After the Chinese bombs prevented the Akagi from performing the function of a flagship, Rear Admiral Lovech, commander of the Eighth Cruiser Squadron, of course, temporarily assumed command of Nagumo's forces on his own flagship, the heavy cruiser Alaska.

At the same time, Rear Admiral Tabun Yamaguchi, commander of the Second Aircraft Carrier Squadron, took over the command of the air operation, because Rear Admiral Yamaguchi's flagship, the Flying Dragon, was the only aircraft carrier that was not damaged in the fierce attack of Chinese fighters.

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi was a first-rate general in the Japanese Navy. When he graduated from the Naval Academy, he was second in his class. Unlike those who can't transfer their talents from the classroom to battle, he is brave and far-sighted, a strong commander with a clear mind and the ability to make quick decisions.

Although defeat was assured, as long as the Allies still had a little fighting strength, they had to continue fighting. Rear Admiral Lovich immediately ordered the commander of the 10th Destroyer Squadron, Rear Admiral Susumu Kimura, to lead the light cruiser Nagara and six destroyers, guarding the wounded three aircraft carriers. After Nagumo Tadaichi and his staff were transferred to the Nagara, the Nagara became Nagumo's flagship. Two destroyers were assigned to cover each wounded aircraft carrier and were prepared to transfer their crews in the event that any warship had to abandon it. The rest of Nagumo's forces, centered on the Wyvern, continued to gradually spread north.

Every second counts. Rear Admiral Yamaguchi decided to immediately launch an attack on the Chinese aircraft carrier.

At 10:40 a.m., an attack team consisting of 28 dive bombers and 16 Gale planes took off under the leadership of Admiral Michio Kobayashi, commander of the Flying Dragon. Captain Kobayashi has been accompanying Nagumo's troops in all operations.

The Kobayashi attack team flew to the Chinese ship from a height of 4,000 meters. On the way to the target. They found that the Chinese carrier-based aircraft was returning home. Kobayashi motioned for his pilot to quietly track the Chinese fighters. However, two escort fighters rashly pounced on the Chinese torpedo bombers, leaving the Kobayashi escort force with only fourteen Gale.

Subsequently, when they had not yet approached the Chinese aircraft carrier fleet, they reluctantly discovered that the Chinese fighters who intercepted them had already been lined up.

A small-scale air battle was staged in full swing the moment the two sides met. When finally the four dive bombers finally passed through the Chinese interception net and approached the Chinese aircraft carrier formation. Several anti-aircraft missiles were launched into the air, so that the four slow dive bombers did not even have a chance to dive to the optimal bomb dropping height. Still, four bombs were dropped. One of them exploded next to one of the First Emperor-class aircraft carriers in the formation.

In this attack. Including Kobayashi's plane, except for two bombers who saw that the situation was bad and fled back, the others. No one was spared.

The four bomber pilots who returned home brought back only sporadic reports. The picture of Soyue is incomplete. These reports summarize that they dropped a total of four bombs. But I don't know how many hits, and I say it differently. They recounted, shooting down about seven fighters. But. On one thing they agreed on was that a Chinese aircraft carrier was hit, and they saw a huge column of smoke rise from the aircraft carrier.

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi concluded that the aircraft carrier had been hit by at least two 250-kilogram bombs and was seriously damaged.

The aircraft carrier they called was indeed a little injured. The bomb that exploded next to it caused some trouble for the aircraft carrier. But with the efforts of the damage management team, this trouble was quickly eliminated. The aircraft carrier was not affected much either.

The dive bombers who fled back were mainly focused on the escape route, and they did not confirm it at all.

As a matter of fact, immediately after the initial discovery of the China aircraft carrier, Nagumo Tadaichi ordered the Soryu to send its new high-speed reconnaissance plane to keep in touch with China and find out the strength of the Chinese army. The plane took off immediately afterward, but no report was ever returned. On its way back, the aircraft found that the Soryu had been hit by a bullet and caught fire, so it landed on the deck of the Wyvern.

The pilot was summoned to Rear Admiral Yamaguchi, who explained to Yamaguchi: "The transmitter was out of order and could not be reported in time, so the Allies hurried back to report that there was a huge aircraft carrier in the Chinese forces, with a displacement estimated at more than 80,000 tons, and using unknown power, no chimneys were found." The other two aircraft carriers are the First Emperor of China!"

