At 18:40, the second batch of 40 Kingfisher fighter jets from the Ming Army arrived on the battlefield and joined the melee.
These 40 aircraft had sufficient fuel and the pilots were energetic. After joining the battle group, the number of Ming fighter jets reached 130. At this time, there were less than 100 Qing fighter jets left, and the new Haidong Qing only accounted for four
1. The Ming army suddenly regained the dual absolute advantages of quantity and quality.
At this moment, the battlefield has shifted from land to sea, almost right above the head of the Hongwu fleet.
32 Kingfishers escorted 15 Junkers, increased the throttle, and continued eastward, while the remaining 98 Kingfishers intercepted more than 20 Haidong Qings and more than 70 Zhebies, and started a melee without any scruples.
.
This maritime battlefield is also what the Ming army hopes for, because once it reaches the sea, everything below is under the control of the Ming army. The Hongwu fleet spread out 12 destroyers and 20 minesweepers, and immediately searched and rescued the parachuting pilots, and captured them by the way.
Qing army pilot.
With such a balance of power, the Qing military fleet was obviously unable to resist. The Haidongqing was better, but the Jebie fighter jets were like dumplings, dragging long smoke downwards one after another. In addition to speed and flexibility, biplanes
In addition to being inferior to monoplanes, their firepower is also greatly inferior. In addition to two machine guns on the nose of a monoplane fighter, there are usually two more on the wings. However, it is difficult to install machine guns on the wings of biplanes, only on the nose.
With two aircraft, the firepower is only one-half of that of the monoplane.
Under the bloody sunset, the blue sea and sky seemed to have been repeatedly painted with a paintbrush. Long smoke of various shapes and trajectories was dragged between the sea and the sky, dragging hundreds of meters or thousands of meters long, and did not dissipate for a long time.
Some of these long smoke are white, some are black, some are gray, and some are dark red... At first glance, they look like the graffiti of a modernist painter, which is very beautiful.
The sailors on the ships below all held on to the railings and raised their heads to enjoy the magnificent scenery they had never seen before. They were all excited and almost dumbfounded.
The sky is getting darker and darker, the visibility is getting worse and worse, it is becoming more and more difficult to see the enemy in the sky, and the firing efficiency has dropped sharply. Just ten minutes ago, several aircraft were destroyed in one minute, but now, no aircraft has been hit for several minutes.
We went down. Everyone just circled in the sky and stopped firing. Occasionally, we could see a string of tracer bullets passing by from a distance, which looked very bright and dazzling.
…
Landing at night in this era is a big challenge for both sides. It requires pilots to have high skills and strong training to ensure safety. This is what the Qing army's rear pilots lack.
Although landing on an aircraft carrier at night is more difficult than landing at an airport, for the pilots of both sides, the opposite is true. Ming pilots landing on an aircraft carrier at night are more difficult than Qing pilots landing at the airport at night.
Easier.
In addition, the "airport" of the Ming Army is right below, and if you want to land, you can do it in minutes. However, if the Qing Army's planes want to land, they have to fly back more than 100 kilometers, so now the Ming Army's fighter jets are fighting calmly, and no one has enough fuel.
When it's done, drop down and refuel, and when it's done, fly up and continue fighting.
Seeing this situation, the Qing pilots realized that they were stuck here with their superior aircraft fleet and could not move. However, their 15 transport planes, escorted by 32 fighter jets, had already disappeared to the west. If they did not return now, it would be dark on the way back.
, even turning back and landing is a problem.
Several brigades of the Qing military aircraft fleet have now received orders to return. The Qing Air Force headquarters is also worried that a large number of aircraft will be lost due to landing problems after dark.
As soon as the return order was given over the radio, the remaining Hai Dongqing and Zhebie turned around and ran away as if they had been granted amnesty.
The Ming fleet also breathed a sigh of relief at this time, and immediately ordered the fleet to land as soon as possible while the sky was still dark. At the same time, the 32 Kingfishers escorting the Junkers eastward were summoned to return and land.
At 19:30, the sky was completely dark. But at this time, there were more than 30 Kingfishers circling in the sky, waiting for the aircraft carrier deck to be cleared. Everyone on the two aircraft carriers entered the most nervous state, and the elevators continued to rise and fall.
, put the landing aircraft on the deck into the hangar as quickly as possible. At the same time, the navigation lights were turned on on the deck runway.
Among the more than 100 aircraft, those pilots with less flying hours and less technical skills have been arranged to land first. The only ones who are still in the sky are a few experienced birds with high skills and the confidence to land at night.
But despite this, since it got dark at seven o'clock, out of every ten planes that landed, one or two would run off the runway. They would either hit the blocking net or rush directly into the sea.
