Episode 191 Decisive Battle at Sea (10)

At 10:30 a.m. on the 15th, 128 fighters took off from Pingtung Airport at the southern tip of Taiwan.

The situation of the Ming army was already very serious, and all the bombers of the Japanese army, as well as almost three-quarters of the fighters, were flocked to the top of the Ming fleet. And most of the fighters of the Ming army have not landed for a long time, and they are on the verge of running out of fuel. Most of the fighters of the Japanese army were later, and although there was not much fuel, it was still more sufficient than the Ming army.

Although the number of fighters on both sides was equal, the disadvantage had shifted to the side of the Ming army. Because of the fuel shortage, many aircraft are faced with a dilemma: either avoid high speed and other fuel-guzzling maneuvers and be at a disadvantage in air combat, or how to fight, but the fuel is quickly exhausted, parachuting and crashing.

At this moment, a large black spot faintly appeared on the northwest side, so large that it resembled a swarm of locusts. In the headphones of the Ming army fighters who were struggling on the battlefield, there was a cheer at the moment. Originally, in order to save fuel, they didn't dare to let go of the fighting, but now they have no scruples, throwing off their arms and doing the final fight, because someone will take over soon.

In the blink of an eye, the huge "locust swarm" threw off the auxiliary fuel tanks one after another, and rushed over with a roar, and a pair of land-based kingfisher detachments deftly turned over and dived into the battlefield. Suddenly, dozens of Japanese bombers and dozens of Japanese fighters on the battlefield began to be flattened.

The Japanese aircraft group was suddenly under pressure several times higher than before, and there was no mental preparation at all. Originally, he was still very sure that he would be able to blow up and sink one or two capital ships of the Ming Army, but now he suddenly fell into the situation of being chased by two or three people to fight one. The radio headsets of the Japanese aircraft group were filled with all kinds of shouts, cries for help, and calls for help, and there was a panic. There were so many fighters from the Ming army that no one knew where they came from. These Japanese pilots also knew that the Ming army still had an aircraft carrier in Kaohsiung Port, but that aircraft carrier was injured and could not fight again so quickly. And even if it could, how many planes could it carry with an aircraft carrier? The two brigades are holding on! But there are three brigades here!

The Japanese fighters and bombers all fell into the sea like dumplings, and the pressure on the Ming fleet below was greatly reduced, and it was no longer a target to be bombed. The Tianquan and Tianshu hurriedly began to reclaim the plane. The carrier-based fighters of the Ming army, which had almost run out of fuel, took the opportunity to break away from the battle, descended to a low altitude one after another, and landed on the deck.

At this moment, the Japanese aircraft carrier formation, which was 80 nautical miles to the east, heard the radio report, and the fleet commander, ship commander, and staff officers, all of them were also shocked. The entire command of the aircraft carrier formation fell into a state of almost panic, and the fleet commander repeatedly asked the captain of the Japanese aircraft group to confirm the news and confirm the number of fighters of the Ming army. It wasn't until the captain of the Japanese fighter group confirmed the report twice and the radio signal suddenly disappeared that the officers in the command room of the Akagi looked at each other in horror and understood that this might be true.

Now, the only dozens of fighters left in the Japanese army are obviously in danger. And before, the location of the Japanese aircraft carrier formation had also been discovered by Ming bombers. Then then, the catastrophe is inevitable. Moreover, it was just after 10 o'clock in the morning, and it was still early before dark. After the Ming fleet eliminated the Japanese fighters, it had a whole day to deal with the Japanese fleet.

……

At 11:10, after almost 40 minutes of air fighting, all the remaining Japanese planes over the Ming fleet—more than 50 fighters and more than 60 bombers—were shot down. The Ming army lost a total of 45 fighters. The Ming bombers never made direct contact with the Japanese fighters, and they have always protected themselves well, so they basically did not suffer losses. Now half is in the hangar of the aircraft carrier, and half is scattered in the surrounding airspace. Now the bombers in the hangar began to take off. Together with the rest of the bombers, they will go to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier group.

