Chapter 472 Caribbean Sea (14)

At noon, the top brass of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who received the battle report from the front were all dumbfounded. Admiral Jin slammed the table angrily and scolded Fletcher: "We have the advantage in the number of aircraft, the advantage of discovering the enemy first, and the advantage of range, but in the end we got It’s such a mess, I know this guy can’t be of much use!”

Marshall sighed: "What should we do now? Watch the Japanese and Germans walk away?"

"This is not possible!" Roosevelt knocked on the table and said sternly, "Gentlemen, we must continue to attack the Axis Fleet, no matter what the cost."

"However, the battleship formation has made a request to retreat..."

Roosevelt stopped the hesitant Admiral King and made a decisive decision: "As soon as the battleship formation loses air cover, let it retreat. As for whether there was any problem with Fletcher's command, it will be investigated after the fact. The key now is that he retakes the photo." A combat plan was issued, hoping that the attack group would launch from Puerto Rico to attack the enemy, and he would lead the remaining troops to retreat... What do you think of this? "

Marshall was speechless.

Arnold had a begging look on his face, as if he hoped to leave more seeds for his Army Aviation, but he really couldn't say the words - there was no way he could just do nothing and watch the Axis Fleet swagger away, right?

"Rear Admiral Cohen has been stationed in Puerto Rico. He sent a telegram in favor of continuing the attack, and he reminded us of one thing." Li Hai, who had been silent, suddenly interjected, "This afternoon is the last chance to conduct an air attack on the enemy fleet. By the time tomorrow dawns, the enemy will have completely rushed out of the Caribbean Sea."

"Where exactly is the enemy now?"

"The specific location is not clear, but it is roughly around Latortuga Island. There are still 18 hours until dawn tomorrow, and the enemy fleet can travel at least 700 kilometers." A staff officer cooperated to demonstrate on the chart, and it was easy for everyone to see clearly. By early tomorrow morning, the enemy fleet will be at least 1,200 kilometers away from Puerto Rico - this is completely beyond the scope of attack.

"Are there any reinforcement planes today?" Roosevelt turned to Arnold and asked.

"There is another batch, but they won't arrive until the afternoon. They probably won't be able to catch up with the air raid before dark."

"Where's the Navy?" Roosevelt turned to Admiral King and asked.

"The Navy cannot mobilize more troops. Except for the carrier-based pilots used in the original A+ plan, the entire east coast has been mobilized. All other available land-based pilots have been mobilized. I don't want to send them away with poor technical skills. Go to hell." Admiral Jin said bitterly, "There are still many troops on the west coast and Hawaii, but they are too far away."

Arnold felt very unhappy about this: Why should the Army Air Forces throw all available pilots into this bottomless pit of strangulation, while Hainan Airlines could retain hundreds of better pilots? Although he knew this was approved by the president, he just wasn't happy about it.

Roosevelt seemed to see through his thoughts and explained subconsciously: "These carrier-based aircraft pilots are the foundation for our reconstruction of the aircraft carrier fleet. In the next few months, the Navy will still have a steady stream of aircraft carriers in service, but there must be no shortage of available aircraft carriers." pilots - it turns out that we do not lack pilots, but we lack particularly outstanding pilots with rich combat experience.”

Everyone was dejected. The biggest problem exposed this time, whether it was the Army Air Force or the Hainan Airlines, was that the technical level of the pilots was not as good as that of their opponents. Therefore, Roosevelt was reluctant to use up the carrier-based aircraft pilots on the escort aircraft carrier. These pilots would no longer be able to fly. If all is lost, HNA will really be out of stock.

"After the battle, the Army Aviation Department dispatched a group of outstanding pilots from the Eighth Air Force stationed in the UK to return home, and at the same time requested the British side to provide at least 300 skilled pilots to assist the Eighth Air Force in fighting. They have a large number of pilots who have been tested in the British air battle. "Roosevelt emphasized his tone, "As for the aircraft the British need, we must provide them without reservation, whether it is F6F, F4U, P-47 or P-51. As compensation for delaying the delivery of aircraft carriers to them, I I believe Prime Minister Churchill will understand us.”

The P-51 was originally developed by the United States for the United Kingdom at the invitation of the United States. Its performance indicators were very mediocre in all aspects. It was not comparable to the Army's P-47 or the Navy's F4U. Therefore, it was not well received. Among the British suggestions A Merlin engine is installed underneath, but its performance has been significantly improved. The US military is determined to equip it first, and intends to use the advantages of the P-51's outstanding range to escort bombers for strategic air strikes. Since it has just entered the mass production stage, the production number is less than that of the F6F. , so the British made several requests for assistance and the Americans did not agree. Roosevelt's words set the tone.

As for aircraft carriers, it was originally promised to give Britain two aircraft carriers in May, but now that the United States has exhausted its available aircraft carriers in the Atlantic direction, the urgency for aircraft carriers has once again increased. Admiral Kim just wanted to postpone the delivery of aircraft carriers to Britain. Roosevelt had said it first, and he was greatly relieved.

