After entering the visual distance, Toshio Ota sensed that something was wrong! As an experienced elite who had participated in the Battle of the Marianas and more than ten skirmishes in the aftermath, an extremely uncomfortable feeling rose from the bottom of my heart almost as soon as I saw the opponent's formation formation. ※※

Why? Because the formation on the opposite side is very strange!

Air combat is not free flying, and since the first large-scale air battle in the European war, all countries have been studying formations and tactics to maximize the effectiveness of fighters. Among them, the Sino-German air force in the early stage of the war was the most representative, and the two sides coincidentally used four aircraft formations, mostly using dives, and using speed to achieve the purpose of defeating the enemy with one blow. Japan is the worst in this regard, because it is too obsessed with aerial combat tactics, so whether it is a Zero or an Army Combat Hayabusa, it focuses on circling and fighting capabilities. In addition, due to the structure of the airframe and the technical reasons of the engine, neither the Zero nor the Hayabusa were able to perform high-speed dives at large angles, so even if the air attack tactics were gradually improved, the results were minimal. But in any case, as the number of fights increased, Toshio Ota and everyone still summed up some ways to avoid dives. For example, when the opponent is approaching with a dive, use Zero's excellent rolling ability to quickly roll to avoid the attack line.

But this time, the formation on the opposite side this time is actually layered!

How so? From his position, the "Lightning" group on the opposite side looked like a huge transfer mille-feuille. As everyone knows, even if there is an altitude difference in fighter formations, they are generally not very large. But the "lightning" on the opposite side actually has a very large difference between the top and bottom, with four planes as a group, layer upon layer. Even the four planes in the group maintained an extraordinary altitude difference.

Toshio Ota quickly simulated the scene of himself launching an attack in his mind, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this strange formation was extremely dangerous!

At this time, their height is exactly at the bottom of the opponent's bottom, which means that as soon as they enter the attack range, the "lightning" on the top layer can directly launch a dive attack without climbing. At this time. The mid-tier "Lightning" can take advantage of the time difference in the dive attack of the upper tier and quickly climb into the dive position. Once they have avoided the first wave, they can launch a second wave of dives. When the second wave of dive hits, no matter what maneuver they do, the lower group can climb to the dive altitude and continue the dive. Even if you can avoid the third dive, then the first group of dive planes on the top level has already used the "Lightning" violent climbing ability to regain altitude and continue to launch a new round of dive attacks!

He really couldn't think of how to avoid it, unless it was a U-turn, no matter how he maneuvered up and down. will enter the opponent's dive attack range, and it will be endless.

Who invented this attack formation? It's too vicious!

The more Toshio Ota thought about it, the more chilled he became, and time did not allow him to scrutinize it. A group of planes facing each other at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour will be within range of the attack in three or four minutes at most. So he could only grit his teeth and order: "Be careful to dive!" Wingman pays attention to protection. "Trying to wait for the other side to attack and then find a solution.

The Zero group quickly expanded to the flanks, but they still underestimated the newly emerged one-domain multi-layer four-four system tactics. This set of tactics was established by the Navy and Air Force after a year of fierce warfare based on the combined experience of several years, and whether or not it is really the same as the tactics used in the "MiG corridor" in the parallel world, which has terrified the US military, there is at least one thing in common. That is, to give full play to the dive attack tactics to the greatest extent, and initially establish the theory of energy maneuver air combat!

Sure enough, when Toshio Ota led 64 Zeros into the attack area, he immediately experienced the power of the new tactics.

"Attack! Take the long machine as the moving arrow. Don't be left behind! Before the Zero Battle was completely dispersed, the 16 "Lightning" planes in front of the top layer launched a dive attack under the personal leadership of Zhang Peng. As mentioned earlier, the Air Force "Thunderbolt" and the Navy "Lightning" were developed from the very beginning on the basis of the famous F8F fighter. After many improvements, the actual performance is no worse than the original F8F. Whether it's speed, agility, climbing, rolling, and diving capabilities at low and medium altitudes, you can level down the Zero! Even the newest German FW190 fighters. It also did not have an advantage in front of the British Aid Flying Group, so the British named and asked for it. And as pilots have become more familiar with their planes and opponents, more new tactics have emerged, and the Lightnings have established their dominance at 6,000 meters.

