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Chapter 455: Sino-American Atlantic Naval Battle (4)

Due to the endless disputes between the US military top brass over the excessive losses of the US bomber group, the US Air Force was worried that the remaining 200 O-400 bombers would be completely lost and lose their air strategic deterrence against the Chinese Emperor, so these bombers were restricted from performing their duties and stayed at the airfield. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

If it is said that three hours ago, the naval aviation of the Chinese Empire made a mistake by underestimating the strategic strike force of the US Air Force and allowing the US military to succeed in its sneak attack. The U.S. Air Force at this moment has also made the same mistake. Because the air battle at the Norfolk base was very tragic and the US combat aircraft lost more than 1,000 aircraft, in order to cope with the ensuing retaliatory actions of the Imperial Chinese naval aviation, the US high command believed that the Chinese Emperor would choose to retaliate over the Norfolk base, so the Norfolk base urgently needed to replenish more fighters.

As a result, the US Air Force Command transferred a large number of combat aircraft from Newbotnius, Gloucester and Rover Air Force bases to the Norfolk base. The US military considered that in order to preserve the strength of the bombers, Shangfeng would not assign any more tasks to the bomber group in a short period of time, so the 400 fighters that were originally responsible for the escort mission of the US bomber group were also withdrawn. As a result, the bomber group at the airfield lost fighter protection, and the small amount of anti-aircraft fire close to the airfield could not stop the retaliatory actions of the Imperial Chinese naval aviation.

Just after four o'clock, 200 Hellfire fighters of the Imperial Chinese Naval Air Force flew over the airfield of Newbotnius.

Not long after the alarm was sounded at the air defense post at the US airfield, the two hundred Hellfire fighters swooped down.

With a long whistling sound, the fighter jets of the Chinese Emperor ** approached the airport like lightning, and the pilots all with a vengeful rage, aimed at the US bombers parked on the airport and pressed the rocket launch button.

Because the Chinese Emperor was not satisfied with the effect of the rocket air combat of the Hellfire fighter, this kind of rocket was better used as a ground attack, before the Chinese Imperial Air Force had repeatedly used air-launched rockets to attack the tanks on the ground of the US army, so it had accumulated a lot of actual combat experience, and at this moment the attack on the US bombers parked at the airport had a great accuracy, as simple as a fixed target.

"Boom!"

A series of violent explosions sounded, and the US bombers were hit one after another, exploded and caught fire.

Each Hellfire fighter carries eight rockets, and the two hundred fighters fire a total of 1,600 rockets. Although the explosive yield of rockets is far inferior to that of aerial bombs, it is more than enough to deal with aircraft without armor protection.

In just two minutes, more than half of the US bombers on the airfield were destroyed.

After the rockets were depleted, the Imperial Chinese naval aviation continued to attack with heavy machine guns.

"Tom tom!"

Each Hellfire fighter has a six-meter heavy machine gun, and the firepower is extremely ferocious. In an instant, the bullets that fell from the sky were like torrential rain, and the planes were smashed into hornet's nests, and some of them exploded and caught fire after hitting the fuel tanks. Bullets in the head and torso cause instant death, and even more pain if the limbs are hit, and in addition to the pain of losing the arms and feet, if the bleeding cannot be stopped within two minutes, then you will face a painful death after the blood has flowed.

Seven or eight out of ten people in the US military encountered such a situation, and the ground was suddenly filled with ghosts and wolves, and their heart-rending screams made the Imperial Chinese naval aviation in the air able to comfort the souls of their comrades and comrades who had sacrificed their lives.

Three minutes after the artillery fire, more than 100 US bombers were destroyed at the Newbotnius airfield, as were some trainer planes, reconnaissance planes, and spare planes.

After another two minutes, the remaining quarter-of-the-plane fighters poured the last of their ammunition onto targets such as the tower, oil depot, ammunition depot, and hangar of the US military airfield, causing explosions at the airfield and soon catching fire.

At 4:11, the naval aviation of the Chinese Empire, which had attacked Newbotnius, completed its mission and began to return home.

Twenty minutes later, the 200 fighters responsible for attacking the Rover airfield also completed their mission, destroying all the U.S. bombers on the Rover airfield. Forty minutes later, the third BO200 Hellfire fighter also completed the attack mission at the farthest Gloucester airfield, where 47 American bombers were destroyed, and there was a windfall, where more than 100 early O-100 bombers and dozens of fighters under maintenance were parked, and they were taken away.

On board the aircraft carrier Emeishan, Wang Jiancheng breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the three BO attack aircraft groups had completed their mission and wiped out all the US bombers on all three airfields, and only then did he report the completed report to fleet commander Li Dingxin.

