After withstanding the first wave of attacks from the American carrier-based aircraft group, Wang Chongwen ordered a counterattack.
At this time, the distance between the Beiyang Fleet and the Kincaid Fleet was shortened to 170 nautical miles, and the opponent was completely within the strike range of the Republic's "Sailfish" torpedo aircraft.
After a wave of attacks, the sea looked a little messy. Destroyers were quickly shuttled around, searching the water to rescue pilots who fell into the water, whether they were their own people or enemies. The left front side of the "Jilin" was hit by an aerial bomb, and the hull
The "Changbaishan" was emitting thick smoke but could still take off and land fighter jets, performing escort missions on its side.
The battleship was even hit by three aerial bombs. The fierce anti-aircraft fire from the battleship forced the American pilots who were rushing towards the aircraft ship to drop bombs in advance. Fires broke out on the front and rear decks of the "Changbai Mountain", and the two midships
A traffic boat was blown up. Now the fire has been extinguished, but smoke is still billowing from the warship.
The situation of the "Qiqihar" on the right side of the "Jilin" was also not good. Two aerial bombs left the superstructure of the anti-aircraft cruiser in a mess.
Just being beaten without fighting back is definitely not the answer. Wang Chongwen quickly ordered a counterattack against Kincaid's fleet located northeast of the fleet. This time he sent four squadrons of attack aircraft, two squadrons of torpedo planes, and three squadrons at the same time
fighter jets to provide escort.
This is almost half of the attack force of the Beiyang Fleet. So far, the Beiyang Fleet has lost about 50 carrier-based aircraft. The Kinkaid fleet as the attacking party has suffered even greater losses. In this wave of attacks, about a hundred
More than 20 fighter planes were shot down, which is basically nearly one-third of his carrier-based aircraft.
About twenty minutes after the attack formation was dispatched, fighter jets performing a search mission southwest of Midway Island reported that they had discovered the main force of the 5th Fleet. Both sides were approaching at full speed in the direction of the Beiyang Fleet, and the opponent's carrier-based aircraft had already taken off and was in formation.
It was obvious that the opponent was ready to attack.
In the age of sails, 200 nautical miles may be a far distance, but since humans entered the aviation age, the sea journey that once took more than a day to complete now only takes a few dozen minutes. About half an hour later, in the Republic Fleet
The radar of the destroyer on guard duty on the south side captured information about the enemy aircraft.
The destroyer "Battle Hall" sounded the air defense siren. Judging from the smoke signal it emitted, the number of incoming enemy aircraft exceeded people's expectations. Spruance dispatched almost all combat aircraft at once, 500
Multiple carrier-based aircraft cover the sky
The sun was covering the area as fiercely as a group of huge albatross, and even the Republican fighter pilots serving as outer security guards were a little frightened. After a slight hesitation, a squadron of fighter jets bravely charged towards the enemy aircraft group.
"The current position of the East China Sea Fleet? Send a report to Commander Cheng and ask him to leave us alone and attack the US 5th Fleet!" After Wang Chongwen judged the situation, he expected that he might not be able to escape today. The main force of Cheng Yaoheng's fleet was still hundreds of nautical miles away.
Besides, it was definitely too late to rescue himself. After ordering all the fighters and attack planes on the aircraft carrier to take off to intercept the enemy's fleet, he ordered a telegram to Cheng Yaoheng to let him ignore his safety and attack the enemy's fleet first.
On June 17, 1942, at 10:05 am, the first wave of enemy attack aircraft approached the sky over the Beiyang Fleet, including 213 dive bombers and torpedo planes, and were escorted by about 90 fighter jets.
ship
Above the water antenna on the south side of the team, there were some densely packed small black spots. Under the sunlight, the metal fuselage shone from time to time. Under the interception of the Republican Army fighter planes, from time to time there were several black dots trailing a black line.
The smoke fell into the sea.
The enemy planes dispersed and divided into small groups. The Republican fighter planes that took off to intercept were entangled with the enemy's escort fighter planes. 150 fighter planes and more than 90 "Sea Harrier" attack planes that took off from various aircraft carriers were struggling.
While intercepting enemy planes, the enemy's bomber groups were divided into small groups, sometimes hiding in the clouds to avoid interception by fighter planes.
