Chapter 31 Chapter Thirty

Vice Admiral Nagumo's wartime photographs show a serious, balding old Japanese gentleman in a European-style lieutenant-admiral uniform—thick gold epaulettes, slanted ribbons, rows of medals—looking well dressed Can't get through, a restrained look.Nagumo far surpassed Raymond in rank and achievements.Spruance.He didn't take part in the Battle of the Coral Sea; the melee was bungled by minor characters.His assault fleet was unblemished in its victories from Pearl Harbor to the Indian Ocean.Born in the samurai class, he is a well-known expert on destroyers and cruisers, and a veteran master in aircraft carrier operations in the world.

Coming out of the melancholy rain and fog that had sheltered him for a week, Nagumo launched an attack on Midway at dawn, sending half the fighters, dive bombers, and Type 97 torpedo bombers on each carrier; One is a dual-purpose aircraft loaded with anti-personnel bombs for hitting land targets.He then ordered the remaining 108 aircraft from the four aircraft carriers to take up their positions on the deck, ready to attack any enemy ship that might show up; the Type 97s were equipped with torpedoes as usual, and the dive bombers were equipped with armor-piercing bombs .But Nagumo and his staff did not expect an encounter with the enemy; it was merely a sound precaution.

Before taking off for an attack, Nagumo personally drafted a "Situation Estimate": -Once the Midway landing operation begins, the enemy fleet may be dispatched to fight. ... The four enemies have not yet discovered our plan, and have not yet discovered our task force. There is no trace of the enemy task force in the surrounding waters. 6 It is therefore possible for our side to attack Midway, destroy land-based aircraft, and support the landings.We were then able to turn around and meet the approaching enemy task force and destroy it. Seven possible counterattacks by enemy land-based aircraft could of course be repulsed by our interceptors and anti-aircraft artillery.

The usual but still exciting news of success came over and over again by radio from the pilots who attacked Midway.The atoll sent a large force of fighter jets into the sky, but the Zeros shot them down like grass, and the bombers took no damage, blasting the two islets of Midway to ash.The hangars, power plants, and barracks were in flames, the guns were silent, ammunition and fuel depots were blown into the air, and the entire garrison camp became a place of smoke and blood. It's a little disappointing.Unlike the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Yankee planes were not attacked on the ground; they were alerted, scrambled, and disappeared.The hangars and runway appeared to be empty.Of course, these planes will have to land for refueling soon, and this will be a good chance to kill them.So the commander of the attack fleet said by radio: "It is necessary to make a second strike."

This was the first unexpected obstacle of the day.The air power at Midway must be crushed, or the landing operation will be prolonged and multiplied in casualties.But the planes scattered across the deck today are armed with weapons designed to strike ships. The Type 97 would of course have to change weapons; torpedoes are not suitable for attacking land targets.Armor-piercing bombs on dive bombers are not as useful as incendiary bombs and anti-personnel bombs. While Nagumo and his staff were discussing this troublesome issue, the air raid siren sounded, and the destroyer belched black smoke as a signal to spot the enemy plane, which was seen skimming low over the crest of the waves.Rumbling straight towards it, it was unmistakably a blue American fighter plane with white five-pointed stars painted on its wings.Without the escort of fighter jets, the enemy planes fell like shot wild birds under the attack of anti-aircraft artillery and Zero aircraft.A few fired torpedoes before catching fire and crashing, but the weapons bobbed up and down in the water, were thrown off course by the wind and waves, or burst into pieces when they hit the water.None hit the target or functioned normally.The pitiful spectacle of American incompetence was an all-around brilliant victory for Nagumo's combat-patrol fleet.A plane landed on the flight deck of the "Akagi" with a bang in front of Nagumo, and turned over the side of the ship without any damage to the aircraft carrier.The lieutenant general and his staff saw its twin engines, the white five-pointed star on the flaming blue fuselage, and the bloodied, probably dead pilot in the canopy.The plane is too big to take off from an aircraft carrier.It was a B-26 medium bomber, which could only come from Midway.