Now everyone can clearly feel that the president lacks confidence in continuing the A+ campaign to retake the Azores Islands. After thinking about it, they are relieved: If the German pilots deployed on the Azores Islands are as elite as this Axis aircraft carrier formation, as long as I'm afraid that the estimate of the force comparison in the original plan was too optimistic, not to mention that several aircraft carriers have been destroyed and paralyzed, and their offensive strength has declined instead of increasing. If we forcefully fight the Azores Battle again, we will die.

"When will the B-29 long-range bomber be put into service? I heard that this aircraft has a long range?"

Arnold nodded: "It can exceed 5,000 kilometers. Boeing's Wichita factory is working overtime to do everything. It is expected that the first mass production model will roll off the production line early next month."

"Hurry up production, training, and equipment. I hope to see this kind of aircraft taking off from Newfoundland to bomb the Azores in early July." Roosevelt slammed his fist on the table. "Even if we can't recapture Azores for a while, We cannot allow the Germans to use it comfortably. We must use continuous bombing to paralyze it. If Newfoundland’s airport and defense system are not good enough now, we must expand and improve them as soon as possible.”

Arnold was stunned for a moment. He originally thought that the president would ask for B-29s to be deployed to the United Kingdom. Unexpectedly, it was changed to Canada. After thinking about it, he thought it was normal: If B-29s are used in large-scale air strikes, they will consume a lot of fuel. , it will create extra fuel pressure on the UK. It is much better to deploy it in Newfoundland, Canada. Not only is it convenient for maintenance and supply, it will not cause more trouble to the British. At least there are still many pilots and ground crew in Canada.

"The main target of this afternoon's attack is still the enemy's aircraft carrier formation. We must strive to sink or damage another enemy's fleet aircraft carrier." After explaining the overall policy, Roosevelt continued in an unquestionable tone, "Japan and Germany created The combined ship capabilities are not even half of ours. In addition, Great Britain also has good shipbuilding capabilities. We can fully afford these losses, but it is difficult for the enemy to replace them. We exchange two for one, three for one, or even four. Everything is acceptable. After the battle is over, we will hold a systematic evaluation and demonstration meeting to discuss the number and plan of additional aircraft carrier construction."

“Gentlemen, cheer up and do the things you are doing well bit by bit. We must have confidence in victory, but we must be fully mentally prepared for the complexity, twists and turns, and long-term nature of the final victory. The United States Of course the people are afraid of failure, but they are even more afraid of succumbing to the power of the Nazis!”

Roosevelt talked a lot, and he was talking almost throughout the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff discussion. The decision was made in a few words about the afternoon's battle, but he said a lot about the politics, economy, military and allied relations in the future - Smith-Timson knew his difficulties. At present, senior generals, including Generals Marshall, King, and others, were somewhat lacking in confidence. The president must relieve their pressure, must enhance their confidence, and when necessary, he must help them share responsibilities.

It seems that the failure of the Panama Battle is irreversible. Even if we can sink 1-2 more warships in the afternoon, we can only save some face. Congress, the people, and various political groups will definitely launch an attack after knowing the news of the Panama Battle. This time the responsibility is too great. , it is not something that Fletcher, a mere lieutenant general, can undertake. Roosevelt must personally come forward - otherwise the board will be slapped on the top of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Kimmel and Lieutenant General Short are the lessons learned from the past.

There were so many people here, and there was no trace of the encouragement and protection in Roosevelt's words. Everyone stood up and answered loudly: "Yes!"

At 12:43, Mitsuo Fuchida led the formation back to the mothership and landed one after another. When he saw that the Hayabusa was missing, he immediately became anxious: "Sir! What happened to the Hayabusa? Was it sunk?"

"Not yet, but it's almost there."

"Hey!" He slapped the railing angrily, briefly described the attack situation, and then said with some shame, "There were many mistakes made in this attack. The first was that the Glorious was missed by mistake; the second was during the attack. Paying too much attention to safety, some technical moves failed to be used, so that..."

Tsukahara waved his hand to stop his self-blame: "No, you did a good job and met my requirements. In one attack wave, you severely damaged and sunk 4 enemy aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers and some destroyers. This is very Brilliant, don't feel guilty for the heavy damage to the Falcon. It has nothing to do with you. In addition, I think what you did well was to pay attention to safety and protect the lives of the pilots. The battle damage in this sortie was slightly more than 12%. Comparing the battle losses and results, I think it is a very remarkable success. Of course, it would be better if the losses were less - we must change the previous attitude of desperate attack, because there are still many enemy aircraft carriers, but we can sink the aircraft carriers. But you are the only pilots."

Mizuo Fuchida nodded silently: This Panama battle was fought continuously, and the pilots suffered a lot of losses. Except for a group of pilots on Socotra Island, Japan's HNA basically could not find any skilled aircraft carrier pilots.