In fact, as early as early in the morning, a Royal Air Force plane on a routine patrol mission spotted the mighty Ming fleet.

However, it did not go unnoticed at the time, and it was not until an urgent telegram from London was sent that the Singapore Fortress Command responded.

The air raids against the Ming landing force were immediately carried out, and the 36th Torpedo Squadron, the 62nd Bomber Squadron, and the 17th Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force deployed in the Far East dispatched all available fighters.

13 Cowbell MkIV biplane torpedo planes, 10 Blenheim MkII light bombers, and 9 F2A Buffalo fighters flew straight to the Ming fleet from the southeast.

The British Empire's biplane torpedo aircraft were not only "Swordfish", but also "Cowbells".

Under normal circumstances, this kind of biplane, which can only fly horizontally to 250 km/h, is still hanging an aviation torpedo weighing more than 700 kilograms, which is as clumsy as a dodo.

"The height is two thousand, the slope is six thousand two, usually!"

The air defense officer of the Zhenguan ordered loudly, and the word "usual" was actually a reference to the standard response mode in general.

"Angular velocity determination, heading angle determination!"

"The temperature is 21 degrees, the wind is northeast, and the wind speed is 3.3!"

As the data was summed up, the calculated firing elements were immediately transmitted from the air defense command to the fuze detector of each large-caliber anti-aircraft gun.

The gunners inserted a 128mm fragmentation bullet weighing 70 pounds into the measuring machine, and the card slot made a "click" sound when the motor was driven, and the timer fuse was automatically calibrated to the calculated time slot.

"Boom! Boom! ”

In the roar, the three-seater twin 128mm on the port side of the Zhenguan fired the first salvo at the group of British planes that were slowly approaching several kilometers away.

Suddenly, clouds of gray-black smoke bloomed in the distant sky, and some scattered fragments of the plane could be faintly seen falling down.

Before the VT proximity fuse was put into service, the hit rate of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns could be said to be impressively low.

The experience of the Americans in the Pacific War was that using a traditional timed fuse, the 127mm high-level dual-purpose gun cost an average of 2,000 rounds of shells to shoot down an enemy aircraft; With the VT proximity fuze, the efficiency has increased by about three to four times.

Therefore, at present, the role of large-caliber anti-aircraft guns is to deter, disrupt, and disperse incoming enemy aircraft formations.

Although the sun never sets on the colonial army of the empire is free and leisurely, their courage is still there, which can probably be regarded as the ancestral blood of the Anza people?

The blast wave and shrench hit the planes in formation, shaking them around, and the high-speed fragments cut gaps in the wing skin.

However, the British pilots still struggled to maintain their formation.

13 torpedo planes began to descend in altitude and slightly turned to prepare to enter the torpedo attack course; 10 bombers also fell, but continued to maintain level flight.

As the distance got closer, the small-caliber anti-aircraft guns of the Ming fleet also opened fire.

In an instant, the sound of cannons was intertwined into a magnificent symphony!

A series of 38.4mm and 25.6mm high-explosive bombs and tracer bombs pierced the sky like stray arrows, and the sky over the entire sea seemed to be shrouded by meteor showers traveling against the sky.

A struck cowbell torpedo machine emitted conspicuous flames and dragged billowing black smoke into the sea.

At a speed of nearly 200 kilometers per hour, it collides with the water, but the soft sea will be as hard as a stone, and the whole plane will be torn apart in an instant, and a large splash of water will be splashed.

A moment later, the 36th squadron of torpedo planes began to cut into the attack course.

At this stage, the torpedo machine needs to further reduce its speed and altitude and remain motionless until it reaches the effective range and drops the torpedo.

Because ordinary aviation torpedoes have many restrictions when throwing, for example, these MkVII torpedoes must ensure that the entry height cannot be greater than 30m, and the entry speed cannot be higher than 144km/h, otherwise they will malfunction or fail.

Obviously, the torpedo machine at this time was like a live target.

"Good boy, it's accurate enough!"

"Grass, what's the difference between this and a target machine?!"

"Hahahaha-"

The destroyer Quang Ninh, which was on the outermost side of the formation, showed its might, and the sailors operating the anti-aircraft guns shot down three torpedo planes in a row.

The Cowbell torpedo plane, which was hit by a 38.4mm high-explosive shell, disintegrated in the air and fell into the sea as dozens of fragments of various sizes.

Compared with other countries that are still unaware of the lack of anti-aircraft firepower and are not equipped with medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns, the Ming army's actions in this regard are much faster.

This forward-looking approach is largely due to Zhou Changfeng's efforts, otherwise the old men in the military department are estimated to be just as leisurely and unhurried.

