For Sukhoi and Kuznetsov, the first wave of attacks was always less aggressive, and they were like a group of passers-by on the edge of the stage, who did not achieve anything impressive in this naval battle.

Yes, although the Ro-2 group participated in the strikes on the Kaga, Akagi and Soryu, and did hit some bombs and torpedoes, it did not sink a single Japanese aircraft carrier, much to the disappointment of the two admirals. In particular, although the Ro-2 loaded with torpedoes suffered slight losses, the results of the battle are really not worth mentioning, only one of the forty torpedoes hit, and all the rest were lost, this hit rate is simply embarrassing!

So much so that Sukhoi had the idea of not bringing torpedoes at all in the next wave of attacks, and it would be useless anyway, just bring aerial bombs. Fortunately, this thought was only for a moment, and soon Sukhoi returned to his normal mind.

"Do you continue to attack the enemy's remaining carrier, or do you strike at the enemy to the west?" Kuznetsov did not dwell on the results of the previous wave, but instead raised a very real question.

In fact, the subtext of Kuznetsov's words is obvious, it is certain that the Americans will continue to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier in the north, if they also continue to attack this target, then the final result may still not be brilliant, and it is not even ruled out that when the Ro-2 arrives at the battlefield again, the Americans have already dealt with the Wyvern, isn't this a trip in vain?

Kuznetsov felt that there was no need to care about Nagumo Tadaichi's mobile troops now, and it would be the icing on the cake if he went, and he would not show the combat effectiveness of the Red Navy's task force, and he didn't want to continue to play soy sauce.

Sukhoi quickly understood what Kuznetsov meant. In fact, he also found the previous battle boring. Now that Nagumo Tadaichi's mobile forces have been heavily damaged. The Americans had the absolute upper hand in three strikes and could not have missed (he did not yet know the information that the Yorktown had been heavily damaged). So he quickly said: "We should move westward, so that we can strike at the enemy in the west on the one hand, and we can also cut off the enemy's escape in the north!" ”

Kuznetsov was naturally overjoyed to hear this, and he reported to Nimitz at Pearl Harbor on their plans for the next stage, while on the other hand, he nervously waited for the Ro-2 to return. Because when the second wave of attacks will be carried out will depend entirely on when these Ro-2s will be able to return.

Sukhoi didn't know that the first batch of returning Ro-2s were followed by a small tail, and the six Zeros, eight Ninety-Nine and four Ninety-Seven Destroyers that had taken off from the Soryu, were hoisting behind the Ro-2 and rushing towards his fleet.

At a distance of about 150 km, the radar of the cruiser Riga detected the targets. However, they did not realize that it was an enemy plane. The reason is very simple, because it is his own Ro-2 that flies in front, and the radar operator naturally thinks that the target behind is also his own aircraft, even if the waveform of this batch of aircraft on the radar is a little different from that of Ro-2, but he has been fighting for most of the day and is really not energetic, ignoring this subtle difference.

There may be comrades who want to say, isn't there still a friend or foe identification system? How could this go wrong? Don't worry, the identification system is not so reliable. During the Gulf War, the US imperialists, armed to the teeth by high technology, often made mistakes because of the problem of identifying friend or foe, not to mention the identification system in the 40s, when the electronics industry had just begun to develop greatly. The electronics of those days were notoriously unreliable. In actual combat, except for the particularly "clean" airspace, the final identification of friend or foe still depends on the pilot's eyes to solve the problem.

Like at this time. The sky was filled with Red Navy fighter jets patrolling, and the large number of Ro-2s that had just returned was even more eye-catching. In those days, there were no computers to help you identify and analyze targets, everything had to rely on manpower, and it was normal to make mistakes and omissions in the busy.

What's more critical is that as mentioned earlier, the Riga is a Type 40 air defense cruiser, and an air defense command center is set up inside, but because of the limited tonnage of the Type 40, the volume of this command center is relatively small, and the ability to deal with targets is limited.

So it wasn't until the Japanese planes approached the 80-kilometer distance of the Red Navy task force that another air defense cruiser, Arkhangelsk, discovered this batch of little tails that were not quite right, and she immediately called these targets through the secret frequency and asked them to report their homes. But how can the Japanese get it? I won't answer if I receive it.

At this time, Arkhangelsk felt that something was wrong, but she could not conclude that these were the enemy, so she called the targets on the public channel to let them identify themselves again, and after this call was not answered, the Arkhangelsk quickly notified the Yak-3, which was patrolling the relevant airspace, to intercept it, and the air defense alarm sounded on the other side.

Gorshkov recalled: "At about half past eleven, the piercing anti-aircraft sirens sounded again, which made me, who was about to have lunch, immediately return to the bridge, and the crew was also in place, the anti-aircraft guns and machine guns on the ship were aimed in the northeast direction, and the anti-aircraft search radar quickly caught this group of uninvited guests. ”

"This wave of the enemy was detected a little later, and it is said that there are only fifty kilometers left from the fleet. I held my binoculars and looked wide open at the vicinity of the water antenna, and if nothing else, the enemy should be coming soon. ”

"A group of small black dots appeared in the field of vision, not a lot of them, more than a dozen, one of which was still emitting black smoke from the nose, it should have been injured by our Jacques...... Soon flocks of Jacques appeared, and they pounced like chickens like eagles in a neat queue...... The enemy tried to resist, and traces of tracer bullets could be faintly seen, but the disparity between the enemy and the enemy was too great, and soon the enemy planes were shot down one after another...... However, the Japanese obviously did not intend to give up just like that, and they dodged the rain of bullets on the one hand, and rushed towards our aircraft carrier with the throttle on the other......"

