Chapter 985 Nimitz's Counterattack (18)

At 3:45 a.m., the embarrassed Nimitz finally led the fleet to escape the submarine ambush circle at the fastest speed. After carefully counting the losses, the whole army was in tears:

4 of the 6 Casablanca-class escort aircraft carriers were sunk;

3 of the 4 Cleveland-class light cruisers were sunk;

4 of the 8 Oakland-class anti-aircraft cruisers were sunk;

The battleship Missouri was sunk;

The battleship Wisconsin was hit by a torpedo on the port side, taking in more than 4,000 tons of water, tilting 8 degrees, and injecting After the water, the ship barely regained its balance, and its speed dropped to only 26 knots;

The USS Bennington was strangely hit on the deck by the flying components of a nearby light cruiser after the explosion, and 4 aircraft and 2 anti-aircraft guns were damaged;

Although the USS Hancock was not hit by a mine, it collided with a destroyer in a panic, and the latter sank, and the side of the USS Hancock was damaged;

Two Fletcher-class destroyers collided in a panic when they fled, and both were severely damaged and forced to abandon the ship.

Only the USS Franklin where Nimitz was located was lucky enough to not only pass through the gates of hell, but also survived unscathed.

But after receiving the war damage information, he was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say: the reason why these aircraft carriers were able to survive was entirely due to the close protection of battleships and cruisers, otherwise how could they have suffered such heavy casualties? He felt deeply guilty for his comrades who sacrificed their lives.

While the Americans were charging and attacking, Germany also suffered losses, many of which were even unexpected:

An XXI submarine surfaced and launched an attack, but was unfortunately sunk by its own torpedo, killing all officers and soldiers on the ship;

A submarine was damaged by a hedgehog bomb carelessly discarded by a US destroyer and was forced to surface and escape urgently;

The losses of the other two submarines were even more bizarre. One of them collided with a US cruiser because it did not surface in time. The cruiser was subsequently blown up and the submarine was also sunk.

The last U3301 died the most unjustly. It had clearly dived more than 20 meters, but because the anti-aircraft cruiser next to it was hit by three consecutive torpedoes and exploded into several sections, one of the wreckage fell into the water and hit the submarine's hull. The outer protective shell was damaged on the spot, and the pressure hull was also damaged. It was forced to float up and happened to appear under the muzzle of another destroyer and was sunk by more than 20 127mm naval guns...

22 of the 31 submarines were actually put into combat (the other 9 were distributed on both wings and did not catch up because of the distance). All the ships basically fired torpedoes, a few fired one round, most fired two rounds, and a few fired three rounds. Only two submarines fired all the torpedoes they carried.

The German submarine force fired nearly 340 torpedoes throughout the night, with a hit rate of between 13-14% - a significant increase compared to the 5-6% hit rate in the North Atlantic, and the effect was very significant. Of course, the German side was not clear about the specific situation. Even the U-boat commander at the scene was confused. Everyone knew that many US warships were sunk, but no one had comprehensive data on who sank them and what specific models were sunk.

Even the battle reports sent back by the captains conflicted with each other, so Crank could only let the reconnaissance planes in the direction of Rio search carefully at dawn.

"Sir, what should we do?" In the bridge of the Franklin, Smith looked at Nimitz with a sad face and asked, "The fleet suffered heavy losses. Although the three main aircraft carriers are still there, the losses of other warships are too great. Should we continue to implement the scheduled combat plan?"

Nimitz sighed and was silent for a long time. After a few minutes of silence, he asked: "Have the people who fell into the water been rescued?"

"It's difficult... The enemy submarines basically launched heavy and super-heavy torpedoes with great power. Many warships were directly sunk and sank very quickly, so..."

"So" Smith couldn't say the following words. Nimitz understood what he meant. This was a euphemism for "not many survivors".

He closed his eyes painfully: "Tell Hewitt about the loss and ask him to quickly lead the transport fleet back so as not to be attacked by submarines again."

"Are we going back too?"

"Send a reconnaissance plane after daybreak to check the situation first..."

At dawn, Patton, who was half asleep, was suddenly awakened by Roosevelt, who told him in a sad tone: "Sir, something happened! Something big happened!"

"What happened? The German fleet is coming?" Patton was shocked. Now Hewitt only had one battleship, which could not defeat the main force of the German fleet.

"No!" Roosevelt shook his head, "General Nimitz's main fleet was ambushed by a German submarine, and the losses were extremely heavy!"

"Ambush?" Patton was shocked, "How is he?"

"He's fine, but the fleet is not in good condition." Roosevelt reported the approximate losses. Even if Patton didn't understand the navy, he knew that this kind of battle damage was completely devastating. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What should the navy do now?"

"General Nimitz has ordered the transport fleet to turn around. General Hewitt has completed the fleet's U-turn and is returning urgently."

"Go back? No!" Patton roared, "How can this be? Go back in disgrace without firing a shot? What about Brazil?"

"The navy is worried that we will encounter submarines." Roosevelt was also in a heavy mood, "Although returning now has no results, at least the fleet and troops have been saved. Otherwise, the consequences of the Germans using submarines to wash the fleet again will be unimaginable..."