When Li Dingxin received Wang Jiancheng's report, he was very dissatisfied with the loss of combat effectiveness of the Third Aircraft Carrier Battle Group, believing that Wang Jiancheng's aircraft carrier battle group had brought shame to the Imperial Navy. However, after learning that the US Air Force has new bombers and that there are not a few of them, he couldn't help but gasp. If this American bomber group had not attacked the third aircraft carrier battle group, but had attacked the main battleship echelon of the Imperial Navy, the consequences would have been even more unimaginable, because the fleet anti-aircraft firepower of the battleship echelon would be even worse. It was only at this time that Li Dingxin rushed to his back and felt a chill, once upon a time he was still loyal to the belief that the decision of naval battle was in the hands of battleships, but with the attack on the third aircraft carrier battle group, his idea of giant ship artillery doctrine began to waver, and air supremacy was no longer limited to the air, but also had absolute influence on sea supremacy.

Liu Guanxiong explained: "Although the third aircraft carrier battle group has lost its combat effectiveness, it has also fought out more than 1,500 new US bombers and knocked out three US airfields. ”

Li Dingxin nodded, and asked with a hint of suspicion: "Wang Jiancheng's report said that he destroyed more than 1,500 new bombers of the US military, could it be that he lied about his war exploits for fear of being held accountable?" ”

Liu Guanxiong thought for a while and said: "There will definitely be some moisture, but with Wang Jiancheng's style, there will not be too much moisture, and it is credible to destroy 1,000 planes." ”

Li Dingxin sighed and said: "Forget it, the aircraft carrier battle group is also a part of our navy, and this matter must not let our navy take the blame, since the intelligence bureau made a mistake, this responsibility will be passed on to them." ”

Liu Guanxiong smiled: "You are too tight!" It's just that in this way, the people in the intelligence bureau are going to scold my mother. ”

Li Dingxin smiled: "Has it been like this since ancient times? When the army wins a battle, the credit belongs to the army, and if it loses a battle, the responsibility naturally lies with the intelligence department, and I think they should have this awareness. ”

Liu Guanxiong nodded, noncommittal.

Subsequently, Li Dingxin called Wang Jiancheng back, in order to save the face of the navy, Li Dingxin decided to let the intelligence bureau bear the blame, but how to punish the navy is not soft. Zeng Jitang, commander of the Third Aircraft Carrier Battle Group, was dismissed from his post, Wang Jiancheng and others were notified of criticism, and there was a demerit within the Navy.

In this regard, Zeng Jitang shouted that he was wronged, saying that the fleet command deliberately sacrificed him, and this responsibility was not his. Wang Jiancheng was punished with a demerit and felt unfair, but he understood that someone had to take responsibility for this matter, so he could only wronged Zeng Jitang.

After this incident, the Imperial Chinese Navy raised its air defense alert force, and every time the aircraft carrier battle group went out to fight planes, it required that one-third of the combat planes be kept on guard, and the naval aviation units had to make a radio report and return home order when they returned home, and in the event of an unclear target, the naval fleet's air defense alert warships were given the order to open fire directly.

At the same time, the Imperial Navy battleship echelon also strengthened the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower and mobilized more air defense warships to protect the fleet.

Beginning on 3 July, the Imperial Chinese Naval Air Force intensified its air raids on the Norfolk base, trying to force the main forces of the US Navy to leave there and come out for a decisive battle with the main forces of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

In order to put pressure on the US Navy, the echelon of battleships of the Imperial Chinese Navy began to carry out indiscriminate shelling of dozens of large and medium-sized cities on the east coast of the United States, causing heavy economic losses and numerous civilian casualties in these cities. On this basis, the U.S. government strongly condemned the atrocities of the Chinese Emperor, but they were all ignored by the Chinese Empire.

The American people were greatly frightened by this, and the agents of the Chinese Empire created public opinion unfavorable to the US military in various parts of the United States, declaring that the US Navy would not dare to go to war, huddled in the bases, and surrendered sea supremacy to the Chinese Imperial Navy, and it would not be long before the Chinese Empire would land on the east coast of the United States.

The news spread quickly, causing panic among the American people. The U.S. Navy was criticized, and eventually the U.S. government could not resist the pressure and was forced to remove Benson from his post as Secretary of the Navy and replace Admiral Edward W. Eberly as the Supreme Commander of the U.S. Navy.