For Nagumo, the matter was decided in this way.He had to strike a second time.As for the question of whether there is an enemy fleet nearby, the reconnaissance plane went to the sky early in the morning and reported that nothing was found.Unrealistic precautions must be removed.The planes now on deck were to be used to attack Midway, and to speed up the pace, it was only necessary to change the weapons on the Type 97 torpedo bombers.The two large aircraft carriers "Akagi" and "Kaga" of his unit had to complete this arduous task quickly.The Type 97s on the two smaller Hiryu and Soryu of the Second Detachment all flew to Midway.Their decks contain only fighter jets and dive bombers ready to go.So the order was given to Nagumo's unit.The elevator whized up and down.Those big 97s were sent down to the hangar deck.Top-notch deck crews flocked to exchange weapons.

At half past seven came a truly startling piece of news.The heavy cruiser "Tone" relayed a message from one of its reconnaissance planes: ten ships "apparently belonging to the enemy" were spotted about 200 miles to the east, heading southeast with their backs to the Nanyun and atolls.The telegram made no mention of aircraft carriers.Surface ships two hundred miles away were now unable to save Midway.Once the air force on the atoll is eliminated, these ships can be dealt with one by one; but the most important things must be done first.The work of replacing the Type 97 aircraft with bombs for attacking land targets is proceeding rapidly.

Then, I don't know if it was Nagumo or a staff officer who thought about it carefully, and couldn't help being surprised.The enemy's course was towards the southeast—a course that was against the wind.Could it be that the pilot of the seaplane had seen the aircraft carrier but was stupid enough not to recognize it? Order each aircraft carrier: "Stop reloading bombs! Do not remove the torpedoes on the Type 97 bombers!" Order the seaplane: "Find out the type of ship and keep in touch." Thus, by the accident of the war, by the elusive action of a young pilot on a dying cruiser-borne scout plane, the whole great Japanese military operation came to a halt.Half of the Type 97s were bombed and repositioned on the flight deck.The rest are still below with torpedoes.Then the air raid siren sounded again, the destroyer belched black clouds of smoke, and the dots in the sky grew larger and larger, turning into Douglas dive bombers coming from the direction of Midway—without fighter escort— —, and contrary to the usual tactics of American dive bombers, the angle is surprisingly small.

These planes were actually flown for the first time by inexperienced Marines who had reinforced Midway at the last minute, while their commanders were about to try their hand at glide bombing.Then came the second massacre; amidst the cheering corpses of the Japanese deck sailors and gunners, the Zero planes shot down the blue planes one by one, and they burst into clouds of fire like beautiful roses blooming. Draw an arc and plunge into the sea with thick smoke.None of the bombs hit the target. Nagumo may have been astonished that the American pilot's life was so cruelly ruined in this second air strike without fighter escort.It is surprising that a weak and corrupt democracy would do this.Having said that, the Zeros may have shot down all of Midway's original fighters.One thing stands out: the sky belongs to him today.The Americans, despite their bravery, were defeated.

At this time, the idiot on the seaplane in the distance replied: the enemy ship has five cruisers and five destroyers.OK!No aircraft carrier!You can continue to change the weapons on the Type 97 aircraft.But the air raid sirens sounded again.This time, a formation of huge land-based aircraft rumbled high above the sky. It looked like a B-17, that is, the feared "fortress in the sky".The little Midway Island looks like a ferocious specter. It is strange to say that it has been arranged as a place for air combat!However, what can the high-altitude horizontal bombing of these monsters do to the moving ships?As these massive bombers approached at 20,000 feet, a long-standing peacetime dispute was put to the test.