The Type 34 20.8mm anti-aircraft gun designed and developed by the Shenyang Army Artillery Factory has excellent performance in addition to a slightly larger manufacturing cost.

However, it was only a small-caliber anti-aircraft gun anyway, and there had to be a medium-caliber anti-aircraft gun to fill the firepower gap.

Is it waiting for domestic research and development? Or do you choose the historically tested Bofors M34 from Sweden?

Given that the former has to wait at least a year or two, there is no guarantee that the performance will be good or not.

If the comprehensive score of the Bofors M34 anti-aircraft gun is 80 points, maybe Daming can design 90 points, but it may also design 70 points.

After a comprehensive evaluation, Zhou still chose a ready-made one, and strived to raise the air defense level of the Ming Navy to the first rate as quickly as possible.

As a result, the air defense level of the Ming Navy will be in the first place in a unique class for almost two years.

After that, the U.S. Navy will be able to reach the same level only when the Americans eliminate their own garbage 28mm "Chicago Piano" anti-aircraft guns and imitate Erlikon and Bofors.

Last summer, the commissioner sent by the Ministry of War went to Sweden, signed a contract with Bofors for the right to produce, obtained a complete set of drawings, and the happy Swedes also gave 12 pieces of stock.

It can be said to be a pleasant deal.

In contrast, although the Russians and Americans copied a large number of Bofors anti-aircraft guns in history, they did not pay for them, and the Swedes were inevitably depressed.

When the commissioner of the military department took the boat back to Lanfang to rest and recuperate, ten of the artillery pieces were sent to the Lanfang National Defense Force, and only two were brought back to China to be used as a template for qualified products.

Lan Fang sent someone to quietly take pictures of the drawings, and then began mass production at the National East Wanlu Arsenal.

There are no essential changes to the M34/36 anti-aircraft guns produced by Daming, but the new lighter chassis has been redesigned, and the caliber has been changed to 38.4mm, and the original 4-round magazine has been changed to 5-round magazine.

Because many arsenals have produced 38.4mm infantry guns, some equipment such as boring barrels and turning shells can be used directly, which can save a lot of work.

Therefore, after a few prototype guns were trial-produced in early October and passed the tests of the Ordnance Bureau, the Shenyang Artillery Factory alone produced more than 200 guns in three months, excluding the New Year's Day holiday.

"Left Full Rudder !!"

"The rudder effect is not big enough!"

Despite the heavy losses, several Cowbell torpedo planes bravely flew to the attack position and dropped torpedoes.

Because the Zhenguan had just been shelling from the opposite shore, the Zhenguan, which had accelerated from scratch, was still only a few knots high, and the rudder effect was not fully exerted, so the turning evasion was slightly sluggish.

"Damn! It's coming, it's coming, it's coming!! ”

"Dada-da-"

The sailors on the side of the board maneuvered their machine guns to fire wildly at the white track, but this was pointless, because the bullet could only advance a distance of one or two meters after entering the water, and torpedoes usually traveled several meters deep.

"Cover!"

The battleship was turning, and everyone grabbed the items next to them to stabilize their figures, and some officers shouted loudly for everyone to hide themselves.

The 457mm aerial torpedo almost passed by the Zhenguan, and was only two steps away at the closest point.

The expected explosion did not happen, and everyone did not have time to rejoice, and then ......

"Boom-poof-knock!!"

The bomb dropped by the Blenheim bomber flying over the fleet landed more than ten meters away from the port side of the Zhenguan!

The 250-pound bomb blew up several huge waves, and the sailors were splashed with seawater.

The 10 Blenheim bombers of the 62nd Bomber Squadron initially dropped bombs on the Zhenguan, but soon switched to attacking the transport.

They dropped another 30 250-pound bombs and more than 50 40-pound bombs.

The 6,000-ton Changlin is one of several transport ships ordered by the Ming Navy ten years ago, and it was originally a fairly common civilian cargo ship of the first class, but in accordance with the requirements of the navy, several watertight compartments were added, and the original three-expansion coal-fired boiler was replaced with an oil-coal mixed boiler, which increased the sinking resistance and speed.

"Boom!"

Now the Changlin has been hit directly by two 250-pound aerial bombs, as well as several near-misses!

It started a fire, smoke billowed and several cabins began to flood. The sailors did everything they could, using high-pressure water cannons to deal with the flames while pumping out the seawater.

The Army's Fourth Engineer Brigade was also hit by this, with dozens of casualties.

Compared to the 36th Torpedo Squadron, which suffered heavy losses, none of the Blenheim bombers fell, but only slightly damaged.

