Hashimoto's reconnaissance plane set a world record: a mere water scout actually had two shot down results, which is unbelievable. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

"We don't have enough fuel, when will the second batch of water detectives come up and take over?"

"I estimate that there is still half an hour to ......"

"Half an hour can still support it, when will the attack planes come, not too many, as long as there are a hundred of them, they can send these iron kings to the sea to feed the fish."

"The chief must have an arrangement, so don't worry about it."

Several crew members never expected that just as they sighed, Minoru Genda also asked Tsukahara 243 in confusion: "Sir, since you are not going to fight the battleship formation first, why do you still let the water scouts hover over it, isn't it easy to startle the snake?" ”

"What I want is the effect of scaring the grass and snakes." Tsukahara nodded, "The U.S. military should launch another attack this afternoon, what do you think they will pick and choose?" ”

"Mobile fleet."

"Not necessarily." Tsukahara shook his head, "The U.S. military aircraft have been greatly weakened, and if it were me, I would probably change the target to an artillery formation or a decoy formation." But I can't give them enough protection right now, so I have to use water to remind the Americans that they won't be safe until they shoot down our carriers. ”

"Huh?" Minoru Genda was surprised, "The decoy fleet will soon meet with the mobile fleet, and the shelling fleet will not be too far away, so if the three go together, won't they be able to protect it?" ”

"It's not!" The order issued by Ryunosuke Kusaka quickly revealed the mystery, "The right rudder is 90 degrees, and the course is 345 degrees......"

"North...... North? ”

"Didn't you just want to fight the enemy's battleship forces?"

"But didn't you just release the attack group to attack the enemy carrier?"

"First hit the enemy aircraft carrier, and then decide whether to hit the enemy battleship or not depending on whether the situation allows." Tsukahara smiled, "Originally, we were in a hurry to withdraw because of the large number of enemy land-based and carrier-based aircraft, and the threat was very great, so why should we be afraid now?" ”

At 14:26, the U.S. forces completed final preparations for the sixth attack wave in Puerto Rico, but the order to attack was delayed because Cohen had not received reconnaissance information. Nearly four hours have passed since the disengagement in the morning, and it will take at least two more hours for the attack group to fly over, adding up to a time difference of six hours, which is enough for the Axis aircraft carrier group to run 300 kilometers.

"Sir, the B-25 has found an aircraft carrier and is sailing east accompanied by a Japanese destroyer, and it seems that it has suffered a lot of damage, and its speed is only about 13 knots......"

"One?"

"This should be the Japanese aircraft carrier Hayabusa, which was heavily damaged by our troops in the morning attack, we thought he was sunk, but we didn't expect it to be able to act."

"Send a squadron to attack first, and be sure to sink the destroyer and the aircraft carrier together."

"This will leave us with even less forces to attack in other directions."

"This aircraft carrier is no longer of much significance to Japan, but the officers and men and pilots on it are still very important, and if they can be completely eliminated, it will be beneficial to future operations -- won't Japan have some upper hand by virtue of the quality of its personnel?" Cohen immediately gave the order, and three minutes later, 16 SBDs, escorted by 6 F4Fs, pounced on the Hayabusa and Yukikaze.

At 14:49, Mitsuo Fuchida led a group of planes to the battlefield of the last round of air raids, and at a glance saw the Yorktown, the Boise, and two other destroyers paralyzed on the sea and completely afloat. The American troops walked in a hurry, and the main energy was spent on the retreat of the personnel, and they did not sink them.

"The mine-strikers at the front of the formation deal with aircraft carriers and cruisers, and the bombers against destroyers......"

A minute later, the Yorktown was hit by 2 torpedoes, the Boise was hit by 1 torpedo, and the 2 destroyers each hit another bomb, and the five planes completed the mission with a hundred hits. According to the order of Mitsuo Fuchida, the attack planes that had completed the bombing increased their speed to search for targets at a distance of 100 nautical miles on both sides of the perimeter, while the latter still led the attack aircraft group to fly north at cruising speed.

Seven minutes later, the Thunderbolt reported the sighting of the American formation in the northwest: "Two cruisers, four destroyers, no aircraft carriers. ”

"No aircraft carriers?" Fuchida Mitsuo was a little anxious, deducing that the US aircraft carrier and the cruiser formation had fled separately, and after thinking about it, he ordered, "Send out 4 bombers and 3 mine-strike aircraft formations to attack, be sure to completely destroy the enemy formation, and the remaining planes will turn to the northeast, and the planes that have completed the attack will search on the spot under the premise of fuel permitting, and check whether there are any fish that have slipped through the net......"

At 15:00, Cohen, who was sitting in Puerto Rico, received two pieces of news: the first was that the Japanese attack aircraft group was attacking the escort warships of the aircraft carrier group, and the heavy cruiser Houston, the light cruiser Montpellier and four destroyers were fiercely attacked and were close to sinking; The second piece of news was the discovery of an enemy battleship formation and a light aircraft carrier formation west of Porlamar in Venezuela, with a distance of more than 170 kilometers, and more than 20 escort fighters.

The first piece of news made Cohen's hands and feet cold, and the Axis fleet did not seem to want to let go of the last remaining aircraft carrier, the Brilliant Aircraft Carrier, and still wanted to kill it all; The second piece of news made him wonder, where did the enemy fleet aircraft carriers go? Is it hidden near the other two fleets or on the other side of the battlefield? Then he remembered Ingersoll's enemy briefing, hoping that a fighter would take out the disgusting fly above his head, the water scout, and he was in doubt.

The sinking of the USS Houston was obviously more irritating to Admiral King, which meant that all 18 heavy cruisers of the 5th class built by the United States before the war had been lost, and with the loss of the USS Baltimore, the United States now has no heavy cruisers available. Although the tonnage of the Cleveland and Brooklyn-class light cruisers in the United States, except for the Atlanta-class (including the Derivative) air defense cruisers, is close to that of the treaty-type heavy cruisers, and there are still many Baltimore-class heavy cruisers and a group of light cruisers lying on the slipway, it is obvious that far water cannot save the near fire.

What makes Admiral Kim even more troublesome is that a decision has just been passed not long ago: including the cancellation of the follow-up construction plan for heavy cruisers, and the continuation of a batch of follow-up ships of the Cleveland class to be converted into the Independence class. As a result, the United States will not only lack aircraft carriers, but also cruisers for some time to come - and this will be almost fatal.

Little did he know that even worse news awaited him 15 minutes later...... (To be continued.) )