Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 984 The Big Fish in Manila
Bernie's plan is to use carrier-based aircraft and cruisers deployed in front of the vanguard to detect the situation in the bay, and then the main column will go into battle under the cover of the vanguard column, destroying the enemy escort fleet in one fell swoop, and finally the rear column will clear the battlefield and eliminate the landing. fleet.

Only three ships in the entire fleet were equipped with aircraft: two on the "Malayan", two on the "Australia", and one on the "Africa".Among them, only the "Malayan" is equipped with aircraft ejection and quick recovery devices, and the other two ships directly lay wooden boards between the two gun barrels of the twin main turrets to form a temporary runway for small aircraft to take off. As for the recovery, due to this The small aircraft is not equipped with buoys, and it is originally used as a one-time consumable in an emergency, so there is no need to consider the issue of recycling the airframe.

The battle is imminent, there is nothing to hesitate.Just last night, the two fastest cruisers in the fleet sent out a telegram with only two words, and there was no news. It seems that, as the telegram said, there are indeed "big fish" in this bay!To deal with big fish, of course you have to use the best fishing gear.

Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Burnie ordered categorically: "Order, the carrier-based aircraft unit is dispatched immediately to scout Manila Bay according to the original plan."

In a small bay in the southeast of Manila Bay, six "Sea Breeze" water fighter jets of the [-]st Water Combat Squadron of the Second Fleet are moored.Captain Ma Jiaolong, the squadron leader, was holding a cigarette and wandering on the pier extending into the bay, looking back at the tent with a radio antenna on the beach from time to time.

Why hasn't the order come yet?Could it be that there is no need for the [-] Squadron to participate in the battle?Still, I don't believe that [-] Squadron can complete the task.Ma Jiaolong is well aware of how much criticism this army he created has attracted.

"Water fighter? Is such a meaningless thing necessary to exist?"

"Ordinary water reconnaissance can also fight with a machine gun."

“Pure waste of money!”

Such blows did not discourage Ma Jiaolong. With the support of a few high-level officials, he devoted all his energy to the training of the troops, and fumbled with his subordinates to compile the training outline. Completed the conversion training of the new type of water warfare, and participated in the last and only fleet actual combat exercise before the war.Fleet commander Zheng Puquan was deeply impressed by the squadron's excellent performance in the exercise, and Ma Jiaolong was also awarded a special award by the commander.Less than a month after the exercise ended, the [-] Squadron was ordered to take the ad hoc seaplane carrier "Yuntian" to Manila Bay, and followed the landing force to station in this unnamed bay.

Early in the morning, Ma Jiaolong received an order from the commander: the enemy fleet is expected to break into Manila Bay by noon today, order your department to immediately enter a state of first-level combat readiness, and be ready to shoot down any enemy aircraft that attempt to approach the bay.It turns out that the Pacific Fleet Staff Headquarters had already expected that the enemy United Fleet might send carrier-based aircraft to scout the situation in Manila Bay first. The attempt will be utterly in vain.

After waiting for a long time, the curtain of the tent was finally lifted from the inside: "The Fleet Command is calling, and the enemy fleet can be found by coordinate point method!"

Ma Jiaolong shook off the cigarette butt, took out the sea chart in his pocket and drew a circle: "The enemy is found, the target is in the northwest of Kabaluyan Island, brothers, we will patrol in three teams according to the No. 2 plan, Xiao Song and I will go Area A, Team 3 will go to Area B, Team [-] will go to Area C, are you all ready!"

The subordinates who had already been guarding the cockpit poked their heads out one after another: "The No. [-] aircraft is on standby! The No. [-] aircraft is on standby! The No. [-] aircraft"

"The whole team is dispatched! Come with me!"

Within a few minutes, the six "Sea Breeze" of the [-] Squadron dragged long water trails on the sea surface. After the entire squadron climbed to [-] meters, they formed three two-aircraft teams and headed towards the west side of the bay, Patrol areas to the northwest and north head straight for it.

After 20 minutes, Ma Jialong spotted the first target in the southeast of Kabaluyan Island: a small aircraft without a pontoon, located on the upper right of the aircraft, heading southeast, the speed is very slow, which is the best for him prey.At this time, the wingman at the side waved his wings, and Ma Jiaolong gestured knowingly to the wingman: I will go first, you cover.Increase the throttle, pull up the joystick, and push down the rudder and ailerons. Ma Jiaolong's No. [-] "Sea Breeze" briskly drew a three-dimensional double curve in the air, and quickly circled behind the enemy plane.

The other party obviously noticed that two malicious planes were approaching, and made a difficult turn, trying to escape to the north. Of course, Ma Jiaolong was not a good man who liked to let life go. , Press the firing button, and the two Type 1 air-cooled heavy machine guns behind the propellers in the nose immediately ejected fiery gunfire, and the trajectory of the tracer bullets danced in the sky.The distance kept approaching, from [-] yards to [-] yards, the enemy plane did not fight back, and let the machine gun of the "Sea Breeze" punch more and more dense bullet holes in the fuselage. Only then did Ma Jiaolong see clearly that this was a plane. Sopwith single seater with landing gear removed.The intermittent shooting lasted less than [-] minute, and thick smoke billowed out from the engine of the enemy plane. The plane lost control and dived into the sea. The plane crashed into the sea.

