"At 11:30 we spotted the enemy. Their course was one hundred and twenty degrees, and their speed was twenty-five knots. As we approached, they were desperately driving into the rain zone. At that time, we were 700 meters behind them, and the torpedo planes flew lower. When the warship came into our better view, I saw that there were three battleships, two aircraft carriers—one large and one small—and many escort ships. ”

"My anti-aircraft guns opened fire on us. When the torpedo planes pulled out of formation and were ready to attack on the surface of the sea, I saw that the cruiser's main gun salvo stirred up a huge column of water - this must have been fired with 152 mm or 203 mm guns. Artillery of such a large caliber generally cannot be used against aircraft. He said that he fired the shell into the sea to cause the projectile to ricochet on the surface of the sea, or when the shell fell into the water and exploded, a column of water was raised in front of the torpedo plane that was flying by, and the plane would be destroyed if it touched the water column......"

"Half a minute later, I saw three Gale fighters on it, ready to attack us. I pounced, opened fire, but missed, and flew in front of Du Chao to warn him. The first plane, said to be this plane, swooped in on me from the rear. I crank up the throttle, pull it up, and fly towards it. The tracer bullet landed behind my plane, and a few seconds later, I saw the plane pull up in front of me, and then start to smoke and drag a tongue of fire down. This enemy plane was obviously hit by one of our fighters, and I think it must have been hit by Captain Du Chao. ”

"At the same time, I also shot down a fighter. The enemy plane attacked us, but the bullet missed. As it climbed high and was about to dive down on me again, I jerked the nose of the plane and fired four hundred rounds at it. Instead of attacking, he turned around and dragged a puff of smoke and staggered into the clouds. At this time, another 'Gale' aircraft attacked us from above. I took evasive measures from the stall and plunged headlong into the clouds, when I saw three Gale planes behind me. ”

"While circling over the enemy, we saw two aircraft carriers, three battleships, three heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and some destroyers, which were evacuating. They sailed at a speed of twenty-five knots and were scattered over a stretch of sea five nautical miles long and three to four nautical miles wide. ”

"At 11:34, our attack force began to dive towards the large aircraft carrier on the right. Major Feng Zhao, the squadron leader, took the lead, and I followed him closely. We dived less than 700 meters above the surface of the sea and dropped bombs. I saw the bomb dropped by the squadron leader hit the middle flight deck of the aircraft carrier near the superstructure. I put away the dive airbrake and was about to pull it up when the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. ”

"My plane shook a little and started spinning to the left, and when it was back to normal, I saw a bullet hole in the left wing and the left horizontal tail. I had just climbed to a height and was bitten by three fighter jets, and bullets rained down on the plane, especially in the wings and the front of the fuselage. ”

"Some bullets flew over my right shoulder and knocked the lower half of the sight off. Some bullets hit the seat backs, and more bullets went into the cockpit, breaking most of the instruments. One bullet pierced the oxygen tube in front of my forearm, and the oxygen kept flooding out. Three bullets hit and bruised my right leg, and I felt as if I had been hit by shrapnel or had been blown up in pain in my feet and toes. ”

"The plane was difficult to fly, the left wing was sinking. I cut through the clouds and saw my wireless soldier shoot down a Yamaben fighter. Three more enemy aircraft attacked us from the front and from above. One of them lunged at me, caught fire by me, and flew away. ”

"After this attack, my engine power was reduced and one or two cylinders were broken. So I flew into the Javelin fleet (mostly dive bombers) and returned with them. Having reached the skies over the fleet, I lowered the landing gear and flaps, but then the plane fell sharply. I had to inform the aircraft carrier that I landed at sea. I landed next to a destroyer, landed at 12:48 and was rescued at 12:52. The ship's doctor healed my leg. ”

"I would like to recommend my radio soldier Li Meng, who has always performed very well, shooting down an enemy fighter."

These are the actual combat examples of the pilots of the flight unit of the "Xuanyuan" aircraft carrier. They concentrated on attacking that fleet aircraft carrier. Ignoring the light aircraft carrier on the left, he went all out to attack the one on the right as soon as he arrived on the battlefield. They did not waste bombs on the battleships before the enemy's air resistance was annihilated.

They had 2 bombs and 1 torpedo hit the aircraft carrier, blew it up and caught fire. The aircraft carrier was badly wounded, but instead of sinking or burning, it managed to sail into the rain zone and take advantage of the rain to evade the Allied aircraft.

This battle was the most resolute and courageous in the entire five-day battle. Some American pilots witnessed the attack by the Chinese pilots and were impressed by their superb combat skills. The Americans said they saw the Chinese dive into the flight deck of the aircraft carrier until it was only 150 meters above the surface of the sea (the maximum limit for dive bombers to dive) before dropping bombs and then safely disengaged. A bomb with 1000 kg of high explosives hit the target. The air wave of the bomb not only shook the warship, but even the US plane, which had not yet left the explosion zone, was also shaken.