Finally, at 19:50, all the planes landed.
The Hongwu fleet fired flares in all directions, illuminating the sea in this area like daylight. Destroyers, minesweepers, and lifeboats galloped on the sea, constantly fishing out the fallen pilots.
The search and rescue continued until 21:30. No pilot could be found in this area. The entire fleet turned east and headed towards the open waters of the Bohai Sea.
…
The Hongwu squadron reached a high speed of 27 knots. This is an offshore area, a dangerous water area prone to sneak attacks by torpedo boats. In addition, it is dark and windy, which is the time when torpedo boats are active. The entire fleet has implemented lights
The control was completely hidden in the dark night. Twelve destroyers worked hard and stood guard on both sides of the fleet.
At 22:20, the fleet's sonar found that several high-speed diesel engines were approaching from the north direction on the port side. The fleet immediately fired a string of flares to the north, and it was as bright as day for several nautical miles.
Under the illumination of the slowly falling bright magnesium bombs, nine torpedo boats were spotted 5,000 meters away, dragging white waves and approaching quickly. The entire fleet immediately fired their artillery, and the sea surface flashed with fire, and countless fireballs jumped and shot at them.
The nine torpedo boats flew away.
The four destroyers also immediately launched at full speed to meet and kill him.
The three torpedo boat squadrons of the Qing army obviously did not have much desire to fight. Seeing that the sneak attack failed, they fired torpedoes at a distance of more than 4,000 meters, then turned around and ran away. Two of the torpedo boats were hit by several 40mm artillery shells and also dragged the blazing fire.
The fire followed back.
In the vast darkness, the destroyers did not dare to pursue far, and immediately withdrew their troops and returned to the fleet. The entire fleet turned due south at the same time, pointing the narrow stern in the direction of the torpedo, minimizing its target area, and traveling at full speed.
A few minutes later, the last torpedo disappeared from the sonar, and the entire fleet turned collectively again, returning to its original course due east.
The narrow Bohai Bay was gradually left behind, and the fleet rushed into the vast Bohai Sea. Although the entire Bohai Sea was within the range of the torpedo boat, the chance of being searched was greatly reduced.
Within the next three hours, the fleet was not attacked by torpedo boats again.
…
At 0:30 in the morning on May 9, the fleet was already in the very center of the Bohai Sea. 100 kilometers to the east is the Bohai Strait, and 120 kilometers to the west is Dagukou. To the north is the deep Liaodong Bay, and to the south is less than 100 kilometers.
One hundred kilometers away we enter Laizhou Bay.
The fleet is now at a crossroads.
At this time, the flagship Hongwu sent a signal and ordered everyone to stop and anchor. The captains of the two aircraft carriers and two cruisers came to the flagship for a meeting.
The signal light was fired, the fleet stopped, and the captains of the four warships boarded the battleship Hongwu in small boats.
In the large captain's cabin, the watertight covers of every round porthole were closed, leaving only the faint red light in the room illuminating the chart on the table.
The fleet commander held his pipe in his mouth and asked several captains for their opinions on whether to break out of the Bohai Strait overnight or stay in the Bohai Sea until dawn, and then go out with the same swagger as when he came in.
The five captains, including the Hongwu, agreed that it would be better to stay in the Bohai Sea until dawn before going out. Because in more than a day, the Qing army must have re-laid mines in the Bohai Strait, and will definitely increase the number of mines.
High density. It is difficult to clear out mines in the vast darkness. There will be many floating mines that cannot be seen. Moreover, the Qing army must have arranged a large number of torpedo boats on this inevitable road.
Minesweeping can only sweep out a corridor, the water is narrow, and the fleet has difficulty maneuvering and dodging in this narrow corridor, and it is easy to be succeeded by torpedo boats. Whether it is a mine or a torpedo, as long as it is caught, it will be a big loss, and it is very likely that
Ships will be lost.
On the contrary, if you pass during the day, there is basically no danger. The forts on both sides of the strait pose no threat anyway, just stay calm and clear mines.
Of course, if you stay in the Bohai Sea until dawn, you have to risk it all night. The Bohai Sea is not an open ocean, and it is shaped like a sharp triangle. The distance from any point to the land is less than 50 nautical miles. The Qing army's torpedo boats along the coast are small
There are many bases. It is conceivable that throughout the night, they will attack repeatedly and search for this Ming fleet.
But the opinion of the captains is: everything is relative. Darkness is not conducive to us finding torpedo boats, and it is also not conducive to torpedo boats to find us. As long as we hide well, the enemy wants to find us on hundreds of square kilometers of dark sea. After all,
It's still quite difficult.
