afterglow

Chapter 624 Hellcat vs. Costin; Revenge of the Enterprise
"call out--"

The sound of bombs breaking through the air became sharper and more piercing as the distance got closer.

The first bomb landed several dozen meters to the right of the Essex, splashing a tall column of white water that drenched the American sailors on the starboard anti-aircraft gun platform.

At 11:40, the second 500kg armor-piercing bomb hit the target, slamming heavily into the middle flight deck and hangar deck.

It then penetrated all the way to the lower cabins and finally exploded violently in the engine room. A large gear box and steam turbine were destroyed on the spot, and flames and thick smoke gushed out from the breach in the flight deck like an explosion!
The third, fourth, and fifth missiles all missed the target, and the pilots behind were very upset. The radio was filled with complaints such as "You couldn't even hit the target" and "You should drive a transport plane in the future."

At 11:41, the sixth missile hit the target successfully, not only destroying a twin-mounted Mk12 dual-purpose gun in front of the starboard bridge, but also triggering a chain explosion in the ammunition depot below!
"boom!!"

The surging mushroom cloud rose into the sky, blowing away countless pieces of steel.

The seventh dive bomber that followed closely behind also succeeded, smashing the elevator on the middle flight deck, but failed to penetrate the armor of the hangar deck, so it exploded inside the hangar, killing and injuring more than 20 people and causing a fire.

The flight deck of the Essex was in a mess, with thick black smoke spreading, which to some extent obstructed the vision of the Ming army pilots.

In the next two minutes, the remaining ten Type 37 carrier-based bombers scored two more hits.

The two missiles hit the front and middle sections of the flight deck respectively, and both successfully penetrated the hangar deck, drilling into the lower cabin and then exploded.

During the entire process, a total of 18 Ming army dive bombers broke through the outer and middle fire circles of the US fleet, and finally 16 of them successfully dropped bombs, achieving a hit rate of 31%.

The Essex, which was hit by five armor-piercing bombs, had fires breaking out in many places inside its hull and smoke was everywhere.

The two war reporters on the North Carolina were so excited that they kept taking pictures with their cameras.

One of the photos was destined to be passed down to future generations - it happened to record the scene of a "small black dot" hitting the Essex.

The 12 torpedo planes belonging to the Chang Gung torpedo squadron were the bravest and were ready to die. Only 5 of them successfully broke through, and then only 3 had the opportunity to drop torpedoes. In the end, all of them were shot down without exception.

The Essex mistakenly took an outward maneuver and was hit by one of the 11mm aerial torpedoes on the rear of the left hull at 46:448.

"Damn it!" Major General Thomas Kinkaid spat and ordered: "Inquire about the situation of the Essex."

Five minutes later, the Essex replied: "Our ship is in a critical condition, with many fires and only half power."

The U.S. military then sent a destroyer to help with the fire-fighting operation, while the Hornet was busy recovering the returning carrier-based aircraft.

The flight deck of the Hornet was soon filled with carrier-based aircraft, but there were still a dozen Hellcats from the Essex circling in the sky.

In desperation, the US military simply pushed some carrier-based aircraft into the sea to make room, allowing the Hellcats to land safely.

Thanks to Zhu Lingjing, the Ming weapons finalized during the Jinghe period all had their own official nicknames. The first-year-style destroyer was called "Gorgon Falcon", or... Haidongqing.

The Hellcat and the Saker Falcon each have their own strengths, and the fight is a 50-50 situation.

As for why the Hellcat has no advantage despite having a better engine, we have to question how Grumman designed it.

The Yuannian carrier-based destroyer is a medium-sized light fighter with an empty weight of only 2770 kg. It is powered by a 1500-horsepower, fourteen-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine. Its maximum speed in non-afterburner mode is 590 km/h. It is equipped with four 14.4 mm aviation machine guns, square wingtips, and leading edge slats to improve low-speed performance. It has good rolling and circling performance.

“鹤”系列发动机的发展历程为：普惠R-1830-13→鹤三式（950匹马力）→鹤五式（1050匹马力）→鹤七式（1250匹马力）→鹤九式（1500匹马力）。

On the way back, the acting commander ordered a battle report telegram to be sent.

"We concentrated our fire and severely damaged one of the enemy's aircraft carriers, most likely the Essex. Our team scored five hits with shells and two torpedoes."

The Ming pilots may have missed the splash caused by an Avenger torpedo plane that slipped off a steel cable and fell into the sea. In fact, only one aerial torpedo hit the target.

At this time, on the Essex, a large number of American damage control personnel wearing asbestos fire-resistant suits were fighting the flames. Many people were engulfed by the sudden fireball and suffered serious burns.

The power compartment layout of the Essex-class aircraft carrier drew on the experience of the Yorktown-class. The steam turbines and boilers were changed to a staggered arrangement, so that even if one power compartment was destroyed, all power would not be lost.

At noon, the Essex, hit by so many heavy bombs, could barely maintain a certain speed.

