Chapter 65 "Unbelievably Beautiful" footage

Just as the "Taiho" launched the second batch of attack carrier-based aircraft, Okumiya on the "Hayato" suddenly saw a huge black smoke rising into the sky.He was baffled: If the plane fell down, wouldn't it emit such a big smoke even if it was burning? As the distance narrowed, the outline became clearer and clearer. It looked like a warship, and it was an aircraft carrier.But this is even more puzzling to Okumiya, because up to this time, Ozawa's troops have not seen a single U.S. fighter plane. There is only one possibility, the warship was attacked by a submarine.Which warship will be unlucky?Takaji Jojima, commander of the Second Aviation War, had sharper eyes than Okumiya. He whispered worriedly to Okumiya, "It seems to be the 'Taiho'."

Okumiya was startled, he was afraid that other crew members would shake the morale of the army if they found out, so he just silently nodded to Jojima as an answer. Sure enough, it was an attack launched by a submarine, and it was Ozawa's flagship "Taiho" aircraft carrier that was attacked. Under the current Pacific Ocean, there is a world full of US submarines. The Japanese submarine force that once had the record of sinking an opponent's aircraft carrier has long since disappeared.By the middle of 1944, the Allied forces on the Atlantic battlefield had achieved a complete victory in anti-submarine warfare against Germany, and all anti-submarine weapons and experience in anti-submarine warfare had also been transmitted to the Pacific battlefield.The Japanese army originally deployed about 25 submarines in the Mariana area, 17 of which were sunk by US destroyers, anti-submarine frigates and aircraft.In the last two weeks of May 1944 alone, the US anti-submarine frigate "England" created an excellent record of destroying 6 Japanese submarines with a single ship.

After discovering that Ozawa's troops were approaching the Mariana Islands, Major General Lockwood, commander of the U.S. submarine force, moved the "square" 250 nautical miles southwest. At the same time, he allowed the submarines to attack the Japanese ships first, and then reported to him after the attack was over. . In this way, the "Taifeng" crashed head-on into this invisible trap, which happened to appear on the reticle of the "Mackerel"'s attack periscope. The "Big Mackerel" fired two torpedoes in a row, and then dived into deep water to prevent depth bomb attacks.The hydrophone then detected two dull explosions, and the personnel on the submarine knew that the two torpedoes had exploded successively.

When the "Albacore" fired a torpedo, the torpedo track was spotted by a "Comet" bomber flying away from the aircraft carrier. The pilot immediately turned and made a suicide dive toward one of the torpedoes in an arc.At a distance of about 100 yards from the "Taiho", the plane dived into the water nose-down, just in time to intercept the torpedo, only to hear a thunderous explosion, and both died. This is the origin of the first explosion, and then, the second "fish" rushed towards the "Taifeng" like an arrow. There is no more cannon fodder to help him block bullets. Ozawa and his staff saw it clearly from the bridge, and hurriedly turned the aircraft carrier, but it was too late. With a muffled "boom", the torpedo penetrated into the starboard hull and exploded .

The "Taifeng" did not catch fire at first, and judging from the situation at the time, navigation was not a problem, but the torpedo damaged the front elevator, and the carrier aircraft could not take off.Ozawa then ordered the carrier-based aircraft on the "Taiho" to transfer to the "Zuikaku", and the first round of returning planes also changed to land on the "Zuikaku", and at the same time sent a report to the United Fleet Command: "'Taho 'Slightly damaged." Ever since they learned that the first round of assault planes of Ozawa's troops had successfully taken off, Toyota, Caolu and others were waiting to raise their glasses to celebrate, but two hours passed and there was no news. The atmosphere on the "Oyodo" Finally, he turned from joy to anxiety, and then from anxiety to suspicion, wondering if something happened to Ozawa.

Ozawa's telegram confirmed that something had happened.After reading the telegram, Toyota didn't say a word, the staff looked at each other with worried eyes, and Cao Lu had a hunch that there might be worse news behind the bad news. If it is the "Taifeng", the loss seems to have stopped there.As the most powerful aircraft carrier owned by the Japanese Navy since the outbreak of the Pacific War, the "Taiho" looks majestic and majestic, giving people a very reliable feeling. Compared with it, other aircraft carriers around are like small matchboxes, which look very Weak.In terms of internal structure, the "Taiho" is also said to be strong. The huge flight deck is covered with thick armor, which is said to be able to withstand the blow of a 250-kilogram heavy bomb.

