readx;

Chapter 463 - Sino-American Atlantic Naval Battle (12)

Dark clouds filled the sky and the sea breeze howled. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The main fleets of the Chinese and American navies fought a fateful battle in the Atlantic, and for a time there was a lot of artillery fire, thick smoke billowing and sea water boiling.

With years of rich experience in naval warfare, the Imperial Chinese Navy successfully used ingenious tactics to lead the main force of the U.S. fleet into a place of no return.

Watching the main warships of the US army being sunk or severely damaged, Admiral Eberly, commander of the US Ocean Fleet, was heartbroken. As a veteran in his sixties, he was beaten by Li Dingxin, a junior in his early forties, and he was powerless, and he asked himself that he no longer had the face to face the American people. At this moment, he is only thinking about how to turn defeat into victory and how to preserve his strength to the greatest extent.

The effect of air raids by the naval aviation of the Chinese Empire had passed, and a large number of fighters of the US Air Force were sent to protect the fleet.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Eberly reluctantly gathered five or six capital ships in the vicinity and reorganized them into a battle team to fight the Imperial Chinese Navy.

At this time, only 19 of the 25 main battleships of the US army remained, and all of them were damaged, and three of them were seriously damaged and were already in danger.

On the other hand, only one-third of the 20 battleships of the Imperial Chinese Navy were slightly damaged, and they continued to occupy advantageous attack positions, and the five warbands divided the 19 capital ships of the US army into nine sea areas to fight separately. The various warframes of the Imperial Chinese Navy went back and forth inside the U.S. fleet, and with their superior speed, they exhausted the U.S. warships.

The defeat was actually doomed, and Eberly only wanted to win some small victories in the big defeat and save some face. To this end, Eberly commissioned Colonel Omaba, a staff officer, to fly a seaplane back to the Norfolk base, personally report the battle situation to the US high command, and request the implementation of the battle plan codenamed "Reaper."

In the Norfolk Base Command, when Colonel Omaba reported Eberly's blood letter and the naval battle situation, the American officers in the entire headquarters were shocked. They considered many situations, but they didn't expect such a.

They wanted to shoot Eberly immediately, but at this moment, the US Navy was in danger of being wiped out, and in order to save the US fleet as much as possible, the US High Command decided to adopt the Grim Reaper plan.

Therefore, the Grim Reaper Plan was a final plan formulated by Ebury and the US High Command before his departure, and it was only allowed to be carried out when the US fleet was in danger of total annihilation.

Project Reaper was carried out by the 17th Air Wing of the U.S. Air Force, whose mission was to launch a devastating strike on the Imperial Chinese Navy in bombers. The plan benefited from the previous success of the U.S. Air Force bomber group in inflicting heavy damage on the Imperial Chinese Navy's Third Carrier Strike Group, and the U.S. High Command concluded in its post-war summary that it could be carried out again if necessary.

Due to the loss of the most advanced 1,000 O-400 bombers of the US Air Force, the aircraft factory worked overtime to produce such bombers, but the time was too late. So before leaving, Eberly asked the US Air Force to form an attack formation composed of a large number of O-100 bombers to help the US Navy at the most critical time, as the US Navy's last killer move.

However, the problem faced by the U.S. High Command was that the O-100 bomber had a limited range, a combat radius of only 150 kilometers, and a small bomb load, with a maximum load of four 200-kilogram bombs or one 500-kilogram bomb and two 18-inch torpedoes. There is naturally no problem in dealing with aircraft carriers or light cruisers below the Imperial Chinese Navy, but if it is used to attack the super battleships of the Imperial Chinese Navy, it is somewhat difficult, and it is difficult to inflict heavy damage unless Jing really hits the vital point. At the same time, the fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy had extremely strong anti-aircraft firepower, and the penetration capabilities of the O-100 bombers were far inferior to those of the O-400. Although the previous heavy damage to the third aircraft carrier battle group of the Chinese Imperial Navy was successful, the US high command lost 1,000 advanced bombers, which made them think that it was very uneconomical. If this idea were carried out with the weaker O-100 bombers, the losses would have been even greater.