High-altitude "heavenly power" and medium- and low-altitude "dual electricity" -- a high-low and high-level air combat and equipment mode has been established.

When he saw his target roll to the left and tried to dodge, the "lightning" in the dive reacted quickly, and re-inserted the zero battle into the aura of the reflex sight. "Da-da." Under the wing, four tongues of fire spit out in a short time, and the 1.27 mm semi-armor-piercing incendiary bomb bit the target wing. Zero battles without armor, without self-closing fuel tanks, the weak point will be magnified countless times under a dive attack, and it will be plunged into the sea at one head.

The freshly baked multi-layer four-four tactical tactics of one domain have achieved miraculous results, and as soon as they fought, the zero battle that they didn't understand at all was knocked down by two consecutive waves of 23 planes. What's even worse is that before the Japanese machine can get rid of it, the third wave of dives followed. "Spread out, all spread out! Fight your own battles! Toshio Ota's eyes were bloodshot, he never thought that this strange array was even more powerful than he imagined! But the "Lightning" will not be merciful, let alone soft, after the new tactics have received miraculous results, the new pilots on the Guangxi and Guangdong have worked harder, abandoning the last trace of fighting ideas in their minds, and their eyes follow the long plane that deliberately painted the wings red, using the long plane as an arrow, maintaining a multi-layered attacking lineup all the time. If you want to describe it, then the "Lightning" group at this moment is like a huge drum full of knife tips, after the top dive attack, the middle layer pulls up into the position, the middle layer pulls up into the position when the middle layer dives, and then the upper layer that ends the dive and quickly turns back to the dive position to complete the cycle.

Repeatedly, continuously, like a roller, constantly rolling forward!

"Spread out, spread out!" Toshio Ota kept shouting frantically on the radio, and the remaining Zeros scattered in all directions under his reminder. But what made the Japanese pilots desperate was that even if they dispersed, they could not get rid of their opponents, because the "Lightning" also spread out quickly, with a squad of four, continuing to maintain a multi-layered formation. After using your speed to catch up easily, continue to dive and attack in turns.

It's going to be fatal!

"Yaga! How can this be fought! ”

"Captain, what should I do? What should I do?! ”

There was a shout of horror on the radio.

Japanese pilots want to cry without tears!

This is not a knight air battle at all, it is simply ** meters!

Dozens of elite Japanese Navy pilots were killed alive like this, and they couldn't even find a way to fight back!

"Despicable! It's despicable! It's kind of heads-up! Aren't you Chinese the most particular about the spirit of martial arts? One-on-one! Toshio Ota was already cold, and after cursing with the most poisonous words, he began to talk about the spirit of martial arts again. It's a pity that Zhang Peng and his comrades-in-arms couldn't hear his words at this time, and they probably only had two words to answer when they heard it.

Stupid!

48 "Lightning". Dancing wildly, using the long machine as an arrow, constantly diving-pulling-diving-pulling up In this simple and primitive but effective attack action, the already slow Zero can only be beaten blindly and passively. Before the Hayabusa fighters joined the battle circle, more than half of the 64 Zeros were continuously dived. The most aggrieved thing is! No matter how high your level is, the performance of the aircraft is completely suppressed, you can't dodge dives continuously, so almost every downed Zero is killed in several ravage-like dives!

Toshio Ota is no longer able to command the cluster. His wingman was blasted in the air after two waves of dives. After losing cover, the 4 "Lightning" that bit him immediately launched a series of attacks. "Yaga!" Faced with a situation where he was almost powerless to fight back, he couldn't care about his friend's opportunity, and his eyes were fixed on a "lightning" that was swooping towards him. Secretly calculate the time of the opponent's arrival, and be prepared to roll around at any time to avoid it. As soon as the pilot of the "Lightning" pulled the trigger, he slammed the lever, and Zero quickly avoided the line of fire with a series of rolls. But not waiting for him to rejoice. Turning his head, his heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the sea, and the second wave had come.

"It's amazing." Toshio Ota, who secretly shouted in his heart, knew that unless there was a fighter with the same performance as the "Lightning". Otherwise, there are now only two paths. One is to climb, and the other is to actively dive before being overtaken, using speed to shake off and gain room for maneuver.

