Previously, the carrier-based aircraft formations released by the three Ming light aircraft carriers were actually separated.

The dive bomber formation was too slow for the torpedo formation, and with several battleships around the target aircraft carrier, it was unlikely that the clumsy torpedo planes would succeed in breaking through the fire net.

As a result, 10 Type 36 ship mines were lowered to an altitude of 500 meters, 18 Type 37 ships were kept close to an altitude of 2,500 meters, and 14 Type 37 ships were driven to meet US fighters.

More than 30 fighters from both sides flew up and down in this airspace, fighting each other as soon as they met.

The Vespa released most of its fighters in a timely manner, and there were 21 of them over the fleet.

The Type 37 ship drive has a few performance advantages, the more prominent is the rolling ability, and the Type 37 ship drive that was bitten by the F2A buffalo got rid of the pursuer with an elegant spiral descent maneuver and turned to the offensive.

While the fighters of both sides were engaged in a fierce battle, 18 dive bombers from the Tiangang flew towards the rear and above of the Vespa in the face of countless artillery fire.

At this moment, almost the entire TF-31 task force was firing at them, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and 127mm high-level dual-purpose guns all raised their barrels and fired into the sky.

The black-grey smoke clouds made people feel like they were in a cumulonimbus cloud, but the blast wave of the explosion shook the plane up and down, indicating that it was a murderous battlefield!

Planes are constantly being shot down, falling uncontrollably into the sea, or dragging black smoke to turn around...... A few minutes seem as long as hours.

Zhang Yilu, the captain of Tiangang's third team, successfully arrived at the attack position by plane, and he asked loudly how many planes were left behind, and the backseat machine gunner also replied that there were about ten left.

At 13:01 local time, Zhang Yilu manipulated the plane to dive towards the stern of the Vespa from a height of 2,500 meters.

The Vespa began to make a sharp turn, but to no avail.

The Chicago piano with its thunder and rain was not to be trusted, and the dive bomber deftly corrected its nose as the Vespa turned, weaved through the intertwined nets of fire, and dropped the bomb at an altitude of only 400 meters.

The Ming army's standard 250kg armor-piercing blaster has a reload factor of 22%, which is a semi-armor-piercing projectile that effortlessly smashed through the front flight deck and exploded in the hangar!

The second plane, which was immediately followed by the captain's dive, was not so lucky, it was hit by three or four 28mm high-explosive shells, the right wing was broken, and then it plunged headlong into the sea uncontrollably!

The third dive bomber slammed down at an almost vertical angle, but the dropped bomb landed in the sea on the left, blowing up a column of water tens of meters high.

The next fourth one finally hit again, and the novice pilot, who had just finished school, made the first battle, and the bomb was still on the middle elevator, which was amazingly accurate.

"Bang !!"

The elevator was pierced instantly, and the bomb exploded violently in the hangar below!

Hydraulic and electrical equipment shattered all over the floor, two SB2U Defenders were also affected by the explosion, and the spilled aviation gasoline burst into flames, killing at least 20 people in a matter of seconds.

The fifth and sixth flights, perhaps with good luck, were both hits.

Two 250kg bombs landed a few meters behind the bridge and on the flight deck in the middle of the bridge, and one of them impartially burrowed into the flue, seriously damaging the aircraft carrier's smoke extraction system.

But there was no such succession of good luck in the subsequent attack, and the billowing smoke from many places on the USS Vespa obscured the pilot's vision, and none of the remaining Type 37 ships hit.

Except for one of the four bombs, which was considered a near-miss, the other three were all 100 meters apart.

Ten dive bombers attacked, and one was destroyed mid-range, resulting in four direct hits and one near-miss.

This kind of performance is barely considered a passing level in training, but now it is a real combat after all.

From the sky, the Vespa was completely shrouded in black smoke, mixed with reddish-yellow flames and flashes of light.

The canopy of the plane piloted by captain Zhang Yilu was damaged by a shrapnel hit, and a deep cut was made in his right arm, and blood continued to gush out.

He took out his first-aid kit and bandaged himself while shouting: "Silly melon, watch the waves of the ship!" ”

"Huh? See... Can't see clearly. ”

"Get the binoculars!"

The battered Vespa's speed slowed down sharply, and the waves that broke through the bow became a little bit.

At this time, the ten torpedo planes of the second team of the palace finally approached the fleet.

They did not intend to go deep into the fleet, but agreed to lay siege to one of the battleships together, and their chosen target was the Tennessee.

