In the afternoon, the Seto Inland Sea.

At this time, the sea was a mess, and there were fragments of Nagato's armor scattered everywhere, but more of them were stumps that drifted with the tide.

Although a few "lucky" devil sailors did not die directly in the explosion, they could not escape the huge whirlpool, and could only be sucked to the dark bottom of the sea with unwillingness and despair.

Standing on the bridge of the combat ship of the Mutsu, the captain of the ship, Sadadajiro Yamasumi, was holding a telescope and observing the scene of the disaster in amazement.

In his view, a huge mushroom cloud mixed with smoke and dust seems to connect the ocean with the sky.

The battleship Nagato, which had turned to the ground, was sinking to the bottom of the sea with countless corpses around it at a slow but firm speed.

"Amagasu!"

"Do you not care for your people? Why did things turn out the way they are? ”

Speaking of emotion, there was even a trace of tears in the corners of the old devil's eyes.

That's Nagato, the spiritual totem of his own navy. Even at the moment when the Yamato entered service, she still maintained an unshakable position in the Combined Fleet.

However, such a capital ship was crushed by the enemy in an incredible way, and disappeared into the Seto Inland Sea like a dead fish.

"Your Excellency, what are we going to do next? Whether to continue according to the original route. ”

The sudden new title swept away the sentimentality in Yamasumi Sadajiro's heart. But before the old devil could be secretly happy, a sense of fear surged into his heart.

Oops! I'm a stand-in!

At the moment when the commander of the fleet and the captain of the flagship, Yu Sha, he, the oldest Dazuo with the highest rank and the oldest rank on the scene, naturally became a temporary commander.

If it was usual, Sadajiro Yamasumi would definitely applaud.

However, the First Fleet suffered heavy losses in this battle, and as the existing supreme commander, he would definitely have to face the anger and roar of his superiors when he returned.

According to Yamasumi Sadajiro's understanding of his own high-level management, in order to deal with the accountability of the locusts and the angry people, he is very capable of being pushed out as an outcast and forced to become a seppuku to apologize.

Thinking of this, the old devil suddenly felt powerless.

"Yaga!"

"How could I be so unlucky! I knew that I should have fought for the position of captain of the King Kong back then. ”

"If I could fight in the north and south with Vice Admiral Nangumo, maybe I would have become a respected rear admiral a long time ago, and I would have been such an unreasonable enemy for a while!"

After a period of wailing and complaining, Yamasumi Sadajiro also knew that it was already the worst possible outcome. He could only force himself up and began to direct the rescue work at the scene.

Save more people and reduce losses, maybe you can win a little life for yourself.

Since it had not yet been determined whether the enemy's attack formation still had a rear hand, the auxiliary ships of the First Fleet did not dare to rush up to catch people.

After all, their ship is not auspicious, and no one can guarantee that they will return to their home port alive.

Adhering to the idea that the dead will not die and the poor will not die, those working ships, seaplane carriers, and ad hoc cruisers all pretended to maintain an air defense ring array, and watched their colleagues die painfully in the water.

However, even if the Yangyan-class No. 8 ship Xuefeng is present now, there is a high probability that it will not be too late to rescue.

"Twenty-fourth Sentai team, you go rescue the survivors of the Nagato."

"Fourth Dive Team, the destroyer Yakaze will be handed over to you. You can also salvage her over there and try to drag her back to Wugang for repairs. ”

Just as the orders descended to the ships in an orderly manner, a sudden explosion interrupted the old devil's command.

"Boom!"

Looking at the source of the explosion, Yamasumi Sadajiro saw at a glance the illegal construction that was making himself in the fire.

The Fuso-class battleship was originally an experimental ship developed and produced under the erroneous theory of adding more water to the surface and adding more water to the surface.

In order to suppress the Iron King Eight of the ugly family in terms of firepower, the devil designer forced her to stuff six twin-mounted 356mm main guns.

At the cost of carrying these weapons, the Fuso's main belt was lengthened several times, sharing the already not-so-great defensive capabilities.

As a result, the super-crossbow-level paper data seems to be extremely ferocious, but it is essentially just a paper tiger.