…
So, it was decided. The fleet commander made arrangements, and the four captains returned to their respective warships in small boats.
The fleet communicated the decision to the base with a coded message, then turned to 030, heading north-northeast, and sailed into the 200-kilometer-deep Liaodong Bay.
Liaodong Bay is the largest component of the Bohai Sea, 200 kilometers long and nearly 150 kilometers wide at its widest point. It runs northeast-southwest, with the Liaodong Peninsula on the east coast and the Zhili-Liaoning mainland on the west coast. The waters here are wide and deep, and there are many coastal areas along the coast.
It is outside the Liaodong Pass. The Qing army's torpedo boat bases along the coast are not as numerous as those in the Beijing, Tianjin and Shandong areas in the south. It is a good place to hide and seek.
At 1:40 in the morning, the fleet arrived in the middle of Liaodong Bay. The fleet commander marked the estimated position of the fleet on the map. He saw with satisfaction that there were no villages in front of it, no shops in the back, and the two sides of the river were very desolate.
On the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula, Gaizhou is in the north and Wafangdian is in the south; on the west coast of the Liaodong mainland, Huludao County is in the north and Suizhong County is in the south. The place names on both sides of the strait where the fleet is located are mostly ditch, mouth, and two
Daohezi, Sandaohezi and the like.
The Hongwu Squadron all stopped, anchored, turned off all sound-producing equipment, and rested on the dark sea.
The destroyers also stalled and anchored, forming a distant circle around the fleet, using passive sonar to detect distant movements attentively.
Time passed hour by hour. It can be seen that the Qing army's torpedo boats were also working hard that night, searching desperately in the Bohai Sea, and they had to eat one or two torpedoes for this Ming army fleet.
"There must be brave men under heavy rewards," the observer on duty on the destroyer joked on the bridge. "It was probably the Qinglu Emperor who made a golden promise and promised some official or noble title, which attracted the attention of torpedo boat captains in the entire Bohai Sea.
They all feel itchy.”
Darkness is the ally of the weak. The weak Manchu and Qing navy will definitely take advantage of the dark night to find a way to defeat the Ming fleet at once, at least not allowing them to go back intact. The Qing army knows that as soon as daybreak, they will no longer be like this
The opponent of the Ming Dynasty fleet.
…
At 2:45, the sonar of the Hongwu Squadron heard the sound of three high-speed diesel engines at a position of north-northwest at azimuth 350, that is, in the direction of Huludao.
It was about 5 nautical miles north of the fleet, moving slowly from west to east, far away. It was probably patrolling and searching.
There was no movement for the next hour and a half.
At 4:15 in the morning, the sonar heard the sound of a series of high-speed diesel engines at position 180, which is due south and in the direction of Fuzhou Bay. The sound became stronger and stronger, and it seemed that it was coming towards the fleet.
Soon I heard it more clearly. There were nine high-speed diesel engines in total, with a speed of about 30 knots, approaching quickly.
The entire fleet was sweating. Although they were not afraid of these nine torpedo boats, once the war started, the fleet would not be able to stay here and would have to move away and find another hiding place. And once the Qing army knew about the Ming army,
The fleet is hiding in Liaodong Bay and will soon gather a large number of torpedo boats to search this area. Then there will be trouble.
Although it's night, the weather is still very clear tonight, the sky is full of stars, and the sea is not so dark that you can't even see it.
Heavy cruisers, especially the burly figures of battleships, can be seen as black silhouettes in the night sky as long as they are close to them within a few kilometers.
The fleet commander has given an order. Once the enemy torpedo boat is heard accelerating or approaches within 5,000 meters, the entire fleet will immediately set off flares, fire, and at the same time start the engine and lift anchor to avoid possible incoming torpedoes.
The guns of each warship quietly turned in the direction in which the torpedo boats were approaching. They were waiting for the flagship to give an order to fire a string of flares, and then thousands of guns fired in unison, blasting the torpedo boats to pieces.
...6000 meters...5500 meters...it will soon break through the 5000-meter red line.
…
Suddenly, as if they had negotiated, the nine torpedo boats turned westward by mistake, passing by a distance of 5,000 meters. Under the "brilliant starlight", 5,000 meters away were the tall shadows and black chimneys of battleships and heavy cruisers,
Although the towers and masts are not very obvious against the background of the night sky, at least you can definitely see them if you look carefully.
On the destroyer on alert outside, in the dim red light, the sonar soldier wore headphones and nervously adjusted the handle, focusing on distinguishing the sounds coming from far away in the sea.
"The enemy turned to 265... now it is 260... now it is 255..."
