In the vast East China Sea, the two Borg-class escort aircraft carriers of the East China Sea Fleet, now renamed Emei and Putuo, are operating at 10 knots/hour.
Two heavy cruisers, the Chaofeng and the Zhuba, opened a path 4 nautical miles away from the fleet.
The six destroyers Kanglong, Cangrong, Mujiao, Biyue, Guijin and Xingri cruised in a hexagonal formation 4 to 6 nautical miles wide.
The eight U-VIIC submarines had set off early, dispersed and dived into the sea, and were now exploring the path 5 to 10 nautical miles ahead of the fleet.
After a short voyage, we arrived at our destination, 122.50 East Longitude and 30.6 North Latitude.
On the middle deck of the heavy cruiser Zhuba, two Ar196 water reconnaissance aircraft were placed on the launchers and flew into the air with the help of catapults.
Large warships during this period were generally equipped with carrier-based reconnaissance seaplanes. These carrier-based aircraft could increase the detection and reconnaissance range of warships.
It can also help the ship-based artillery lock the target and cooperate with the optical rangefinder to observe the impact point of the projectile, thereby improving the hit rate of the first salvo and improving the combat effectiveness of the warship.
In the command cabin of the heavy cruiser Chaofeng, Deng Shichang could only stand and watch.
Because the lieutenant general in front of him is the commander of this operation. This is the senior naval general "Li Miz" that Lu Xiaojia purchased from the system.
"According to the original plan, all eight water reconnaissance aircraft on the two cruisers will be sent out for me, and the carrier-based aircraft on the aircraft carrier will be ready for battle!"
There was no way. The shipborne radar technology of this period was limited and the detection range was very limited. Therefore, the main method of reconnaissance had to rely on dispatching floating carrier-based aircraft.
Of course, the same is true for the air force land airport. The intelligence department has already roughly deduced the sea area where the Fuso fleet will appear based on the information from Fuso.
Now we only need to dispatch reconnaissance planes to search the target sea area to find out the details.
"By the way, let the correspondents send secret messages to the shore headquarters and the air force headquarters. Our naval department has arrived at the target waters. If the various departments find out the location of the enemy fleet, they must report it as soon as possible."
"Yes, Commander!" Not long after the correspondent left, he entered the command room in a hurry.
"Report to Commander, the General Headquarters just generated electricity, and the Hengsha Island coastal defense artillery just sank 8 Fuso destroyers. They came from C2 waters."
"Great, let 8 water reconnaissance planes disperse to search the C2 sea area immediately."
"Yes, Captain!"
…
In the upper level of the East China Sea C2 Huadao area, on the endless sea, 9 warships are drifting on the sea.
Especially the 2 Nagato-class battleships guarded by 4 Nagara-class cruisers.
The towering pagoda-style bridge exudes metallic luster and is particularly conspicuous under the sunlight.
"We found them. They are at our 5 o'clock direction, about 3 to 4 nautical miles away from us." The scout behind the Ar196 water reconnaissance aircraft put down the telescope.
The scout turned on the radio and said, "Call the Chaofeng. This is the No. 04 water reconnaissance aircraft. We have discovered the Fuso Fleet in the northwest of the C2 area of the East China Sea. Currently, we have found 4 cruisers, 4 battleships, and 1 aircraft carrier. They are 4 miles away from our fleet. About 86 nautical miles!”
"Chaofeng received it, please return as soon as possible!"
When Limitz learned the news, he also ordered the carrier-based aircraft to take off quickly, otherwise these moving targets would probably be wiped out by the land-based air force.
…
Inside the Nagato battleship, "Captain Teraoka Heigo, haven't you been contacted by the destroyer?" Yamamoto Kuji asked with a frown.
"Ali Masai, Mr. Yamamoto, the destroyer we dispatched has lost contact. I don't know what the situation is, and the carrier-based aircraft has not returned!"
Yamamoto Jiuzou had a vague premonition, "In some cases, this Lu Xiaojia may be hiding something, and we may have fallen into a trap!"
"Commander Yamamoto, Your Majesty the Captain, something bad has happened. We have spotted hundreds of fighter planes in the sky in the distance!" Sailors hurried in to report.
