Special thanks to the big red envelope of "Ghoul", and today I will add five more chapters! The fifth is offered!

After losing three cruisers in succession, Rear Admiral Lee had to reconsider his plan to hunt down the Japanese super-battleships. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

At the same time, four destroyers in pursuit with the cruiser detachment were recalled so that they would not "fall into the mouth of the tiger".

In particular, the enemy's large-caliber main guns with a very long range pose a great threat to their own side.

The two sides were still nearly twenty-five nautical miles apart, well beyond the range of the main guns of American battleships.

Even if the two battleships, the "Washington" and the "South Dakota," launched a flanking attack at the same time, it would be difficult to guarantee the initiative on the battlefield.

At the same time, the Japanese fleet in the northern part of the battlefield was less than thirty-eight nautical miles away.

If this super battleship cannot be kept, or even sunk, then the "prey" is very likely to succeed in escaping.

If you continue to pursue the target, the further north you go, the more vulnerable you will be to Japanese fighters.

If it were to give up, then the 64th Task Force, which had lost three cruisers in succession, would have tasted the bitter fruits of defeat.

Rear Admiral Li believed that the final duel between the battleships would begin at ninety o'clock.

But the plan has not changed quickly, and if you continue to chase it like this, your fleet will be counterattacked by the other party.

At this critical juncture, Major General Li still hoped for the help of the aircraft, especially the assistance of the 23rd Marine Air Group stationed on Kuah Island.

Vice Admiral Grimley, commander of the South Pacific Theater of Operations, would not lean too many maneuver resources on Rear Admiral Lee's fleet, and the elimination of the most threatening aircraft carriers of the Japanese army was the top priority.

If Task Force 64, with the help of Marine Air Force, still can't handle a battered battleship, then it might as well withdraw and retreat.

When the "winged guy" appeared in the sky, the 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron of the US Army stationed in Tulagi also helped a lot.

The squadron is armed with eight PT-type torpedo boats at speeds of up to thirty-nine knots and can carry four MK13 torpedoes.

Although the performance of the MK13 torpedo is relatively rubbish (33.5 knots/5800 meters), the U.S. military has achieved a combined naval and air battle this time.

In order to get rid of this damn Japanese battleship once and for all, the 23rd Marine Air Group dispatched thirty-eight fighters.

Including twenty F-4F "Wildcat" fighters, twelve TBF "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft, ten SbD "Dreadnought" dive bombers.

Captain of the 224th Fighter Squadron William? Major Wallace personally piloted the planes and worked with his comrades to protect the 22 attack planes from reaching the target airspace.

“…… What's that? Suddenly, the wingman in front of him noticed a group of strange things flying towards him

Soon, they saw clearly the true face of this group of uninvited guests, a kind of "freak" with two propellers in the front and rear!

That's the Do-335 fighter in the shape of an "anteater"!

Compared to the Wildcat, which has a top speed of 512 km/h, the anteater can reach a top speed of 765 km/h!

The F-4F is armed with only six 12.7mm heavy machine guns, while the Do-335 is armed with three 30mm MK-103 guns and two 20mm MK-151 guns.

Perhaps the U.S. Navy will be able to compete with the F-4U Corsair carrier-based fighter and the F-6F Hellcat to compete with the anteaters soaring in the sky.

The 24 Do-335 fighters that came to the cruise this time belonged to the 25th Air Force (Group) of the Japanese Army.

The team is stationed in Kassili on Bougainville Island, which is a forward base behind Kuah Island and very close to the war zone.

Although the 25th Air Force still retains twenty-eight Zero fighters, the main combat equipment of two squadrons is now Do-335 and Ta-152 fighters.

The Zero is a standby aircraft, and the Ta-152, which has short legs and a very high ceiling, is mainly used to intercept Allied bombers that often attack airfields and ports.

The Do-335, which has a large range, can support surface ship forces and carry out combat patrols from Bougainville to Kuah.

The Japanese naval aviation was devastating at the Battle of Midway, and the number of well-trained pilots it had plummeted.

The reserve of human resources related to the strength of the back is also very unsuccessful, and the pilots who graduated from wartime training schools are not as good as those who were fired from pre-war training courses.

The Zero has passed its heyday, facing the growing number of Allied pilots and cutting-edge fighters.

Both the Navy and the Combined Fleet were overwhelmed and had to bring back the dismissed cadets after acquiring a large number of German fighters.

As a result of their previous training experience and two months of special training, they are now deployed to the main islands of the South Pacific Theater in the form of a team (brigade).

