"Turn off all the lights! Attention all, get ready to fight! ”

At the same time as the alarm sounded, on the light cruiser Heilongjiang, which was navigating 50 kilometers ahead, Captain Luo Yong had already begun to give orders. The four twin 155mm/L50 guns were quickly pointed to the northeast, and the two Yongxing-class destroyers next to them also raised their guns. The sailors were busy selecting the type of ammunition for the artillery and filling the torpedoes into the launch tubes. "Five reflected signals were found, 22 degrees northeast of the azimuth, 32 nautical miles, and 28 knots!" The radarman stared nervously at the screen, relying on experience to filter the clutter signal above, staring at the five bright spots that were approaching in the snowflakes.

At this time, the radar could not distinguish the type of target, so the electronic officer had to report the situation to the navigation bridge first, and then the gunner issued an order to strengthen the visual reconnaissance of the target direction. But even with all the shortcomings, the advent of radar still allows the navy to no longer have to worry about annoying night battles, and it can also be able to give early warning. Because the type of incoming ship was not known, the Heilongjiang formation quickly slowed down while preparing, and the battleship Ninghai in the rear, accompanied by the light cruiser Xiangjiang, rushed forward with four destroyers to 31 knots, and the battleship Dinghai and the remaining ships protected the two aircraft carriers and turned to the deep sea to the east. This is a radar coordination tactic, taking advantage of the Japanese Navy's lack of radar, using light cruisers and destroyers as guides, deliberately slowing down to induce and dragging the enemy, so that the capital ships can quickly plug in from behind to launch an over-the-horizon attack.

Preparations for battle have begun here, but on the heavy cruiser Furutaka over there, the Japanese lookout is still using binoculars to search for targets with the naked eye. Although he eats cod liver oil every day until he vomits, and there is the world-famous moon, moon, water, fire, wood and gold training, but after all, visual vision can't replace radar waves, so Kaokahara Tairasaku didn't know that the 23rd fleet, which was looking for half a night, was on the opposite side, and he didn't know that a battleship was rushing towards him at sea level in the distance.

"Count!"

"35,000 yards, 220 azimuth, 31 knots of enemy ship. Southeasterly wind 6 knots. ”

"Release smoke and interfere with the enemy's line of sight!"

"30,000 yards, two minutes into night visual range!"

"Sideways! Right full rudder! "Because both sides are over 28 knots and will be within visual range after a maximum of ten minutes, Rayong first ordered the release of smoke and then let the Heilongjiang turn sideways to seize the T-shaped position that is most suitable for artillery tactics. Because of the large amount of black smoke, the Furutaka heavy cruiser formation still failed to spot the opponent immediately after entering the night vision distance, until it entered 25,000 yards. Only then did I see black smoke curling on the sea level. "22,000 yards, aim at the first target, set fire!" Just as the eagle's lookout widened his eyes to distinguish the type of black smoke, Rayong roared and waved his hand heavily. Along with his order, eight 155-mm guns simultaneously spewed out huge fireballs, and the two Yongxing-class destroyers next to them also fired at targets with three twin 120-mm semi-automatic Gaoping dual-purpose naval guns.

Suddenly flickering orange-red fireballs in the smoke. Frightened, the Japanese lookout shouted again and again for the enemy attack. The deck of the Auguru was thrown into chaos by the terrible shouts, and before the barrels of the three twin 230mm guns could be raised, the faster 155mm and 120mm shells on the opposite side continued to smash around the hull. The shells fell into the sea, creating a dense forest of water columns, and the aftermath of the explosion collided with the waves, and then shattered into white spots. "Left full rudder, shoot! The destroyer was ready to launch a lightning attack. Kaokahara Heiichi saw the ship posture of the Heilongjiang on the opposite side, which had already turned sideways. The words "radio wave detector" came to mind. Because only when the radar can see farther than the human eye can the offensive formation be set up early.

In fact, it was not too late for the emergence of radar technology in Japan, and soon after the breakthrough in radar technology in the Republic of China, Japan also developed its own key magnetron technology. Even earlier than Europe and the United States. However, the Japanese top brass did not pay much attention to this and missed the opportunity to buy radar from American engineers. It was delayed for several years in vain, until the Republic of China Navy landed in the Persian Gulf and generously installed the radar on the ship for the first time. Only then did the development of radar begin to be strengthened. But to this day there are only a few samples, and it is not known how far from the equipment. So Hirota Hiroki visited the Soviet Union this time. While establishing the Axis Alliance, it also shouldered the heavy responsibility of procuring samples of advanced weapons and equipment such as radar from the two countries. The samples had not yet returned, and Kaokaharahira had to fight back with thicker armor under artillery fire. Fortunately, the Guying is a heavy cruiser, even if it can't be compared with the new heavy cruisers of various countries, but it is much better than the Tumenjiang-class light cruiser Heilongjiang, so relying on the thick skin and thick meat, he also ordered to turn in order to get the best angle for the six main guns. "Boom, boom." The Heilongjiang maintained heavy firepower, but because the latest fire control radar was not installed, it needed to constantly correct the trajectory during the shooting. "The coordinates are adjusted! All units recorded the new shelling of Zhuyuan, and aimed all their way at the first ship! After a few rounds, the Heilongjiang fire control team calculated the new fire control elements according to the bullet point, and as the guns were adjusted, the shells finally became more and more accurate.

