The Rise of the Third Reich

"Woo! Woo! Woo..."

As the piercing sound of air defense sirens rang over Pearl Harbor, the seemingly sleeping military port suddenly woke up.

Thanks to the internationalist fighters, Pearl Harbor had long been on the highest alert. Although today is Sunday, no American soldiers are drunk because of the weekend's dances and drinking parties. No one got a chance to take a vacation, and they were all locked in the military camp and preparing for the war full of complaints.

When the air defense siren sounded, the American soldiers in Pearl Harbor were rising in formation. Halfway through the melodious American national anthem, Japanese planes arrived.

"Pearl Harbor was attacked by air. This is not a drill! Pearl Harbor was attacked by air. This is not a drill..."

After the air raid siren passed, someone began to use verbal warnings on the loudspeakers throughout Pearl Harbor, and also added, "This is not a drill."

Of course, at this time, even the dullest American soldiers knew that it was "not a drill." Because fierce aerial battles have begun over Hickam Airport, Wheeler Airport, Kanuhei Airport and Ford Island Airport on Oahu!

It turned out that shortly after the first Japanese attack wave arrived over Pearl Harbor, 8 P40s, 8 P51s and 8 F4Fs were on standby on the runways at four major airports (two of which belonged to the Army and two to the Navy). The "Wildcat" fighter jets scrambled into the air.

Due to receiving training from German foreign aid, Shigeru Itani and others are very familiar with the performance and tactics of P40 and P51, but they have never seen F4F, but this does not hinder their combat. The 64 Zeros responsible for battlefield air superiority immediately dropped the bombs they carried, then divided into four large formations and swooped towards the US fighter jets taking off from four US military airports.

While swooping away, some of these Zero aircraft continued to increase their altitude, occupying high-altitude positions as soon as they came up, and then began to dive and attack the American aircraft that had just taken off. Seeing something was wrong, these American planes immediately turned their fuselages and began to dive. If you want to use the excellent diving performance to get away, this is the knock on the door taught by the British masters of the Americans. The British told the Americans not to fight the Fokker Zero, but to pull up and dive to attack, or dive and then pull up to escape. As long as it keeps diving and pulling up, it will always be able to compete with the Fokker Zero.

But when these American pilots flying P51, P40 and F4F swooped down, they realized something was wrong. There was actually a Zero aircraft waiting for them below! As soon as they rushed down, they were bitten by the Zero aircraft and bombarded with cannons, shooting down 6 of them on the spot!

Seeing a P40 that he shot down plummeting to the ground, Shigeru Itani suddenly felt better. At the same time, he also felt that the German Captain Hersmann was a relatively reliable teacher. He could really shoot down American planes with the methods he taught!

Thinking of this, he withdrew his gaze and glanced at Hickam Airport below, and was immediately shocked by the scene in front of him.

On the taxiing curve between the airport's runway and the apron, there are at least 100 aircraft lined up densely!

There are twin-engine or four-engine bombers, as well as single-engine P40 and P51 fighters. All these expensive, brand-new-looking aircraft are not put into hangars, but are placed haphazardly at the airport.

This is humid and rainy Hawaii. If the aircraft is not stored in the hangar, it will be easily damaged by wind and rain all day long. Hundreds of planes are worth at least tens of millions of yen. Just throwing them here casually like this. Americans don't take money seriously, right?

Itaya Shigeru's shock did not last long and was interrupted by a violent explosion. It turned out that the Type 97 torpedo bombers and Type 99 dive bombers that arrived later had already begun dropping bombs.

The effect of the bombing was unexpectedly good. I don't know if these planes were parked too densely or if there was still a small amount of fuel in the tanks of these planes. As long as one bomb exploded, all the planes would be affected quickly!

A series of explosions quickly occurred at Hickam Airport, and most of the planes worth 10 million yen were reduced to wreckage in a short period of time. Just when Shigeru Itani and all the Japanese pilots were enjoying themselves, clouds of black smoke suddenly dispersed in the air - this was the anti-aircraft guns on the ground firing, and the firepower was quite fierce!

Shigeru Itani knew that the Zero he was driving was incompetent and he did not dare to stay at low altitude for a long time, so he quickly raised the altitude. At this moment, he saw a Zero fighter being caught on fire, rolling and falling.

"See you at Miyake-Zaka!" Itaya looked at the rapidly falling plane and muttered in his mind - little Hersman's suggestion of "blade and parachute" had no effect. All the pilots of the "Akagi" flying team that flew out today did not carry parachutes, but all the officers among them carried knives...

Lieutenant Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida, the captain of the "Akagi" flight team and the commander-in-chief of the first attack wave, was flying a Type 97 torpedo bomber towards the dock where the American battleships were parked in Pearl Harbor. There is the densest air defense firepower in the entire Pearl Harbor. Not only are the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns on the battleships desperately throwing rain of bullets, but dozens of anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns are also set up on the piers next to these battleships. They are now firing at the highest speed. rate of fire.