They have no fighter escort.They have amazing fixed machine gun cockpits and don't need escorts.Zeros don't take to the skies to compete with them.The four aircraft carriers spread out lumberingly, and at this moment, black heavy bombs could clearly be seen raining down on the two smaller aircraft carriers "Soryu" and "Hiryu".The dark jet of water from the explosion engulfed them again and again.The giant plane rumbled away high in the sky, and the splash of water calmed down, but the two motherships sailed out of the smoke intact and into the sun! Annihilating two groups of low-altitude bombers, and this defensive battle has achieved a historic victory, Nagumo is proud of himself.However, Midway was clearly still heavily bombed.A second strike is absolutely necessary.He did a good job of loading the planes with bombs, which must now be accelerated. Before he had time to take action, four sudden events happened almost simultaneously, which made the old hero panic again. During combat operations, there is always an astonishing amount of noise around Nagumo—the bang of the elevator siren, the blare of the loudspeaker on the flight deck, the roar of the engines starting, the chatter of the radio, the blah, blah, blah, blah. The shouts of signalmen on the bridge.Years of habit had left him undisturbed by the familiar din, but the series of emergencies and confusions that were flooding over him now were unprecedented.He had to make hasty and uncertain decisions over and over again in a storm of noise, panic, confusion, annoyance and contradictory proposals—some decisions related to the future of his country, and even the future of the world as a whole.A senior commander lived for such moments, and he began to weather the storm with the composure of a veteran. First, another group of bombers swooped down from the clouds. Second, just as the alarm was sounded and the remaining fighters on deck were scrambling to support the combat patrol fleet, a scarred officer sent Nagumo a supplementary report from the pilot of the Tone: Enemy Fleet There appears to be an aircraft carrier in the rear. Third, just as Nagumo was contemplating this startling news, a different alarm signal suddenly spread throughout the Task Force: "Submarine!" Fourth, just at this juncture, his own first sortie planes began to return from Midway, appeared in sight, were running out of fuel, and several were damaged and suffered disasters. Landing on the ship deck. Nagumo found himself cornered.A second strike on Midway?No, not right now; there's an enemy aircraft carrier full of elite pilots within range!The order of his two combat missions was suddenly reversed.He was no longer planning to attack the atoll; he himself was under threat of being flanked by land-based bombers and carrier-based aircraft.The first task is that he must kill this aircraft carrier. That air raid was nothing more than a few old-fashioned reconnaissance bombers swooping down to harass a battleship in the screen fleet. After being intercepted by the Zero aircraft, they flew into Bo Yun and escaped.Destroyers rushed to the location where the submarine was said to have been found, but found nothing.What to do now?The obvious measure was to attack the aircraft carrier immediately: turn around and face the wind, order Soryu and Hiryu to take off all the aircraft in position for attack, and send out the Type 97 aircraft crowded on his own deck.Of course, these planes now have bombs, not torpedoes--the ones with torpedoes are down there--but bombs are better than no bombs at all.This frees up the deck to recover the first aircraft to strike while keeping the enemy in hot pursuit. But for Nan Yun's big fleet, this move is too weak!Using only a fraction of his strength, no torpedo strikes, no fighter escort, since most of the fighters were in the air and running out of fuel.All morning, Nagumo watched as the unescorted enemy bombers were annihilated.And what about the basic principle of war, the concentration of forces? He could therefore keep his composure, gather some cool-headed and quick-witted men; send all the planes down, clear all the decks, including the Soryu and Hiryu; recover all the planes returning from Midway, and all combat patrol aircraft; fuel and bomb all aircraft while advancing on the enemy at top speed; and then concentrate all his air power against the enemy in the manner of coordinated attack prescribed by military doctrine. This will of course take time; perhaps as much as an hour.In an aircraft carrier confrontation, delay can bring risks. Lieutenant Admiral Nagumo was surrounded by his anxious staff officers on the flagship bridge, and weighed this no-nonsense choice over and over again—at this time, the sound of anti-aircraft guns was still everywhere on the task force, and the ship