Chapter 754 Atlantic Strangulation War (63)

Facing the dense firepower below and the two Essex-class ships guarded by many warships in the center, Frank remembered Machar's repeated warnings, resisted the strong desire to lead the fleet and pounced directly, and concentrated on doing it. Now he is becoming more and more experienced in "peeing onions". The pilots also respected him and knew that their commander would not blindly waste their lives in pursuit of victory.

The first casualty was the Eurasian anti-aircraft cruiser (Dido-class), which was sent directly to the seabed by 6 He-218s with 3 bombs; as soon as the regional firepower weakened, the second batch of He-218s quickly volleyed and attacked Next, this time the target was the USS San Jacinto light aircraft carrier (independence class) which had just completed sea trials and came to support it. The nine He-218s directly declared its death. While the attack was unfolding, fighter jets from both sides fought fiercely. Bullets and artillery shells were interspersed in the air, and occasionally planes fell into the sea.

After the two main warships on the left wing were destroyed, loopholes began to appear in the U.S. fleet formation. The Ju-98's torpedo array immediately seized the opportunity to launch an attack. Although the low-flying torpedo planes were shot down by enemy ship's anti-aircraft fire from time to time, Most of them successfully launched torpedoes, forcing the US warships deep in the core to freely turn to avoid, and the formation was further scattered.

Seeing the performance of the fighter jets that could not resist the attack of enemy planes, Cunningham sighed: "I finally understand why the two attacks with 100 aircraft failed to complete the mission. The combat effectiveness of the two sides is not at the same level."

"So I have repeatedly suggested that outstanding pilots be transferred from the Royal Air Force to Hainan Airlines, just like the Germans did." Spruance said helplessly, "This account is easy to calculate. In the end, it is waiting for a Hainan Airlines pilot to grow into an ace. Is it easier to be a pilot or to master the take-off and landing maneuvers of an aircraft carrier after being transferred to an ace air force pilot?”

“Why doesn’t the U.S. Navy take personnel from Army Aviation?”

"After the continuous losses of the Army Air Force, its strength is very average. Its elite level is not even as good as that of the Hainan Airlines. It really can't recruit people. General Arnold is asking the Royal Air Force for pilots..."

"The strength of the Royal Air Force is also very average. Coupled with the current fuel restrictions, it is extremely difficult to switch to sea aviation. In addition, the deep connections and battles between the navy and air force are very complicated." Cunningham sighed, "It is not as good as Germany before. Countries without Hainan Airlines can simply transfer from the Air Force in batches, we..."

"I don't see it that way. This is a systemic problem. I feel this way more and more now..." Spruance said angrily. "Looking at the faces of certain people in Congress and government affairs, sometimes I even feel kind of... Impulsive, they should be sent to the front line instead of listening to them sit and talk... Damn it, Hitler, the Austrian corporal, knows more about war than all 100 of us members of Congress put together!"

While the two were venting their dissatisfaction, a surprised voice suddenly came: "Sir, the reconnaissance plane has found the main force of the enemy's aircraft carrier."

"Where?" During the fierce battle, such exciting news suddenly came, and the Unicorn's combat command room was filled with excitement.

"It is about 350 kilometers behind the side of the oblique aircraft carrier and about 700 kilometers away from our fleet."

"So far away? How could the Germans fly back?" Cunningham thought hard and suddenly realized, "I know! I know!"

Spruance looked at the situation annotation on the chart and realized: "These aircraft do not need to fly back to the original aircraft carrier, they can land directly on that oblique aircraft carrier!"

With a "boom", a water column flew high into the sky. "The Brave, the Brave has been torpedoed!" a staff officer exclaimed.

"Damn it!" Cunningham cursed bitterly. The Intrepid had been torpedoed once during the Battle of Newfoundland. Thanks to the anti-sinkability of the Essex class, it barely returned to normal after emergency repairs. Thinking of being hit by a torpedo this time, misfortunes never come singly. The distance between the torpedo and the previous time was less than 8 meters. The powerful impact of the explosive immediately tore apart the bulkhead, even the bulkhead that had been barely repaired last time was also torn apart. , two huge rifts swallowed seawater continuously, and the speed was extremely fast.

Seeing the ship begin to capsize at a speed visible to the naked eye, Spruance closed his eyes in pain: "Abandon the ship...it's hopeless."

The mine hit by Valiant was far from over. Two minutes later, in order to cover the Hornet (Essex-class), the light cruiser Mauritius (Fiji-class) resolutely used its own body to push against it. As a result, a huge gap was opened on the starboard side. , this 8,500-ton cruiser lost most of its power, but it could still float on the sea. How could Frank let go of such an opportunity and immediately suppress all the remaining He-218s and Ju-98s on hand to attack, Hornet 2 Three bombs were hit within minutes. Although the hull and power were normal, the deck and hangar were blown to pieces. Fortunately, all the aircraft were released and the damage was not major, but the combat effectiveness was completely lost. The Mauritius, which had a speed of only 14 knots and a fragile hull, was not so capable and was directly blown up and sunk.