A quarter of an hour later, Ma Jiaolong found a second prey on the west side of Kabaluyan Island. Without giving the opponent a chance to counterattack, "Sea Breeze" was much more flexible than the opponent. Relying on the absolute advantage in height and speed, Ma Jiaolong drove the plane with his back to the sun and entered continuously from behind and above the enemy plane. He beat the opponent until he spit fire, rolled and fell.At about the same time, the No. 2 Squadron of the [-] Squadron found and shot down two other enemy small aircraft in the middle of Manila Bay. The other team found a Short seaplane in the eastern part of the bay and successfully made an forced landing to capture it.

The aviation reconnaissance force of the Far East Combined Fleet was completely wiped out, Lieutenant General Bernie lost his most critical reconnaissance method, and when he was still ignorant of this, his avant-garde troops had already bypassed Kabaruyan Island, take a south-southeast heading, and proceed cautiously to the depths of Manila Bay.

At 12:35, the fast cruiser "Yarmouth" on the forward reconnaissance line of the fleet suddenly exploded. water column.The flimsy "Yarmouth" struggled for less than a quarter of an hour before sinking into the sea. The "Australia" immediately lost power after being hit by this blow, and collapsed on the sea like a dead fish.

The Franco-Dutch combined destroyer fleet accompanying the left rear of the avant-garde suddenly became busy, and five of them rushed all the way to the port side of the "Australia", dropping depth bombs one after another around the estimated submarine position.The follow-up ships of the avant-garde column quickly bypassed the paralyzed "Australia" and continued to advance, but within a few minutes, the starboard side of the large armored cruiser "Drake" shot up a column of water.

The main force of the Second Fleet, which has gloriously seized the Manila Naval Port, is entrenched in the nearby waters. On the "Raging Wave", Colonel Xue Yue, who is temporarily in charge of commanding the main force of the fleet in place of Commander Zheng Puquan, looks at the chart on the table with a serious expression, and frequently opens and closes the A pocket watch with a white gold cover.The staff officers around the chart kept marking the changes in the positions of the enemy and ourselves on the chart according to the information from the telegraph room nearby, and they were extremely busy.

"The enemy's front guard enters the armor mine array!"

"The enemy's front guard has entered the interception line of the No. [-] submarine!"

"Enemy advance guard enters left cruiser line of arrest"

In the telegraph room, information gathered from various channels continued to spread. Xue Yue listened carefully, watched carefully, and issued brief orders from time to time. As the commander of the Philippine naval battle front, he was fully responsible for this battle, and it was very likely that he would Will die with honor in the final battle.Xue Yue knew very well that this was a battle where the enemy was strong and we were weak. The Ministry of the Navy had issued a death order. This battle could only be won but not defeated. Fortunately, after the fleet occupied the Manila Naval Port, it set up numerous water traps there. The success or failure of the battle depends on how much these traps can cause the enemy fleet to consume.

"The aviation attack team sent by the side is calling!"

Hearing the excited cry of the adjutant in the telegraph room, Xue Yue shook his back: "Quick read!"

"Our team is above your department, please help indicate the direction."

Xue Yue froze, rubbed his hands together and said, "I said why it was so late, it turned out that he got lost," and then turned to the staff officer: "Thank you, staff officer, come and find a way to show them the attacking direction as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

At this time, it was 1:15 in the afternoon, and the land-based air attack team, which was crucial to the operation, had not found the enemy fleet 45 minutes after the scheduled attack time. Lieutenant General Bernie on the "Malaya" had vaguely sensed the abnormality of the situation.None of the 5 reconnaissance planes sent out has yet returned, nor have they sent back any meaningful reports, and the cruiser reconnaissance line, which is the tentacles of the entire fleet, is reported to have engaged in melee with several enemy cruisers. At this time, the patrols and patrols should quickly support them to ensure that their own reconnaissance line can obtain information in the bay in a timely manner. However, what annoyed Bernie was that the ships of the avant-garde column at the right front of the main column had become a mess and paralyzed. Paralyzed, slanted slanted.

In less than an hour, including the reconnaissance line, a total of 5 cruisers in the vanguard were sunk or severely damaged. God knows how many submarines the damn Chinese have planted here?No, if it is just a submarine, there are not a few destroyers attached to the vanguard, and on such a sunny sea, it is easy to find traces of periscopes and torpedoes.Since it is impossible for submarines to be so arrogant, the only possibility is, mines!Bernie felt a chill down his spine: Oops!If that is the case, the fleet will suffer a lot. In any case, the current losses are already serious enough, and corresponding countermeasures must be taken immediately, so that the main force of the fleet cannot be further consumed before contacting the main force of the enemy.

(End of this chapter)