First, a group of "Avenger" torpedo planes circled to the northeast side of the fleet and broke into the fleet's air defense circle from low altitude. At 10:22, the lookout post of the cruiser "Guihua City" located on the right side of the fleet first discovered it.
The intruding enemy plane is right
He shouted loudly into the microphone: "Enemy torpedo planes, starboard 25 degrees, approaching at low altitude!" About 16 torpedo planes were divided into two teams, lined up in a single column, and pressed against the sea surface from the right rear of the fleet, breaking through the surrounding fighter planes.
intercept.
Three destroyers and two frigates located on the right periphery of the fleet opened fire first. Later, two anti-aircraft cruisers and the battleship "Xing'anling" also began to fire at the enemy planes. The enemy planes came quickly from five nautical miles away.
These torpedo planes aimed at the "Suiyuan" aircraft carrier on the right side of the fleet, and 12 more torpedo planes appeared behind them.
The gunners on the warships focused their attention on the incoming torpedo fuselage. All the medium and short-range anti-aircraft artillery fired fiercely at the same time. The main guns on the battleships and cruisers also poured shells onto the sea, sparking a wave of fire.
Tao's water curtain
Intercepted the enemy planes. More than half of the torpedo planes were shot down by artillery fire. One of them hit the huge water column stirred up by the shell and fell directly into the sea. However, 9 torpedo planes still rushed close to 3000 meters and dropped torpedoes.
The "Suiyuan" turned sharply to starboard with all its strength on the water, avoiding the torpedoes coming rapidly on the sea. It made a full circle and miraculously avoided all the torpedoes. When the warship resumed its original course,
The officers and soldiers on the ship breathed a huge sigh of relief.
But there was no chance to breathe at all, as the second wave of attacking planes arrived again.
Fighters that have run out of fuel and ammunition are constantly landing on the aircraft carrier to refuel and replenish ammunition. After the consumption just now, about 50 more fighters have been lost. Only the number of fighters and attack planes in the sky escorting the entire fleet is left.
One hundred and thirty
Multiple aircraft and spare fighters from each aircraft carrier were also raised from the hangar to the deck. In more than half an hour of fierce air battles, the losses of the Beiyang Fleet were not great. Only one destroyer was hit by a torpedo and sank.
, two other cruisers were damaged.
However, in order to avoid the attacks of aerial bombs and torpedoes, the formation of the entire fleet became quite scattered, and the entire radius expanded to about seven or eight nautical miles. The captains of each ship were busy adjusting the course and organizing the formation.
The fighter planes still on the deck also began to dispatch urgently to intercept the enemy's fleet, and another fierce aerial battle began.
At 10:51, a group of enemy torpedo planes approached from the port side. About five torpedo planes passed over the heads of the cruiser "Kobdo" and the battleship "Changbaishan" and headed straight for the "Heilongjiang", the flagship of the fleet.
All the short-range anti-aircraft artillery on the port side opened fire, forming a dense barrage.
When all the gunners on the warship focused all their attention on the incoming torpedo fuselages, suddenly, the lookout on the aircraft carrier shouted: "Dive bombers, above us!"
Several dark green enemy planes swooped down from an altitude of three thousand meters. The clouds in the sky provided good concealment for these enemy planes. These bombers hiding in the clouds waited for the best opportunity to attack! Some zeros
The scattered anti-aircraft artillery turned their muzzles and fired fiercely at these black spots that were rapidly falling from the sky, but they were unable to stop the enemy's attack.
The black shadow of the enemy plane grew larger and larger. With the shrill roar of the fearless bomber, several black objects were thrown off from under the enemy's fuselage. Several aerial bombs were aimed at the deck of the "Heilongjiang".
Big, when people just reacted, with a huge explosion, the entire heavy warship with a full load displacement of nearly 60,000 tons began to tremble, followed by another more violent vibration, and another
An aerial bomb hit it.
The "Heilongjiang" was hit by two aerial bombs, and a fire suddenly broke out on the deck. Wang Chongwen fell down in the explosion. When he stood up and looked at the sea again, he found that the "Hebei" on the right side of the flagship was also
After being hit by a bullet, the entire ship was enveloped in thick black smoke.