The Rise of the Third Reich

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon on December 7, 1941 (Hawaii time), after repelling 50 U.S. military fighter planes that took off from the "Raider" aircraft carrier (shooting down 19 and damaging 8), they were on the sea near Hawaii. , the day's battle has basically come to an end.

It's not that the pilots on the Japanese aircraft carrier can't fight at night, but the battles throughout the day today are too intense. All the pilots are exhausted and need a good night's rest.

For Chuichi Nagumo, the commander of the First Mobile Fleet, the night of December 7 was definitely another sleepless night.

There were two reasons why Nagumo Chuichi couldn't sleep. First, the loss of the Japanese carrier-based aircraft pilots on December 7 made him feel a little sad. Not counting bombardiers, radio operators, etc., but only the captain, the First Mobile Fleet lost 69 people during the day, and a German foreign aid was also killed.

Of course, it wasn't little Hersman who died. Little Hersman's life was relatively tough. He achieved his 27th victory today, shooting down an American F4F "Wildcat" fighter jet, and then landed intact on the "Akagi". At this moment, he was wearing a straight German naval aviation uniform, sitting at a very long dining table, listening to beautiful European classical music (played by a military band), and enjoying a delicious Western-style meal - he It was as a guest of Commander Nagumo that I went to the Commander's Hall to dine.

He had never enjoyed such treatment in Germany or Italy... although everyone knew that he was the son of Marshal Hessmann. But in Japan, little Hersman clearly felt the meaning of "privilege" and "superior and inferior".

It was not the first time that he was sitting in the commander's hall and dining with a bunch of generals and lieutenants like this.

In order to take care of little Hersman, who did not understand Japanese, Nagumo Chuichi and all the Japanese officers in the commander's office spoke fluent English.

"Your Excellency, Commander," little Hersman paused, as if he knew that he should not say anything related to tactical issues in front of these senior Japanese naval officers, but he still couldn't help but point out, "In today's battle, many Excellent Japanese pilots died because of some stupid mistakes, which is very harmful to the war potential of the Japanese Empire!”

Nagumo Chuichi said "Oh" without showing any expression of displeasure. Hersman Jr. continued: "The lives of pilots are very precious, and this has been proven time and again on the European battlefield. The current disadvantage that Britain is in is largely due to the battles in 1940 and the first half of 1941. During the war, they lost too many outstanding pilots, causing the overall quality of the pilots to continue to decline. However, because our German Empire has a large number of outstanding pilots, it can maximize the performance of combat aircraft and be able to firmly control the air for a long time... In fact, "The British have no less common aircraft than we do."

Little Hersman glanced at the expressionless Nagumo again and said: "The Japanese Empire seems to be following the old path of the British! Your pilots don't cherish their lives so much that they even go to the battlefield without parachutes... Moreover, your Zero fighter is too thin and lacks necessary protection. If it is hit, it will be difficult to make an emergency landing. If the pilot does not parachute, his life will be in vain. The situation on the American side is just the opposite. Not only will their pilots. Parachuting, and the aircraft they fly are very sturdy and can protect pilots very well. In addition, Americans also attach great importance to the search and rescue of parachuting pilots, which allows them to protect the rare resource of excellent pilots to the greatest extent.”

Nagumo Chuichi said softly "Oh" again, without comment. In fact, he knew everything little Hersman said. But Japan has its own national conditions, and he, the commander of the First Mobile Fleet, has nothing to do.

Of course, it is still possible to order the pilot to put on a parachute and get on the plane, but it is hard to say whether these young people who think they have a samurai spirit will listen...

"Captain Hersman, do you think those American planes this afternoon came from aircraft carriers?" Chuichi Nagumo suddenly spoke at this time, changing the topic from "pilot protection" to the American planes that followed the returning aircraft and found the Japanese aircraft carrier this afternoon. .

Of course, the 50 or so American aircraft did not pose any threat to the Japanese aircraft carrier. They were even repelled by 60 Zero fighter jets flown by German foreign aid before they even approached. The Americans lost nearly 20 aircraft, but the skills of the Germans were really useless. Only 2 aircraft were shot down. One of the pilots parachuted and was rescued, and the other pilot unfortunately died.

But then Hessmann Jr. and several other German officers who participated in the war submitted reports with similar content - they all believed that the target of today's battle was a carrier-based aircraft!