"Shoot!" At this time, the Furutaka finally completed the lateral maneuver, and the six 203mm main guns spewed out intense fire at the same time.

As soon as the Furutaka fired, Rayong immediately recognized that this was a Furutaka-class heavy cruiser, because only the Furutaka-class in the Japanese Navy was equipped with three twin 203-mm naval guns (at the beginning of the construction of the Aoba class, it was adjusted to eight main guns because of the launch of the Taiwan Island-class). But the turn of the Furutaka came a little later, and just after a salvo, several 155-mm shells landed on the foredeck at the same time. In the fierce explosion, the exposed Japanese sailors suffered heavy casualties, and even the armor of the bridge was shot. Fortunately, the armor here is very thick, so there is no situation where the command brain is taken off as soon as the battle starts.

Seeing that the Furutaka was hit by shells one after another, the three Blowing Snow-class destroyers took the lead in accelerating their preparations for a torpedo attack. The Fukiyuki-class is a special destroyer built by the Japanese Navy with a small and broad idea, in order to pursue high speed and night combat, the hull shape and tonnage are very small, resulting in insufficient hull strength and high center of gravity. It was not until the day after the "Fourth Fleet Incident" that it was realized that small tonnage was prone to overturning in the face of wind and waves, and the seaworthiness was also very poor, so that the tonnage was increased again, and the speed was reduced to 34 knots, and the lightning strike capability was enhanced. Like all Japanese destroyers, the Blowing Snow class has a powerful lightning strike offensive capability with three triple 610 mm 93 spear oxygen torpedo launchers. "Modify the goal! The third and fourth gun emplacements and destroyers were aimed at the enemy destroyers! The lookout should pay attention to the starboard side and be careful of torpedoes. Guns, fire at full speed! So when he saw the Japanese destroyers rushing towards him, Rayong immediately changed his tactics, and ordered the third and fourth turrets to abandon the first target, and cooperated with the two destroyers to attack the three blowing snow with all their might.

The Hatsuyuki, which rushed ahead, was hit in the bow by a series of shells before it could enter the optimal range of the Type 93 oxygen torpedo. But it ended up firing the torpedo with two other ships. With a few soft snorts, twenty-seven oxygen torpedoes quickly entered the water. Since the oxygen torpedo could not be seen after it was launched, Rayong kept the launcher on the lookout, and when the lookout reported that he saw the white smoke from the launch, he immediately ordered to turn to dodge.

Kaokaharara didn't expect his opponent to be so cunning, and as soon as the torpedo was launched, he immediately evaded it, and he was so angry that he couldn't close the distance immediately. At this time, the Ancient Eagle finally received the first results of the shelling, and a 203-mm shell accurately hit the Yongxing-class destroyer Treasure Island to the left of the Heilongjiang. The Yongxing class is a product of the Navy's post-war spending cuts, and is equipped with three twin 120 mm high-level dual-purpose naval guns and one quadruple 550 mm quadruple launcher. But the standard displacement is only 1450 tons, and the seaworthiness is as poor as the blowing snow class. The advantage was that the cost was quite cheap, so the navy, which was short of funds and in dire need of destroyers, ordered sixteen in one go.

The Treasure Island, which had burst into flames, became an obvious target, and even three Blowing Snow-class ships aimed all their 127-mm naval guns at it. After several hits in quick succession, the unarmored Treasure Island finally lost its hold and sank in the Philippine Sea shortly after the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned.

Even Yang Guochang didn't expect that with the help of radar, it was he who lost first.

"Speed up, close the distance!" The sinking of a destroyer greatly increased Kaokahara's confidence, and when he was about to take the initiative to close the distance and prepare to eat the Heilongjiang in one bite, a huge black shadow had slowly emerged from under the southwestern water level. "Bearing 43, distance 28,000 yards, a battleship!" Seeing the black shadow and calculating the approximate length, the sun lookout suddenly gasped three times of cold air.

"Battleship?!"

Kaokaharahei and all the officers were also taken aback, but then they became ecstatic again. Because they came out this time to find the main force of the enemy fleet, and then deliberately exposed it and led it to Okinawa. Now that the battleship has appeared, it means that the opposite side is the main force of the Nanyang Fleet, which has been looking for more than half a month. "Boom!" After entering the visual distance, the Ninghai did not delay for a moment and immediately launched an attack. But to everyone's dismay, before it entered the firing range, the Ancient Eagle hurriedly turned and retreated. "Direction 74, leave, leave!" The thunderous roar frightened the Japanese naval officers. They knew too well how big the gap was between a battleship and a heavy cruiser.

"Report! The Ancient Eagle released smoke and fled to the northeast, and Colonel Rayong of the Heilongjiang asked if it was in pursuit. "On the Dinghai, the staff officer asked in a low voice whether he wanted to pursue." Chase, follow him! Japanese aircraft carriers will definitely be found. Yang Guochang was a little worried that this was a trap, but he was unwilling to give up this good opportunity to find two Japanese aircraft carriers, and immediately asked the two aircraft carriers and the Dinghai to slow down and keep a distance, and at the same time ordered the light patrol to continue to pursue Gu Ying.

After receiving the order, the Heilongjiang and Xiangjiang took the lead, and as the two sides launched a pursuit battle at sea, Yamaguchi Duowen and Yang Guochang also opened their mouths at the same time, trying to swallow their opponents in one gulp