"Commander...... Enemy planes, enemy planes are coming again! ”

Before Yamamoto finished speaking, the shouts of the communications staff officers alarmed all the officers in the command center of the Akagi, and everyone turned their heads to look at the sky in the south, only to see that more than 100 monoplanes or biplanes had already appeared in the blue sky in the distance, and the 52 Type 93 fighters of the Soryu and Shenlong, which had just disengaged from the P35 fighters of the United States, did not care about the order to protect the transport ship regiment, so they directly pounced and strangled with the other side.

"Commander...... Among the American planes in this wave were BT1 dive bombers and Martin BM2 torpedo bombers! Probably sent by American aircraft carriers. ”

"Order the fighter groups of the Black Dragon and the Xianglong to take off and protect the transport ship group." In fact, according to the operational regulations of the Japanese Red Navy Air Force, the escort fighters have the right to choose a limited range of aircraft carriers and battleship Type 2 torpedo bombers, and the combat radius should not exceed 200 nautical miles, which means that the US aircraft carrier is now less than 200 nautical miles away! And the seaplanes they sent were already searching that area......

"Commander, received a telegram from a seaplane that they had spotted an American aircraft carrier! There are two of them, one of which is likely to be of the Lexington class. One was the Ranger, 180 nautical miles due south of us. ”

"Baga! Now at this time......" As soon as they heard that the American aircraft carrier had been discovered, several officers next to them not only showed happy expressions. On the contrary, they all regretted that now all 10 fighters on the aircraft carrier have been lifted into the air for combat. Moreover, the air battle seems to have just begun, and there is no hour that cannot be finished at all, and after the fight, the fighter will have to land, reload ammunition and fuel before it can take off and attack again, at least an hour......

"The order, all the aircraft carriers' Type 93 ships exploded immediately to attack, the target. American aircraft carriers! ”

"Commander, what do you mean......" Onishi Takijiro was shocked when he heard this, and looked at Yamamoto fixedly.

Yamamoto nodded and said, "Yes." There is no fighter escort! The Type 93 shipboard crit will attack alone! ”

"But ......"

"Nothing!" Yamamoto fifty-six shouted: "Don't miss the opportunity, it's now, if you wait until 2 hours later, who knows where the American aircraft carrier will hide?" Onishi-kun. Don't forget that the Americans have airports on both Kauai and Hello Island. So their aircraft carriers don't have to take back the planes! ”

……

Just south of Kauai, the three aircraft carriers of the 1st U.S. Task Force have split into two formations and are hidden under two thick clouds. The USS Lexington and the USS Ranger were a little further east, and a dozen light cruisers and destroyers guarded them in the middle. The lookout sentries on all ships widened their eyes and looked warily at the clouds above, as if they wanted to see through them.

Using clouds as cover to evade the enemy's aerial reconnaissance was a tactic that only became popular after the advent of the era of naval and air warfare. However, while the clouds obscured the surface ships, they also blocked the view of the lookout sentinels. Now everyone is silently praying that there is no damn swarm of Japanese planes hiding above the clouds. But reality was about to disappoint them.

Inside the Lexington's tall, somewhat out-of-the-ordinary island, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps. Then another shout put a group of U.S. Navy officers in a dilemma: "Lieutenant General, the lookout post has spotted an unidentified seaplane!" ”

"What!" Kimmel's eyebrows twisted up at once, this must be a Japanese seaplane, that is to say, the aircraft carrier has been discovered by the opponent!

So, how should you command it now?

Not only Kimmmel, but all the officers in the command center on the island of the USS Lexington at this time were lost in thought. The Japanese have 9 to 10 aircraft carriers, and according to the number of carrier-based aircraft of the Soryu-class, they can send at least 350 bombers and torpedo attack aircraft! And now there are only more than 30 F2A left on the Lexington and Ranger, and even if the other side does not use fighter escorts, those clumsy Buffalo can't stop 10 times the enemy!

"Lieutenant General, it is time to retreat south immediately!" Halsey said loudly.

Fall back? Is it too late? The Japanese aircraft carrier is less than 200 nautical miles away, and the average dive bomber can fly it in an hour and a half. How far can the aircraft carrier run in this hour and a half? Even at a maximum speed of 34.5 knots (which can only last for an hour), it can run a maximum of 50 nautical miles, which is more than 90 kilometers, and an extra 20 minutes of flight for the aircraft can catch up. Of course, it is not that there is no chance, because there are large clouds in the sky today, so the aircraft carrier can find another cloud to hide in a place further south, so that it may be able to escape.

"Order, sail south at full speed for 1 hour, then find a place to hide, send a telegram to the Saratoga, and let them move south to find a place to hide." Kimmel took a deep breath. "I wish I could get away with it......"

……

"Baga, why didn't you hit again!"

