afterglow

Chapter 692: Turning in like the wind; leaving each other with surprises

It is about 2,000 kilometers from the Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island to the battle area. Theoretically, it can be reached in about five hours if everything goes well.

In the afternoon of July 7, the intensity of the Ming army's attack on the US 2rd Task Force reached its peak.

Between the sky and the sea, there were whips of fire flying in all directions. They were the tracer bullets fired by the planes of both sides. The sky a little closer was filled with clusters of black clouds.

The Saker Falcons fought with the pirates. Under the cover of their own escort fighters, more than half of the Silver Gulls broke through the air interception network, but then they had to face the anti-aircraft firepower of an entire fleet.

The fire control radar guided the dual-purpose artillery to fire fiercely at the approaching Ming army planes. The reliability of the radio proximity fuse was questionable, but once it was successful, it would cause heavy casualties.

Ever since the U.S. military first used radio proximity fuses in the Oahu landing battle, in recent months the Ming army has determined based on feedback from the front line that the enemy is equipped with proximity fuses based on the electromagnetic wave principle. While being surprised, they are also trying to find countermeasures.

Zhou Changfeng suggested adjusting the attack tactics by flying close to the sea to prevent the enemy's proximity fuse from taking effect. The Ming Dynasty Naval Weaponry Institute believed that this was useful in theory - the sea surface echo signal would cause interference.

In fact, the military industry department also worked with Guangzhou Tianning Telecommunications Company to urgently develop an electronic countermeasure pod, usually with two or three mounted in each formation.

However, because the Ming army had not yet determined the specific frequency band in which the U.S. military's radio proximity fuze operated, it could only carry out rough and extensive interference, and it was difficult to measure the actual effect.

As the distance got closer, the Bofors anti-aircraft guns and the Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns also opened fire one after another, shooting wildly at the Ming army planes that were swooping down like hawks!
The fire net drawn by several aircraft carriers and more than twenty destroyers was so dense that the damaged and out-of-control planes fell heavily into the sea, burning and smoking, splashing large balls of white water.

At 13:22, the first five Herring Gulls that successfully broke through took turns attacking the Shangri-La (CV-38). The five planes dropped bombs one after another within one minute and achieved a direct hit.

After smashing through the flight deck, this 640kg armor-piercing explosive bomb continued to have force, penetrating the hangar deck armor and successfully detonating underneath. Several SB2C Helldivers were instantly torn into pieces, dozens of people died on the spot, and blazing flames shot up into the sky through the gap!

This is what Wei Pu witnessed.

Having made up his mind, Wei Pu led four Silver Gulls straight towards the Shangri-La. During the period, a Silver Gull that had successfully broken through the defense alone spontaneously came over to join the group.

The situation was urgent and we could be shot down at any minute or second. There was really no chance to split our troops into two groups and attack from both sides.

The two planes were shot down by Bofors anti-aircraft guns and crashed into the sea one after another. Fortunately, the Herring Gull had a strong structure and had a relatively certain chance of escape, otherwise it would have disintegrated in mid-air.

Wei Pu dropped a torpedo when the distance was 1400 meters. The other two planes also dropped torpedoes at a distance of about 1300 meters and 1000 meters respectively. Three white tracks were seen moving rapidly towards the Shangri-La on the blue sea.

But just as Wei Pu turned around, a series of high-explosive bombs fired by the Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun hit the tail of the plane, most of the vertical tail was blown off, and the rear machine gunner was killed on the spot!
He tried to stabilize the plane that was on the verge of losing control and flew farther, trying to make an emergency landing on the sea. He heard a loud roar from behind, and when he turned his head, he saw a high column of water falling back...

The round of attacks carried out by the Third Air Raid Squadron was mediocre in effectiveness, with both the penetration rate and the hit rate being lower than the previous average. It was obvious that the rapid expansion of the Ming Navy's aviation force inevitably led to a decline in quality.

The Shangri-La was hit by two 640kg semi-armor-piercing bombs and a torpedo. The fire on the Shangri-La was very serious. The flooding was initially contained, but it worsened again with the power outage. Half an hour later, the water inflow exceeded 1200 tons.

Apart from two near misses, the Randolph was only hit by a 640kg semi-armor-piercing bomb, which did not penetrate the hangar deck armor. However, the explosion in the hangar also caused a terrible fire. Five carrier-based aircraft were smashed on the spot, and then another 5 were engulfed by the spreading fire. A huge hole with a diameter of about 11 meters was opened on the flight deck.

The other two aircraft carriers belonging to Task Group 3, USS Bennington and USS Hancock, were lucky enough not to be attacked, but the Benson-class destroyer USS Lansdale (DD-426) was severely damaged by a near miss.

At this time, a telegram came from the flagship Hornet.

"Suspension of all rescue operations. This will be handled by shore-based aircraft. Task Force 3 will immediately disengage at high speed in a 165-degree direction."

There might still be hope of saving the Lansdale, but with this order issued, the captain had no choice but to abandon the ship.

