975 Korean War twenty-five kamikaze came also

December 17, 1939, 10 a.m.

It is about 15 nautical miles off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. Chinese battleship Zhenyuan.

Standing on the tall bridge of the Zhenyuan, Admiral Chen Shaokuan sorted out his straight general's uniform again, and then raised the binoculars in his hand to look at Yuewei Island in the distance, which was shrouded in a pillar of smoke and fire.

Early this morning, he boarded the battleship Zhenyuan with a full set of staff members from the Beiyang Fleet Command, and at the same time, the flagship flag of the Beiyang Fleet and Chen Shaokuan's own flag were also raised on the mast of the Zhenyuan. Unlike those who like to use aircraft carriers as flagship aircraft carriers, Chen Shaokuan has always loved battleships. The three super battleships of Zhenyuan, Dingyuan and Ningyuan are his favorites, but it's a pity that the Beiyang Fleet has been raised by his mother over the years, not to mention battleships, not even heavy cruisers! finally suffered from this Korean battle, and finally raised his eyebrows.

Now the three Zhenyuan-class battleships are lined up under his flag, 27 doors L52

The 380 mm main guns were all aimed at the small island called Yuewei Island in the east, and the 800-kilogram "high muzzle velocity light projectile" had been pushed into the barrel by the automatic loader, just waiting for Chen Shaokuan, the commander-in-chief of the Beiyang Fleet, to give an order, and death and destruction would be brought to the Japanese batteries on Yuewei Island.

And now, except for the roar from the power compartment of the Zhenyuan, there was no noise in the entire battleship. All are waiting for this moment of shelling!

These three huge battleships were once a symbol of the rejuvenation of the Chinese Navy and the pride of all Chinese! But what is a little unexpected is that in addition to acting as an accomplice for the Germans in Europe, these 380mm giant guns at the Zhenyuan level have never really fought for China! So far, the Chinese Navy seems to be relying on airplanes to fight the world, and every battle is a scenario in which aircraft carriers set up the stage, airplanes sing operas, and battleships run the show. Until this Inchon landing battle, it was finally the turn of the battleship's giant cannon to be majestic, right?

Thinking of this, the Guan soldiers on the three ships of Zhenyuan, Dingyuan, and Ningyuan all hoped for a while that the dive bombers who were bombing Yuewei Island indiscriminately would show a little mercy, and that they would not destroy all the Japanese forts and fortresses, and that they would always leave some work for the battleships.

"Sir, the USS Taiwan reports that the carrier-based aircraft's air raid on Wolmi Island has ended, and now it is ready for artillery bombardment." The communications staff officer put down the phone in his hand and shouted loudly to Chen Shaokuan.

Chen Shaokuan turned around and said: "Guns, make an artillery plan, target Yuewei Island." ”

"Report distance."

"28,000 meters!"

"Adjust the course, southeast, 5 degrees to the left, and start counting the shelling of Zhuyuan."

"The shelling elements have been calculated, the direction is xx, the distance is xx."

"In the order of formation, Zhenyuan, Dingyuan, and Ningyuan fired three rounds of salvos!"

After the artillery staff officer had deployed the shelling plan, he stood in front of the console with a telephone and anxiously waited for the final order.

Chen Shaokuan was still holding a telescope and observing the situation on Yuewei Island in the distance, although the seaplanes on board the battleship had already circled over the island and sent back the situation on the island by telegram, Chen Shaokuan was still accustomed to using his own eyes to judge the situation on the battlefield.

The carrier-based planes sent by the First Air Fleet have already dropped hundreds of heavy bombs on Wolmi Island, and the Air Force has also sent medium bombers to assist in the battle, and the first wave of air raids today lasted a full hour and a half. Now that the first wave of air raid planes had left, the smoke of gunpowder on the island had gradually dissipated, and an island full of huge bomb craters and ruins had finally been revealed in front of Chen Shaokuan's eyes.