was standing in a strangely calm blue sky. The surface of the sea dumped to one side and turned to draw a series of intricate white cross trails. The plane returning from Midway Island flew at low altitude and flew around the "Akagi". The enemy's slow-speed bombers were driven away, and there were thousands of sounds of an aircraft carrier in battle around him-at this critical moment, Nagumo, from his subordinates, the "Soryu" and "Hiryu" squadrons, A telegram has been received from the commander: Urgent.The preferred method is to immediately put into the attack fleet. Maybe the officer who handed Nagumo the telegram didn't dare look him in the face.In any navy in the world, it would have been considered insulting for a subordinate to send such a message in the heat of battle; in the Imperial Japanese fleet it was suicidal audacity.This man, Yamaguchi, was regarded as the most outstanding officer in the navy other than Yamamoto, and he was destined to succeed Yamamoto.Of course he understood the seriousness of his actions.He evidently believed that the outcome of the battle might depend on this moment, and that he would not hesitate to sacrifice his own future. Older people cannot be pushed into battle like this.Nagumo immediately did the exact opposite: ordered all the planes—including Yamaguchi's planes—to be sent down, and instructed the entire task force to recover the planes.The matter is thus settled; there will be a general coordinated attack. At this time, he broke the radio ban for the first time, reporting to Admiral Yamamoto, who was loitering three hundred miles away with the main fleet of seven battleships and an aircraft carrier: composed of enemy fleets.Up to this point ten long days had elapsed since the departure from Hiroshima Bay, and the Commander-in-Chief had remained in complete ignorance of the execution of his plan of attack. So the Type 97s were pushed onto the lifts again; they were lowered to the hangar decks again; and the reloading began again.At first bombs were used to replace torpedoes, and now torpedoes are used to replace bombs, and the planes never left the ship.The loudspeakers blared the instructions from the bridge of the flagship, and some Japanese soldiers might not be able to help muttering about "the idiots up there" while doing the heavy lifting of the loaders.But even so, they must still be calm.These sailors saw with their own eyes that the American dive bombers burst into the air, fell straight into the sea, fell burning, drew a line like a meteor, and were wiped out in batches.They saw B-17s flying timidly high in order to overwhelm the Zeros, dropping big bombs without doing any damage; Come.Above they heard the rumbling of the first sortie planes returning victorious from Midway.A more glorious victory than the attack on Pearl Harbor is at hand!These sweaty, shirtless toilers, as they haphazardly unloaded seventeen hundred-pound bombs on deck and loaded heavy torpedoes in a frenzy, no doubt would think. In less than an hour, the personnel on the four aircraft carriers recovered all the planes, reloaded them with weapons, filled them with fuel, placed them on the specified positions on the flight deck, and prepared to take off.Nagumo was undoubtedly satisfied with this excellent result and with his firm intention of not acting hastily. He flew northeast, in order to get rid of the harassment of the bombers on Midway Island, and to hit the American aircraft carrier. By this time the sun had risen for almost four and a half hours. The unescorted dive bombers on the Enterprise flew to the location where the staff navigator predicted they would encounter the enemy, and there was nothing within fifty miles in all directions but cloud-dappled ocean.They continued westward.Warren's gauge needle quivered below the half-full mark.He calculated that if they turned back within twenty minutes, they might be able to get back to the "Enterprise", because the mothership was also making steady progress, shortening the distance in both directions.But how about going back with a full bomb rack!For many years, he had fantasized about diving towards an enemy aircraft carrier in actual combat, and now it seems that it is about to come true!Did anyone in charge, from Major General Spruance to Major McCluskey, know what they were up to?This reckless "light cavalry charge" through the clouds is no match for the barbaric professional soldier style of Japan.Could he see the Enterprise again without falling into the water? A huge formation of dive-bombers, arranged in orderly echelon formation, charged with bombs, roaring down from the sky, but there is no target, only a piece of water-this seems like a poor and clumsy trap.The enemy has fallen to the rear and northeast.Warren is sure of this.Browning's staff navigators