimes sitting at the desk and pondering. Due to Lian Yu's excessive fatigue, Minoru Genda's eye socket collapsed. When the cherry blossoms were ready to bloom, he confidently concluded, "As long as you select the right number of people and assign the right number of troops, you can expect success." ”

After the reinstatement of Admiral Genda, Rear Admiral Onishi immediately reported the results of his study to Isoroku Yamamoto. Within a few days, Yamamoto 56 summoned the relevant personnel of the First Air Fleet to discuss the Pearl Harbor operation.

In the officer's office of the battleship Nagato, the flagship of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, who was responsible for the prestige of the Navy and the supreme commander of overseas forces, sat in the middle, with his staff on either side and the senior officers of the First Air Fleet sitting opposite. Aviation staff officer Minada Admiral Shozo was also present, and there was silence in the chief's room, and everyone sitting there stared at Chief Yamamoto. A serious and tense air fills every corner.

"The above is the general idea of this operation, and in order to complete the operation on the Southern Front, the Pearl Harbor operation must be carried out in any case. Speaking of which, it is a bit of a risk, and if it fails, the entire operation is in danger of collapse. On this point, I hope that all the officers of the combat units present here will have no qualms about giving their opinions. Yamamoto Fifty-six looked around at the people sitting with his piercing gaze.

Everyone didn't say a word. No one dares to express their opinions lightly.

After a while, Vice Admiral Nagumo Tadaichi, commander of the First Air Fleet, spoke: "Staff Officer Genda! ”

"Yes!"

"Do you think you can carry out this attack with just airplanes?"

"Yes! I think that as long as the enemy fleet is anchored in place, it will be enough to use planes alone. ”

"How many troops?"

"With the carrier-based aircraft of all aircraft carriers of the First Air Fleet, I think it will be successful."

"Where's the vigilance force?"

"In order to prepare for an encounter with the enemy's surface ships, it is necessary to send 6 battleships and 8 cruisers on the way to the attack, and another 20 destroyers to be on guard."

"What about the main target of the attack?"

"The first is aircraft carriers, and the second is battleships."

"What if the enemy discovers our attempt and comes out to block it?"

This is a critical question. The people present invariably focused their eyes on Staff Officer Gentian.

From Marshall to Pearl Harbor, the voyage reached more than 2,000 nautical miles. In such a round trip, large warships are different, and destroyers with relatively small endurance certainly need to be refueled halfway. However, it is inconceivable that a fleet dragged down by oil tankers with limited speed will encounter the US fleet. Can you be sure of victory? Everyone unanimously focused their attention on Minoru Genda,.

"Then we have to fight it out at sea. Since we have overwhelming air superiority, we do not have to worry about encountering the enemy at sea, on the contrary, this is undesirable. I think the problem is in the enemy's shore-based aviation forces. If our side carries out a strong attack on the enemy's air base with superior air forces, it will be prepared to pay considerable casualties. Therefore, it is extremely important not to make the enemy aware of our intentions. ”

"Oh, that's a surprise attack!"

"Yes. …… In my opinion, it is better to attack at dawn. ”

"Well, but ......" Lieutenant General Nagumo Tadaichi asked like a cannonball, "when the situation is urgent, it is at a moment of imminent explosion; Will the U.S. fleet still stay in Pearl Harbor? In addition, the patrol planes of the US military bases on the islands of the Pacific are probably also heavily guarded, and it is almost impossible for them to pass through the enemy's warning curtain without being discovered by the enemy. ”

Nagumo Zhongyi paused for a moment, and then, with some excitement, continued: "Moreover, as long as it is discovered by an enemy plane or a submarine, it will inevitably be blocked, and the battle will be frustrated. In this way, it will not only affect the southern front, but will obviously lead to the bankruptcy of the entire war situation in the future. ”

Nagumo Zhong glanced at Yamamoto Fifty-six and said, "I think that this battle plan itself contains too many risk-taking factors. ”

Yamamoto didn't answer. He closed his eyes slightly, crossed his arms, and listened quietly.