Admiral Eberly was a typical admirer of Mahan's cannonism, and after he took office, in order to appease the anger of the people, he gave the order for the main fleet of the U.S. Navy to go to sea to meet the enemy. His report to the US High Command said that the US Air Force had suffered extremely heavy losses in the battle against the Imperial Air Force of China, and that if this continued, it would lose air supremacy sooner or later. Once air supremacy is lost, the U.S. Navy will be wiped out inside the base port. Instead of waiting until the air force is exhausted in a decisive battle with the Chinese Imperial Navy, it is better to take advantage of the air force to fight a decisive battle with the Chinese Imperial Navy. As long as the aircraft carrier fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy is eliminated, then the air threat on the east coast of the United States can be removed, and with the strength of the capital ships of the United States Navy, even if the Imperial Chinese Navy cannot be driven out, the security of the American coast can be defended.

When questioned by the US High Command if he would deal with the attack and harassment of the Imperial Chinese Naval Aviation, Eberly argued that as long as the US Navy operates within 200 kilometers of the coastal waters, then a large number of US planes deployed by the US Air Force in coastal city airports will provide air cover, and as long as the combat planes of the Chinese Imperial Navy's aircraft carrier battle group are towed, then he will be sure to lead the US Navy to defeat the Imperial Chinese Navy.

Eberly's self-confidence convinced the wavering U.S. High Command, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to his plan of operations.

On the evening of 4 July, Eberly arrived at the Norfolk base, boarded the battleship North Carolina, the flagship of the U.S. Ocean Fleet, and led the U.S. Ocean Fleet to leave the Norfolk Naval Base at 11 o'clock that night and began to patrol the east coast of the United States to prevent the Imperial Chinese Navy from shelling cities along the U.S. coast.

The news of the departure of the main fleet of the US Navy from the Norfolk base was quickly discovered by the submarines of the Imperial Chinese Navy and quickly reported to the Combined Fleet Command.

When Li Dingxin learned of this news, he was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly convened a meeting at and above the level of commander of the team to discuss how to eliminate the main force of the US Navy.

Since the US Navy has only five aircraft carriers, the Imperial Chinese Navy aircraft carrier battle group has an absolute advantage. However, if the US Navy does not enter the Atlantic Ocean and operates only in the coastal waters, they have the cover of coastal air forces. The runway facilities at St. Davie's Air Force Base in Bermuda, the Chinese Empire, have not yet been repaired, and a large number of Air Force aircraft are unable to support naval operations. Relying solely on the combat aircraft of naval aviation will probably be pinned down by the US Air Force, so naval aviation may not be able to help, and it is likely that the echelon of battleships will have to fight alone.

Under such circumstances, Li Dingxin was a little hesitant, because he did not know how many combat planes the US Air Force had, and once his own naval aviation was pinned down and the US Air Force still had the strength to attack the battleship echelon, it would be very dangerous.

"We have to give it a try anyway, now the new bomber fleet of the US Air Force has been hit hard by us, and if we delay, once the Americans build more new bombers, then we will be passive."

"The industrial capacity of the United States is not much worse than ours, so delaying it can only lead to a war of attrition. The Army has landed on the US mainland, and our Navy must fight a good battle or two, otherwise what is the face? ”

In the end, the number of people who supported the decisive battle accounted for the overwhelming majority, so Li Dingxin decided to find the main fleet of the US Navy for a decisive battle tomorrow.

However, before the decisive battle, the Imperial Chinese Navy still had to do its homework, that is, to send a detachment of battle cruisers to be bait.

As in the Battle of Jutland, the Imperial Chinese Navy sent four battle cruisers to bombard the port of Wilmington, and the main fleet lay in ambush in the Atlantic Ocean off the Gulf of Delaware, and once the main fleet or detachment of the U.S. Navy arrived to expel it, it was destroyed on the spot.

According to Li Dingxin's tactics, the main fleet of the US Navy is an elephant at this time, while the main force of the Imperial Chinese Navy is a lion.

Of course, Li Dingxin also took this decision into consideration. Because he knew that the number of battleships in the main fleet of the US Navy was amazing, twice the number of capital ships in the battleship echelon of the Imperial Chinese Navy at the moment, although Li Dingxin believed that the capital ships of the Imperial Navy could surpass the capital ships of the same kind in the United States, but the tigers could not withstand the attacks of the wolves, so he had to plan for the worst.

At 4 a.m. on July 5, four battle cruisers and four light cruisers of the Imperial Chinese Navy, the Sui Wendi Yang Jian [BBC-13], the Sui Yang Emperor Yang Guang [BBC-14], the Jin Wudi [BBC-11], and the Jin Huidi [BBC-12] sailed into the Delaware Bay and shelled the port of Wilmington.

"Knock knock!"

The nine 381-mm main guns of the Sui Wendi battlecruiser opened fire with a flickering muzzle fire, like lightning and thunder in the dark.

The sound of cannons pierced the silence of the city, and the falling cannonballs exploded with a roar, and the earth trembled in an instant, the glass shattered instantly, and countless fiery red mushroom clouds rose into the sky, instantly lighting up the streets and alleys of the city