Chapter 72 Kincaid's Law

Small fights still can't solve the problem. Seeing that the U.S. military has not discovered the mystery of "iron barrel transportation", the United Fleet decided to invest in more destroyers to increase the scale and quantity of supplies. On the evening of November 29, 1942, Tanaka led eight destroyers to form the "Iron Barrel Tokyo Express", towed 1,100 buoys and a small amount of troops, and set sail from Shortland Island. By the beginning of November 1942, the intelligence station in Hawaii had been able to decipher the latest code of the Japanese Navy, and at the same time, the US reconnaissance planes also spotted Japanese ships gathering in Shortland during the day.Based on the information from the two aspects, Halsey judged that the Japanese side might organize a large-scale reinforcement operation, and he decided to send a cruiser and destroyer formation to intercept.

The person who led the attack was originally Kincaid, but at this time Kincaid had another appointment, and Major General Wright replaced him.The Wright fleet was ordered to sail from Espiritu Santo Island, and traveled 680 nautical miles to Iron Bottom Bay. On November 30, the weather was very bad, the sea was white, the clouds were thundering and lightning, and a US reconnaissance plane spotted the Tanaka fleet on the move. However, due to the interference of thunder and lightning, Wright failed to receive the telegram it sent. In Shortland, a "coast watcher" lurks.He counted the number of masts of the Japanese ships in the military port, and found that seven destroyers were missing, so he immediately reported to the US fleet.It was through his intelligence that Wright confirmed that the Japanese fleet would come to "go to the appointment" that night.

The first to enter was the Wright fleet, which sailed into Iron Bottom Bay from the north of Savo Island.Wright's predecessor, Kincaid, learned from the lessons of the US military in night battles, and stipulated that if participating in night battles, carrier-based seaplanes must be used for reconnaissance in order to detect the enemy early, and he will not hesitate to drop flares if necessary.Wright first sent a seaplane to land in the port of Tulagi, but the Tanaka fleet did not pass by the side of Tulagi, so Wright did not receive any reports of the enemy's situation. He wanted to send a seaplane to conduct reconnaissance, but encountered strong winds at sea. , the plane also failed to take off.

Just 20 minutes after the Wright fleet entered the field, the Tanaka fleet dragged a long "big braid" and entered Iron Bottom Bay from the west of Savo Island. At first, no one knew who was who. Wright waited for the Japanese fleet, but he didn't know that the other party was approaching.Tian took a walk in the east and looked west. After confirming that there were no US ships nearby, he sent a signal to the army on the shore to light a bonfire and prepare to drop the buoys. At this time, dark clouds shrouded the sea, and the surroundings were pitch black. It was impossible to see anything tens of meters away, but what the naked eye couldn't do, the radar could do.At 11:06 p.m., Wright's flagship cruiser USS Minneapolis spotted the Japanese ship on radar.

Kincaid once requested that before the enemy's situation is ascertained, one must not approach the enemy blindly, nor can he approach the enemy in a single column formation.But after the battle alert was issued, the US ship turned 40 degrees to the right, transformed into a single column, and quickly approached the Tanaka fleet in the opposite direction. Another content of "Kinkade's Law" is that after discovering the attack target, the destroyer should first launch a torpedo attack on the enemy ship.Wright did not do this either, because Iron Bottom Bay was not full of Japanese warships except for the US fleet, and patrol ships sailing from the port of Tulagi would appear from time to time.Wright was afraid of accidentally injuring his own ship, so he decided to go to the radar room to find out.

It can be seen from the radar screen that a fleet is sailing southeast. Although Tulagi has US cruisers, it cannot be in the form of a fleet. Hesitation was the worst thing on the battlefield. After a little delay, the destroyer "Gaoba" at the forefront of the Tanaka fleet also spotted the US fleet, and it immediately turned on its signal lights to issue an alarm.The night was filled with fog, and Tanaka's flagship destroyer "Nagaba" did not see the alarm, and was still dropping the buoys on its own. Seeing the flashing signal lights of the Japanese ship, the leading US destroyer "Fletcher" hurriedly requested to launch a torpedo.Wright has already identified the enemy and the enemy, but under the influence of the coast and the shadowy background of the mountains, the image on the radar screen he sees is always blurred, which makes Wright think that the two armies are still far away. It is not big, and it is easy to scare the snake, so the order to attack has not been issued for a long time.