After a little searching, Chen Shaokuan found the triple 356mm armored turret located at the highest point of Yuewei Island! This is the core of the entire Incheon fortifications, and it is also the main target of the wave of bombardment just now, as long as this turret is destroyed, the remaining 240mm shore defense cannons will not be able to damage their three super battleships at all. Keep in mind that from the telescope, this once formidable turret is finished, and blue-black smoke is pouring out from the top of the turret, reaching into the sky, and only two of the three thick and long barrels remain! They all hung low and weak, and the one on the left didn't know where it was blown away!

"What's the distance now?" Chen Shaokuan put down the binoculars, a trace of disappointment slipped slightly on his face, the most important job was to finish the plane, and what was left for the battleship was just a dead target that would not fight back.

"25,000 meters!"

Chen Shaokuan took a deep breath and said loudly: "Fire!" ”

And then the whole battleship was slammed. "Boom" three Zhenyuan-class battleships fired the first salvo of the day! On the opposite island, several red muzzle flames flashed almost at the same time, and 8 carefully hidden 305mm coastal defense heavy guns also roared in unison!

Although they are at an absolute disadvantage, the Japanese fortress garrison on the island is still fighting at this moment!

Several black dots swept over the sea at a great speed, and the battleship Zhenyuan suddenly rose to the water column less than 50 meters on the port side! At the same time, there was also thick smoke billowing from the opposite island of Yuewei, and more than a dozen huge mushroom clouds rose at the same time, and the huge explosion shock wave made the entire island tremble involuntarily.

"Second round, fire!"

Just a minute later, both sides opened fire at the same time again, and there were still no more, no less, no less flashes of 8 cannon muzzle flames on the opposite island of Yuewei!

Although the power of the battleship's guns was amazing, the hit rate of long-distance shelling on the bumpy sea was always a tragedy, and it often took more than ten rounds to hit the target! Compared to the precise bombing of dive bombers, I really don't know how far it is, let alone the kamikaze planes of the Japanese.

And at the same time as the Chinese battleships and the Japanese coastal defense artillery opened fire round after round of artillery bombardment. In the command headquarters of the Second Air Force of the Navy in Sasebo, Japan, there was already an atmosphere of extreme tension. Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, head of the Naval Aviation Headquarters, arrived here by plane from Tokyo early in the morning, and before Onishi arrived, a secret order to activate the "Battle Plan No. 1" was also sent to Vice Admiral Jizaburo Ozawa, commander of the Second Air Force.

The so-called "Decisive No. 1 Operation Plan" was a contingency plan formulated in the event that the "Special No. 1 Operation" was close to failure, and the naval part of the plan called for using all the kamikaze suicide planes or P-35 missiles in its hands to launch a suicide attack on the Chinese fleet close to the Japanese mainland on an unprecedented scale!

"Ozawa-kun, how are the kamikaze warriors of the Second Air Force preparing?" As soon as Onishi Takijiro walked into Ozawa's headquarters, he didn't care about greetings, so he went straight to the point.

"Everything is ready!" Jizaburo Ozawa's grandmother's face was tightly wrinkled, and she looked like she was about to face a catastrophe. "The Wolmi Island fortress in Incheon is being attacked by carrier-based aircraft of the Shina Navy and shelled by battleships, and it seems that it will not last long."

"Battleship? Is it a town level? Onishi immediately walked to the chart table.

"It's Zhenyuan-class, there are three of them." Jizaburo Ozawa pointed his finger at the sea near Incheon on the map: "It's about 15 nautical miles from Incheon. ”

"Three Zhenyuan-class, 15 nautical miles away from Incheon, are there planes directly covered?"

"Of course, the reconnaissance planes of the army aviation stationed in North Korea were attacked by the Chinese as soon as they approached

The F-110 blasted away. ”

Takakijiro Onishi stared at the chart with his arms crossed, and all the officers were waiting for him to make up his mind.

Everyone has been ordered to know that Onishi Takijiro will take unified command of the four Japanese naval air forces deployed in Kyushu and Korea, and has the right to use more than 1,500 kamikaze suicide planes! It accounts for almost 80% of all suicide planes currently owned by the Japanese army. In other words, if this battle fails, except for the "Yamato Special Attack Force" that is still under construction, the Japanese Navy will no longer be able to resist the Chinese fleet close to the mainland! As for the main task of the combined fleet, which is still very strong according to the establishment schedule, it is to provide a guarantee for the top-secret "relocation plan".

