Iron Cross

Chapter 449 Panama (End)

On the Skyhawk, Krank also humbly asked Ozawa: "Why don't you release the second attack wave immediately after the first attack wave is successful, but you have to wait for a while?"

"Although I don't know the exact reason, I guess this is a tactical arrangement. The most likely reason is that the commander suspects that there is an enemy fleet around, and we must retain some means of attack. At least he can't until the dive bomber resumes its offensive capabilities. Get all the attack planes out."

"So, is there really a US fleet nearby?"

"I think there shouldn't be. The reconnaissance planes have searched repeatedly with no results, and we have not found any enemy reconnaissance planes. However, the commander may be more careful..."

In contrast, Tsukahara knew the inside story better than Ozawa. He specifically told Lieutenant Commander Murata Shigeharu, who was about to lead the attack: "Sir, I originally hoped to shoot down the US military aircraft during the counterattack, but now it seems that the Americans have not recovered yet. You lead the team to continue attacking the airport, focusing on destroying the remaining enemy aircraft."

"Or the airport?" Murata Shigeharu was deeply shocked, "Aren't you going to blow up the canal?"

"Leave the canal area to the battleships." Tsukahara pointed to the artillery formation that was charging forward at full speed. "It is difficult to destroy the canal with aerial bombs. Your mission is to continue to destroy the enemy's airport and repeatedly weaken its aviation strength. Do you know why the third phase was postponed? Second attack wave?"

"Well... to be honest, I haven't thought about it."

"Sir, the repair time of the US military airport is estimated to be about 6-8 hours. If you bomb it again, the airport will basically not be able to operate successfully before the bombardment begins." Tsukahara explained the reason to him, "The water reconnaissance report came back yesterday. The situation shocked the commander. The airport must continue to be paralyzed - otherwise the US military will continue to mobilize troops from the mainland, which will consume us. "

"yes."

"Pay attention to safety when bombing, and be sure to come back alive." Tsukahara warned again, "The enemy's anti-aircraft firepower is very fierce, and the dive bombers dropped bombs at low altitudes, which caused great losses. The commander is very sad. You are bombing horizontally. You have to attack your comrades." Take responsibility and bring them all back!”

"Understood!"

At a quarter past 10:00, 68 Ju-98s (Tianshan modifications) took off under the cover of 36 Bf-219s and launched the second round of attack. At this time, the aircraft carrier formation had arrived 200 nautical miles away from Panama. After the attack aircraft group was released, A tight anti-aircraft formation was formed, and the artillery fleet continued to advance at a speed of 25 knots. Horikichi refused the suggestion of staying behind to watch the battle and insisted on rushing to the front line.

Murata Shigeharu was also surprised when he led the attack fleet to the canal area: the wreckage on the airport had been basically cleared, and the American engineers were working hard. One after another, the craters were roughly filled and then covered with steel plates. In a few hours, the airport will almost be repaired.

He saw the anti-aircraft firepower spraying out from below and the US fighter jets rushing to fight, but there were not many of them. He took a closer look and found that there were only about 10 fighter jets. The Bf-219s first dropped the fighter jets they carried under the belly of the aircraft. Bomblet then rushes in to engage.

Murata Shigeharu pointed at the intercom and issued an order: "Each formation will implement Plan No. 2..."

What Japanese pilots are most satisfied with about German aircraft is the radio. The communication is clear, the transmission distance is long and the quality is very stable. After using this thing, they almost vomit when using Japanese products, so the good-hearted Horikichi bought it in the big purchase. 2000 radio stations.

Lieutenant General Ross thought that these bombers were coming to bomb the airport again, so he ordered the anti-aircraft guns to adjust their firing elements and fire intensively at the sky above the airport. The 40mm M1 anti-aircraft guns pulled out a fiery barrage, firmly blocking the enemy planes from descending. From all angles of dropping bombs, he did not expect that a group of enemy planes had just shown their faces above the airport. The separate fighter planes entangled our own fighters and then all rushed towards the canal. He was so anxious that he shouted in the headquarters: "Anti-aircraft guns, adjust the firing range." , defend the canal..."

As a result, the hurried air defense troops turned their guns and fired violently in another direction. Since the smoke actively released by the defenders was still there, the gunners had to distinguish the enemy aircraft in the smoke, and they no longer repeated the neat barrage just now.

Soon after, Murata Shigeharu, who had already rushed to the top of the ship lock, saw that most of the US anti-aircraft firepower had been attracted to the direction of the canal area. He couldn't help but sneered: "Idiot, I lied to you..." After saying that, he increased the speed to the maximum. , turned in a deft arc and rushed towards the airport again. The huge fleet of aircraft behind them cooperated as skillfully as arms and fingers, forming a tight formation to rush towards them.

"Boom!" Bombs fell in pieces on the airport, tower, hangar, runway and other facilities.

Lieutenant General Ross fell on the stool. When he saw the enemy plane suddenly turning, he knew that the situation was not good: he had calculated everything and was on guard against it, but he did not expect to be tricked by the enemy.