During the attack, the Savior's anxious Fuso blocked a torpedo for the Nagato, which was the main reason why she exploded and caught fire.

"Where's the damage management detachment! Rescue! ”

"We have already lost one battleship! Absolutely no more can be sunk! ”

In fact, the three damage control detachments on the Fuso have been operating at full strength since they were hit by the torpedo and trying to rescue them, and there is no need for Yamasumi Sadajiro to give special orders.

It's a pity that their efficiency is really not high, and they have never been able to control the disaster.

Different from the three-stage damage control of the deck, front and rear of the ugly, the Benzi Navy has its own unique understanding, dividing the damage control of a ship into three detachments.

Among them, the first detachment is responsible for the fire protection of the whole ship, the second detachment is responsible for the correction of the hull, and the last one is to repair the power system.

The above distribution may seem clear and reasonable, but once it is in actual combat, it will expose fatal problems. This is because this will cause the soldiers of a certain detachment to be exhausted throughout the ship, and eventually lead to a drastic drop in maintenance efficiency.

This is the current embarrassing situation of the Fuso.

"Your Excellency, Commander! Our ship is seriously flooded and is about to lose all power! ”

"The damage control team can only minimize the damage, but it does not rule out the possibility that all the ship needs to be abandoned."

As soon as these words came out, Yamasumi Sadajiro suddenly felt that his eyes were dark, as if he had seen the scene of his seppuku apologetic, and he fainted with a wail.

In just a few hours, a battleship sank and a battleship was heavily damaged, and he was definitely the worst commander in the entire IJN history.

······

Time goes back to half an hour ago.

Kure Port is a military port located northeast of Jujima, and it is surrounded by three large islands, Four, Nine, and Hon, and has an inherent advantage in security and concealment.

In addition to this, the port is conveniently located. It is close to the Bungo Waterway to the south, Kii Waterway to the north, and the Kanmon Strait to the west.

The reason why the book set the town guard mansion here, and the reason why the combined fleet chose this place as its home port, is precisely because of its geographical advantages of being able to go south, go east, and go west.

Of course, in the eyes of the enemy, all of the above advantages will be a reason to attack.

What's more, the Eighth Route Army's air force's strategic bombing operation was originally aimed at striking at the enemy's potential.

The naval dockyard in Kure City not only has the ability to build and repair large warships, but is also one of the only shipyards capable of building the Yamato-class, so it is naturally a key target for the troops.

Just as the comrades were about to arrive in the sky above their destination, the Fengxiang, which had been staying in the military port, moved and left the anchor at full speed with the three destroyers.

"Your Excellency, what happened?"

"I just saw a lot of Zero fighters flying to the northeast, did the First Fleet receive any orders?"

The person who is speaking now is the captain of the aircraft carrier Fengxiang. His eyes were filled with a desire to fight, and everyone present could tell that he was eager to prove himself through a big fight.

No way, compared with Akagi, Kaga, Wyvern and Soryu, Japan's first aircraft carrier, Fengxiang, really has no decent record.

At the moment of the outbreak of the Pacific War, she was even reduced to a training ship for training new soldiers.

As the commander of the carrier-based fighter formation, Ishizaki Heihachi and his team members are really unwilling to be satisfied with the status quo.

"I have just received a notification from General Yamamoto that our rear has been attacked by an unknown enemy. The Zero fighters of the First Fleet must have gone to support. ”

After finishing speaking, the devils around him showed surprised expressions. They really couldn't understand what kind of force could have planned such a bold action.

However, several young ministers led by Ishizaki Heihachi quickly became excited.

"It must have been done by an ugly countryman! Only they can deliver bomber swarms remotely! Captain! Please allow my warband to come to the aid and seize the enemy's aircraft carrier for revenge. ”

In the eyes of the little devil, the entire Pacific region has the ability to attack the forces in its own rear, and the only one is the ugly country.

Although he didn't know how the other party had infiltrated the coastal waters, he dared to pat his chest and assure that the enemy must have dispatched an aircraft carrier.

As long as the enterprise can be destroyed, the Fengxiang can immediately obtain the same honor as the mobile fleet.

