At about ten o'clock in the morning, the heavy cruiser Nachi was hit by three aerial bombs and two aerial torpedoes, rolled over and sank. The Ming army lost ten torpedo bombers and four dive bombers. From the discovery of the Nachi to the sinking of the Nachi, a total of
Lasted twenty-six minutes.
The Tianshu squadron, which was 100 nautical miles away, received the report, and all the ships immediately burst into joy. Because the Ming army had never fought an air-to-ship battle before, they had no actual combat experience, and they had no confidence. Except for Xiang Xiaoqiang, the entire Ming army
No one has this concept. They don’t know what the result will be. They don’t know whether aircraft alone can destroy enemy ships. They don’t know how much losses they will suffer even if they destroy enemy ships.
But this kind of record, this kind of speed, this kind of exchange ratio, all exceeded the fleet's expectations. In more than 20 minutes, it actually completely sank a heavy cruiser, and only lost 14 single-engine small aircraft.
This is a great deal. You know, even in a normal air battle with the Soviet Army and the Japanese Army, if you can shoot down 50 of the opponent's fighter jets and only lose 30 of them, it will be considered a big victory.
And if you want to sink an opponent's warship in a traditional naval battle, your own warship will have to be seriously damaged no matter what. It is normal for officers and soldiers to lose one or two hundred people. Especially with an opponent like the Japanese Navy, "kill a thousand enemies."
Self-destruction of eight hundred" is already a very good result.
While the Tianshu aircraft carrier was jubilant, it ordered the second attack wave fleet to prepare for battle. They all took off and left the ship before the first attack wave returned and were on standby in an air formation.
The Chief of Staff had already taken out the champagne and kept it in an ice bucket. After the Furutaka was sunk, he opened it to celebrate.
The secret telegram was also sent back to Nanjing. Suddenly, the headquarters was full of joy. Especially the naval generals, all grinning from ear to ear. Since the beginning of the war, the army has been fighting on two fronts. The western front is resisting the Soviet army, and the eastern front is still outside the customs.
The fight was sound and impressive. The Japanese troops from the north were
Blocking Shenyang and Jinzhou, the remnants of a regiment of the 66th Division in the south pinned down two Japanese divisions. However, the navy has been "huddled" in the harbor. The Masanori squadron lost many troops in the Japanese Sea. It was considered invincible and bombarded Hakodate.
It still saved some face.
The dispatched aircraft carrier group originally expected to blow up Japanese cargo ships and so on, but did not expect to have much success. Now it easily sank one of Japan's main heavy cruisers, which surprised the General Staff of the People's Republic of China. Moreover,
The important thing is that the price is small and the time is short, and it is conceivable that within the next few hours, another heavy cruiser Furutaka will inevitably end up with the same fate.
The naval admirals seemed to have discovered a new way of fighting naval battles, which was much more efficient and resulted in much less losses.
After all, Xiong Dingming was the supreme commander of the navy. He controlled the surprise in his heart, his face remained calm, he just looked at the chart and said calmly:
"Well, judging from this battle, it should be said that it is satisfactory. However... I don't know if the battle of sinking the Nachi can be replicated. We can't be complacent too early, or we should deal with it indifferently and walk on thin ice.
Be cautious, open your eyes wide, and command the navy as usual. The Japanese army also has the cruiser Furutaka and the battleship Hiei in that sea area. We cannot take it lightly. Is the victory in this battle accidental or inevitable?
, it depends on the next battle."
After he finished speaking, the other generals still looked happy, but they all nodded in agreement.
However, Xiang Xiaoqiang was the only one who didn't smile. He stared at the chart, his face still stern, serious, and even a little unhappy.
Qiu Qiu and Xiu Xiu beside them were also happy from ear to ear, smiling like flowers. They also followed Xiang Xiaoqiang to come to this "small staff office" to help. And because they are both naval officers, now they are not only Xiang Xiaoqiang's administrative
They became his assistants and became his military assistants. This achievement was something they had never seen before. Like other naval officers, the two girls were beaming with joy.
But Xiuxiu immediately noticed something was wrong with Xiang Xiaoqiang's expression.
She quietly leaned over and laughed softly:
"Sir...why are you unhappy?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang still stared at the chart and said "hmm".
Xiuxiu thought that he was pretending to be low-key and deliberately putting on a show, just like Xie An of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who was still very calm after hearing about the great victory ahead, and did whatever he was supposed to do. She felt that Xiang Xiaoqiang was pretending a little too much, so she laughed in a low voice:
"Sir... everyone is so happy, but you keep a straight face, um... doesn't it look a bit..."
Unexpectedly, Xiang Xiaoqiang slapped the pencil on the chart table and said coldly:
"Ten torpedo planes and four bombers, the price is too high."
There was silence all around, and everyone looked at him in surprise. They didn't know why he said such things.
Xiang Xiaoqiang then said coldly:
"If we hit a heavy cruiser, that's the loss. Then if we hit another heavy cruiser and a battleship, our fleet's aircraft will probably be about the same. How can we attack Japanese transportation lines in the Pacific!"
As soon as these words came out, the naval generals all looked at each other in confusion, and no one said anything. Everyone didn't know whether this "Prince Xiang" was just pretending, or if he really had too much appetite. To say that he was just pretending, it was a good move.
It’s past a point. He was the one who actively advocated the “theory of aircraft carrier victory” before. Now that the aircraft carrier has achieved great results, he is the one who is dissatisfied and finds fault with it.
Everyone was unsure and looked at Xiong Dingming.
Xiong Dingming looked around at everyone, coughed, and said to Xiang Xiaoqiang:
"Stand up for it - why do you say this? In your mind, the losses of our army are still too great?"
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard the word "support", he realized that it was probably because Xiong Dingming felt that he couldn't hold on to face anymore, so he used the tone of his elders and superiors to address his cousin. He usually calls himself "Master Xiang" very politely.
of.
That's right, after all, he is also the highest commander of the entire navy, with the rank of marshal. As a lieutenant general in his twenties, speaking like this in front of so many people, he probably doesn't take him seriously. Xiong Dingming felt that
I can't keep it on my face.
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said rather humbly:
"Lord Xiong, I finally made a mistake."
Xiong Dingming's expression softened a little. The surrounding atmosphere also relaxed. Xiong Dingming smiled and said:
"Haha, what we are discussing now is combat. Regardless of your military rank or seniority, you should speak freely. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, as long as what you say is your true opinion, why should you say something wrong... What do you think, sir?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang also smiled and said:
"To be honest, in the general's expectation, the aviation force carried out air strikes against enemy ships. If there were no enemy aircraft on the battlefield, the losses would still be greater. It cannot be said that all the advantages of the aircraft carrier have been used.
It is true that our aviation force does not have actual combat experience in air attacks on warships. But having said that, the sailors on enemy warships also have no experience in dealing with air attacks by aircraft groups. If it costs more than a dozen aircraft, the one that was sunk is one.
A battleship, that's normal. But this is just a cruiser. The firepower on the ship is far inferior to that of a battleship, and it is a single ship, and there are no other warships around it to support it as an anti-aircraft firepower platform... Haha
, Your Excellencies, you may think that I am a little too picky. Of course, some people may also think that I am just showing off. But... if you are lucky, the next two or three battles will prove my words and our losses will be reduced.