Another Kashima also had a leak in its hull under the siege of American bombers, the bow of the ship was raised high, and the stern of the ship had sunk into the sea, and the crew put on life jackets and prepared to abandon ship to escape.

The destroyer Isoka then quickly approached to provide cover, and also tried to rescue the crew of the Kashima overboard.

However, in this way, the Isoka became the target of many bombers, and before it could get close to the Yaqiu, it was hit by a bomb, and the ship was on fire, and it became difficult for the mud bodhisattva to cross the river in an instant.

The other destroyers were no better, the Lingyue was hit by a 500-pound general-purpose bomb at the ammunition depot, and there was a terrible explosion that killed and wounded countless Japanese soldiers.

Because the Hyuga blocked a torpedo for the Yamato, the hull tilted, and the crew jumped into the water in a panic to escape, and they were also frantically strafed by enemy planes, and the situation was even more critical.

……

At 2:10 p.m., the second wave of attacks ended, and some American planes began to return one after another, and the scarred Yamato was given some respite, but there were still fighters hovering over the fleet.

At present, the entire Yamato fleet was already devastated, two light cruisers were sunk and one was damaged, four of the twelve destroyers were also sunk, and the rest of the ships were wounded one by one, and countless dead and wounded.

Only twenty minutes later, a large group of blackened fighter jets appeared in the southern sky, and the Japanese sailors who were still busy cleaning the deck showed desperate expressions.

The air defense of the ships has been destroyed by the enemy, and there are few weapons left that can be used.

At 2:35, the third wave of the U.S. attack arrived as scheduled, and the Japanese were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and the Yamato, which had no air support and lacked power, became a real live target.

The fighters diveled back and forth with bombs and cannons, and the gunners were blown to pieces, and in just a few minutes, there were not many Japanese troops left on the deck.

The port side of the Yamato was badly damaged, and the main gun, although usable, had too long a reflection gap. American planes discovered this weakness and concentrated their fire on the port side to attack.

There were only a few people left on the deck, such as Kamio and a dozen Japanese soldiers, most of the anti-aircraft guns had been blown up, and only two 25-mm anti-aircraft guns were still putting up desperate resistance.

The plaster banner strap on his forehead had long been soaked with blood, perhaps because he saw his comrades fall one after another, and Shenwei became almost crazy, roaring like a beast and shouting to reload the barrel of the gun.

A supply soldier towing a pallet truck was shot by an aircraft, and a high-explosive tracer projectile ignited the ammunition on the pallet truck.

With a loud bang, the whole person of the supply soldier almost evaporated on the spot, and the shock wave generated by the explosion swept more than ten meters nearby, and a 25-mm anti-aircraft gun that was still firing next to it was also blown away on the spot.

Shenwei and the others not far away were also swept to the ground by the air wave, and their eyes and ears were shocked to the point of blindness, and when he regained consciousness and looked at it, the wreckage all over the ground, and the comrades who were not dead were still struggling and screaming.

Their hands trembled, their legs seemed to be filled with lead, there were few people on the deck who could move, and a sense of panic and powerlessness occupied Shenwei's mind, as if they had really run out of oil and dried up.

Sou...

A sharp whistling sound hit, and Kamio looked up, and a huge aerial bomb was falling from the sky at a speed visible to the naked eye...

"Boom!!"

A huge mushroom cloud rose on the port deck, and the flames instantly engulfed the godtail.

The Yamato was like being bitten by a giant beast, and when the smoke cleared, the terrifying power opened a gap of five or six meters in the direct search deck.

And that wasn't the end of it, three more torpedoes followed suit and managed to hit the port side, and the Yamato's hull began to flood in large quantities and create a seven-degree tilt.

In the combat command room, Ito, who was cornered, chose to have the soldiers balance the starboard boiler room and engine room with water to curb the tilt angle.

But the price was very painful, the doors of the isolation chamber were sealed by seawater, and all the soldiers inside the entire cabin were drowned alive.

This trick to survive with a broken tail is not ruthless, and only the frenzied little Japan can do it.

The attack continued, and two American Hellcats were not shot down, but four torpedoes hit again on the port side of the Yamato.

Having learned the lessons of previous attacks on the Yamato's sister ship, the Musashi, the Americans concentrated all their forces on one side to attack was the best way to sink a steel giant ship like it.

……

"All the damage controllers were killed, the main compartment was flooded with seawater, the engines stopped running, the radio antennas were all destroyed, the soldiers were reduced by more than eighty percent, and all the anti-aircraft weapons on the deck except for the nine main guns were destroyed......"

"The Yaqiu was hit by six torpedoes, a large area of the cabin was flooded, and Captain Mishima has ordered all of them to abandon ship..."

Ito listened quietly to the report of his subordinates, and there was no expression on his tired face, only the slightly trembling fingers could highlight his unsettled heart.

"Raise the blue signal flag..."

He knew very well that he had no hole cards in his hand and could only signal the fleet to stop the operation through the flag-raising machine.

This fleet had already laid the seeds of trouble since the beginning of its voyage, and any resistance was so pale under the overwhelming strength of the enemy.

"Your Excellency, Commander! Are we really..."

The captain of the Yamato looked at Ito in disbelief, the blue signal flag represents giving up, and the commander is going to let the others retreat.

If they do, all their efforts will be in vain.

"Go, carry out the order, you... Let's go..."

After saying the last sentence, Ito seemed to be a lot more relaxed.

He straightened his clothes, walked into a cabin alone, and locked the door securely.

The others looked at each other at a loss, even the highest commander gave up, what could they do?

The captain closed his eyes in pain, but he finally carried out Rito Ito's last order, raising the blue signal flag on the mast of the ship's tower, ordering the other ships of the fleet to flee the battlefield.

At around 3 p.m., the Yamato, which had lost its ability to move and counterattack, was once again attacked by three bombs, and the huge hole in the deck was further expanded, and the red light and smoke completely flooded the Yamato.

Five minutes later, another torpedo hit the middle of the hull, and the Yamato leaned to the left at an angle of increasing proportions.

The captain ordered the entire crew to abandon ship, while he himself remained in the command room, choosing to fight the Yamato until the last moment.

By this time, the outboard and starboard boiler rooms, the hydromechanical compartment, the remaining engine rooms, and most of the fire bays of the Yamato were not submerged, the hull was completely tilted to the left, and a third of the ship was sunk to the bottom of the sea.

The few survivors also fell into the water with the capsizing of the ship, struggling to escape, and constantly flapping in the water, but it was doomed to be in vain.

The growing fire reached the ammunition depot, causing a series of terrible chain detonation reactions, and the entire hull of the Yamato was blown off by the waist, and the loud bang could be heard dozens of nautical miles away.

Once the pride of the Japanese, this supposedly unsinkable sea monster has finally come to an end, and the era of cannon ships has come to an end......

(End of chapter)