"Chief Nagumo:" Rear Admiral Tabun Yamaguchi, commander of the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron, suddenly asked, "So, what does the commander think should be done?" ”

Nagumo Zhong said categorically: "In any case, the Pearl Harbor operation was just a risky operation to stop the enemy. If it succeeds, it's good. In the event of failure, the entire operation will be wasted, and half of the strength of our First Air Fleet will be lost. In this way, the balance of forces between us and the enemy will collapse. If the gains outweigh the losses, it really makes people feel that it is too dangerous to conduct combat guidance in this way. It is better to concentrate all forces on the southern front in order to achieve the operational objective as soon as possible and ensure an undefeated strategic posture. After that, the annihilation of the US Pacific Fleet will be nine out of ten. I believe that by concentrating all naval forces to fight on the southern front, we can not worry about the containment of the US Pacific Fleet. On the basis of the above reasons, he was opposed to the Pearl Harbor operation. ”

When the staff of the combined fleet heard this, they looked at each other. Nagumo Zhong is reasonable, especially the policy of the Military Command Department is to advocate concentrating troops to fight on the southern front. It was Isoroku Yamamoto who proposed the Pearl Harbor operation, but the supreme commander of the Pearl Harbor operation should be Vice Admiral Nagumo, so it is no wonder that all the staff members looked at each other.

However, Yamamoto still closed his eyes and did not say a word.

"I totally approve of the Pearl Harbor operation." Everyone's eyes suddenly moved to the speaker.

Rear Admiral Tabun Yamaguchi said excitedly, "As Chief Nagumo said, the Pearl Harbor operation was very risky. However, the U.S. fleet poses a great threat to the Pacific Ocean, and we cannot ignore it until we conduct operations on the southern front. The US Navy has a strong will to fight. The Pacific Fleet is bound to rally the navies of Britain, the Netherlands, and Australia to launch a counterattack on our southern front. Even if the landing on the southern front is successful, if our supply lines are attacked and disturbed, or even if the enemy takes advantage of the situation to disturb the mainland, the situation of the war will be difficult to contain. So I think that in terms of operations, the first thing to do is to deal a fatal blow to Pearl Harbor. Moreover, our main enemy is the US Navy. In my opinion, it would be better to devote all the aircraft carrier forces of the First Air Fleet to the Pearl Harbor operation. Putting all the naval forces into the air and making Hawaii the main direction of operations is the right topic. For these reasons, I fully agree with the Pearl Harbor operation. In order to ensure success, I hope to develop a one-size-fits-all approach. ”

The people present immediately discussed the two opinions, for and against, diametrically opposed. Some agreed with Nagumo Tadaichi's view, while others affirmed that Yamaguchi's statement was correct.

However, Yamamoto Fifty-six still did not speak, and he listened attentively to everyone's discussions. After everyone had finished what they wanted to say, he said solemnly: "I have heard all your views on the Pearl Harbor operation. My opinion is that Pearl Harbor must be hit anyway! ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six's tone was so impassioned that the audience was silent. He looked around for a moment, and then said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please understand that as long as I am still in the position of commander of the Combined Fleet, this battle must be fought. I hope you will look into all measures. ”

Yamamoto Fifty-six ruled on the House of Representatives; Everyone sitting here felt that Yamamoto Isoroku had made up his mind.

Suddenly, Yamamoto Fifty-six shouted: "Staff Officer Genda!" ”

"Yes!" Minoru Genda looked at the chief and replied loudly.

"Commander-in-Chief of the Air Raid Flying Team, who do you think is the best person?"

"Yes!" This unexpected question made Minoru Genda unable to answer for a while. "I think Yuantian can."

"Fuchita?" Chief Yamamoto asked rhetorically.

"Last year, he served as the flight captain of the 'Pancheng', and is now the staff officer of the Third Aircraft Carrier Combat Team." Nagumo Zhongyi replied for him.

"Well, that's that Fuchida, I remember. He could. Yamamoto nodded deeply.