"Thirty kilometers...... Twenty km ...... Fifteen km ...... Soon with an order, the 130-mm guns on the air defense cruiser opened fire, and the 12 guns on the Riga fired fiercely, and the yellow shells with white smoke clanged down on the deck, even if it was some distance away. I could also feel how fast the shot was......"

"The lethality of 130 mm ammunition is still good. The shrapnel from the explosion covered that sky. Forcing enemy aircraft to disperse, their unified attack formations soon ceased to exist. But only a few enemies were shot down, after all, we had too few air defense cruisers, and even with the help of two destroyers, it would not be enough to completely cover that airspace, and the enemy came in from the corner of this fire net......"

"After entering within 10 kilometers, the 130-mm main gun will stop attacking according to the design requirements. These targets were handed over to the 76 guns in the inner layer, but this time, there were fewer targets rushing in, so the 130 main guns continued to fire, and the 76 guns, which had a faster rate of fire, could finally show their skills......"

"The average rate of fire of these 76 guns was about 40 rounds, which was already a rain of bullets in those days, and I witnessed an enemy plane being caught by them, and as tongues of fire erupted from the barrel, this little sparrow was quickly torn to pieces...... Yes, not an exaggeration at all. Completely torn apart, only a few skins slowly drifted to the surface of the sea......"

"Under the encirclement and interception of 130 guns and 76 guns. Most of the enemy planes were torn to shreds, almost none of the Japanese pilots survived, most of them were beaten into a sieve by shrapnel in the cockpit, and there was no chance of parachuting at all...... There were only two enemy planes protruding into our innermost air defense net, both torpedo planes, and from the telescope I could see the torpedoes hanging under their belly, and they were very scary......

"I have to praise the air defense systems on our ships, they are very effective against medium and high altitude targets, and it is impossible for the enemy's dive bombers to break through to get close to us within five kilometers, most of them are solved at a distance of eight or nine kilometers. The real problem is the torpedo machine, the Japanese fly almost close to the sea, and the height is basically fifteen to twenty meters, which makes the 130-mm and 76-mm anti-aircraft guns somewhat powerless, they are not good at dealing with low-altitude targets, which gives the enemy an opportunity! ”

"Two torpedo planes flew close to the sea, and strings of shells flew over their heads, and nothing seemed to stop them. At this time, the AK-630 opened fire, and this small-caliber air defense system was specially designed to deal with similar targets, and it should be said that they performed quite well, and the dense barrage covered the path of the enemy aircraft, forcing them to change course, otherwise they would definitely be torn to pieces! ”

"Although the AK-630 did not directly shoot down the enemy plane, it forced the enemy to change course at the last moment of the mine, and the torpedoes dropped were naturally so outrageous that they barely touched the hair of the Kiev. And just as they turned, a barrage of shells exploded around them, scattering shampling, which damaged the engine of one of the torpedo planes, and soon the plane was plunged headlong into the sea, and the pilot was crushed to pieces. ”

"We are very happy that the crisis has been resolved, that all enemy aircraft have been resolved. It seems to me that the only remaining torpedo plane could not have escaped Jacques's hunt, and if his pilot was clever enough, he should have jumped in a hurry. Because our fighter pilots are desperate to get results......"

"We are very relieved and relaxed, a torpedo machine without a torpedo is like a toothless tiger that poses no threat. At that time, I let go of my suspense and began to think about whether to continue to lunch, and at this time, a scene that stunned me appeared, the torpedo plane that was supposed to escape with its tail between its legs did not choose to escape or parachute, its pilot piloted the plane as if dancing on the tip of a knife, miraculously dodged a string of shells, and then suddenly pulled up the height and dived towards Minsk! ”

"Are the Japanese crazy? That was my initial thought, and it was clear that this pilot was preparing to ram our carrier. At that moment, I felt the sound of air raid sirens piercing like never before, almost like a sharp knife cutting at my heart. The only thing we can count on is that the AK-630 system will be as powerful as ever, shooting it down like it hunted dive bombers before. ”

"But soon I was half cold, and for some reason, the AK-630 on the stern gangway of the Minsk didn't shoot, and it just stared dryly at the enemy planes crashing into it...... Boom, I was all in pain for the Minsk, the enemy plane hit the aft deck like a meteor, and a fireball jumped up from the deck......"

It was later found out that the fire control radar of the Minsk, which was responsible for the tail hemisphere, was malfunctioning, and without the instructions of the fire control radar, the AK-630 was blind. Naturally you can't shoot. I have to say. Minsk was really unlucky.

