A retired little old man once said: when people need to evaluate the combat performance of an aircraft carrier, they must first look at whether its appearance is elegant.

The primary goal of the Air Force Division today was once highly praised by him in a talk show, and was even nicknamed the Happy Boat by netizens for a time.

This "good-looking" warship is the first aircraft carrier of the book, and it is also the first regular aircraft carrier in the world to have an all-through deck when it is launched: Fengxiang.

Perhaps compared with the latest Xianghe class of the Navy, her performance has long been unable to keep up with the rhythm of today's battlefield, and her combat effectiveness has been thrown away by the juniors for a long time.

However, its spiritual symbol is absolutely unique in the whole IJN.

In a sense, even Akagi, Kaga, and Ssangyong, who have achieved great results, have to bow their heads in front of her.

However, it is precisely because of this that the Fengxiang will become the preferred target of the Eighth Route Army Air Force. After all, when it comes to the means of demoralization and inexplicable faith, the rabbits are the most professional.

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After a five-minute flight, the offensive formation finally came to the airspace off the coast of Kure.

Although the current position of the aircraft group, it is still eleven nautical miles away from the destination of the 3rd Air Division.

But the comrades, who were always on their guard, had already discovered the primary target of this offensive: a small surface fleet of aircraft carriers and escort destroyers.

After repeatedly comparing the photos and determining that the light aircraft carrier below was the devil's Fengxiang, the captain of the pilot of the strategic bomber formation told in the communication channel:

"Attention all crews, attention all crews!"

"We are about to arrive at the battlefield, now everyone immediately descends to an altitude of four thousand meters and lures the devil's carrier-based fighters up!"

"This is the first time that everyone has fought with the enemy's fighter jets, no matter what happens, you must stay calm, the other party will definitely not break through our box formation."

After receiving replies from the various crews, the navigator steered his Lancaster out of the clouds, and then led the entire squadron to begin to descend to altitude.

When approaching the sky above the Fengxiang, he also specially ordered all the bombers to open their magazines, posing as if they might drop bombs at any time.

After a while, the bombardiers could see the Devil aircraft carrier moving at full speed through the Norton sight.

A small number of young soldiers could not resist the desire to attack, and asked the pilot by radio:

"Captain, the target is directly below our route, can we drop bombs?"

In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, the Fengxiang was incorporated into the first air battle of the Benzi Navy, and together with Kaga, launched many air raids on the coastal cities of the Republic of China.

The combination of new hatred and old hatred naturally regarded it as a thorn in the flesh and wanted to destroy this heinous aircraft carrier with their own hands.

When similar inquiries and requests kept ringing in the communication channel, the captain of the pilot could only shake his head helplessly.

"The speed of that ship is at least twenty knots, and our formation is now at an altitude of four thousand meters, and even with a Norton sight, there is no guarantee of the accuracy of horizontal bombing."

"Let's hand her over to the comrades of the 1st Air Division, whose semi-armor-piercing aerial bombs have delayed fuses, which are more suitable for dealing with light warships with weak defensive performance."

"Everyone's high-explosive bombs, it's better to leave them to those dockyards and shipyards."

While everyone was communicating, the small surface fleet in Kure Harbor, as well as the anti-aircraft artillery positions deployed on the city's commanding heights, began to attack the Lancastrian bomber group.

From time to time, black clouds from the explosion of artillery shells rose high in the sky.

It's a pity that the Showa air defense is still pulling its hips.

The gunners on those destroyers were almost hoarse, but their ninety-six guns still could not pose an effective threat to the bomber group.

Just as the comrades of the 3rd Air Division were about to fly over the Fengxiang, the originally sparse anti-aircraft firepower network suddenly disappeared without a trace.

If it weren't for the fact that there was still some gunsmoke in the air that had not yet dissipated, ordinary people would really not have seen that a "huge" air-ground duel had just taken place here.

