Chapter 11 electronic dog

In addition to increasing the number, the technical content of the formation has also been improved, and radar warning equipment has been installed on the flagship "Crescent". The Japanese army basically knew nothing about radar.Two months before Pearl Harbor, Japanese super spy Takeo Yoshikawa found a truss-type antenna installed on the head of the foremast of an American heavy cruiser. use. After the Pearl Harbor incident, Yoshikawa, who has never revealed his identity, was released and returned to China.During an interrogation of the captured U.S. military, he accidentally learned that the "truss antenna" was the "radar" that the U.S. Navy was equipping.

Takeo Yoshikawa learned that radar can detect the direction and distance of the opponent's ship through the feedback of reflected radio waves, so as to reduce visual errors.He immediately reported to the military command, but it did not attract enough attention from the military command. At that time, the Japanese Navy's radar knowledge was only superficial. From the Battle of Midway Island, the radar gradually became more and more visible. After several Solomon naval battles, the military command did not dare not to face up to the important role of radar in naval battles.Because they found that the Americans seemed to be equipped with clairvoyance and perspective glasses, and their eyesight during night battles was sometimes stronger than that of Japanese ships, so that the Japanese navy's trump card - using night to approach enemy ships and then launching torpedoes, almost expired.

what to do?Follow along!Americans can build radar, can't we? Under the strict orders and supervision of the Military Command, the Naval Technology Department had no choice but to immerse themselves in tinkering, but science and technology are nothing else, and force alone will not produce results.In the end, it was impossible to manufacture real radar, only radar alarm equipment. This kind of equipment is equivalent to the "electronic dog" on today's cars. It can receive and measure the pulse signal of the radar. When the radar signal reaches a certain energy value, it will send out a warning, reminding you that the warship has been spotted by the opponent and you have to flee quickly.

In other words, the "electronic dog" can only be used when encountering a US ship equipped with radar. It cannot directly detect the US ship and cannot be used as a "navigator".It's certainly not perfect, but it's better than nothing. On the evening of July 5, the Japanese formation sailed into Kura Bay.There was no moonlight that night, and sudden rain clouds quickly reduced visibility to below one nautical mile.This meteorological condition greatly reduced the vision and resolution ability of the Japanese lookout posts. Fortunately, with the "electronic dog" of the "New Moon", the Japanese formation commander, Major General Akiyama Teruo, had some confidence.

The "electronic dog" quickly responded, showing that there were US surface ships five kilometers away on the port side.Akiyama is like a treasure, the "electronic dog" is really good, otherwise the US warship will not know it when it is in front of it. The Japanese ship could be as cold as the day before, and run away after shooting the torpedo, but this time Akiyama intends to not delay.He divided the destroyers into three groups. The first seven ships formed the first and second transportation teams, and only unloaded personnel and materials, and the three ships behind, including the flagship, formed a cover team and sailed to the position displayed by the "electronic dog" so as to approach Then do combat alert.

Akiyama was deceived by the "electronic dog", who reported a false police report.The target 5,000 meters away on the port side was not a US ship at all, and Akiyama made such a move, but let himself be caught by the real US ship. In fact, as soon as the Japanese formation left the Buin base, it was discovered by the Allied coastal surveillance post.After receiving the report, Halsey immediately ordered the Ainsworth formation, which had just returned to Port Tulagi, to go out to intercept again. The Americans are more courageous in facing reality than the Japanese, and they are also better at summing up experience. Therefore, compared with the Guadalcanal Island period, the US Navy at this time has made great progress, which is manifested in better equipment and stricter operational organization. .

During the Solomon Sea Battle, the SG-type sea search radar was only installed on one or two ships, and now all warships are equipped with SG-type radars.They are specially installed in a cabin called the "radar plotting room". After the operator finds the target on the radar fluorescent screen, he will plot and analyze it in the plotting room. Intelligence is also funneled here, making the radar plotting room a battlefield intelligence center.With such a center, you can have a great advantage in naval battles. In terms of operational organization, most of the fleets in the past were improvised, adding a little over there and adding a little here. They are not very familiar with each other, let alone cooperate well.Now it is a task force with a relatively fixed establishment, which can organize training together on a regular basis, from the technical level of naval warfare, especially night combat, to the morale and confidence of officers and soldiers.

The U.S. military thought that this condition would be enough to turn around in the night battle. Unexpectedly, before the formal confrontation, the Japanese army shot a dart in a sneak attack.Ainsworth was upset all over. After receiving the order, without saying a word, he set off with a formation composed of three light cruisers and four destroyers. He wanted to avenge the sinking of the "Strong". The Japanese ship entered Kura Bay earlier than the American ship, and its heading was different. However, under the misleading of the poor-quality "electronic dog", the cover team confusedly entered the measurable range of the US radar early.What is even more dumbfounding is that when it was discovered by the real US military radar, the "electronic dog" fell silent again, just like an undercover agent installed by the US military.