For such a giant "unsinkable warship", how effective can a torpedo be? In fact, it was not the torpedo that was fatal, but the Borneo crude oil on board.When the torpedo blew up the elevator, it also blew up the gasoline tank. The unrefined crude oil in the tank was extremely volatile, and the gas immediately rushed into the hangar. In order to get rid of the volatile gas in the hangar, the captain ordered to open all the hatch covers and watertight doors, but this action not only failed to get rid of the gas, but allowed the gas to spread further, and the ship was filled with the pungent smell of gas. Odor, "Taiho" has involuntarily become a floating bomb.

The "Taifeng" is not the only aircraft carrier in panic.That afternoon, the captain of the U.S. submarine "Acanthus" observed an aircraft carrier through the periscope, but he couldn't see which country's flag was flying on the aircraft carrier.Observing again, a large sun flag came into view. It was an "unbelievably beautiful" picture. The aircraft carrier in front of him was the "Xianghe" that Nimitz never forgot, and it was recovering the plane. What was delivered was not only the dishes, but also the main course. The "Acanthus" greeted it unceremoniously, and when it was only 1,000 yards away from the "Xianghe", it fired six torpedoes in one go, and three of them hit "Xiaohe". "Xianghe", produced continuous explosions like big firecrackers. The "Xianghe" was bombed beyond recognition, and sea water poured into the hangar from the lift port, and this veteran aircraft carrier finally turned over and entered the sea.

Half an hour after the "Xianghe" sank, the volatile gas of Borneo's crude oil had set the "Taiho" on fire. The thickened version of the flight deck that the Japanese were once proud of "bloomed like Mount Fuji". When Lao Gao bulged, red fire dragons sprang up from all sides of the cabin, and there was not even a drop of water in the fire hose. After a while, flames surrounded the bridge, and people had to put on gas masks.Seeing that it was no longer possible to carry out command on the "Taifeng", Ozawa's chief of staff suggested changing the flagship. He ordered the boat to be lowered, and then said to Ozawa: "Please do as I say."

He didn't sink a US aircraft carrier, but his own two aircraft carriers sank, including the flagship. Of course, Ozawa couldn't accept this fact. He even wanted to strangle himself, so why would he leave? The "Taifeng" continued to explode like firecrackers, and many people were killed and injured. The dead and wounded lay near the flight deck, and there was no place to step down.The staff hurriedly persuaded Ozawa further: "The battle is still going on, and you have to continue to command until the final victory." The implication is that you can't just die, and you still have responsibilities.

This kind of persuasion was the most effective, and it also took into account the other party's face, so Ozawa got off the boat without saying a word and transferred to a cruiser. At 4:28 p.m., the Taiho sank.The fire ignited by the volatile oil and gas was so fierce that the surrounding destroyers could not approach the rescue. Of the 2,150 officers and soldiers on board, only 500 escaped. After the sun had set, each aviation combat flight team reported the number of remaining aircraft, and Ozawa learned that the number of carrier-based aircraft had been reduced from 430 to 100.Coupled with the loss of the two aircraft carriers, the end is almost the same as that of the Battle of Midway Island. What should we do? Ozawa is temporarily defeated here, but not necessarily elsewhere.Ozawa contacted Kakuda about the battle situation that day, and Kakuda said boldly that he had sunk several US aircraft carriers, and a considerable number of Japanese carrier-based aircraft had landed at Guam Airport, and he could currently control them. It turned out that the U.S. military had also suffered serious losses. It turned out that Kakuda's troops still retained their strength. Ozawa's cooled chest suddenly boiled again. He decided to put down his "protagonist" airs and cooperate with Kakuda to launch a counterattack, trying to regain the loss and face. . If Ozawa is willing to polish his titanium alloy eyes, he will find out that Kakuda lied again.In fact, Kakuta has never carried out a large-scale attack on the 58th Task Force. The sinking of the US aircraft carrier is nothing but fiction, but Kakuta has always given people the impression of being "upright and unyielding", so when he is very unscrupulous and talks nonsense again , did not arouse any suspicion of Ozawa. With the help of the cover of night, Ozawa ordered the troops to retreat. He decided to replenish fuel and adjust his state to fight again the next day, that is, June 21. But Spruance and Mitchell, who have already won a big victory, will not give him this chance.