Chapter 883 Accident (12)

The Germans knew that dive bombers could not sink the Essex class, and it seemed that the British and Americans also knew it, so a bunch of warships, including two battleships and several light cruisers, followed closely beside the flagship to block the torpedoes - as long as the torpedoes were blocked, the Essex could last for a long time.

Of course, it does not mean that dive bombers can't do anything to the Essex class. If they were replaced with 500 kg or even 800 kg bombs, the Essex would still kneel, but for the Ju-198 with a bomb load of about 800 kg, carrying 400 kg bombs is the best and most economical choice. The US BTD bomber can directly hang two 500 kg bombs, but unfortunately the US bombs of this level are all 1000 pounds (454 kg).

The tactics of attacking the core of the British fleet are the same as the strategy of the first attack wave against the Ticonderoga, which is still an overall segmented attack. Now Kleiman still has a total of 24 undelivered attack aircraft, which happens to be half bombs and half torpedoes.

The disadvantage is that the regional air defense firepower of the Hornet is still very fierce. Even so, Kleiman believes that he can't wait any longer. The US aircraft will soon return, and the enemy's take-off and landing capabilities must be paralyzed as soon as possible, otherwise it will be disadvantageous for the enemy to gather more air defense fighters for the next step of the battle. Under his command, the remaining attack aircraft rushed down directly, either attacking the deck or releasing torpedoes, and the target was the Hornet without exception.

The Ju-198s plunged into the dense air defense firepower network without hesitation. The captain of the Hornet rushed left and right, trying to avoid it, but there were too many bombs and the speed was too fast, and it was really impossible to dodge. "Boom!" Six bombs exploded on the deck of the Hornet in succession, but there were only two bombs in two consecutive explosions. Everyone in the bridge only felt a series of violent vibrations, and then the heat wave soared into the air and rushed in their faces.

Cunningham closed his eyes helplessly, trying his best not to let tears flow out.

"Sir, the core section of the deck was destroyed, and the hangar was also blown up, but there was no fuel and ammunition to explode..."

Just as he said this, a violent explosion sounded, and everyone lost their footing. Several young staff officers desperately protected Cunningham's wheelchair.

"A torpedo hit the starboard side... Damage control is in progress." The captain's voice came from the radio, "This ship can still hold on."

Cunningham nodded: "Hold on! I'll take you back to Britain. We'll die on the way back to Britain."

"We can only wait for the third wave." Clement led the second attack wave to drop all the ammunition, and reluctantly observed the battlefield before leaving. In the last round of attack just now, he witnessed the Hornet's deck being completely destroyed, and the starboard side was hit by a torpedo. In addition, the Liverpool light cruiser was also hit by a torpedo, and the speed suddenly dropped to no more than 18 knots. The hull tilted 11 degrees as a whole, wading in the sea.

The German attack group in the second wave of attack still suffered heavy losses, losing 9 Bf-219s and 14 Ju-198s, mainly because they were forcibly attacking the core warships. The loss rate was slightly higher than the first wave, but the British air defense group also paid a heavy price, with only 15 of the 32 fighters left.

"Let all the fighters go to Nimitz, and the rest of the returning attack groups will all land there." Cunningham glanced around and said slowly, "Although American politicians are generally not very good, American soldiers are still good. We will help in the last battle."

At 14:59, the second wave of German attack returned, and Kleiman took the time to send the battle situation to the Ozawa fleet advancing at high speed in the rear, which was receiving the first wave of attack and returning one after another. Hearing that the enemy fled in two groups and the second attack wave had severely damaged another aircraft carrier, there was a dispute in the bridge of the Zeppelin about who should be chosen as the target of the third wave of attack.

Up to now, it is an indisputable fact that our side has won all the battles, and the debate is nothing more than considering how to maximize the value of victory. From a military perspective, Ozawa would rather chase the American fleet, but at this time he has to listen to Marshall's opinion.

"From the front-line battle report, we know that there are British battleships on one side and American battleships on the other. The two are fleeing in different directions. Our warships can chase the fleet heading northwest back to the United States, but the third wave of attack should still target the British fleet fleeing to the northeast." Marshall explained, "The next important strategic deployment of the head of state is to land in Iceland and force Great Britain to surrender. We must find a way to eliminate the interference of the Royal Navy as much as possible. We must annihilate the British fleet as much as possible and continue to attack the US fleet tomorrow morning."

"But, sir, this may let the Americans go..." Kohler was a little anxious, "The British fleet can't jump much, but the Americans still have some strength. What if they can get a fleet out in two days? , I'm afraid..."

