Chapter 208: Solomon's Checkers (20)

At night, in the sea north of Malaita Island, in a small cabin of the aircraft carrier "Saker", Pan Guochen, buried in the dim light, was writing diligently, and his elbows were covered with telegrams and various statistical reports.

“…… The third group of 3 planes (the original 6 planes) of the Duty Force ventured to land the Saker, when the foredeck of the Saker was still burning, and thick smoke swept the whole ship. ”

"At 11:07, the Jinpeng abandoned the ship, and the mobile force command transferred to the destroyer Wenyang."

"The third group of duty patrols, the third attack of the ship, the thunderstrike team)."

"At 11:15, Commander Yamaya received an order from the Theater Command to lead his troops to retreat north of Malatama Island at full speed."

"The second batch of patrol teams, ships attack 3 (Jinpeng)."

“…… At 11:24, the Jinpeng sank at an azimuth of Kirakira at an azimuth of 5 degrees, 105 nautical miles, and 12 ships sank with the ship (1 was wounded and needed to be repaired, and 11 were not prepared), and the third attack of the ship's attack was carried out by the Thunderstrike Team, 8 were to be repaired, and 6 were not prepared. ”

"At 11:30, Yamaya Commander's flagship Ise received a notification from the injured Yi Sun-sin: the injury was under control and could sail with the team, with a maximum combat speed of 23 knots."

"The fifth batch of duty guards, the remnants of the second batch of duty guards in ship warfare, the remnants of the second attack wave escort team, and the pilots are all from the original second attack wave escort team)."

"The third reconnaissance team, the third attack of the ship, the thunder strike team), reconnaissance due south 120 degrees, radius 120 nautical miles."

"The second batch of reconnaissance teams, 5 ships attacked (3 planes each of the Saker and Jinpeng at the time of departure, and 1 plane of the Jinpeng was missing)."

"The remainder of the 1st Ad Hoc Duty Brigade (i.e., the 3rd Attack Wave Escort Force) has 7 ships in battle: 4 planes of the Saker (1 of which is to be repaired, 9 planes at the time of departure), and 3 planes of the Jinpeng (7 planes at the time of departure)."

"The sixth batch of duty guards, the third batch of ship warfare duty guards)."

"The Second Attack Wave Escort of the Second Special Duty Guard, after landing on the ship, forcibly took off to intercept the enemy's third attack wave before it could be prepared) all fell into the sea, and three pilots were rescued."

"The remnants of the Second Attack Wave Guard, the Second Special Duty Guard, attacked, and all were destroyed; 6 were blown up or thrown into the sea when the Saker was shot; Among the remaining 3 machines, 2 were injured and needed to be repaired, and only 1 machine was available. Of the 15 pilots who returned to the ship, 9 were on board the Saker and 3 were rescued by other ships. ”

"Of the remaining 10 ships of the 2nd Assault Strike Force, 1 was blown up when the Saker was shot; 6 to be repaired; There are 3 remaining available. All 10 crews returning to the ship can continue to carry out the mission. In addition, in the other five ships that landed near the fleet, three crews were rescued by other ships. ”

"The Seventh Batch of Duty Guards, the First Special Duty Team of Ship Warfare)."

"The fourth batch of duty guards, the second group of duty guards of ship warfare, the aircraft is from the Saker spare aircraft)."

……

"As of 7 p.m. today—

It was confirmed that the Saker carried 19 ships (3 to be repaired) and 23 fighter pilots - 1 of them was wounded, and 22 were able to perform their duties normally; It was confirmed that 12 fighter pilots were rescued by other ships - 5 of them were wounded and 7 were available.

Of the 60 fighter pilots assigned at the time of the Second Air Sortie, 25 were missing, 6 were wounded, and 29 were available.

It was confirmed that the Saker carried 34 ships (9 to be repaired, 2 without spare aircraft) and 29 usable crews; The crew of the attack that has been confirmed to be rescued by other ships can be numbered into 21 usable crews.

Of the 81 ship-attack crews that were deployed at the time of the Second Naval Sortie, 50 were still available. ”

“…… In today's battle, the Second Air Combat lost 57 ships in battle and 68 in ship attack, a total of 125 planes; The mobile unit and other ships of the main force lost 4 naval reconnaissance aircraft; 7 heavy bombers were lost in the Sixth Air War at the Munda base; A total of 136 aircraft were damaged in battle (excluding damaged aircraft waiting for repair). ”

“…… The three waves of enemy planes that attacked were about 60 planes per wave, totaling 180 to 190 planes, and the estimated loss rate was more than 70 percent. However, since it is impossible to confirm the actual size of the enemy's base air force and aircraft carrier forces, it is difficult to estimate the remaining aviation combat power and replenishment capabilities of the other side......"

