Atlantic Ocean, waters near the Malvinas Islands. Night has gradually fallen, and a fleet of more than thirty warships and transport ships of various types are plowing white waves on the sea.
This fleet includes frigates with beveled decks and a full load displacement of 25,000 tons, destroyers with a full load displacement of 3,000 and several hundred tons and 210 mm caliber main guns, and a full platoon of 25,000 tons with installed There are floating hotels such as "Yamato", "Musashi" and "Shinano" equipped with 155mm guns, 75mm guns and 20mm anti-aircraft cannons, and there are even more than a dozen large and small "hybrid" boats with sails. Powered” motor sailboat.
Dozens of black smoke rose straight into the sky, and the setting sun shone down from the west, reflecting on the sea, making the waves sparkling, and the color of blood was faint between the sea and the sky.
Every ship in this fleet is flying the shamrock flag symbolizing the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Tokugawa State!
Now the main force of the Texas Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has bypassed the Drake Strait in the south of South America and broke into the Atlantic Ocean!
On the Akagi, the general flagship of the Combined Fleet, Takenori Enomoto, the first commander-in-chief of the Maritime Forces, and Takamori Saigo, the first commander-in-chief of the Japanese Maritime Forces, were walking together on the empty aviation deck of the Akagi. The two of them probably had been sitting on the boat for a long time, and their muscles and bones were a bit stiff, so they did some stretching exercises while walking.
Although there is nothing on the deck of the "Akagi" now, the hangar below the deck is filled with carrier-based aircraft, as many as 48! Including 42 "Hai Fei Long 1" (6 spare) and 6 "Ssangyong" (2 spare).
Among them, the "Sea Flying Dragon Type 1" is a single-engine, single-seat, biplane fighter-bomber - you can tell by the name that it is a very awesome aircraft. Specifically, there are four awesome features of this aircraft. One is a five-cylinder radial piston engine with a maximum power of 175 horsepower and a maximum speed of 188 kilometers per hour.
Moreover, this engine is relatively fuel-efficient, allowing the "Haifeilong 1" to fly continuously at a speed of 150 kilometers per hour for one and a half hours while carrying a 100 kilogram armor-piercing bomb, thereby achieving a "super-large" range of 225 kilometers. voyage. Taking into account the additional consumption when carrier-based aircraft take off and form a team, as well as the increase in range when returning empty-loaded. The combat radius of this "Haifeilong Type 1" in actual combat must be more than 100 kilometers!
In addition, when the bombs are thrown away and the pilot is asked to wear more clothes and put on an oxygen mask, the practical ceiling of the "Sea Flying Dragon 1" can reach an "astonishing" 5,000 meters!
An aircraft that can fly so "high" is simply fatal to British and American airships! That kind of "human-guided gliding bomb" can no longer be used.
The second cool thing about the "Hai Feilong Type 1" is that it has two synchronized machine guns that can be called "black technology"! This kind of machine gun can coordinate with the propeller when firing, so that the bullet does not hit the propeller, but passes through the gap between the propellers. Therefore, this machine gun can be installed in front of the cockpit and behind the propeller. The pilot can take aim and hit!
The third cool thing is that a large bomb weighing 100 kilograms can be hung on the belly pylon of this aircraft! Moreover, this biplane can launch bombs from a low angle dive of no more than 40 degrees from an altitude of two to three thousand meters.
Although the accuracy provided by dive bombing at a 40-degree angle is not as good as that of vertical dive bombing at an angle close to 90 degrees, it is still much better than the previous Ssangyong aircraft!
The fourth cool thing is that the "Sea Flying Dragon Type 1" is a true carrier-based aircraft that can not only take off from the aircraft carrier, but also land on the aircraft carrier. Therefore, in a sea and air battle, they can take off repeatedly to attack the enemy.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Zhuge Weidao's first aviation battle in the Battle of Great Strait a few months ago could be equipped with the "Sea Flying Dragon Type 1", then the British's 12 victory levels might have been bombed. Total destruction!