However, despite the best efforts of the damage control department, the situation could not be improved, and the fire inside continued to spread and worsen little by little.

At 12:23, Major General Thomas Kinkade received two pieces of bad news.

The first bad news was that the radar detected a group of aircraft approaching from the northwest at a relatively close distance.

The second bad news was that the radar also detected another group of aircraft appearing in the north direction, but it was very far away.

"Tell Mueller to ignore us and just attack the Chinese fleet."

"Yes, sir."

Then, a telegram was sent.

49 km southwest of the TF-140 task force, the Enterprise and its eight accompanying screen ships were approaching rapidly.

After learning the message, Captain Rear Admiral George Mueller sighed heavily.

"If we had been more patient, we wouldn't have fallen into this trap."

The day after the TF-49 task force set out, the Pacific Fleet commissioned the Army Air Force to send several P-38 heavy fighters to conduct reconnaissance on Kauai and Niihau Islands, and discovered that the remaining Ming aircraft carriers were not anchored in the anchorage.

If they had not rushed to intercept the Ming army's bait fleet, but had patiently collected intelligence before making a decision, they would not have been so easily fooled.

"Captain, Task Force 39 claims that two aircraft groups are approaching them. They will definitely... have a hard time holding on."

When the words were on the tip of his tongue, the adjutant felt that this was unlucky, so he changed his words.

"We will get our revenge," George Muller said calmly.

He was promoted to rear admiral last week and was already preparing to step down as captain of the Enterprise.

As a result, this happened unexpectedly, as if God wanted him to lead the Enterprise for one last battle.

The sun is shining brightly in the sky, and it's totally possible to enjoy sunbathing under such bright sunshine in Hawaii, but no one is in such a good mood at the moment.

At 12:50, the TF-49 task force was attacked by the Ming army's decoy fleet.

The 85th Air Attack Fleet of Type 5B only had one medium-sized armored aircraft carrier and one light aircraft carrier, so its strike capability was relatively weak.

The Ziwei Zuoyuan released 16 dive bombers and 9 torpedo planes from the Shaozai and Shangzai fleets. They attacked fearlessly under the escort of 19 Yuannian-type carrier-based destroyers from the Beiluo Shimen.

The commander ordered all torpedo plane formations to attack the severely damaged Essex, and the dive bomber formations to concentrate on attacking the Hornet.

During this round of attack, the Essex was hit by three torpedoes and the hull soon tilted severely to the left.

The Hornet was also hit by three armor-piercing bombs, causing serious damage to the flight deck and hangar, but the power compartment was fortunately intact.

But it doesn't make much sense, as the two aircraft carriers are already struggling to survive.

It was only afternoon and the days were still long.

As soon as one wave left, another wave came. Not long after, the second wave of attacks launched by the Bingzi 104th Air Attack Fleet slowly arrived, ready to put the final nail in the coffin of the two aircraft carriers.

At 13:34, the TF-49 task force was hit again by the main fleet of the Ming army.

Both the Essex and the Hornet were unable to launch or recover carrier-based aircraft, and the Ming army's fleet encountered almost no interception.

Only four Hellcats from VF-8 launched a hopeless attack - they were unable to land and refused to parachute, determined to fight to the end.

Such obstacles were minimal, and the Ming army's fleet flew almost intact over the US fleet.

The abandoned Essex was given great attention, and the Ming pilots "fed" her four torpedoes.

The sea near her was full of lifeboats and rafts. The American crew members paddled desperately to get away, but some of them were still affected by the torpedo explosion.

The Hornet, which was farther away, was still making its last stand and was particularly tenacious.

Rear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid personally directed the evasive maneuver, and the Hornet drew a graceful white serpentine track on the vast Pacific Ocean. The huge water columns splashed by the bombs falling into the sea seemed to embellish the magnificent scenery.

Some Ming army fighter pilots deliberately aimed their planes at the Hornet and used camera guns to capture these sigh-worthy scenes.

"It's just like when I was a kid and used a branch to poke a big catfish in a wooden basin, it just kept twisting," said a pilot.

The battle came to an end after about twenty minutes.

The Hornet was hit by eight 500kg armor-piercing bombs and two 448mm aerial torpedoes. Its speed dropped rapidly to zero and the bow wave gradually disappeared.

Boy! Saturation attack!

At the last moment, the commander, who had been directing the operation in the air but had not participated in the battle, personally took action and dropped the last bomb of the battle at the Hornet, which was obviously tilted.

The bomb hit the Hornet's main mast platform, and the shock wave blew away the already tattered American flag.

How cruel!

"Call it a day! Let's go back and eat dumplings!"

"I was the one who blew the hole in the middle of the deck. Don't fight with me for it, or you'll end up in trouble."

"Sun thief, are you sure?"

In a cheerful atmosphere, more than eighty planes flew north in neat formation.