According to the original plan, two-thirds of these suicide planes would be left for the Chinese army to land on the Japanese mainland, because the distance between the Chinese fleet and the Japanese mainland airfields would be closer, and the surprise attack would be easier to achieve. Another reason is that the kamikaze fighters who fly these aircraft are seriously undertrained, and they need time to train rigorously. However, it is clear that there is no such time now, the rout of the Korean army has exceeded everyone's expectations, and in order to save the strategic main force of the Japanese army, the only way to start the "Battle No. 1" in advance is to put those poorly trained kamikaze special attack teams into battle.

After staring at the charts for a while, Onishi Takijiro nodded emphatically: "Give the order, all the kamikaze planes belonging to the first, second, third, and fourth air fleets will be dispatched!" All fighters are also to make sorties to escort them. Tell all the aviation warriors that the rise and fall of the imperial kingdom is here to fight, and all the soldiers will work hard! ”

The last two sentences of Onishi are the famous sentences uttered by Heihachiro Togo during the Battle of Tsushima more than 30 years ago. In the next few battles in which the Japanese navy participated, the naval commanders who commanded the operations always had to learn these two sentences from Togo's tone, but at this point, such words could no longer inspire morale.

"Onishi-kun, the aircraft carrier in China hasn't been discovered yet, do you want to wait a little longer?" Jizaburo Ozawa seemed to be unwilling and reminded.

"Don't wait, the aircraft carrier of the China people must be in the waters close to the Shandong Peninsula or the Liaodong Peninsula, and there may be hundreds of shore-based aircraft guarding it." Onishi Takijiro furrowed his brows: "Relying on our little Zero fighter, it is no match for them at all." So, go now! Whether it's a battleship, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser, or even a transport ship, sink whatever ship you can! ”

At the sound of an order, in various military airfields in the northern part of Kyushu Island, one after another Type 99 kamikaze special attack planes began to take off, then Zero fighters also took off, and finally several Type 97 crit planes that served as air raid command planes also roared into the blue sky. About 1,300 warplanes were divided into several groups and flew northwest in obscurity.

"Report, the FW-200 reconnaissance aircraft has spotted the Japanese fleet! It's overwhelming, countless, I'm afraid there are thousands! Chiang Ching-kuo strode behind Chen Shaokuan with the telegram he had just received.

"Got it."

As soon as the Japanese kamikaze group left the coastline of Kyushu, it was discovered by the radar of a Chinese long-range reconnaissance plane stationed at the gate of the Japanese archipelago. After getting this news, Chen Shaokuan didn't even raise his eyelids, what about thousands of suicide planes? Around the Korean Peninsula, there are more fighters than the Air Force alone! Coupled with the hundreds of fighters of various types on the Navy's aircraft carriers, these Japanese suicide planes could do nothing but send them to their deaths.

"Sir, Commander Meng of the First Air Fleet requests us to stop the shelling of Yuewei Island and retreat in the direction of Lushun."

"Oh." Chen Shao responded slowly, but did not give the order to transfer, but asked, "When will the Japanese arrive?" ”

"About two hours later." Chiang Ching-kuo pointed to the nautical chart and said: "If we move now, we can withdraw 60 nautical miles at a speed of 30 knots, and then we will be about 170 kilometers away from Weihai Airport, and the Japanese suicide plane will not have a chance." ”

"Not the slightest chance that they will come? Those Japanese didn't really want to commit suicide, they were looking for us to die together, so we couldn't leave, and we continued to shell Wolmi Island here. ”

"But" Jiang Jingguo frowned, and just wanted to continue persuading, but Chen Shaokuan preemptively said: "Give Meng Hailong an order, let him send all the FW-190 fighters, as well as the A-4 Thunderhawk dive bombers, to cover the battleship forces; The First Air Fleet and the landing fleet will temporarily take refuge in the Bohai Strait, and the Air Force will send planes to cover them. ”

"Chief Chen, did you say that you should let the A-4 Thunder Eagle come too?" Jiang Jingguo was stunned when he heard this, and asked rhetorically.