Although the number of aircraft used by the Chinese side in the first attack has already shown that the Chinese forces did not have only one aircraft carrier as previously reported, this news is still very shocking. Now, the Flying Dragon, along with the USS Wasp and USS Yorktown, face three of China's first-class aircraft carriers, only one of which was slightly damaged. Moreover, among the three aircraft carriers there is a very mysterious supercarrier.

Nagumo Zhongyi felt that the pressure had increased a lot all of a sudden.

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi decided to launch a second attack with all the available aircraft. He chose the captain of the Flying Dragon, Captain Tomanaga Shoshi, to lead the only forty torpedo planes and twenty-six fighters in the formation. This is the last power of three aircraft carriers.

Tomanaga's plane's left wing fuel tank was damaged during an air raid on the Mariana Islands and had not yet had time to repair it. The ground crew of his plane raised the question. Tomoyong just said with a smile: "It's okay, don't worry, let it go in the left tank, just fill up the other tank." ”

The ground crew hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Okay!" But do you want to push your plane to the take-off line?"

Tokunaga tightened his flight suit and calmly replied, "Go ahead and do it, it's time to take off." "Just like that, Tokunaga's injured plane was pushed to the take-off line.

Several of Tokunaga's pilots asked to switch planes with him, but he smiled and refused. Everyone knows that the amount of fuel on the plane is not enough, but no one has said anything. It was useless to speak, because he had already made up his mind.

Preparations for takeoff were completed at 12:45 p.m. Sixty-six planes immediately took off, including Japanese gales, American pirate flags and Hellcats, and rushed to the Chinese fleet in formation.

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi watched motionlessly as the plane took off in order, led by a man who knew he would never return. Everyone present stood there solemnly and silently. I am deeply saddened by such cruel things that do not tolerate humanity in war. One by one, the planes flew off the flight deck, and people silently waved goodbye to them, tears welling up in their eyes.

At 14:26, the attack team spotted a Chinese aircraft carrier with several escort aircraft about ten nautical miles ahead. Tomanaga ordered his pilots to come forward and attack. The Chinese fighters escorting the ship tried to intercept them, but they were immediately entangled by the Allied Gale and Hellcat fighters, and the torpedo bombers sped towards the aircraft carrier.

At 14:32, Yusui ordered the fleet to disperse in order to carry out the attack from different directions. Two minutes later, he gave the order to attack. The planes immediately descended from two thousand meters to only about a hundred meters above the sea. Rush to the Chinese aircraft carrier. 14:45. Captain Tokunaga reported that two mines hit the target. An hour and a half later, it was determined that the aircraft carrier belonged to the First Emperor class.

It was not until 16:30 that the surviving Allied planes returned to the Wyvern. Only then did everyone know the details of the attack. Sixty-six carrier-based aircraft departed. When you come back. Only five torpedo aircraft and three fighters returned to the formation.

The pilots reported that a Chinese aircraft carrier was hit by a torpedo and also heavily damaged a heavy cruiser. But later intelligence notes. The so-called hit on a heavy cruiser was actually an Allied plane splashing into the sea next to the ship. It was also reported that eight Chinese Sea Hawk-3 fighters were shot down.

According to the Chinese side after the war, the First Emperor-class aircraft carrier Han Wendi did encounter four torpedoes at around 14:42, but it successfully avoided the four torpedoes fired at it. Shortly after the first attack by Allied aircraft underwent emergency repairs, at about 14:30, its radar detected Allied planes approaching it. The Emperor Wen of Han immediately took off six fighters in an attempt to intercept the Allied aircraft.

About twelve nautical miles from Emperor Wen of Han, the Allied torpedo fleet was intercepted by two other fighters, but suffered no losses. The torpedo fleet braved the unprecedented heavy anti-aircraft fire and approached the Emperor Wen of Han. Of the forty torpedo planes, thirty-two were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery fire, and another eight torpedo planes managed to break through the barrage of Chinese defenses.

At this time, four more torpedo planes were shot down, and only five torpedoes were fired at Emperor Wen of Han. However, due to the extremely fierce fire of the Chinese air defense, especially near the strongest air defense area of the fleet, that is, 60 meters to 1,000 meters above the fleet. This is within the strongest killing range of the Chinese fleet's unique anti-aircraft phalanx.