"There is no doubt that the Chinese have been very clever in their tactics against the aircraft carrier Yoben," one pilot aboard the USS Tahiti told his companions, "and they know that if the bomb is dropped and disengaged below 250 meters, the air wave of a thousand-pound bomb will always reach you." ”

"If it is detached at an altitude of 250 meters, the altitude at which the bomb is dropped cannot be less than 300 meters. But the Chinese rushed all the way to only 150 meters above the sea, and their planes may not reach a height of 100 meters when the bomb exploded. The Chinese who don't want to die just think about the hit, they should really thank God for blessing. ”

The Allied pilots destroyed a lot of planes, and many wonderful episodes were not even dreamed of by the thrilling characters in the low-level magazines. But it's all true here. However, they are all humble, proud of their flying companions, and speak of their exploits as if they were nothing to do with them.

After the Allied air raid force attacking the fleet took off at 9:30 a.m. that day, Captain Wei'an lingered on the signal post on the bridge of the "Habakuk". At this time, the Allied fleet was in a dense formation, and at a speed of 20 knots, it sailed northwest in the direction in which the aircraft were flying. There are several reasons for this, the main one is to shorten the distance of the attack formation back to the aircraft carrier. Because the Allied pilots had to fly more than 200 nautical miles to attack themselves, they had already reached the limit of their combat radius, and they were in great need of aircraft carriers to help them shorten the return distance.

These days, Captain Vian has been living in his combat quarters on the bridge. He knew that it was possible that the attacking forces on both sides were now in the air, flying towards the target to be attacked. Both sides are to be attacked. Now it is impossible to block the opposing air attack forces. It's like two boxers throwing punches at the same time, and both of them will be hit.

As the captain of the "Habakuk", Vian understood his strength, and he clearly weighed all the possible surnames. He profoundly realized that although the situation in all aspects of this naval and air war was new to the outside world, it was clear to the two opponents.

The bridge of the aircraft carrier "Habakuk" is the best place to observe the combat situation, because all important actions take place either in the sky around the warship or on the narrow flight deck that runs through the bow and tail ribs of the warship. The signal station of the "Habakuk" is an open-air corridor about 15 meters wide around the ship's superstructure. The flight deck is 50 meters above the sea, while the signal station is 8 meters above the aircraft deck. At 3 to 4 meters higher than the signal station there is a smaller open-air corridor, which is reserved for observation by the fleet commander and his staff. Finally, there is a small "bird's nest" on top of it, called the bow lookout.

The superstructure of the "Habakuk" is a light structure with armor. A few dozen meters behind the superstructure is a huge chimney that towers over the flight deck, and in its protective steel plates are concentrated smoke and steam exhaust pipes from the ship's large main boilers, ventilation systems, and bunkers. The chimney rises 30 meters above the flight deck and is topped by a narrow steel aisle with a platform at each end of the aisle. The rear platform called the stern of the ship to the air lookout. Searchlights, signal lights, camera mounts for photographers on board, and other locations are installed in the narrow aisles.

The signal station is the captain's world. All departments of the ship have telephone lines or microphones in contact with it. It is the heart and brain of a warship. Everything that happens on board the ship must be reported directly to the captain. Inside the ship, it is reported by telephone; On the deck, lookout posts and signalmen, who are always at their posts, write on signal signs to make reports. The signal station itself surrounds the superstructure. The part of the superstructure closest to the bow of the ship was the wheelhouse, where the helmsmen and watchmen were on duty, and with them were the heralds.

The captain's combat cabin is behind the wheelhouse, and behind it is the chart room, where the chief navigator conducts official business.

This morning, in order to facilitate the battle, the bridge was "dismantled" as necessary, that is, the heavy steel-framed window knobs around the wheelhouse were loosened, and the windows were placed in the windowsill, so that the four sides were hollowed out.

In the chart room, a second lieutenant and helmsman filled in the speed and direction of each turn of the warship, as well as the turning time, on a "big book" of standard aircraft. Strangers can't tell who is an officer and who is a soldier. Everyone was tanned by the sun. From the general to the new orderly, everyone wore overalls that morning. Vice Admiral Fletcher and Captain Vian wore navy-standard canvas trench coats, zip-up shirts, cotton pants, combat caps, and new steel helmets.

Everyone on the bridge was dressed like this, wearing a steel helmet and blue twill overalls, or a khaki shirt and trousers. This helmet is very suitable because there is a steel paper washer inside, which can protect you from the sun when there is no danger of shrapnel. However, today, by order, everyone on the flight deck and above the deck wears steel helmets. Everyone had to keep their Navy-standard aircraft life jackets (mostly kapok vests) near their posts. The pilot and everyone who could fly, including Captain Vian, Vice-Captain Patterson, and everyone involved in the flight, had a new rubber life jacket that could be blown up with a small compressed gas cylinder, or by mouth, but inflated only when necessary.

Early that morning, Vian ran into the priest, who was looking for a battle cap everywhere. Patterson promised him that he could watch the battle on the bridge, but he would have to find a combat cap. He was not able to find it, and therefore did not see the spectacular scene of the first and largest battle of the "Habakuk".