Mitsu Fuchita, who was scheduled to be the commander-in-chief of the Pearl Harbor Air Raid Air Force, was a classmate of the Naval Academy. Both of them are outstanding graduates of the Aviation Department of the Naval University, and they are good friends. Mitsuo Fuchida, who is nearly 40 years old, has 15 years of aviation experience, has flown thousands of hours, and is still a veteran flyer.

Fuchida received an order from Vice Admiral Nagumo, commander of the First Air Fleet, to serve as the commander-in-chief of the joint training, and was responsible for leading the joint formation training of the six aircraft carriers of the fleet (the "Pancheng" and "Tenryu" of the First Aircraft Carrier Squadron, the "Soryu" and "Flying Dragon" of the Second Aircraft Carrier Squadron, and the "Zuihe" and "Shozuru" of the Third Aircraft Carrier Squadron).

In the office of the Chief of Staff of the First Air Fleet of the USS Pancheng, Vice Admiral Nagumo Tadaichi, commander of the First Air Fleet, and Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, chief of staff, and his staff gathered around Fuchida in front of the sand tables on Oahu and Pearl Harbor to study.

Outside the window, under the afternoon sun, the blue waves of Ariake Bay are particularly dazzling. Loquat Island, bathed in the Kuroshio (a warm current that flows from south to north along the main archipelago), is lush with tropical plants. The traffic boat of the "Pancheng" sometimes breaks the waves to and from Ariake Bay. There was a scene of peace all around. In this chief of staff room on the ship, the air is active for a while, and tense for a while: Fuchida holds the chart in his hand and looks at the sand table, but he doesn't say a word, and his brows show a confused look.

"Staff Officer Genda," Fuchida asked, "will torpedo planes or bombers carry out the main attack?" ”

Staff Officer Genda took a breath and replied, "I think it's the main attack with torpedoes." ”

"Torpedo Attack...... However, the water is too shallow, and the place is narrow. Fuchida said in an embarrassed tone.

"Yes, that's the problem." Genda then pointed to the charts and said, "Pearl Harbor is only 12 meters deep. There were mooring posts on both sides of Ford Island, where aircraft carriers or battleships were docked presumably side by side. The distance from the opposite shore to the target is only five hundred meters from the sea surface, where the shore is the area of the naval shipyard with such tall obstacles as large chimneys, cranes. It was difficult to carry out a torpedo attack. ”

"Yes, it's difficult." Fuchida smiled bitterly and nodded, "The method of torpedo attacks by torpedo planes is generally to launch torpedoes at an altitude of 100 meters and a target distance of 1000 to 1500 meters; After entering the water, the torpedo dives to a depth of 60 meters, and then rises to four to six meters above the water by the action of the rudder and rushes to the target. But the water depth of Pearl Harbor is only 12 meters, so there is no way, because the torpedoes will all go to the bottom of the sea. ”

"However, the bombing alone is not effective, and the expected results cannot be achieved." Staff Officer Genda looked at Fuchida Navy Shaozo and continued, "Yuantian-kun, can you think of a way to carry out a torpedo attack?" It doesn't make sense to use torpedoes where they can be attacked. Where the torpedoes could not be attacked, the enemy was paralyzed. Therefore, a torpedo attack by surprise there would have been much more fruitful. How about it, let's figure it out? For example, there is always a way to reduce the launch altitude and the like, right? ”

"Okay, let's try and see. But you can't just do torpedo attacks, because this guy is not easy to do, and not just any pilot can do it. You have to be good at it, and you have to be well-trained. It's too late for poor training. In addition, in the event that the enemy lays mine barriers, it will be useless. Therefore, horizontal bombing is also needed. ”

"Isn't it okay to just dive bombing," Nagumo asked from the side.

"This, the battleship is very heavily armored, and it can't be blown up by dive bombing. At best, it can only destroy deck equipment. In order to deal a fatal blow to a battleship, it was necessary to carry out horizontal bombing at the same time. Fuchida said.

"Oh, but it's still possible for aircraft carriers, right?" Nagumo asked again.