Radar is a good thing, but if you only believe in radar and don't even believe in your own eyes, you will go to another extreme. The torpedo officer of the "Fletcher" watched helplessly as the "Gaobo" was approaching, but could not fire, and yelled anxiously.The captain, Lieutenant Colonel Cole, did not hesitate to break the radio silence, and told Wright that the "Fletcher" was at the best time for a torpedo attack. The ships collided. Wright still didn't believe it, and after hesitating for a while, he allowed the vanguard destroyer to attack. Just when the commander was hesitating, the two fleets faced each other at high speed, and the "Gaobo" passed by the "Fletcher" at high speed, and the "Fletcher" lost its opportunity.

The "Fletcher" was not the only one that fell, but also the "Gaobo". Tanaka, who was busy launching the buoys, did not issue an attack order to them.When the two ships passed by each other, the gunners on both sides could not fire. They could only look at each other with fire-breathing eyes and stretch out their fists to threaten each other. After receiving Wright's order, the destroyers turned around collectively, and the "Fletcher" fired 10 torpedoes in a row, and the other ships also fired 10 torpedoes. When the torpedoes were launched, Tanaka's flagship "Changba" was still releasing the buoys. Suddenly, the lookout post spotted the US ship, and then two torpedoes rushed straight at them. The sailors were in a mess in fright. Tanaka looked at it calmly.

Tanaka ran into dangerous places many times, especially the one at the end of the third Solomon Sea Battle, which hit him hard.After the war, he bluntly stated that he bears great responsibility for the failure, and predicted that whether he can capture Guadalcanal again and launch a naval battle for it is a fork in the road to victory. Perhaps for Tanaka, he should have died when the transport boat landed on the beach, and now he is extra alive, so when danger strikes, he does not panic like ordinary sailors, but coldly Staring at the torpedo, ready to live and die with his battleship at any time.

Tanaka put on a posture of looking down on death, and the staff also stabilized their minds, imitating the coach and staying still. Strange to say, one second passed, two seconds passed, and three seconds passed. The expected big explosion after being hit by a torpedo did not happen.A sailor opened his eyes and saw that the two torpedoes that were close at hand had stopped moving and slowly sank into the water. The torpedo sank automatically, and there was cheers on the "Long Wave".Tanaka, who was let off by the god of death, hurriedly asked about the situation of other warships, and found that it was not only the "Changba" that was lucky, but the entire fleet: due to the fast speed of the ships on both sides and the rapid change of relative positions, the US ship launched None of the 20 torpedoes hit.

The U.S. formation was in the vanguard of destroyers and the cruiser in the center. At this time, the Japanese destroyer had reached the left front of the U.S. cruiser. Seeing that the torpedo attack was ineffective, Wright grabbed the wireless phone and shouted: "Start shelling, start shelling!" The flagship "Minneapolis" took the lead in firing flares, leading the other cruisers to fire violently, and the four destroyers that were torpedoed out also joined in the artillery battle. There is no flame suppressant in the U.S. military ammunition, and the flame when the naval gun is fired just reveals its position. The lookout post on the "Changba" reported to Tanaka: "Five enemy cruisers and four destroyers were found." The artillery flash is the best coordinate for torpedo shooting.How could Tanaka, who has rich experience in night battles, miss this opportunity? He ordered the destroyers to turn around and approach the US ship at high speed to launch a torpedo attack. The "Gaobo" asked, can it use guns to fight guns, and use artillery to fight back against US ships? The experienced Tanaka replied: "Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not expose the target." After receiving the order, the "Gaobo" took the lead and rushed to the front. First, it broke through the interception line of the US destroyer, and then eagerly fired torpedoes at the US cruiser. Bean sprouts can't be bundled - there are no rules or rules, and a destroyer has to be a hero in front of a group of cruisers.Little did they know that the radar screens of the U.S. cruisers had already shown the position of the "Gaobo". After evading the torpedo, they concentrated their firepower to block this daring Japanese ship. The "Gaobo" had no choice but to fire its guns in self-defense. In this way, the "exposed target" mentioned by Tanaka became a reality, and the US ship could easily aim at it even without radar. The "Gaobo" was hit by more than ten shells, and the fire on the ship's deck rose into the sky, and it had to flee. Seeing this, the "Minneapolis" chased after it vigorously, and punched the "Gaobo" with holes all over its body. Although the "Gaobo" staggered and escaped from the battlefield, she was unable to save herself and finally sank to the bottom of the sea.