Special thanks to the big red envelope of "Ghoul", and today I will add five more chapters! One shift per hour! The third is offered!

Twenty TBF "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft were knocked out during the penetration, twelve of which broke through the anti-aircraft fire network of the "Izumi" and dropped torpedoes. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

With excellent evasive maneuvers and good character, the battleship avoided three of them, and two of the five hits were duds.

One hole was exposed on the port side, and two on the starboard side, and hundreds of tons of seawater poured in, but the problem was not big and did not affect the combat operation.

During the campaign, the US forces lost four F-4F "Wildcat" fighters, 16 TBF "Avenger" torpedo attack planes, and 15 SbD "Dreadnought" dive bombers.

In addition to the idle fighters, the other two anti-ship attack aircraft suffered heavy losses in the face of shipborne anti-aircraft guns with multiplied firepower.

The "Izumi" actually hit three torpedoes and four aerial bombs, but this was not a serious injury to a battleship with a full load displacement of nearly 76,000 tons.

Moreover, the captain Nishida Masao Osa is also accompanied by a divine envoy who can quickly repair the damaged battleship.

"Your Excellency, your mana is really an eye-opener!" The captain of the second cargo ship has been completely convinced

If Tsukishin just waved his hand at the location where the battleship had been wounded, the wound would disappear immediately, as if it had not been attacked.

As for the underwater holes, the young people of the second cargo can't see them, so they have to stop the ship for maintenance.

If, because of the destruction of the waterline armor, the "Hequan" eventually becomes the "Yellow Spring", it will be more than worth the loss.

In line with the starting point of safety first and safety-oriented, Nobu Wakatsuki asked Masao Nishida to stop the ship so that he could go into the water for maintenance.

It will take about an hour or so, but the US military can't move Henderson Airport, so it doesn't matter.

When the adjacent compartment was closed, the wound was no longer flooded, but the nearby armor took on the appearance of popcorn.

"All the damaged locations have been repaired! Have your men drain the influx of water in no time! Speed restored to twenty-eight knots! Missions and objectives remain the same! ”

"Yes, Your Excellency! Thank you so much! ”

Fortunately, I'm here, and if I was someone else, I guess I'll be feeding the fish in the aquarium at the bottom of the sea at this time!

"All the staff have breakfast, and when we get to the scheduled position, we will be busy!"

Compared to the Kuah Island Army, which almost became a savage, the Japanese Navy's food was much better, at least it would not starve.

There are all kinds of canned food, and you can eat it until you throw up.

If you are close to the "Mamiya" ship, you can even eat a popsicle.

This is a supply ship with food storage equipment, cold storage, and freezer, and this is the only one, even rarer than the "Yamato Hotel".

"Your Excellency, do you want to report to Commander Yamamoto on the situation of this battle?" Masao Nishida asked tentatively

Anyway, it has been discovered by the U.S. military, so there is no way to hide, Ruoyuexin nodded and agreed: "Yes, just report the results of the battle realistically, this plane is not our goal!" ”

In this case, the captain of the second cargo ship had to cautiously correct the results of more than 100 planes to 52 planes.

Considering that the Japanese army has always exaggerated the facts, lied about the results of the battle, and double-counted in statistics, this data is already relatively true.

"Okay! It's such an honor to be able to have breakfast with you! "The captain of the second cargo ship finally has the capital to boast to his colleagues in the future

While Wakatsuki was eating Japanese food, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Command also received a report from the front and immediately ordered the U.S. fleet in the waters off Kuah Island to launch an encirclement and annihilation operation.

It is simply wishful thinking that a mere battleship dares to rampage in this sea area, and it is bound to repeat the mistakes of the battleship "Bismarck" in those years.

Lieutenant General Halsey, the commander of the Kuah Island front, ordered Willis Jr.? Augustus? Major General Li led the 64th Task Force to carry out this encirclement and annihilation operation.

Task Force 64 consisted of the battleships USS Washington (North Carolina-class) and USS South Dakota (South Dakota-class battleships), plus two heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and eight destroyers.

These two US battleships were the culprits behind the previous defeat of the two "Kongo"-class battlecruisers "Hiei" and "Kirishima" into one sinking and one seriously injured.

In addition, Halsey also ordered the Kuah Island Marine Corps Air Force to cooperate with the naval fleet to complete the mission.

