Chapter 81 Scrambling to bomb the "main force"

Reed played hide-and-seek with the Japanese fleet. He turned around, ran behind the fleet, and flew as close to the water as possible. The Japanese fleet will only focus on whether there are patrol planes in front of them, and few people will pay attention to those behind them. Through careful observation, Reid confirmed that the fleet mainly includes battleships, small aircraft carriers, seaplane carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other various types of aircraft. ship type. At the end of the observation, Reid realized that he was about 750 nautical miles west of Midway Island, closer to Japan than these Japanese ships.Two and a half hours have passed since the scheduled return time, which means that the plane has been tracking the enemy continuously for two and a half hours.

At this time, there was still enough fuel to fly back to Midway (just enough, of course), and the fuel in the fuel tank had been used up when it arrived. In fact, what Reed observed was not the mobile force or the Yamamoto fleet, but the transport fleet at the forefront. It was only because of its sheer magnitude that he had the illusion of being the "main force".There are no battleships in the transport fleet, only heavy cruisers. These two types of ships are very large, and it is normal for the pilots to misjudge them. Seeing from Reed's report, Saimad and Ramsey knew that the big fish was indeed coming, so they immediately decided to make a move.While reporting to Nimitz, they ordered the Sweeney bomber fleet to attack the "main force of the Japanese army."

This is the "most experienced bomber group" that Ramsey can send, but this "most abundant" has actually been injected with an unknown amount of water. Before the war at Midway Island, the number of aircraft on Midway Island soared to 120. If it is said that because of the joining of "Flying Fortress" and others, the newly added aircraft can barely make do, but the pilots are obviously not good enough. Many of them have just graduated from flight school. After graduation, the flying time was less than 4 hours, and it was the first time in my life that I even saw a torpedo.

After hastily practicing take-off and landing, these boys made their first flight—from Pearl Harbor to Midway Island. On the way, because no one could correct the compass of the plane, everyone was flying like headless flies. If there were no old pilots The pilot "Catalina" accompanied the pilot, and they didn't know which hole they would go into. Even when they arrived at Midway Island, a group of rookies didn't know where they were and what they were doing. Some people thought that there would be an advanced training class on the island, and they were the honored students.

On the first day on the island, short-distance bombing training was conducted.On the same day, the rookies dropped two planes without hesitation during training. Fortunately, they were still alive, and their first casualty was not from the plane that was reimbursed, but was bitten by an albatross on the island Thumb! The pilots in the Sweeney bomber group were not among these rookies, so Ramsey called them "the most experienced", but in fact, including Colonel Sweeney, none of them had fought in battle.In addition, except for Sweeney, who is a genuine West Point graduate, the other officers and soldiers are all temporary conscripts after the Pearl Harbor incident.For example, Sweeney's co-pilot was a truck driver before the war, and the navigator was a lumber merchant before the war.

But the good thing about these pilots is that their morale is high and their fighting spirit is high. After receiving the combat order, they can't wait to rush out immediately and take out the Japanese bezoar and dog treasure first. After flying for three and a half hours, Sweeney first found the Japanese transport fleet.The other party also saw this large US fighter plane at the same time, and the light cruiser "Shentong" in charge of the escort fleet opened fire immediately. Sweeney pulled the joystick, and the plane rose sharply, leaving the range of the anti-aircraft gun.

As soon as the "Shentong" ceased fire, Sweeney brought the rest of the fleet and came back. The "Shentong" fired again, and the plane disappeared again, and the cycle continued. Reed, who was flying a patrol plane, thought that since it was the "main force", the Japanese fleet must be escorted by fighter jets. In fact, this transport fleet had no air cover.The planes were free to come and go, but the cruiser had nothing to do about it, and the Japanese troops on board were even more restless and disturbed by this guerrilla tactic. Sweeney was looking for the perfect time to bomb.As dusk fell, the moment came, and nine B-17 bombers of Sweeney's fleet swooped in from the right rear of the transport fleet.The beautiful outline of the "Flying Fortress" is clearly displayed in the sky, as if dancing a waltz in the air.

Sweeney divided the planes into three groups and attacked from 8,000, 10,000, and 12,000 feet.Afterwards, he drove the plane into the bombing route and radioed the other planes: "I'm going to drop the bomb at 8,000 feet, follow me." The Japanese transport fleet realized that the other party was going to show their faces, and all the destroyers were desperately shooting into the sky.In an instant, the cannons roared, the bombs roared, and the water column on the sea was swished up and down again. After a few minutes, the noise stopped and the naval battle ended. Since the attack distance of the fleet is too far, only four 600-pound bombs can be loaded on each "flying fortress", and the empty bomb bay must be filled with gasoline, so the bombing time is not long.After returning home, the pilots reviewed the results from memory. Some people believed that the bomb hit a transport ship and caused it to burn, while others said that it hit a battleship or heavy cruiser.Sweeney looked back when he flew 30 nautical miles away from the battlefield, and he was sure that at least two Japanese ships had been severely beaten: "The two ships left the column and seemed to be unable to move. There were many fungus on the ship. Big black smoke."

Ramsay synthesized what the pilot said, and stated in his official report to Nimitz: "A total of two bombs hit the enemy ship, one hit a battleship, and one hit a transport ship." This is already conservative data, in order to be as objective and accurate as possible, but the fact is still a big joke for everyone.