Behind them, several black-gray smoke columns rose straight into the sky, spreading out and blending with the snow-white clouds...

The North Carolina's radar closely monitored the whereabouts of the Ming army's aircraft, recorded their flight direction and speed, and then forwarded it to the Enterprise.

The Ming army's carrier-based aircraft formation was also very cunning. After the attack, it did not return in a straight line, but flew northwest for half an hour before turning and heading towards the Bingzi 104 air strike fleet.

In any case, the vengeful Enterprise was speeding northward with a group of screen ships and had already entered the combat radius of carrier-based aircraft under light load.

But this is not close enough - the Ming army's armored aircraft carrier has brought a lot of trouble and constraints to the US military invisibly, and this is one of them.

Because a 1000-pound bomb is unlikely to penetrate the defense, if you want to pose a fatal threat to it, you can only use heavier 1400-pound or 1600-pound bombs. The combat radius of the heavily loaded Dauntless dive bomber is less than 400 km, and its flight characteristics become clumsy.

Now, only about ten VS-6 squadron reconnaissance bombers took off, carrying only one 500-pound bomb.

"Captain, the destroyer reports that they can no longer maintain this speed." The adjutant saluted and reported.

After a long silence, George Mueller replied: "We and the Springfield maintain high speed, and the destroyer follows at cruising speed."

The TF-49 task force did bring a tanker, but the Enterprise did not, and the accompanying destroyers could not sail at high speed for a long time.

The Enterprise and Springfield (CL-66) light cruisers sailed at a high speed of 29 knots for nearly an hour before starting to launch carrier-based aircraft.

At 14:45, without determining the exact location of the target, Enterprise launched a special full-deck attack.

VF-6、VB-6、VT-6中队先后升空，因为重载加长了滑跑距离，一共只有14架地狱猫、21架无畏、7架复仇者。

Due to incorrect information provided by the North Carolina, the Ming army aircraft deliberately made a detour on its return journey, resulting in the Enterprise's attack formation failing to find the C-104 Air Raid Fleet.

It was not until they were preparing to return that a fearless aircraft on a reconnaissance mission discovered the main fleet of the Ming army, which consisted of three armored aircraft carriers.

The US aircraft fleet immediately turned and rushed forward. The remaining fuel was barely enough, so they had to fight quickly and decisively.

At 17:18, the C-7th Air Attack Fleet suffered a retaliatory counterattack from the Enterprise. All seven Avengers were shot down, and only 13 Dreadnoughts broke through the interception of the Ming army's aircraft and the fleet's central circle fire net.

The Chang Gung was attacked first and was hit by a 1600-pound armor-piercing bomb; the Ziwei Youyuan was attacked next and was hit by two 1400-pound armor-piercing bombs; and the Qiming was attacked last and was hit by a 1400-pound armor-piercing bomb.

Among the three, Chang Gung suffered the most serious damage. The heavy armor-piercing bomb destroyed her two boilers, causing her speed to drop.

The Ziwei Zuoyuan and Qiming did not suffer any serious damage, and the damage was unexpectedly minor, even though the armor-piercing bombs penetrated their proud armored flight deck and hangar deck.

The blood-red sunset dyed the clouds in the west into red, yellow and orange, and the sky seemed slightly dark.

There were less than twenty remaining American planes, which gradually disappeared in the southern sky.

Ouyang Zhanghua breathed a sigh of relief. "Ask again, what is the condition of the Chang Gung's engine? Can it maintain cruising?"

The staff officer beside him clasped his fists and accepted the order, "Yes!"

Afterwards, after receiving a positive answer, the officers' brows suddenly showed a hint of relief.

Big win!

"The armor-piercing bombs are indeed much weaker..." Ouyang Zhanghua waved his hand and ordered: "Now, return to the ship and pay attention to the enemy submarines."

Drawing on previous experience, the U.S. military used two types of bombs in a targeted manner this time.

The first is a 1600-pound (726 kg) armor-piercing bomb, AN-Mk1, with a loading factor of 13% and a charge of 95 kg of ammonium picrate.

第二种是1400磅（635㎏）穿甲航弹，M63，装填系数5%，装药量16㎏苦味酸铵；这种航弹是美军利用库存的、田纳西级战列舰的356㎜穿甲弹改装而成。

Compared with ordinary bombs (with a charge of about 50%) and semi-armor-piercing bombs (with a charge of about 30%), there is too little explosive in them.

The direct impact is that even if it is penetrated, it is difficult to cause effective damage, which is also a major reason why armored aircraft carriers have excellent survivability.

The fleet drew arc-shaped tracks on the sea, shining with the light of the setting sun. More than a dozen warships of all sizes sailed towards the setting sun...

【Picture】

[“In the more than 20 important battles of the entire Pacific War, she only missed 2. Her crews shot down 911 enemy planes, sank 71 ships, and damaged more than 192 ships. Her achievements will always be the glory of our army and the fear of the enemy.”]

(End of this chapter)