The sonar soldier murmured attentively, while another sailor next to him quietly leaned on the microphone and relayed word for word to the captain in the bridge command room above. The captain lay in front of the chart table and made gestures with a compass.
"The enemy is getting farther and farther away from us..." The sonar soldier listened to the sound in the earphones and said thoughtfully, "7000 meters... 8000 meters... 9000 meters... 5 nautical miles... The sound is weaker now..."
Then he raised his head and said:
"They're gone."
Every ship's sonar heard it. The entire fleet breathed a sigh of relief again.
It seems that there is hope that we can hide safely until dawn.
An hour later, at 5:20, the sound of another set of high-speed diesel engines approached. But this time it was not so dangerous, and the distance was relatively far away. It was 5 nautical miles away from the fleet, driving from the northwest to the southeast on a high speed, as if it was heading towards Fuzhou Bay.
direction.
From the sound of the sound, there were still 9 boats. It seemed that they were probably the three torpedo boat squadrons that had passed by around 4 o'clock. Now they had gone around in a circle with no results and returned to the base.
…
At 5:40, the Hongwu squadron ushered in the dawn. Many sailors did not sleep well that night. This was exciting enough for them. They simply got up early and stood by the railing, waiting.
Watch the sunrise.
Now it's daybreak, and the sea has become the domain of the Ming fleet again.
In order to boost morale and celebrate the successful completion of the mission, the fleet commander decided to raise the flag at sea.
Six o'clock sharp.
Facing the magnificent glow of the east, the national flag of the Ming Dynasty slowly rose on more than thirty ships of various types.
Facing the undulating black waves of the Liaodong Sea, the sailors watched the national flag and the fiery red sun rise at the same time. Their hearts were surging and they sang in unison:
"...
The mountains and rivers of my motherland have changed color,
The old palaces of Beijing were transformed into hills.
I don’t know when revenge will avenge shame,
I will never stop until I kill Loulan.
…”
Facing the Liaohai Sea in front of them and the land of Liaodong in the distance, most of the soldiers were already in tears while singing tragic songs.
…
At 6:20, the Hongwu squadron turned southwest and began to sail toward the Bohai Strait. At the same time, the two aircraft carriers began to fly the first batch of reconnaissance aircraft.
At 8:30, the fleet approached the Bohai Strait again.
The Qing troops guarding the strait suddenly felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and the Laotieshan Fort fired again from a distance of 20,000 to 30,000 meters. But it was obvious that there was no result.
At 8:40, the fleet swaggered to the exit of the strait, and the minesweepers began clearing mines again.
Sure enough, the Qing army did lay mines again, blocking the safe corridor that the Ming army had opened yesterday morning. However, it seemed that they did not increase the density.
With the sound of explosions one after another, another safe corridor was opened bit by bit.
The Ming fleet sailed past again in a swaggering manner.
The Qing fleet in Lushun was still very cautiously huddled in the harbor and did not dare to send even a single torpedo boat out.
At 9:30, the Hongwu squadron sailed out of the Bohai Sea and officially entered the Yellow Sea.
…
At this point, this large-scale "airdrop operation" was officially completed.
Ming army losses:
There were 3 Junkers 52 transport aircraft and 24 Kingfisher fighter jets, including 5 fighter jets that crashed during landing. 15 pilots were killed or captured.
Ming army's results:
Shot down 20 Haidongqing fighter jets, 41 Jebie fighter jets, 14 torpedo planes, damaged two torpedo boats, and captured 29 Qing pilots.
Judging from the exchange ratio between the two parties, it is obvious that they made a profit this time, and the profit was not light.
But judging from the purpose of this operation and the cost, it will definitely be a huge loss.
…
At ten o'clock in the morning, Fengtian Hall in the Forbidden City, Nanjing.
In the past 24 hours, the Bohai Sea has become the focus of the world's attention. Now, a high-profile press conference is about to begin. In the hall, nearly a hundred Chinese and foreign reporters will discuss what happened to the Ming army three months after the Ming and Qing wars subsided.
For the first time, they took the initiative to conduct interviews on a large scale and on a door-to-door basis about the provocative actions of the Beiqing Dynasty.
The main official dignitaries who attended the press conference included: the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Navy Minister, the Commander of the Naval Aviation, the Commander of the Army Aviation, the Commander of the People's Guard... The most eye-catching one was Princess Liaoyang of the Ming Dynasty.
...the former top secret agent of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, who had his whole family killed by Emperor Guangwu, defected to Nanming and became a princess, and is now known as the "Manchu traitor".
Of course, there are also rumors that if Her Majesty the Queen is in a good mood, she may show her face.