Although the four torpedo planes broke through, due to the dense firepower, they could not be accurate when dropping torpedoes. Torpedoes are also relatively scattered, making it difficult to pose a major threat.

As fully expected, Admiral Tomanaga's plane did not return. Toshiro Hashimoto was in the first attack wave of the Mariana Islands as an observer and Tomanaga were on the same plane, but during this attack he was on another plane. He saw with his own eyes the death of the captain. He said: "His plane, because of its yellow tail, could be seen clearly when it rushed through the heavy anti-aircraft fire that the Allies had never seen before, and he threw a torpedo, and after a while, his plane was also shattered, and in the face of such heavy artillery fire, an attack on this aircraft carrier would be tantamount to a suicidal ramming." ”

The second attack by the planes of the Wyvern, the Wasp, and the Yorktown on the Chinese warships in the Battle of the Mariana Islands, and the last attack launched by the Allied forces in the first encounter, ended there. Both the pilots who participated in the attack and Rear Admiral Yamaguchi, who listened to the pilots' reports, believed that the targets of the first and second hits were different, and therefore two of the Chinese aircraft carriers suffered fatal damage. In fact, the targets of both attacks were the Emperor Wen of Han. The Han Wendi was quickly repaired after the first attack, so the Tomanaga torpedo fleet took it as another undamaged aircraft carrier.

After three air assaults by Task Force Nagumo, including air strikes on the Mariana Islands, its aircraft had been depleted. When the last plane of the Toonaga fleet landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier at 16:30, the Wyvern was left with only six fighters, five dive bombers, and four torpedo planes.

The pilots who had been engaged in the desperate battle since dawn were exhausted, as were the crews. When the Flying Dragon's planes attacked China, the Flying Dragon itself became the target of China's repeated fierce attacks. From sunrise onwards, the Wyvern, the Wasp, and the Yorktown were attacked by seventy-nine Chinese fighters, although they managed to dodge a total of twenty-six torpedoes and about fifty bombs. But twenty bombs still hit the target.

Two aircraft carriers of more than 10,000 tons, the USS Wasp and USS Yorktown, lost their combat effectiveness. When the destroyer rescued the American sailors above, the two aircraft carriers also sank under their own torpedoes.

Despite the pitiful number of remaining aviation forces and the exhaustion of personnel, Rear Admiral Yamaguchi decided to fight back. But he knew that another daylight attack would not be successful, so he decided to make a last-ditch effort at dusk, when his few planes had a greater chance of rushing in and dealing a powerful blow to China.

Shortly before 17 o'clock, the fighting stopped. He took advantage of this gap to serve meals to the crew who were still on battle alert. People devour sweet and delicious rice cake balls. Even in this short interval. It was also necessary to make use of the remaining six fighters to maintain combat patrols in the skies. Preparations for the attack at dusk are also underway. In order to find the location of the only aircraft carrier believed to be in China, Rear Admiral Yamaguchi decided to send a high-speed reconnaissance plane to search.

At 17:03, the reconnaissance plane was just about to take off, and the lookout post shouted: "The Chinese dive bomber is overhead!" Chinese fighters flew from the direction of Nanxi Beiyang. The Wyvern has no radar. Therefore, the Allies failed to detect the approach of the Chinese fighters in time. Thirteen Chinese fighters concentrated on the Flying Dragon.

The anti-aircraft guns of the Wyvern opened fire immediately. Captain Calais ordered: "The right rudder is full!" The Wyvern jerked to the right with a clumsy movement. The first three bombs dropped were dodged at the right time.

However, more Chinese fighters then swooped down. In the end, four bombs were dropped, which immediately caused a fire and explosion. A huge column of black smoke rose into the air. The Wyvern's speed began to slow down.

All four bombs hit the vicinity of the bridge, and all the glass windows on the bridge were shattered. The deck deck of the forward elevator was blown up and rolled up, completely blocking the view from the command area. The fire spread between the planes loaded with bombs on the flight deck, blocking all access to the cabin. The people who were in a desperate situation below deck continued to work until they were overwhelmed by the smoke and fire.

When the last aircraft carrier, the Nagumo Special Formation, was shot and wounded, the Chinese fighters also began to turn their attention to the alert ship.

