Chapter 401 Breaking the Atlantic Ocean (6)

In less than 6 minutes after the war started, two US aircraft carriers, including the flagship, were sunk one after another, and the top commander jumped into the sea to escape. Not only were the officers and soldiers on the ships dumbfounded, but also the US fighter pilots who were fighting fiercely in the sky were also confused. ——Is it just bad luck today or is the German attack aircraft too powerful? These novice pilots finally realized as if they had just woken up from a dream: their most important task is not to fight with enemy fighter jets, but to deal with these attack aircraft with torpedoes - this is the guy who really kills people, as long as After shooting down the attack plane, even if there were ten times more German fighter jets in the air, they would not be able to sink the battleship.

With this attitude, the Wildcats quickly swooped down to try to save the situation. The Bf-219s simply refused to let them get their wish. They used faster speed and better maneuverability to entangle these F4Fs, trying their best to provide the joint attack aircraft with Create opportunities. To be honest, it is actually too late for the Americans to react now. After the success of the first few attack teams, the subsequent attack groups that have lowered their altitude also launched attacks one after another, using the most accustomed and best ones. A three-machine formation was used.

The warships on the sea finally knew that the enemy was difficult to deal with. These German aircraft were not panicked novices at all. They were the most experienced and bloodthirsty wolves. Under the order of Major General Brown, who urgently took over the command, all warships They have all established such a consciousness-the remaining two aircraft carriers must be preserved, even if they use themselves to block the gun holes! The targets of the joint attack group are the remaining two aircraft carriers, the Formidable and the Indomitable, but they are not as easy to deal with as the first two aircraft carriers. They are all surrounded by layers of warships at the core. The obedient British and American warships no longer tried to swerve to avoid torpedoes, because they found that traditional evasion methods did not work. The German torpedoes did not know what new technology they used. The aircraft carrier's gap was exposed, so in the end it was decided to adopt a more tragic method - to carry it hard!

The attack aircraft group first opened fire on the largest USS Indomitable. The Pennsylvania on its starboard side firmly blocked three waves of attack teams for the Indomitable. Only one attack aircraft was shot down, but it itself was hit by 3 special attacks in two minutes. Lei, even so, this 30-year-old ship with a displacement of 34,000 tons still exerted its last remaining heat and persisted for several minutes before starting to sink. These few minutes of perseverance were crucial. It not only gave the heavy cruiser USS Chicago, which was following closely behind, a chance to speed up and take up the position, but also ensured that most of the officers and soldiers on the ship had the opportunity to jump into the sea to escape. Rear Admiral Brown, who commanded Fleet Y, Just like Spruance jumped into the sea.

The Formidable on the left wing was also the focus of the German aircraft group's attack. The battleship Tennessee blocked a torpedo for Formidable, which took in 3,500 tons of water within 2 minutes. The heavy cruiser Chester helped Formidable block two other torpedoes. The result was an unmitigated sinking. When a new wave of attack planes rushed over, there were only two solitary destroyers left beside the Formidable, which could not block the huge silhouette. At the critical moment, 4-5 Wildcats rushed down without hesitation, using The barbaric technique of continuous shooting and impact forced two of the joint attack aircraft into the sea, and these wildcats that lost altitude were all shot down by the Bf-219s that followed and pounced down. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the battleship Howe finally pounced to fill the position and succeeded.

In the end, there were only four attack teams left. Although Schiller did not give up and ordered to continue attacking the aircraft carrier, the Americans also showed a high level of blocking the gun holes. The USS Nevada once again blocked a torpedo for the USS Indomitable, and was hit by a torpedo. Later, the inconvenient USS Tennessee ate two more torpedoes. This sunken ship in the Battle of Pearl Harbor sank in the Atlantic Ocean without any suspense just 10 days after it was repaired. No one could salvage it this time. Get up.

More than 20 minutes later, the German fleet, whose torpedoes were shining and fighter fuel was close to the danger line, retreated, and the sea finally returned to calm. When Spruance, Chris, Brown and others were rescued aboard the USS Indomitable, They found themselves facing an extremely difficult mess, and everyone was on the verge of tears. In this short-lasting battle, the combined X and Y fleets lost a total of two aircraft carriers, the USS Victory and the USS Independence, and two battleships, the USS Pennsylvania and the USS Tennessee. 1 heavy cruiser HMS Chester. Strangely, none of the destroyers that had repeatedly tried to defend the battleships from torpedoes sank this time. Only later did I realize that the German torpedoes were set at a very deep depth, and all targets were aimed at the battleships. In addition, the heavy torpedoes penetrated the water deeply, almost They all pass through the bottom of the destroyer and then show off their power.