Given the limited level of these semi-finished products, most of them will not be on board for the time being.

The main mission was to intercept Allied bombers and attack aircraft, as well as patrol missions to and from Kuah Island.

Admiral Shigetaro Shimada, Minister of the Navy, and Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, had some concerns about this matter.

Because of the limitations of the "officer system," it was very difficult for the pilots of the Japanese naval aviation to be promoted, and many of them worked all their lives, that is, they were military officers (non-commissioned officers).

According to the system, in order to become an officer, one must first enter an officer (non-commissioned officer) school, and after graduation, he can become a lieutenant.

The pilot is a graduate of an aviation school and is not recognized by the military, so he can only be a sergeant for the rest of his life, not an officer.

Now thousands of new recruits, many of them are prospective pilots, plus ground staff, the number will be tens of thousands.

Even if it can be fully funded, it will put a huge burden on the Navy and the Combined Fleet fleet, especially in terms of budget.

Most of the pilots with good skills were picked up by the Army Air Corps, and the Navy could only pick up the leftovers of the other side to eat.

In this case, if there is no generous treatment, people will not be the same.

As a divine envoy, the young man solved this problem.

First, after the Navy is equipped with new warships, it can use war to support war.

To put it bluntly, it is the navy that turns into pirates and goes directly to break diplomatic relations, or in other words, it is to rob the Allied transport ships.

A freeship can carry 1,000 tons of cargo, and the scale of supplies contained in a transport fleet can be imagined.

Second, the Divine Envoy still has a large amount of pounds in cash, all of which are products of the Third Reich.

You should be able to buy quite a few things by cashing out at the hey markets around the world with these beautiful prints.

The British government forcibly locked in the exchange rate of the pound (1 ounce of gold = 31.1 grams = 35 dollars) during the war, just to kill them.

As for whether the base camp agrees or not, it doesn't matter, the Japanese military has always had a "fine tradition" of subordination.

The base camp can be elevated by the cabinet, and the navy and army can be elevated by the base camp.

If the top brass of the Navy does not agree, then the Combined Fleet can also raise the Navy.

Playing overhead, everyone is familiar with the road......

Letting the army spit out 20,000 tons of gold from its stomach is already the limit.

If it weren't for the fear that without a ship to escort you, the ships transporting gold and equipment would feed the fish, and you would have worked in vain.

If a large number of troops are to be sent to Kuah Island, the Navy will also need to provide strong assistance from the Navy.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for the navy to get money from the other side for the purchase of German warships.

For the rest, the Navy has to rely on itself & self-finance to solve the problem.

But on the bright side, the front-line combat power will increase rapidly, and in a short period of time, it will not be able to avoid the previous aviation loopholes.

"God! I've been shot! "The American pilots did not have the experience of large-scale air combat with such strange fighters, and soon fell into a passive situation.

The "Anteater" is obviously not as maneuverable as the light Zero, but this fighter is fast, powerful and thickly armored.

Novices may still have misgivings, but the old birds who died in the Pacific Theater, after comparing the Japanese fighters, mostly recognized the combat effectiveness of this fighter.

Against the U.S. military's F-4F "Wildcat" fighter jet, the Do-335 is currently the best choice for Japanese pilots.

Although it was a contest of roughly equal numbers, the US pilots had never seen a fighter with such ferocious firepower.

Even though the F-4F had been equipped with steel plates in the main attack area, it was still defeated in the face of the strong attack of the 30-mm MK-103 gun.

The "Wildcat" was knocked out of the only propeller, and then it was completely out of order.

And the "anteater" can continue to fly with another propeller even if it is missing one propeller.

Even if there are difficulties in combat, it is absolutely no problem to run away, and this is where the advantage of a twin-engine fighter lies.

Another thing that annoys the air cowboys is the head-to-head confrontation with this "freak".

The 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets penetrated the opponent's armor very well, and the range of this small arms was far inferior to that of the enemy's aircraft guns.

The on-board firepower of the Do-335 is used against the B-17 and even the B-29, and it is naturally more than enough for air combat with enemy fighters.

As soon as it is hit by a 30-mm aerial gun, a large hole will appear in the fuselage of the F-4F, which is something that thin-skin armor absolutely cannot prevent.

In contrast, the Zero's two 20mm cannons and two 7.7mm machine guns are simply playing games with Allied fighters.

After many rounds of fierce fighting, the Marine Corps Air Force suddenly found themselves in an embarrassing situation where they could not fight and could not catch up.

