Immediately after the sinking of the Nagato, a huge whirlpool rolled up on the surface of the sea, and this whirlpool was so huge that it swept all the floating objects around it and the Japanese people who were struggling around it into the bottom of the sea! "Sunk? Is the once flagship of our Combined Fleet, the pride of the Great Japanese Empire, so sinking? On the Akagi, Rear Admiral Ugaki saw that the 39,120-ton battleship had sunk into the sea in just a few minutes, and more than 1,300 officers and men, including Captain Jiro Saito, were not spared, and his eyes were red with excitement, and he shouted almost hysterically.

"Ugaki-kun, there are casualties in war, you are a soldier, don't you even understand this truth?" Tanaka Jialong held the command knife in both hands, his face was gloomy, and he pretended to be calm and scolded, but no one noticed that Tanaka Jialong's hands holding the command knife were trembling slightly, and because he was too hard, even his fingertips were white and his muscles were exposed.

In fact, how could Tanaka Yoshiryu not be surprised in his heart, when he saw Nagato being besieged by dozens of torpedo planes just now, he had a bad premonition in his heart, he really didn't expect the battleship with thick skin and thick flesh to be sunk so quickly. No, it can't be fought like this, one-third of the elite of the Combined Fleet of the Great Japanese Empire is here, and it must not be buried in my hands like this. Thinking of this, Tanaka Yoshiryu hurriedly issued an order: "Order the carrier-based aircraft group in the sky not to entangle with the Shina fighters, and quickly return to the sky above the fleet to be responsible for attacking the Shina torpedo planes over the fleet!" There must be no more losses! ”

"Hello!" Ugaki enduring his grief and hurriedly issued an order. The Japanese carrier-based aircraft group that received the order was worthy of being the elite of the Japanese naval aviation, and they immediately got rid of the entanglement of the Huaxia aircraft group and returned to the skies above the task force and retracted into the fleet's air defense network. At this time, Tanaka Yoshiryu had the opportunity to count the remaining Japanese planes, but he was surprised that in less than an hour, only 42 of the 92 Type 96 Mitsubishi fighters remained, and the loss of fighters reached 55 percent.

This result made Tanaka Yoshiryu feel dizzy in his head, and his body couldn't help shaking, and the chief of operational staff behind him, Yokota Mitsuo Osa, hurriedly supported him and comforted him in a low voice: "Your Excellency, the losses of fighters in China are much more than those of our army. Tanaka Yoshiryu stabilized his figure and smiled bitterly, "But you must know that they are several times more numerous than me, and they can afford to consume them, but we can't!" Yokota Mitsuo hurriedly helped Tanaka Yoshilong to sit down, took out a kettle and handed it to Yamamoto, "Your Excellency Commander, you drink a glass of water first." ”

After Tanaka Jialong slowly drank the cup of water, he felt a little more energetic, he lowered his head and pondered for a while before saying in a deep voice: "It seems that this mission cannot be completed, we have the great trust of the emperor!" Order the fleet to shrink its formation, increase the density of firepower, and hold out until we evacuate as soon as it gets dark! ”

"No, you can't! Your Excellency, Commander, if we retreat, how will we explain to His Majesty the Emperor? Yokota said in fear. Your Majesty, I'll explain it, and now our biggest problem is how to survive until dark. Tanaka's tone was full of worry. The people of China will not let us retreat so easily. ”

As if to verify Yamamoto's words, at this time, under the command of Gao Zhihang, more than forty "Avenger" torpedo bombers launched attacks in all directions of the Japanese task force.

Seeing that the Japanese task force began to slowly move closer to the two aircraft carriers, Gao Zhihang immediately understood the Japanese army's intentions, and he quickly ordered the torpedo bombers to step up the attack, some of the 'wildcats' rushed to the Japanese carrier-based planes to entangle the Japanese carrier-based planes, and the other part rushed to the sky over the Japanese fleet, constantly dodging artillery fire, they were dancing on the tip of the knife with their own lives, to attract the Japanese army's firepower to open up a channel for the 'Avengers'.

The firepower of the Japanese task force suddenly weakened after the loss of the Nagato, but the remaining warships simply went crazy, and the vacancy of the Nagato was quickly filled by the heavy cruiser Furutaka, who was pouring fire into the air frantically.

At this time, the Furutaka had not yet been refitted as in history, and the ship was not equipped with 127-mm large-caliber anti-aircraft guns like the 'Nagato' battleship, but it was equipped with 42 25-mm anti-aircraft guns. When the 42 25-mm anti-aircraft guns opened fire together, they were like hedgehogs covered in thorns and struggling to defend themselves, and all kinds of weapons were erected all over their bodies, blocking the surrounding waterways tightly.