The slow and clumsy Type 36 ship mine is actually about the same as the TBD ravages of the Americans at the technical level, only slightly faster.

However, the performance of the torpedoes on both sides is far from the same, unlike the inferior Mk13, the Ming army's three-three aviation torpedoes are generally quite good except for the disadvantages of high manufacturing costs.

The MK13 cannot be placed at a height of more than 20 m or 200 km/h, while the Sansan with a deceleration-stabilized wooden frame can be safely delivered at a maximum of 150 m and 400 km/h.

"No, sir, the dog's artillery is too dense!"

"Han Xiaosi, they were set on fire!"

Dozens of 127mm anti-aircraft shells exploded near the group every second, and the terrifying anti-aircraft fire shocked every pilot present.

The captain of the second team leading the team hesitated for a moment and ordered: "Hit one side!" Just hit the side in front of you! ”

He judged that it was impossible to break through with such fierce firepower at present, and it would take extra time to divide into two left and right flanking attacks, so it was better to run away after attacking together to reduce the time exposed to artillery fire.

However, the quality of radio communications was significantly affected by the intensive fire, and three torpedo planes did not hear the command.

They still strictly followed the dogma, going around the port side of the Tennessee.

In the process, they were pinned by anti-aircraft fire from six directions, and it is no longer possible to describe this terrible scene in a few words, except that they are completely passing through the blazing net of fire.

The captain and the rest of the pilots were ready to drop the torpedo at this time, and they could only watch the few comrades who were doomed to never return.

"Did you hear it?!"

"Damn! Come back soon!! ”

"It's in place, ready to go."

One after another, 454mm aerial torpedoes covered with wooden stabilizer frames slammed into the sea from mid-air more than 100 meters high, and rushed towards the Tennessee hundreds of meters away.

After throwing away the more than 800 kilograms of things, everyone only felt that the plane was lighter and easier to control.

Attack complete, return!

A total of 7 of the 18 ships participating in the battle were shot down, and 5 of the 10 ship mines were shot down, while the 14 ship destroyers were much better, losing only 4 in the fierce air battle.

The other end.

On the bridge of the Saratoga, an anxious Vice Admiral Halsey was looking out at the distant meeting of the sky and the sea.

The assault formations released by the Raider and Yorktown disappeared from sight at this time.

It didn't take long for a telegram from the TF-30 task force to make the atmosphere a little colder.

「…… The Vespa was hit by four bombs, the hangar fire was very large, the boiler smoke extraction system was damaged, the power was cut off, and an attempt was being made to control the damage...... The Tennessee was hit by two torpedoes and could only reach a maximum speed of 17 knots......

"May the Lord bless them." A major whispered.

Although everyone knew that the TF-30 fleet was already used as bait, they still couldn't help but lament when they learned of the battle damage.

Halsey clenched his fists and ordered in a deep voice: "If they (the assault formations of the Raiders and Yorktown) do not find the Chinese fleet, then search to the northeast for as far as possible before returning." ”

The first sortie before ended in nothing, where did the Ming fleet go?

Halsey was convinced that the Ming would not easily turn around and retreat, in which case they would probably turn northeast if they were discovered.

An hour later.

At 14:21, after a flight of about two hundred kilometers, the attack formation flew to the predicted sea area.

However, there were a lot of clouds in this area, and they descended to a height of 3,000 meters in order to get a better view.

This formation actually had a big coordination problem, and the Raider was deployed in the Atlantic until the defeat in the Torres Strait and was hastily transferred to the Pacific.

Her fleet was unfamiliar with the weather conditions in the Pacific Ocean and lacked experience with other carrier fleets.

The attack formation consisted of the VF-4 and VB-4 squadrons of the USS Raider and the VB-5 and VT-5 squadrons of the USS Yorktown, for a total of 17 F2A Buffalo fighters, 34 SB2U Defender dive bombers, and 14 TBD Ravaging torpedo aircraft.

Following Halsey's instructions, they turned to the northeast, hoping to find their target this time.

Sure enough, just six minutes later, one of the pilots of the VB-5 squadron rubbed his sore eyes, picked up his binoculars again, and this time saw a group of small black dots on the sea in the distance.

Overjoyed, he immediately shook his wings to inform others nearby of the situation.

The VB-5 and VT-5 squadrons quickly flew in that direction, and every pilot was excited!

The problem was that the VF-4 and VB-4 squadrons were flying 500 to 1,000 meters in front of their left, unaware that the Yorktown fleet in the right rear had flown away.