"Yes," little Hersman nodded, "the Americans must use carrier-based aircraft. The American SBD Dauntless dive bombers are also divided into carrier-based and shore-based. We have both types of SBDs in Europe. Having fought against each other, I know the difference between the two. Moreover, if the Americans are dispatching shore-based aircraft, then they will definitely use Mustang (P51) fighter jets to escort them. The Mustang fighter jet is a fighter with very good performance and can compete with them. The Zero contends, and it has a lot of range, but we didn't see a Mustang today, which suggests these planes were taking off from U.S. aircraft carriers."

In other words, there is at least one US aircraft carrier in the waters near the Hawaiian Islands!

Nagumo Chuichi's expression finally changed, and he looked a little excited this time. If the six aircraft carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet are near the Hawaiian Islands, then Nagumo Chuichi will definitely retreat as soon as possible.

But if there is only one ship, then it is a chance to destroy the enemy!

…

"19 aircraft were shot down, 31 returned successfully, and 8 of them were damaged but could be repaired."

Kimmel is also finishing his meal now, which is a sandwich with meat and lettuce and a cup of coffee. He is eating while discussing military affairs with his subordinates in the combat command center of the Pacific Fleet Command.

"When can the Pennsylvania be launched? What's the situation with the Tennessee and Nevada? Can it be launched?" Kimmel asked with a frown.

"Admiral, the Pennsylvania has been launched and will be able to move early tomorrow morning. The Tennessee is not seriously injured. The bow of the Nevada is flooded and its speed may drop a bit, but it will not affect the dispatch."

The Pacific Fleet is about to dispatch! Kimmel probably thought that the Japanese would bomb again tomorrow, so he couldn't let the fleet stay in the port and be bombed. Therefore, we are ready to lead the ships that can leave the port before dawn to join the "Raider" aircraft carrier.

"Okay," Kimmel nodded and said, "Then move the headquarters to the Pennsylvania." He thought for a while and then ordered, "As for the West Virginia and Maryland that can still fight, let the tugs Drag them to Williston Battery and beach them."

The USS West Virginia and USS Maryland are both Colorado-class battleships, equipped with four twin 16-inch main guns! The two battleships together have 16 16-inch cannons, plus the 2 16-inch cannons of Williston Fort, the total is 18 16-inch cannons!

The Williston Fort is in an excellent position and can fire 360 ​​degrees without blind spots (of course it is impossible for all 18 cannons to fire at the same time, naval guns always have blind spots), allowing two Colorado-class battleships to be stranded there. , large-caliber artillery can be used to support the defensive battle on Oahu - although Kimmel still does not believe that the Japanese will really attack Oahu, he cannot make no preparations at all.

…

"Commander, Lieutenant General Tsukahara 243 reported that Kaohsiung Airport was attacked by the US military. 22 aircraft were destroyed and injured on the ground. 4 Navy Zero fighter jets and 9 Army Type 1 fighter jets were shot down. …”

In the "Yamato Hotel", Yamamoto Isoroku was also enjoying a sumptuous Japanese meal while listening to the staff report on the latest progress of the war.

The war did not go as smoothly as expected. In addition to the Guam offensive ending due to the bombing of American planes before it even started, the attack on the Philippines also got off to a bad start. The first wave of aircraft that took off from Taiwan to bomb Clark Airport of the US military had just taken off from the airports in Kaohsiung and Tainan. The American bombers arrived in Kaohsiung and bombed them indiscriminately!

That's 36 B-17s plus 36 B-25s, which can drop hundreds of tons of bombs at a time! Fortunately, the American pilots were not very good at dropping bombs. Only a small number of bombs landed at Kaohsiung Airport, causing little damage. But the Japanese fighter jets that took off to fight American planes were shot down 13!

"How come 13 Type Zeros and Type 1s were shot down?" Yamamoto Isoroku's face became troubled. "What happened to Tsukahara 243? Why were so many planes shot down? American fighter jets Is it that powerful?”

"Commander, most of the planes were not shot down by American fighter jets." Ugaki took the telegram from Tsukahara and said with a frown, "Two Zeros and five Type 1s were shot down by American B-17s. Shot down..."

"Baga!" Yamamoto Isoroku threw away his chopsticks in anger, and even lost the appetite to eat the tuna sashimi. "They were actually shot down by a bomber. These pilots are idiots and should all commit seppuku."

"Commander, none of the pilots on the downed fighter planes carried parachutes. They have all become gods!" Ugaki said without frowning, "However, our Zero and Type 1 aircraft were shot down not because the pilots were stupid, but because the pilots were stupid. Because the American B-17s flew too high, they flew above 10,000 meters..."