"Report 6023, the enemy ships 'Furutaka' and 'Kagu' blocked the attack channel of our troops, and the enemy fighters are not entangled with our fighters, they are desperately attacking our torpedo planes, so that our torpedo planes cannot attack, and ask the fighters to cover them." The voice of a plea for help rang out in Gao Zhihang's headset.

Gao Zhihang looked at the fuel gauge, the battle had been going on for an hour and a half, if he didn't return within forty minutes, then the group would not have enough fuel to return, thinking of this, he immediately ordered: "Order the 1st Division and 1st Regiment of the HNA to immediately expel the Japanese planes entrenched in the sky over the enemy fleet, and the 2nd Regiment to attract enemy planes at medium and high altitudes to open up a passage for the 'Avengers', our fuel is running out, and the battle must be ended within 30 minutes." ”

"Understood!" The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the HNA immediately pounced on their respective targets, and the 'Wildcat' fighters were much more professional than the cumbersome 'Avengers' in the job of luring the enemy.

Immediately after the firepower of the Japanese task force was attracted by the "Wildcat" fighters, more than 40 "Avenger" torpedo bombers took the opportunity to press the Japanese task force from all sides at a low altitude.

Although the anti-aircraft firepower of the Japanese fleet was very fierce, because there were fighters flying in the high, medium, and low altitudes this time, it was inevitable that there were some loopholes in the anti-aircraft firepower of the Japanese army, and these loopholes were immediately seized by Gao Zhihang. "The 1st Torpedo Squadron immediately attacked from the west, the 2nd Torpedo Squadron from the east, remember to move quickly, run after the torpedo is released, and there must be no delay!" "Understood!"

More than 40 'Avengers' immediately approached the Japanese fleet from the east and west, and although they could completely escape the eyes of the Japanese army flying at low altitudes, they were too busy dealing with the fleet of planes in the sky at the moment to take care of themselves, and they did not have the time and energy to take care of these low-flying torpedo planes, so the opportunity came.

The commander of the torpedo plane caught this optimal moment to drop the bomb in the long air, and the pilots only heard the commander's unequivocal voice from the headset: "Torpedo attack, torpedo attack...."

"Attack the belly of the enemy ship, attack the belly of the enemy ship!" "Shoot the horizontal attack!"

No matter what the phrase is, it all means the same thing: drop a torpedo! As the target in the sight zoomed in, the torpedo operators sitting in the back pressed the buttons next to them. "Brush Brush ......."

One after another, the torpedoes broke away from the fuselage and rushed towards the target, and nearly 50 torpedoes rushed towards the Japanese task force. "Torpedoes... Torpedo...""Hurry evade, hurry evade!" ”

The commanders of the ships in the task force saw so many torpedoes with white trails rushing towards the fleet, and they were all in a hurry for a while, and they all commanded the ships to evade, and the formation of the task force became a little chaotic for a while. "Good chance!" Gao Zhihang, who was high in the air, hurriedly ordered: "All torpedo planes attack, all attack!" "The torpedo planes, which were originally out of range of the battleship's fire, immediately pounced from the sky and rushed down at the task force.

"Not good! The people of China are about to launch a general attack! Tanaka Yoshiryu, who was originally quite calm on the Akagi, also put away his usual somewhat melancholy expression: "Quick, order all fleets to pay attention to low-altitude defense, the people of China are all torpedo planes this time, and they must attack from a low altitude." ”

For a while, the artillery fire of the ships seemed to be a little more intensive, and from time to time fighters fell into the sea with black smoke from the sky. But even so, the pilots of the torpedo planes launched an attack without hesitation. The "Boom ......" A "Avenger" that was preparing to drop a mine happened to be shrouded in a barrage when a 76-caliber antiaircraft gun of the "Guying" exploded, and this "Avenger" exploded at a low altitude with people and aircraft.

But the Avengers behind did not hesitate to rush through the barrage and continued to rush towards the ship firmly. "Brush brush brush ..........." another row of torpedoes were thrown into the water, and bursts of white waves were set off on the surface of the sea. After Gao Zhihang's unremitting bombing and heavy sacrifices, this young HNA unit finally achieved results.

"Boom ..........." The heavy cruiser "Furutaka" was hit by two torpedoes in the tail, and the main propeller was seriously deformed after being hit, and suddenly the "Furutaka" slowly stopped like a dead fish. Smoke began to rise from the place where the battleship was shot in the stern, as if a dying fish was unwillingly spewing its rage.

"Your Excellency, the Furutaka reports that their propeller has been destroyed and has lost power!" A staff officer hurriedly reported to Yoshitaka Tanaka in the command room. Yoshiryu Tanaka slowly closed his eyes in pain, he knew what it meant for a ship that lost power in the heat of battle, 'Guying' was finished!

