The Rise of the Third Reich

"Target found, 12 o'clock direction, altitude 5000, distance 7500, large Japanese aircraft group! Guys, follow me! Revenge for the Californians!"

When Captain Thomas's voice came again, Second Lieutenant George Bush immediately became highly concentrated. He controlled his F4U to fly forward quickly following Squadron Leader Thomas, while carefully searching the sky below.

Today is not a particularly suitable day for air combat. There are many marshmallow-like stratus clouds floating in the sky. It is easy for enemy aircraft to hide among them. If it were not for the radar guidance of surface ships, the more than 200 F4Us hovering at an altitude of more than 6,000 meters would probably not be able to find the Japanese aircraft flying under the cover of clouds.

Captain Thomas, who led Lieutenant Bush to launch the attack, was an experienced interceptor pilot. Before boarding the escort aircraft carrier "San Jacinto", he had also played a heart-stopping one-time Spitfire and shot down two Ju288 bombers - this was in the Atlantic Ocean. It's definitely an amazing achievement on the battlefield.

Captain Thomas, who had rich experience, did not blindly launch an attack after leading the fleet to approach the Japanese large fleet. Instead, he circled half a circle and occupied a position with his back to the sun.

Using the dazzling sunlight to attack the Ju288 is the most commonly used method on the Atlantic battlefield, especially when the Ju288 is escorted by Fw-190 or He219 with equally excellent performance.

The dazzling sunlight can ensure that the fragile "one-time Spitfire" will not confront the powerful Fw-190 and He219. Although after completing the attack, the "Disposable Spitfire" will still be chased by Fw-190 or He219, there is finally a chance to shoot down the Ju288.

"Once again, the target is the Japanese bombers. Don't get entangled with their fighters. After the bombers are finished, pull up and break away from the battle." Captain Thomas gave the last instruction, and then shouted loudly: "Now, rush with me! For the sake of California! For America!”

He is a Californian whose hometown is Los Angeles, the area hardest hit by Japanese bacterial attacks. So he always talks about avenging the Californians - many American officers whose hometown is not in California also like to say this to incite hatred before leading their troops to attack the Japanese.

"For California! For America!"

Bush, who was born in Massachusetts, also shouted after his superiors, and then began to dive downward with his four-plane formation.

In the sky about 1,000 meters below, about 200 or more Japanese fighters and bombers formed a dense formation, flying south at a high speed of more than 500 kilometers per hour.

Lieutenant Bush discovered that the Japanese bombers and fighter planes below were ones he had never seen before, and they did not appear in the enemy aircraft identification manual issued by his superiors.

Obviously, the Japanese invested in their new fighter planes!

At this time, the Japanese had already discovered the F4U above them. The escorting Zidian fighter jets raised their noses and attacked the F4U diving down from above. However, the twin-engine "Galaxy" bomber still maintained its original formation and just accelerated its flight, as if it wanted to use its own speed to get rid of the enemy aircraft.

"Tu tu tu tu..."

Just when Lieutenant Bush wanted to maneuver his plane to avoid an oncoming Shiden Kai, the Japanese plane suddenly opened fire on him. Four thick and continuous flashes of light pierced the air and flashed suddenly from the right side of the F4U fighter, startling Second Lieutenant Bush, who had always thought that the Japanese aircraft had weak firepower.

This is not the momentum that a 12.7mm machine gun can produce, this should be the 20mm machine gun showing off its power!

The firepower of this new Japanese fighter is so powerful! Fortunately, I chose a backlit attack position, otherwise I would have probably been shot down. When Lieutenant Bush thought of this, he quickly pressed the machine gun firing button, regardless of the order to "not entangle with enemy fighter jets." The machine guns on the plane immediately spurted out tongues of flame, immediately covering the Japanese fighter planes below in flames - the current Second Lieutenant Bush was a "veteran" who had shot down two Japanese fighter planes, and his marksmanship was still very accurate!

However, the Japanese plane, which had been hit by several rounds of 12.7mm bullets, showed no signs of imminently falling. Instead, it roared past Second Lieutenant Bush's plane.

"It's actually quite strong!" Lieutenant Bush's brows tightened, already feeling a little bad.

However, he did not go to compete with the Japanese aircraft that had received several rounds of 12.7mm bullets, but continued to rush towards the Japanese "Galaxy" bomber.