On the compass bridge of the protective cruiser Tsushima, which served as the flagship of the Japanese transport group, the new commander of the Hawaiian Front of the Japanese Red Army, Shouichi Terauchi, pinched the binoculars and pointed at the American B10 bombers that were flying around unscrupulously at low altitude and throwing bombs. But he was not scolding the Americans, but the Navy's anti-aircraft artillery and fighters. Such a big bomber still flies so low, the anti-aircraft fire on the ship can't always hit them, and those navy's Type 93 shipboard fighters have been busy for a long time, and they don't seem to have killed a few B10s, it seems that these navies are not as elite as they claim to be.

However, Terauchi probably didn't know that the sailors who were operating anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns temporarily attached to transport ships and tankers were ordinary merchant sailors a few months ago. There was no military training at all. Even after wearing the uniforms of the navy, they are busy driving transport ships to carry troops, materials and migrants, where is the time for formal training?

Moreover, these anti-aircraft guns, which were temporarily installed on transport ships and tankers, were not carefully laid out. There was even a lack of coordination between the ships, and although at first glance it looked like a torrential rain of bullets and shells, a closer look reveals that there were blind spots and loopholes everywhere. For American pilots, who have already spent six months in the most rigorous training, such anti-aircraft firepower is simply not enough.

As for the dozen or so Type 93 fighters that took off from the Fengxiang aircraft carrier, firstly, because the number was too small, and secondly, because the firepower was too weak, they did not pose much wēixié to the American B10. The only thing that made Chennault unhappy. It's just that the bombing accuracy of the B10 bomber is really lower.

"Lads, don't be in a hurry, aim and drop the bomb. Just like you did in training! You're the best, you're going to be able to send all those little Japan to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish......"

Chennault turned on the radio and cheered his men on as he directed them to bomb the Japanese warships.

"Squad 15. Go deal with that tanker at 12 o'clock! ”

"Squad 16 went to blow up the troop carrier at 8 o'clock. This is a big guy, there should be thousands of Japanese devils on it! ”

"Team 17 to blow up that aircraft carrier......"

"Squad 18 ......"

"Good job, guys, the president will give each of you a Navy Cross!"

"Rush!"

After giving the order, Chennault began to fly the plane himself, pushing the oil rod violently, and the two 1,050 hp twin wasp engines began to roar, and large puffs of green smoke suddenly rose from the exhaust pipe, and the twin-engine B10 bomber almost turned into a dive bomber. At an angle of more than 60 degrees, he pounced on a Japanese steamer that looked a little clumsy.

"Ready...... Put! ”

Without hesitation, the bombardier, who received the order, pressed the switch on the bomb bay, and four 1,000-pound armor-piercing bombs were dropped with a piercing screech.

"Boom...... Thundered! ”

Two dull explosions followed. Immediately after that, there was a deafening loud bang, and the air wave of the explosion soared into the sky, and the B10 bomber that had just been pulled up was also rushed to tremble. However, there was cheering in the cabin, because they knew that their plane had just taken out a Japanese ammunition ship!

"Asaga-Maru, Asaka-maru has sunk!"

Frightened cries rang out from the decks of Japanese transport ships on the water, and everyone watched as the 10,000-ton freighter, broken in two, sank into the sea as quickly as Kawamaru sank.

"Bomb, port direction!"

On the island of the aircraft carrier Fengxiang, Captain Yoshiroku Takeda was personally operating the ship, dodging the bombs that kept falling. Columns of water rising into the sky continued to explode on both sides of the hull, and everyone on the island was in their throats.

Finally escaped......

What a blessing!

Just now, three B10s in a zigzag formation dropped 12 1,000-pound armor-piercing bombs at the same time, and the 10,000-ton Fengxiang will be finished as long as it hits one!

Just when everyone was feeling happy, a large black dot suddenly rushed towards the stern!

Seeing this scene, the eyes of all the Japanese naval officers in the bridge seemed to fall out. How is this B10 doing dive bombing! How could such a twin-engined medium bomber dive and drop bombs? Aren't these Yankees afraid of damaging planes? Wrong...... This plane must have come to crash into a warship!

"Little Japan, let's show you a medium bomber that can dive today!" In the cockpit, the captain of the B10 bomber, Joseph Jr. Captain Kennedy pursed his lips and ordered loudly: "Now, drop the bomb!" ”

The four 1,000-pound armor-piercing bombs gradually magnified in the eyes of the sailors on the deck of the Fengxiang, because the aircraft carrier had just made an S-shaped maneuver, and the hull had not been completely flattened, it was impossible to make such a large dodge again, so they could only watch the bombs fall.

First, there was a violent crash, two bombs easily penetrated the wooden flight deck of the Fengxiang, one into the hangar of the amidships, one into the boiler room in the stern, and then two loud bangs.

Everyone on the Fengxiang Island was knocked to the ground. Captain Yoshiroku Takeda fainted immediately, and when he woke up, he found himself lying in a Japanese military hospital on Kauai, a week after the Second Battle of Hawaii. And his aircraft carrier Fengxiang has long been sleeping in the bottomless deep sea of the Pacific Ocean.