As soon as the idea of climbing appeared, he gave up. Don't look at the Zero Battle, which can gain an absolute climb advantage in front of the P-40 and F4F, but it is really nothing compared to the "Lightning". In the case that the vertical climb rate is not as good as the opponent's, if this tactic is adopted, the 3 lightning bolts next to you will definitely have a chance to play to their deaths a few times! So he could only push the lever hard. "Yaga! Hurry, hurry! Come on! With a beastly howl, Toshio Ota's Zero Fight slammed into the sea at a seventy-degree angle, and as the speed became faster and faster, the high-speed air currents caused the wings to flutter irregularly, and the engine made a strange noise. But he couldn't care about it anymore, and if he couldn't get away, then he would be killed by endless dive attacks like his companions.

The altimeter dropped rapidly, and his gaze wandered back and forth between the gauge and the pursuer behind him. Seeing the distance gradually widen, a joy of life from death rushed through his body with adrenaline. But before he could rejoice, the fighter plane that dived violently finally couldn't bear it. The tremor of the engine caused a large amount of gasoline to leak, and the moment it crossed the limit, it was ignited by the sparks from the oil cylinder. In an instant, the nose of the Zero Combat became a big fireball, and although the operating stick had already given the command, the plane still slammed into the sea at a speed of 600 kilometers per hour after struggling a few times.

The death of Toshio Ota means that the Zero Fighter Group has become a disaster. Before I thought of how to crack the multi-layer four-four tactics in one domain, the 36 "Lightning" on the left flank had already rushed into the battle circle and blocked the Falcon group. The exact same tactics, the same endless dive attacks, turned the more experienced Army Fleet fleet upside down. The entire sky was covered with white tracks pulled by fighter jets, densely packed and countless. One after another fighter planes chased after each other, a ** dive and churning cycle, and a dense rain of bullets drew clear attack marks in the blue sky, and in just a few rounds, the Japanese fighters either exploded in the air or pulled a long black smoke into the sea. In this sea area thousands of meters deep, unless someone comes to rescue them in a short time, there is no way to survive at all!

When the Hayabusa was blocked, the third wave of 46 "Lightning" planes arrived from the west and rushed into the Japanese attack aircraft group, which had no cover. Compared with the Zero Battle and the Falcon type, the 99 ship explosion and the 97 ship attack with heavy torpedoes and bombs were even more unbearable in the face of the multi-layer 44 tactics in one area, and the "Lightning" long plane that led the team in the end simply disbanded the formation. Let the pilots hunt themselves. No one expected this result, even Pan Duheng was stunned after learning Zhang Peng's preliminary battle report. Originally, he was mentally prepared to lose a few warships, but he didn't expect that the new tactics used for the first time would make the aviation force so strong and irresistible!

Even if a few Japanese attack planes broke through and intercepted and approached the fleet, they would be chased by the escort "Lightning" on top of the fleet's head and with itchy hands everywhere. Every time a plane breaks through, a litter of "lightning" rushes up, like a dog. Regardless of three, seven, twenty-one, directly dive and beat.

The happiest were the sailors on the outposts, who even forgot to dodge and rushed to the deck to watch this super air battle with their own eyes. Every time a Japanese plane fell from the sky, the entire warship would burst into a uniform cheer. If your own fighter falls, you are angry and frustrated, and you can't catch the enemy and punch yourself. Afterwards, when writing a report, one captain described the aerial battle he saw in Truk as a game of hunting gannets. Because in his eyes, the Japanese fighters, which were once known for their flexibility, have now turned into clumsy gannets. In the face of the hunter's rifle, there is no power to fight back at all! Later, I don't know how it spread, and the term "Truk hunting gannets" became synonymous with this great air battle.

130 "Lightning" fighters blocked behind the Japanese fleet. The 120 Yaksha dive bombers and the last 110 Osprey torpedo bombers immediately dispersed, broke through the few anti-aircraft guns deployed on the atoll, and entered the lagoon to begin a heavy attack on the Japanese troops on the Truk Islands.

It turned out that there were big problems with the anti-aircraft fire of the Japanese army. Once there is no fighter protection, the anti-aircraft artillery on the ground is completely unable to deal with the "Nakshatra" with high-speed diving. Bombs were dropped on the target as if they had eyes. And in order to get the maximum damage effect. Half of the "Yakshas" carry napalm bombs that were "snatched" from the Air Force! After the 500 kg napalm is exploded, the glue oil mist will quickly spread and attach to buildings, trees and human bodies, and it will last for a long time.