Patton was speechless for a long time, but he couldn't say anything. He was not afraid of the Germans on land, but he would be at a loss when it came to submarines in the sea. When he thought of the past when the warship was sunk, stranded and forced to dock in the Horn of Africa, he couldn't help but feel sad. Is my luck destined to be so bad?

"Sir, the reconnaissance plane sent back the reconnaissance situation." Hintz hurriedly glanced at it and said happily, "Yesterday's battle was very successful, and the enemy suffered heavy casualties..."

The telegram clearly stated: "The enemy's main fleet currently has 2 escort aircraft carriers, 3 fleet aircraft carriers, 1 battleship, 5-6 cruisers, and 1 large aircraft carrier is suspected to be damaged."

Comparing the reconnaissance situation in the previous two days, Crank easily concluded that Nimitz lost at least 4 escort aircraft carriers, 1 battleship, and 6-7 cruisers after the battle last night. The only thing that made him feel sorry was that he failed to sink the 3 main aircraft carriers.

"Sir, the enemy transport fleet is returning to the northeast! When the reconnaissance plane discovered it, the center of the enemy fleet was about 600 kilometers northeast of Rio, with a speed of 17 knots!"

"Where is Nimitz's main force?"

"950 kilometers southeast of Rio, currently at a speed of 18 knots!"

Currently, the main force of the Crank fleet is about 600 kilometers south-southeast of Sao Paulo, about 900 kilometers away from Nimitz and about 1,000 kilometers away from Hewitt, both of which are remote.

"Nimitz wants to escape?" Crank smiled, "It's not that easy!"

"Sir, enemy reconnaissance plane spotted! It's a carrier-based reconnaissance plane!"

Hintz ordered quickly: "Hit him down!"

"It's been hit, but the telegram has been sent."

"Damn, we're exposed too."

"It doesn't matter." Crank smiled, "I'm going to fight Nimitz!"

At 9 am on July 28, Nimitz, with a livid face, finally found the German fleet he had been pursuing with this brave reconnaissance plane.

Smith reminded: "Sir, we just suffered a heavy blow and are not at an advantage!"

"We have no choice but to fight." Nimitz thought for a moment and issued an order, "The fleet route turns 225 degrees, and the attack group is ready!"

"The aircraft is clearly ready, but the original tactics cannot be used."

"How many pilots were rescued?"

"Probably less than 40, about 31 fighter pilots." The aviation staff said worriedly, "Several are not in good condition, they are nervous after falling into the water and other things..."

Nimitz's face was full of grief. There were at least 140 pilots on the four escort aircraft carriers, and most of them were skilled pilots. He closed his eyes painfully and explained word by word: "In an emergency, we can only let them grit their teeth and persevere. Inform all destroyers, all who can All pilots who can continue to fight will be gathered on the three main aircraft carriers by transport boats. "

"Yes!"

"Telegraph Hewitt and transfer 48 fighters to me in half an hour to land on the three main aircraft carriers without hanging auxiliary fuel tanks!"

"Sir, what do you want?"

"All the existing combat aircraft will be put into the attack except for the 48 fighters left! Let the 48 newly added fighters cooperate to perform the fleet's air defense mission, and use all the backup aircraft on each ship!"

Smith quickly understood Nimitz's intention. Now the main fleet still has all the combat aircraft of the three fleet aircraft carriers + two escort aircraft carriers, a total of 326 aircraft. After leaving 48 aircraft, there are 278 aircraft that can be put into the attack. After deducting the 18 reconnaissance aircraft released in the early morning, there are 260 attack aircraft that can fight immediately. But 48 fighters are obviously too few to cover the fleet, so an additional 48 fighters are mobilized from Hewitt. In this way, in addition to the 260 aircraft used in the attack, 96 air defense fighters can be left. If the backup aircraft and the reconnaissance aircraft returning are taken into account, more than 140 aircraft can be left.

"But the pilots on the transport fleet are of average skills." Before departure, the US fleet adjusted the team, and all the high-level pilots served in the main fleet. Many pilots on the transport fleet were only Lv.3.

Nimitz sighed: "I know, so I asked them to fly the plane over, and then let the pilots who fell into the water and were rescued here continue to fight after getting the plane!"

This is a strategy of changing people but not changing planes - it is obviously inspired by cross-platform tactics. Although the US military does not have so many excellent pilots, the distance between the transport fleet and the main fleet is only more than 300 kilometers, and temporary dispatch of pilots is still competent.

Nimitz explained why he did this: "I have to fight the Germans. If we avoid the battle, the Germans will find a way to hunt down the transport fleet today. Do you think they can get away with their speed?"

Smith was immediately shocked and broke out in a cold sweat: If the transport fleet was completely destroyed, how would Nimitz face people when he returned home? That was not a problem between Nimitz and Patton, but would rise to a sensitive issue between the army and the navy.

At 9:16, Nimitz issued a combat statement: "At this critical moment, America needs everyone to perform their duties! We will either win bravely or sink gloriously!"

PS: There will be another update in the evening. I also saw that there is a new leader, so I will continue to add more tomorrow...