Frank never noticed the Bunker Hill and the Unicorn hiding under the cumulonimbus clouds, but even if he did, there was nothing he could do. He had used up all his attack aircraft and was preparing to retreat.

In this round of attack, the German army used an attack fleet of 141 aircraft to confront more than 60 U.S. fighter jets, and achieved results of sinking 2 aircraft carriers and severely damaging 1, but it also paid the price of losing 38 aircraft.

"Use two aircraft carriers to release all attack aircraft. The fleet... prepare..." Cunningham looked at the battlefield with a choked look and said the most painful words, "Retreat!"

"Sir! What about Cape Verde?"

"Give up, we can't defeat it..." Cunningham explained, "Our army still has two intact aircraft carriers and only 130 aircraft at most. The enemy still has three aircraft carriers and some land-based aviation forces. We are already stronger than ours, so the top priority is to launch a final attack to weaken the opponent, and then bring back all the injured battleships... If they are all left here, a German aircraft carrier will be able to show off its power in the Atlantic Ocean."

According to Cunningham's order, the remaining aircraft of the Bunker Hill and the Unicorn gathered together an attack formation of 91 aircraft and headed straight for Ozawa's fleet headquarters. As for the recovery of the aircraft, he adopted Spruance. Their suggestion: Let the pilots parachute in designated sea areas, and then the destroyers will be responsible for recovering them. This is of course a very euphemistic way of saying it. In fact, the two believe that only 40 of the 91 aircraft will come back alive.

For this almost all-or-nothing desperate attack, Cunningham allowed the pilots to make their own decisions. If they were unwilling to attack, they would not force it. However, no one wavered or quit. Everyone silently put on their life jackets and boarded with resolute courage. Get on the plane.

At 4:15 pm, when they witnessed the last plane leaving the runway, all the ground crew and command officers could no longer suppress their emotions and burst into tears.

"retreat……"

Ingersoll, who received the telegram, was shocked and at a loss: "What to do? There are still more than 10,000 people on Sal Island... Didn't Cunningham send out the last attack wave?"

Turner sighed: "Even if this attack can sink 1-2 of the opponent's aircraft carriers, our army will only have one aircraft carrier left and all aircraft will be lost, but the enemy still has one aircraft carrier and land-based aircraft to rely on. In terms of the strength of the bombardment fleet, the enemy has 6 powerful battleships, and we only have 4 scarred warships. We cannot defeat them in air combat or artillery battles. There is also no second batch of reinforcements in the country. We must retreat immediately while there is still time. Bar."

"Okay, retreat, but what about the Army?"

"They still have some light warships, torpedo boats and landing ships on hand. Let them retreat quickly. We will send six destroyers to meet them."

At 5:15, the telegram was finally transmitted to the U.S. military headquarters on Sal Island, followed by an earth-shattering roar: "We have been betrayed, shamefully betrayed, and the Navy has abandoned us! I want Marshall! I want See Roosevelt! I have served the United States and shed my blood for America. You can’t do this to me. You can’t do this to me!”

Hull, the commander of the Army's 3rd Division, had just finished his rant when he saw McDonald, the commander of the 5th Army Division, wordlessly taking out his pistol and preparing to walk out of the semi-basement headquarters.

"Where are you going? There are so many people, so many enemy warships and aircraft, how can you escape with just a few small gunboats and frigates?"

"Run? Why run? Only sons of bitches run!" McDonald turned around and sneered, "Haven't you seen through yet?"

"I..." Hel was at a loss and asked, "What did you see?"

"Ever since the dismissal order was issued and the order was issued to allow people to be punished for their crimes, I have seen through it." Macdonald raised his gun and laughed wildly, "Okay! If you don't want me, fine, I will go find the head of state! ******, I am Of standard Dutch descent, you are also a German by blood! What about you, are you an Anglo-Saxon?”

"I..." Hel was at a loss, "If you want to surrender, I..."

"Want to shoot me? Or report me? Hahahaha, what do you think will be waiting for you when you go back? To be rewarded for your meritorious service? Stop wishful thinking. You will definitely be treated as a scapegoat and the responsibility for the failure of this battle will be put on us..." He tore open his stained military uniform with a stab, "Come on, shoot, hit here! You can hit your own people, but you can't hit the Germans!"

"What on earth do you want to do?" Hull suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I'm not Anglo-Saxon, I'm of Swedish descent. What's the best way out for you?"

"Are you still planning to work for the Jewish group?"

"No, I don't want to!"

"Then just listen to me!" McDonald whispered his thoughts into the other person's ear, "How about this?"

Hull thought painfully for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Let's give it a try, since we are desperate anyway."