"Now, we must first investigate the situation in Hainan. Tsukahara, the aviation force is under your command. I will leave this task to you." Yamamoto Isoroku looked at Tsukahara 243 and said,
"Hai." Tsukahara replied respectfully,
Because of Koizumi's recommendation, Yamamoto had high hopes for Tsukahara. In the past, Tsukahara was a tragic figure. As a naval aviation expert, he led his troops stationed in Hankou to command the naval aviation to bomb Chongqing and was attacked by the "Soviet Union". During the sneak attack of the "China Aid Air Force", an arm was blown off, and an arm was broken. Therefore, it was deemed that it was no longer suitable for maritime operations. For a time, Tsukahara retreated to the second line and was transferred to the commander of the base aviation force. Later, when the Japanese The Navy suffered successive losses in the Pacific War, and when Tsukahara had to once again command the front-line naval aviation force with a disability, Japan had already lost its ability to compete with the United States.
Koizumi is well aware of this period of history, and he is also a loyal believer in the following view: If Tsukahara, who was proficient in aviation operations, was commanding the maritime mobile force at that time, instead of Chuichi Nagumo, then the Battle of Midway would have had a different outcome. Therefore, when considering When he was the aviation commander of the Hainan Operation, he recommended Tsukahara, who was still in China, to Yamamoto.
The Xuebing Army marched north to attack Anqing and destroyed all the Japanese fighter planes in Anqing. This directly led to the commander of the 2nd Army, Hisao Nishio, who was in charge of the Wuhan Battle, to have no fighter planes available. Nishio Hisao had no choice but to request the Naval Command in China. To provide support, Tsukahara 243, who was stationed in Shanghai, was sent over.
Having just received the transfer order from the Navy Ministry, Tsukahara was still a little uneasy. He didn't know what Yamamoto had planned. When he arrived in Nagasaki, he received Yamamoto's courtesy, met Koizumi, the behind-the-scenes strategist, and listened to his high-level speeches on aviation. Knowing that the Navy would vigorously develop its aviation force, he couldn't help but throw himself into his new job with great enthusiasm.
On the deck of the Kaga, as the commander waved down the flag one after another, the two latest Type 99 fighters took off in succession. The next moment, they turned into two black spots and disappeared into the sky.
The Type 99 fighter jet is a new type of fighter jet specially developed by Japan to deal with the "Baiji". However, just like the Type 99 tank equipped by the Army, this new type of fighter that only pursues a certain capability has a very similar appearance to the "Baiji", but its combat capabilities are different. It was simply incomparable. Koizumi personally test-flyed this type of fighter, and after reviewing a large amount of intelligence information about the "Whiteback", he immediately suggested to Yamamoto to discontinue the production of this type of fighter. Under his auspices, one type was designated as the "Type Zero" fighter jets began to be put into production, and the Navy alone ordered 500 of them at one time. Of course, this "Type Zero" is different from the "Type Zero" currently developed by the Japanese Army. Except for the slight similarity in appearance, other In terms of aspects, especially in terms of size, this "Type Zero" is huge and much more advanced.
"It's good to be able to catch the army by surprise, but I hope to attract Ouyang Yun's attention. Hainan is not Fujian, and our navy is not the army. If Ouyang Yun dares to challenge the imperial navy again, he will get a lifelong An unforgettable lesson." Koizumi said confidently,
Yamamoto has always been a little unconfident in his heart. Compared with the last time, because the aircraft carriers Ryuxiang and Chongying are both light and medium-sized, the number of fighters carried by the combined fleet this time is nearly a quarter less. Hainan is not far from Guangzhou. Very far, last time, the Xuebing Army was able to seize the opportunity to take off fighter planes from Guangzhou to conduct a surprise attack. This time, there is no guarantee that this will not happen again. He responded to Koizumi's words and said: "I also believe that this battle can be successful. However, according to my understanding of Ouyang Yun, this battle will not be too easy. The bomb load of an 'Flying Fortress' is nearly ten tons, and the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower is not enough."