must have expected the Japanese to continue their advance on the atoll at full speed, but they apparently slowed down to avoid bombers approaching Midway and perhaps to get their own planes off.How was he to inform McCluskey that he was restricted from radio calls?This man was flying and leading the mass of blue bombers a few hundred yards ahead.Does Warren have the qualifications to do so?Besides, will the captain listen to him? Impulsively, he pushed back the oil-stained canopy.The thin and bitter air blows away the cigarette smoke and the overnight smell of engine oil in the hot cabin.He was breathing hard, as if on a mountaintop, but he didn't want to use oxygen; the wet mask was uncomfortable, and he preferred to smoke.The problem of running out of fuel didn't worry him too much.Returning from the bombing of Marcus Island, the damaged engine stopped, and he was forced to land, slamming into the splashing waves as if he had crashed on land; but he and his rear-seat machine gunner, Cole Nit's predecessor took out the life raft from the sinking bomber, ate chocolate and talked about it, drifting for six hours before being rescued by a destroyer.Although ditching is unpleasant, it is an easy method to master. Two squadrons of dive-bombers wandering around in this way made him very angry.He hoped relentlessly for the planes aboard the Hornet and the Yorktown, or Gene.Lindsay's torpedo-bomber squadron would spot the damned Japs and show them something; or hope McCluskey would stop ditching thirty-three Dreadnoughts and turn northeast, or turn back, pretend Come back when full of gas. At this juncture, Wade.McCluskey actually gave the order to turn northeast. Warren had no way of knowing--and it was a good thing for him--that the whole American sortie was being reduced to a terrible farce. The Japanese attack on Midway Island this time was a combination of 108 aircraft from four aircraft carriers—fighters, dive bombers, and Type 97 aircraft—to attack together as an attack brigade, and completed the combat mission step by step. , Returning in a neat formation.But in this U.S. sortie, each carrier sent its planes piecemeal at different times.The slower torpedo bomber groups soon lost contact with the fighters and dive bombers.None of the American pilots knew what any squadron other than his own was doing, let alone where the Japanese were.It simply couldn't be more disorganized. The dive bombers and fighters on the Hornet, completely idle for a while, had withdrawn from the fight.Flying to the point where there was nothing to intercept, their captain ordered a turn south towards the atoll, thus diverting from Nagumo's fleet.The brigade then dispersed, and some flew directly to Midway Island to refuel, and the rest turned back to the "Hornet".Most of the latter will be splashed out to sea with the engines running out of oil. When the two squadrons of McCluskey's Enterprise headed boldly westward, the plane of the Yorktown finally took off, long after nine o'clock—but it only sent half the plane.Major General Fletcher saved the other half just in case.Nagumo's aircraft carriers were now heading north through the waves, and his intact air force had been refueled and rearmed for a full-fledged coordination with one hundred and two aircraft to take off at half past ten. attack. There was only one elusive factor remaining in the nearly played game, which seemed like a wild card: the three slower squadrons of American torpedo bombers.They move randomly and unplanned without seeing each other.Each torpedo bomber squadron had no idea where the other was.The commanders of these flimsy and obsolete planes, named Waldron, Lindsay and Macy, are three tenacious lost cows, each piloting for himself.It was they who discovered the Japanese. "Fifteen torpedo bombers, bearing 130!" Nagumo and his staff were not surprised, although there was no fighter escort-again! —This must have shocked them.This position shows that these planes are flying from the aircraft carrier that Nan Yun is approaching and trying to destroy.Fifteen planes, one squadron; of course the Yankee aircraft carrier was trying to strike first.But the lieutenant general thought he had a four-to-one advantage in ships and aircraft, and was not worried.How did he know that he was approaching three aircraft carriers. The seaplane pilot on the cruiser Tone never reported the other two. The pilot of this reconnaissance plane was arranged in a ridiculous way.He took off half an hour late, and his crucial discovery was delayed accordingly.He saw one aircraft carrier at first and didn't recognize it; he didn't mention the other aircraft carrier after that.With this poor performance he vanishes from history; like the serpent that slayed Cleopatra, he was a man of insignificance, but in a sad short