The sudden air raid lasted for a full two hours, from the first wave to the second wave.
More than 300 planes launched air strikes against the British and American fleets. By the time the air strikes were over, nine battleships had been hit, and the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Glorious was hit by only one torpedo and sank into the sea - aircraft carriers converted from merchant ships were simply vulnerable in naval battles and had no survivability at all.
The Royal Navy's Prince George, Glorious, Jupiter, Repulse, and Retaliation were hit by torpedoes, and the US Navy's New Mexico, Montana, Arkansas, and Kentucky...
Although only four of them were sunk, the other warships still floated tenaciously thanks to good damage control, but they were just floating on the sea.
"The New Mexico and Kentucky have lost all power, as have the Prince George and Jupiter..."
Without power, are we going to drag them back?
Looking at the sea filled with billowing smoke, Mahan's brows were furrowed.
Finally, he looked at the sky with bitterness. There were more than a dozen planes circling in the air. They were the last air power in his hands.
Their appearance changed everything...
"Perhaps, the battleship has been eliminated..."
Just as Mahan ordered the rescue of the officers and soldiers who fell into the water, the Imperial pilots who completed the attack flew towards the north under the guidance of the guide aircraft, where the Imperial Atlantic Fleet was approaching the US military little by little.
"They're returning!"
Cheng Bichen said after hearing the report from his subordinates.
"Order the aircraft carrier formation to clear the deck. After the planes of the 23rd Wing land, push them directly into the sea. Now, it's our turn..."
As he spoke, he looked quite relaxed. Finally, after two rounds of weakening, the combined fleet had lost half of its warships.
"Coach Qiu, you don't seem very happy!"
The sudden question made Qiu Zhenzhi stunned for a moment, and then he said.
"Sir, I think we need to launch a second wave of air assault to weaken their strength as much as possible before the battle."
In response to Qiu Zhenzhi's suggestion, Cheng Bichen spoke directly.
"We are only 60 nautical miles away from them now. They will soon discover our presence. In the next few hours, we will definitely launch an artillery battle with our battleships. At this time, the aviation team needs rest..."
Looking into the distance, Cheng Bichen pondered for a moment, then said.
"When the artillery battle comes to an end, when they begin to collapse, I hope our air force can devote its full energy to it. The blow at that time will be the most fatal. Now, it's the turn of our naval guns to show their power..."
As the words fell, Cheng Bichen looked ahead. His eyes were fixed on the two twin 380mm naval guns in front of the command tower. As he looked at them, for some reason, an idea came to his mind.
Perhaps, this is the final masterpiece of big ships and big guns.
At this moment, a group of aerial cover aircraft escorting a group of planes that had just returned appeared in his sight.
Yes, the future is the era of aircraft carriers!
In this case, let it exert its maximum strength when it is about to decline!
Two hours later, Mahan, who was commanding the combined fleet on its difficult voyage northward, received the expected bad news.
"We found several smoke columns. They are the main forces of the Imperial Navy."
"What is coming will always come!"
Ma Han nodded and then talked to himself.
"Finally...it was the battleship's cannons that ultimately decided the victory!"
At 10:13 in the morning, British and American sailors finally saw the Imperial Navy fleet, which appeared in a mighty force on the sea ten nautical miles away.
Ten minutes later, at a distance of 17,000 meters, the Imperial Navy opened fire first. Mahan had long been famous for the Imperial Navy's long-range artillery. When the Imperial Navy fired its artillery, he had a serious expression on his face, and just silently counted the time in his heart.
Soon, he heard a familiar voice coming from the air, a very familiar voice.
What is this locomotive-like sound?
This is the sound of large-caliber artillery shells cutting through the sky.
It's going to fall!
When this thought came to Ma Han's mind, a series of dull explosions were heard. Looking in the direction of the explosion, this spectacular scene that he had not seen for many years but always fascinated people appeared before his eyes again.
Most of the fleet has been completely covered by a row of tall water columns. Thick water columns with a diameter of more than ten meters rise into the air, even higher than the battleship's mast.
The Royal Navy's armored cruiser "Delhi" was located right in the center of the rising water column. Several water columns even completely surrounded it, so that the outside world could not see what was happening above.
At this moment, a blinding flash suddenly came from the rising water column, and then a huge fireball blasted away the water column that was enveloping the Delhi. A shell accurately hit the position between the three central chimneys, and the chimney was instantly blown up into the sky. In the violent explosion, you can even see a chimney flying in the air. The chimney weighing more than ten tons was blasted into a meteor and flew hundreds of feet away before falling into the sea.
"It can't be a fifteen-inch cannon..."
While surprised, Mahan did not forget his duties and issued a series of orders.
Subsequently, the British and American combined fleets began their counterattack. Unlike the previous torpedo boat attacks and air strikes, when they were almost unable to fight back, their counterattack was swift. Although the Imperial Navy had excellent long-range artillery, they had been continuously strengthening their long-range artillery over the past period of time.
"Gentlemen, America awaits our victory..."
The gunner in the turret of the battleship Indiana shouted loudly. At this time, the artillery of the combined fleet began to fire in succession. Then, the gunner's door in the turret was a series of repeated operations: opening the breech block, loading new shells and pushing them in with a push rod, loading the propellant bag, and then slamming the breech block shut again.
"Turret guns ready!"
"Turret ready!"
Then another salvo was fired, and the gunners in the turret shouted excitedly. Suddenly, there was a flash in the turret, followed by a loud bang, and they were shaken to the east and west. Some gunners even had bleeding eardrums, and more were knocked to the ground.
"Oh my God, we're getting hit."
Some gunners shouted in fear.
"Never mind all that. Aren't we still standing here?"
The gunnery officer stood up with the help of something and gave a loud order.
"Hurry up, let the damn Ming devils see how powerful we are!"
Then several more shells hit the Indiana battleship, and thick smoke instantly filled the entire turret. The gunners who had just stood up quickly took out the gas masks beside their belts and put them on, and continued their previous work, leveling the main gun, reloading, and then firing again.
Naval warfare has always been like this - all they need to do is to do their job, fulfill their responsibilities, load, aim, and fire, and then leave everything to God.
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