Koizumi studied the "Sink Bar" battle. He believed that the biggest reason why the combined fleet suffered heavy losses was that there were not enough escort fighter planes left. Although the "Whitefin" and "Sky Fortress" were advanced, they were not as good as the Xuebing Army. A warlord's economic capacity cannot equip him with too much equipment. The anti-aircraft weapons on nearly two hundred battleships, plus about two brigades of fighter jets, can completely intercept the student military aircraft within a safe range. He laughed. Then he said to Yamamoto: "Your Excellency, please rest assured, how many fighter planes can the Xuebing Army have, two hundred or three hundred, and how many can fly over from Guangzhou, such advanced aircraft as the 'White-fin Dolphin' and the 'Sky Fortress'" How many fighter planes can they equip? Even if there are 300 fighter planes, do you think that 300 fighter planes alone can break through our air defense front? I don't think, sir, to be honest, what I'm thinking about now is that it is destined to happen in the future. In the naval war between the United States and Japan, the United States was the empire’s biggest enemy.”
When Tsukahara 243 first met Koizumi, he was a little confused as to why this young man could win Yamamoto's favor. However, after being in contact with him for a period of time, he was influenced by some of the opponent's advanced combat concepts, especially knowing that it was because of Koizumi. After he was appreciated by Yamamoto with his strong recommendation, his attitude changed 180 degrees, and now he has become Koizumi's "guardian". He continued: "Your Excellency, I agree with Mr. Koizumi's opinion. The Battle of Hainan , we really have nothing to worry about.”
Now Yamamoto regards Koizumi as his right-hand man, and Tsukahara is a veteran figure in the field of naval aviation, and his words also carry considerable weight. Seeing both of them saying this, Yamamoto should be completely relieved, but he doesn’t know why. , there was a trace of uneasiness curling up in his heart, and he refused to leave for a long time,
"What's wrong?" Yamamoto thought, struggling to figure it out.
In the observation room of the Wuzhishan radar station in Hainan, the station commander Fang Xueliang and the duty officer Chen Ermao stared at the upper right corner of the screen without moving. A few minutes later, he said to Chen Ermao: "It's confirmed, it's a fighter plane. You continue to monitor , I’ll call the military commander.”
Shan Renxiong was in Wanning when he received a call from Fang Xueliang from the military switchboard. He learned that the Wuzhishan radar station had detected the whereabouts of a fighter plane. He immediately realized that this was a reconnaissance plane sent by the Japanese army. After hanging up the phone, he told the Chief of Staff Huang Ye said: "It's confirmed, the Japs' target is us. Now we're just waiting for the report from the Dahuajiao radar station."
Huang Ye said: "It's better to have radar. We can predict the enemy first. If the Japanese want to sneak attack us, hey, this time they will have a better look."
There are three radar stations on Hainan Island. Among them, the Wuzhishan Radar Station specializes in monitoring air targets, while the Dahuajiao Radar Station and Datang Radar Station are responsible for monitoring maritime targets. The Wuzhishan Radar Station has a larger radar power and a monitoring range of 300 meters. About fifty kilometers away, the two radar stations at Dahuajiao and Datang are equipped with smaller radar powers, and the longest monitoring distance is between 200 kilometers and 250 kilometers.
As a latecomer, Koizumi thought that everything was under control. However, he forgot the most crucial point. The Xuebing Army was able to seize the fighter plane and launch the "Sink It" surprise attack to severely defeat the United Fleet. It did not rely on luck. , but for radar monitoring, and if radar also exists in Hainan, then the Xuebing Army has actually taken the lead before the war begins.
Opportunity, for both warring parties, is undoubtedly a crucial factor in determining the outcome. This is actually the reason why Yamamoto always feels something is wrong. However, because he does not know that the Xuebing Army possesses such equipment similar to clairvoyance.