"Giant battleships? And twin turrets? "Major General Li could not have imagined that the "Nagato" would have such dimensions

The "Yamato" class was a triple main turret, unless the Japanese had a convulsion and let the battleship run back to replace the new main guns of eighteen or even twenty inches, and by the way, the turret was replaced.

"Report, it's a telegram from Major General Fletcher!" Major General Li took it and looked at it, and suddenly realized.

According to the inferences of Rear Admiral Fletcher, who knew a lot about the development of the Combined Fleet and the Japanese Navy, the battleship could be the third ship of the "Yamato" class.

The exact name of the ship is unknown, but it also has the same tonnage and armor as its sister ship.

The main gun could be more than eighteen inches, reaching twenty inches, and due to its large size, a twin mode was adopted.

If the battleship had sailed into the Iron Bottom Strait and bombarded Henderson with its main guns, one could have imagined how many casualties the American forces on the island would have.

Fortunately, the reconnaissance aircraft found only this battleship within a radius of thirty nautical miles.

Although there was still a sizable Japanese fleet in the waters north of Savo Island, they were still more than sixty nautical miles away from their goal.

"Gentlemen, we must sink this battleship before enemy reinforcements arrive!" Major General Lee has made up his mind

It would be disappointing to have an absolutely superior force and not be able to make a difference, not to mention the fact that this time there is also the cooperation of the Marine Corps aviation.

The Japanese only have such a battleship, which can be regarded as a sheep in the mouth of a tiger, and the 64th Task Force is bound to eat this piece of fat delivered to their mouths in one bite!

"Report, the enemy battleship formation has been discovered, including two battleships, heading due west, at a speed of twenty-seven knots, and fifty-five nautical miles from us!"

Ruoyuexin couldn't help but wonder when he heard it: If it is closer, what kind of reconnaissance plane do you need? You can identify targets with the naked eye!

Today is a sunny day, and the reconnaissance plane has only reported the enemy situation now, and the pilots are watching the scenery???

The top speed of the two American battleships was no more than twenty-seven knots, which meant that they were heading at full speed for themselves.

It seems that the other party is in a hurry to eat himself, and if nothing else, he should have taken the bait.

Nishida Masao measured the compass on the nautical chart and kindly reminded: "Your Excellency, the enemy may want to prevent our ship from entering the strait!" ”

The captain of the second cargo ship knew that he had to pack up the invading enemy before he could go over and shell Henderson Airport, but he was still unsure whether to fight outside or go in.

Ruoyuexin didn't mind and said, "It's okay, when we finish dealing with these guys sent to the door, it's not too late for us to go in!" Didn't two battleships come? Just one piece to pack and take away! ”

Both battleships were armed with sixteen-inch (406 mm) guns, which could have been used to scare people.

However, Wakatsuki Shin was not afraid of this, and the "Izumi" was more wary of torpedoes fired by the opposing destroyer than those long and thick things.

"When the distance between us and the enemy is reduced to thirty nautical miles, we will turn around, and we must ensure that the distance between us and their cruisers and destroyers is more than five nautical miles, so that we can give full play to the range advantage of our ship's artillery!"

"I see, Your Excellency!" Masao Nishida thought that this guy was going to rush over directly, so he could rest assured.

Both U.S. battleships are equipped with Mark-3 fire control radars, which work in the 40-centimeter band, which can provide specific target parameters (azimuth, distance, relative motion changes, etc.) for naval gun firing, and can also correct the impact point.

During the day, though, these things aren't very useful during the day.

Because the Mark 6 sixteen-inch guns equipped with the two ships have a limited range, the use of armor-piercing shells is 33,741 meters, and the use of high-explosive shells reaches 36,741 meters.

The H41's 420-mm SK C/40 main gun had a range of more than 40 kilometers, and the battleship was more than a quarter faster than the opponent.

Theoretically, if a certain safety distance was maintained, the two battleships on the opposite side would not be able to damage the "Izumi".

The U.S. heavy cruisers of the "Wichita", "Baltimore" and "Oregon" classes are equipped with 203-mm guns of the Mark 12 and Mark 15 types, with a firing range of 27,480 meters.

The eight-inch guns of the "Pensacola", "Notempleton", "Indianapolis" and "New Orleans" classes can deliver projectiles to a distance of twenty-nine kilometers.

The Brooklyn, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Fargo class light cruisers were armed with six-inch (152 mm) Mark 16 guns that also had a range of nearly twenty-four kilometers.

