Chapter 562: Coral Sea Aircraft Carrier Battle Six
Of course, the first air combat was still going on. Just as the Far East Air Force continued to pursue the remaining Japanese enemies, more than 120 P-5 and P-6 fighter jets began to take off from the medium-sized aircraft carrier USS Lexington. At the same time, the Japanese Zuikaku
Fifty bombers also took off at the same time, and they had only one purpose, which was the Far East Army's Hawaii base.
The USS Lexington is the No. 1 battleship of the Lexington-class aircraft carrier and the second aircraft carrier of the US Navy. It is nicknamed the Gray Lady in the US military. The Lexington was originally a large battlecruiser and was eventually renamed
It is a medium-sized aircraft carrier. However, although the Lexington's escort fleet is large, its own combat effectiveness is extremely strong, and its maneuverability is very good, it was severely damaged in the Coral Sea aircraft carrier battle and sank in the end.
The flight deck of the Lexington is 980 feet long, 120 feet wide, with a draft of 45 feet. It has a crew of 3,222 people and is equipped with anti-aircraft artillery equipment, 4 double-barreled 8-inch anti-aircraft guns, 12 5-inch anti-aircraft guns and 4
A 57mm anti-aircraft gun.
There is an independent crane on the ship, and seaplanes can also be recovered. The hangar was originally designed to accommodate 120 aircraft, but in the end 191 were installed. The displacement was 56,000 tons, and the full load was about 68,000 tons, while the Yanhuang class of the Far East Navy only had a full load of 30,000 tons.
The U.S. Navy has two aircraft carriers of this tonnage, the USS Lexington and the USS Saratoga. Both ships use a closed bow, a double-layer hangar, three elevators, and the entire fully-accessible flight deck is 271 meters long.
It uses a steam turbine as the propulsion power system, and its protective armor is equivalent to that of a cruiser.
Following the defeat of the first air battle, the U.S. Department of the Navy agreed to issue a combat order for the Far East Navy. Not only did the entire U.S. Navy take action, but even in the second U.S.-Mexico battlefield, the U.S. military also increased its aerial bombing power.
Although the Far East Group secretly supported Mexico, it did not provide air weapons. Facing the high-flying US B-92 bombers, the Mexican Army troops could only hide in official duties and be bombed. Naturally, the anti-aircraft guns used by the Far East Group to assist Mexico were
Some anti-aircraft guns that are about to be retired are first-generation weapons. Facing B-92 bombers flying at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters, the old-fashioned anti-aircraft guns cannot hit them at all.
However, under the leadership of the staff of the Far East Army, the anti-aircraft guns, which could only be used as hindsight, finally made new progress. The old anti-aircraft guns did not have optical sights or automatic commanders.
It is completely necessary to rely on observers and commanders to judge the direction, altitude, distance, flight speed, etc. of the American aircraft, and then issue the instructions step by step. Such a process can take more than forty seconds at the fastest, but forty
For the U.S. military B-92 bombers, it takes only a few seconds for them to fly over, bomb them, and then leave.
Therefore, with the help of the Far East staff, all Mexican anti-aircraft artillery units showed a life-threatening spirit and directly adjusted the final shooting distance to 1,800 meters. In other words, in just over ten seconds, the US B-92 bomber would
Can come to the anti-aircraft artillery position for bombing.
Not only that, but the explosion time of each artillery shell's fuse is also shortened to three seconds. That is to say, after the artillery shell is sent out, it will explode in three seconds. If there is a small mistake, the artillery shell will explode in its own position.
and explosions all around.
It was such a bold move that finally changed the situation of the Second U.S.-Mexican War. The first improved attack brought down two arrogant U.S. B-92 bombers. From then on, the staff of the Far East Army were captured by Mexico.
Soldiers are regarded as the most respected people.
Moreover, a slogan also began to circulate among the Mexican army, that is, as long as you don't blow me up, I will shoot you down!
At around 16:02 in the afternoon on September 28, 1907, fighter planes taking off from the four Yanhuang-class light aircraft carriers Fujian, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Jiangxi basically knew the general position of the U.S. fleet, so they followed the three echelons they had previously divided.
, began to sail towards the Japanese and US Navy aircraft carriers.
At the same time, 12 carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft dispatched by the Japanese and American naval aircraft carrier mobile formations discovered two of the Far East China East Aircraft Carrier Battle Group between 160 degrees and 220 degrees. At that time, there were only one heavy cruiser and one
Destroyer escort.
So the Japanese and American coalition forces changed their tactics and pulled out 20 P-6 high-altitude fighter jets from the fleet attacking the bases in the Hawaiian Islands, 19 P-5 fighter jets and 37 B-92 bombers took off in conjunction with the Lexington, for a total of 76 aircraft.
The fighter plane flew towards the target discovered by the reconnaissance plane.
However, after arriving at the target, they were shocked to discover that it was not the Far East Navy's East China aircraft carrier group, but the USS Neosho supply tanker, the Morid subsistence supply ship, the cruiser USS Sims and the base.
At first glance, the destroyer USS Sri Lanka and the two supply ships really look like two aircraft carriers and two battleships.
After the large Japanese and American aircraft groups flew over the area and discovered that it was not an aircraft carrier formation of the Far East Navy, they still conducted a repeated search on the nearby sea surface, which lasted for more than two hours, but in the end no other attack targets were found.
But just as they were preparing to return, the Far East Navy's East China aircraft carrier battle group, which had been together, with more than 200 fighters and bombers, had arrived above the heads of the American Lexington and the Japanese Zuikaku. At this time, a sudden
The air-sea battle began.
Terrified, the U.S. military commander quickly recalled all aircraft and even gave up the mission to bomb the Hawaii base.
However, according to the combat naming of the Far East Corps, this time it mainly attacked the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku, so it did not take the initiative to attack the USS Lexington. At this time, under the cooperative attack of more than 120 Far East bombers, the Japanese army did not have any air combat protection force.
The Zuihe was successfully sunk in the first battle of the naval battle. However, during the return of the Far East aircraft carrier's aircraft, the exact location of the Far East Navy's East China aircraft carrier battle group was known.
But the time has come to around 18:11, so the US military is not continuing the action, but preparing for tomorrow's battle. In the aircraft carrier-based aircraft battle on the first day, the Far East Army lost three aircraft in exchange for one.
It can be said that the small Japanese aircraft carrier and twenty fighter jets made a lot of money.
But after the battle report was passed to Li Ningyu, as the commander of the North American Military Region of the Far East Army, Li Donghua was severely scolded. Because it was such a good opportunity at the time, why not clean up the USS Lexington together?
After solving such a big guy, future battles will be much easier.
Li Donghua had no words to refute such criticism. In the end, he could only learn a lesson and summarize the shortcomings of the first day's battle.