Although the "Galaxy" is very fast, it is still far behind the diving F4U. So the F4U driven by Bush quickly rushed over a "Galaxy" and once again fired six tongues of flame composed of 12.7mm bullets. This time, Bush also failed to hit the target. At least 20 rounds of bullets were fired at the big plane (the Galaxy bomber is also very large, with a maximum take-off weight of 13.5 tons, which is similar to the "Flying Dragon"), but Bush was surprised. Fortunately, this Japanese aircraft also withstood the 12.7mm bullets and still flew forward smoothly.

Because of the "one-shot and away" tactic, Lieutenant Bush's plane could not immediately pull up after the dive attack to continue the attack, so it could only use its momentum to continue rushing toward the sea to throw away the Japanese who might be following behind. Aircraft - In fact, the Japanese Shiden Kai did not pursue them, because they were performing escort missions after all, and protecting the Galaxy bombers was the most important thing.

The interception operation just launched by 108 F4Us was only the first wave. The purpose was not to shoot down many Japanese aircraft, but to disrupt their formation. There will be a second, third, and fourth wave of attacks later!

…

"The Japanese have invested in new fighters? Are they very strong?"

Halsey's headquarters soon received the latest battle report from the front line - the two waves of interceptions had been fought, and the initial number of reported kills was only 28 (only 18 were later confirmed, 10 of which "Galaxy", 8 "Zidian Kai"), and its own losses also reached 17.

"Sir, the Japanese's new aircraft are difficult to shoot down." Major General Callahan, chief of staff of the Central Pacific Theater, said while looking through the battle report. "The pilots on the front line also reported that the bombers dispatched by the Japanese army this time are all twin-engine bombers, which are lighter than 'Slightly smaller, but very strong and very fast, with a visual inspection of over 500 kilometers per hour."

"Twin engines...are they torpedo planes?" Halsey asked.

"I don't know," Callahan replied. "If it's a torpedo plane, I won't be afraid."

Japanese torpedo aircraft have almost turned into "suicide aircraft" when facing the U.S. surface fleet with strong anti-aircraft firepower, while large twin-engine torpedo attack aircraft are easier to hit.

"Well," Halsey nodded, "I'm afraid it's a dive bomber!"

It is estimated that the Japanese do not have a "missile aircraft" like the Ju288. Although many American companies have long claimed that they can copy the German remote-controlled glide bomb, they have only developed a remote-controlled suicide B-17 for several years. And B-24... This kind of thing is not good for dealing with surface ships.

"It could be a dive bomber," Callahan shared the same concern. "The bomb load is estimated to be about the same as the German Ju88... It should be about 2,000 kilograms!"

2,000 kilograms is not a small amount for a surface ship. If it were a bomb, the Iowa-class battleship would not be able to carry it and would be paralyzed with one shot.

"Let everyone be careful." Halsey frowned, seeming to feel that the matter was a little serious.

"Sir, Task Force 51 reported that their destroyers discovered a larger attack aircraft group taking shape over Oahu. The number of enemy aircraft is estimated to be more than 500."

At this time, a staff officer reported another news that made Halsey even more worried - the Japanese Army Air Force's attack aircraft group was almost formed.

…

"Sir, the American fleet has been discovered, right in front of us. The number... there are about 1,000 ships!"

Jiang Cao Fanlong, the god of critical strikes, has already found traces of the American fleet at this time - this is a large fleet that "covers" hundreds of square sea miles. It is too easy to find!

But easy to find doesn't mean easy to fight.

About a thousand ships of various types have already formed a huge air defense formation on the ocean about 300 nautical miles south of the Hawaiian Islands.

"Start from the periphery!" Colonel Kaio Kamei began to give the order, "Use the onion-peeling tactic to attack the periphery of the U.S. fleet first."

The Japanese had already used the tactics of going straight to the core in the Battle of Christmas Island. The result was that they almost lost all the elites of the naval aviation force.

So this time, Kurojima Ghost, who was responsible for formulating the attack plan, changed his tactics and decided to start from the outside, attack the American destroyers first, and then attack inside layer by layer, gradually weakening the strength of the American fleet.

However, this style of play also has a disadvantage, that is, it cannot crush the aviation combat power of the US fleet in one fell swoop. The attack fleet will have to engage in air attrition battles with the American F4U and F6F again and again.

Just when the first attack wave commanded by Colonel Kamei Kaio broke through four waves of F4U interceptions and rushed in front of the U.S. fleet, more than 200 F6F fighters were already waiting.

At the same time, more than 250 kilometers away, Lieutenant Bush's squadron also climbed to an altitude of 6,000 meters with more than 200 F4Us, preparing to launch an assault against the overwhelming second wave of Japanese attacks.

The fierce aerial war of attrition will soon be staged again!