Chapter 857: Meeting on a Narrow Road (Supplement)

These 12 TBFs were also very aggressive, regardless of whether they rushed to more than 600 meters before dropping torpedoes. The hit rate was naturally improved a lot, but they also suffered heavy losses - 4 crashed before dropping torpedoes, 3 were shot down after dropping torpedoes, and finally escaped. There are only 5 of them.

Their desperate efforts paid off. At 13:39, the Seydlitz was hit by a torpedo on the port side, taking in a lot of water. It was floating on the water and dying - but it had not sunk yet!

This sight made Kent furious. Just when he was about to order the attack aircraft to pounce, he suddenly received a telegram from the SBD responsible for the reconnaissance mission: "A German aircraft carrier and a battleship were found 160 kilometers north-east. "

Kent, who was red-eyed, suddenly realized that he almost missed a major event - he was supposed to attack the second enemy aircraft carrier, how could he waste all his energy here? He glanced at the Seydlitz with hatred, turned away from the battlefield and flew towards the location of the Ise formation.

But as he was flying, he suddenly felt something was wrong. Why were there so few planes following him? There were actually only 11 TBFs, 7 SBDs and 9 F6Fs following their own SBDs, and there were only 28 aircraft including the command aircraft.

"Where have the other planes gone?" He asked subconsciously, "Didn't they follow them?"

"Many were shot down, and some have completed bombing and returned. Some F6Fs fought too hard and ran out of ammunition and fuel and had to return. All the remaining aircraft that can attack should be here!" The pilot thought for a moment, "Oh, There are also a few SBDs you sent out for reconnaissance..."

Kent's head buzzed, and he finally realized that he had made a big mistake: he wasted too much force on this fleet. He brought out a total of nearly 170 aircraft attack groups, at least 100 aircraft. Directly or indirectly participated in the attack, and more than 30 aircraft were shot down without even touching the edge of the attack - 36 aircraft were shot down by the free-hunting Do-412, plus more than 40 aircraft shot down by German anti-aircraft fire , the entire formation lost nearly 80 aircraft. All kinds of waste and squandering combined resulted in only 28 attack groups that could be put into the second attack...

"Fight with the Germans!" He made up his mind and rushed towards the Ise formation.

"Sir, some enemy planes are coming towards us."

"What are the losses to the squadron?"

"The Savoy sank, the Seydlitz was severely damaged, and the captain was forced to abandon the ship after judging that it was difficult to save. The Z29 sank, one Hedgehog-class ship sank, and 10 anti-aircraft fighters may have been lost. The remaining destroyers are in the process of salvaging fallen officers and soldiers. .” Simon Hui reported, “I have called ****** to let him land at our place.”

Krank nodded: "Everyone has tried their best, now it's up to us. At the critical moment, Germany needs everyone to fulfill their duties!"

At 13:56, the US military attack formation found the Ise and swooped over to attack. The last seven Do-412s covering the Ise flew up to intercept it without hesitation!

As soon as the two sides met, Do-412 killed 4 SBDs and 2 TBFs, and was shot down by an F6F. At this time, Kent no longer cared about the formation, and allowed all attack aircraft groups to launch free attacks, making sure to sink the enemy. aircraft carrier. After saying this, he ordered the pilot to rush down and attack. Although he successfully dropped the bomb and hit the Gneisenau, he was also hit by the ship's anti-aircraft fire and fell directly into the sea, killing the pilot together.

The planes of both sides fought in the sky, and the red-eyed US military planes sent all their ammunition to the Ise. Bombs and torpedoes fell together. Taijiro Aoki personally steered the ship and tried his best to avoid the attack. Except for the fact that the deck was swept by the F6F. Outside, no bombs landed on it, but the destroyer Z30 next to it was unlucky and sank after being hit.

The US SBD quickly dropped all the bombs and broke away. Only the slow TBF continued to drop torpedoes. Due to the absence of the Hedgehog class, the interception firepower was not strong. A total of 5 torpedoes came towards the Ise from different positions. Taijiro Aoki had quick eyes and quick hands. Three of them were dodged, but the other two could not be dodged no matter what. In the end, Gneisenau blocked the hole of the gun with his body and forcibly carried one for the flagship. The other hit the Ise's starboard amidships, tearing open a huge Through the gap, sea water continued to pour in. Of course, these TBFs didn't get much bargain, and three more were eventually shot down.

By the time the US military formation left, there were only 12 aircraft in total, and only 2 of the 7 Do-412s were still flying in the air. For this fight, both sides paid a huge price.

"Cut the leak! Stop the leak!"

With the concerted efforts of hundreds of officers and soldiers, the Ise finally stopped flooding after swallowing more than 2,000 tons of seawater. However, the speed dropped to only 18 knots, and the hull tilted 7 degrees.

