Chapter 447 Panama (Part 2)

On the aircraft carrier Skyhawk, Admiral Krank curiously asked Jisaburo Ozawa: "What does it mean that General Hori Teikichi ordered the raising of the Z-flag?" After the Strait of Gibraltar was opened, the German Navy planned to consider reorganizing the High Seas Fleet. Marshall would serve as the commander of the High Seas Fleet, and Krank would serve as the deputy commander. Of course, this arrangement was transitional in nature. Raeder hoped that he could also serve as the commander of the mobile fleet at that time, so he followed Ozawa for a close internship.

"The Z-flag has a unique position in the Japanese Navy. It will only be raised at the moment of great decisive battle significance. As far as I know, the Combined Fleet has only raised it three times since the Battle of Tsushima. This is the fourth time - the commander is preparing for a decisive battle."

"Decisive battle?" Crank was stunned for a moment, "Who to fight? The US military in Panama?"

"The enemy may not be limited to what we have seen."

"You mean the US fleet?" Crank frowned, "It's true that there has been no news from them for a long time."

"This may be a very difficult battle, and he must inspire the entire army." Ozawa paused, "Although there is no evidence yet, I also have this intuition."

"I hope your feeling is wrong, otherwise we will be in big trouble." Crank looked at the carrier-based aircraft pilots who were about to take off, and sighed, "After so many days of training, I really look forward to their performance!"

At 3:25 in the morning, in the dark night, one He-218 (called Comet Kai in Japan) dive bomber after another took off from the deck and rushed to the southwest.

Hori Teikichi made careful adjustments for today's first wave of air strikes, taking into account the strength of the US ground defense force and the complete radar system, and the fact that the enemy had new anti-aircraft fighters according to the sea reconnaissance report, in order to counter this advantage, the carrier-based aircraft must attack the enemy first. It is obviously not possible to launch an air strike after daybreak, as the first wave of attack aircraft would be intercepted by superior enemy aircraft, so he planned to take a risk - a night attack. Using the cover of night to achieve the suddenness of the attack.

There is no precedent for carrier-based aircraft to attack ports at night. A few years ago, the British used night attacks to fight the Battle of Taranto and won. However, compared with the British night attack, the Axis fleet's night attack was more difficult: first, they were driving the He-218 with a cruising speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour, far from the slow Swordfish that could not even fly at 200 kilometers per hour, which increased the difficulty of maintaining air formations; second, the British had complete photos of Taranto and relatively comprehensive deployment maps before the air raid. This time, the Axis pilots knew nothing about the US military deployment except for basic photos of the canal area; third, the distance of this attack was 100 kilometers farther than the Battle of Taranto; the last and most important point is that the US military's vigilance and air defense capabilities far exceeded the lazy Italians.

Better than the Battle of Taranto, Hori Teikichi's target was not the canal or warships, his first target was the airport. As long as the airport was destroyed, the days of subsequent attack waves would be much better. To deal with the airport, the He-218s not only carried 250 kg of high-explosive bombs, but also carried a batch of solidified ***.

The only thing that made him feel confident to take risks was that the Axis Fleet now had the best carrier-based aircraft pilots in the world - no one else. Britain and the United States used to have quite good carrier-based aircraft pilots, but after losing aircraft carriers in succession, the veterans among the British and American carrier-based aircraft pilots were almost lost, and the few who were retained were used as instructors. Therefore, although the British and American reserve carrier-based aircraft pilots were more than the Axis, the overall level was much lower.

After the combined fleet entered Europe, the carrier-based aircraft pilots did not put their weapons into storage and let their horses go to the mountains like other officers and soldiers, but worked hard on Socotra Island with the German Navy: German pilots learned to master the essence of aircraft carrier operations, and Japanese pilots learned to master the essence of new aircraft. The pilots of both sides continued to communicate and improve in the exchange, and at the same time, they were able to initially form combat coordination. The starting point of this training was very high. Large aircraft carriers such as Shokaku or Zuikaku were not used. Instead, two light aircraft carriers, Shofu and Ryuho, were used directly. Their decks were narrower, the landing distance was shorter, and they were closer to actual combat needs.

In February, the light aircraft carrier converted from the heavy cruiser Bolzano by the Italian Navy with construction assistance from Germany was also put into use. The Italian naval aviation also officially joined the training. This group of newly joined Italians was frightened by the purgatory-like training intensity of Germany and Japan. They trained for 8 hours a day, all week long, and the air base on the island was empty. There were no entertainment facilities except for a bar left by the British.

When the Italian pilot asked what the training outline was, the German naval aviation officers and soldiers pronounced the Japanese pronunciation in a weird tone: "Tsuki-tsuki-sui-huo-mu-jin-jin..." Fortunately, the Italian naval aviation was not the Italian army, and finally gritted their teeth and persevered, adapting to this high-intensity training.

