Chapter 2731 Unsuccessful Attack 1
Chapter 2731 Unsuccessful Attack 1
More than 40 Japanese fighter planes bravely rushed forward first. However, in addition to leaving more than 20 planes to entangle these fighters, the remaining more than 70 aircraft of various types pounced directly on the Japanese bombers, causing an air battle. It started 30 kilometers west of the Sims fleet. This was a large-scale air battle. More than 200 aircraft from both sides were circling and fighting in the sky. The roar of hundreds of engines and thousands of machine guns enveloped the entire battlefield. The Americans An aerial barrier was formed, and the Japanese had to try their best to cross it!
If we simply talk about the quality of fighter pilots, then they are evenly matched. The performance of the aircraft on both sides is similar. The Japanese aircraft are smaller and more flexible, while the American aircraft are bulky, but have more powerful engines and superchargers. . This makes the latter perform better at high altitudes.
The battle started with bloodshed on both sides. At its most intense, at least 8 aircraft were shot down or exploded in the air within a minute. The Japanese bomber group worked hard to move forward, with fighter jets surrounding it, while the Americans rushed to the core bomber group again and again, trying to break up the Japanese group of aircraft and then divide and annihilate them!
"I experienced the most intense air strangulation in my life. The number of American escort fighters exceeded our imagination. They had at least 70 fighter jets and no less than 20 seaplanes participating in the interception. The fighter jets were responsible for high altitude, water The planes were responsible for attacking torpedo planes entering the attack route. The Japanese fighter pilots were brave and tenacious. They tried their best to help us stop the killings of American fighter planes. In a battle that lasted only half an hour, the Japanese lost at least 2 dozen fighter planes. The losses of the Americans will not be small. But even so, in the process of approaching the American fleet, our bomber group lost at least 15 bombers, and another 10 bombers threw away their ammunition in advance due to battle injuries. Before officially challenging the U.S. military Before the air defense circle, we only had about 50 attack aircraft." Veron described the scene at that time.
"Don't worry about the fuel, catch up. Their target is our battleship!" Captain Carl led the remaining American fighter force and continued to attack the Japanese bomber force after getting rid of the entanglement of the Japanese fighter force. After half a After many hours of fighting, the Japanese escort fighter group had actually been destroyed, with more than half of the aircraft completely lost. The remaining aircraft either retreated due to battle injuries or returned due to lack of fuel.
At this time, these problems also plagued the US military fleet. There were 80 fighter jets when they took off from the aircraft carrier, and 75 finally successfully arrived on the battlefield. After a battle, the U.S. Air Force completely lost more than 35 aircraft. Most of them were shot down by Japanese fighter jets, and some were shot down by the self-defense firepower of the box formation when they rushed into the bomber formation. Another 20 aircraft withdrew from the battle due to battle injuries and lack of fuel. In the end, the 12 aircraft carried by Captain Carl were almost all the available fighter jets of the US military in this sea area!
Like Charles, the Japanese fleet began to peel off the outermost anti-aircraft warships. The 15 twin-engine bombers were divided into several formations to attack the two destroyers.
Under the attack of machine guns and small bombs, one of the two American destroyers was sunk and the other was severely damaged. The Japanese bomber force that opened the gap began to rush towards the core of the fleet with all its strength. Due to its position, the Colorado at the front was -class battleship became the best target because it was the flagship, and because of its location, the fire protection help provided by the two American battleships behind it was relatively limited.
"Send a signal to the New Mexico and ask him to provide cover for the flagship!" Sims ordered, looking at the Japanese bomber force coming from a distance. A few minutes later, the New Mexico began to accelerate, trying to block the Japanese attack group and the flagship. After a while, the battleship Tennessee also mobilized. He arrived on the other side of the battleship Colorado to prevent the Japanese fleet from using simultaneous lightning strikes from both sides. A way to flank the flagship!
As a result, the formation of three American battleships provided good protection to the flagship sandwiched between them, and the destroyer squadron that had been breached also began to move closer to the flagship. A large number of battleships gathered together, hundreds of guns of various calibers The artillery was aimed at the sky, and with an order, ammunition like raindrops roared towards the Japanese aircraft group swooping down from the sky!
Therefore, in this contest between fleet anti-aircraft firepower and bombers, the Japanese paid an even heavier price in order to crush the US fleet's anti-aircraft firepower! The first batch of dive attacks were five twin-engine bombers. Each of them carried two 250KG bombs and a large number of machine guns. They were specially designed to suppress the fleet's anti-aircraft firepower. However, most of these aircraft failed. Successfully dropped the bomb.
The first plane was hit by at least 3 shells in 5 seconds. The first shot broke half of the wing, and the second and third shots hit the fuselage. During the high-speed dive, the overload and the aircraft itself Under the weight of the aircraft, the plane disintegrated in the air.
The second aircraft was shot down by the anti-aircraft fire of the New Mexico on the opposite side. The New Mexico's right anti-aircraft gun and the USS Colorado's left anti-aircraft gun formed a crossfire. The straight-line distance between the two battleships was only about 3,000 meters. , if the two battleships lower the angle of the anti-aircraft guns, each other's shells will fall on the opposite battleship! However, it was this kind of anti-aircraft firepower that was almost dangerous to the user, which turned the second Japanese bomber into a burning fireball, and then the third one!
In the end, the two bombers successfully dropped the bombs, but the combat effect dropped in a hurry was not good. Three bombs fell into the sea water and had no use except blowing up water columns, while the fourth bomb It landed on the front deck of the Colorado. Apart from blowing up three rapid-fire gun emplacements and leaving a large hole, the effect was limited. The Americans did a good job in the first wave of defense, but the Japanese were not discouraged. They then launched the second and third waves of attacks!
The anti-aircraft artillery gunners who completed the first wave of interceptions began to operate the anti-aircraft guns again and aimed at new targets under the guidance of the commander. The second interception was still successful. Two of the four bombers participating in the attack were shot down, while the other two bombers were shot down. The attack effect is also very poor. But when the third wave of attacks followed, there were flaws in the air defense coordination of the two battleships. Too many targets appeared in the field of vision, and there were problems with the distribution and command of air defense firepower. Many people did not know what they should do. What targets to attack!
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