When Ishizaki Heihachi and the others were still enjoying the future, the captain Daiichiro Kawaguchi poured a basin of cold water without hesitation, and said to this young man with a serious face:

"It's hundreds of kilometers away from the rear, and by the time your Zero fighter arrives at its destination, the enemy will most likely have fled the battlefield."

"So don't think about the support, the First Fleet sent a flying team just to not talk about it."

"Our task is to cooperate with the anti-aircraft artillery position to hold the city of Wu. There are a lot of cruisers and submarines under construction in the dockyard, and they are the main targets. ”

As soon as these words came out, all the pilots of Hainan Airlines sighed regretfully, as if they had missed a lot of achievements.

In fact, Daiichiro Kawaguchi is also quite helpless, although the old devil does not have the luxury of defeating an unknown enemy, but he wants to run away with the main force of the First Fleet.

In case it is blocked in the lair, with the current defensive strength of Wu Gang, the Fengxiang may be sunk.

In the face of air villains, only by holding air defense can there be a sense of security!

Just as the devils were talking, the roar of a piston engine suddenly sounded in the sky.

At first, Daiichiro Kawaguchi and Heihachi Ishizaki thought that they were flying teams that had taken off from the anchorage of Pillar Island. But as time passed, the two sensed that something was wrong.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

It wasn't until the anti-aircraft artillery in the city began to operate that they came to their senses.

"Admiral Yamamoto is right! The enemy has come to attack the shipyard! Commanders are ready! Fighter jets accelerate their take-off! The anti-aircraft artillery crew is on full alert! ”

After briefly formulating tactics, Daiichiro Kawaguchi came to the war room of the Fengxiang.

Due to the dismantling of the bridge, it took a lot of effort for the old devil to see the incoming enemy aircraft group with a telescope.

"Yaga! Which country's bomber is it? It's still four shots? Could it be that it is an ugly land aviation from the southern coast of the Republic of China? ”

With the order of Daiichiro Kawaguchi, the Fengxiang and the three escorts drove out the devils one after another.

The former accelerates the lift-off of carrier-based fighters, seeking to release all fighters before the enemy begins bombing. The latter is to control the anti-aircraft guns on the ship's hull and start counterattacking only when the enemy aircraft enter the firing range.

Although most of these men were new recruits who had never been to the battlefield, they were confident that they would not lose to the enemy they were about to fight.

"Ishizaki-kun, don't strayed into the battlefield over the city, there is a high probability that you will be injured by friendly troops if you rush in, just hand over the anti-aircraft artillery group on the ground over there."

"Your mission is to shoot down all the bombers near the coastal dock and take down all the enemies for me!"

"Whew!"

Hearing this, Heihachi Ishizaki turned away murderously and trotted towards the flight deck.

······

At the same time, forty kilometers from Kure Harbor.

The comrade who was responsible for leading the third brigade of the 1st Air Division this time was still a combat hero, looking at the coastline looming in the distance, Zhao Baotong said in a relaxed tone:

"Our task is to give priority to blowing up the enemy's Fengxiang."

"If nothing else, there should be only one aircraft carrier in the devil's military port. But just in case, everyone should take a few more photos before the action, and don't identify the wrong target. ”

"After killing the Fengxiang, if our ammunition is still rich, then go find the light cruiser that is being built."

"Roger!"

As soon as the mission was clear, sixteen Mosquito fighters immediately increased their altitude, exposing the Lancaster group to the air.

That's right, it's a pull-up.

This arrangement was made because Zhao Baotong decided to use the bomber squadron as a bait. When the enemy's ship attack begins to "hunt", they will kill from a high altitude and finish the enemy with one blow.

The reason why this combat hero is so confident is because the hangar of the Fengxiang is really small and pitiful.

Even if Captain Devil let all the fighters on the deck rise into the air to fight, and even pulled out the spare planes in the hangar to fight, he could barely make up fifteen.

To put it mildly, just such a fighter is not necessarily a zero-fight, and whether it can beat the self-defense machine guns of the Lancaster fleet is a question. (End of chapter)