It was a tenth-of-second time bomb because it penetrated two decks before exploding, killing 32 people and blowing up the third deck. The rescue team and the security team arrived immediately. The bulkhead of the middle cabin was burned black, and it broke like paper; In the middle was a cloud of black smoke, nothing else could be seen, and several people were lying in the fire. In the middle cabin, one could only hear the sound of anti-aircraft guns above, and the roar of dive bombers shook the sky. The fire brigade held on to the faucet to extinguish the fire, and the water jets creaked on the deck, creating clouds of steam.

A few minutes later, another bomb hit the "Dragon King". I saw that the starboard corner of the stern lift platform was full of flames and dazzling red light. Of the 60 sailors around, 38 were killed on the spot. The nearest ones were blown to pieces, and the ones a little farther away were burned to charred places, frozen in place like wood carved clay sculptures, and the clothes on their bodies were long gone. A gunner sitting in the aimer's seat, leaning forward slightly, leaving his aiming posture, his hand still resting on the low-pointing gun, could be seen to be tracking a swooping plane. A gunner next to him raised two charred hands in the air, and posed as if he was struggling to move the shell. Around the point of the explosion, the deck was burned pink.

The third bomb lifted a steel plate on the flight deck, and the deck erupted in flames. Immediately afterward, another bomb grazed the side of the ship and landed in the sea, stirring up a column of rushing water. The water fell on the crack in the deck, extinguishing most of the fire on the deck. After a while, the people who were busy extinguishing the fire on the deck found that the anti-aircraft guns were gone, and it turned out that there was not a single plane in the air.

The attack lasted a total of four minutes, and 74 people were killed and 95 injured on board the "Dragon King", four of whom were in critical condition. An hour later, the fire on board was extinguished, in some places the fire was brought under control, and the aircraft carrier was again moving at a speed of 24 knots. Fu Renxuan ordered the "Dragon King" to go to the port of Noumea to repair the ship. So, 1 cruiser and 4 destroyers escorted the "Dragon King" home.

As for the other air battles on 24 August, the information is confusing and the situation is unclear. The planes that took off from the aircraft carrier "Longxiang" to attack the Truk airfield were repulsed by the Chinese fighters stationed on the Truk Islands. More than half of the planes were shot down. A group of dive bombers that took off from the airfield attacked the Japanese fleet on the morning of 24 and 25 July. The Chinese Army "Sky Attack" tactical attack aircraft from Espírito Santo also took part in both attacks. In short, in addition to the aircraft carrier "Longxiang", the Japanese army also lost three transport ships and another four cruisers suffered heavy losses. The fleet then abandoned the attack and turned back.

Another fleet is approaching the Truk Islands, consisting of four battleships, three aircraft carriers, and more than 40 heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, transports, and other ships.

China has a whole set of sophisticated and skilled methods of ship repair. Before the damaged ship entered the port, the experts drew up a general work plan as soon as the main damage was identified. After this battle, as soon as the "Dragon King" arrived at the port of Noumea, various teams of workers rushed to repair it, and the tense and busy scene was exactly the same as repairing the "Caifeng" aircraft carrier.

The "Dragon King" task force sailed out of Noumea on October 16. Normally, the engineers and workers who repaired the ship were busy until the ship set sail, but this time they simply left port with the "Dragon King". Throughout the voyage from Noumea to the Truk Islands, the sound of the hammer never stopped. It wasn't until the rumbling cannon sound that the sound of the hammer stopped. In addition to the repair team of the "Dragon King", there were 59 officers and men on the maintenance ship of the "Magpie" and a "construction battalion", which was a unit of offshore engineers, commonly known as "sea worker bees".

On the morning of the 13th, the repair work was not yet complete, especially the foredeck lift was not yet functioning normally. At 11 o'clock, Jin Yuqi received a telegram from Wu Qianlong: "Hurry north and intercept the enemy bomber group that may be attacking." On October 16, after everything was ready, the "Dragon King" set sail again, under the command of the new captain, Admiral Ha Hongbo, hoisted the flag of Rear Admiral Jin Yuqi, and was escorted by the battleship "**" and two cruisers and eight destroyers. The "Dragon King" was ordered to sail at full speed to the South Pacific, and the "Xingkai Lake" was already cruising there under the escort of four cruisers and six destroyers. At noon on 24 October, the two fleets converged in the waters northeast of the New Hebrides to form the "King" task force, under the command of Kim Yuqi. The new course of Task Force "King" was to bypass the Santa Cruz Islands from the north and then sail to the southernmost island of San Cristobal in the Solomon Islands. The reason for this was because Shen Honglie already had accurate information about the location of the fleet.

