Chapter 987 Nimitz's Counterattack (20, for the Leader Nsa

ps: Congratulations to the book friend "Nsanir" for becoming the leader of this book, thank you for your support

During wartime, even if one side tries to keep secrets, the opponent's learning and application of new tactics is beyond imagination: any new weapon will soon be used as a reference as long as it appears on the battlefield, and if it can get the real thing, it will be directly imitated.

The United States did not care much about the German Navy's angled aircraft carrier at first, thinking it was completely unnecessary - wouldn't it be better to build a few more ships if you have the time? But after in-depth research, it was discovered that the angled aircraft carrier is of great significance, especially now that the United States not only lacks high-quality carrier-based aircraft pilots, but also high-quality naval officers and soldiers are beginning to be in short supply. An angled aircraft carrier does not require many additional personnel, but its combat effectiveness can be effectively improved.

This is not the most important judgment. Through the actual combat strikes against the German army, everyone is more aware of the defensive value of the angled aircraft carrier in combat: a bomb hit on the core area of ​​the deck of a straight-through aircraft carrier will paralyze its combat effectiveness, but the angled aircraft carrier must theoretically hit the junction of the two deck runways, otherwise it is necessary to strike at two locations separately to completely paralyze the opponent's take-off and landing capabilities.

The accuracy required to strike the junction is too high, and hitting twice increases the difficulty of attack. Therefore, the practical significance of the angled aircraft carrier can be quickly concluded-one aircraft carrier almost gets the anti-strike capability of two aircraft carriers.

The Navy Shipbuilding Committee originally planned to modify the design and build a new one based on the Midway class, but Turner thought it was too slow-it was unknown how long it would take to start construction after the design was modified. He suggested that the design be modified based on the existing unfinished Essex class without building a new hull. If the transformation is successful and verified in actual combat, the subsequent construction of the Essex class can refer to the standard version for transformation.

Admiral King supported this view and demanded that at least one successfully modified angled aircraft carrier be obtained before March 1945. As for the hull, the designers could choose it at will, but there was a hard constraint on the budget - the cost of a single increase could not exceed 15 million US dollars, otherwise it would not make much sense.

The shipbuilding demand proposed by the US Navy Shipbuilding Committee in 1944 was to build 60 improved Oakland-class light cruisers, 48 ​​Casablancas, and 120 Fletcher-class ships (all Fletcher-class ships added together in history did not exceed 200 ships), ready to cooperate with the Essex-class ships built every month.

Now considering the loss of Nimitz and possible future needs, the Shipbuilding Committee gritted its teeth and added the construction requirements of 12 anti-aircraft cruisers and 12 Casablancas. In order to balance the budget and the current destroyer inventory is still acceptable, and the demand for destroyer escort has decreased after the cessation of aid to Britain, 36 Fletcher-class ships have been reduced, making the shipbuilding budget in 1944 tend to be overall balanced.

The second thing the US Navy learned was Ozawa's cross-platform mobilization tactics. Nimitz first released the attack aircraft group assigned to his ship, and used the vacated deck to accommodate the fighters transferred from the transport fleet for escort, which was very similar to the cross-platform tactics. However, the US Navy did not have an angled aircraft carrier and lacked high-quality carrier-based aircraft pilots, so his current tactical application was still relatively elementary and primitive. Nimitz thought very clearly that if he dispatched these two escort aircraft carriers to the main fleet as before, who knows what would be left after they passed the submarine blockade area.

The German Navy's learning ability is not weak either.

Krank, who was accompanied by the Rhine-class escort aircraft carrier, also learned from the US military to use escort aircraft carriers and fleet aircraft carriers together, and equipped two fighters at once: Do-412 is good at interception, so it is used for fleet air defense and direct cover; Bf-319 has more comprehensive medium and low altitude capabilities, so it is transferred to escort and accompany.

In contrast, the Combined Fleet, which had no escort carriers to accompany it, and the Japanese Navy placed more emphasis on the multi-purpose function of one aircraft, used Bf-319 to replace Do-412 to perform carrier-based tasks. The latter gradually developed into a naval land-based air defense fighter, and of course the carrier-based capability was still retained - to promote land-based pilots to become carrier-based pilots in the shortest possible time.

As Turner estimated, Crank did have the idea of ​​attacking the US transport fleet at first, but gave up after weighing the pros and cons - the opportunity cost was too high. Not only that, considering the current shortage of carrier-based aircraft, he asked the air forces of Rio and Sao Paulo to transfer Do-412 to cover the aircraft carrier formation. The tactics were the same as Hori Teikichi's routine in the South Pacific naval battle. Each fighter carried a drop tank and rushed to the fleet without considering returning. After the fuel ran out, they parachuted on the spot and were rescued by the destroyer.

If it were the navy in the past, the air force probably wouldn't bother to pay attention, but now the German naval aviation is the air force's naval dispatch, so it naturally can't ignore the request for assistance. Finally, 36 Do-412s were dispatched to perform combat missions.

Krank had fewer attack aircraft than Nimitz, so he released all the attack aircraft 25 minutes earlier than the US military.

He left 48 direct-cover aircraft for the fleet, plus nearly 20 aircraft for the backup of each ship (3 large aircraft carriers + 2 Rhine-class), and considering the 36 aircraft supported by the air force, the total number of aircraft retained was just over 100 (excluding 24 reconnaissance aircraft).