time the fate of an empire depended to him. The fifteen planes coming toward Nagumo were the Eighth Torpedo Bomber Squadron aboard the Hornet.Captain John.Waldron, the irascible and strong-willed pilot, was asked to lead his men straight and slow through a thick curtain of flak shrapnel and smoke and a dense attack of Zero aircraft—we It is impossible to record his mood at that time, because he was one of the first casualties.Waldron's planes attempted to form formation and attack the heads of the two carriers, but one after another caught fire, burst open, and fell into the sea.Only a few had time to launch torpedoes.Those who fired the torpedoes had no success, because none of them hit.The battle was over within minutes, and the Japanese were again victorious. Just as the fifteenth plane was burning up near the bow of the "Akagi" and plunging into the blue water with thick smoke, a piercing alarm came from a frigate, causing people on the bridge of the flagship to die. Everyone was at a loss: "Fourteen torpedo bombers are coming!" Fourteen more?Was it, as in some frightening old tale, that the dead rose from the sea and went on in battered planes to fight for their country?The idea that the Japanese mind is poetic may have crossed Nagumo's mind, but the reality was quite clear and shocking.The United States only had one torpedo bomber squadron per carrier; that meant there was at least one other carrier coming against him. Of course the report from the damned seaplane on the Tone was worthless.There may be four aircraft carriers, or seven.Who can tell what tricks those scheming Americans are up to?Japanese intelligence was a total failure.Just as Nagumo once secretly attacked Pearl Harbor, couldn't the enemy sneak a few new aircraft carriers into the Pacific Ocean? "Accelerate all preparations and take off immediately!" This panicked order to abandon the coordinated attack was sent to the four aircraft carriers.The air raid siren sounded, the anti-aircraft guns of the screen fleet spit out thick black smoke, the aircraft carrier broke the formation to avoid the incoming aircraft, and the Zero aircraft was slowly climbing to the height of the combat patrol. Instead, they swooped down on another batch of unescorted planes.This is Gene on the Enterprise.Lindsay's squadron.As McCluskey searched westward, the squadron leader, with the scarred face and ailing body, led his men straight toward the enemy.Ten planes were shot down, including Lindsay's.Four avoided the executioner, fired torpedoes, turned around and flew back to the aircraft carrier.If any of the torpedoes hit, it didn't explode. Another victory!But the formation of this aircraft carrier commando was completely disrupted.The evasive maneuver drove Hiryu far to the north, almost out of sight, and put Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu in a line from west to east.The screened ships were scattered, from horizon to horizon, smoking, long and curved wakes intersecting each other.Sailors and officers continued to operate with high spirits on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier.They rejoiced just now that dozens of bombers from Midway Island burned and fell, and now two batches of Yankee torpedo bombers were smashed into powder by Zero planes!The four flight decks are full of planes; none of them can take off immediately, but they are all refueled and loaded with bombs, and the decks are full of messy fuel pipes, bombs and torpedoes, and the sailors are sweating happily Cleaning up so the plane can go straight up to kill the enemy. Warren.Henry once saw the "Enterprise" as an 800-foot-long iron eggshell full of explosives and people.Here are exactly four of these iron eggshells; or rather, four vast depots of aquatic fuel, uncovered, capable of being lit with a match. "Enemy torpedo bomber, bearing 095!" After a short period of silence, the third alarm came.The Zero was headed straight for the intended position from which to fight off the dive bombers from high altitude, or to shoot down some torpedo bombers flying by at lower altitudes, whichever came first.The four aircraft carriers were turning around to face the wind, preparing to eject their planes; but now they had to turn around to avoid the air attack, and all eyes were on the low-flying enemy planes and their own combat patrol planes, which swooped down like a gust of wind, thinking Another clay pigeon shoot. Twelve planes from the "Yorktown" whizzed by.They did have a few escort fighters flying desperately dodging overhead, but that didn't help much either.Ten were shot down; two escaped after dropping their torpedoes in vain.Three torpedo bomber squadrons were now wiped out, while Nagumo's carrier commando group remained intact.It was ten twenty. "Take off and attack!" Orders spread