Chapter 701: We are powerless to stop

"We can't stop it!" Just ten minutes later, the cries for help from the fleeing Enterprise were heard from the wild cats in the air.

The F4F Wildcat can be regarded as a new modern aircraft that the United States has been developing since before the war, but they are not Hellcats after all, and the misfortune of encountering the Japanese Zero and Super Zero fighters soon began.

The Zero was originally stable over the Wildcats in terms of speed and flexibility, not to mention that the Wildcats on the Enterprise were only the F4F-3 that was originally mass-produced, and the Japanese who were "provoked" by the Vanguard Army had been equipped with ultra-zero fighters with better safety and "performance" than the Zero. Moreover, the 21 Wildcats that took the initiative to meet the enemy directly faced 24 Super Zero fighters and 24 Zero Fighters.

"I couldn't hit them, they came behind me. Oh, God! Who's going to help me! "The exclamations of some American pilots on the radio were completely rookie performances.

After the first war, no one could expect them to ignore life and death when they were still dancing in the bar a few days ago. Although the Japanese on the opposite side suffered heavy losses in the battle with the vanguard army, the Japanese, who had realized this, increased the training of pilots in advance, and were no longer crowded with more than 100 people a year.

In the constant "confrontation" with the pilots of the Pioneer Army, the novice pilots on both sides are growing. At this time, in order to be foolproof, the Japanese selected the "elite" among the pilots. In the case of more fights and fewer fights, it would be good if these American pilots, who had not yet entered a state of war, could not immediately turn around and escape.

The planes of both sides collided.

But in this brief "exchange" of contact, in the eyes of the American pilots, it seemed that enemy planes were whizzing everywhere. And the only companions in sight of the "flesh" eye are planes that are constantly rolling in the air.

A plane crashes into the sea with smoke and the screams of pilots.

"Skydive!" Admiral James Gray could only reluctantly remind his men.

As soon as his warning words fell, many umbrella "flowers" immediately appeared in the sky, and in addition to the fighter plane that was hit, some of the Wildcat team members who could not get rid of the enemy plane behind them also jumped to evacuate.

They have forgotten that there is a sea below them that lacks assistance, and they have forgotten that the sturdy and thick-skinned Wildcat fighters can still "survive" even if they are hit a few times, and the fierce "crossing" of the battlefield has made their brains blank, and they only remember that the white "color" of the umbrella "flower" is like a flag of surrender, which means safety.

"Help us!" As he gradually descended towards the sea, Paul waved loudly to the nearby American ships, and he was so frightened by the machine gun bullets that he could only shrink into a ball as much as he could, and prayed for God's blessing with a pale face.

The Japanese are not knights who abide by the human rights of war, and the machine gun bullets still fly by the umbrella "flower" without care. Leaving the body, Paul felt even more insecure, and he just wanted to get back on board.

The New Orleans Heavy Patrol, which was assisting in air defense below, was no longer concerned about rescuing the pilots who had fallen everywhere, and although the air defense force composed of 40-mm Bofors and 20-mm Erlikon anti-aircraft guns was good, it was facing the overwhelming Japanese Type 99 carrier-based dive bombers and Type 97 torpedo attack planes.

The air defense of the three destroyers that followed him was weak, and they could not even protect themselves. In just ten minutes, one of the bombs had already sunk, and before the sailors who had fallen into the water were salvaged, another destroyer that had been bombed began to tilt, and the remaining destroyer dodged left and right at high speed, but where could it be faster than the plane overhead.

Ten minutes later, a lifeboat had floated on the sea. But the sailors in the lifeboats were trembling under the strafing machine guns of the Japanese fighters that were diving and skimming, and where did they still have the heart to save others?

"Fly back! Wounded plane, fly back to the aircraft carrier! Major Gray sighed in his heart and gave the order to retreat. Although this is only for the wounded, but now that the morale of the army is weakened, there is no intention of fighting again. Quite a few fighters with one or two bullet holes also flew back quickly, chasing the Enterprise that was no longer visible.

Looking at the sailors who had just been torpedoed by the New Orleans who were panicking and running to fight the fire, and then looking at the shadow of the Japanese destroyer that had appeared in the distance, Major Gray already had a helplessness in his heart.

"It only lasted ten minutes, but I hope the Enterprise can escape quickly!" Major Gray grieved in his heart, and met a super-zero fighter plane that swooped down on him.

His expectations were good, but he also noticed that while they were still struggling to hold on, the Japanese aircraft attack formation had split in two, and one part went straight to the faint shadow of the Enterprise in the distance.