These are the problems faced by the US High Command, for which Eberly proposed to use this lose-lose tactic at the last minute, preferably to hold out until the next batch of O-400 bombers enter service.

Obviously, at this moment, Ebury could not wait for that time.

However, the factor that worries the US military high command most is not the one mentioned above, but the personnel problem. Due to the short range of the O-100 bombers, the US bomber group had to drop bombs immediately when it flew over the enemy fleet and then immediately return home. But as long as it is intercepted by the naval aviation of the Chinese Empire, or intercepted by the anti-aircraft fire of the fleet, it may not be able to fly back after a delay.

For this reason, the US Air Force command should look for people who are not afraid of death, but unfortunately only 120 people were found. This point of the plane may not be anywhere, and it may be knocked out by the anti-aircraft fire of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

Eventually, Eberly came up with a way to have technicians secretly modify the bomber's fuel consumption gauge and slow it down by half. The US High Command has always opposed its implementation, but now that the US Navy is about to be wiped out, it has no choice but to agree.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, 1,100 US bombers lifted off from the Norfolk base flew to the Atlantic Ocean under the escort of 2,100 fighters to carry out the Reaper mission. All the pilots never thought that they had been betrayed by the US side, and this was a point of no return. Of course, there are more than 120 pilots who know the content of the mission, and if other bombers cannot deliver bombs, then they will drive bombers full of bombs to directly ram the warships of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

At 5:20 a.m., the Imperial Chinese Navy's guard ships, vigilance submarines, and vigilance planes discovered the US bomber group almost simultaneously.

Due to the sneak attack of the third aircraft carrier battle group last time, Wang Jiancheng's heart has always raised his vigilance. Although the combat radius of the early bombers of the US army did not reach the level of threatening the fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy, Wang Jian's heart was always carried out and ordered the perimeter guards to pay close attention to the US bomber group. In particular, when the main force of the Chinese Imperial Navy fought a decisive battle with the main force of the US Navy, Wang Jiancheng received many repeated orders from Li Dingxin, asking him to intercept the US bomber group at any cost. Therefore, Wang Jiancheng played even more twelve-point this time.

"Report, found a group of American bombers, azimuth 210, course 085. About two thousand fighters, a thousand bombers. ”

Wang Jiancheng immediately went to check the location on the chart, then frowned, and said, "It's for the main fleet of the Imperial Navy." ”

Feng Luxin said: "Commander Li has repeatedly asked us to intercept the US bomber group and cover the main force of the enemy fleet at any cost. ”

Wang Jiancheng nodded and said, "I suffered a loss last time, and this time there must be no more mistakes." ”

Feng Luxin said: "But we only have less than 900 fighters, and it may be very difficult to intercept the US fighter group and bomber group at the same time." ”

Wang Jiancheng thought for a while and said, "There is still an hour before dark, and the US military should concentrate all its bombers on attacking our battlefleet, and our aircraft carrier battle group should be safe." ”

Feng Luxin asked: "You don't want to send out all the fighters who stayed behind in the aircraft carrier battle group, right?" Aren't you afraid of a repeat of the last event? ”

Wang Jiancheng sighed and said: "I can't help myself, at this moment, the enemy and our fleets have reached the most critical moment, if the US bomber group successfully harasses our fleet, even if I keep the aircraft carrier battle group, I will inevitably be punished." This war is about the outcome of the naval war between China and the United States and the ultimate ownership of sea supremacy, and in all respects, it should be us who should be sacrificed. ”

Feng Luxin knew that there was no way to do it, so he smiled bitterly: "I hope!" ”

Subsequently, Wang Jiancheng ordered all 1,132 fighters of the three aircraft carrier battle groups to take off with bombs, the aircraft carrier battle groups to raise their vigilance, and all escort warships to prepare for first-class air defense.

