Chapter 82 Replenish your energy and save energy to catch "big fish"

After the bombing, the Japanese inspected the convoy, and there was no loss except for one freighter that was hit by bomb fragments. At that time, the defenders of Midway Island knew nothing about it—maybe it was a good thing not to know, because they felt that they had won the battle, and the enthusiasm of the officers and soldiers was even higher. Hearing that the Japanese fleet was not escorted by fighter planes, Saimad and Ramsey suddenly came up with inspiration: why not let "Katerina" also go to receive some military medals from it? The idea seems a little weird at first. The "Catalina" is slow, let alone hit it, there are no torpedo pylons on the plane, and the pilots who fly this type of aircraft have never received torpedo delivery training.

Regardless of it, try it first. Volunteers formed four strike crews, and they used a very special mechanical method to attach torpedoes to the lower parts of the wings and then rumbled into the night sky. Soon, the plane encountered bad weather. At first it was as dark as being in a coal mine, but later on it was really impossible to see anything.Pilots can approach and find targets in the dark, relying on radar. In the early days of World War II, radar was still a rather mysterious new weapon in the eyes of the Japanese, but many U.S. warships, submarines and aircraft began to be equipped with it.Relying on the guidance of the radar, the attack crew re-engaged the transport fleet.

At this time, the sky had cleared up, the transport fleet had been safe from previous shocks, and they had already relaxed their minds. They continued to sail forward like a penguin. How could they have imagined that another group of torpedoes would drop. Launching torpedoes can’t be as chic as dropping bombs at high altitudes. In order to find the best place to drop bombs, the pilot must lower the plane to an altitude of 100 feet. In this way, it is easy to be injured when dropping bombs, and the nose of a "Catalina" was hit because of this. There were several holes, and the fuselage, wings, and tail were bruised.

Same as last time, everyone left after throwing away, and also didn't see the result of the battle clearly. The actual loss of the transport fleet was that the oil tanker "Akemaru" was hit, killing and injuring more than 20 people, and temporarily fell behind due to the decrease in speed.However, this minor injury is really nothing to mention. It didn't take long for "Akemaru" to catch up with the fleet and still be able to maintain formation sailing. After the two sorties, another squadron leader of the patrol plane asked for a fight, asking him to lead more "Catalina" to attack, so as to further prevent the Japanese fleet from advancing to Midway Island.

His request was rejected by Saimad, who had received new instructions from Nimitz. For a few days, Nimitz stayed in the office twenty-four hours a day, and when he was tired, he just closed his eyes for a while on a camp bed.Every minute and every second is so difficult, but he can't do anything, he can only wait anxiously for the news from Midway Island, and it is almost to the point of hopelessness. The old man was overjoyed by the telegram from Midway Island. After reading it hastily, he stood up involuntarily from his seat. The long wait finally came to fruition. The Japanese army’s target was Midway, not Oahu, let alone the west coast of the United States. This shows that the previous assessment of the situation was completely correct.

It was as if the curtains were suddenly opened, and the eyes were bright. For Nimitz, the development of the battle situation would no longer be a puzzle, but had completely entered his preset track. Nimitz did not attend the scene in person, but he disagreed with the statement that "the main force of the Japanese army" was found in the reconnaissance intelligence.From the intelligence point of view, the absence of a large aircraft carrier means that the main force of the Japanese assault force has not yet appeared. According to Leiden's previous prediction, the main force of the Japanese army should show up tomorrow morning.

Nimitz always believed in the accuracy of Layton's prediction, and he immediately sent an urgent telegram to Midway Island with the fleet code: "That is not the main force of the Japanese army, but the landing force. I repeat, the main force of the Japanese army will arrive from the northwest at dawn tomorrow. direction to attack." The Pacific Fleet wrote a concluding statement in the combat summary of the day: "In the next two or three days, the combat situation will affect the entire process of the Pacific War." After receiving the latest instructions from Nimitz, Saimad and Ramsey immediately decided to stop attacking the Japanese transport fleet in order to preserve their strength, recharge their batteries, and face the main force of the Japanese army that was about to emerge from the northwest.

The atmosphere at Midway Island became solemn, and the entire air force fell into extreme tension and anxiety.