Captain Vian carries with him a pure black Spanish long-eared dog named "The Chief". As a rule, the chief always followed the captain and never left the ship. However, today the puppy was tied to the captain's combat quarters on a very long leash. As soon as the ship's guns fired, it frightened it. The belt is long, it is enough to stick your nose into the chart room or run to the bridge. This is the combat deployment that is arranged for it. At 10 o'clock it was tied there, and it ended up howling all the time, arching with its nose and ears.

In addition to its serpentine movement, the "Habakuk" always had to sail out of the center of the fleet formation and turn to the headwind so that the planes covering it could take off and land. In this way, the huge warship always had to turn to the left, leaving the escorting battleships, cruisers, and destroyers on the port side. These ships always maintain their position, no matter how maneuvering the "Habakuk" is.

To protect the warship, Rear Admiral Vian had 30 fighters and 16 reconnaissance planes under his control. The aircraft carriers "Tahiti" and "Xuanyuan" also each have a force of equal role. Protecting this aircraft carrier, whose main structure is completely iceberg, is their main task (which is always their most important goal), in addition to this, they also protect other escort ships in the fleet.

Now Rear Admiral Vian divided his fighters and reconnaissance aircraft in two, keeping 15 fighters and 8 reconnaissance aircraft in the skies, while the rest of the aircraft were refueled on the flight deck, rotating at short intervals, so that they could fight with fuel and ammunition at any given time. Fighter planes equipped with supercharged aircraft engines were at high altitudes to monitor possible dive bombers, while reconnaissance planes were ordered to monitor torpedo planes at low altitudes.

The first battle alarm on board the "Habakuk" was sounded at 10 o'clock. It has been reported that 12 "yokai" (unidentified aircraft) are approaching from the front. However, the observation post never saw them, and everyone on board went to their combat posts, even the orderly in the officers' chamber went to one of the gun emplacements to act as bomb carriers.

At 10:50 a.m., the second alarm sounded. A reconnaissance aircraft called: "Keitel calls the aircraft carrier." A large force of enemy aircraft flew from the right front, at a distance of sixty nautical miles. The news was broadcast on the warship's loudspeaker, and everyone on board immediately realized that they were about to engage in a fierce battle with their own air raid force. Captain Vian had told Fletcher that he was sure he would be coming around 11 o'clock. Now it turns out that his words are true.

Following the captain's orders, the Habakuk began to turn to the left to the headwind in order to allow all the spare aircraft left on the flight deck to take off. When the last reconnaissance plane and fighter plane took off, Frye looked at the aircraft carriers "Tahiti" and "Regulus" two nautical miles to starboard, where the same scene was taken. All three aircraft carriers pointed all their aircraft and artillery into the air, because the captains all realized that only with planes could they be used against planes.

When the huge propeller of the "Habakuk" increased the speed to the top section, everyone on board could feel the vibration when the speed was changed. Such a large speed is required to perform a quick maneuver, and this is one of the best defenses for a warship. Vian looked from the signal station to the gun emplacements of the small-caliber automatic guns on both sides of the flight deck, and saw the gunners standing in their battle positions, holding reserve magazines, eagerly looking in the direction in which the enemy planes above and above them might appear.

At this time, the turrets of the two quadruple 16-inch guns mounted on both sides of the bow of the ship also rotated.

As the world's largest aircraft carrier with the largest displacement, the "Habakuk" is also unprecedentedly powerful, and the ship is equipped with eight quadruple 406 mm 45 times diameter main guns, which are distributed in a ring in the bow, middle and stern of the ship, so that the "Habakuk" also has a powerful attack capability in close combat.

After the last plane took off, when the "Habakuk" began to turn to the right to return to the formation of the fleet, the pilot's voice came from the loudspeaker:

Agnes called the carrier. The enemy aircraft were at an altitude of 5,500 meters, with four teams of nine planes and two groups of dive bombers, escorted by 'Gale' fighters. My height is 4500 meters, 12 nautical miles northeast of you. I'm climbing high. The enemy plane flew very fast, and I am afraid that it would not be able to intercept it. ”

Almost simultaneously, the radioman heard another reconnaissance aircraft in the same direction calling:

"Nora calls the aircraft carrier. It was discovered that the enemy torpedo plane, the Nakajima B6N 'Tien Shan' plane, was emerging from the clouds 8 nautical miles away. They glide at a wide angle at 2000 meters. We are intercepting. ”

The fighter control room began to call all the evacuated defense planes, directing them to concentrate on the incoming enemy. When the Allied planes spotted the planes approaching the fleet, the loudspeakers were filled with the sound of orders, shouts, and instructions.

At 11:06, a huge column of smoke appeared on the sea in the distance on the port side of the "Habakuk". At about the same time, we heard a reconnaissance plane report that it had shot down a four-engine seaplane of the "Kawanishi" type that was harassing everywhere. The large seaplane was apparently directing the bombers and torpedo planes towards the fleet.

(To be continued)