As a matter of fact, the Japanese Navy attaches great importance to the air defense of its fleet, and it can be seen from the fact that the Japanese Navy has piled antiaircraft guns on its own warships on several occasions. However, warships are not built to deal with aircraft, so most of its huge tonnage is spent on how to deal with enemy warships.

Japan is a poor country, during the First Sino-Japanese War, it used its last dime to win the Manchu government, extorted a Taiwan plus 200 million taels of silver, and suddenly made a fortune, so the Japanese are used to living a life of diligence and thrift, and they have the ability to seek development hungry.

However, it is difficult for the so-called clever woman to cook without rice, and Japan, a country that lacks nothing but faith, can only change the law and find ways to give full play to the maximum combat effectiveness of each of its warships in the face of the frenzied expansion of naval armaments by the world powers.

Therefore, when the two battleships of Ise and Hyuga began to be built, they used the glorious tradition inherited by the Japanese Navy from the Fuso class, and installed 6 main gun turrets on the battleship in one go - it is a little exciting to think about it, it is 2 more turrets and half more main guns than the German battleship Admiral Raeder!

In addition to the sad purchase of ammunition depot boilers, there is actually a more fatal problem, that is, there are too many cannons, which seriously crowds the space for anti-aircraft weapons, which leads to the fact that these anti-aircraft guns are either not well positioned and have insufficient firing range, or they cannot be installed at all.

It is no wonder that after the First World War, battleships designed by various countries adopted the structure of 3-4 main gun turrets, and no one thought about installing more cannons.

From this point of view, Japan's Ise-class battleships were a kind of super WW1 battleships, which were not at all adapted to the battlefield of modern naval warfare. You know, it's facing the U.S. Naval Aviation, which has learned from the German Navy and is almost perfectly copied. So the Ise was easily sunk by the US Navy, completely as expected by everyone.

On the other hand, Japan's anti-aircraft anti-aircraft guns are really pitfalls, and at least these anti-aircraft guns equipped by the Japanese Navy are far from meeting the needs of modern warfare in terms of performance and density. For example, the performance of the 25 mm caliber triple cannon is about the same as that of the single-barreled Bofors 40 anti-aircraft gun (the firing range is closer) - this single-barreled triple, who knows how much volume is wasted?

Putting all this aside, let's start with Yamamoto Isoroku learning that the decoy fleet had been routed by the U.S. Navy, so he had to join the battlefield head-on, and just a few minutes after the U.S. planes discovered his fleet, his lookout post also spotted the U.S. planes tracking the Japanese fleet.

"Your Excellency, the number of American planes has increased to two, and they are following our fleet from a distance, and are not in the midst of our anti-aircraft fire!" said an officer, putting down the lookout phone in his hand, and reported to Yamamoto Isoroku.

Hearing that the American planes had discovered the whereabouts of his fleet, Yamamoto couldn't help frowning, after all, he still hoped that he could make a difference in this war, and it was obviously not good news to be discovered by the Americans at this time.

"Long live the Great Japanese Empire!" Order the fleet, and all the ships will begin to prepare for air defense operations!" Yamamoto Fifty-six gave the order, still staring intently at the sea in the distance, full of hope that his target would appear there in the next second. But hope is hope after all, after all, he is not a god, and it is impossible for his wish to come true.

So the Japanese fleet, in a hurry, began to prepare for air defense operations, everywhere there was the sound of the number, everywhere there were carts transporting magazines, air defense sirens sounded inside the ships, and red siren lights flashed everywhere.

"Nagumo-kun, everything depends on you!" Yamamoto Fifty-six finally withdrew his gaze from the distant sea, and he whispered to himself as he walked to the chart table: "The range of activity of the American fleet is getting smaller and smaller, and the number of their carrier-based aircraft is getting smaller and smaller...... That's your only chance. ”

Although the US aircraft carrier fleet has an absolute superiority in numbers, this superiority cannot always be reflected; for example, when the first wave of US planes that attacked the Japanese decoy fleet return home, the US aircraft carriers will lose the ability to take off planes at the same time. At that time, if the carrier-based aircraft of the Japanese Navy had arrived on time, the US Navy would have suffered a catastrophe.

While Yamamoto was praying for Nagumo Tadaichi to make a contribution to the future of the Japanese Empire, the U.S. Navy's fleet was already in disarray.