The Japanese soldiers, who vowed to rely on the special terrain to exhaust the Chinese navy and fight a protracted battle for the islands, were completely unaware of the power of napalm. Each bomb exploded to cover an area of four hundred square meters, and the splashing sparks quickly ignited everything on the surface, and clothes, hair, skin, and even buildings began to burn! Viewed from above, countless Japanese soldiers rushed to dodge and howl in the sea of fire, and some jumped directly from cliffs and piers into the sea to avoid the flames. Then it disappeared without a trace in the back and forth strafing of the "Yaksha" and "Lightning", which had finished dropping bombs.

Terrible bombs kept falling, and smoke billowed from all over Truk. The well-prepared anti-aircraft fire did not work at all, and was blown to pieces by the incoming bombs, and then covered by a sea of fire that could not be extinguished. Buildings crumbled and collapsed, thick coconut trees were cut in unison, coral sand grains rolled up into the air, black smoke and miasma, flying sand and rocks, moaning and wailing, and the closed archipelago became a complete hell on earth! The sea was also a bleak picture, with more than a dozen torpedo boats, destroyers, special cruisers, and supply ships that remained here also being attacked by the "Osprey" torpedo planes that arrived later. In particular, those supply ships that have no anti-aircraft firepower are constantly rushing to the left and right like lost dogs, but no matter how fast they are, they are not as fast as torpedoes, and one torpedo after another is as simple as training, sending them to the bottom of the sea at a depth of thousands of meters. The whirlpools and explosive columns of water were unbearable for even the Japanese soldiers in the bunkers on the island to witness.

In just two hours of attack, all 300 aircraft remaining in Truk were wiped out, while the XN21 battle group lost only 37 aircraft. Such a brilliant result made the pilots who rushed from Guam and thought they would be able to take advantage of a big air battle opportunity to vent all their anger on the Japanese army. By the time they had exhausted all their ammunition, the 122 H-7s entered the lagoon again. The 488-ton napalm completely "washed" Truk from beginning to end, and even the mangroves, which are not easy to ignite, began to burn.

At two o'clock in the afternoon and the next morning, Pan Duheng took advantage of the victory to pursue and launched two waves of attacks again, destroying the sea and air facilities in the Truk Islands! It also sent a group of frigates to escort three transport ships, occupied the Motlock Islands, 300 kilometers southeast of Truk and garrisoned by only a few hundred Japanese troops, and began to build a field airfield to continue the blockade of Truk. According to the accounts of the captured Japanese soldiers afterwards, in addition to 300 planes and 11 ships, 2,000 Japanese army soldiers were killed and more than 3,000 wounded during the two-day bombing, most of whom were burned to death and choked to death by smoke. Supplies and reserves were also burned. When the Chinese marines landed on the island, there were less than 9,000 Japanese troops on the islands that had been completely blocked, and the rest died of starvation and disease.

On March 3, Japan, which was full of hope that the XN21 battle group would land at Truk, was suddenly attacked by Japan, which had been dragged into the war of attrition on the islands. The Chinese Navy's 212th Aircraft Carrier Strike Group appeared at Eniwetok Atoll, and before the 1,000 Japanese troops on the island could react, they were indiscriminately bombed by 150 warplanes. Later, two leased French Dunkirk-class battleships and four cruisers joined the battle, and in just three hours, 2,700 shells of various types were poured on a small island of less than four square kilometers.

Such a heavy firepower against an atoll that lacks depth can be imagined. By the afternoon of the next day, the 2,000 marines who landed on the island had taken full control of the atoll and the airfield. Almost simultaneously, the 211th and 213th Carrier Battle Groups occupied Wake Island in the same way, opening not only the door to the Marshall Islands, but also blocking U.S. access to the Southwest Pacific.

After learning of the Chinese Navy's attack on Truk, the U.S. Ambassador to China, Jensen, formally submitted a note asking the Chinese Navy to hand over Wake Island to the U.S. government after recovering it. But before the U.S. Navy received the news of the refusal, it suffered another bad news.

The aircraft carrier Enterprise, which participated in Operation Torchlight, was sunk! (To be continued)