"Yes. Aircraft carriers are structurally fragile, and dive bombing is sufficient. So, I think, a fleet of dive bombers can be used as the main force for attacking aircraft carriers. ”

"If horizontal bombers are used at the same time, and they have to be properly coordinated with torpedo attacks, this is a problem." Minoru Genda said.

"If the horizontal bombing method is adopted, it is generally an attack unit with a formation of nine planes. In this method of bombing, instead of dropping bombs in turn (the bombs dropped by a single plane in turn are likely to have a mission success rate equal to zero), nine planes dropped bombs at the same time, striving for at least one of them to hit the bomb. That is, the hit rate of the bombs dropped by the nine-plane formation was only one. In order to increase the hit rate, it is necessary to increase the number of attack units, which requires the addition of a lot of aircraft. Fuchida said.

"It shouldn't matter, Chief Yamamoto will give me two more aircraft carriers." The chief of staff of Caolu interjected, "In short, the flight captain should quickly organize training according to this plan, but don't leak secrets, because the content of the plan is conveyed downward, and it is not yet the time." What do you think about the issue of the ratio of aircraft missions and other specific details, which should be weighed and compared with the results of training and research, and then a step-by-step decision? ”

"Yes, that's it. We also had to contact the technical department and ask them to study in detail the issues of shallow sea torpedo attacks, improving bomb penetration, and cutting lightning barriers. Minoru Genda said.

After careful discussion, several people put the idea of attacking Pearl Harbor into practice.

In the end, Kusaka said to Fuchida: "Let me tell you again, this is a military aircraft (at that time, it was said that the secret level in the army was divided into three levels: secret, military secret, and military aircraft. Military aircraft are the highest level of secret, equivalent to China's top secret), and must not be leaked. In the process of training, only the implementation of the subject is told to the pilots, but they cannot be perceived the ultimate purpose of the training, this requirement is not easy to do! ”

"Yes!" Fuchida Navy Shozo thought for a moment and said, "Please allow it to be revealed only to Captain Murata, the captain of the torpedo fleet." Shallow sea torpedo attacks were very important, and Captain Murata was mainly responsible for this task. If he doesn't understand the intentions, I'm afraid the training instructor will be out of shape. ”

"Murata?" The grass deer thought for a moment, and then said, "It's okay." In short, time is running out, so we need to hurry up. ”

Nanyun Zhongyi looked around at the people sitting and said, "This is the last move to turn things around and live or die, so you must succeed!" Let's work together! ”

"Yes!" Fuchida and the others replied in unison.

One autumn day, the weather was clear. In front of you is the azure Kagoshima Bay, and Sakurajima Island on the water, bathed in the warm autumn sun. Kamise Island and Oki Island are dotted on the surface of the sea like droplets of rocks. From a distance, the scenery is picturesque and beautiful.

"As of yesterday, the basic training for combat at sea was basically completed. From today, training in the application of shallow sea torpedo attacks will begin, learning how to attack moored ships. ”

Fuchida said casually to the pilots standing in front of him, as if he were announcing a general training subject. If you were an ordinary person, you would inevitably swallow a mouthful of saliva or quietly pay attention to the pilot's face, and even if you insist on pretending to be calm, you will inevitably make people aware of the seriousness of the problem in some kind of action. However, Fuchida's attitude is no different from usual, and his tone will even make people not pay attention to what he is talking about.

Captain Murata secretly cheered: "Really good, well spoken!" At the same time, he felt that the person Fuchida was simply terrifying.

Fuchida continued to lecture quietly: "Today, use Coach Lei to simulate the attack, and do not shoot live. Get the hang of it. First, after taking off and assembling, led by the squadron leader, it rose to two thousand meters. Fly to the east of Sakurajima and begin to prepare for the attack. He gestured with his hand and said, "Fly halfway up the Sakurajima mountain and descend into the Katu River Gorge." The distance between the machines is 500 meters. The flight altitude is 50 meters as it zigzags through the canyon, and then it flies from Kawasaki Valley to the skies over Kagoshima City, at which point it flies at an altitude of 40 meters. ”

(To be continued)