"Hey, hey, let's be clear! Yes, I'm Halsey! I heard that the Japanese fleet is moving on the east side of our fleet......" On this side, the Halsey fleet, which had already rushed up and was about to take out the Japanese decoy fleet, was biting the battleship Hyuga, but he heard coldly about the Japanese battleship appearing on the flank of the fleet.

On the other side, Spruance was receiving the first batch of planes to attack the Japanese decoy fleet, and his aircraft carrier fleet could not take off the planes in the first place, and he could only let those planes return to the aircraft carrier before he could have a chance to release his third wave of attack echelon.

"Order! Let the two old battleships in the fleet, the Colorado and the Mississippi, move to the left to prevent the Japanese battleships from rushing into the core of our fleet, and all the destroyers and cruisers are ready for combat to convey the latest news from our side to Halsey. Spruance said several orders in one breath, and what he feared most happened that the Japanese fleet did not seem to be putting on a show this time, but really counterattacking on all fronts.

He turned around, stared at an official in charge of summarizing naval intelligence, and asked in a questioning tone: "Go, go and verify all the intelligence resources in your hands for me, I want to confirm the location of the battleship Fuso and all the Kongo-class battlecruisers! and the exact location of the two Japanese aircraft carriers, Soryu and Wyvern!"

The main reason why the Americans dared to go south so swaggering and attack the waters of the Solomon Islands, where the main force of the Japanese Navy was stationed, was that the US intelligence agencies confirmed the location of some Japanese warships. Therefore, the cautious US Navy poured out this time in order to change the power situation in the Pacific theater in one fell swoop and annihilate the Japanese Navy in the Solomon Islands.

Seeing the intelligence officer turn around to check the complex messages and information, Spruance looked at the planes on deck that followed one after another, and his heart always felt uneasy. He didn't know why he was upset, but the feeling was a little overwhelming.

"General! Reconnaissance Aircraft Unit Call!" An officer burst in from outside the door, took a telegram, walked through the slightly chaotic and tense bridge command room, and stood beside Spruance: "The second plane rushed to confirm the size of the Japanese fleet. ”

"Bring it to me. Spruance snatched the telegram, and then he realized where the uneasiness in his heart came from: the telegram was very clear, the other two battleships of the Japanese fleet, as well as most of the cruisers and destroyers. The whole fleet traveled very fast, but no Japanese aircraft carriers were found.

"Damn! The Japanese carrier fleet is not in the east! They are in the west!" Spruance shouted loudly, "Cancel the attack mission of the third wave of carrier-based aircraft! Immediately! Let the pilots remain on standby!"

After the Japanese fleet has deployed most of its strength, it will make it easier for the US Navy to judge the location of the remaining Japanese fleet. The American fleet is from the north, at least its own transport fleet is still behind, so it should be absolutely safe there - the Japanese fleet has already appeared in the south and east, but there are no aircraft carriers, then it is obvious: the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet is on the west side.

"Oh my God, prepare the fleet! Prepare for battle! All of them, first-class combat readiness for air combat!" Spruance thought he finally knew what Yamamoto Isoroku was going to do. This time, he finally saw the opponent opposite him clearly, and saw the opponent's killing move clearly, and this time, he knew that Yamamoto's opponent was the most dangerous opponent in his life.

"I hope you will have a long time of military luck!" On the deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi, Nagumo Tadaichi's bomber formation was preparing to take off, and all the Japanese pilots were standing on the deck, arranging for photographers to take their last group photo. The pilots wore strips of white cloth tied to their foreheads, on which were written the word "victory" in calligraphy.

"His Majesty the Emperor...... Hooray!" After the photographer pressed the shutter and the flash flashed dazzlingly, all the pilots, led by the captain, raised their hands and shouted out the most sacred words in their hearts.

"Your Majesty the Emperor! Long live!" Nagumo Tadaichi looked at these pilots who were determined to take off to fight, and also raised his hands high, this is the war that determines the fortunes of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet and even the Great Japanese Empire, and his ability to occupy the most important position in this war is already a personal affirmation of history.

"First Strike Echelon! Take off!" shouted an officer, and all the Japanese pilots began to run towards their planes, which were most fully prepared, with long torpedoes hanging from under the belly, or huge bombs.

With the roar of the engines, the Japanese planes began to form over the fleet, escorted by Zero fighters, and flew to the east. Watching these planes go away, Nagumo Zhongyi closed his eyes: "Yamamoto-kun, victory or defeat...... It's a move!"—

Merry Christmas!