"The Americans can't turn the tables! In two days, Field Marshal Rommel will land in Brazil, and the US backyard will soon catch fire." Marshal added, "It's also useful to keep some US warships, which can alienate the relationship between Britain and the United States. This time we pretended to land in Britain, and the Americans came very nervously. Will the Americans come again if we really land in Iceland next time? If they come, they only have 1-2 aircraft carriers, which is not a match at all; if they don't come, it will be a blow to the British Empire - what is more unbearable than an ally watching someone die without helping? "

Ito Seiichi was a little anxious. He actually wanted to fight the US military, but as a member of the observation group, he couldn't speak casually without asking anyone, so he hinted at Ozawa with his eyes, indicating that the latter should come out and say a few words.

"Okay, just follow the orders of the commander!" Ozawa didn't expect this.

"Yes!" The staff answered loudly. Marshal nodded with satisfaction and said to Ozawa, "General Ozawa has worked hard this time. I will ask the head of state for credit for you!"

When everyone was not paying attention, Ito Seiichi quietly pulled Ozawa and asked, "Why don't you advocate fighting the US military?"

Ozawa smiled and replied, "Because I am Japanese..."

Hearing such an irrelevant answer, Ito Seiichi fell into deep thought. Ozawa was obviously not making a fuss. There must be a profound reason why he said this. He had to think about it carefully.

After all, Ito was a former deputy chief of the Military General Staff and actually managed the Military General Staff. His political savvy was not low. He didn't think clearly just now, but now he calmed down and thought carefully. Ozawa's words should be understood in two ways:

First, Ozawa is Japanese. Since the United States is Japan's main enemy, if he insists on fighting the US army instead of the British army, it will give the Germans the impression that Ozawa may have "selfish motives" in his decision-making and work, which is not good for Ozawa who has initially established a trusting relationship - but this is only the most superficial reason;

The second is the deeper reason: If the US military is severely damaged and forced to reach a unilateral peace with Germany, it is actually not good for Japan. Germany needs Japan to continue to bleed the United States. Why doesn't Japan want Germany to continue to hold the United States? Therefore, Japan is happy to keep a little hope for the United States and accelerate the surrender of Britain - not only can the Southeast Asian colonies be taken over legitimately, but India can also avoid fighting the war that has not been completed.

The observation group muttered for a while, thinking that Commander Ozawa's approach was questionable, but there was one thing that everyone thought was right: Commander Mashar had trusted Commander Ozawa so much and delegated so much power to him. If he still disobeyed a few orders occasionally, it would be a great rebellion - the commander is the commander after all!

At 15:37, the third attack wave of 177 aircraft set off again after refueling, replenishing backup aircraft and replacing pilots. This time, Ozawa transferred a lot of the newly added fighters from the cross-platform to the third attack wave, leaving only more than 50 air defense fighters in the fleet - in fact, there was a certain risk, because the US military still had an aircraft carrier and could seize the opportunity to counterattack, but everyone believed that the US military had lost its courage and was in a hurry to escape, and it was impossible for it to attack again. Even if it came to attack, it would only have 6-70 aircraft at most, which was not difficult to deal with. So everyone agreed with Ozawa's arrangement.

The observation group once again experienced the strength of the German tycoons - there were actually two groups of pilots hidden in the fleet, and their levels were similar. The rotation of replacements greatly reduced the losses caused by the pilots' physical exhaustion.

Ito Seiichi sighed and said, "No wonder Admiral Tsukahara said we can't learn this trick, because we don't have so many pilots. It took a lot of effort to gather the minimum requirement (1:1.2) of pilots for several new aircraft carriers."

Ozawa asked him, "Do you know why we gave up the Guadalcanal Campaign?"

"This... I don't know."

"Special Envoy Cole conveyed the opinion of the head of state: Going to Guadalcanal to fight, the plane can only last for 5 hours, but what about the people? This sentence woke up the top leaders."

"No wonder."

"So there is another sentence I didn't say just now, and Commander Marshal didn't mention it either..." Ozawa said, "Today's two rounds of attacks, the combat loss rate exceeded 20%. If we fight the US army right after that, the combat loss rate will probably not be small. But fighting the British army can reduce the sacrifice. Pilots are not only more important than warships, but also more important than The results of the battle are important - there is no result this time, as long as people are there, there will be a chance next time. If people are gone, who can we rely on for the next chance? "

"I fully understand what you mean, but why don't you say it out loud?"

"All soldiers have a competitive spirit and a sense of honor. Who is willing to admit that they are afraid of death? Who is willing to admit that they are afraid of death in front of their superiors? But different orders give subordinates different feelings. "Ozawa sighed, "For example, Tarawa, one telegram said 'all members die in battle and serve the emperor', and another telegram said 'hold on and wait for me to rescue you'. In the end, the actual result was almost the same as all members died in battle. Why did Shibasaki Keiji only listen to Commander Hori? "

This sentence "boomed" Ito awake: until now he has not really understood from the bottom of his heart why Shibasaki Keiji made such a choice, it turns out that the ultimate reason is here.

He bowed deeply: "I have learned your lesson!"

At 17:19, the third wave of German attack caught up with the Cunningham fleet again, and the last blow of the day finally came.