At this moment, Zhang Chi received another call from Halsey. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Colonel!" "I think I have to warn you," Halsey said...... One of our submarines spotted a Japanese fleet leaving the Philippines heading in the direction of Japan, and of course, possibly towards you...... We're not sure where they're going! However, if they are sailing towards you, it may be there in three days! ”

"Roger, General!" Hearing this, his brows couldn't help frowning.

It is likely that the Japanese army sent reinforcements to Iwo Jima, and the pressure on the Chinese troops has increased by another point.

Zhang Chi did not guess wrong, this is mainly because Toyota's vice takeshi also turned his attention to Iwo Jima.

At this time, the Japanese Combined Fleet can be said to be in a state of "chicken ribs...... Because the advanced fighters and experienced pilots were basically exhausted in the Battle of the Marianas, the Combined Fleet can be said to have completely lost air supremacy.

In the absence of air supremacy, if the warships of the Japanese Combined Fleet were to be bombed against the US fleet...... At this time, no matter how stubborn the Japanese were, they knew that the era of giant ship artillery had passed, and no matter how thick the armor of a warship was, it could not withstand the wanton and indiscriminate bombardment of the enemy's carrier-based aircraft, and no matter how large the caliber of the cannon on a battleship was, no matter how far the firing range was, it could not compare with the combat radius of carrier-based aircraft.

Therefore, when the battleship confronts the enemy aircraft carrier, its cannons cannot hit the aircraft carrier, and it does not even know where the aircraft carrier is, but the aircraft carrier can easily use reconnaissance aircraft to detect the position of the battleship, and then send carrier-based aircraft to sink it...... This is a no-contact battle at sea, and the battleship can only go by being blown up and sunk.

As a result, the Japanese Combined Fleet hardly dared to face the US Navy in Philippine waters, and they had to take refuge in complex islands and shipping lanes, and sometimes they would use the army's anti-aircraft guns to drive away US reconnaissance planes in order to broaden the space for warships to operate.

When the Chinese forces attacked Iwo Jima, Toyoda soon received a telegram for help from Kuribayashi Tadamichi.

Originally, Vice President Toyoda did not take this telegram for help to heart...... At this time, he was already overwhelmed by the war in the Philippines, and where could he take care of Iwo Jima.

But Kenri Sato has a different opinion on this.

Kenri Sato immediately found Hideki Tojo and said, "Your Excellency Prime Minister...... The U.S. military is trapped in the Philippines by us, but the Chinese army doesn't seem to have been fooled! ”

"What can the Chinese army count as a little man?" Hideki Tojo replied, "All of them together may be less than 50,000 people!" ”

Hideki Tojo fought in China before becoming prime minister, and he had a deep contempt for the Chinese army in his head, so he never took the Chinese army seriously...... His assessment of the Chinese military's achievements in the Pacific was that it was achieved with the help of the Americans, and that the results were deliberately exaggerated by the United States and the United States in order to boost the morale of the Chinese army.

Therefore, when he heard that the Chinese army was attacking Iwo Jima, he simply smiled and said, "Can these Chinese people still fight after leaving the Americans?" ”

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister!" Kenri Sato persuaded Hideki Tojo from another angle: "It's hard for the Combined Fleet to find fighters in Philippine waters, so why don't we transfer some of them to deal with the Chinese forces?" If a battle is won, on the one hand, it will be able to relieve the siege of Iwo Jima, and on the other hand, it will be able to boost the morale of our army and blow the confidence of the Chinese resistance forces......"

Hideki Tojo quickly agreed to Sato's request and sent a telegram to Vice Takeshi Toyoda, ordering him to send a fleet to reinforce Iwo Jima.

Zhang Chi soon convened a meeting of officers above the regimental level, and even Wu Yuhang, who was on Iwo Jima, was called back.

"So!" "It's very likely that we only have three days to prepare," Zhang said. We don't know the size of the enemy's fleet, we don't know if they have aircraft carriers, etc. This can give us a lot of uncertainty! ”

"What do the Yankees say?" Liu Guangzhong asked: "Will they give us reinforcements?" ”

Zhang Chi shook his head: "The US military is concentrated in the Philippines, and the reinforcements they can provide us with are bombers and fighters in the Mariana Islands!" ”

"But ......," Zhang Junhua said, "it's more than a thousand kilometers from the Mariana Islands, and when they arrive, the battle may be over!" ”

Of course, what Zhang Junhua said was reasonable, and it took two hours to reach the maximum speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour at the top speed of nearly 600 kilometers per hour for the "Hellcat." Moreover, the pilot was very tired after his arrival, and the fuel was almost exhausted.

"We can let the Yankees land on the 'Pinghai' in a 'Hellcat'!" Then Zhang Junhua suggested: "If we have a few 'Hellcat' fighters, our chances of winning will be greatly increased!" ”

Zhang Chi shook his head: "The 'Hellcat' fighter can't get on the 'Pinghai' for the time being!" ”

Someone asked: "Is it because the wingspan of the Hellcat fighter is too long?" ”

"Not really!" Zhang Junhua replied on his behalf: "The wingspan of the 'Hellcat' will indeed be more than one meter longer than that of the 'Wildcat' fighter, but its wings are foldable, and the actual space required is even less than that of the 'Wildcat'!" ”

This is also one of the advantages of the Hellcat, the foldable wing makes it impossible to modify the carrier's hangar and elevator for the Wildcat, so it is perfectly compatible.

"It's because of the flight deck!" Zhang Chi explained: "The flight deck length of the Essex-class aircraft carrier used by American pilots is 262.13 meters, while the flight deck of the 'Pinghai' aircraft carrier is only 242.2 meters, a difference of 20 meters...... The landing speed of the 'Hellcat' fighter is relatively high, and this 20-meter length difference will bring great difficulties and dangers to the take-off of the 'Hellcat'...... Our pilots are training in Rabaul to take off at shorter distances, and while it can be done, American pilots are used to the length of the Essex-class aircraft carrier! ”

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but be silent, this is indeed a problem, the aircraft carrier is twenty meters long, but it doesn't mean that you can adapt to it.

After being silent for a while, someone said, "Maybe we are thinking too much, maybe the devil fleet is not coming for us......"

"We can't take chances!" Zhang Chi replied, "What if the devil really comes at us?" We only have twelve old Clemson destroyers and one aircraft carrier, and a small fleet of devils is enough to force us out of the waters of Iwo Jima, what does that mean?! (To be continued.) )