"Commander! The USS Fengxiang is over! ”

Kuroshima Kameto roared in Yamamoto Fifty-six with a crying voice, he never thought that the B10 bomber weighing 7.5 tons could actually carry out 60-degree dive bombing (in fact, not every one of them has a dive bombing function, only the latest B10D model can carry out dive bombing), you must know that the Japanese Navy's Type 93 ship-based crit aircraft has a dive angle of only 60 degrees!

"Kuroshima-kun, please calm down." Yamamoto's voice was still so steady, as if he didn't care about the sinking of the aircraft carrier Fengxiang. All his attention was now focused on the ongoing scuffle in the sky.

It was a scuffle between Japanese Type 93 shipboard fighters and American P35 fighters, F2A Buffalo fighters, BT1 dive bombers and Martin BM2 torpedo bombers. Hundreds of planes strangled in mid-air. You are happy to kill back and forth, and judging from the scene, it seems that Japan's Type 93 shipboard fighters have a slight upper hand. However, Yamamoto's brow was tightly wrinkled. He didn't seem to be satisfied.

As the saying goes, the layman looks at the excitement, and the insider looks at the doorway. Yamamoto Fifty-six is an expert in aviation, so he is now looking at the doorway. He didn't care at all about the effectiveness of the Type 93 against dive bombers and torpedo bombers, so he only focused on the results of the engagement between the Type 93 and the American P35 and F2A. The ugly and clumsy F2A Buffalo is on par with the Type 93, although the aircraft far outperforms the Type 93 in terms of performance. I don't know what's going on? As for the P35, which is not very good in terms of performance indicators, it is not inferior in front of the Type 93. The exchange ratio between the fighters of the two sides is basically maintained at 1:1.

It may seem like they are evenly matched, but can Japan's aviation industry and the number of pilots compete as well as the Americans? This battle looks like it's not going to be easy to fight!

"Kuroshima-kun, is there any news of the bomber formation?" Yamamoto asked, looking at the Kuroshima Kameto beside him, looking through the binoculars.

"Oh, not yet." As soon as Kuroshima finished speaking, the fleet communications staff officer suddenly roared: "Commander, the bomber formation telegram, they have discovered the American aircraft carrier!" ”

……

"Oh God. There are so many of them......! ”

At the lookout post at the top of the USS Lexington, Shriver, a lookout who joined the army after the outbreak of the U.S.-Japan War, holds a telescope. Mouth wide open. Because from the telescope in his hand, black dots after black dots were emerging from the thick clouds and suddenly appeared directly in front of the Lexington!

At the same time as the air defense alarm sounded, the light cruiser USS Philadelphia and two other destroyers, which were on guard duty in front of the Lexington, opened fire first, and at the same time, all the US ** ships on the surface quickly erected anti-aircraft guns, and only as soon as the Japanese planes approached, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns of various calibers would open fire with the highest rate of fire, weaving a fire net in front of the USS Lexington and the USS Ranger.

"Comrades, the time has come to establish meritorious service for the cause of GCISM!"

Vasyakin, who served as the commander-in-chief of the air, turned on the radio and said a cliché that he did not believe. Although just a few months ago, he and most of the young Japanese naval aviation pilots believed that they were fighting for the liberation of humanity. However, after the establishment of the Nanyang Federation, this lofty ideal no longer existed in the minds of the Japanese GCD, and even the propaganda caliber of the Japanese government itself quietly changed. It is Japan's national policy to open up territory and conquer the South Seas......

"Let those white ghosts show us how good we are!" Vasyagin roared again and began to give orders: "1st Brigade, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Brigade, target, Lexington!" ”

"Fourth Brigade, Fifth Brigade, Target, Ranger!"

"The Sixth Group went to deal with the light cruisers and destroyers in front of the American aircraft carriers."

"The Seventh Group went to deal with the light cruisers and destroyers on the left side of the American aircraft carriers."

"The goal of the 8th Brigade is ......"

"The Ninth Brigade is on standby."

"Comrades, kill!"

"Too much, too much......"

Vice Admiral Kimmel on the island of the Lexington ship seemed to have his eyes torn apart, he never thought that the enemy's dive bombers would come so quickly and so much! At least 300 Type 93 dive bombers suddenly appeared in front of their eyes through the clouds, and these Japanese dive bombers without fighter escort simply ignored the rain of bullets from the F2A Buffaloes and surface ships that went to stop them, and just rushed over in waves, even if they had been hit and caught fire!

"Boom...... Lieutenant General be careful. ”

A Type 93 shipburst dragging thick smoke crashed headlong into the flight deck of the Lexington, and immediately turned into a fireball, and the scattered debris swept across the flight deck like a torrential rain, knocking all the US ground crews on it to the ground.

"Sir, there are too many of them, we can't deal with them, we must try our best to find a way to get out of the battlefield!"

Kimmel turned his head to look at Halsey, who had given him an idea, and said with a wry smile: "Is there any way to think of it?" Can our aircraft carriers outrun the planes of the Japanese? He shook his head and said, "The Air Wing of the USS Lexington, USS Saratoga, and USS Ranger gave the order to return to the Pearl Harbor base after completing their mission!" Give Saratoga another order to get them out of the waters of the Hawaiian Islands and withdraw to San Diego! ”