My Head of the Huaxia Expeditionary Force

It is a pity that although the power and range of the 460mm naval gun are quite terrifying, it is still a bit wishful thinking to hit a moving target in the air eight or nine kilometers away.

The purpose of the Japanese move was more to increase their momentum. The three main guns on the Yamato only fired one salvo and then stopped making any movement.

At 11:30, Ito received news from an Army aviation reconnaissance aircraft that they discovered the US Army's 260th Task Force 58 nautical miles east of the fleet.

Sensing the approaching danger, Ito Zhengichi immediately ordered the fleet to increase its speed to 25 knots and change its course southward, hoping to get rid of the opponent's encirclement.

But they have no intention of using battleships to fight head-on naval battles. Carrier-based aircraft are the undisputed king in this era. No matter how fast the fleet is, it cannot escape the pursuit of the fighter planes.

At the same time, the Yamato's air search radar also detected a strong signal of a large aircraft formation heading towards the fleet, which made everyone's hearts rise in their throats.

The Japanese guard whistle blew and shouts were heard. Under the command of the commander, the sailors quickly came to their respective posts and began to operate anti-aircraft weapons to prepare for the attack. All kinds of ammunition were moved onto the deck, and anti-aircraft guns pointed diagonally at the sky.

The soldiers at the grassroots level only knew that the enemy was coming and did not know what the specific situation was, but it could be seen from the uneasy faces of those officers that the next crisis would definitely not be simple.

Kamio stood next to a triple 96-gun anti-aircraft gun, and together with several companions including Uchida, he was responsible for loading the gun position.

The sergeant was still shouting various slogans, but Kamio couldn't listen at all. He stared at the clouds in the sky. He knew that although it was calm now, it wouldn't take long for this place to become... A brutal sea and air battlefield.

"There! One o'clock direction!"

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and sure enough, two Hellcat fighter jets jumped out of the clouds and appeared in everyone's field of vision.

"Turn right to 30 degrees, report altitude!"

"Direction 12, altitude 3000, distance...out of range..."

Listening to the report from his men, the sergeant's eyes widened and he looked extremely nervous. He didn't know how many enemy fighter planes were hidden in that gray sky, but it was a pity that the opponent was completely out of range.

Soon, the two "Hellcats" disappeared into the thick clouds.

At this time, a small group of U.S. aircraft had begun to circle above the Japanese fleet, waiting for more fighters to join the attack.

Seeing that a battle was inevitable, Ito ordered the fleet to try a 180° turn and move in a Z-shape to try to make it harder to target.

But all this is destined to be in vain. At around 12 o'clock, the US military has assembled more than fighter planes of various types over this sea area, and hundreds of other fighter planes are on the way. It won't take long for them to join the battlefield.

The air attack commander immediately ordered a change of flight course, accelerated to detour directly in front of the Japanese fleet, and then turned around and headed straight towards the target.

Half an hour later, the first attack formations made visual contact with the Japanese fleet. The dive bombers began to increase their altitude, and the attack was launched!

The first to fire were the 76mm high-angle guns on the light cruisers outside the fleet and the 25mm anti-aircraft guns on the destroyers.

Dozens of black explosion clouds burst out in the sky, but this density was obviously not enough for a huge formation of fighter planes. The first batch of US attack aircraft nimbly avoided the incoming artillery shells and passed through the Japanese fleet's outer defense line with almost no losses.

At this time, the anti-aircraft batteries on the Yamato began to exert force. Twelve twin-mounted 127-caliber anti-aircraft guns spit out tongues of fire, and countless anti-aircraft machine guns also joined the blockade fire network.

Dozens of dazzling tongues of fire were like tentacles extended by a monster, waving in the air with fangs and claws, preventing all objects from approaching it.

Explosions and fire echoed around, and the pressure on the US military pilots suddenly surged. Sitting in the cockpit, they could still feel the impact, as if they would be interrupted in the next second.

But such a challenge was not enough to make them retreat. While dodging artillery and bullets, some fighter planes that did not carry heavy bombs began to dump bullets on the Yamato deck.

The Hellcat's aircraft gunfire was unable to cause substantial damage to the Yamato hull. Their targets were the soldiers and gun emplacements on the deck, in order to attract the attention of the ship's anti-aircraft guns, so as to create bombing opportunities for their companions.

At this moment, three high-altitude dive bombers emerged from the clouds and rushed towards the Yamato at extremely fast speeds.

The Japanese troops below also realized something was wrong and hurriedly mobilized firepower to intercept and shoot, but it was still too late.

The U.S. military pilots fine-tuned their fuselages to avoid anti-aircraft guns, and finally approached the target after passing through layers of fire nets.

Under the belly of the aircraft... the fixed safety of the heavyweight high-explosive aerial bomb has been opened. At a height of less than 300 meters, the bomb is like a meteorite falling from the sky, rushing towards the Yamato hull with the extra acceleration given by the aircraft!

boom!

boom!

An aerial bomb hit the starboard side of the open-air deck. The explosion caused fire and thick smoke to rise into the sky. Three 25mm anti-aircraft guns were instantly reduced to nothing. Two 127 high-angle guns not far away were also hit to varying degrees. damage.

Another bomb exploded near the control tower, directly destroying an air search radar, as well as the secondary battery commander and multiple 25mm anti-aircraft gun mounts. There were countless casualties.

The last aerial bomb failed to hit the target due to the angle, and crossed the deck and smashed into the sea. With a loud noise, a column of water rose into the sky.

The three US dive bombers were not spared. One of them was hit by an anti-aircraft gun on the wing. The pilot did not even have a chance to parachute and fell into the sea sideways with the fighter plane.

The other two fighters were not much better. The No. 2 fuselage was full of holes. As soon as the nose of the plane was raised, it was hit again by the anti-aircraft shells following it and exploded in the air.

The last one had better luck and was able to escape from the fire net at high speed. However, the aircraft was severely damaged and could only leave the battlefield dragging black smoke.

Using flexible and lightweight fighter jets to hang on aerial bombs for dive bombing is a simple, direct and effective tactic with huge benefits. But this job is also extremely risky. It's like walking through the door of hell. No one can guarantee that they can escape unscathed.

The huge vibration caused by the explosion made the Japanese officers in the battle command room of the ship tower tremble with fear, and Ito almost fell down. If the bomb just missed it any more, the command might be taken over by the enemy.

On the other side...more torpedo planes from the aircraft carriers Benlington and Hornet attacked the port side of the Yamato. The torpedoes almost hit many times, but the Yamato was lucky to avoid them.

And this... is just the beginning of the attack...

(End of this chapter)