"What? Isn't it possible? A mocking smile appeared on the corner of Chen Shaokuan's mouth: "Although the air combat performance of our A-4 Thunderhawk dive bomber is not as good as that of the FW-190, I don't know how much better it is than those suicide planes of the Japanese." And our carrier-based aircraft pilots are all elites, and their suicide plane pilots are all rookies, I used 100 FW-190s to stop their Zero, and 500 A-4s and 100 FW-190s to deal with their Type 99 special attack aircraft, even if there is a leak, use the anti-aircraft fire of the Second Fleet to deal with it. ”

"Is that okay?" Chiang Ching-kuo was stunned when he heard this. Chen Shaokuan turned his head and smiled at him slightly: "What's not to do?" Who said that dive bombers should only be used to drop bombs? Since our FW-190 can also hang bombs to bomb, why can't the A-4 not bring bombs out for air combat? Jingguo, hurry up and give orders to Commander Meng, how to play, let Commander Meng decide what to do. ”

"Your Excellency Dasa, the telegram from Incheon, the battleship formation of Shina is still shelling Wolmi Island!"

Minoru Genda looked at the white clouds and blue sky outside the cabin, as well as the dense group of Japanese planes, and nodded slightly. He narrowly escaped by parachuting after being shot down by a Chinese plane in the big air battle in November, but his right leg was broken when he landed, so today he can only fly a Type 97 crit plane that has just been equipped with radar to serve as the air commander of the entire raid.

"How far are we from the China fleet?" There was no joy or anger on Gentian's face, and he just asked lightly.

"There are less than 300 kilometers left! Sir, our surprise attack will be successful! A Japanese naval captain who was on the same plane as Genda couldn't hide his excitement.

"The reconnaissance planes of the people of China must have spotted us, so there will be no surprise attacks." Genda shook his head, then turned on the communicator and gave an order to the entire group: "I am Minoru Minoru Genda, and I am the air commander of this air raid on the Shina fleet. Now we are 300 km from the Chinese fleet! It is expected that we will soon be intercepted by the Shina fighters, and all the Zero fighters are ready to fight the enemy fighters at all costs! All kamikaze planes raise to 8,000 meters and prepare to dive into defense! After speaking, Genda reached out and patted the shoulder of the pilot sitting in front of him, and ordered: "Let's climb too, to an altitude of 8,000 meters, the high-altitude performance of the FW-190 in China is not good, and we will be safer on it." ”

At this moment, the aircraft radar operator suddenly shouted: "Enemy aircraft found!" Enemy aircraft were found, at a distance of 80, and there were at least 100 of them! Height 5000 meters! ”

Minoru Genda frowned slightly, turned on the communicator again, picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered: "I'm Minoru Genda, and I found the fighter jet of Shina!" Quantity 100, distance 80 km, height 5000 meters! Attention all Zeros, entangle the China fighters at all costs! Attention all kamikaze aircraft, immediately increase the altitude and prepare for the defense of the pitch. ”

Confrontation defense is a special tactic that Minami Genda racked his brains after the air battle in the Philippines. This tactic takes advantage of the weakness of China's FW-190 fighter with poor high-altitude performance, first raises all kamikaze aircraft to a flight altitude of 8,000 meters, and then uses dive to speed up the defense, and at the same time uses Zero fighters to fight the opponent's FW-190 to the death, and strives to make the kamikaze special attack aircraft successfully penetrate the defense as quickly as possible.

The dense Japanese planes in the sky suddenly divided into two groups of black pressurized planes, of which more than 200 Zeros accelerated and rushed straight towards the group of Chinese fighters 80 kilometers ahead, while the remaining nearly 1,000 Type 99 kamikaze attack planes desperately pulled up, preparing to seize the high altitude and then successfully penetrate the defense in one fell swoop