Chapter 61 Boldly change tricks, surprise in danger

In addition to Yamamoto's copy of the "Nitto Maru" probe, the task force also had a copy - "Nitto Maru" used a clear-coded telegram, which was successfully intercepted by the task force. Halsey was very annoyed, and immediately ordered the vanguard cruiser to open fire and sink the "Nitto Maru".The small fishing boat was no match for the cruiser. The "Nitto Maru" sank to the bottom of the sea with a bubbling beating. Over there, Yamamoto also asked "Nitto Maru" to continue to report the specific number of US ships.When the staff officer on duty tried to contact again, the radio of "Nitto Maru" had been cut off.

Yamamoto knew that the U.S. military had already started, so he quickly took emergency measures, dispatched troops, and prepared to take this opportunity to wipe out the task force. The task force can intercept the Japanese army's telegram, which explains the deployment of Yamamoto's troops: the most powerful Nanyun Fleet in the Japanese Navy is near the Japanese waters. This fleet alone has five aircraft carriers. In addition, other fleets around are also outflanking. According to Halsey's idea, the task force should be as close to the east coast of Japan as possible, so that the pilots will be safer, but now they can't take care of it.

At 8 a.m. on April 18, 1942, Halsey signed an order to fly the bombers. Taking off early means traveling 200 nautical miles longer than the scheduled voyage. Even if the fleet can reach the sky over Japan, the air strikes can only be carried out during the day.At the same time, since the enemy had been warned, without a fighter escort, the bomber was likely to be shot down by Japanese fighter jets before reaching Tokyo, and the possibility of the pilots returning safely was almost non-existent. Doolittle explained the reason for the early takeoff to the crew. He said loudly against the strong wind: "Brothers, death will meet us ahead. Is anyone afraid? Our backup pilot is willing to pay $100 to replace him!"

There was no sound on the deck, but then there was a series of shouts: "Go to Tokyo and beat up those gangsters! Don't talk about $100, I won't change it for $1,000. Let that buddy save the money and go back to Hawaii to go to nightclubs." Doolittle smiled in satisfaction, and then ordered: "Guys, board the plane!" The electric siren on the "Bumblebee" sounded, and a harsh voice came from the loudspeaker: "Pilot on board! Pilot on board!" Doolittle was the first to take off.Although they have been well trained, it is still quite difficult to take off. In the morning, the wind was howling, the sea was roaring, and the deck of the aircraft carrier was shaking violently, like a seesaw with violent ups and downs.The entire deck crew mobilized to help Doolittle lift into the air.

The moment the bow of the ship was raised, Doolittle's bomber finally rose into the air like an elevator.Behind him, other bombers also left the carrier one by one. At 9:20 in the morning, all 16 B-25s left the ship, and Halsey led the fleet to turn around and return at full speed. In order to save fuel and facilitate concealment, the B-25 fleet adopted the method of ultra-low altitude and slow flight.This was originally very dangerous, and it was easy to be shot by ground artillery, but what is strange is that after entering Japanese airspace, the Japanese below not only showed no hostility, but even waved and cheered at the plane.

Halsey's bold move caught Yamamoto by surprise.Yamamoto didn't know that what was carried on the U.S. aircraft carrier was actually a land-based bomber with a long range. When the B-25 fleet took off, the task force was still far away from the east coast of Japan, so the warning line he set up was only for the outside. , the inside is loose.It happened that the old-fashioned star badge was still painted on the B-25 fuselage. There was a white star and a red ball on the pattern, which looked similar to a plaster flag from a distance. The Japanese mistook it for their own plane. On the way, the B-25 fleet also encountered two batches of Japanese fighter jets, one low and one high, with a difference of only 500 meters between them, but the Japanese planes failed to find them.

At noon, the B-25 fleet arrived in Tokyo Bay.Doolittle was the first to experience a miracle. He passed by a Japanese plane over Tokyo, only to find out afterwards that it was actually the landline of Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo! Tojo's secretary began to feel that the "Japanese plane" next to him was a bit strange. When he was close enough to see the pilot's face clearly, he realized that it was an American plane. Needless to say, he was scared out of his wits. Doolittle didn't pay too much attention to Tojo's landline. What he cared about at the time was the Japanese radio broadcasts that could be heard on the plane.At first, the radio was broadcasting in English about Tokyo's pleasant life and the safety of air defense: "This is a beautiful and quiet land, with flowers blooming everywhere..."

At this moment, the broadcast suddenly stopped, and when I listened to it again, the announcer was already speaking Japanese in a panic.Obviously, the Japanese side may have noticed something unusual.Doolittle thought to himself that Tokyo might no longer be a safe paradise. Tokyo people are still eating lunch, no one cares about the broadcast, and the fleet is particularly lucky: Tokyo held an air defense warning exercise in the morning, and specially released silver balloons to block low-flying aircraft. At this time, the exercise was over and the balloons were taken down . Doolittle dropped the first high-explosive bomb on the air strike target. As the bomb indicator light on the B-25 bomber flashed red, the bombs roared and fell straight down. "Soil" was suddenly shrouded in flames and gunpowder smoke.