As for the Shangri-La, the damage she suffered had exceeded the limit that damage control could cope with. The special heavy bombs carefully prepared by the Ming army were no joke. The efforts of the US damage control team were in vain. In fact, her fate was doomed from the moment she was hit.

This aircraft carrier, built by the Norfolk Shipyard, was delivered two and a half months ago. After completing initial adaptation training, it was incorporated into the Pacific Fleet and then ended its short life in the blue waters south of the Gulf of Alaska.

Shortly after the attack of the 3rd Air Raid Squadron ended, the aircraft of the 4th Air Raid Squadron also arrived.

At 14:06 in the afternoon, the attack formations from the Tianxuan, Tianji and Tianquan armored aircraft carriers chased after them, and 112 carrier-based aircraft launched an attack on the 3rd Task Force which was retreating rapidly to the south.

Although the Randolph was not seriously damaged, its flight deck was severely damaged and unable to take off and land aircraft. Therefore, only the fighter squadrons of the Bennington and Hancock were left to engage in the battle this time.

As the interception intensity was reduced, more Ming army aircraft successfully broke through.

The already damaged Randolph was undoubtedly the focus of attention. It was hit by three bombs in a quarter of an hour, causing heavy casualties. A Corsair on the flight deck was blown up just as it was about to take off, and the splashing aviation gasoline turned the surrounding area into a sea of ​​fire.

The aviation weapons ammunition depot was filled with water in time and escaped the disaster, but the anti-aircraft artillery ammunition depot, which was not filled with water in time, suffered a series of explosions!

Due to the power outage, the fire inside the Randolph got completely out of control, and soon the ship was turned into a fireship burning from the inside out.

The black smoke was unprecedentedly thick, almost enveloping and swallowing the entire aircraft carrier. It was impossible to accurately count how many people died from inhaling toxic smoke.

Lack of experience led to chaos, and the destroyers approaching the rescue ship saw that the crew of the USS Randolph could not wait to put down the lifeboats and jumped into the sea to escape in panic. The aircraft carrier is so high that jumping into the sea from a height of dozens of meters is very dangerous, and many people died because of the wrong posture when entering the water.

The Hancock was both lucky and unlucky. A heavy bomb penetrated the armor of the hangar deck and fell into the lower compartment but did not explode. However, the second bomb that hit her later destroyed the aviation gasoline pipeline, causing a fierce fire that swept through multiple compartments.

However, the Hancock was able to maintain a high speed even when one of its steam turbines stopped working, and it was possible to retreat with the enemy, and the power supply was not interrupted, so it did not choose to give up easily.

In the end, only the USS Bennington (CV-3) of the 20rd Task Force was unscathed, and the commander, Rear Admiral Joseph Clark, ordered the fleet to escape at a speed of 26 knots to the south.

It was learned that the 2nd Task Force had successfully attacked an enemy aircraft carrier fleet and achieved certain results, and the 3rd Task Force had suffered two waves of enemy air attacks and suffered heavy losses.

William Halsey was very upset. He had been looking forward to a head-on confrontation between the two sides, but this battle did not allow him to do so, which was really frustrating.

Soon, Chester Nimitz, who was worried that he would respond rashly, sent a special message to remind him not to fight.

"What is the status of the 58th Task Force? We should retreat when appropriate." After thinking for a moment, William Halsey issued a series of orders, trying to inflict a greater blow to the Ming army under the existing conditions.

"Order the 2nd Task Force to retreat in a 170-degree direction and provide the necessary air cover for the 3rd Task Force; the 1st Task Force will now attack the enemy fleet that has been discovered; request the Seattle shore-based aviation units to provide maximum support."

Immediately, the Constellation, Franklin, Ticonderoga and the Independence-class Princeton changed their courses one after another and accelerated into the wind.

A fleet consisting of 77 Corsairs, 68 Helldivers and 30 Avengers headed straight to the northeast. Their target was the Ming Army's Fourth Air Assault Squadron, which had just attacked the Third Task Force.

However, half an hour after setting off, they still had not received accurate intelligence, and the carrier-based aircraft carrying out the search mission either had no news at all or only provided rough information.

Just as the fleet was flying in the general direction, the third telegram risked by the Haddock was finally received.

Before that, she sent two telegrams, reporting the discovery of a Ming aircraft carrier fleet - the Third Air Attack Squadron, but the US task force did not receive them.

The fleet realized that the Ming army fleet reported by the submarine was not far away and had detailed coordinates and headings, so the fleet decisively changed direction midway and turned to attack the fleet.

Detecting a large number of aircraft approaching, the Third Air Attack Squadron led by Guan Zeming was on high alert. The Yu Nu, Tian Chu and Hua Gai rushed out more fighter jets.

During the fierce battle, the USS Yu Nu, which was besieged by more than a dozen American planes, maneuvered nimbly and avoided at least eight heavy bombs and three torpedoes. Not only was there a serpentine track left by it on the sea, but there were also huge white splashes of water. However, it was still hit by a bullet in the end.

