Chapter 2730： Battle Damage II

Chapter 2730 Battle damage (2)

While the Americans were busy dealing with the fire on the flight deck and hangar, the second and third bombs also fell. One bomb was 250KG, one was 100KG, and the second bomb hit the middle of the deck. The slack of the central lift in operation also caused fires in the hangar and flight deck, but it was much less destructive and firepower. The third 100KG bomb fell on the antiaircraft gun deck on the side of the battleship. , The several 28MM machine guns and the adjacent gun group were solved together.

The fourth time it hit the Constellation was a torpedo. It was originally a formation of three planes. However, one of them failed and the other was destroyed before the torpedo could be thrown. In the end, the torpedo was shot out. In this battle, the Japanese Marine-based Air Force made the last effective hit! The torpedo left a clear white mark on the sea and hit the left side of the Constellation 1 minute later!

Constellation is worthy of being one of the most powerful aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy. This warship has a 3.8-meter underwater protective layer and a defense system composed of high-elastic steel plates above 60mm, which has proven to be reliable. Fragments and shock waves are broken. The first layer of heavy oil tank. Then a large amount of foam poured into the empty tanks of the second layer. These empty tanks contained high-temperature and high-pressure bubbles, and used high-elastic steel plates to absorb and reduce the remaining energy. Most of the debris was unable to penetrate the third-layer liquid tank, and individual kinetic energy was relatively high. The large fragments were eventually blocked by the last layer of lightning protection steel plate. So much so that the old Fletcher and Mitchell on the Constellation just felt the warship shake a little.

When the remaining Japanese bombers wanted to continue their attack, the fighters that took off from Zeppelin and Assault finally arrived. The well-conditioned fighter group easily expelled the Japanese bomber group and laid down several unlucky ones who were too late to escape. No matter what, because of the timely support of the Second Aircraft Carrier Squadron, Constellation was reported down. Although his rear deck was blown up, the aircraft carrier could still sail at a speed of 25 knots or more.

"The loss was heavy." Old Fletcher looked at his fleet. Three aircraft carriers sank two in battle, and the Constellation almost lost its ability to land. Although the damage to the hull structure of the three battleships was not significant, the air defense firepower suffered serious losses. Some fragile equipment, such as optical instruments, were also lost. In the next battle, I am afraid that the performance of these injured battleships will be very bad. At least 5 destroyers were sunk in the battle, and two were seriously damaged.

"I don't know what happened to the fleet escorting General Sims now. We need to send them a telegram, asking them not to return to the first aircraft carrier squadron after completing their missions, and go directly to the second aircraft carrier squadron to land." Mitchell said .

"Can Zeppelin and Assault hold those carrier-based aircraft?" Old Fletcher asked.

"It should be able to hold most of it. After all, the losses of the carrier-based aircraft on these two aircraft carriers are also quite large. Many aircraft are forced to land on the sea because of the exhaustion of fuel. And the fighters we sent to General Sims are not without Loss, I don’t know how they are.” Mitchell said.

Well, now the question is coming. Just when Charles led the fleet to storm the US First Aircraft Carrier Squadron, what happened to Sims? In fact, the Sims fleet is also under tremendous pressure because they are closer to the Japanese airport, and the Japanese single-engine aircraft are capable of providing **** for the bomber group! The American fighters sent to **** are not faced with heavy twin-engine fighters, but Japanese dromedary fighters!

If the air defense firepower of the aircraft carrier and battleship squadron commanded by the old Fletcher made the Japanese offensive forces feel great, then the air defense firepower of the Sims fleet made the Japanese feel even more difficult to start, and the Japanese bomber force arrived on the battlefield. Before that, Sims reorganized the fleet. The original single squadron composed of 8 battleships was split into two detachments, and the same was true for the frigates.

"The American battleship air defense formation is like this. Their four battleships advance in a diamond formation. The distance between the battleships is always. They can use antiaircraft artillery to support each other, and they also leave enough room for maneuvering. On the periphery is a circular array of at least 12 destroyers. Between the two circular arrays, there are armored cruiser detachments and associated destroyers, maintaining the contact of the circular array. In the air, at least 70 fighters are fleets. An air defense net was opened. When we saw this posture, we knew that today's battle will not be easy." Said a British officer who had participated in an air attack on the Sims fleet.

"Our forces today are destined to perform only limited attack missions, so we must attack the most valuable targets." Before launching the final attack, the British officer Colonel Belon, who was in charge of the mission, arranged the attack target for the last time.

"This time two new battleships appeared in the US fleet. Their appearance is very similar to the German Bavarian-class battleship, but the size is a bit bigger. Equipped with 4 twin turrets, if you guessed it correctly, then It should be the new Colorado-class battleship of the U.S. Navy," said the staff officer next to it.

"Well, it should be like this The German Bavaria is fast, responsive, and the officers and soldiers are experienced and difficult to catch. The American 14-inch battleship has limited combat effectiveness. Don’t worry too much. Then we will treat the Americans. Let’s start with the new ship, their 16-inch artillery is very powerful. In the next fleet battle, the threat to the combined fleet battleship is a bit big.” Veron thought for a while and said.

Today’s air strikes are only the beginning of the Japanese counterattack. The core tactical purpose is to weaken the strength of the US fleet. Charles has already attacked the American aircraft carrier detachment, and Veron’s mission is to weaken the strength of the US battleship detachment, but from the current situation It seems very difficult to handle, so he can only target individual warships. It is not easy to rely on less than 80 bombers to forcibly tear open such a line of defense and then severely damage the opposing fleet.

"After the mission is arranged, let's start, let the fighters go first, and then we go. And the giants have to stay for the end!" Veron looked at the bomber group with only 60 fighters above and below. After all, time is still a bit tight. In less than two days of preparation time, the Japanese navy and army aviation forces can concentrate so much is regarded as the limit, but there are two attack targets, ensuring the strength of the attack on the US aircraft carrier. It is difficult to guarantee the strength of the attack on the battleship.

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(End of this chapter)