It took more than forty seconds for a dive bomber's backseat machine gunner to notice the situation and hurriedly greeted him.

At this time, the experimental air warning radar carried by the Ziwei Zuoyuan had already discovered the uninvited guest, and a small but abrupt waveform appeared on the oscilloscope.

The ten Type 37 ships on alert in the air began to try to converge, and the flight decks of the five aircraft carriers were immediately busy, all hoping to race against time to release a few more fighters.

Seeing that he had been discovered, Lieutenant Colonel Avis, the commander of the Yorktown Air Brigade who personally led the team, asked his partner to send a short telegram.

"Discover the enemy fleet, five aircraft carriers and a large number of destroyers. The attack begins."

Born in Houston, Texas, to a family of auto mechanics, Ives was an energetic and hot-tempered man who could fly airplanes from dawn to dark, but apparently not everyone had such a good spirit.

Ives had always treated his men to such a harsh standard that the Yorktown's laid-back pilots complained in private, even planning to write a joint letter demanding a change of commander.

At 14:30 local time, the second formation of the 180th Special Service Fleet sounded the battle alarm.

Ouyang Zhanghua was still calmly talking about what he had not finished, "Xia Jinbo and they have also been discovered, and it is estimated that they will be able to reach the sea off Tarawa in five hours, and they can force the Americans well." ”

Song Zhongkai had already led the first formation to the southeast, and the entire fleet was heading straight for Tarawa Atoll at a speed of 21 knots.

When they get there, whether it is shelling the Tarawa base airfield or intercepting the US battleship formation, it can greatly disrupt the deployment of the other side.

"Give me orders, and each ship will make its own decisions and maneuver; The Chaling kept its current course and let out a puff of smoke; The ship advanced four and turned to the thirty-fifth direction. Ouyang Zhanghua ordered.

"Yes!"

The two carriers and the three light carriers all turned in unison, so that the stern of the ship was facing the direction from which the US aircraft group was flying.

During this period, a total of 16 Type 37 ships rushed into the air, and there were as many as 26 Ming fighters sheltering the fleet in the air.

"I've been waiting for a long time, but I'm here."

"Brothers, get ready! It's over, have a good drink! ”

"Does that count?"

The sailors of the Ming army were already gearing up, and many of them were eager to teach a hard lesson to the incoming US planes.

Antiaircraft guns of different calibers are pointed diagonally into the sky, the magazines of the cannons have been planted, and the shells of the large-caliber antiaircraft guns have been placed on the fuze measuring machine by the loader, and the timing fuse can be automatically adjusted only after the shooting commander has finished calculating.

The Ming pilots in the sky were quite surprised, and they found that there was a serious disconnect in the US attack formation, and the two groups were separated by several kilometers in front and behind.

This is undoubtedly a good opportunity to give them a slap in the face!

As a result, more than 20 Type 37 ships swarmed up and dived and strafed at the TBD torpedo planes, which were like live targets.

The US torpedo planes were forced to huddle together to keep warm, but they were soon disrupted by the Ming fighters that were flying up and down wantonly, and the entire group was torn into three parts.

The blazing 12.8mm and 7.36mm tracer bullets shattered the fuselage skin of the torpedo planes like a whip of fire, and many planes were smashed into a thousand holes and fell out of control into the sea.

TBD ravages don't live up to their name, they are exactly the ones who are being ravaged.

A portion of the Type 37 ships turned to attack the SB2U Defenders of the VB-5 squadron, three of which were shot down or damaged one after another.

At this time, the VF-4 squadron of the Raider finally arrived, forcing the Ming pilots to abandon the unilateral interception, and the two sides soon got together......

Lieutenant Colonel Avis knew that it was not advisable to disperse his forces in this situation, so he ordered half of his planes to attack the nearest Ziwei Zuoyuan, while he himself led his team to attack the Ligong which was a little farther away.

"Boom!"

A 128mm anti-aircraft fragmentation shell almost passed by the group, and the smoke and flames of the explosion engulfed one of the bombers.

It disintegrated on the spot, disintegrating into countless fragments and scattered.

As the distance closer, the twin 38.4mm anti-aircraft guns also fired.

A lethal shell that could tear off the wing of the SB2U with a single shot was far more powerful than a small-caliber anti-aircraft gun.

Expressionless, Lieutenant Colonel Ives had no time to pay attention to how many planes were still behind him, and he flew over the Ririmiya and began to dive.

In the face of ferocious anti-aircraft fire, there is no point in making any maneuvers at this time, speed is the best countermeasure!

[Picture]

(End of chapter)