"The 'Guying' loses power, attack, attack immediately!" The 'Avengers' in the sky immediately pounced on them like sharks that smelled blood. "Enter the attack channel and attack immediately before the Japanese army has time to react!" "Boom....." The sound of several torpedoes entering the water sounded, and they pounced fiercely towards their prey, and the pilots' eyes seemed to see the desperate gaze of the sailors of the 'Furutaka'.

At this time, in the vicinity of the 'Furutaka,' two Japanese destroyers also rushed toward the 'Furutaka' as if they were crazy, and the anti-aircraft fire on the warships swept desperately around the 'Furutaka,' not caring at all about the approach of several torpedo planes around. The two destroyers stopped in front of the 'Furutaka' one after the other and resolutely acted as shields, but history tells us that the end of the shield is often tragic, and the two destroyers were each torpedoed twice at once.

"Boom, boom, boom......"

A few thick puffs of black smoke rose from the sea, and the power of the 907-kilogram heavy torpedo was not covered, and even the battleships with thick skin did not dare to harden their heads, and the two destroyers that had been hit by two torpedoes did not even have time to struggle before they broke into four pieces, and sank to the bottom of the sea with hundreds of officers and men on board without even a bubble.

"Yaga, stupid! Hurry up and order them not to make such senseless sacrifices! "Yoshitaka Tanaka, who was in the command room, was furious when he saw the 'tragic' fate of the two destroyers, and ordered to stop this senseless sacrifice immediately, the 'Furutaka' heavy cruiser is important, but it is not precious enough to be protected at all costs.

"Order, 'Gagu' immediately fill the vacancy of the 'Guying', and must protect the two aircraft carriers, the aircraft carrier is the core of the fleet, and there must be no loss. Then order the remaining carrier-based planes to entangle the fighters of the Shina people, and we must not let the fighters of the Shina be reckless," Tanaka Yosatū said coldly.

"Hello!"

The Japanese 96-Mitsubishi carrier-based planes and the Huaxia 'Wildcat' fighters, which were gradually thinning out, were fighting each other in the skies above the fleet, and countless fighters of various styles were fighting together. In that airspace, which is only five or six kilometers in radius, at least about a hundred planes from both sides are concentrated. They flew up and down and strangled together, and there were planes that continued to fall with black smoke or explode into a fireball in the air, tragic and gorgeous, cruel and elegant, bloody and spectacular would appear in a space so harmoniously, which left a deep impression on all the people who witnessed this air battle.

At this time, the 'Furutaka', which had lost power, was tilting on the sea like a dead fish with black smoke, and the captain of the ship, Masahiro Takayama, was desperately organizing the officers and men to extinguish the fire. Although only two destroyers rushed over and stopped four torpedoes and saved their lives, one torpedo hit the port side of the 'Guying', causing a large amount of fuel to come out and float on the surface of the ocean like a big whale about to die, but even so, the ship's artillery fire continued unabated, and it was still desperately blocking the passage in the sky.

But losing momentum is losing power, and no amount of intense artillery fire can stop a blow from all directions. "Boom ......" four more torpedoes hit it, "boom ......"

This time, the ship was hit in the middle of the warship, and one of the heavy torpedoes exploded after it rushed into the bomb bay below the waterline of the warship. The entire warship was shaken by the tremendous kinetic energy of the explosion, and the heavy cruiser, which was more than 10,000 tons, seemed to be dragged out of the water by a huge giant hand.

When the warship fell back into the water, the tail fell heavily into the water, and the head of the warship was raised high, and the sailors on the deck fell into the water like dumplings. After falling into the water, the sailors swam desperately outside, knowing that if they did not swim a certain distance in a few minutes, they would not be long before they were swallowed by the whirlpool created by the sinking of the Furutaka. "Boom! ..... "When the 'Furutaka' sank, the boiler that was flooded with water exploded and let out a loud scream, which was so loud that it stunned both sides of the battle.

Suddenly, Tanaka Yoshimyu, who was on the bridge, suddenly heard a loud noise nearby, Tanaka Yoshiryu's face changed, and he asked loudly: "Go and see if our aircraft carrier was shot?" ”

After a while, the combat staff officer returned and informed, "Your Excellency, the 'Kaga' has been hit by a torpedo!" Tanaka Yoshiryu hurriedly asked, "Nani?" "Kaga" hit a torpedo? Where is the injury severe? "Your Excellency Commander, please rest assured that the 'Kaga' was hit by a shot on the starboard side, and this torpedo hit the 'Kaga' in the hangar, but fortunately it was not equipped with any bombs and only a few spare ship-explosive planes, and we have filled the 'Kaga' hangar with water, and the situation is still under our control." The combat staff officer's face was also full of frustration at this time, but he didn't expect that what was thought to be an easy task was now paying such a heavy price.

