Chapter 69 Sea and air battle

After the air strike force attacking the enemy ship set off, Fletcher commanded the task force to line up in a dense formation and sail in the direction the plane was flying.This is mainly to shorten the distance for the carrier-based aircraft to return to the aircraft carrier and ensure the safety of the aircraft when it returns. At that time, they didn't know what the battle situation in the morning would look like. Captain Sherman of the "Lexington" predicted that it is possible that the attacking forces of the United States and Japan were in the air at this time, and they were flying towards their respective targets.

Sherman said frankly: "I don't think it is possible to block the opposing air attack force now. The current situation is like two boxers throwing their fists at the same time. Both sides will be hit." According to Sherman's order, everyone on the flight deck and deck wore steel helmets, and every crew member, including the carrier-based aircraft pilot, prepared a life jacket. Sure enough, 70 Japanese bombers also attacked "Lexington" and "Yorktown" a few minutes after the US plane's attack ended. As early as around 10 am, the radar of "Lexington" had already detected the incoming Japanese plane.At that time, the Japanese plane was still 70 nautical miles away, but there were only 8 "Wildcat" fighter jets over the aircraft carrier, and there was a serious shortage of fuel, which was not enough to meet the Japanese plane before.

The opponent's fist finally came, and the aircraft carrier was facing sudden and immediate danger. "Lexington" and "Yorktown" turned the rudder at the same time, while releasing 16 spare "Wildcats" on the deck to escort them.They all know that the only real anti-aircraft weapons for an aircraft carrier, or any other ship, are aircraft. The speed of the "Lexington" had been increased to the highest knot, and the gunners all stood on the battle positions, holding the spare magazines, eagerly looking at the possible direction of the Japanese plane.

At 11 o'clock in the morning, the warning plane over the aircraft carrier discovered that the Japanese plane was approaching, and immediately notified the mother ship by radio: "The robbers are approaching!" The aircraft carrier called and guided all the escort planes to intercept, but the Japanese planes flew very fast and the number of escort planes was too small, and the air defense line was quickly torn open by the Japanese planes. "Lexington" and "Yorktown" were overtaken by attack aircraft.Within the observation range of the lookout post, there are more and more Japanese planes approaching in a single line, and the speed is very fast.

More than 100 artillery pieces on the "Lexington" launched a blockade. The loud explosion and the shaking of the hull caused the officers on the bridge to be breathless. Sherman commanded the "Lexington" to evade continuously, but the "Lexington" had a large tonnage and a deep draft. The Japanese planes did not affect the determination of the Japanese pilots in the slightest. They seemed to be riding on the rain of bullets, and they seemed to have no sense of fear. Due to the continuous use of evasive actions, the distance between the two US aircraft carriers widened, and the guard ships were divided into two. The defensive firepower was inevitably weakened. In addition, the guard ship's cover sequence for the aircraft carrier was also disrupted.For example, the destroyers and cruisers that were supposed to cover the port side of "Lexington" are now in the front, rear, and even starboard positions. Of course, this can only be more conducive to Japanese aircraft attacks.

The most troublesome thing is the torpedo plane flying at ultra-low altitude.The torpedo planes of the Takagi formation are rich in combat experience, and they made the allied navies daunting in the Java Sea Battle. The pilots adopted the "iron drill" tactic and continuously shot torpedoes at the aircraft carrier like archery within a distance of 800 meters. Sherman dodged left and right, the first batch of torpedoes flew past the stern, he immediately turned to meet the second batch of torpedo planes, but these torpedoes came from multiple directions on both sides of the aircraft carrier, you hide Neither side works.

Sherman clearly saw two torpedoes coming from the port side with trailing tracks, but he had no way to avoid them. At 11:10, a torpedo hit the front part of the port side of "Lexington". The violent explosion caused a huge tongue of flame with sea water to spurt out there immediately, and the crew felt that the warship under their feet was shaking suddenly. The torpedo became the incarnation of death, chasing after life and forcing "Lexington".In the process of dodging the torpedo, the "Lexington" was directly hit by three heavy bombs, one of which fell right in the middle of the port forward gun position, and with a terrible loud noise, all the guns there were blown dumb , Most of the people on the emplacement were killed on the spot.

At 11:30, the Japanese plane's attack on "Lexington" reached its climax.Japanese planes rushed from all directions, and they skimmed across the flight deck of the "Lexington", turning into a small dot, and then quickly disappeared. When the attack stopped, the deck of the "Lexington" had been damaged, a fire broke out in the cabin, and the hull was seriously injured. In this sea and air battle, "Yorktown" was naturally not immune to the attack of Japanese planes, but the maneuverability of "Yorktown" was better than that of "Lexington". Dodging left and right, let all the torpedoes that flew over flew into the air.

The torpedoes were all dodged, and a heavy bomb fell in the air without warning. It penetrated the two flight decks and exploded in the storage room below.Fortunately, the ship's navigation and combat capabilities have not been greatly affected. For fighter jets flying at high altitudes, sea targets are similar to peas, and even aircraft carriers are nothing more than slightly larger peas. Therefore, the combat results observed by the pilots of both sides will not match the actual situation. The report of the Japanese aircraft is : "Sink a large US aircraft carrier and a medium aircraft carrier."

When the Japanese pilots flew away, they were all elated, feeling that they had avenged "Xiangfeng", and "sinking two American aircraft carriers", such a major achievement was enough to make Takagi spit out a bad breath. When the smoke cleared, Fletcher also thought he was the undisputed winner.He ordered "Lexington" and "Yorktown" to speed up while repairing, preparing to attack the enemy again. The restoration of "Lexington" is progressing rapidly.The fire on the ship has been extinguished, the leaks have been plugged, and even the slight tilt of the hull has been gradually corrected. When the first planes of the raiding force returned at 12:40, the pilots could not tell from the air that their mothership had been attacked.After landing, many people were surprised when they heard that "Lexington" had been attacked so violently and had been shot many times.

"Lexington" is the first large-scale aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy and the largest aircraft carrier in the world at the same time.The ship is similar to the "Saratoga" in that it is an aircraft carrier converted from a battleship, so its deck and defensive steel plates are almost as tough as a battleship.The designer once proudly asserted that the "Lexington" would not sink even if it was hit by ten torpedoes. It appears the designer was right and the condition of the "Old Lady" (as the crew nicknamed "Lexington") was not serious, one officer said. The news that "Lexington" is safe and sound, not only driving smoothly, but also able to regain combat effectiveness, makes everyone very excited. But then things were different.