Chapter 86 magic banknote

The night before the Battle of Midway broke out, which was the sleepless night when the atmosphere on the island was the most tense, Navy pilot Ensign Onessis ran along the airstrip alone, trying to decompress himself in this way. Running, he saw a two-dollar bill on the road.The circulation of this kind of banknote is small, and the color is not pleasant. Most Americans think that if you accidentally pick it up, it is like meeting a black cat. It is unlucky, but a few people think it is very auspicious. Onessis was of the latter kind, slipping bills into his wallet as a lucky charm to bless himself with good luck the next day.

Onesis wished too much for his luck.He was transferred from Pearl Harbor to Midway on June 1. He had only spent 6 months in the flight training team. With no skills and no experience, he was one of the many rookie pilots in Midway Island. Onessis was flying a torpedo plane.The original torpedo plane used by the US military was the TBD "Destroyer", just like the "Buffalo" type in fighter jets. and depth setting devices are unreliable.In the Coral Sea Battle and a series of battles before it, the U.S. Navy has suffered enough for this. The pilots of the torpedo plane were looking forward to the day and the evening, waiting for the improved torpedo plane. It was not until June 3 that Onesys got a brand new TBF "Avenger" torpedo plane.

The old-fashioned torpedo only has a speed of 135 knots, and the "Avenger" torpedo has a speed of 200 knots. Of course, it is more efficient when attacking.Ounessis' training record is that he only dropped a torpedo once at the shooting range in the United States. After arriving at Midway Island, he was unable to practice again due to the shortage of gasoline... The flying unit that went to attack the maneuvering unit was a standard air motley army, including TBF "Avenger" torpedo planes, B-26 "Predator" bombers, etc. The speeds and altitudes of these planes were different. Generally speaking, it is impossible to cooperate in combat at all.

According to the original plan, all bombers and torpedo planes would meet first after take-off to form a large attack formation, but in fact no one followed it, and there was no way to follow it.The torpedo plane unit where Onesis was in was the first to fly over the Japanese aircraft carrier. On the way, Onessis spotted a Zero flying by. The Zero appeared to be ready to fire, and Onessis was about to fire back, but neither had a chance to fire as the two planes passed by.This "Zero" plane was obviously eager to attack Midway Island. Otherwise, with the cruelty of the Japanese pilots, they would not have let Onessis go so easily.

It was as if for the first time that magic bill had worked. The weakest point of this group of attack aircraft is that they have no fighter jets to cover them.According to Nimitz's instructions, the aircraft should concentrate on dealing with the Japanese aircraft carrier, and the defense of Midway Island can be undertaken by the ground troops on the island. However, Saimad did not carry out this order to the letter. He left all the fighters to defend Midway Island up. From the standpoint of Saimad, the mood is completely understandable, but the attack fleet has suffered, and the entire attack mission has also been dragged down.

The torpedo plane team resumed level flight at an altitude of 7,000 feet. At this time, the cloud cover was in very good conditions, with an appropriate thickness, which not only concealed the aircraft, but also facilitated the pilot to observe downward through the gap in the cloud. The torpedo aircraft unit has a total of 6 "Avengers", and they have only one mission, which is to attack the Japanese aircraft carrier.Nimitz made it clear before the war that the key to the joint fleet is the mobile force, and the key to the mobile force is the four old aircraft carriers. He". In less than 6 months, the mobile force fought from Pearl Harbor to the Indian Ocean, causing many small-tonnage ships of the United Kingdom and the United States to die on the seabed, but they did not lose a single ship. They basically relied on these four large aircraft carriers.Nimitz believes that these four old aircraft carriers are the key forces of the mobile force in the offensive, and only they have the ability to destroy the land and air defenses of Midway Island and protect other ships of the mobile force.

The facts are exactly the same. The 107 Japanese planes that attacked Midway Island all came from these 4 old aircraft carriers. At 7:10, 10 minutes after Nagumo received Tomonaga's telegram, the torpedo aircraft unit arrived over the Japanese fleet.This was the first time Onessis had seen the fleet in his life, and he was almost fascinated by the spectacular scene after the mobile force was deployed on the ocean, but soon, his heart began to beat faster. Including Onesis, the torpedo plane unit collectively drilled out of the clouds and rushed towards the Japanese aircraft carrier. A thrilling sea-air battle broke out in an instant.