For the "Izumi", the naval guns of these cruisers were not a threat at all, and what really threatened them was the torpedoes they carried.

The speed of all types of cruisers of the US military is more than 31 knots, and some can run up to 345 knots.

Based on the calculation that the average speed of the opponent is 34 knots, if the "Izumi", which has a speed of 28 knots, is to be followed and pursued.

It can chase six knots per hour, which is six nautical miles, which is equivalent to eleven kilometers.

If the two sides were twenty-seven nautical miles apart, then after two hours, the cruisers would be able to open fire.

Before these cruisers caught up with the "Izumi", the Marine aviation, based at Henderson Airfield, made the first sorties.

At 6:19 a.m., the US military aircraft group made a comeback.

Eighteen TBF "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft and eighteen SbD "Dreadnought" dive bombers formed an attack formation, covered by sixteen F-4F "Wildcat" fighters, and launched a siege on the target.

American pilots had previously reported heavy damage to the super-battleship, missing only four torpedoes and the same number of bombs.

If nothing else, several of the ship's compartments below the waterline have been heavily flooded, and the speed should have dropped below twenty-four knots.

Although the anti-aircraft fire on the ship remained, it only took about four or five more torpedoes to sink the battleship completely.

The assessment of the American side was basically correct, but they did not see that after the evacuation of their aircraft group from the battlefield, the target began to stop the ship for maintenance.

By the time of the second battle, the battleship would become a new ship, so the American fighters had to fight again.

By the time they arrived at the western entrance to the Iron Bottom Strait, the ship had already drained all the seawater from all the compartments that had previously entered the water.

As for the huge overhaul costs arising from this, of course, it must be hung on the gambler's account......

Calculated by the distance and the time of appearance, the US military pilot can indeed think that the target has slowed down.

It's just that this battleship actually took nearly an hour to stop for maintenance, so it gave the other party an illusion.

In any case, US fighter planes will not miss this "big fish," and it is better to let the surface ships of the Navy pounce on the air.

"Tom tom ......" But the shells fired from the sea did not allow them to easily get close to the target

The personnel of the "Izumi" are all veterans from the "Hiei" and "Kirishima", who have rich combat experience, and they have just fought a battle, and their morale is at their peak.

Several 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were the first to test-fire, and after confirming that the enemy planes had flown into effective range, the same weapons of the same type were fired at the same time from all ships.

There is an advantage to the breakthrough of a single ship, that is, there is no need to worry about accidentally damaging one's own aircraft, and everything that is dangling in the sky will be shot down to ensure that there is no problem.

With enough ammunition, the two anti-aircraft weapons equipped with the "Izumi" burst out with almost frenzied interdiction firepower.

"I've been shot!" U.S. pilots kept shouting for help over the radio

Although it was a rematch, which I had known a little before, these aerial cowboys were still very unaccustomed to this level of firepower output.

As a rule, the enemy's twenty-five-mm anti-aircraft guns, after continuous firing, had an interval between reloading ammunition.

But the anti-aircraft firepower on this battleship was very different, and it could be continuously output for a long time.

A two-pack Bofors anti-aircraft gun usually locks onto a target until it is volleyed into a cloud of fireworks, before searching for the next enemy aircraft.

The closer-range 20mm Flak-36 anti-aircraft guns saw what they were shooting and fired at anything in the sky that had wings as long as it was within its range.

The "Bomb ......" SbD "Dreadnought" dive bomber, which was making a vertical dive at an angle of nearly 80 degrees, became a flaming "turkey" before the bomb was dropped.

The Japanese anti-aircraft guns had previously spoiled these US pilots, and many "dreadnought" types would drop bombs only at a distance of two or three hundred meters above the target.

Even so, there is no way to take these fighters with the same Type 96 25-mm machine guns as the Teady.

But now it's different, these air cowboys will immediately disappear in the rain of bullets along with the landline when they play like this.

The USS New Orleans and other ships, which were responsible for carrying out the "tuna" operation, immediately sent observations to Rear Admiral Lee after discovering the target.

The target is a large battleship that is certain, with a displacement estimated at more than fifty thousand tons, at least larger than the battleship "Washington".

But the captains of the ships were skeptical of the reports of heavy damage to the target, since the battleship, whose name was unknown, was neither on fire nor emitting smoke.

Observers indicate that there are no visible signs of the bombing of the target's superstructure, and the situation below the waterline is not yet known......