Chapter 854: Meeting on a Narrow Road (Part 2)
"Is this location a bit far away?" Rear Admiral Simon, chief of staff of the fleet, worried. "The distance between each other is now more than 600 kilometers. Although we are barely within the attack range, if something goes wrong, I'm afraid..."
Krank nodded, this was also the reason why he was worried just now. In the past, Krank, faced with such an unfavorable balance of forces, had already fled with his troops, but now he cannot just leave because the fleet does not have much fuel and cannot persist at sea for too long. It will be necessary in a few days. If he goes back to Buenos Aires to make up for it, the opponent can definitely wait for him halfway, and he won't necessarily have the upper hand advantage if he fights again then.
After so many battles, especially after many sorties with the Japanese combined fleet, the confidence of the German navy, which is accustomed to breaking ties and wandering operations, has increased to a good level. Now that it is running away, the confidence it has finally accumulated will suffer a heavy blow. frustrated. After entering the aircraft carrier era, the combat space has been greatly expanded. Wouldn't it be more dangerous if the Americans discovered our side first tomorrow? Therefore, Krank believes that the current risk must be taken, and one ship must be killed, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.
"The distance between us and the enemy is 600 kilometers. It takes at least 3 hours for the attack group to go back and forth after the attack. The fleet can run forward 150 kilometers at this time, which is equivalent to allowing the return aircraft to fly 150 kilometers less, so I think the distance is barely enough. Of course, the pilots will be very hard ” Krank added, “But if the pilots don’t work hard today, we may all go to feed the fish tomorrow!”
"Then let's fight." Simon clenched his fists, "I believe them!"
At 10:07, just as the two aircraft carriers were busy loading oil bombs for the aircraft, supplementary reconnaissance information from the adjacent sector was sent back: the enemy ship formation was advancing at a speed of 23 knots, and the route was 145 degrees. The enemy seemed to have dispatched a reconnaissance aircraft. …
"You see, the opponent is very cunning. Although he does not know our specific location, he guessed the position of our military and deliberately widened the distance to buy time for his reconnaissance plane!" Krank said, "This further strengthened my determination. Determination to fight!"
Supplementary reconnaissance in adjacent sectors is a tactic the German fleet learned from the Combined Fleet. The essence is to rely on the powerful speed and extraordinary range of its own reconnaissance aircraft to use reconnaissance aircraft in adjacent sectors to conduct forcible reconnaissance again, and continue to maintain contact with the opponent. This can continuously provide Indicate the direction of our own attack aircraft group to avoid missing the target. In order to realize this routine, Japan did not hesitate to occupy precious aircraft carrier space to develop exclusive reconnaissance aircraft, while the US military's idea is universal. Using SBD as a reconnaissance aircraft can ensure that its attack power is not weakened.
The two tactical ideas have their own merits, and we cannot absolutely say who is better or worse: when fighting at a long distance, Japan has an obvious advantage; when fighting at close range, the United States has a clear advantage due to its large number of attack aircraft. This idea is complementary to other Japanese tactical ideas - cross-platform long-range operations and ultra-long-range carrier-based aircraft (especially zero combat) are all prepared for long-distance combat; while the US military emphasizes a wave of full-deck attacks, hoping that Use numbers to overwhelm your opponents. When I came to the German Navy, I not only absorbed Japan's long-range warfare methods, but also learned the deck-mounted characteristics of the US military. In addition, the performance of German aircraft was good, and the results were actually remarkable.
When he saw the second reconnaissance plane appearing over the fleet, Spruance's face turned pale. He knew that the fleet could not avoid the opponent's continuous tracking. He bet that even if the fighter jets drove away the reconnaissance plane, after a while, The Germans will send new planes to keep an eye on themselves. His judgment was very correct. The third and second reconnaissance aircraft in the adjacent sector was ready to conduct forced reconnaissance after 11 o'clock to provide final attack guidance for our formation.
As time passed, the TF44 fleet reconnaissance aircraft continued to expand its reconnaissance field of view to the north. The aircraft of the four aircraft carriers were ready. Everyone craned their necks in hopes of getting the exact location of the German fleet. While they were waiting, the aircraft on the two German aircraft carriers Ise and Savoy had taken off one after another, circling and preparing to set off.
In order to improve the efficiency of the first attack, Krank required all Ju-198 attack aircraft (Meteor modifications) to carry bombs instead of relatively bulky torpedoes. The Meteor modifications were used as dive and torpedo dual-purpose attack aircraft, and were well received by the fleet. When our own strength is weak, we give full play to the value of our general skills.
The Ju-198 designed and improved by the European Joint Design Bureau has many differences from the original Japanese Meteor (Meteor modification). In addition to the engine power being increased to 2,200 horsepower, the body structure has been greatly strengthened, including a series of defensive measures such as self-sealing fuel tanks and armor. In addition, the maximum speed is nearly 570 kilometers per hour, and the maximum ceiling exceeds 11,500 meters.
