The left group of aircraft has now finished throwing bombs and torpedoes, but the right group of aircraft has still not arrived. Through radio communication, the leader of the left group knows that the right group of aircraft is currently fighting Japanese fighter jets at Yachiyo Airport and has been "stuck".
At Yachiyo Airport, the air strike was not as smooth as at Atsugi Airport. Yachiyo Airport is dozens of kilometers farther than Atsugi Airport, which is just a few minutes of flight. And it is these extra few minutes that allow almost most of the fighter jets at Yachiyo Airport to take off.
——It’s not that the Japanese troops at Yachiyo Airport reacted faster and had better training. They were at the same level as Atsugi Airport. But when tomorrow comes
When the military planes arrived at Atsugi Airport, many Japanese fighter jets at Atsugi Airport were already taxiing, and they would have taken off if they were one step later. The few extra minutes at Yachiyo Airport were enough for more fighter jets to fly up to fight.
The fighter jets that had already taken off forced the Ming fighter jets to fight with them, thus giving the Japanese fighter jets on the ground more opportunities to fly.
Now at Yachiyo Airport, air raids have become a standard air battle. Ming fighter jets were impatient and fired like crazy, intent on knocking down all the flying Japanese planes as quickly as possible. But the more this happened, the more things went counterproductive. And the Japanese fighter jets not only
They were fighting with Ming Army fighter jets and attacking Ming Army bombers. Ming Army fighter jets also had the task of protecting the bombers.
The bombers of the Ming army's right group cannot be as "reserved" here as they are with the left group. All the "strafing first and saving bombs as much as possible" must be forgotten. Now for the bombers,
Self-preservation is the first priority. Hiding from enemy planes with bombs means you will die.
Quick. When the leader of the right wing group saw that there were already so many Japanese fighter jets flying towards the bomber group, he immediately made the wisest decision and ordered the bombers to drop all their bombs on the airport.——
Of course, it would be best to throw it on a Japanese aircraft that has not yet taken off.
As a result, the bombs from the bombers of the right group were dropped on the airport immediately. This actually destroyed all the dozen or so Japanese fighter jets still on the airport. Together with the control tower, hangar, etc., they were also destroyed.
A lot of it collapsed.
Although the Ming army has more fighter jets and more experienced pilots, facing more than 30 Japanese fighter jets and having a bomber group to protect, this battle will not end in an instant. The sky above Yachiyo Airport
Air combat, all the way to Yokosuka
The battle is not over yet. After dropping bombs and torpedoes at Yokosuka, the left wing group made a risky decision to let the bomber group return to the aircraft carrier without escort, while the fighter group headed north to Yachiyo Airport.
,Reinforce the right group of aircraft.
A few minutes later, a large number of fresh troops joined the battle group. These thirty or so fighter jets suddenly joined in, and the Ming army fleet immediately had an absolute advantage. The Japanese fighter jets dropped like dumplings. At the same time, the bombers of the right group of aircraft
I was able to get out and return to the south.
…
At 6:10 am, all Japanese aircraft at Yachiyo Airport were shot down. The Ming army itself lost 9 bombers and 11 fighter planes, a total of 20 aircraft. The result was the destruction of 56 Japanese fighter planes, two transport aircraft, one control tower, and two hangars.
seat.
At this time, the Ming army fleet finally got a chance to return. At this time, they all drove the speed to the maximum allowed by the fuel, and returned in formation anxiously. At this time, the Japanese aircraft at Niigatayama Airport and Nagoya Airport were probably not far away. Ming
Military aircraft group wants
Quickly fly back to the sea, and try to distance yourself as much as possible before the two sides encounter each other, so that the subsequent Japanese reinforcement aircraft cannot be found. It would be dangerous if you let others follow you all the way to the aircraft carrier. It would be equivalent to giving up all your capital.
Put it on the table and let people beat it.
At 7:00, the Ming army's fighter group finally returned to the aircraft carrier. Before that, the dive bomber formation and the torpedo bomber formation had already returned to the aircraft carrier. When the last fighter landed on the aircraft carrier, the entire aircraft carrier formation was already turning the steering wheel significantly.
, and drove rapidly south.
The elevators of the three aircraft carriers were roaring, rushing to lower bombers, torpedo planes, and injured fighter jets. At the same time, ground crews dragged oil pipes and machine gun ammunition chains to refuel and replenish the intact fighter jets on the deck.
ammunition, ready to take off again at any time. The warning fighters of the two squadrons had returned to the deck at this time, and the other two squadrons had also taken off to conduct reconnaissance and warning near the aircraft carrier formation.
The tired fighter pilots did not bother to report the results of the battle. They did not even take off their flight suits. They lay on the sofa in the waiting room, ate snacks and took a quick rest. There was no doubt that the Japanese army would be shocked and angry at this time, and would send out a large number of
The planes looked around for Ming aircraft carriers
The Ming Army aircraft carrier formation is now about 200 nautical miles away from Tokyo Bay and will not be discovered for a while. If you are lucky, it can go deep into the ocean without being discovered. Then you can return safely. To
Otherwise, we will have to fight in the air.
