"Let out the smoke! Let out the smoke quickly! Let's rush out."
"But Admiral, the British fleet is outside. If we go out, we might be besieged!"
"Don't be afraid. The most dangerous thing now is the enemy's air raid. We can't stay in the lagoon and get bombed. We must rush out immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Guo Xiaobao's fear of bombing is of course understandable, because he has been following Zhuge's path in maritime aviation, and can be said to be one of the founders of the Ming Navy's carrier aviation force - he himself has also obtained a carrier-based aircraft pilot's license, and can be proficient in it Pilot the aircraft to take off and land from the aircraft carrier. So he also knows very well how much progress has been made in carrier-based aircraft and the weapons they carry in the past two years!
Today, Ming Dynasty’s latest Feilong 2 fighter-bomber can carry a 100kg armor-piercing aerial bomb for dive bombing at a 40-degree angle! If a 100-kilogram armor-piercing bomb were to land on the Kongming, one shot would hit the target!
The Ssangyong 2 reconnaissance bomber is even more powerful. Although this aircraft has been changed from a dual-engine to a single-engine, the strong power of its 300-horsepower radial air-cooled engine allows the Ssangyong 2 to carry 2 With only one pilot, he can still attach a 250 kilogram bomb and fly for two hours at a speed of 175 kilometers per hour! If it takes one less pilot, it can even carry a 300kg armor-piercing bomb.
If a 250-300 kilogram armor-piercing bomb is used on the Kongming, it will be destroyed!
And the most brutal one is the Thunder Dragon torpedo bomber! This is a twin-engine "heavy" aircraft with a length of 9.7 meters and a wingspan of 18.2 meters. It has two 250-horsepower radial air-cooled engines and can carry a 500-kg light steam gas torpedo. If a 500-kilogram torpedo traveling 350 kilometers were fired at the Kongming, it would probably dry up and sink!
Under the command of Guo Xiaobao, who was well aware of the huge threat aircraft posed to warships, the large light cruiser Kongming and the second-class protected cruiser Liu Zhongzhuang (Liu Wei), which had already started their boilers and steam turbines, were covered by the smoke released by the three destroyers. Get off and leave the anchorage towards the exit of Kwajalein Atoll.
When the other 12 "Island"-class shallow-water heavy artillery ships anchored in the Kwajalein Lagoon saw the Kongming releasing smoke and running away, they all imitated the same pattern. They all turned on full power, released smoke, and covered themselves as they sailed out of the lagoon.
This smoky scene was quickly discovered by a British airship undertaking a reconnaissance mission in the sky. However, the observers on the British airship did not know that the smoke below was emitted by the Ming warship itself - this is also the fault of the Ming Dynasty. The smoke bombs used by the Navy are of a single type, all of which are black. When lit, black smoke billows, and it looks almost like being hit by a bullet and setting off a fire. Moreover, the British pigeon aircraft dropped bombs and exploded with huge splashes from time to time. Although these bombs were air-dropped armor-piercing bombs, the fuses they used were still as sensitive as artillery-fired armor-piercing bombs and exploded upon contact, so they exploded one after another after falling into the sea.
This scene was full of water spray, thick smoke, and from time to time, pigeon planes dragging black smoke fell from the sky into the sea. What a fierce battle between sea and air!
Therefore, the British airship observers in the sky thought that their own "pigeon aircraft" had made a great contribution and damaged more than a dozen Ming army battleships and cruisers! So the radio on the airship immediately reported the news of the successful air strike to George Elliot and William Baga.
"Admiral, great victory, great victory. Our pigeon planes damaged 12 battleships and 2 cruisers in Kwajalein Lagoon. Now, the smoke is billowing in Kwajalein Atoll!"
"God bless England!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
"God bless us!"
Following the announcement from the communications staff, the bridge of the battleship King William IV was filled with joy. William Baga, who had been on tenterhooks before, also showed a satisfied smile. He took the copy of the telegram from the fleet communications staff with a smile, and then read it again and again. After finally confirming that it was correct, he showed a winner's smile.
He smiled and said: "Gentlemen, our battle has just begun. The 12 battleships and 2 cruisers of the Ming Navy were only damaged and not sunk. After all, our pigeon aircraft can only carry 100 pounds of bombs, and it is still not very powerful. enough.
According to the airship report, the injured Ming Dynasty warship still maintains its ability to move and is trying to escape from Kwajalein Atoll, dragging black smoke. So now we are going at full speed to the vicinity of Kwajalein Atoll and use our 12-inch, 13.5-inch and 14-inch main guns to destroy them all!
Now, raise the Z-flag and deliver my order: The British Empire needs every one of us to fight heroically! "
"Yes, sir!"
About 150 nautical miles west of Kwajalein Atoll, the aircraft-carrying battleship cruiser Shu Zhongwang.
In the hangar, several ground soldiers were slowly pushing a Brontosaurus carrier-based torpedo bomber with folded wings onto the elevator. With the help of the hydraulic pump, the fighter was slowly lifted onto the deck, facing the howling sea breeze. Rushing forward, everyone was immediately refreshed.
"God the Heavenly Father bless it, the Heavenly Father God bless it and it is invulnerable! It hits every target! Brother Tian is possessed. Amen!"
A Hainan Airlines pilot in his twenties, with dark skin and a somewhat ferocious face, was standing next to the plane. He was pressing the fuselage of the plane with one hand and making the sign of the cross with the other hand. He was mumbling something and looked very moral. look.
Needless to say, the pilot was also a God-worshipper. However, he is not a conscript, but a serious naval officer, a pilot who graduated from the Naval Flying School, with the rank of lieutenant. At the same time, he is also a Hakka from Guangdong and Guangxi. His surname is Xiao. You can tell by his name that he has "great luck"!
After some prayers, Lieutenant Xiao Chaogui felt that his whole body was full of strength. At this time, he and his plane had already ascended to the flight deck. The deck was extremely crowded. The Dragon 2 and Ssangyong 2 were already densely arranged on the angled deck, waiting to take off. The Thunder Dragon torpedo bomber driven by Xiao Chaogui was a heavy aircraft and required a longer flight deck for taxiing, so it was placed at the end of the angled deck. After being lifted up by the elevator, after a few steps, it was already in place.
Xiao Chaogui also followed his plane, his dark face tense and his brows slightly furrowed, with a sacred and solemn expression. A HNA lieutenant colonel, who was also the captain of the Shu Zhongwang flight group, had already walked up to him and said loudly to him: "Chaogui, what are you doing standing still? Get on the plane. It's about to take off!"
"Ah, yes!" Xiao Chaogui was distracted just now. He was yelled at by his boss before he reacted. "Xiangtou, I'll get into the cabin right away." As he said that, he quickly climbed into the Brontosaurus along the ladder that had been set up long ago. In the cockpit of the plane, his co-pilot had already entered. When he saw Xiao Chaogui in his seat, he said to him: "Lieutenant, have you prayed? Can God bless us this time?"
Xiao Chaogui laughed loudly when he heard this: "Hu Yihuang, don't worry, God will send Brother Tian down to help this time, and we will definitely win!"
"Brother Tian, that's all nonsense!" The co-pilot named Hu Yihuang just smiled and shook his head.
Xiao Chaogui said seriously: "You can't be wrong. When I was admitted to the Naval Academy, I got help from Brother Tian. I couldn't do those multiple-choice questions or true-false questions. I just chose blindly with my eyes closed, and finally finished all right!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh siren sounded. This was the signal for the carrier-based aircraft to start taking off!
Xiao Chaogui stopped greeting his co-pilot, and a sacred and solemn expression appeared on his dark face again.
(End of chapter)