In the future, some people pointed out in summary that the naval aviation school with the highest level of axis is not in Germany, Japan or Italy, but in Socotra. This "aviation school" that does not issue diplomas is the one in the minds of all naval aviation carrier-based aviation forces. Holy land, because it is really difficult to meet the "graduation" standard here: the standard for a dive bomber pilot is to perform a "cleaning trio" in a synchronized dive with three aircraft loaded with bombs, and then drop the bombs to a target with a diameter of no more than 5 meters. Above; the graduation standard for fighter jets is to use two aircraft to withstand the attacks of four aircraft for 10 minutes - the opponents are all ace pilots with more than 50 kill records; the standard for torpedo attack aircraft pilots is to maintain a flight altitude of 20 meters above sea level for 2 minutes , and at the same time, it must be able to hit a destroyer maneuvering at a speed of 30 knots with a torpedo... As for taking off and landing at night, it is a necessary subject for veterans.

In a word, this is not a learning place for ordinary carrier-based aircraft pilots, but a promotion place for elite carrier-based aircraft pilots to practice and improve themselves.

Germany has provided all resources for the "aviation school" on Socotra Island, including aircraft management, fuel pipes, ground handling and supporting services. It even equipped a 5,000-ton oil tanker specifically for transporting fuel, specifically responsible for traveling to Iran. Tour transportation between the refinery and Socotra Island. Richthofen, who returned to China to "recuperate", stayed in Berlin for a few days before personally visiting Socotra Island.

In the later stages of the training, as Turkey joined the axis, the straight-line flight distance between Japan and Germany was further shortened, and aircraft exchanges became more convenient. In addition to the members of the carrier-based aircraft air force, Japan also arranged for more than 40 HNA reserve pilots to follow the aviation from the mainland. A team of technical experts arrived (including the famous zero-war designer Jiro Horikoshi), and German HNA also accepted it and provided sufficient training equipment and supplies. In just 3 months, more than 100 aircraft were lost. High-level Aviation fuel is calculated in tens of thousands of tons - it is equivalent to Germany spending money and resources to help Japan and Italy train excellent pilots.

This is what Horikichi is most satisfied with and admires about Hoffman's generosity, and it is also where he feels he is most owed a favor.

Now, the sharp blade that has been forged for three months has finally come out of its sheath. Horikichi has not arranged escort aircraft for it, because the more aircraft there are, the more troublesome it will be to dispatch and organize. The first attack wave relies on speed and suddenness. .

At 4:45 in the morning, the US military radar soldier who had been suffering all night discovered a large number of light spots on the screen. At first he thought he was dazzled, but after looking at it carefully three times, he was convinced that he had seen it correctly. The sergeant major who came after hearing the news pointed at the phone and roared: "The enemy plane is incoming, with an altitude of 4,000 meters, a speed of 470 kilometers per hour, no less than 70 in number, and a distance of 150 kilometers... Notify to sound the air defense alarm."

Poor Lieutenant General Ross was shaken from his sleep by his adjutant. He had just closed his eyes for less than 30 minutes after a busy day. He was shocked when he heard the news of the enemy plane's attack: "The Japs are crazy, attacking at night? From which corner did they come out? Immediately notify the fighter jets to take off!".

The chief of staff cried sadly: "Fighter pilots have not been trained in night combat, and we do not have night fighters. It will not help at all to move up!"

"Then I have to fly up, and I have to knock the Japanese down if I hit him!"

Seeing the commander who was clearly in a state of madness, the chief of staff could only bite the bullet and issue the order. However, he changed his tone to a gentler tone when issuing it, and the pilots could voluntarily choose whether to execute it.

"Was the smoke released on the canal?"

"It's released, but it's not big enough yet!"

"Damn it!" Ross slammed the table angrily, "Prepare anti-aircraft firepower immediately!"

At 5 o'clock in the morning, the first attack wave of the Axis Fleet rushed over the target. The US anti-aircraft guns sprayed out countless tongues of fire. The entire sky was covered with fire nets, cutting through the sky like lightning in a storm. It looked numb. But the Axis aircraft group still rushed towards the attack fire net like moths to the flame without hesitation. The air attack started 5 minutes later. 1218 took the lead in rushing into the port from the northeast. The US military searchlight beam kept turning, and white, red, and yellow tracer bullets spewed out like an erupting volcano. Lieutenant Colonel Mitsuo Fuchida led the guidance aircraft to drop Flares to clear the way for following aircraft.

The flares hanging under the small parachutes illuminated the entire canal area like daylight. The fleet soon discovered the location of the airport. They increased their speed to the fastest speed and headed toward the airport runway and the aircraft in the face of the dazzling searchlights and dense rain of bullets. Ku rushed away. The German attack formation led by Major William launched the first attack. The 250 kilogram bomb he dropped accurately hit the main runway. A large crater was blown out of the concrete runway, and then the falling incendiary bombs ignited a raging fire. The fire provided the basis for the bombing of subsequent aircraft. Pointed out the direction. They dived down at the fastest speed and dropped bombs on the runway or hangar one by one. Those attack aircraft groups that were filled with fuel bombs and prepared to attack as soon as possible in the morning unfortunately became the biggest victims. Pieces of aircraft fuel and ammunition were killed one after another. Exploded with a deafening roar.