The Rise of the Third Reich

"Commander, the American fleet ahead is running very fast, about 25-26 knots."

"The Colorado is not that fast. It seems to be a North Carolina class." Yamamoto Isoroku showed an excited expression.

The North Carolina class is a truly valuable target. The old and slow Colorado class has long been outdated and is just useless.

"Commander, it's possible that we won't be able to catch up." Ugaki Matoi said worriedly.

"How will the weather be tomorrow?" Yamamoto Isoroku asked about the weather conditions.

"There may be thunderstorms near the Hawaiian Islands in the morning, and it will clear up after noon. Carrier-based aircraft should be able to be dispatched in the afternoon." What Ugaki reported was the forecast of the Japanese Navy Meteorological Department, which was not very accurate.

"Give Nagumo Chuichi power and ask him to bring three aircraft carriers closer to our fleet." Yamamoto Isoroku smiled and said, "Since I have encountered it, of course I cannot tolerate it escaping! If the Yamato has no chance to attack , then let the carrier-based aircraft handle it.”

"Hai!"

…

"It seems that the super battleship is chasing us!" Nimitz also made an accurate judgment.

Then he also thought of carrier-based aircraft. This time he also brought two aircraft carriers, the Raider and the Wasp. These two aircraft carriers are now commanded by Rear Admiral Fletcher and are currently lurking somewhere off the northeast coast of the Hawaiian Islands.

"How is the weather tomorrow?"

"There is a thundercloud near the Hawaiian Islands and will gradually move south. If we continue to sail northeast, we will be able to get out of the thundercloud zone tomorrow morning."

After all, the territory near Hawaii is the territory of the United States. The Aleutian Islands in the north and the Gilbert Islands in the south are also British and American territories (the Gilbert Islands are a British colony). Americans have been collecting weather data in this area for decades, and there are weather stations in the Aleutian Islands and Gilbert Islands that can observe weather changes in nearby areas. Therefore, Americans' weather forecasts are more accurate than those of Japan.

"Great," Nimitz thought for a while and said, "If we go to fight the Japanese before dawn, it should be 2 vs 1... Even if we can't sink it, we still have to hit it hard, and then let the TBD torpedo bombers go fix it!"

"Sir, urgent message from Hawaii Command," the communications officer of the Pacific Fleet suddenly shouted, "General Short's counterattack failed... because a Japanese army suddenly waited at Waikiki Beach near Honolulu. Lu, now he has rushed to Diamond Mountain!"

"What?" Nimitz was stunned, "Have you rushed to Diamond Head? What about Skerfield Barracks and Pearl Harbor? Can they still be defended?"

There was a temporary airport between the barracks and Pearl Harbor, and there were hundreds of aircraft flying from the two aircraft carriers Lexington and Saratoga. If the Japanese captured or destroyed the airport, Nimitz would immediately be without hundreds of usable aircraft.

"We can't hold it any longer," the communications staff officer replied. "Admiral Short is preparing to withdraw all his troops to the Kurau Mountains, and he has ordered the pilots on the island to immediately board the destroyers and retreat."

A team composed of cruisers and destroyers led by Spruance arrived safely at Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. However, due to the critical situation, the three cruisers no longer dared to dock and only allowed the destroyers to dock. Therefore, the number of people who can retreat has also been greatly reduced, and it has been difficult for ordinary white civilians to board the ship, unless they are minors. However, the pilots on the island have received a forced retreat order. Now is not the time to show off as heroes. The elite pilots on these aircraft carriers are a valuable asset even in the United States.

However, it would not be easy for Spruance to get this wealth back, because the Japanese already knew that an American fleet had arrived near Kaneohe Bay. Vice Admiral Mikawa Junichi, who stayed in the waters near Oahu, took his flagship "Hiei" and the destroyers "Hasukaze", "Tanikaze", "Shiranui" and "Akiun" together. Driving to Kaneohe Bay to engage Spruance.

"Rear Admiral, the Semmes discovered 5 Japanese ships, heading 322, 18 nautical miles away."

The first to discover the opponent was the American "auspicious ship" USS Semmes destroyer. Because the two North Carolina-class battleships were equipped with the British 279 radar, the Semmes was assigned to Spruance's team to act as eyes and ears.

However, Spruance's opponent, Mikawa Junichi, had no radar to use. The guided missile cruiser "Emperor Friedrich III" that was originally monitoring Spruance's team was now following the Yamato.

As for the radar on the "Hiei", it was unfortunate that it was broken. Its FuMo23 radar imported from Germany had some parts damaged during the shelling just now, and it has not been repaired yet. Therefore, Mikawa Junyi can only rely on the Japanese cat-eye warriors to find the enemy.