Captain of the 224th Fighter Squadron William? Major Wallace, piloting his own "Wildcat", managed to bite a "freak".

But the other side threw him off with a single acceleration, broke through the interception of the US fighter planes, and went straight to the SbD "Dreadnought" dive bomber.

It is impossible for the clumsy "Dreadnought" to accelerate or roll to escape the clutches of the hunter who kills quickly behind him.

The "Boom ......" was accompanied by a series of fiery snakes gushing out of the body, and a "Dreadnought" plane a few hundred meters away was hit and volleyed on the spot.

Without the cover of the "Wildcats", all "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft and "Dreadnought" dive bombers would have to be torn to shreds by these "freaks".

Now, despite the bad situation, the 224th Fighter Squadron is still trying its best to maneuver with the enemy and gain the opportunity for the attack formation to break through.

In just one minute, six F-4Fs were shot down by the Do-335, and the remaining fighters were also locked in a bitter battle.

While the two sides are passing by, William? Major Wallace was horrified to see the Iron Cross emblem sprayed on the opponent's fuselage.

That's the insignia of the Luftwaffe, how did it appear here? Could it be that the Germans sent fighter planes to help in the war?

When I think of the air raid on the Japanese battleship, I saw the giant "swastika" sign appearing on the bow of the ship.

Much to the confusion of Major Wallace, were they fighting the Japanese, or were the Germans really fighting?

However, the dive bomber pilot said that the target was flying the flag of the Japanese Navy, which was somewhat contrary to his identity.

What Wallace didn't know was that the gambler would do this on purpose, in order to confuse his opponent's judgment.

But the flying warhead does not allow the major to think too much, and every second can decide life and death.

Not to mention shooting down the opponent, it is extremely difficult for the F-4F to even intercept it, which is completely a competition between two grades of fighters.

The fighting continued at an altitude of several thousand meters, and the situation became more and more unfavorable for the 224th Fighter Squadron.

It is difficult for the "wildcats" to compete with these "freaks", let alone the "Avengers" and "Dreadnoughts".

Seeing that these "stupid birds" of the US military were about to be slaughtered by the "anteaters", they suddenly ......

"Boom~!" Fortunately, the anti-aircraft guns of the battleship below roared in time to drive away the group of hateful fellows.

After shooting down 17 enemy planes, only two of its own fighters were wounded and retreated, and the Japanese 25th Air Force was basically satisfied with this result.

Considering that they might be accidentally injured by their own anti-aircraft guns, they chose to take the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield airspace after successfully blitzing the opponent.

In this sudden air battle, the US military lost seven F-4Fs, six TBF "Avenger" torpedo attack aircraft, and four SbD "Dreadnought" dive bombers.

There were only twelve attack planes left that could be used to attack the Japanese battleships, and after breaking through the opponent's anti-aircraft fire network, only one "Avenger" and two "Dreadnought" remained.

With the help of the cover of the clouds, and with a bit of luck, a thousand-pound (454 kg) bomb finally landed near the stern of the target.

Blow out a large hole in the place where the seaplane is parked, and if it is a little further back, it can even be fatal with one blow, directly damaging the power system of the "Izumi".

They were able to penetrate the defense, thanks in large part to the US Navy's 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron.

If it weren't for the eight PT-type torpedo boats that broke the waves and launched a charge, which involved a large number of battleship secondary guns, these "stupid birds" would have to be shot down by anti-aircraft guns to feed the fish.

It's just that the MK13 torpedo has a range of less than six kilometers, while the 105-mm high-level dual-purpose gun on the "Izumi" has a range of more than fifteen kilometers and a rate of fire of up to 16-18 rounds / min.

The 150mm secondary gun was even more threatening, even if the shells fired from it only landed near the torpedo boats, and the waves could overturn these fragile "boats".

Under the dense fire net of the battleships, before they could reach the torpedo range, four PT-type torpedo boats were destroyed or damaged one after another.

Seeing that the situation was not good, in order to avoid the annihilation of the whole army, the 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron was forced to withdraw from the battle on its own initiative.

Now it was the turn of the 64th Task Force under the command of Rear Admiral Lee to fight the super battleship......

At this time, the 64th Task Force under the command of Major General Lee had passed Cape Esbelens in the northwest of Kuah Island and entered the northeast of the Coral Sea.

This body of water is much wider than the Iron Bottom Strait, which is very suitable for naval warfare, especially now such battleship fire.