The fleet suffered heavy losses, and the aircraft were not much better. More than half of the F4F fighter jets were lost, and the number was as high as 39. Coupled with the losses of the remaining attack aircraft and dive bombers on the Independence and Victory, the two fleets lost a total of more than 80 plane. The only good thing is that with the help of many escorting warships who sacrificed their lives to block mines and rescued them desperately, the two aircraft carriers Formidable and Indomitable were miraculously unscathed. A large number of officers and soldiers who fell into the water were also rescued. In order to cover these two aircraft carriers, The aircraft carrier and the remaining warships still afloat also paid a heavy price. The battleship USS Nevada and USS Howe were each hit by a torpedo. The latter could barely be said to have a serious problem, but the former staggered and could not even sustain 15 knots.

After landing, Schiller was exhausted, but he still took the time to count the number of people. There were a total of 36 joint attack aircraft during the sortie. 31 of them successfully dropped torpedoes in the melee. The remaining 5 were either hit (hit) by fighter jets or attacked by warships. The fire hit, and 4 of the 31 bombers that completed the bombing were unfortunately encountered by the enemy. In the end, only 27 successfully broke away and landed safely, and the losses of the Bf-219s were not small. A total of 55 Bf-219s attacked. In a fierce battle with more than 60 F4Fs, he also had to help cover the joint fighters and create a gap. 11 were lost in one breath. What was worse was that this was an offensive operation, and it was almost impossible for the lost pilots to come back. It was a blessing in misfortune to let the British take them as prisoners of war.

"Sir..." He dialed Vaughns's phone, his tone was so sad that he almost cried, "I'm back, the fleet suffered heavy losses, I lost a quarter of the Joint Strike Fighters and a fifth of the Bf -219, a total of 20 planes, those brothers may not be able to save them. "

"It's good to come back, it's good to come back." Warnes heard that something was wrong with the tone of his confidant. He thought that such a long attack distance was really difficult for them, so he sighed and comforted, "I have sent a telegram to the fleet. , let them find a way to deal with these bastards, you guys have a good rest."

"yes!"

"This..." Warnes asked cautiously, for fear of touching the sadness of his men, "Are there any results?"

"One thing." Schiller had just gathered the intelligence from the pilots and bombardiers compiled by the combat staff, "Probably 2 battleships were sunk and 2 aircraft carriers were sunk. Oh, one of them was a light aircraft carrier, and the other There are also 1-2 heavy cruisers..."

"What? Can you say it again, I didn't hear you clearly." Warnes felt that his heart couldn't bear it.

Schiller reported again, and then gritted his teeth and said: "My aircraft fleet has suffered such heavy losses. Please give me all the attack aircraft that have transferred over today. The enemy also has two aircraft carriers. I will go for revenge early tomorrow morning! Revenge!" All equipped with special mines!”

"Okay!" Vaughns originally thought that the opponent had no results, but when he heard such glory, he almost jumped up on the other end of the phone with joy, "You did a good job! I will send a telegram to the Führer immediately to ask for credit for you!" Hoffman also served as Looking at the Air Force Commander, what he just said is really not a big deal.

If Spruance had heard the conversation just now, he would have jumped over and yelled: I lost so many warships without saying a word, how dare you say it was a heavy loss when you lost 20 aircraft? Do you know that I even shot down 39 F4Fs? It's a pity that he couldn't hear, so he could only hide and lick his wounds silently: Seeing such heavy losses, everyone on the bridge of the aircraft carrier Indomitable, which was temporarily upgraded to the flagship, had red eyes.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

"Disengage to the southwest." Spruance looked at the night that had turned dark. "Report truthfully to Washington. We will continue to pursue the enemy fleet until new orders are issued. We will deploy two destroyers to cover the injured USS Nevada and return as soon as possible. Home port, watch out for U-boats on the road.”

"Sir, are you really not considering retreating?" Brown asked worriedly. "Now the main force of the fleet is only 2 George V-class battleships, 2 aircraft carriers and 3 heavy cruisers. The Howe is still injured. This strength is inferior to that of the German fleet, and there is no guarantee of victory in a forced confrontation. "

"No one is sure of victory." Spruance sighed, "But the German aircraft are so powerful. If we don't kill these two aircraft carriers, I'm afraid they will become a serious problem for us when we counterattack the Azores - they You can completely hide in the dark and attack us at the critical moment."

After a pause, he explained: "Report the detailed combat experience to Commander-in-Chief Ingersoll and Admiral King. In particular, I must emphasize that the enemy's aircraft are powerful, and their torpedoes are particularly excellent. They are far superior to ours. We must use excellent aircraft." Only with a sufficient number of escort carriers can we deal with them. I firmly support General Turner's Plan A and even think that more escort carriers should be deployed into the battle. I now order the fleet to continue to pursue the enemy fleet. If there is any problem in this battle, I have full authority. Take responsibility, if you need to go to military court in the future, please wait for me to come back!"

"Sir!" Both Brown and Chris looked worried but speechless. They knew that Spruance was going to fight.