"Nani! A lot of fighter planes!" Yamamoto rushed out of the command post and took out a telescope to take a look. "Quickly, sound the alarm and prepare for air defense alert!"
At the same time, his heart also sank to freezing point. The sky was densely packed with fighter planes. With the current air defense capabilities of the Fuso Navy, could they really resist it?
"Quickly, report to the home command. It's an emergency. Our revenge fleet encountered a large number of Chinese fighter planes. The ambush circle designed by the Chinese in advance is aimed at our fleet. We expect this to be a disaster, but it must be for the sake of the Emperor. Fight to the death against the Empire!”
"Hey, we will fight to the death for the empire, God's black card is onboard!"
…
The fighters in the distance are not carrier-based aircraft, but an air force team composed of 72 Junkers JU-87 Stukas and 72 Fokker Ta-152 fighters.
At the same time, 56 carrier-based aircraft of various types on two aircraft carriers 86 nautical miles away have already been fully loaded with ammunition through elevators and parked on the deck, ready to go.
The 24 BTD torpedo aircraft are equipped with MK41 400mm anti-ship torpedoes on their underbelly.
20 SB2C Hell dive bombers, carrying 1 AN-1000 pound aerial bomb.
The 12 F4U-1C fighter jets carry 8 127mm rockets.
"S2 dive bomber calls tower, checking communications equipment."
"The wireless communication is all normal. The tower calls S2. You can take off. This is the first battle of our East China Sea Fleet. I wish you a successful start!"
"Received, thank you for the blessing!"
A variety of warships and fighter jets glided into the sky from the aircraft carrier deck in an orderly manner.
Not long after, 56 warships and fighter jets took off across the country, carrying anti-ship torpedoes and aviation delay bombs, and quickly flew towards the target sea area.
The commander leading the carrier-based aircraft said impatiently through the radio, "All teams, speed up for me. The air force taking off from the land is probably starting to eat meat. We at Hainan Airlines can't just stare at it!"
Hearing this, the pilots of the 56 carrier-based aircraft could not wait to pull the throttle control lever into the fuel tank and immediately fly over the Fuso Fleet to start bombing training.
…
Two minutes later, 144 fighter planes of various types from the Air Force took the lead in arriving over the Fuso Fleet.
They all began to lower their flying altitude, preparing to launch a diving attack on the Japanese warships below them.
Among them, the pilot of the Junkers JU-87 Stuka bomber operated the Stuka to quickly separate 9 units, and then arranged them over their respective targets.
The Fuso flag painted by Olu and Nagato on the bow deck was now like a conspicuous moving target. The dive bomber pilot only had to aim at this eye-catching red aunt and dive in.
The leader Stuka of each team made a 360-degree somersault smoothly, and the remaining Stukas also followed suit, taking turns to dive down from the sky above their respective targets.
"Woo! Woo! Woo!"
On the JU-87 Stuka bomber, air is poured into the mechanical siren under the fuselage, which emits a scream like a demon's howl under the Doppler effect.
The shrill scream tore through people's nerves like iron cutting through glass, causing many Fuso sailors to shiver and feel inexplicable fear.
During this period, countries were still in the age of big guns and ships, and they did not pay much attention to the development of air defense. On the battleship Oh Nagato, there were only eight 76mm anti-aircraft guns and 12 Type 1 12.7mm heavy machine guns.
On the few anti-aircraft gun emplacements, the Fuso anti-aircraft soldiers were already preparing for their own death. "The time has come to be loyal to the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor. Bushido is indestructible, on board!"
The various anti-aircraft guns on the nine Fuso ships were also being loaded nervously and orderly, aiming at the black spots in the sky ahead with full firepower.
"Bang! Bang!"
However, Fuso's anti-aircraft firepower during this period was really weak. It was no longer a matter of "defending against nine out of ten air defenses", but simply "defending against ten air defenses against ten air defenses".
The Stuka pilot relied on his flexible position to successfully avoid the gunfire by turning sideways, aimed at the few anti-aircraft guns on the Fuso ship, and pulled the trigger.