“…… I have only one conclusion: until more conclusive information is available, it is not advisable to act rashly. ”

Throwing down the fountain pen whose ink had faded, and raising his hand to rub his sour eye sockets, Pan Guochen smiled bitterly, grabbed the coffee cup on the corner of the table and poured half a mouthful, almost throwing it out - it was cold and astringent, obviously it had been put for a long time, and he forgot to add sugar and milk.

The losses were heavy, and of the 178 carrier-based aircraft carried by the two fleet aircraft carriers of the Second Air Force, only 53 were left at this time, including those that were wounded and were waiting for repair, and the loss rate exceeded 70 percent.

The most serious loss was the sinking of the "Jinpeng" aircraft carrier, which was built on the basis of previous combat experience and improved, and on which the naval aviation sent high hopes, died on the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean with 42 carrier-based planes just one hour after being attacked by the enemy.

The losses were limited, and the 141 crews carried at the time of the sortie, excluding the wounded, were still 79 groups that could continue to carry out their tasks, and the loss rate was less than 50 percent.

And the most gratifying thing for Pan Guochen is that the "flower of the first team" that he is inexplicably concerned about, not only has he already been safely transferred from the "Jinpeng", but when Pan Guochen went to visit the "Saker" infirmary an hour ago, he took the initiative to greet him on the hospital bed, and Pan Guochen took the opportunity to chat with her for a while - this is the second time the two have been alone.

There is nothing to be entangled, the world is turning every minute and every second, changing, everything is possible...... As long as you're willing to pay the price.

Pan Guochen sneered in his nose, shook his head and smiled at the endless darkness outside the porthole and the blurred light shadow on the glass, patted his head a little dizzy, and added to the small blank space left in the right corner of the notebook: "I believe that the base camp will not be disturbed by the emotional impulse of revenge, so as to hastily shift the focus of the operation, so as to shake the ......implementation of the general strategy of advancing west and defending east."

……

At midnight, 100 nautical miles southeast of San Cristobal Island, a thin and thin black shadow was undulating with the waves, and on a small protruding platform behind the black shadow, Zhong Qianli, the captain of the Shark No. 3 submarine of the Imperial Navy, opened his eyes wide, and patiently searched the black sea surface from the high-powered telescope set up on the azimuth dial by the faint, faint, and bird-like moonlight.

In September last year, the Shark 3, also commanded by Zhong Qianli and deployed in the Bay of Bengal, first discovered the Allied Combined Fleet in the Indian Ocean, which had lost its track in the storm, providing key intelligence for the decision-making of the base camp and the Combined Fleet.

The day after the end of the unprecedented Battle of the Bay of Bengal, the Shark 3 found the Allied Combined Fleet again in the midday sun, and fired four torpedoes at the Super Dreadnought battleship "Queen Elizabeth", which was carrying the commander of the Allied reconnaissance force, Vice Admiral Betty.

That was Zhong Qianli's first result after nine months of fighting, and it was also the only result of Shark 3 in the last nine months.

27,500 tons, Zhong Qianli and Shark 3's record is frozen here, there is no reason and no need to explain.

Three months earlier, Zhong had been promoted to lieutenant and was towed into Rabaul by a cruiser, along with the Shark 3, which had just celebrated its seventh birthday, and the 27 crew members who had never been replaced since the Battle of the Bay of Bengal.

A week earlier, Shark 3 had been incorporated into the Solomon Raiders Fleet, setting sail from Rabaul for the offshore waters of Guadalcanal.

Three days ago, Zhong Qianli received an order: Boat No. 3 of the 1st Shark Alert Group sailed towards the 1st Alert Formation east of Guadalcanal.

In the afternoon of the same day, Shark 3 received a new order: to move to a new position 100 nautical miles southeast of San Cristobal Island.

An hour earlier, the Shark 3, which had surfaced at full speed, had sailed into its current position on time and began an intense search - according to information from the headquarters of Rabaul's Dive 6th Squadron, the enemy ships damaged in the naval battle that day might take advantage of the night to head south to return to the base for repairs as soon as possible.

"Before I knew it, another nine months, time flies so fast......"

Zhong Qianli muttered in his heart unconsciously, tilted the brim of his hat to the left, and wanted to stuff his eyes into the binoculars.

