Iron Cross

Spruance didn't need to remind them that the Wildcat pilots were already using the Saatchi-Scissor tactic, which was their instinct. Because the goal of U.S. carrier-based aircraft pilots is the aircraft carrier duel in the Pacific theater, during training, in addition to regular training, the focus is to practice and strengthen the Sachs-scissor tactics in order to overcome the performance advantages of zero combat. They never dreamed that One day he would actually face off against Luftwaffe fighters—this was usually the job of the U.S. Army Air Forces or the British Royal Air Force.

The firepower of the Wildcat is an aviation machine gun, a Bf-21 cannon plus a 13mm aviation machine gun. It is completely debatable which firepower is better. The problem lies in the ammunition. The German 20mm machine gun ammunition uses thin-shell bullets, and its explosive content is that of Japan. It is more than twice the number of artillery shells, and it is also much better than British and American ammunition of the same caliber. The same caliber artillery shells hit wildcats. Using 99 blunderbuss in Zero War may not be able to do anything to the Americans, but hitting Bf-219 with MG151 will teach the wildcats how to behave. .

In addition, the Bf-219 has been structurally strengthened by German designers. Although it is not as strong as the Wildcat, it is much stronger than the Zero. On the one hand, the firepower was improved, and on the other hand, the defense was improved. As soon as they came face to face, several of the attacking Wildcats were directly carried down from the air.

Other conditions relied on in Saatchi's scissor tactics, such as strong communication capabilities and good dive capabilities, are not easy to use in front of the Bf-219. The communication facilities of German aircraft are very complete, and the distance and clarity are no worse than those of American products. The Bf-21W702 engine uses Germany's most advantageous in-cylinder direct injection technology. It has no scruples when diving and has sufficient body strength to ensure Safety while diving. The Wildcats' hopes of relying on these two points to gain an advantage were dashed again. The Bf-219's almost crushing speed compared to the F4F made American pilots completely despair. The maximum speed of the former (land-based version) is 629 kilometers/hour, which is generally 80 kilometers/hour faster than the later-improved Wildcat at medium and low altitudes. Above, in air combat, speed and maneuverability are life. Wildcats are not as fast and maneuverable as humans, and they cannot escape the situation of being passively beaten.

What's even more deadly is that the German pilots who fought against them generally had 2-3 years of war experience. Most of them were ace pilots with more than 5 shootdown records. Some of the squadron leaders they led even had 20 or 30 combat results. The US military carrier-based aircraft pilots are just a group of novices who have just completed training, and their technical level is simply far behind.

The American sailors happily watched the planes fall one after another and cheered for their fellow pilots. However, after careful inspection, they were dumbfounded. Most of the fallen planes were American planes painted with white five-pointed stars, while the planes with black swastikas were very strange. few.

At the beginning, the fighter score was 55:65. The U.S. military had the advantage. After a few minutes, this numerical advantage was almost equalized. Spruance looked at the sky anxiously. He knew that this matter was in trouble today. Regardless of the performance of the carrier-based fighter jets, Their technology was inferior to that of the Germans, but those attack planes with three engines had taken advantage of the gap created by the fighting of the fighter jets and lowered their altitude to pounce down.

Spruance watched with his own eyes as three joint aircraft formed in a zigzag formation and swooped down from high altitude to attack. They were also heading towards the flagship at his feet, the USS Victory armored aircraft carrier. All the covering fighters were attracted to it. There was no plane that could stop them. With his heart in his throat, he shouted: "Port torpedo plane, air defense..."

The torpedo plane descended very quickly and entered the attack route. At this time, it was impossible to rely on the swooping fighter jets to intercept it. The sailors used all available weapons on the ship, including 2-pound guns and anti-aircraft machine guns, to shoot and save themselves. It launched a barrage of firepower at the enemy planes on the port side. It seemed terrifying, but in fact it was far away and could not hit the enemy planes and cause no damage. Spruance also knew that the time had not come yet, but The feeling of being stared at made the hairs crawl on his back. When those three-engine attack aircraft turned off the head engine in pursuit of a better attack position and a lower bomb-dropping height, his nerves were highly tense. Although the cold wind on the sea in early March was biting, he felt that the palm of his hand All sweaty.

Just when the plane was approaching 8 miles away from the warship (10 miles equals 1 nautical mile), the three attack aircraft suddenly released torpedoes in unison. The sailors watched the plane throw the thing under the belly of the aircraft into the aircraft. In the sea, due to the release of torpedoes, the entire aircraft became light and rushed upwards. These enemy aircraft immediately broke away at the highest speed. When escaping, one went to the left and two to the right, staying far away from each other. increased the warship's broadside firepower. .

Spruance breathed a sigh of relief and thought: It turns out that these attack aircraft pilots are all novices. Even if they maintain the attack formation in a decent manner during the dive, and the posture during the low-altitude attack is also very good, in the final step But showing timidity - then there is nothing to be afraid of.