Of course, where there is a spear, there must be a shield. While the Ming Dynasty's aircraft spears are becoming more and more powerful, the British and American air defense shields have also become thicker. According to intelligence, the British and Americans are now busy installing various anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery on their warships!
In the conceivable future, the scene of small wooden planes swooping and dropping bombs against the enemy's intensive anti-aircraft firepower will appear on the ocean.
When the two generals, Enomoto Takenoki and Saigo Takamori, finished their walk, an adjutant was already waiting nearby, reporting in a low voice and respectfully: "Your Excellency, the radio has just received the message from the Pacific Fleet Headquarters transferred by the communication ship. telegram."
After speaking, the adjutant handed the translated telegram to Enomoto Takenoki with both hands. Enomoto was a minister at the first level of the flag. Although his family status was not high, he was deeply trusted by Tokugawa Ieqi and Tokugawa Saiaki. He once studied in England to study the navy. After Shimazu was overthrown, he took up the post of Naval Staff Officer, and later served as Texas Transportation Officer. He led the fleet back and forth across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans for several years. Even if there was no credit, the hard work was enough. . However, his experience in naval battles and naval and air battles cannot be compared with Saigo Takamori, who served as the general of the Texas Army.
Xixiang is the "originator of air combat." In the airship battle over Jueying Island, he once attacked the Ming army's airship by throwing ribs. Although he was not able to shoot down the opponent's airship, it did cause damage. During the post-war battle damage inspection, the Ming Army's airship ground crew discovered a mysterious short knife inserted into the shell of an airship!
This short knife is still being used as waste heat in the kitchen of the Jueying Island base. It’s so useful!
Although attacking airships with flying knives is just a joke, Saigo did participate in organizing the air raid on Jueying Island and accumulated rich experience.
However, after all, this Saigo was born in the Satsuma Domain, and he also served as a samurai in the north. Even though he has now joined the shogunate and became a shogunate, he is still the "hero of the founding of the Tokugawa State", but after all, he cannot compare with the genealogy of Enomoto. Flag book, so the Tokugawa family did not trust him to hand over the sea to him, but let him be the leader of the Texas land camp - although Texas is known as the "Tokugawa state", he traveled tens of thousands of miles across the ocean to settle in Texas. Basically, they are all rogues, and many of them are old members of the Satsuma clan. That is to say, Saigo's background can deal with them. Therefore, the general of Dezhou Luzi was given to Xixiang, but his interest was actually at sea.
Seeing the interested expression on the big man's face, Enomoto smiled and said to Saigo after reading the telegram: "Saigo-kun, the Pacific Fleet Command ordered us to prepare for a decisive battle with the main force of the U.S. Navy near the Yucatan Strait. Commander It is hoped that we will make full use of our aviation advantages and carry out bombing at long distances to force the enemy's battleships to withdraw from the battle."
"that's all?"
After hearing this, Xixiang Takamori looked puzzled. Enomoto looked at him and asked: "Saigo-kun, is there any problem?"
"Yes!" Saigo nodded and said, "We have 2 aircraft-carrying frigates and 72 carrier-based fighter-bombers that can be dispatched. With such a powerful force, why not carry out a sneak attack, but to fight in the Yucatan Peninsula? Where is the formation?"
Enomoto looked at Saigo: "Saigo-kun, if you were the general of the sea, where would you like to attack?"
"Sneak attack on the Norfolk Naval Base!" Saigo Takamori said without thinking. "That is the homeport of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic Fleet. It is only more than 30 kilometers away from the coastline. Our aircraft-carrying frigates can release carrier-based aircraft at sea 60 kilometers away from the coast. , this way it will not be discovered at all and there is no risk.”
"But the main ships of the U.S. Navy have already entered the Gulf of Mexico. There are no big ships that can be blown up in the Norfolk base!"
Saigo Takamori said: "There are no big ships, there are small ships, there are no warships, there are transport ships. Even if there is nothing, there are still port facilities that can be bombed. Moreover, the bombing of the Norfolk base means that the bombs fell on On American soil! We can bomb Norfolk, and we can bomb New York and Boston! In this way, do the Americans still dare to put their main fleet in the Gulf of Mexico?"
(End of chapter)