At 5:35 a.m., the Battle of the Atlantic entered the decisive moment. The Imperial Chinese Navy sank eight U.S. Navy battleships, including the USS Connecticut, USS Louisiana, USS Verticot, USS Kansas, USS Minnesota, USS New Hampshire, USS Mississippi and USS Idaho, as well as seventeen cruisers and forty-one destroyers.

At the same time, the Imperial Chinese Navy also paid the price, the NV Emperor Wu Zetian

, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji

and Song Yingzong Zhao Shu

It was heavily damaged, among which Song Yingzong was the most seriously wounded, and was fiercely attacked by the first detachment of the Eberly fleet, and was hit by 15 bullets, the hull of the ship caught fire, and the hull was seriously flooded. Li Dingxin then ordered the Song Yingzong to withdraw from the battle sequence and be towed back to Bermuda by tugboat. Although the Wu Zetian and Li Longji could still fight, the hull was already scarred, and Li Dingxin asked them to withdraw from the battle sequence, but the captain of the second ship strongly asked to hold on for a while. Li Dingxin was moved by their Jing spirit, and made an exception for them to continue fighting, but they had to follow behind the sub-team, and once they couldn't stand it, they had to evacuate.

The other seventeen battleships were also wounded, but relatively lightly. And the light cruisers that served as escorts for the battleship detachment were sunk three, and the destroyers were sunk six, all of them were hit by the blind shells of the US Navy, and the fragile cruisers and hunting ships could not resist the attack of a large-caliber shell from the other side at all.

At this moment of the battle, the remaining capital ships of the US army were basically seriously wounded, and they only relied on the escort cruisers and destroyers to block the shells, and then seized the time to repair and restore their combat effectiveness. These U.S. light warships sank one after another under heavy artillery attack by the Imperial Chinese Navy. This attrition reduced the number of warships in the U.S. fleet, and the Imperial Chinese Navy, after sinking a large number of U.S. auxiliary warships, hit the first detachment, the most powerful of the U.S. fleet.

At 5:40, the 1st and 2nd Squadrons of the Imperial Chinese Navy attacked the 1st Detachment of Eberly's flagship from the southeast and southwest, respectively.

At this time, the four North Carolina-class battleships of Eberly's 1st Detachment were each wounded, mainly by torpedo and aerial bomb attacks by the Imperial Chinese Naval Aviation.

Eberly's flagship, the North Carolina, was able to reach 26 to 21 knots, although it had closed the gap that had been torpedoed. In the face of the siege of the First and Second Fleets of the Imperial Chinese Navy, the opponent relied on the advantage of speed, so that the North Carolina was always in a disadvantageous position.

At 5:42, three 17-inch shells hit the battleship USS North Carolina with a single burst of fire from four Yuan-class battleships. The battleship North Carolina's No. 4 main gun and No. 11 secondary guns were destroyed, one of the shells hit the command tower, and although it failed to protect itself from 350 mm armor, the violent explosion of the shells produced a very strong acoustic attack, causing Eberly and a dozen staff officers to be deaf for three minutes.

And in these three minutes, the four Ming-class battleships of the First Squadron of the Chinese Imperial Navy fired two rounds of firepower. Only one shell hit the North Carolina in the first round, but it missed the vital point. However, when the second round of fire was completed two minutes later, the round of shells further located by the radar greatly improved the hit rate, and four 18-inch shells simultaneously hit the port side waterline of the battleship North Carolina, instantly penetrating the 350 mm thick armor protection. The violent explosion lifted up a 100-meter-high giant lang, almost overturning the North Carolina. The explosion pierced four one-meter-sized holes in the North Carolina's side, sending fire and smoke gushing out of the ship, followed by a massive influx of seawater.

Since the armor thickness of the battleship North Carolina had exceeded 350 mm, once it was penetrated, it was difficult to block it in a short time. In addition, it was hit by four 18-inch shells at the same time, and although the violent internal explosion failed to shatter the hull, it shook the American sailors in several nearby compartments to death, so that no one nearby closed the compartment passage in time, and as a result, more than 4,000 tons of seawater poured in in a moment, causing the hull of the North Carolina to tilt seriously and continue to sink.

