At this time, all the ships of the Japanese task force were moving forward at a speed of 20 knots and making snake-like maneuvers, making it difficult for the US attack aircraft group to find the best bombing point.
More than 20 warships plowed waves on the sea, which looked very majestic and majestic from the air.
In particular, the aircraft carrier "Shokaku" is like a fire dragon driving on the sea. It makes a snake-like evasive maneuver and looks very spectacular. The No. 214 Wildcat succeeded in one blow and quickly broke away. The sailors on this aircraft carrier They worked desperately to put out the fire, but due to the disintegrated zero battle on the flight deck, the aircraft carrier was unable to take off and land fighters in a short period of time.
The actions of all American bombers confused the Japanese. The flying fortresses and B25s arranged to follow the single-plane column did not immediately launch an attack. Instead, they flew arrogantly from the head of the Zuikaku aircraft carrier at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Pass.
The SBD Dauntless dive bomber landed at the end of the fleet, flying at an altitude of 7,500 meters, still several nautical miles away. It flew slowly and unhurriedly. Behind and above the SBD Dauntless were three Wildcat squadrons.
The Flying Fortress bombed Berlin, Germany, during the day in 1940, and has since become famous all over the world. The Japanese naturally know the power of this bomber.
[Zuikaku] The Type 89 40-caliber 120mm anti-aircraft guns of the aircraft carrier, battleships, cruisers, and destroyers fired at the same time, firing out barrages. The 23-kilogram shells exploded into colorful shells in the blue sky. The curtain is like blooming fireworks.
The Sky Fortress and B25 ignored this. The 23-kilogram bomb exploded 500 meters below them. It was like a welcome gift. The crew saw the Japanese's huge fleet for the first time and kept using their airborne cameras. , photograph the invaders.
Nan Yunzhong held a telescope in one hand and switched his gaze from the Shokaku aircraft carrier to the air. No matter how powerful Wildcat No. 214 was, his onboard machine gun would not pose a fatal threat to the aircraft carrier, and the fire would be extinguished soon.
Looking at the U.S. aircraft in the sky, Nayun's wooden face remained calm, but there was surprise and confusion in his eyes:
Why can’t the Type 89 120mm anti-aircraft gun’s firing height reach the Flying Fortress and B25? Could it be that the flying height of this bomber exceeds 1 meter?
The U.S. aircraft fleet is like a row of wild geese, swaying arrogantly and not avoiding the artillery fire of the task force. Do they know the firing height of our fleet's anti-aircraft guns in advance?
Also, if the U.S. fleet does not drop bombs, what are they trying to do?
Nagumo Chuichi guessed correctly. The American fleet already knew the firing height of the task force's anti-aircraft guns in advance.
On the Chinese battlefield, Zhou Zhihan, who had fought countless fierce battles with the Japanese, naturally knew the actual shooting height of the Japanese anti-aircraft guns. Before departure, he told all US military pilots that the maximum firing height of the Japanese fleet's anti-aircraft guns was 9,600 meters. Since the Battle of Songhu until now, the Japanese fleet's anti-aircraft guns have remained the same.
It can also be seen from this that the disadvantages of Japan's lack of domestic resources have begun to appear. This is because Japan has stretched its front too long and invaded the entire Southeast Asia, causing its domestic material supply and weapons research to show signs of lagging behind.
This is also one of the reasons why Japan launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. By preventing the Pacific Fleet from sailing out of Pearl Harbor for half a year to a year, Japan could obtain more war resources in the Philippines and Malaysia to relieve domestic pressure.
The battle came too quickly, and Yamaguchi Wenta could only stay on the "Akagi", and his "Hiryu" was taken over by the deputy captain. He also held up a telescope and couldn't understand what the Americans wanted to do.
Looking at the smoke billowing from the flight deck and the Shokaku soaring into the sky, a terrible thought suddenly appeared in Yamaguchi Wenta's mind. Could it be that the Americans discovered that the Shokaku aircraft carrier has a fatal weakness?