"Even if the war is over, there is only one result, as long as you can return safely every time...... Well, this kind of thinking would tarnish the supreme glory of the Imperial Navy......"

"Shadow of the ship found in 270 directions"

The excited report of the young ensign beside him instantly interrupted Zhong Qianli's self-comfort, and he didn't have time to thank the Buddha Jade Emperor Tang Sanzang Sun Monkey or something, the conditional launch turned the azimuth disk, and the telescope was aimed at the front of the port side: Sure enough, on the dark and indistinguishable Northern Sea antenna, a small cluster of vague ship shadows was slowly squirming southward.

After two puffs of smoke, Zhong Qianli read out the parameters of the target group in pieces: "The target group has 4 known ship shadows, the ship type is unknown, the distance of the pilot ship is 2800 yards, the course is 168 degrees, and the speed is 10 knots......"

At the same time as all the parameters were reported, Zhong Qianli's eyes left the telescope, and his whole face approached the microphone in the command cabin of the Unicom boat.

"Urgently dive to prepare for battle"

……

In the early morning of June 10, the New Hebrides, Efate, the Anglo-American-Australian combined fleet advance base Port Vila.

"What the hell, the battle is over, and an aircraft carrier was lost in vain - a damn Chinese submarine"

Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, Will ? Admiral Robinson grumbled as he sliced and pounded the omelette on his plate.

On the morning of 9 June, in a fierce naval and air battle that broke out off the coast of San Cristobal Island, two "Pearl Harbor" class modified aircraft carriers equipped by the 52nd Task Force of the British-US Combined Fleet were attacked by enemy planes. The "Pearl Harbor" was hit by three torpedoes in five minutes, and soon capsized and sank; Another torpedo exploded in the stern of the "Manila", damaging its main rudder and No. 1 propeller and rendering it incapacitated.

In the afternoon of the same day, under the towing of the light cruiser Birmingham, the "Manila" was escorted by four destroyers led by the light cruiser "Fargo."

However, at about 1 o'clock in the morning of the 10th, the formation sailed less than 100 nautical miles from the island of San Cristobal when it was suddenly ambushed by an enemy submarine, and the "Manila" was hit by two torpedoes on the starboard side at the same time, capsizing and sinking within five minutes.

In this way, the success of sinking a large enemy fleet carrier in the battle of June 9 was hard for Admiral Robinson to rejoice at the huge cost of sinking two modified aircraft carriers one after another.

"Anything is possible on the battlefield."

Across the table, the commander of the 54th Task Force of the Anglo-American-Australian Combined Fleet - the former commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Australian Combined Fleet, Vice Admiral George of the British Navy? Sir Brian replied slowly, holding his coffee cup in both hands.

Robinson picked up a few pieces of the omelette that had been ravaged with a dining knife, and threw it into his mouth viciously, swallowing it without moving his teeth as he tilted his head.

"The duty of a commander is precisely to make correct and decisive decisions surrounded by countless possibilities."

Brian, who had gray sideburns, nodded kindly: "It seems that you already have the bottom in your heart." ”

Robinson, with his white beard, swallowed a large sip of coffee, tilted his head and asked Brian, "What do you think, my sir?" ”

Brian shook the coffee cup in his hand, creating a pocket-sized and ephemeral swirl of coffee.

"The invincible Imperial Chinese Navy had suffered a defeat in such a small and remote place, and the annoyed military and political leaders wished to take immediate revenge, and they happened to have the capital to retaliate against, so it was natural to expect that within two to three months, the East Asian Armada that had once shown its might in the Bay of Bengal would appear in the Solomon Islands in full formation, and then the balance of strength between us and the enemy would be overwhelming, and we would not be able to prevent any meaningful action by the other side."

Robinson picked up a handkerchief and wiped the coffee stains on his beard, shook his head and smiled, "You mean, no matter how hard we try, sooner or later we will be finished?" ”

Brian put down the innocent coffee cup, leaned forward, rested his elbows on the edge of the table, and his face suddenly became serious: "The only thing we can fight for is time." ”

"Can you buy time by retreating in front of the enemy?" Robinson asked rhetorically, narrowing his eyes.

Brian said, "At least it will allow us to preserve enough strength to survive the most difficult times." ”

Robinson lowered his head and pondered for a long time, and drank the coffee in the cup one after another, until the bottom of the cup was empty, and suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze determined: "I can give up Guadalcanal for a while, but I will never stop moving forward." ”

……