Chapter 100 collective performance

After finding out the other party's secret, the most important thing is to keep him in the dark, to let him sail along as usual, and to dream of his spring and autumn.Kenny intentionally did not cover up the actions of the reconnaissance plane in order to give Imamura the illusion that the Allied forces did not yet have the relevant information and the telegram code had not been deciphered. Imamura is safe, so he will not change the password at this juncture, and he is still counted on to continue to inform the Allied forces in the future. Sure enough, Imamura didn't expect that he would leak the secret. He only thought about choosing an auspicious day to send the transport fleet dressed in gold and silver to the sea.Meteorologists assured him that the days of early March would be fine, with several days of cloudy weather, and the Allied planes would not have spotted the fleet.

Imamura is convinced of this. On the evening of February 28, in the vast darkness, eight transport ships lined up in two columns, and under the guard of eight destroyers and frigates, they headed for Lai City. As soon as the huge fleet left the port of Rabaul, MacArthur received a report from the "Caster" code-breaking team.Soon, MacArthur's combat orders spread throughout the US and Australian Air Force bases.At this time, Kenny had concentrated 207 bombers and 154 fighters in Papua.In addition, at various air bases in northeastern Australia, there are 86 bombers and 95 fighters on standby, and they can be dispatched immediately if needed.

The crew members were all excited before the battle, and the fighter planes were in good condition before running on the runway, just like the BMW horses about to go into battle.Kenny said, "We'll be able to go all out!" All the reconnaissance planes that can be dispatched have been launched to search on the cloudy sea. On March 1, 1943, a bomber of the Fifth Air Force spotted the Japanese transport fleet through the clouds and confirmed that the fleet would sail along the north coast of New Britain Island to New Guinea. The pilot immediately telegraphed the headquarters of Port Moor, but the weather still helped the Japanese army: under the dark sky, the strong wind caused huge waves, the ship appeared and disappeared in the crests and troughs of the waves, and the torrential rain also extremely reduced the visibility on the sea.The subsequent Allied reconnaissance planes failed to track the Japanese fleet again.

In addition to relying on bad weather for cover, the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Rear Admiral Masahiro Kimura, also has full confidence in the fleet's own air defense capabilities.In the air, there is the "Zero" fleet escort at Geismata Airport; at sea, every destroyer in the fleet has been specially strengthened in terms of air defense, and the transport ship has also added anti-aircraft gun positions. , they operated these anti-aircraft fires to form a second line of defense against Allied air attacks. On the morning of March 2, the dark clouds began to dissipate, and three B-25s on patrol saw the Japanese fleet sailing at a leisurely pace.

At this time, the position of the Japanese fleet was still outside the combat radius of medium-sized bombers and fighter jets. Without fighter escort, Kenny ordered heavy bombers to attack. He sent two waves of 40 B-17 "Flying Fortresses" . Whether it was the previous naval and air battles or the Battle of Guadalcanal, the experience gained by the Japanese army is that US bombers like high-altitude bombing, and the hit rate is not very high.But the real scene is completely opposite to the experience. The "flying fortresses" were not at high altitude, but at 8,000 feet in the air, and they then roared and swooped down one after another.When the Japanese sailors manipulating anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns saw the huge twin-engine bomber roaring from the height of the masthead, they were all frightened.

This is the first large-scale collective performance after the completion of the "ricochet attack" tactic.The bombs dropped by the bombers on the surface of the water fell on the deck of the transport ship like stones, and their accuracy and explosive power were comparable to torpedoes. Seeing this, the "Zero" escort fleet hurried forward to block it.In terms of air combat, let alone bombers like the "Flying Fortress", none of the other U.S. fighter jets is an opponent of the "Zero", but the pilots have learned a trick in actual combat, that is, not to engage in air combat with the "Zero". dogfight.

The biggest advantage of the "Zero" type is its good maneuverability. If you fight with it, you will follow its way. The "Flying Fortress" is not entangled with the "Zero" type. If you can fight, you can fight, and if you can't fight, you can leave.As a result, the "Zero" fleet not only failed to cover the fleet, but was shot down two of its own, while the "Flying Fortress" only lost one. On the same day, the transport ship sank and suffered two injuries. A total of 1,500 Japanese soldiers fell into the water. Japanese destroyers picked up 950 of them. Then two destroyers left the fleet and sent them to Lae first.

The Japanese fleet could have sailed towards Lae at full speed under the cover of night like a destroyer, but Commander Kimura did not do so. He actually ordered the fleet to slow down and circle in the dark. The continuous attack of the "Flying Fortress" during the day made Kimura realize that the whereabouts of the fleet had been completely exposed.If the fleet arrives at Lae City Port as planned the next morning, there will be a process of unloading people and cargo in the middle. During this process, the Allied forces will undoubtedly carry out powerful daytime air strikes, while the Japanese troops at Lae City Airport The aviation force is also weak. It is said that due to the attack of the Allied Air Force, even the airport has been closed. Naturally, it will not be able to provide effective cover, and the fleet will be miserable.

In terms of air cover capabilities, the Japanese air force at Geismata Airport was much stronger.So why not stay in the Bismarck Sea and keep yourself within their cover radius? Kimura's wishful thinking was to rely on the cover of the Japanese air force on the island to survive the day and try to reach Laecheng Port at night and unload the cargo. This kind of calculation is as shrewd as the Japanese, but Kimura missed two points. One is that although the aviation at Laicheng Airport is not good, the coastal anti-aircraft artillery can make up for it; The air attack of China is about to come to Bismarck. In the face of its attack strength, the cover of the air force is nothing but a mantis.