Tanaka Yoshiryu sighed softly and shook his head without saying anything, but Rear Admiral Ugaki said anxiously beside him: "Your Excellency Commander, we can't go on like this, if we continue like this, our fleet will lose too much." Tanaka Yoshiryu looked at the few carrier-based planes left in the sky, then turned his head and said to Major General Ugaki: "Ugaki-kun, how do you estimate the loss of the fighters of the people of China this time?" ”

Ugaki pondered for a moment and said, "According to the results of our observation just now, such a branch of people has lost at least more than two hundred fighters, and if they continue to fight hard, it is not impossible for the entire army to be annihilated." "Yes, more than two hundred warplanes!" Tanaka Yoshiryu closed his eyes and was silent for a while: "Do you think they will fight to the last man?" ”

Ugaki smiled bitterly after hearing this: "Your Excellency, Commander, although I don't want to admit it, judging from the degree of attack on the scene and their ferocity, there is a high probability that they will fight us to the last man." "Then have you ever thought about why these people are working so hard?" Tanaka continued to ask. "This ....." Ugaki hesitated for a moment but shook his head: "My subordinates don't know." ”

Tanaka Jialong smiled bitterly: "Ugaki-kun, you don't know, you know but don't dare to say it, right?" Well, if you don't say I'll do it for you. After a pause: "There is nothing more than one reason why the people are so desperate, that is, we have to cut off their roots, we are going to Vladivostok, although His Majesty's original intention is to deter Wang Yizhe's Heilongjiang Group Army, so that their troops in Vladivostok will stay where they are, but in their opinion, it is to destroy their infant navy and the port they are building, and this is their lifeblood, so they can't help but fight with us!" ”

"Commander, are we doing something wrong?" Ugaki asked sadly.

Yamamoto let go of the command knife that he had been holding tightly and took a few steps, "As courtiers, we can't comment on His Majesty's decision. But as soldiers, we have to do something, Ugaki-kun, order the troops to start turning, let's retreat! "Your Excellency, Commander, don't you have to wait until it gets dark?" Ugaki asked puzzledly: "Besides, how can we explain to His Majesty the Emperor and the people of the country when we retreat like this?" "Escaping from the battle and retreating after the war are two different things, and if someone asks about this crime in the future, it will not be a trivial matter.

"That's my business, you just have to carry out the order!" Tanaka Jialong said decisively. Ugaki knew that Tanaka Yoshiryu was going to prepare himself to take all the blame off, Ugaki sighed, and then issued an order to retreat.

At this time, Gao Zhihang, who had been hovering in the sky and commanding, and many pilots suddenly found that the Japanese task force began to turn slowly, and then let out bursts of cheers. "Sir, the devil has retreated! The little devil has retreated! The various commanders who were excited forgot to even say their code names, and directly called their surnames.

"Okay, the warriors told us to hurry over and prepare to rescue our pilot who fell overboard." Li Guidan, who knew that he had little fuel left, also accepted it as soon as he saw it, and hurriedly ordered all units to return to the ship. "Yes!"

Although he had been mentally prepared for a long time, when Gao Zhihang gathered the remaining fighters and counted the results of the battle, he was still taken aback, and a total of 560 fighters were dispatched from the Japanese task force for this attack, including 360 Flying Eagle 4 'Wildcat' fighters and 200 Flying Eagle 5 'Avenger' torpedo attack planes. However, in less than two hours of fierce air fighting, the "Wildcat" fighters lost 138 planes, and the Flying Eagle 5 "Avenger" torpedo attack planes lost 114 planes. The loss of 45 percent made Li Guidan tremble in distress, and in the end, he endured the distress and took the team on the journey home. This can be the best aircraft in the world developed by General Tang Juwu this year, the Flying Eagle 5, in addition to Heilongjiang, is the aircraft that Jiang Qiang still uses in Shandong.

And Yoshitaka Tanaka, who was directing the task force to return home, also sat in a chair and closed his eyes to listen to the report of his staff officers. In this battle, one battleship troma, one cruiser Furutaka, three destroyers, and five frigates were lost, and many ships were damaged, and the hangar of the heavy aircraft carrier Kaga was also blown up into a hole, and all the carrier-based aircraft were almost completely lost.

Tanaka Yoshiryu held the command knife and looked at the sky as if he had become yī again

The sky of the pin said with some bitterness, "If it weren't for the fact that the people of China were not familiar with naval warfare this time, and the configuration of the aircraft was not reasonable, our losses would have been even greater." Your Majesty, is the road to the rise of the Great Japanese Empire so difficult?