The torpedo plane crashed into the flight deck in the stern of the Minsk. A three-meter-square hole was opened in the deck, and the unfinished gasoline on board caused another fire. Soon, the Minsk was put into rescue mode, and groups of damage management personnel rushed to the scene with fire faucets and fire extinguishers, and the air crew in the hangar also rushed to move some of the fighters. Thankfully, there were very few aircraft on board the ship at this time, and the vast majority of carrier-based aircraft were in the air. So the losses are not big.

The only problem was the fire and the damaged deck, which prevented the Ro-2, which was returning home, from landing. This scene was seen in Sukhoi's eyes but anxious in his heart, he was also ready to do a big job, ready to launch the next wave of offensive to solve the west of Kondo Nobutake, who would have thought that the Minsk dropped the chain at a critical moment.

"Let the Minsk immediately extinguish the fire and report the damage," Sukhoi ordered, "and let the Ro-2, which is still well-fueled, fly to Midway and land first, and the Kiev if the fuel is more tight!" ”

Again, thanks to the Ro-2's long range when it was designed, it saved the lives of many pilots, at least they didn't have to swim in the sea like their American counterparts. But when news of the devastation in Minsk reached Pearl Harbor. Nimitz frowned.

To tell you the truth, he was in a good mood at first. When Fletcher told him that he had destroyed three enemy aircraft carriers, he was as happy as a child, but soon the bad news came, first Yorktown and then Minsk, and in the blink of an eye, the Allies lost two aircraft carriers. And according to the previous analysis, the enemy still has two aircraft carriers, and the strength of the two sides is still quite close. Especially for the Red Navy task force that was preparing to attack Nobutake Kondo, the situation was not optimistic, and there was only one aircraft carrier left, while the enemy did not necessarily have only one aircraft carrier. For a while, Nimitz had the heart to get Kuznetsov and Sukhoi to cancel their attack plans.

Only two hours later, when York City was severely damaged by the second wave of blows, Kuznetsov sent him a telegram that the Minsk had regained its combat effectiveness after repair, and would continue to attack according to the plan made at noon, asking the Ro-2s who had landed on Midway to return to their homes as soon as possible.

This news surprised Nimitz, he can still understand the miraculous repair of the Yorktown before, after all, the Yorktown already has relevant experience, and to be honest, the damage should be lighter than Minsk, after all, Yorktown was only shot, and Minsk was really hit, how can Minsk also create a miracle?

Even Nimitz thought that the Russians were bragging in order to save their own face. But soon he learned the truth from the liaison officer sent to the Red Navy task force - the Minsk had indeed regained its combat effectiveness!

The liaison officer told Nimitz: "The armored flight deck of the Minsk is more damaging, and the enemy aircraft only damaged part of the aft deck, with little damage to the hangars. The Russians also had a set of damage management, covering the breach with armor plates that had been prepared long ago and urgently reinforcing it, so that it did not affect the take-off and landing at all. ”

Of course, what is more important is that the carrier-based aircraft of that era were not as bulky as in the jet age, and Minsk was hit by the deck at the root of the stern, which had little impact on take-off and landing, so the Minsk could quickly regain combat effectiveness. And after the Battle of Midway, the Minsk immediately returned to Pearl Harbor for repairs, of course, the repair work was very simple, and it was completed in a few days.

The Minsk was restored to combat effectiveness, and the attack plans of Sukhoi and Kuznetsov could continue, which was terrible news for the Japanese. In fact, the Japanese have not received any good news since noon.

"The Kaga, Akagi and Soryu were attacked by enemy land-based and carrier-based aircraft and were burning violently. We plan to meet enemy aircraft carriers with the Wyvern. At the same time, we will temporarily withdraw north to gather troops......"

This is a telegram sent by Hiroki Abe to Isoroku Yamamoto and Nobutake Kondo when he was briefly the commander of the mobile unit. At that time, this "heartbroken report suddenly cast a thick cloud over the Yamato operational command room." ”

Indeed, it was a bolt from the blue. The fact that the Combined Fleet had never received news of the defeat of Nagumo's mobile forces since the beginning of the war fundamentally shook their faith. The self-righteous devil has always believed that the end of Midway must be a great victory for the imperial kingdom, and the American animals will flee in disarray. At least that's what everyone on board the Yamato thinks. Now the devils have to change their attitude, and no longer think about "what kind of glorious victory we will achieve," but start thinking about "how much damage we can recover." ”

Although before the Mi operation, Yamamoto's staff officers also thought that they would suffer losses, but they could calmly deal with the loss of one aircraft carrier, and the loss of two only felt that it was a bit unworthy, but now they have lost three ships in one go, which is "a huge loss that I never expected!" ”

Therefore, at this moment, the staff officers in the Combined Fleet Command who were initially boastful and hot-headed became cold and sweaty one by one. The Black Island Turtle Man was so angry that he slapped the table in a hurry, and cried bitterly from time to time. However, this kind of temperament is appropriate for actors, but it is a little artificial for soldiers...... (To be continued.) )

PS: Bow and thank you to the sad wolf, the fat man flies and flies, the sweet potato in the melon field, the Akula-class nuclear submarine observer, zmcyhh, the teenager who loves to read is not young, hzwangdd and Comrade Juventus!