This is by no means a self-deception, but a sincere feeling from an experienced aircraft carrier commander. In wars, the optimal throwing distance for aviation torpedoes is generally around 600-800 meters. Sometimes, to ensure a hit, pilots will even throw torpedoes from a distance of less than 500 meters. As far as he knows, the British Swordfish attack aircraft Doing this often is also an important factor in the high casualty rate of Swordfish pilots, but it is an awe-inspiring thing - in the eyes of aviation factions, torpedo attacks are equivalent to hand-to-hand combat, and only close to the enemy ship To achieve success.

It is not that there is no long-distance drop, but either the pilots who are in a panic and eager to escape will abandon it at will, or the old pilots who are confident in their personal skills will choose to drop bombs at a distance of about 1,000 meters when the maneuverability of the target is greatly weakened. Pilots like this who are responsible for the first wave of attack missions and are eager to throw torpedoes when they are still 1,500 meters away from the enemy ship are definitely novices. They are usually afraid of the dense attack firepower in front and take subconscious actions. Doing so seems to avoid the attack of the warship's close-range fire defense, but the premature release of torpedoes also gives the enemy ship time to turn calmly, and the effect is not good at all.

Spruance immediately felt that the warship under his feet was turning hard under the operation of experienced enginemen. He believed that in just two minutes, or even one and a half minutes, the warship would be able to adjust its course to the right place and perfectly avoid the torpedoes just now. Just as he turned his attention to the sky again, he suddenly heard the captain's terrified voice: "Ah... How can these damn torpedoes run so fast?"

Why are there torpedoes again? Not only he couldn't figure it out, Chris couldn't figure it out, and even the sailors who had been paying attention to the sea couldn't figure it out, where did this torpedo come from?

There was no time to think about it, everyone only heard the next sentence - "Torpedo... anti-impact preparation!"

"Boom" a loud noise, Spruance in the bridge only felt a violent vibration, the whole person almost fell to the ground, barely holding on to the wall to avoid making a fool of himself.

Based on Spruance's previous experience, this inference and analysis is no problem, the problem lies in the special mine - this new thing can run at a speed of 54 knots in the sea, which means it can run nearly 28 meters per second, and it can also have a range of more than 6,000 meters. It takes less than 60 seconds to pounce on the enemy ship at a distance of 1,500 meters. This time is not enough for this 30,000-ton large battleship to evade perfectly. The attack shape that Spruance initially admired and the three joint attack aircraft posed was not for being cool or for courage, but a fan-shaped salvo tactic of aviation torpedoes specially designed according to the technical characteristics of special mines.

To put it bluntly, special mines have three advantages: first, great power; second, fast speed; third, small track. Each point is a characteristic required by torpedoes. When the three advantages are combined in one, it is simply the most coveted product for sea attack aircraft. The only problem is that it is too heavy and cannot be used in shallow water. After being thrown into other waters, it takes 1-2 seconds longer than ordinary aerial torpedoes to float up. In the first 400 meters of propulsion, there will still be some tracks because there is still some air to assist combustion. After 400 meters, it is full-time oxygen intervention thermal combustion. The track is very slight, coupled with the crazy speed, it is simply a lightning dagger (the MK13 aerial torpedo used by the US Navy can only run 33.5 knots). Even if the fleet aircraft carrier with a speed of up to 30 knots wants to complete the turn avoidance, it is impossible. What's more, the fan-shaped attack surface formed by the three joint attack aircraft using the formation is very standard. The Victory was not only hit by a torpedo, but also hit two at a time, and even the explosion time was very consistent. If you don’t listen carefully, you will think that only one was hit.

After all, the Victory was an armored aircraft carrier heavily armed by the British, and it had very good anti-sinking ability. After being hit by two torpedoes and a large amount of seawater poured in, it did not sink immediately, giving the people on the ship very precious time to escape. Under the captain's decisive order to abandon the ship, Spruance and Chris could only put on life jackets and struggle to jump into the cold sea water, and then watch the attacks and killings in other corners of the battlefield.

"The engineer really didn't lie to me. Special torpedoes, a 10,000-ton ship can sink with one tube..." Lieutenant Bloch waved his fist excitedly at the Independence aircraft carrier that was slowly sinking on the sea. The three-plane attack team he led only hit one torpedo of the Independence, but this torpedo was enough to sink the opponent. He happily observed the American sailors jumping into the sea like dumplings, and contentedly pulled up the altitude and then left the battlefield at the fastest speed. Without the constraints of auxiliary fuel tanks and torpedoes, the joint attack aircraft with three engines could run at a maximum speed of more than 500 kilometers. The Wildcats were only a little faster than this speed, and basically could not catch up.