After the attack group flew away, Krank thought again and again, and asked all the reconnaissance aircraft to take off and monitor the surrounding waters, and told them to land in Rio if they were at a disadvantage - he had a hunch that today would be a fierce battle.

At 10:07 a.m., the aircraft fleets of both sides passed each other in the sky, more than 100 kilometers apart, and no one found their opponent. The U.S. military's 260-plane strike formation was divided into three distinct waves, with a slightly slower speed and nearly 500 kilometers away from the German fleet when they intersected; the German 182-plane strike formation was divided into two waves, with a slightly faster speed and a distance of nearly 500 kilometers from the German fleet when they intersected. The Ci fleet still has more than 300 kilometers to go.

Time passed by, and General Kim in the conference room was so nervous that he could not sit still. Later, he announced that he would adjourn the meeting temporarily and took Turner with him to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters to study the latest enemy situation.

At 10:38, still more than 140 kilometers away from the US fleet, the radar room told Nimitz: "Sir, the Germans are coming, and the number is about 200..."

Hearing this number, Nimitz sighed, but at the same time he was slightly relieved: the Germans did not show up additional aircraft carriers, which is slightly better. The problem now is that the fleet has lost too many auxiliary warships, and he doesn't know what the outcome will be.

"Sir, the enemy is on the front line!" Turner told Admiral King. "There are a lot of enemy planes. Nimitz issued a fatal order: If you cannot win bravely, prepare to sink with honor!"

"Him? Alas!" Admiral Jin's heart was ups and downs, and he was in great pain. "Tell him that he must come back alive. I still have an aircraft carrier here, but the United States can no longer bear the consequences of losing an excellent commander."

At 10:54, fighter jets from both sides fought fiercely. Do-412, Bf-319, F4U, and F6F were tumbling in the air, entangled endlessly, and various debris and wreckage fell into the sea from time to time...

Taking advantage of the gap created by the fighter jets, the German attack group immediately dispersed and launched an attack despite the anti-aircraft fire from the US ships below.

In order to reduce losses, the German army also used the most common onion-peeling tactic as usual. At 11:07, the two Casablanca-class aircraft carriers were hit by 4 and 5 400kg aerial bombs respectively and began to sink. The fleet was also shot down by fierce artillery fire and 7 Ju-198s were shot down. The fighter losses on the other side were even greater. The performance of US fighter jets was greatly improved after the replacement of F4U. In addition, the pilots in this battle were the only remaining veterans from the United States and Britain. Therefore, the battle losses on both sides were very close. The German army lost 8 Do- 412, 12 Bf-319s, the US military lost 13 F4Us and 19 F6Fs. The exchange ratio between the two sides was slightly higher than 2:3, which was much lower than the previous battle loss ratios of 1:3 and 1:4.

At 11:18, taking advantage of the gap created by the dive bombers and the fierce battle between fighters from both sides, 24 Ju-198s pounced at low altitude and released torpedoes. The consequences of the U.S. military's loss of a large number of escort carriers and cruisers last night are now beginning to show. The cruisers that should serve as the backbone of the defense are insufficient. At 11:21, the fourth and last Cleveland-class light cruiser in the fleet was hit by two torpedoes and sank. , at the same time, two other Oakland-class anti-aircraft cruisers received bombs. One ship was hit by 4 pellets and was sunk on the spot, while the other ship was paralyzed and dying on the water after taking 3 pellets.

At 11:28, the last 38 German attack aircraft that had not dropped bombs launched a joint attack. Aerial bombs and torpedoes were ordered to greet the four core US warships. Yesterday, they collided with the destroyer, and the Hancock, which had damaged its sides, was hit by three consecutive bombs. Hit, the main deck quickly ignited a fire, and the bombs that penetrated the deck blew the hangar into ruins. Faced with the situation where four torpedoes rushed towards the Franklin, the Wisconsin rushed forward for personal protection, using its huge body It blocked two torpedoes for the flagship, but it was blown open by two large holes. More than 6,000 tons of water entered it, and it stopped rolling at 13 degrees.

The captain did not dare to inject more water after reverse injection of more than 2,000 tons of water, because now the entire warship, together with the water intake after yesterday's lightning strike, has reached nearly 10,000 tons, and the waterline has sunk by more than 3 meters. If the balance is forcibly restored, the front deck may be buried in the sea.

"Sir, the enemy plane has completed its attack and retreated. Do you want to read the telegram?"

Seeing Turner's heavy face, Admiral Jin shivered and did not dare to pick him up. Finally he sighed: "You can tell me later, so that I can be mentally prepared first..."

Looking at Admiral Jin's condition, Turner sighed and quietly ordered his adjutant to organize doctors and emergency vehicles to arrive at the scene so that he could be sent to the hospital immediately if something unexpected happened.

Shortly after the German attack group retreated, Krank also ushered in the US attack wave. Looking at the overwhelming American planes, he told his men with a stern face: "Tell all the officers and soldiers on the ship to put on life jackets. Maybe we are going to take a dip in the sea today." . Everyone must stay strong. The head of state has prepared a large number of new aircraft carriers in the country. We will have a chance to compete with the Americans again!"