The increase in the ceiling has led to an expansion of the range (low resistance at high altitudes and fuel saving). Not only does its range exceed 2,600 kilometers, it can also carry 800 kilograms of bombs. In order to maximize the use of this bomb load, the German military has expanded the original 250 and 500 kilograms of aerial bombs. It has specially developed and designed a 400kg aerial bomb that is slightly smaller in size and weight (actual weight is 385kg). A single Ju-198 can carry 2 bombs, which is an advantage compared to the He-218 which can only carry one 500kg bomb. Highlight it to your heart’s content.
This arrangement is especially popular with the fleet whose main responsibility is to break diplomatic ties. After all, in the battle to break diplomatic ties, not to mention 500 kilograms, 250 kilograms of bombs are enough to wipe out a ship. If it is a 250kg bomb, the Ju-198 can carry three - one on each wing and one in the built-in magazine on the belly, which is still one more than the He-218.
Coincidentally, the US side was under great pressure because the SBD dive bomber was old and the SB2C was not popular in the fleet. Facing the endless new aircraft from Japan and Germany (mainly He-218 and Ju-98 at that time), it launched an emergency carrier-based attack aircraft bidding (the F6F was about the same as the Bf-219, and the new model had been internally selected for Grumman). Douglas submitted the BTD Destroyer, Martin submitted the BTM Thug, Henry Kaiser submitted the XBTK, and Curtiss submitted the XBTC, a total of 4 designs. In the end, the BTD Destroyer, which integrated dive bombing and torpedo attack, won the bid - the military believed that Douglas was more reliable for dive bombing.
In early 1944, the mass production of BTD was basically ready, but due to problems with operation and adaptation, it was still in domestic training and could not be used in combat. Although this progress has exceeded the historical level of the same period, it is still behind Germany.
From the perspective of conventional performance, BTD is not as good as Ju-198, and lags behind the latter in terms of speed, altitude and range (of course, it is much better than SBD), but there is one thing that BTD leaves Ju-198 far behind. The former can carry 2 torpedoes or 4 1,000-pound bombs. From the analysis of bomb load alone, one BTD is equal to two Ju-198. However, after doing this, the weight of BTD will reach an unprecedented 8.9 tons - that is, Americans can afford such a heavy behemoth.
BTD is only an emergency plan, not the ultimate goal of Douglas. The company's latest improved design - A-1 Skyraider is still on the drawing board, but the research and development process is relatively slow. Optimists believe that it can be put into service before June 1945, while pessimists believe that it will not even be mass-produced in 1945. If we compare the A-1 to the Ju-198, it has a clear advantage in all aspects. Unfortunately, the Germans are now using the Ju-198 to fight, and the A-1 is still on the test bench. Spruance on the front line can only continue to use the modified SBD!
Finally, the fighter was improved to F6F-5 and overwhelmed the Bf-219. The problem is that the Americans don’t know that they are about to fight against the Do-412. Regardless of whether the Do-412 or the Bf-319 can become the main force of the future Axis carrier-based fighter, the Bf-219 is destined to complete its mission and withdraw from the front-line stage.
At 10:41, the German attack formation flew towards the predetermined target, and the entire fleet still advanced southward at a speed of 24 knots to shorten the return distance of the fleet. In order to maximize the attack effect, Krank only left himself 20 anti-aircraft fighters and released the remaining 84 aircraft. After the attack on Brazil a few days ago, he had used the spare aircraft carried by the two aircraft carriers to supplement the loss of the formation once, and the potential was almost exhausted. Now the huge hangar was empty, with only three spare Do-412s left. As they were assembled by the ground crew and then took off to form an air defense formation of 23 fighters, he could not take out a single aircraft to supplement the losses.
Earlier, Spruance had calmly instructed four aircraft carriers to take off 60 fighters to perform air defense patrols. In addition to the 24 SBDs that had been sent out for reconnaissance, he still had nearly 200 combat aircraft on hand. The problem was that he did not know the exact location of the enemy, and he did not dare to let the aircraft rush out directly - losing aircraft was a small matter, but losing pilots was a headache.
In order to ensure that the Atlantic Fleet had enough carrier-based pilots, Nimitz not only transferred 60 skilled pilots from the Pacific Fleet, but also forced 100 pilots from the Royal Air Force to transfer to the Navy. As for the LV.5 pilots who had been trained and survived on the escort carriers, they had long been transferred to the main aircraft carriers. As the new aircraft carriers were put into service, the skilled pilots on the escort carriers were constantly transferred, and the skilled reserve force was almost exhausted.
In May, two more Essex-class ships were put into service, and the pilot shortage was nearly 200 people (groups). He still hoped to continue to transfer 100 pilots from the Royal Air Force, but now the German army was fiercely attacking the British Isles. The Royal Air Force lost more than 300 pilots in three days. How could it be used for the Navy to transfer? The Pacific Fleet was facing the aggressive situation of the Japanese fleet breaking the trade, and it was unable to support the Atlantic direction.
In other words, without these two sources, he didn't know how to make up for the gap in May! Should we forcibly upgrade the LV.4 in the escort carrier formation to LV.5 and stuff them into the main fleet?
ps: I will start writing this month's monthly ticket extra chapter tomorrow, please continue to give me some monthly tickets...