Chapter 54 triple jump

Except for submarines, all surface ships of the Japanese Navy that could fight were included in Ozawa's forces.When Ozawa's troops docked at the berth, the bay was crowded with ships of all sizes, the size of which left onlookers dumbfounded. Prior to this, no Japanese general had ever commanded such a large-scale aircraft carrier force, and the equipment of the flight team alone was very difficult.For example, in the second aviation battle commanded by Takashi Jojima, although the three aircraft carriers to which he belonged were all alive, there were no aircraft, and the number of pilots was only one-third of the required number.As an aviation staff officer, Masaobu Okumiya could only run around like a strong man, begging for advice, gathering the remaining pilots in the Rabaul air battle, and then reluctantly set up the airs of the flight team.

In addition, it is "oil breaking the enemy".Even if the large fleet does not move out, it needs a lot of fuel just to berth in the port. Without fuel, the lights inside the ship are not on, and training from radio communication to cannons and torpedoes cannot be carried out.The Ozawa Force has been stationed in the Linga Islands south of Singapore since its formation, because it is close to Palembang, an oil-producing area in Sumatra. Only one 1,500-ton oil tanker travels between the two places, and the entire fleet can fully carry out including night battles. training inside. Linga's training conditions are of course very good, but it is too far away from the decisive sea area set by the "Adaihao" plan. For this reason, Caolu quoted an old Chinese saying, "The end of a strong crossbow can't pierce Lu Jin"-no matter how strong the bow is, it will shoot out. In the end, the arrow may not even have the strength to pierce the thinnest silk.

Caolu designed a "triple jump" mode for Ozawa, starting from Tawitawi Island, the southernmost island of the Philippine Islands, and jumping all the way to the "decisive battle site" Palau Islands. Instead of going directly to the Palau Islands, instead of jumping around like this, to put it bluntly, it is still for oil. Tawi Tawi Island is a very small island. Not only ordinary Japanese citizens, but even ordinary Japanese naval officers and soldiers do not know where it is, but this small island is only 170 nautical miles away from Tarakan, an oil-producing area in Borneo. Even closer than between Bilinga and Palembang.Caolu and Ozawa envisage using Tawi Tawi Island as a forward base, while continuing to train, while waiting for a decisive battle.

On May 10, Caolu issued the "triple jump" order, and Ozawa's troops lifted anchor from the Linga Islands and headed for Tawi Tawi Island. It was only when I arrived at Tawi Tawi Island that I realized that the original intention of the training was impossible to realize.The U.S. military quickly detected the position of Ozawa's troops, and a large number of submarines entered around Tawi Tawi Island. The Japanese Navy has always had a belief that destroyers are the enemy of submarines. If submarines are compared to frogs, destroyers are snakes, and destroyers can sweep submarines.For this reason, oil tankers traveling between Tawi Tawi Island and Tarakan, as well as ships conducting training outside the bay, are equipped with destroyers for escort and security, which are called anti-submarine escorts.

However, the U.S. submarine with improved performance is really amazing. It has two magic weapons, one is the automatic computer for torpedo shooting, and the other is the radar rapid acquisition information system.The U.S. submarines were like divine help. The Japanese oil tankers and destroyers were often sunk one after another. Two ships were severely damaged.On the contrary, the destroyer hardly caused any damage to the U.S. submarine, that is to say, instead of the snake eating the frog, the frog eats the snake. Before the decisive battle started, Ozawa's troops had lost seven destroyers. Ozawa was very nervous about it. When he spoke to his subordinates, his hands were shaking, and he looked really pitiful.

The number of Ozawa's troops leaving the port for drills has been greatly reduced, and there is no airport on Tawi Tawi Island. Those carrier-based aircraft pilots who have not even passed the basic training have lost the possibility of improving their level.Once while training at sea, three carrier-based aircraft crashed during the Second Aviation Battle when landing on the ship. The flight officers said sharply to Okumiya: "Flight staff, this should be called 'aircraft self-destruction war'?" Akumiya could only respond with a wry smile.He had lost all illusions about these rookie pilots, and it was something else that made him more anxious.

The aircraft models of the Japanese Navy have been inseparable from the "old three" for a long time: the fighter is the "Zero" type, the dive bomber is the 99 "Ship Explosion", and the torpedo attack aircraft is the 97 "Ship Attack" or Type 1.In contrast, the U.S. military continues to update its models.According to Okumiya's personal experience, the 99 "Ship Explosion" cannot approach the "Hellcat" at all, so how can it attack the opponent's aircraft carrier? Japan has launched a batch of new models, among which the "Comet" bomber and the "Tianshan" torpedo attack aircraft are said to have surpassed the performance of the United States, but the problem is that there is no organic or unmanned pilot, or there is no time to practice driving.In order to rebuild the flight team during the Second Aviation War, Okumiya specially asked for nine "Comet" bombers from the military command, hoping to replace the old 99 "ship bombers" with them.

The speeds of both "Falcon Eagle" and "Flying Eagle" are very low, and it takes a certain period of time to become a "Comet" type launch ship.During two training trips to sea, the Comet failed to take off and land. Okumiya transferred the "Comet" to fly well-trained pilots. He believed that as long as the training times were increased, the "Comet" could still fly.Unfortunately, under the deterrence of US submarines, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for this kind of training, and in the end basically they will not leave the port. Shut up on the aircraft carrier all day to waste time.

Ozawa's troops only completed the first jump in the "triple jump". How to jump next depends on the movement of the Palau Islands.