"The anti-aircraft guns stopped! The machine gunners are ready for battle, enemy fighters are coming! ”

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As an aircraft carrier whose main mission is to train new recruits, the priority of the Fengxiang has long been much lower than before, and there are only three Zero Battles and seven 96 Ship Attack on the flight deck.

At this time, under the cover of anti-aircraft artillery positions and fleet air defense, the devils had already piloted their respective carrier-based fighters and climbed to an altitude of 5,500 meters in a detour.

Looking at the group of bombers, who did not perceive the danger in the slightest, Heihachi Ishizaki showed a cruel smile, and then said in the communication channel:

"Gentlemen, it seems that we are lucky, the enemy is obviously a group of rookies with little combat experience."

"Then everyone followed me in the attack, and the four bombers at the end of the squad were destroyed first. My requirements are not high, before the opponent's formation enters the city, half of it will be considered a success in the mission! ”

"Let's get moving!"

After speaking, Heihachi Ishizaki directly kicked the rudder and putter to take the lead.

The rest of the HNA pilots were not far behind, and they flew fighter jets to keep up with their captains.

Due to the disadvantage in the number of devil ships, these sea eagles chose to use the clouds and the sun as cover to occupy a favorable position above the enemy aircraft group diagonally.

"Attack!"

With Ishizaki Heihachi's order, ten fighters launched a head-to-head dive in the direction of the flight of the 3rd Air Division, and then the sound of 7.7 mm machine guns and 20 mm cannons sounded in the air.

"Da Da Da!"

The training ethics of Hainan Airlines clearly mark that the nose of the aircraft, especially the cockpit and other key areas, is definitely the best choice when launching a surprise attack.

It's a pity that the self-defense machine gunners on Lancaster are not decorations, and the comrades will not let those 96 ship battles and Zero fighters be satisfied at all.

As soon as the enemy launched a dive, hundreds of 7.7 and 12.7 Browning completed the formation, forcing the devils to change course with more powerful firepower.

After a confrontation, the two sides came to the point.

Although Heihachi Ishizaki and others hit the target, the 7.7mm Type 97 coaxial machine gun was limited in power, and leaving a few small holes in the Lancaster's fuselage was their limit.

As for the much-anticipated 20mm Type 99 Type 1 cannon?

That thing could theoretically damage a four-shot bomber, but at this stage it has the problem of slow muzzle velocity and easy sagging of shells during flight.

Coupled with the rate of fire that made people laugh out of the big teeth, it naturally did not have any impact on the Lancaster fleet.

"Yaga! You idiots, have you forgotten the textbooks written by the school? Don't despise the enemy, give me a B17 to fight the other party as an ugly country. ”

"Climb again! You can't afford to waste another chance! ”

The failure just now did not discourage Heihachi Ishizaki.

The old devil has always believed that a bomber formation without fighter escort is essentially no different from meat on a chopping block.

As long as you are cautious and patient enough to launch a few more collective strikes, you will be able to completely destroy the enemy's bucket formation.

Just as the carrier-based fighter formation of the Fengxiang was about to return to the high altitude, a group of twin-engine fighters that appeared out of nowhere caught them off guard.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

In just a few seconds, one of the Zero and two 96 ships of his own side were restored to their factory settings, and they turned into sparks and floated towards the coastal waters of Wu City below.

The sudden sneak attack did not make Heihachi Ishizaki lose the courage to resist.

As one of the few pilots with combat experience, he observed the situation on the battlefield while maneuvering fighter planes to evade enemies falling from the sky.

"The enemy's planes are twin-engined! Hurry up and fight each other for mobility! ”

It stands to reason that most of the heavy fighters during World War II did not have strong air supremacy and were not suitable for participating in air superiority combat. Some particularly embarrassing models will even bring their own bombers to send people across the strait and thousands of miles away.

That is, P38 is still quite competitive, and hunted a turkey in the Pacific War.

If the comrades of the 1st Air Division at this time, the Mosquito fighter piloted was the original early model of the Royal Air Force. Then they are really a little likely to show flaws in maneuvering, and in the end, the devils will fight one or two by the same way.