Seeing the black clouds of smoke exploding densely in the sky and the orange-red light streaking across the sky, Mizuo Fuchida took a breath. Fortunately, his plane was carrying an 800-kilogram armor-piercing bomb (shipped by the battleship Nagato) today. Main gun shells modified) instead of aviation torpedoes, otherwise today would probably be the day he becomes a god!

Thinking of this, Mitsuo Fuchida turned on the airborne radio (the radios of lightning strike aircraft and bombers are not allowed to be dismantled) and began to issue an order: "Attention the attack troops of the Akagi and Kaga, the 3200 altitude penetration, the Type 97 lightning strike aircraft is responsible for the first After one wave of attacks, the 'Comet' dive bombers are responsible for the second wave of attacks. Each squadron attacks the designated target. I wish you long-term military luck!"

According to the attack plan drawn up by Genda Minoru, the first attack wave will deploy 40 Type 97 torpedo bombers and 48 "Comet" dive bombers to bomb 8 American battleships anchored in Pearl Harbor. Therefore, all "Comets" and Type 97s will attack in teams of 5 aircraft. Each team has a predetermined target. The Japanese pilots participating in this attack are all elites accumulated over the years. Everyone can fly at an altitude of 3,200 meters. Visually identify the type of U.S. battleships, so repeated attacks will not occur and ammunition will be wasted.

First, the Type 97 lightning strike aircraft launched an attack. They dropped 800 kilograms of armor-piercing bombs horizontally at an altitude of 3,200 meters. A team of 5 aircraft will form a 5-plane formation, dropping bombs one after the other. Then six "Comet" dive bombers dived down from an altitude of 3,200 meters to drop 500 kilograms of armor-piercing bombs. Whether it is an 800 kilogram bomb dropped from an altitude of 3,200 meters or a 500 kilogram bomb dropped from a dive, it can deliver a fatal blow to the American battleships parked in Pearl Harbor!

After Mizuo Fuchida gave the order, he flew his own plane and led a team of 6 aircraft to search for the USS Pennsylvania, the flagship of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. This battleship was the task assigned to Fuchida.

According to previously obtained intelligence, the "Pennsylvania" should be docked side by side with its sister ship "Arizona". Because the two ships were of the same level and could not be distinguished at an altitude of 3,200 meters, the team led by Fuchida and the team led by Captain Kusumi (responsible for attacking the Arizona) that took off from the Hiryu aircraft carrier attacked the inner side ( Near the dock) and the two Pennsylvania-class battleships on the outside.

But when Mizuo Fuchida approached the berth of the American battleship, he suddenly discovered that there were only seven large warships on the water that looked a bit like battleships, and there was only one "Pennsylvania" class.

"Commander, there is only one Pennsylvania class ship!" Bombardier Yasuda reported loudly to Fuchida.

In fact, the "Pennsylvania" was undergoing repairs in the shipping department at this time, so it escaped the disaster. What Fuchida saw was the battleship USS Arizona.

"This is it!" Mizuo Fuchida said, "We will attack this Pennsylvania class ship, and then let Yukusumi's team from the Hiryu attack, and finally let the dive bombers board!"

Fuchida immediately adjusted the bombing sequence. First, two Type 97 teams would drop bombs, and then the "Comet" dive bombers would attack.

Five Type 97 torpedo bombers then circled in the air, forming a five-plane formation and pounced on the "Arizona" on the water despite the anti-aircraft fire from nearby docks on the sea.

Since the VT fuze (the United Kingdom produced a prototype in 1940, the United States has obtained this technology, but has not yet completed the final design work) has not yet begun to equip its troops, and the U.S. Navy is not currently equipped with the imitation Bofors 40mm high artillery, so at a height of 3,200 meters, the firepower of anti-aircraft artillery is not very strong.

"Target 'Pennsylvania', release!"

At 8:05 a.m. on December 7, 1941 (Hawaii time), as the bombardier shouted, Fuchida felt the plane jump upwards. This was the effect of the sudden weight reduction of the plane after the bomb was dropped.

Five 800-kilogram armor-piercing bombs fell rapidly from an altitude of 3,200 meters. One of them (I don’t know who dropped it) hit the front of the Arizona’s No. 4 turret without any bias. However, the bomb was blocked due to angle problems. Instead of penetrating the turret, it slipped from the sloping tower wall, passed through the rear deck and entered the lower commander's cabin, where it exploded.

Just 1 minute later, five aircraft led by Captain Kusumi also completed bombing. This time, an 800-kilogram armor-piercing bomb also penetrated the front deck of the "Arizona", and it is not known whether it penetrated the ammunition. library, causing a huge explosion!