In the afternoon of 16 July, a telex on the bridge of the "Dragon King" carried a piece of information relayed by the Pacific Fleet Command: "Two enemy battleships, four cruisers, and seven destroyers have been discovered 600 nautical miles northwest of the 'King' Task Force. An hour later, the Pacific Fleet Command transmitted another piece of reconnaissance information from aircraft: "Two aircraft carriers with frigates, bearing: 08°51'N, longitude: 164°30'E, course: 145°South; Speed: twenty-five knots. "Judging from this information, it is said that the fleet is less than 360 nautical miles away from the task force. Jin Yuqi immediately sent the first team of planes to search for the attack, but did not find any targets. It is said that the aircraft carrier has changed course. However, the Chinese Army reconnaissance plane kept tracking until it became aware that he had diverted his course towards the Truk Islands. However, regardless of his intentions, it can be inferred, at least for the time being, that the two armies will exchange fire by the next morning at the latest. That night, the mood on board the Chinese aircraft carrier was very high. Lieutenant Commander Yu Luoke, commander of the aviation unit on the "Dragon King," summoned the pilots to lecture in the dining room. He first briefly talked about the battle situation in the Truk Islands, and then gave a briefing on the organization of his own fleet. He went on to say, "But you now have superior planes, and they are stronger than all modern planes. You are also the most well-trained and familiar with the new tactics of air combat. Finally, he gave the pilots some encouragement as usual. After he finished, the pilots disbanded and rested.

The battle began on the morning of 16 October. At 4:30 a.m., the pilots had breakfast, and the smell of coffee, fried eggs, and Chinese paper cigarettes wafted from the dining room, and the blackboard still contained the numbers and notes that Yu Roque had written during the midnight meeting. Most of the pilots seemed a little sleepy. At 5:05 a.m., there were no fingers on the flight deck, and it was still as dark as midnight. The flight commander's voice today was particularly melodious, and he seemed to be better than the announcer, and he took the microphone in his hand and said, "Please leave the propellers...... The engine starts. "When the order is given, it usually takes a few seconds to hear the roar of the engine, because airplanes don't have the same starting devices as in cars, and if they are installed, they are too cumbersome. In a special ignition device mounted under the engine there is an electric igniter. The engine started after a few crackling sounds. The exhaust pipe then erupted tongues of fire. If you've never seen it, it's hard to imagine how pure and transparent this blue flame is. The first planes took off.

Soon, dawn came. The slightly white sky sets off the outline of the "Ship Island". Then, the silhouette of the frigate also appeared on the surface of the sea. The battleship "**" sailed not far to the left of the "Dragon King", its boat had no portholes on the gang, and the building was very low, looking like a large black pike. In the blink of an eye, it was dawn. On the deck of the "Dragon King", planes are still taking off one after another. On the bridge, Admiral Jin Yuqi, dressed in a tawny shirt, sat barehead on a high stool, staring at the turquoise sea. There were a few small patches of fluffy cumulus clouds floating in the sky, and the eastern side of the clouds was painted with a layer of golden yellow. A school of flying fish swam merrily past the starboard side of the boat. The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and in an instant, a round of red light erupted from the eastern horizon. Looking southward, one can vaguely see the escort fleet of the "Xingkaihu" sailing on the sea eight nautical miles south of the "Dragon King," and the two detachments marching in unison. The last planes of the early morning patrol took off. There was silence on the deck.

He ordered nine torpedo planes, escorted by six fighters, to fly to the Truk Islands, and on the way to the Truk Islands, the group encountered a wounded battleship of the Trok Islands that had been discovered by the heavy cruiser "Rehe" in the morning. The crippled battleship was slowly sailing at a speed of 5 knots, there were 5 destroyers around, but there were no escort aircraft in the sky. The ship's anti-aircraft guns opened fire. The fleet of the "Dragon King" also attacked. Three torpedoes hit the battleship, and the explosion of the torpedoes was clearly visible from the plane. But the ship continued to move forward as if it had not been shot at all. When the pilots of the "Dragon King" arrived at the airfield, they saw that the pilots there were talking passionately about the enemy battleship. A group of the most capable pilots of the Navy and Marine Corps gathered on the Truk Islands. From morning onwards, the battleship was first damaged by artillery fire, then bombed by two dives, and then torpedoed three times. But it still moved smoothly at a speed of 5 knots and seemed indifferent to all this. In the afternoon, the pilots of the "Dragon King" came to the sky over the battleship together with other pilots. The "battleship unwilling to sink" withstood three more dive bombardments, three torpedo attacks, and two strafing fires. The pilots came back to report that the stern of the battleship was sunk in the water, and that only two guns remained on board, but it was still sailing. Finally, another torpedo attack came, and in the evening, the battleship finally stopped, and the fire was in the air, and the entire stern was burned red. The battleship was the "Hiei". Its incredibly strong surname is arguably the glory of the steel industry and British shipbuilding technology. It hit 86 shells on the 12th, and at least 8 bombshells and 12 torpedoes on the 13th. That night, it bombarded the Truk Islands with its last two remaining guns before sinking.

