Chapter 822 Air Strike, I am the king! 4

@@@@@@ "Let me, let me."

After Xi Ming climbed the light patrol mast with his hands and feet on his back, he was stunned by the scene that appeared in front of him before it was ready. I only saw that on the aircraft carrier that hit the waves behind the light patrol, one war eagle after another soared into the sky, and then kept circling along the aircraft carrier formation, waiting for the subsequent take-off of comrades-in-arms.

As a military reporter, he has seen many aircraft carrier take-offs, but it is the first time he has seen the aircraft carrier battle group show all his strength.

Even in the Imperial Navy, many people do not know how strong the combat effectiveness of the aircraft carrier is. Ordinary people are used to using the most classic results of the Gulf of Panama to explain the strength of the aircraft carrier. But in fact, at that time, the Western Qin class did not serve for a long time, and the night xiao dive bomber was not equipped, which was not the strongest state.

But today, he finally saw it!

90 dive bombers, 72 Longya torpedo planes/horizontal bombers, and 44 escort Hornet fighters, a full 206 fighters almost covered the sky.

And these are only three. You should know that two of the fleets participating in this attack are maneuvering, and the whole empire is currently known to be in service with six Western Qin-class heavy, two Yinshang-class heavy and five Jinghai-class light, not including two sea-class aircraft carriers that have been launched and sea trials and three heavy aircraft carriers under construction.

Seeing that the fighter formation was about to leave, Xi Ming didn't have time to look at it and immediately set up the camera.

Many years later, when studying the Bermudian Sea Air War, people will always like to take out this one first. You can clearly see the photo of three large attack arrow formations sweeping over the fleet, because this is the first time in the world to intuitively understand the strike ability of the Imperial Aircraft Carrier Battle Group

..“ Speed 22 knots, distance 21,000 meters, wind speed 3, angle 110, fire!"

"Hit, Shanghai report hit!"

"Next round."

While the attack aircraft took off one after another, on the dark blue ocean, the huge Lexington was like a dying beast. Although its eight L45/381mm heavy artillery roared every three minutes, this roar was more like a dying howl.

Opposite it are three Yanjing-class battleships that should not have been a threat and opponent. As the world's first fast battleship, the Yanjing-class is not too strong in terms of firepower or protection, and it is not even as good as the Xi'an-class large cruiser that has just entered service.

And in the bombardment of this scale, the speed advantage will also be reduced, because if the speed is too fast, it will greatly affect the accuracy of the shell. The 305mm shell itself is too light. If you don't slow down, it is the same as dreaming to hit the opponent at 20,000 meters away, which is why 305mm is the main force. It is one of the reasons why there are very many hits in the Battle of Delan.

But it is this kind of seemingly asymmetrical battle that has enough opportunities to escape from the former according to strength, but it shows a one-sided situation.

The advanced optical ranging and the overall command system of radio communication enable the three Yanjing-class battleships to fully share the shelling data difference of each gun position. With the help of a hand-cranked fire control computer, this data difference will be quickly calculated and then find the final target evidence.

"Fire."

In the gunner's shouting again, the 27 L50/305mm guns roared again. The Lexington, which should have been about the time to fight back, could only see the black spot falling on the same head again because of the quality and training of the sailors, and its cannon had not completed the filling.

21000 meters to 305mm shells are a little far away, but in this round of slaught, two shells accurately hit the Lexington superstructure.

Similarly, the armor designed to prevent 15-inch shells withstand the shells again, but the fireballs and the exploded shraps have caused great damage to the upper layer of the deck. The box-type centralized protection layout can indeed strengthen the protection ability of key parts, but many places have been weakened.

The shrapnel was fiercely penetrated into the 127mm secondary turret. These turrets, which were basically without armored protection, could not block the bombardment of Yanjing-class heavy artillery. The only fortunate thing was that because there were not enough sailors and gunners, the U.S. military simply did not use the secondary artillery at a long distance, so the explosion did not induce the explosion. Secondary shells.

By the time when the Lexington counterattacked again, the three Yanjing class had completed three consecutive volleys, and a full of 81 armor-piercing shells still hit the target. They could not penetrate the turret and kill the conning tower. It was even difficult for the important parts of the horizontal armor to continue to go down, but they still removed these important ones. The place outside the part is almost flattened.

Looking from the sky, the brand-new Lexington seemed to have been bitten by a dog. On the deck, the bridge was full of potholes and mess left by the explosion. Except for the bridge and turret, it was almost invisible, and even one of the four chimneys fell down.

Jin Wei turned his wings, and the miserable appearance of the Lexington below made him smile. There is no need to waste bombs and torpedoes. As long as you look at the destroyer next to it, you can know that no matter how good its armor and protection ability are, when the secondary guns are knocked out one by one, the naval torpedo can completely complete the end. One blow.