But!

The system is produced and must be a high-quality product.

As a product of awakening the Yonghu military factory, the Mosquito type of the Eighth Route Army Air Force almost touched the threshold of the doomsday piston in some performance.

Naturally, it is impossible for any accidents to occur in dealing with several outdated 96 warships and the incomplete Zero Combat 21 type, which still uses the BZ tactic of defeating the enemy's aircraft first.

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Fifteen minutes later, the air battle was completely over.

Looking at the light aircraft carrier below, the combat hero Zhao Baotong showed a playful expression.

In the original timeline, the Fengxiang was the only aircraft carrier that could sail normally and take off and land carrier-based aircraft after the surrender of the Benzi Navy.

But her good fortune ended there.

"The first group, enter the combat position!"

As soon as these words came out, the four mosquitoes immediately broke away from the large formation. They lined up in a perfect battle formation and launched a dive attack on the Fengxiang, which was driving at full speed.

In the first wave, the comrades dropped eight semi-armor-piercing bombs at a height of 800 meters above the enemy's aircraft carrier.

Seeing that the bomb was about to fall on his head, the sailors on the flight deck were suddenly frightened.

In normal times, the devils can also avoid the aerial bombs falling from the sky by making emergency maneuvers. But now they are flying the spare carrier-based aircraft that they have just lifted, and they must keep moving in a straight line.

"Boom!"

Maybe it's because of the overtension, or maybe the Showa air defense played a certain jamming role. All of the eight bombs in the first wave missed the target.

The bomb went into the water, but the explosion did not happen.

"Dud?"

Just when the devil sailors were still rejoicing, a series of earth-shattering explosions rose from the water. The destructive power of the near-miss bomb made the Fengxiang like a broken candle in the wind, as if it would face the risk of being hit hard at any time.

"Boom!"

The captain of the ship, Daiichiro Kawaguchi, narrowed his pupils, and the scene at this moment reminded him of the Fourth Fleet incident that year.

When survival is at stake, the old devil doesn't dare to think nonsense. He hurriedly shook his head and ordered to the signal soldier on the side:

"Quick! Hurry up and get the fighter into the air! Even if you can't shoot down the enemy's fighters, you can't let the opponent continue to dive and drop bombs recklessly! ”

With the commander's repeated urging, the deck ground crew completed the preparation of the five 96 ships as quickly as possible. They are pushed to the starting point, as if they can be lifted into the air in the next second.

It's a pity, not to mention whether the devils can climb to the height in a limited time, and it is impossible for the First Air Division to give them a chance to fight back.

"Here we go again!"

Daiichiro Kawaguchi looked in the direction where the sailors were pointing, and saw that four more enemy planes were diving towards the Fengxiang. From the perspective of the opponent's cut, there is a high probability that your side will be hit this time.

As if sensing that danger was coming, the anti-aircraft guns on the three escort destroyers were on full alert at the same time.

"Prepare for the shock!"

Under the nervous gaze of all the devils, several black dots falling from high altitude gradually grew larger, and finally directly hit the flight deck of this light aircraft carrier.

Although it also carries the word "phoenix", the defensive power of the Fengxiang deck is very different from that of Dafeng, and it is naturally unable to resist the penetration of semi-armor-piercing aerial bombs.

The fuses of the aerial bombs used by the 1st Air Force Division this time are not particularly sensitive.

This is so that it can explode in the hangar after it runs through the flight deck.

"Boom!"

Blessings are incomparable, and disasters are not singular.

Since Feng Xiang is an experimental old ship, there is no special tank for aviation fuel inside her. Therefore, all the gasoline used by carrier-based aircraft is stored in the hangar in the form of iron drums.

This storage method does save space, but it has great hidden dangers.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

More than ten seconds after the second wave of the attack, the interior of the light aircraft carrier burst into waves of violent explosions.

The aircraft carrier Fengxiang, in a manner similar to a martyrdom, was blown into two knots from a third of the hull. (End of chapter)