The aircraft carrier formation sailed southeast at full speed, advancing toward the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The fleet commander knew that he could not keep heading due south at this time, because more than 300 nautical miles due south is Iwo Jima. The Japanese army built an airport on Iwo Jima. Although
Iwo Jima is very small and there are not many planes. It is easy to handle an air battle, but what I am worried about now is not whether it can be fought.
It's about whether the whereabouts will be exposed. Currently, there is the Japanese mainland in the north, the Ryukyu Islands and Okinawa base in the west, and Iwo Jima in the south. It is safest to go southeast and deep into the vast ocean. After sailing like this for a day or two, we will definitely pull it.
Now that we have distanced ourselves, we will make another big detour, from the east side of the Philippines to the south of Taiwan, then back to the sea area where the Ming army has air control.
The surrounding fighter jets have never encountered Japanese aircraft. The aircraft carrier formation is getting further and further away from the Japanese coast. The four aircraft carriers, surrounded by a circle of destroyers, are all operating at full power. White waves are rising from the bow, and seawater is constantly pouring onto the deck.
, a large group of dolphins jumped on both sides of the warship. In this way, every ten minutes, the ship would be further away from the enemy reconnaissance plane.
It was not until two hours later that the fleet officers and soldiers seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. If this continued, they probably would not encounter Japanese aircraft.
…
In Nanjing, the Supreme Command, Xiang Xiaoqiang and the generals of the General Staff were gathering around the chart to place a new ship mark on a specific location. According to intelligence, it was the Mutsu squadron dispatched by the Japanese army.
According to intelligence, the flagship is the battleship Mutsu. There are also two aircraft carriers, the Akagi and the Kaga. Both are large aircraft carriers and can each carry about 80 aircraft, which is equivalent to the Ming army's aircraft carriers. Of course.
, the biggest “attention point” is the battleship Mutsu.
Mutsu is the sister ship of Nagato, with a standard displacement of 39,130 tons, a length of 224.9 meters, a width of 32.49 meters, a draft of 9.4 meters, a main engine power of 80,000 horsepower, and a top speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. It is equipped with a 410 mm port
It has 8 main guns, 18 140 mm guns, 8 127 mm guns, and 98 25 mm guns. Like the Nagato, it is not only one of the most powerful battleships in the Japanese Navy, but also the most powerful in the world at this time.
One of the most powerful battleships.
Xiang Xiaoqiang's "aircraft carrier demonstration operation" was very successful. Now every general in the General Staff Office has looked at aircraft carriers with admiration. Even the oldest big-ship cannonists have greatly discounted their superstition of battleships. Now it's not just Xiang Xiaoqiang,
Even the old men are no longer worried about the Mutsu itself. After all, the record of easily sinking the Hiei is there. Moreover, there were previous records of easily sinking two heavy cruisers, which is enough to prove that this record is not a coincidence.
The problem is that there are two large aircraft carriers and aircraft carrier plus battleships that came out with the Lu Ao this time, which is more terrifying. The Ming Army's Tianshu squadron only has three aircraft carriers, and its numerical advantage is limited.
At least it is not an absolute advantage. In addition, after this series of battles, there has been a lot of damage. The numerical advantage is even smaller. Moreover, the opponent also has battleships. At night, on days with bad weather, the Ming army's aircraft carrier formation
I can only do everything possible to avoid it.
Xiang Xiaoqiang placed a small model of a Ming aircraft carrier on the coast of northern Fujian and hesitated:
"After a secret voyage last night, the Tianquan has now arrived here, close to the northern end of Taiwan Island. We sent the Tianquan out just to support the return of the Tianshu squadron. So...should it be anchored first?
Is it better to wait for the Tianshu Squadron in Keelung Port, or let it also find an opportunity to break through the Ryukyu Island Chain and meet up with the Tianshu Squadron?"
Xiong Dingming held his chin and said in deep thought:
"Obviously, the Japanese army sent the Mutsu squadron out just to hunt down the Tianshu squadron. The Mutsu is one of the two major assets of the Japanese Navy, second only to the Nagato. Now they have
The Mutsu was sent out, on the one hand, because there were no other good battleships in the country, and on the other hand, it was enough to show that the Japanese army was determined to win this time. So, they were playing hide and seek with us in the vast Western Pacific. This kind of
How likely is it? Probably not.
"If I were the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, I would put the Mutsu squadron on the Ryukyu island chain. This is the only way for our fleet to return. The Japanese army suddenly added two aircraft carriers to the Ryukyu Island chain.
Can we still have air control in the southern part of the island chain?
It's hard to say. Therefore, I think it is best to put the Tianquan in Keelung Port first to increase our military's naval and air power in the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, we will send more land-based aircraft from China to Taiwan bases to ensure that the Tianshu is deployed
Once the fleet comes back, we can provide sufficient air cover."
Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded slowly, feeling that Xiong Dingming's analysis was more reasonable. Then, he suddenly said:
"If the Mutsu squadron is sent to the Ryukyu island chain, where might it be placed?"
Xiong Dingming smiled and said:
"I'm afraid we have to park at the Okinawa base. - But don't make any plans this time. The Okinawa base has been sneak attacked by us once, but it can't be done again. Now the Japanese army has transferred a large number of aircraft from China, and Okinawa is heavily guarded.