At 5:46, the battleship Haishan, the No. 3 ship of the Second Combat Group of the Imperial Chinese Navy, fired in unison, and two 17-inch huge bombs hit the starboard side of the North Carolina, one of which hit the gap that was originally torpedoed, and the gap was opened again, and the shells penetrated deeper, continuously penetrating the four watertight compartments inside, causing the starboard side of the North Carolina to be completely penetrated, and the sea was directly poured into the central main aisle of the battleship North Carolina along the gap.

"Abandon the ship! Abandon the ship! ”

The red SE siren lights went on, and the American sailors withdrew. But the battleship North Carolina was too big, and only half of the more than 3,000 American officers and men on it escaped to the outside deck, and the others were swallowed by the sea before they could get out.

When Eberly woke up, the North Carolina had already begun to sink rapidly. Under the protection of his men, Eberly was taken to a lifeboat, boarded a nearby destroyer, and transferred to the second ship, the battleship USS Missouri.

At 5:49 a.m., the battleship USS North Carolina, the flagship of the U.S. Navy's Ocean Fleet, sank, which cast a huge impression on the U.S. Navy officers and men in the battle. The captains of the ships were thinking about self-preservation and preparing to escape from the battle.

In turn, the Imperial Chinese Navy had high morale after sinking the battleship USS North Carolina, the flagship of the US Navy. Li Dingxin picked up the walkie-talkie and issued an order to the officers and men of the entire fleet through the fleet's internal channel to "carry the battle through to the end."

Among the remaining US warships, except for the three North Carolina-class battleships, the USS Maine, the USS Missouri, and the USS Ohio, which continued to fight with heavy armor and powerful firepower, the other US warships were more and more seriously damaged, suffered more and more casualties, and became weaker and weaker in combat effectiveness.

Under these circumstances, the commander of the US battleships USS South Dakota and USS Mengdana saw that the US Navy was in a major situation and could no longer recover the defeat, so he took the lead in turning around and fleeing.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of U.S. light cruisers and destroyers were also frightened by the powerful naval artillery fire of the Imperial Chinese Navy.

At this moment, the US Reaper attack team flew over the battlefield. U.S. fighter jets tried to cover the bombers to find the Imperial Chinese Navy warships to attack, but were soon desperately intercepted by the Imperial Chinese Naval Aviation.

The fighter groups of the two sides immediately launched a fierce air battle, but this time the naval aviation of the Chinese Imperial Navy, which did not intend to entangle with the US fighters, but directly attacked the US bombers.

Due to the advanced combat aircraft of the Imperial Chinese Naval Aviation, especially the Thunderbolt fighters and Hellfire fighters, they quickly threw them off when they encountered the entanglement of the US fighters and directly killed the US bombers.

"Dada-da-da!"

"Snort!"

As the fighters of the Chinese Emperor ** approached, the heavy machine guns on the aircraft opened fire fiercely, and the rockets whistled out, shooting down a large number of US bombers in an instant.

Originally, the US bomber group was still flying in formation, but most of them were novices, and their psychological quality was too poor in battle, and when they saw that it was difficult for US fighters to stop the fighters of the Chinese Empire, they immediately panicked, and many US bombers immediately deviated from their course.

After the battle lasted for three minutes, the Imperial Chinese Naval Air Force had shot down more than 400 US bombers, but because they had been locking on to the US bombers, many fighters were shot down by US fighters who appeared next to them unexpectedly.

At 5:55 a.m., a group of US bombers flew over the battlefield. However, to the tragedy of the US bomber group, the battlefield was filled with gunsmoke, and the day was late, and the visibility was not very good. The Imperial Chinese Navy warships were fighting with the U.S. Navy warships, and the bomber groups were forced to divide into many squads and lower their altitudes to search for the Imperial Chinese Navy warships alone.

Li Dingxin had already received Wang Jiancheng's report that a group of US bombers would come to attack him, so he had already ordered all ships to prepare for air defense battles, and air defense cruisers and destroyers would enter air defense combat positions.

!#