The other battleships were finally discovered on the night of the 14th. At about 23 o'clock, the radar station of the Truk Islands spotted 1 large warship (battleship or heavy cruiser) and two cruisers. At this time, Rear Admiral Li Hailong led the battleships "**" and "Constitution" and four destroyers (they were separated from the "Dragon King" task force on the 13th and carried out separate tasks) were circumnavigating Savo Island. The moon is bright in the sky, the north wind is blowing, and the sea is particularly quiet. As soon as midnight passed, the warship appeared, and the two battleships of the Chinese army immediately opened fire. It was a hand-to-hand, lightning-style night artillery battle, and this time both sides were heavy battleships. The "Constitution" and "**" bombarded the two ships in front of them with 406-mm guns, which sank within a few minutes. At the same time, the destroyers of the Chinese army suffered heavy losses: 1 was sunk, 3 were heavily damaged. The Chinese army was left with only battleships to fight alone. At this time, another fleet appeared on the sea eight nautical miles away, led by the battleship "Kirishima." The ship may not have found any targets yet, and turned on its searchlights to search the sea. "Constitution" and "**" opened fire in unison. Six bursts, a total of 108 heavy shells, were poured on the battleship "Kirishima" at once. "Kirishimma" sank very quickly, but it still struggled to the death before it sank, wounding the "**" with its main guns. The rest of the warships fled in panic.

At dawn on October 15, the battle ended, and Wu Qianlong ordered the task force to return to base. During the battles of these few days, the warships that were sunk and completely destroyed by the army were two battleships, 1 heavy cruiser, 4 destroyers, and 12 transports; Among the damaged were two battleships, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, four destroyers. Two light cruisers and seven destroyers of the Chinese army were sunk; 1 battleship, 1 heavy cruiser, 1 light cruiser, 7 destroyers were damaged.

Although the Chinese army suffered heavy losses, the positions of the Chinese army on the southern islands of the Solomon Islands saved the navy from a serious threat. After that, the army also carried out a counterattack, trying to send heavy reinforcements, that is, another naval battle, and the cruisers of both sides engaged in a desperate night melee. The heavy cruiser "Hubei" of the Chinese army was sunk, and three more cruisers were damaged.

After many battles, the navy's military strength was greatly depleted. From the winter of 1942 to the spring of 1945, the Chinese army was at war with China and the United States at the same time, and it was always in the active position in the Pacific theater. But by the autumn of 1945, the war had entered a very different phase, in which the Chinese army gradually seized the initiative on the battlefield.

On 13 November, part of the fleet was spotted sailing north in the vast waters of the Tawi-Tawi Islands (southern Philippines). On the 17th, the submarine "Tuna" reported the discovery of a huge fleet of ships, which included at least 9 large aircraft carriers, 5 battleships, 16 cruisers, and 32 destroyers. This shows that he is likely to make a desperate gamble and fight a decisive battle with the Chinese fleet to block the advance of the Chinese army in the Pacific. The appearance of this single-engine plane over Saipan was expected by all the officers and men of the Chinese General Staff and the Navy. On the night of the 18th, the 58th Task Force headed west, and 12 escort aircraft carriers cruised in the sea near Saipan. In the face of the escort fleet, the Chinese army used 7 large aircraft carriers, 8 light aircraft carriers, 7 battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 13 light cruisers, and 607 destroyers. At this time, in addition to the troops assisting the British army in defending Australia, Zhang Qifan also had 450 fighters, 250 dive bombers, 200 torpedo planes, and 80 reconnaissance planes. The Chinese fleet first headed west, then turned around and sailed east. For strategic reasons, Fu Renxuan did not want to stay away from the Mariana Islands until he was discovered. In the early morning of 19 July, Fu Renxuan's task force arrived at the sea area about 80 nautical miles west of Guam.

At dawn, the reconnaissance aircraft left the deck, and there was silence all around. On the deck of the "Xuanyuan", the soldiers stared at the dim sky full of dark clouds. Under the clouds, you can see a blue highland. Huge fleets sailed neatly on the seas.

At 9:40 a.m., the familiar whirring sound came from the microphone, followed by a steady voice ordering a squad of fighters to take off without explanation. The aircraft carrier turned around against the wind and headed east. The people on deck began to get busy. At this time, the microphone rang and the second group of planes was ordered to prepare for takeoff.

No aircraft have been spotted in the sky above the aircraft carrier, but China's advanced radar has already spotted a plane in the distance. The air battle between the Chinese fighters and the planes, most of which flew from the west, lasted from 10:10 to 13:10. The scale of each battle is considerable. A group of 90 to 130 planes was intercepted dozens of nautical miles away from their target, and was smashed by Chinese planes. Only a few of the planes managed to get close to the Chinese task force, but the bombs dropped did not hit the target, and some caused only negligible damage. The pilot did not even get close to the sky above the "Xuanyuan". The Chinese pilots were very surprised by the ineffective attack of the pilots. Reporting on the battle, the Chinese pilot said that the battle was "very monotonous." Over the island of Ritatan, 33 Chinese "Tianma" fighters faced 38 Chinese military planes and shot down 35 Syrian military planes, while the Chinese army lost only one. In the air battle that morning, about 500 of the 500 planes that took part in the battle were destroyed, and 404 of them were destroyed. The Chinese army lost 22 aircraft, of which 9 pilots were rescued after falling. In the afternoon, all the planes on the Chinese aircraft carriers were dispatched, but the fleet had not yet been discovered.

(To be continued)