A large white cloud gradually came into sight, blocking the battle scene below. Looking at the cotton-like clouds, somehow Jin Wei always had a feeling of going to the center to find out what it was, as if there was something hidden there.

In the end, he didn't go, because there were dozens of enemy ships waiting for him. At this moment, no one could consume fuel to satisfy his curiosity.

So Jin Wei didn't know that just 75 kilometers to the left of their fleet, the same huge American bombers were also using clouds as cover to search for the position of the second aircraft carrier battle group.

In the double cockpit of the Handley Page 400 double-winged large bomber, Theodore behind him held a telescope and searched back and forth.

The beautiful white clouds in the past have become the biggest obstacle, and the blue sky and the sea in the distance seem to condense together, making people unable to distinguish between the southeast and northwest.

He hates this feeling very much. It is too difficult to locate a fleet in the vast sea. Even if the approximate position of the enemy has been obtained from the destroyer reconnaissance, he knows the specific number and types, but the fleet can maneuver at least 50 nautical miles in an hour, which means that he must search for tens of thousands of square meters. The range of square kilometers.

But now there is no way to turn back, because in the clouds behind it, hundreds of fighters from Bermuda have flown for an hour. If we don't find the other party as soon as possible, this attack will be over.

Just when Theodore was most anxious, a few black spots under the left cloud made him suddenly shout: "Man, look, yes."

"Enemy aircraft!"

Before he finished speaking, the pilot had suddenly deflected the fuselage. In shock, Theodore only heard a sharp roar from his head. He looked up and saw that the two Hornet fighters had swooped towards him.

"Gremend a telegram."

Theodore was in a hurry to make a radio. Finally, before he could say more words to the group behind him, a string of bullets swept down from the top of his head

..“ Sir, it's an enemy reconnaissance aircraft!"

Flagship, on the battleship Hebei, Sa Zhenbing looked coldly at the biplane that was shot down like a fireball and asked, "Did you send a radio signal?"

"It has been sent out."

"All interception fighters take off, all ships are ready for air defense and protection, and pay attention to the destroyers on the sea." With the help of the guards, Sa Zhenbing took off the dark blue officer's coat, exposed the white shirt inside, and continued to ask, "Have you not found the enemy's heavy patrol formation?"

"Not yet. At present, we have strengthened the intensity of the investigation to the east and north."

"Don't talk to me so much." Sa Zhenbing interrupted the staff: "Order the Air Wing to be fully prepared for the attack, and set out immediately as soon as the enemy's heavy patrol is found!"

Without waiting for the aviation staff to answer, Sa Zhenbing had turned to the navigation staff: "Where is the first battleship formation?"

"The first battleship formation has arrived 85 nautical miles south of Bermuda, and the general an hour ahead has ordered full speed. According to current estimates, they will stop Jellico's battleship formation before the second wave of attack launched by the first aircraft carrier battle group at the latest to prevent them from escaping."

"The enemy aircraft is coming!"

The shouts shocked the officers in the command tower. Everyone turned their heads and saw that hundreds of biplanes had appeared under the white clouds in the distance, and the 24 escort Hornet fighters on their side had also been hanged with the other side.

"With the aircraft carrier as the center, the ships are scattered, and the air defense formations."

"Sar, the second wave came from the southeast. It's the Short 184 seaplane!"

"In the north, the reconnaissance aircraft found a large number of Curtiss D300s flying towards us in the north."

"Ha ha." In the face of a swarm of British and American planes pouring into the second aircraft carrier battle group, Sa Zhenbing, who took the officer to climb the fire control observation command tower at the top of the bridge, did not laugh.

He knew very well that this was Jellico's last resort. He wanted to use the attack of the aircraft as a cover to narrow the distance between the two fleets, in order to avoid being surrounded by enemy aircraft and falling into the embarrassment of failure without a shot.

It's a trick to let the Bermuda fleet attack itself, and it's also a trick to let the heavy patrol team hide with the few remaining aircraft carriers. If he has a good enough aircraft and pilots, he may succeed, but now.

"Sir, I received a clear telegram from the First Aircraft Carrier Combat Group."

"Bright code? What does General Lefei want to do? As soon as he heard that it was a clear code, several officers next to him suddenly looked at each other. Only Sa Zhenbing took the telegram and saw "Air attack, I'm the king." At the time of five words, he smiled and took out his old pocket watch and looked at it.

It's already 9:50. If there is no accident, the first bomb will fall on Jellico's head in a few minutes!

And since this telegram was sent with a clear code, I'm afraid that Jellico's heavy patrol team has also received it. They will never miss this good opportunity to play the time difference!

"Turn the rudder, sail to the northwest, at full speed, and get closer to the first aircraft carrier battle group."

(to be continued)