Chapter 104 Die also die in the blue sky

McCluskey followed the destroyer Arashi to find the mobile unit, and the Kobayashi fleet found "Yorktown" by following Leslie's returning fleet. Kobayashi's request was "don't shoot, and enter the village quietly." Two "Zero" planes couldn't hold back their temper and rushed towards the U.S. plane. As a result, Kobayashi lost two escort planes for no reason. "York City" was equipped with radar, and it caught the Kobayashi fleet from a long distance, and immediately made defensive preparations. Before attacking the mobile force, Fletcher established a carrier-based aircraft reserve team. There were 12 "Wildcats" that could intercept, and Spruance sent another 6 for support. When there are 12 nautical miles, the air battle will break out in advance.

4 vs. 18. In comparison, the number of "Zero" types is too small. Even if its performance is superior, it is reasonable to be stripped of its pants in aerial combat.But what made Kobayashi raise his eyebrows and smile was that 8 dive bombers still broke through the interception, flew over the "York City", and began to dive downward in a curve. The reserve team still couldn't stop it. Looking at the Japanese plane flying closer and closer, Fletcher said: "I can't do anything now, well, I will put on the helmet." In a blink of an eye, "York City" was hit by three bombs.The flight deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier is not equipped with armor, which is very easy to catch fire, and the pressure of the boiler has also dropped, so the hull stops motionless on the sea.However, after emergency repairs, it quickly resumed sailing capabilities.

"York City" is Fletcher's flagship, and there is no danger for the time being, but Fletcher still made a decision. He wants to leave the ship and transfer the commander ship to a heavy cruiser. In the eyes of the Japanese navy, this approach is almost tantamount to cowardice, and even if they want to leave the ship, people like Nagumo must give way and pull in a pretentious way.Fletcher is not. He strictly follows the procedures and regulations: the fleet commander and staff can leave the ship, but the captain and crew of "York City" cannot leave the ship. In terms of working style, Fletcher and Nagumo are really very different.Fletcher also encountered the embarrassment of climbing down from the starboard side. He stopped and said to the boatswain in charge as soon as he stepped out of a leg: "I'm a bit old and can't do this stuff. You'd better use a rope." Hang me down."

The bosun said yes, and with a wave of his hand, two sailors came up, tied Fletcher to one end of the rope like a fish, and then slowly let him down. This is the Americans. When you stand on the flagship, you are a respectable commander. When you get off, you are just like ordinary soldiers. This way everyone may be more comfortable. Like Fletcher, Spruance never gets emotional.When he learned that "Yorktown" had been attacked, Browning, the impatient chief of staff, suggested immediate retaliatory action and launched an attack on the "Flying Dragon". where you are now.

The reward for being calm and composed is that even if you lose money, you won't lose too much.At this time, the mountain pass had already changed its course. If Spruance sent a plane there rashly, not only would it waste his strength in vain, but he would not be able to spot the "Flying Dragon" at all. Reconnaissance has been raised to a crucial position by both sides. The mobile unit originally had 2 new high-speed reconnaissance planes, but they were never able to be used. It was not until they were beaten that the smoke came out of their mouths, and Nanyun was like a dream. Wake up, quickly order one of them to go out for reconnaissance.

After the pilot returned, several aircraft carriers were all on fire, and he could only choose to land on the deck of the "Flying Dragon".When Yamaguchi heard the news, he called him over for questioning. From Nagumo to Yamaguchi, I thought that the U.S. military had only one aircraft carrier. This time, when I asked, Yamaguchi was surprised. It turned out that there were not only one aircraft carrier, but three! 1 ship has been destroyed, and theoretically there are 2 ships left.Yamaguchi decided to organize the remaining Japanese planes to launch a second wave of attacks. This batch of remaining Japanese planes was led by You Yong and others, including 10 torpedo planes and 6 fighter jets.

Yamaguchi told Tomonaga: "Don't attack the aircraft carrier that was hit by Kobayashi's fleet and caught fire, and attack the other aircraft carriers." Compared with the morning expedition, the Japanese planes that could be used for combat were pitifully shabby. Most of the pilots who participated in the war knew that this trip might never return, but when they climbed into the cabin, they all put on forced smiles. Frozen to death and starved to death is death, and it is not in vain to fly such a flight if you can die in the blue sky. At least American and Japanese pilots still have this consciousness.

One of the wing fuel tanks of Tomonaga's plane was leaked during the attack on Midway, and before it could be repaired, the ground crew asked what to do.Youyong smiled and said forget about the broken fuel tank, just fill up the other one. Other pilots asked You Yong to change planes, but he declined all of them. His reason was: "The enemy is very close, and I can return after the attack." After Tomoyaga set off, he regarded the "York City" that had been extinguished as "several other aircraft carriers" and took the opportunity to attack it again. The starboard side and the middle of "York City" were hit by two torpedoes respectively. It was also shattered by heavy anti-aircraft fire.

Although the "Yorktown" was only hung in two places, the places where the colors were hung were all critical parts. The power, lighting and communication equipment on the ship were all paralyzed, and the aircraft carrier was bombed so that it could not move and was severely tilted.The most dangerous thing is that the fuel tank of the "York City" was also blown up, because the aircraft carrier tilted, and the leaked oil spread to various parts, forming a thin oil film. A little spark can cause a fire that engulfs the entire ship. For any captain, asking them to make a decision to abandon the ship is like cutting their own flesh. Although the captain of the "York City" tried his best to save the ship, he finally had to issue an order to abandon the ship and evacuated the 3,000 officers and soldiers on board.

Fletcher is very practical. He believes that the captain's abandonment of the ship is not a question of whether it is right or not, but that it is too late.You must know that "York City" may be completely reimbursed at any time, and any indecisive action may hurt the personnel on board. Fletcher was still worried about this until later. He said: "I was really anxious at the time, and I wanted to quickly Get people out. For me, the important thing is to get the officers and those good soldiers out." Abandoning "Yorktown" meant that the Fletcher fleet was shut down.When Spruance asked Fletcher for instructions on what to do next, he replied, "Fight as you wish."

Realizing that he no longer had an aircraft carrier in his hands and could not command air power most effectively, Fletcher calmly handed over the command to Spruance.His selflessness and wisdom have enabled his colleagues to give full play to their commanding skills. Spruance has been waiting for the reconnaissance report. At 2:45 pm, the reconnaissance plane finally sent news that the task force once again got the opportunity to slay the dragon.