"What bad luck!" Although Spruance knew that this would happen to him sooner or later, the timing was really bad. Several destroyers were rescuing valuable pilots in Kaneohe Bay, and it was impossible to escape immediately. And of course he couldn't leave the pilot and destroyer behind and escape first.

"Well, no matter how unlucky you are, you can't escape!" Spruance muttered, and then ordered, "Form an artillery formation, in order: Semmes, New Orleans (heavy cruiser), Brooklyn (light cruiser) ), USS Philadelphia (light cruiser).”

"Sir, are you really going to launch a bombardment? The Japanese probably have battleships there." The captain of the New Orleans quickly reminded Spruance.

"No problem," Spruance took a breath and said, "Let's not get too close, fire from a distance of 20,000 meters, fire a few shots and then run away to lure the Japanese fleet away."

…

"Commander, the enemy ship's speed is very slow, it should be the Colorado class."

Just when Spruance was about to lead the cruiser to provoke the battleship, the Japanese battleship Nagato and Mutsu were about to catch up with the American battleship Colorado.

"What's the distance?" asked Shiro Takasu, commander of the Japanese 1st Fleet, who commanded two Nagato-class ships.

"About 30,000 meters."

It is still night, so this distance cannot be obtained by optical measurement. It is detected by the FuMo23 radar on the Nagato. Therefore, the error is very large and cannot be used as a basis for shooting.

"Send out seaplanes," Takasu Shiro, who would rather trust the cat's eye than the radar, ordered, "Nagato and Mutsu each ejected three Zero water reconnaissance aircraft. In addition, now reorganize the team. One column, the order is Shigure. , Mutsu, Nagato, Yukikaze, Tenryu, Nowaki, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Tenjin Kaze.”

…

"Sir, the radar has detected 6 aircraft, heading 300 degrees, flying towards us."

"Six?" Colonel Theodore Larkin, the new captain of the battleship Colorado, was shocked when he heard the news. "The Nagato class doesn't have that many seaplanes. Could it be that Japanese super battleship! "

Colonel Larkin took a few breaths, and then a fierce expression appeared on his face that was tanned by the sun.

"Eject the two seaplanes and let them search in the direction where Japanese seaplanes appear most." Colonel Larkin made a very correct decision.

Because the USS Colorado does not have a sea search radar, it only has an air search radar. Therefore, it is impossible to determine where the Japanese troops chasing him are and can only rely on guessing. Larkin believed that the Japanese fleet was near the location where radar first detected Japanese seaplanes-most of these aircraft were searched by radar as soon as they were ejected into the sky.

"Where are we now?" Larkin asked with a frown.

"In the M2 sea area, about 12 nautical miles northeast of Maui."

"To the south of us is the Alainuihaha Strait?"

"Yes, sir."

"Changing course to 200 degrees, we crossed the channel and sailed close to the Big Island of Hawaii."

The Alainuihaha Strait is located between Maui and Hawaii Island and is approximately 25 nautical miles at its narrowest point. After crossing the strait, Colonel Larkin's team can sail along the west and south coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, where the hydrological conditions are relatively complex. The Japanese Navy did not know enough about the hydrological conditions in this area, so its speed may have slowed down, which gave the Colorado a chance to escape.

However, Larkin's wishful thinking did not come true. When the Colorado had just completed its turn and led the fleet into the Alenuihaha Strait, the Japanese cat-eye warriors had already discovered the Colorado.

"Flare, we've been spotted!"

A dazzling light flashed outside the command tower, making everyone's hearts sink.

"Prepare to fight!" Before Colonel Larkin could shout, eight huge fireballs flashed out on the sea 20,000 meters northwest of the Colorado.

"It's the Nagato class!" Colonel Larkin shouted in surprise when he saw the amount of muzzle flash. The Nagato class and the Colorado class are the seven battleships of the Navy's holiday era, and they are just battleships that rub shoulders with each other. However, his surprise did not last long. As three illumination bombs fell over the Japanese fleet, two behemoths appeared on the sea.

"Oh God, it's two Nagato-class battleships!" Colonel Larkin yelled, "Hurry and send power to Admiral Nimitz, we have encountered two Nagato-class battleships!"

He took a sharp breath, as if trying to suppress the fear in his heart, "Turn to 140 degrees, and we will face the enemy on the port side. Gunnery officer, zoom in to 18,000 meters and fire immediately. Concentrate your fire on the Nagato-class ship in front!"

"Yes, sir!"

At 2:55 a.m. on January 3, 1942, the American battleship Colorado and the Japanese battleships Nagato and Mutsu encountered each other near the Big Island of Hawaii, kicking off the final decisive battle to determine the ownership of the Hawaiian Islands.