The advantage of American equipment is that it is safe and durable, and both C47s were hit with bullet holes all over their bodies, but there is still no problem at all when they fly in the air.

However, something went wrong when flying to Kuah Island: there was a problem with the engine of the C47 that Wang Mazi was riding, and it was supposed to be hit by a bullet and could not hold it until now. Fortunately, the C47 is a twin-engine transport aircraft, one engine is broken, and the other engine can be used to hold on, but the speed is slower, and the pilot is also very nervous to keep the plane high and let Wang Mazi and others prepare for parachuting, once the other engine is also broken, then you can only parachute.

It is said that this made Wang Mazi nervous for a while, and when he heard the guard, Wang Mazi regretted it when he was on the plane: "I knew that I should learn parachute with other soldiers!" ”

Therefore, the things on the battlefield are sometimes hated when they are used, and some skills are not very likely to be fatal.

It didn't take long for more than a dozen P38s flying from Kuah Island to also arrive and join the escort formation, which was General Halsey's fear that there would be an ambush by Japanese fighters, so he specially sent P38 to ensure the safety of Zhang Chi and Wang Mazi.

Zhang Chi felt that General Halsey's worries were unnecessary.

On the one hand, this is because the C47 formation flies farther south from the Japanese base, and at this time it should have flown away from the combat radius of the Japanese Zero fighters.

Of course, this is not enough to rule out the possibility that the Japanese army will not have another sneak attack, because the madness of the Japanese army is not something that outsiders can guess, and they can even carry out a "one-way attack".

The so-called "one-way attack" refers to the fact that in order to attack the places where the combat radius of the fighters cannot reach, they desperately do not return to the base, and use all the fuel for the attack.

On the other hand, Zhang Junhua was frightened by this battle, so he sent two fighter formations with a total of 24 "wildcat" fighters to escort the C47.

Originally, Zhang Junhua also planned to send another "Wildcat" fighter formation, but Zhang Chi sternly refused.

"Captain Zhang!" Zhang Chi said to Zhang Junhua unhappily: "If we send another formation to escort us, how many 'wildcat' formations will there be in the aircraft carrier battle group?" ”

"Report to the division, and there is a formation that is not satisfied!" Zhang Junhua replied.

The "Pinghai" aircraft carrier can carry 72 fighters, but in addition to fighters, there are also bombers and torpedo planes, so there are only more than 40 "Wildcat" fighters in total.

"So, can the remaining Wildcat formation, which is not yet formed, ensure the safety of the aircraft carrier battle group?" Zhang Chi asked.

"But the master, now it's a special situation......

"Nothing special!" Zhang Chi replied: "Any time is a battlefield, as a commander, you should consider the overall situation, otherwise you will lose sight of one or the other!" ”

"Yes!" Zhang Junhua responded.

Later, Zhang Chi learned that it was not only Zhang Junhua who would be overly nervous, but also Halsey.

The dozen or so P38s that joined the escort formation were only part of the ones sent by Halsey, and there were some more awesome ones...... A formation of F6F "Hellcat" fighters patrols the vicinity and will be the first to go into battle as soon as they find a situation.

You must know that the "Hellcat" fighter is still the secret weapon of the Yankees, and the United States is ready to suddenly put it into the battlefield to give the Japanese a big surprise, but at this time it is used to protect the safety of Zhang Chi and Wang Mazi, which shows how much Halsey attaches importance to these two Chinese officers.

For this reason, MacArthur also expressed his incomprehension.

"Rick!" MacArthur asked, "Is it necessary to send so many warplanes for ******** officers?" You know, that's enough fuel for us to fight a fight. In particular, you have to risk the exposure of the first type of fighters! ”

(Note: Rick is Halsey's nickname)

"Of course it's necessary!" Halsey replied without hesitation: "Fuel? Is there a shortage of fuel on Kuah now? As for the risk of exposing the advanced fighters...... I'm confident that if any Japanese dare to come, the 'Hellcats' will let them come and go, so they won't be exposed! ”

Halsey has his own reason for saying this, the "Hellcat" is a fighter developed in response to the shortcomings of the Japanese army's Zero Battle, and its performance in all aspects far exceeds that of the Zero Battle, and even before these "Hellcats" were put into the battlefield, they also used the Zero War to conduct simulated exercises with them, and the results of the exercises proved that the Zero War was not the opponent of the "Hellcat" at all.

On the other hand, Halsey also knew that the communication equipment of the Japanese fighters was very backward, and it was almost impossible for them to transmit information back at such a long distance, so even if they really started to fight the "Hellcat", it would not necessarily be exposed.

"What's more!" After a pause, Halsey continued: "It's worth taking these risks for these two Chinese officers, their value is far greater than you can imagine, especially that Zhang Chi!" ”

As soon as Halsey said this, MacArthur was silent.

MacArthur was accustomed to being the focus wherever he went, but the focus was not on him at this time, so he felt a little unhappy.

However, what everyone was worried about did not happen, and the two C47s landed on the Kuah airport more than two hours later, and the pilots of the "Cactus" air force, who had been waiting at the Kuah airport for a long time, cheered and greeted them.

When they saw Zhang Chi, they greeted Zhang Chi warmly.

"Colonel, I heard that you took Rabaul! Good job! ”

"Colonel, long time no see!"

"Colonel, when will you transfer us to Rabaul!"

……

Hearing the news that the C47 formation had landed safely, Zhang Junhua also breathed a sigh of relief, and when his whole body collapsed, he suddenly felt soft when he relaxed, and he barely walked a few steps before sitting down on the chair.

"It's okay!" Liu Guangzhong stepped forward and asked.

Zhang Junhua shook his head weakly, and then replied: "It's too nervous......

"You're doing a great job!" Liu Guangzhong said: "Especially the orders that commanded fighter planes and warships to block little Japan, if it weren't for your orders, little Japan would probably have succeeded!" ”

Zhang Junhua smiled bitterly: "Sir, you think too highly of me, these are not my credits!" ”

"Whose credit is that?" Liu Guangzhong said with a smile.

"It's the meaning of the master's seat!" Zhang Junhua replied: "I just understood the intention of the master, and then did what he thought!" If it's just me...... I was at a loss and my head went blank at the first moment, I just knew that we were going to lose! ”

Hearing this, Liu Guangzhong couldn't help but be stunned, then nodded, patted Zhang Junhua's shoulder and said: "Shizuo is a talent, and he will fight with Shizuo in the future, and there will be times when we raise our eyebrows!" ”

"Hmm!" Zhang Junhua nodded heavily, at this time he had completely believed in Zhang Chi's command ability.

(To be continued.) )