Once again, it turns out that the high speed of a surface ship is negligible at the speed of an aircraft in the air.

When the second broken destroyer sank, the SBD dreadnought dive bombers on the Enterprise had reluctantly rushed into the blue sky, led by 6 Wildcats, rushed to the incoming Japanese fighters to serve as the guardians of the aircraft carrier.

The Enterprise and the accompanying Northampton Heavy Patrol were also fully equipped with anti-aircraft artillery, and fought and retreated.

The news of the broken rear troops has already arrived, the Japanese army is strong, and in the absence of reinforcements, defending in place is simply suicide.

A Wildcat returning to the Enterprise crashed directly onto the deck, and the pilot, who had smashed the windshield, remained motionless in the blaze. The surrounding ground crews were about to rescue him when bombs whistled in the air.

A Japanese 99 shipburst swooped down from an altitude of 4,000 meters at an angle of 75 degrees with the wind, and at about 450 meters, the wing took away shrapnel from a four-shot 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, but dropped a 250-kilogram bomb.

"Boom!" The bomb penetrated three decks and exploded inside, and the heat "wave" from the large "hole" that tore open directly lifted a TBD Destroyer torpedo plane next to it into the air. A dreadnought fighter that was taking off quickly evaded and deflected, directly crashed into the two oil drums next to it, and loaded into the sea with a burst of fire.

The smoke cloud of the anti-aircraft artillery that filled the air tore apart another 99 ship that was diving down, but the two Type 97 torpedo planes that swept under the weak air defense net of the Puton on the north shore threw out the torpedoes that turned up "waves" and "flowers", and both hit the Enterprise under the noses of the panicked people.

A trembling moan of steel echoed through the massive hull with a full load of 25,500 tons, and two huge explosions made the steel behemoth wail, but they were not fatal to an aircraft carrier with many watertight cabins and huge endurance. What was fatal was the loss of confidence of the American soldiers, and when the sweeping shock "wave" of a series of 60-kilogram bombs echoed on the deck again, the hearts of the American soldiers running here like headless flies were already praying for the salvation of the end times.

And by this time, the New Orleans in the rear had already sunk into the icy sea with two torpedoes and three 250-kilogram bombs on its back. The last remaining destroyer, the Walden, with a full crawl of rescued sailors, raised the white flag under the threat of Japanese fighters circling in the air, surrounded by three Japanese destroyers that had already reached the adjacent sea.

For the captain, Major William, the most important thing was to rescue the sailors who had fallen overboard and take them to decent prisoner treatment, but he could already save less than 500 people.

"Reinforcements from Midway haven't arrived yet?" Halsey asked again with a blank face.

They were relatively close to Midway, and if there were reinforcements, they would have to rely on Midway's air force.

"The rescue plane has already departed!" Colonel Murray, who was wrapped around his head like a big dumpling, said hoarsely.

He had been injured when he was commanding just now, but at this time, when his life was in danger, there was no possibility of cultivation at all.

Even Halsey had a small wound on his forehead from the violent collision of the torpedo just now, but he didn't care at all, still standing up straight, shouting loudly in command.

"Repair boiler No. 2 immediately and ensure full sailing!" Halsey said no more, and the only option he could make at this point was to rush in the direction of Midway at full speed.

Over time, the actions of the Japanese in other directions have also been heard.

Guam, which was not well defended at this time, quickly succumbed to the guns of the Japanese battlefleet, and Wake Island was also encircled by the flames of war, and the current situation is unknown.

At about 2 p.m. on the 11th, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the third wave, a Japanese fleet cruising in French Indochina suddenly appeared at Songkhla Port in southern Thailand, and then a large number of Japanese troops rushed to the beach.

Almost at the same time, the US Navy base and Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines were subjected to Japanese air strikes.

Before MacArthur could react, most of the U.S. planes at Clark Air Force Base had already been blown up.

The command system of the US military has fallen into a state of "chaos" and "chaos," and the only thing that can bring them life is Midway.

"Can we make it there?" Halsey, who stabilized his body under the vibration of another deck blow, was worried in his heart, the power system of the Enterprise was not damaged, but it could hold on at full speed, and the key was that there were more and more Japanese fighters overhead.

When the Northampton Heavy Cruiser slowed down and fell behind in a massive explosion of torpedoes, there was finally a cheer from the Enterprise:

"Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Under the eager gaze of American sailors, 26 F2A Buffalo fighters tore through a cloud and rushed out.

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