128 land-based fighters, now 83 remain. In order to fly to the place and let go of the fighting, these planes all brought auxiliary fuel tanks and threw them away before flying into the battlefield. Although most of the planes still have some fuel, it is definitely not enough to fly back. The leader of the land-based aircraft group asked the aircraft carrier Tianquan below for instructions, hoping to use the remaining fuel to escort the bombers to attack the Japanese fleet. But the commander of the aircraft carrier detachment on the Tianquan did not agree.

He knew that the premise for the General Staff to agree to this plan was to ensure that only the planes were sacrificed, not the pilots. This plan specially set the air battle battlefield over the Ming fleet, in order to ensure that the pilots could parachute over the Ming fleet and be rescued by the Ming destroyers, rather than falling into the hands of the Japanese army. To attack the Japanese fleet now, it is likely that you will have to parachute over the Japanese fleet. Then these pilots are going to be prisoners.

The Ming land-based fighter group was ordered to parachute a few nautical miles west of the Ming fleet. This would ensure that the Ming destroyers would quickly rush over to salvage and not be damaged by the downed planes.

83 fighters flew a few nautical miles to the west and then began to parachute. For a time, the sky was full of white parachutes, and dozens of planes spun around and fell into the sea like a meteor shower. The surface of the sea was full of wreckage floating everywhere, as if it had just experienced a major air battle. Each pilot wears a colorful smoke canister on his life jacket. Now they fall into the water, the first thing is to cut the paracord, the second is to pull out the smoke canister.

The 12 destroyers of the Ming army also sped over at high speeds, searching for columns of colored smoke on the sea. They spread evenly across the parachute area, and then each ship lowered a few more lifeboats and paddled towards the nearest plume of smoke.

Things went very well, and within an hour, all the pilots were rescued into the lifeboats. An hour and a half later, they were all in the destroyer changing into dry clothes and drinking hot tea.

The painstaking planning of the General Staff of the Ming Army for many days, the cooperation of the two major fleets in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the unprecedented dispatch of the Ming fleet, and the sacrifice of 128 fighters...... All these efforts began to reap the fruits at this moment.

The Ming army's aircraft group first let go of the Japanese army's main battlefleet, a large group of bombers, a large group of fighters, a total of more than 80 planes, and flew mightily towards the Japanese aircraft carrier formation 80 nautical miles away. And the Japanese fleet faced this moment, and there was nothing to do. They can't even concoct it the same way. The nearest land-based airfield of the Japanese army is Okinawa Island, which is more than 650 kilometers away from here, and more than 100 kilometers farther than the Pingtung airfield of the Ming army. If the Japanese fighter group carried auxiliary fuel tanks, at most it would have flown here. But after flying here, there is almost no fuel left, and there is no way to conduct air combat, so you can only fall into the sea, needlessly sacrificing one or two hundred more planes.

Besides, it's too late now.

When the Japanese officers thought of this, they all hated it, and at the same time sighed that the battlefield position chosen by the Ming army was really perfect.

In an almost transcendent despair, the Ming army's brigade flew overhead. Bombs and torpedoes fell like a swarm of wild bees. The Japanese army had only two aircraft carriers and several destroyers, and their anti-aircraft guns were quite weak, and at the moment they were desperately bombarding with the vigor of a fish to death, and the entire fleet was driving an S-shaped course at high speed, trying its best to avoid bombs and torpedoes.

But it was all in vain, and soon, the Akagi was hit by a torpedo first, the speed gradually slowed down, and the turn was inflexible. Immediately, the hit rate of bombs and torpedoes was higher. Several bombs in a row and a second torpedo hit the Akagi one after another. A sky-high fire erupted on the Akagi, black smoke billowed into the sky, and half of the ship's hull gradually tilted down.

The Kaga is not immune either. While the Akagi was hit several times, it was also hit by three torpedoes and four bombs one after another. Compared to battleships, aircraft carriers were almost unarmoured. The speed of the two aircraft carriers had dropped to only a few knots, and they were staggering and staggering, dragging the raging flames and black smoke into the sky, lingering on the surface of the sea.

More bombs and torpedoes were hit. The aircraft carrier, which has lost the protection of fighter jets, is now a big fat pig with two bundled heads and no power to fight back. There is no suspense that death is their inescapable fate.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, the Kaga sank first. At about half past one, the Akagi also sank. Several Japanese destroyers pulled out of high speed and quickly fled the battlefield. The Ming army did not chase them, let them go, and flew westward.