However, just as they turned around and returned home, a few nautical miles behind the fleet, the "Song" fighter squadron carried by the aircraft carrier Amachi Sagaki also completed an emergency lift-off.

In fact, the British were very lucky, because the Amagichi Sagaki had just taken off a few dive bombers to attack targets in depth, and the four fighters that were originally on patrol duty had run out of fuel and were ready to land, so the fighters were slightly delayed in the air.

But with six Type 37 carrier-based fighters in pursuit, the attacking British finally ran out of luck.

But there's no reason to leave when you're done.

In the face of the pursuing Ming fighters, the 17th F2A Buffalo fighters of the 9th Fighter Squadron escorting the formation did not hesitate to respond.

However, the British pilots were faced with opponents who left them almost helpless, or rather terrible in their vehicles.

In addition to the good performance of the star-shaped engine, this ugly, stout, and bulky fighter is completely unable to compete with the "Type 37 carrier-based destroyer".

In addition to the slightly inferior level flight speed, the Type 37 ship drive easily crushed these clumsy and clumsy miscellaneous fish made in the United States with its excellent climbing ability and rolling ability.

It should be noted that the maneuverability of the fighter is a comprehensive evaluation of many aspects, which is very broad, and the famous Zero fighter in history is actually only longer than horizontal slalom.

That said, it's only extremely tough when winding around at low speeds, and much more mediocre when it comes to scissor maneuvering, spiral descent, and so on, when roll performance is the core.

So, even in terms of maneuverability, the Zero fighter is a partial student.

And it is also characterized by maneuverability, and the 37-type ship drive is much more balanced.

Captain Jeffrey, the leader of Team B, was desperate at the moment - he tried his best to bite a Ming fighter in front of him, but the opponent easily defused it with a broken S maneuver.

And the pilot of the No. 11 plane of the "Song" team in front of him couldn't help but exclaim on the radio: "I'll go!" Is this really a fucking war? When I was in actual combat exercises, I thought that people like me were looking for death when they went to the battlefield!! ”

In such a disparity of engagement, 9 F2A Buffalo fighters were subjected to a one-sided slaughter that could be described as horrific.

Except for 2 planes that escaped with a slight advantage in level flight speed, none of the rest were spared, and the price of the Ming fighters was only one seriously injured and two lightly damaged.

After dealing with the escort fighters, the next thing to suffer was the torpedo planes and bombers.

In the previous attack on the ship, as many as 7 of the 13 Cowbells were lost, and now the remaining 5 have all been shot down in just a few minutes.

These biplanes, which have a speed of just over 200 kilometers per hour, are almost like fish on a chopping board, powerless to resist.

The downed torpedo plane dragged the black smoke into the sea, splashing a large cloud of water.

The Blenheim bombers, on the other hand, were a little more difficult to deal with, huddling together to keep warm, and firing heavily at the incoming Ming fighters with the self-defense machine gun towers on the back of the fuselage.

"Come with me, from the bottom up, and beat their wings!" The major who led the team immediately responded.

The Blenheim bomber could not counter an attack from below, its machine gun tower was on its back, and naturally it could not fire from the rear downwards.

The formation of two planes descended in altitude, then pulled up, tilted their heads up at the bombers from behind, and then aimed at the engines of their wings.

The armament of the Type 37 ship drive is decent, with a 12.8mm machine gun in the nose and a 7.36mm machine gun on the left and right wings.

"Da-da-da-"

The skin of the wings, shredded by machine-gun shells, scattered in all directions, and the burning engine burst into flames.

The fighters of the Ming army can be said to do whatever they want, and so on......

The British, who were looking for their own hardships, made a big mistake, and the group of 32 planes at the time of the attack only returned with six scarred Blenheim bombers, and they were able to return because the Ming fighters ran out of ammunition.

The battle in the air was one-sided, and the fighting on the ground was more or less the same.

The fierce air raids and artillery bombardment crumbled the defensive line of the Anglo-Indian 8th Infantry Brigade, but when the Ming army landed, they relied on the Zhuyuan artillery that had been calibrated for a long time to return fire, causing some casualties to the 1st Marine Brigade and the 38th Infantry Division.

However, their resistance was limited to that.

After the 1st Marine Brigade set up its position, it took only one hour and 37 minutes to reach the front headquarters of the 8th Brigade.

"What about people?! What about the breakthrough detachment?! ”

"Look at that!"

Under the cover of smoke screens, a breakthrough detachment consisting of an infantry platoon and a fire-breathing squad of the chemical defense team approached the temporary headquarters made of steel beams, logs, and sandbags.

Their figures loomed through the smoke screen, but soon, a dazzling flash of fire flashed from there.

(End of chapter)