Two years ago, Yamaguchi Wenta, who has superior military insight, discovered that the fatal weakness of the aircraft carriers "Shokaku" and "Zuikaku" is that they have huge loopholes in evading enemy aircraft penetration. This loophole , on the Asian battlefield, because the performance of Asian countries, especially China's fighter aircraft, is old and not obvious.
For example, the two aircraft carriers do not have frontal interception anti-aircraft guns on the bows and cannot deal with frontal penetration of enemy aircraft. This is the biggest defensive weakness.
Moreover, when the speed of these two aircraft carriers reaches more than 15 knots, there will be an excessive drop in the roll angle when avoiding enemy bombs, causing the flight deck to sway more. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to retract or launch the fighter jets. This is extremely detrimental to aircraft carrier naval battles in which carrier-based aircraft are the fist.
The roll angles of aircraft carriers such as [Akagi], [Hiryu], and [Kaga] are 3 degrees, while the roll angles of [Shokaku] and [Zuikaku] reach 20 degrees. In this case If you use a snake-like maneuver to avoid enemy attacks, the light-bodied carrier-based aircraft can barely take off, but it will fall into the sea due to ship explosions and attacks.
At that time, Yamaguchi Wenta and the military department put forward a request to modify the defense capabilities of these two aircraft carriers, but it was not taken seriously.
The military believes that even if the Chinese discover the weaknesses of the two aircraft carriers, they will be powerless. It is simply a fantasy to rely on Chinese pilots and those old and faltering fighter planes to seriously damage the "Xianghe".
It’s useless for a bantamweight to discover the weaknesses of a super heavyweight champion.
It is one thing to know the opponent's weakness, but it is another thing to be able to hit the weakness and cause damage.
Do these Americans want to show off their military power... Harada Minoru stared at the flying fortress and B25 bombers, muttering to himself that he is a master of naval warfare, and his combat skills and knowledge of carrier-based aircraft are far inferior to his old classmate Fuchida .
Yamaguchi Wenduo's voice was filled with anxiety: "Your Majesty Commander, the US aircraft is trying to attack the Shokaku from the front. The Chinese Zhou Zhihan knows the weaknesses of our aircraft carrier.
I believe that the fighter jets on the Akagi and Kaga should be immediately taken off to intercept, preventing them from easily turning around in front and attacking the Shokaku head-on. "
Yamaguchi Wenduo's suggestion should be said to be wise and positive. Although he saw that the Zero fighter would hardly pose a substantial threat to the Sky Fortress and the B25, it could at least disrupt the attack formation of the American fleet.
The bomber attack focuses on formation. If the formation is chaotic, the bombing will be chaotic.
Yamaguchi Wenta was recognized as a man of extraordinary talent and strong observation ability in the navy, and he was likely to become the successor of Admiral Yamamoto. This was deeply resented by Nagumo.
But Nagumo and Yamamoto Isoroku have the same quality, that is, they can maintain a calm face at all times, and it is difficult to see his mental activities.
Nagumo Chuichi said nothing, but turned his attention to Mizuo Fuchida and Chief of Staff Kusaka.
Kusaka said: "[Akagi] and [Kaga] are lowering the recovered carrier-based aircraft into the hangar. It will take at least five minutes for the Zero to leave the hangar."
Mizuo Fuchida looked at the sky and was silent for a few seconds: "I think the B25 and the Sky Fortress were just feint attacks. They only dared to drop bombs above our anti-aircraft gun range, and there was no threat. The SBD Dauntless dive bomber that flew slowly over was just a feint attack. They are the main force of the attack. As long as we guard against them and wait for the carrier-based aircraft on several other aircraft carriers to take off, we can surround and annihilate them."
To put it slowly, it actually only took a short time from the time the 214th Wildcat launched its attack to the time the Sky Fortress flew above the Japanese fleet.
Sure enough, as Yamaguchi Wenda said, the Sky Fortress and the B25 suddenly turned after flying over the Zuikaku, the nose of the aircraft flew towards the Shokaku, and began to drop bombs.