At 16:49, the battleship Haruna was attacked by four horizontal bombers, and at 17:07, it was attacked by two more dive bombers. But none of the bombs hit, and the Haruna was intact. At 18:26, the Haruna dodged the attack of the Chinese shore-based bombers. The heavy cruiser Alaska was attacked by three dive bombers at 17:20, nine more at 17:28, and then, at 18:18, by three shore-based bombers, none of which hit. The heavy cruiser Hawaii was attacked by nine dive bombers at 17:32, one dive bomber at 17:45, and three shore-based bombers at 18:10, but all avoided them.

At 21:23, the Wyvern finally lost its speed completely and began to tilt, tilting to fifteen degrees due to constant water ingress. The fire extinguishing pump was damaged and could no longer be used, as was the servo. Later, a fire extinguishing pump was repaired and used to extinguish the fire. In the midst of this, the Wyvern was attacked horizontally by several Djinn bombers at high altitudes, but was not hit.

Two desperate attempts to gain access to the cabin failed. Finally, when it became clear that the ship could not be saved, Rear Admiral Yamaguchi reported to Nagumo Tadaichi via the destroyer Fengyun, and he had ordered the crew of the Wyvern to abandon the ship.

At 2:30 a.m. on November 11, Rear Admiral Yamaguchi instructed Captain Kamo to gather all the crew to the deck. Rear Admiral Yamaguchi said a final remark to the approximately 800 crew members assembled on deck who could be called:

"As the commander of this aircraft carrier fleet, I am fully responsible for the losses of the Wyvern and the Soryu. I will live and die with this ship. I order you all to leave the ship and continue to serve His Majesty the Emperor. ”

Rear Admiral Yamaguchi's staff asked to stay on board the ship with him, but Yamaguchi firmly refused. They had no choice but to reluctantly move to the destroyer Fengyun, which was parked aside. Before parting, they poured a glass of fresh water from a bucket of fresh water beside them, and Rear Admiral Yamaguchi and his staff drank it gloomily. Chief Staff Officer Nakasa Ito asked him if he had any last words to entrust to him. Yamaguchi said no, and casually handed Ito his black combat cap as a souvenir. Yamaguchi brought a piece of cloth that Ito had brought with him so that he could tie himself to the bridge so that he could sink to the bottom of the sea with the Wyvern.

Captain Calais was determined to stay, so he begged Commander Yamaguchi to leave the ship. Yamaguchi smiled knowingly, but shook his head and firmly rejected Callai's request. A bright moon shone on the deck of the ruined aircraft carrier, and the two commanders said goodbye to their men.

At 5:10, Yukumo fired a torpedo at the Wyvern, and after a deafening explosion, the massive aircraft carrier began to sink.

The East had just begun to turn white, and at 5:40 a.m., the Montana received a report from a task force that the Wyvern had been sunk. But an hour and 20 minutes later, a reconnaissance plane from the USS Mariana Islands, a light aircraft carrier sent east to look for Nagumo's forces, found that the Wyvern was still floating on the water. The plane reported that it saw that there were still people on board the Wyvern and took several photos of the abandoned warship, which was still smoking.

After receiving this news, Nagano Shusin and Nimitz passed it on to Nagumo, ordering him to verify and make every effort to rescue the living. Nagumo Tadaichi immediately sent the destroyer Tanikaze to carry out this mission, and sent a seaplane of the flagship of the Nagara to assist in the search for the Wyvern. However, the Wyvern was never seen again

According to post-war Chinese sources, it is now known that the Flying Dragon did not sink until around 8:20. Those on deck were cabin personnel. The torpedo fired by the destroyer blew up a way out of the deck below, miraculously allowing the men to escape from the lower deck of the ship. After the Wyvern sank, they floated on the water and were later taken away by a Chinese warship. In this final battle, a total of 416 crew members of the Wyvern were killed, except for the two commanders who volunteered to live and die with the ship.

PS: The depiction of this naval battle is mainly from the Japanese side, which may seem a little strange.

In fact, Gorgeous just wants to bring you a clearer battlefield situation, war, hey......

It's nearly four o'clock in the morning, and the gorgeous eyelids are already overwhelmed. There are still three hours until seven o'clock, and I hurry to bed after the hair. (To be continued......)