"Sir, we must fill the port side with water, otherwise the balance cannot be restored." Captain Aoki was so busy that he was sweating profusely. "The attack group will return later, and we must prepare a landing position for them. Time is very tight!"

"Fill it with water."

The port side began to fill with water. In order to prevent the water from entering too quickly and causing reverse capsizing, Captain Aoki's command actions were very cautious. At this time, a large number of aircraft had gathered in the sky, all of which were returning from attack missions. Everyone was anxious. Sweat profusely.

Crank and others in the bridge were even more anxious: the attack group flew more than 600 kilometers when it set out, and flew nearly 700 kilometers when it returned (because the Ise turned back), and also participated in a fierce attack battle. Everyone was exhausted, and what was more terrible was that the fuel was exhausted. If they delayed any further, these planes would be in danger of falling into the sea.

As the water on the port side increased, the tilted hull of the Ise began to improve little by little, and the angle slowly decreased. However, due to the increase in water inflow, the waterline began to drop at a speed visible to the naked eye. The sailors threw any discardable debris into the sea desperately to reduce the weight of the ship. At 14:19, the entire warship recovered the tilt of one degree. Although it was not completely balanced, it basically met the conditions for landing.

As soon as the signal to allow landing was given, the planes that had been circling in the air for a long time immediately filed down. The fuel tank gauge pointers of the first few Do-412s that landed had long dropped below zero, and the least powerful plane could only support one more minute before falling into the sea. However, the last six anti-aircraft fighters on the Savoy still had a lot of fuel. They looked around vigilantly and even shot down a lone American plane - I don't know how this guy found this place.

At 14:37, all the attack groups landed, and the ground crew began to quickly replenish fuel and ammunition. Many pilots were exhausted and didn't even have the strength to climb out of the cabin. They were helped out by other comrades and ground crew. Of course, there were also gifted people who were so energetic that they didn't feel any exhaustion, but were extremely excited. As soon as they got off the plane, they described the scene of the attack with their companions, and they were very excited.

"Sir, the Essex class is very tough. 400 kg bombs can't deal with it. We must use torpedoes!" ****** panted and reported the attack scene to Crank. "The enemy still has an intact Essex class, which is a great threat. We hit another one with at least 6-7 bombs, but the opponent just won't sink, and the speed hasn't even dropped much. However, the take-off and landing must have been damaged."

"Must use torpedoes?"

"Yes! Bombs are useless, and at most they will be severely damaged."

Although the distance between the two fleets has reached more than 700 kilometers, it is at least 3 hours before dark. With the range and speed of Ju-198, it is not a big problem to perform this mission. As for the pilots, it is also easier to solve. Because Ju-198 has both dive bombing and torpedo attack functions, pilots are allocated in proportion - some pilots focus on torpedo attack, and others focus on dive bombing instead of requiring omnipotence. This can reduce training costs and increase the success rate. Of course, there are people who are proficient in everything, but the proportion is not too high. In other words, the first wave of attacks were conducted by dive bombing pilots, and this time they could be replaced by torpedo pilots.

Crank hesitated: after collecting all the aircraft, there are still 62 aircraft in total (some of which were severely damaged and declared scrapped), and the enemy also has an Essex-class, which is estimated to be fully loaded (100 aircraft). Although it is a little weak in terms of strength, it can still fight.

However, Simon's face suddenly changed: "Sir, if the bombs are useless, we may be forced to give up the attack."

"Why?"

"Not fast enough!"

"Hey!" Crank looked outside and reacted, punching the bulkhead hard.

The maximum speed of the Ise when it was intact was only 26 knots, which was slightly slow for a regular aircraft carrier, but since it was positioned as a commerce destroyer, 26 knots was nothing big. Put it today, it has become a fatal key-the speed of the Ise dropped to only 18 knots after being hit by the torpedo, and then the reverse water injection and restoration of balance just now increased the burden. Now the speed can only reach 16 knots, and the deck wind after the headwind synthesis is not enough. It is not a big problem to take off fighters or light attack aircraft, but it is estimated that it is not possible to take off a heavily loaded torpedo plane (due to the long distance, it must be fully fueled, and the total weight is nearly 6 tons).

"Sir, let the boys try it." The unwilling ****** requested, "Such a good opportunity is rare."

"It's okay to give it a try." Crank thought for a while, "You go and pick a pilot to test it, and be careful not to pick the best one."

****** understands this principle. The best pilot can fly, which does not mean that others can fly. If there are only a few planes taking off, it is basically a meal for people - torpedo planes must form a scale to be valuable.

Soon, a Ju-198 with a torpedo and full of fuel was pushed to the take-off position at the end of the deck. The ground crew first blocked the wheels of the aircraft with wood and held them tightly, waiting for the pilot to increase the horsepower to the maximum, and then quickly pulled it away. The aircraft rushed forward quickly, and everyone's heart was in their throats...