The Ju-98s carried out horizontal bombing in a dense manner. Due to the mid-to-high-altitude bombing and the fact that most of the anti-aircraft firepower was attracted away, Murata Shigeharu's attack was a great success. The steel plate runway that the engineers had finally repaired was bombed again. Broken into pieces or twisted into grotesque shapes, the remaining hangars and aircraft were also greeted mercilessly by the bombers.

At noon, Kusaka Rento reported to Hori Teikichi with a happy face: "Sir, the second attack wave was successful. Murata Shigeharu reported that the airport was hit hard again, and at least 20 planes were destroyed on the ground. In addition, the fighter captain Akamatsu Sadaaki reported that 8-10 enemy fighters were shot down, and our army lost 3. The enemy's new fighter is fast, has strong climbing ability, and a strong body. It uses a unique inverted gull wing, which is much more difficult than the F4F. If it weren't for the average skills of the US pilots and our absolute numerical advantage, the exchange ratio might have dropped further, and the film in the camera gun could be developed quickly. ”

Akamatsu Sadaaki’s rank is very interesting. He is a senior carrier-based pilot. Because he has never attended the Naval Academy, his rank has never been promoted. He served in the aviation force at the age of 19 and was still a sergeant (sergeant major) at the age of 33. However, he performed very well in the "Aviation School" on Socotra Island, and fought against many German ace pilots. After witnessing his performance and knowing his rank, Marshal Richthofen was very fond of talents. He believed that with his qualifications, experience and skills, he was qualified to be the captain of the German Naval Aviation. He was ready to grant him the rank of captain and hoped that he would stay in Germany. Ozawa also persuaded him to stay.

Akamatsu Sadaaki himself was quite tempted. Hori Teikichi was embarrassed to express his opinion on this matter. It was Kusaka Rento and Tsukahara who took turns to do ideological work to let him continue to stay in the fleet. But the Japanese military rank system was obviously not something Hori Teikichi could break at will. At least he had to wait until he returned to Japan to report to the Navy Ministry before he had the opportunity to be promoted. In the end, Richthofen awarded Akamatsu Sadaaki the rank of captain, so he led the troops to fight as a captain in the German Navy, which was unique in the Japanese Navy.

This incident had a great impact on the thinking of the Japanese Navy: during the Battle of Midway, Captain Nagajoichi, the leader of the air force, said, "We are just consumables of war..." and then launched a desperate attack with a damaged plane with only one-way fuel. In Japan, it was a behavior that needed to be praised, but in the atmosphere of Germany attaching importance to pilots, it was scolded. After the German Air Force expanded vigorously, the number of qualified pilots graduating each year could reach 5,000. In addition to continuously receiving supplements from the Air Force, the German Navy also established a reserve scale of no less than 600 people. However, even so, it still attached great importance to the lives of pilots-the Japanese Navy, which believed that pilots were cheap consumables, even if the pilot team was expanded by 8 times, the number of qualified pilots did not exceed 500. In contrast, there was only a sigh.

"This is a problem. I really hope that the new carrier-based aircraft can be put into service as soon as possible." Before leaving, Hori Teiyoshi had seen the Do-412 (Shiden Kai) test flight. Whether in speed, firepower, climb rate, or resistance to impact, it exceeded the Bf-219, and its range was slightly longer than the latter. At the same time, he also knew that after Jiro Horikoshi arrived in Germany, he immediately cooperated with Messerschmitt to launch the Bf-319 (Gale Kai) project, so he had high expectations for the new aircraft. He suddenly remembered that Kusaka Renji didn't seem to report the loss of attack aircraft just now, so he asked: "How many attack aircraft were lost?"

"0."

"0?" Hori Teikichi looked up in surprise, "Really?"

"Murata Shigeharu reported it himself, so it shouldn't be wrong - he played a big trick during the attack." Kusaka Renji himself was a little unsure about the loss, and finally added, "I have asked Tsukahara-kun to send someone to recheck."

"Well done, beautifully done, he should be credited."

"In addition, the sea reconnaissance sent a telegram saying that they had found two injured dive bombers that crashed into the sea and made an emergency landing. One was ours and the other was German. The pilots were still alive, but the two sea reconnaissance planes had no vacancies, so they could only stay at the scene for protection. I have arranged other planes to rush to rescue."

"Eject all the sea reconnaissance planes to search for survivors, and make sure to rescue them all."

While they were talking, a staff officer reported that the escort fighter had discovered and shot down an enemy reconnaissance plane, but the enemy plane had already sent the telegram.

"Let them come at us." Hori Teikichi smiled slightly, "All nine battleships are here, let's see how many they can bomb."

When the reconnaissance plane reported that it had not found any enemy aircraft carriers but had found nine large ships, six medium ships and several small warships rushing towards the canal, Vice Admiral Ross felt his hands shaking. Now he finally understood why the Axis fleet had let the canal area go twice - the enemy had never considered using bombs, they had decided from the beginning to use naval guns to destroy the canal.

"Damn it, we don't even have a ship..."

Not only did he not have a ship, he only had 14 planes left, and the area near the airport was full of potholes. Except for a few anti-aircraft guns, it had completely lost its ability to protect itself.

"Send a telegram to Washington, requesting reinforcements, and ask them to send planes to bomb, the more the better."

Chapter 449/1109
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Iron CrossCh.449/1109 [40.49%]