Obviously, the 1600-pound heavy armor-piercing bombs designed to deal with armored aircraft carriers are like a sledgehammer to an ordinary wooden deck aircraft carrier. However, everything has two sides. The armor-piercing bombs have strong penetration capabilities, but the amount of explosives is small, so the destructive power is weak. The internal explosion of 209 pounds of A3 explosives caused the Yu Nu to suffer serious injuries, but fortunately there was no risk of sinking.

The quality of American pilots had also declined compared to before, and the attack on the Tianchu was lackluster. Nearly thirty dive bombers and torpedo planes concentrated their attack on the Tianchu, but only hit it with two bombs and one torpedo.

Until the end, two Helldivers belonging to the Constellation VB-16 Squadron broke through the siege with injuries. Facing the dense fire network, the first one hastily dropped bombs at an altitude of 1200 meters, and the second one tried to change to a dive attitude after dropping bombs at an altitude of 700 meters, but it disintegrated in mid-air.

The damage to the Tianchu was quite rare - the heavy armor-piercing bombs penetrated the armor of the hangar deck and exploded below. Except for a few people who were crushed to death, the hangar was safe, but the boiler room and engine room were seriously damaged, and power was completely lost. In order to prevent fire from causing a secondary explosion, the captain decided to fill the ammunition depot with water for safety.

Guan Zeming ordered the Taihu seaplane carrier to tow the Tianchu to retreat northward, and all personnel on the Tianchu were evacuated except for the damage control unit and anti-aircraft artillery unit.

During the last naval battle west of the Mori Fault Zone, the Taihu also used steel cables to tow the severely damaged Qiming, but ultimately failed to save the Qiming.

An hour later, a Type 40 seaplane with the call sign Pelican Six detected a group of US aircraft flying towards the Third Air Raid Squadron from the southeast, and guided more than a dozen Saker Falcons from the Huagai to intercept them.

The Ming army pilots discovered that the invading enemy was not carrier-based aircraft, but more than 30 four-engine heavy bombers, whose models were identified as Liberators and privateers.

These Fire Hedgehogs, which were formed in a tight diamond formation, were difficult to deal with, and carrier-based aircraft pilots rarely trained in this type of interception. However, relying on the four machine guns of the latest Haidongqing C type, they still shot down a few of them.

Someone noticed something was wrong—four or five privateers were in the middle of the formation, seemingly to protect them, and they actually had a small plane mounted under each wing?

When they were still more than 20 kilometers away from the fleet, the Ming army pilots were surprised to see that the small planes hanging under the wings fell off one after another and glided away into the distance.

Eight small planes flew straight towards the fleet. Several Saker Falcons hovering over the fleet attempted to intercept them, but failed to hit them because the targets were too small.

They were not afraid of the dense anti-aircraft barrage at all. Except for one that exploded in mid-air, the rest dived and crashed into the Ming army warships one after another.

Under the calm command of the captain, the destroyer Conghua turned the rudder sharply and escaped the disaster, but saw another plane hit the Taihu water aircraft carrier, and a large ball of fire burst out with a loud bang!
The Yu Nu was also hit, and the front deck was in a mess. Air defense officer Song Zhen was shocked and asked: "What the hell is that?!"

Guan Zeming took a deep breath and said calmly, "Why are you panicking? Remote-controlled bombs are not uncommon. Quickly organize damage control."

"Order!"

In fact, this is not the remote-controlled glide bomb of the Ming Dynasty or the German Society, but a real missile, or an active radar-guided glide bomb.

Because the principle is similar to that of bats that use ultrasonic waves to find food, the Mk57 glide bomb is also called a bat missile. It can fly up to 30 km. The warhead is filled with 1000 pounds (454 kg) of explosives. The warhead is equipped with a small radar that can automatically track the target and leave it alone after launch.

【Picture】

Considering the imminent peace talks between Ming and the United States, the U.S. military originally did not plan to use this secret weapon on the Pacific battlefield to avoid exposing it too early. However, since the Ming army came knocking on the door, there was no need to hide it.

Obviously, both sides prepared unexpected surprises for each other.

As the US task force was retreating southward, the special attack team that took off from the Aleutian Islands also arrived at the battle area after a five-hour flight.

The US military's retreat due to lack of determination for a decisive battle was somewhat beyond expectations. Several fleets were further than estimated when they set out, and were still retreating southward.

下午16：30，携带第三颗原子弹的QZ-350-2号机平飞在6000m高度。

The special attack formation finally established radio contact with its own search aircraft and roughly determined the locations of the three fleets.

The navigator selected the one that was only 60 km away - that was the 2nd Task Force.

"The remaining fuel is less than 60%. We have to hurry." The co-pilot was a little anxious.

"You are the most anxious. I told you long ago that you should be prepared for not being able to fly back this time." The navigator said slowly.

When approaching the 2nd Task Force, the 14 Type 2000 heavy fighters that were escorting it adopted a method they believed to be effective to cover the bombers - the fighters were at an altitude of 5000m below and the bombers were at an altitude of m above, one up and one down.

In fact, the US military's warning radar recognized this deception, but did not take it seriously. Among the dozen or so Pirates that went to intercept, only a two-plane formation went to high altitude under the instructions of the aviation guidance officer.

(End of this chapter)