throughout the fleet.The first batch of escort fighter jets soared from the deck of the "Akagi". At this moment, one of the staff officers uttered a cry, his voice was hardly recognizable, and this cry may have been ringing in Nagumo's ears until Raymond's attack on Saipan two years later. .When another task force commanded by Spruance attacked and was killed: "Dive bombers!" The dark blue planes lined up in two slanted rows, with their tops protruding into the high-altitude clouds, and rushed straight down towards the flagship and the "Kaga" without being intercepted by a single fighter.The Zeros were all low near the water, where they had shot down many torpedo bombers, and the search was continuing.From a distance, a surveillance sentry pointed to the east, only to hear a shout: "Dive bombers!" I saw another row of dark blue planes, a dotted line, heading straight towards the "Cangryu". It was a perfectly coordinated attack.The time is accurate to within a second.It was an extraordinary accident. Wade.McCluskey spotted a lone Japanese destroyer heading north.He guessed that it must have carried out some mission to go back; if so, it was drawing a long white arrow pointing to Nagumo on the sea surface.His decision was straightforward and astute: turn around and follow the arrow. Meanwhile, the torpedo bomber squadrons of Waldron, Lindsay, and Massey luckily attacked one after the other.Almost at the next moment, McCluskey was lucky enough to spot the assault fleet.The dive bombers on the "Yorktown", which took off an hour late, arrived at the same time by luck. In a planned, coordinated attack, dive bombers are used to pin down enemy fighters, thus giving vulnerable torpedo bombers a chance to push in on the enemy.Instead, this time it was the torpedo bombers that pulled the Zeros down and cleared the altitude for the dive bombers.The willingness of these torpedo bomber squadrons to go into battle with outstrength and hopelessness was no fluke, but the embodiment of the United States of America in battle.It was this extra dash of military spirit that tipped the balance of history in those decisive minutes. As long as people still intend to use the method of slaughtering young people to determine the turning point of history-even in the bright future, this way of using human sacrifices will be similar to the ancient superstitious, but not necessarily more terrible Sacrifice was also abolished - and these three squadrons of American torpedo bombers will not be forgotten.The ancient Norse epics would narrate the names and birthplaces of those who fought valiantly.Let this legendary novel also follow this tradition.Below are the names of the young men of the three squadrons, whose names were recovered from a nearly obliterated file. USS Yorktown 3rd Torpedo Bomber Squadron pilot radio operator - machine gunner Lance. E. Messi, Commander Leo. E. Perry Descanso, CA Richard San Diego, CA. W. Hewsons Harold Jr. C. Lundy Waterloo, Iowa Lincoln Wesley, Nebraska. F. Osmers Benjamin Jr. R. Dodson Illinois Chicago Dave Dale North Carolina. J. Roach Richard. M. Hanson, Hibbing, MN Patrick, Lakefield, MN. H. Hartjohn. R. Cole Los Angeles, CA La Grange, GA John. W. Haas Raymond. J. Dass San Diego, CA New Orleans, LA Oswald. A. Powers, Joseph. E. Mandeville, Michigan Detroit New Gan Bushel Manchester Leonard. L. Smith William. A. Phillips, Ontario, CA Olympia Curtis, WA. W. Howard Charles. L. Moore WA Olympia TX Amherst Carr TX. A. Osberg Troy. C. Barkley Freshmen Bushehr State Manchester Mississippi Faulkner Robert. B. Brege Salt Lake City, Utah Survivor Harry. L. Cole Lloyd. F. Childers, Michigan Saginaw, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma William. G. Esthers St. Joseph, Missouri USS Enterprise The 6th Torpedo Bomber Squadron pilot radio operator 1 machine gunner Eugene. E. Lindsay, Commander Charles. T. Grenett San Diego, California Honolulu, Hawaii Severin. L. Longback Wilburn. F. Glenn Cleveland, Ohio Austin John, Texas. T. Eversol John. U.莱恩爱达荷州波卡特洛伊利诺斯州罗克福伦道夫。 M.霍尔德格雷戈里。 J.杜拉瓦密西西比州杰克逊威斯康星州密尔沃基阿瑟。 V.伊利阿瑟。 R.林格伦宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡新泽西州蒙特克莱弗卢努瓦。 G.霍奇斯约翰。 H.贝茨佐治亚州斯特茨博罗印第安纳州瓦尔帕莱索保罗。 J.赖利埃德温。 J.穆欣斯基阿肯色州霍特斯普林斯佛罗里达州坦帕约翰。 W.布罗克约翰。 M.布伦德尔亚拉巴马州蒙哥马利印第安纳州韦恩堡劳埃德。托马斯哈罗德。 F.利特菲尔德俄亥俄州昌西佛蒙特州本宁顿生还者艾伯特。 W.温切尔道格拉斯。 M.科西特衣阿华州韦伯斯特城加利福尼亚州奥克兰罗伯特。 E.劳布小威廉。 C.汉弗莱密苏里州里奇兰佐治亚州米利奇维尔小爱德华。赫克多伊尔。 L.里奇密苏里州卡西奇俄克拉何马州瑞安欧文。 H.麦克弗森威廉。 D.霍顿伊利诺斯州格伦埃林阿肯色州小石城。 斯蒂芬。B.史密斯威尔弗雷德。N.麦科伊衣阿华州梅森城加利福尼亚州圣迭戈美国军舰“大黄蜂号” 第八鱼雷轰炸机中队驾驶员报务员—机枪手约翰。C.沃尔德伦，指挥官霍勒斯。F.多布斯 南达科他州皮埃尔堡加利福尼亚州圣迭戈小詹姆斯。C.欧文斯阿十利奥。马菲加利福尼亚州洛杉矾加利福尼亚州圣罗莎雷蒙德。A.穆尔汤姆。H.佩特里弗吉尼亚州里士满西弗吉尼亚州埃利森里奇杰弗逊。D.伍德森小奥特韦。D.克里西加利福尼亚州贝弗利希尔斯弗吉尼亚州文顿乔治。M.坎贝尔罗纳德。J.费希尔加利福尼亚州圣迭戈科罗拉多州丹佛威廉。W.艾伯克龙比伯纳德。P.费尔普斯堪萨斯州梅里亚姆伊利诺斯州洛文顿乌尔弗特。M.穆尔威廉。F.索希尔西弗吉尼亚州布卢菲尔德俄亥俄州曼斯菲尔德威廉。W.克里默弗朗亚斯。S.波尔斯顿加利福尼亚州里弗赛德密苏里州纳什维尔约翰。P.格雷马克斯。A.卡尔金斯密苏里州哥伦比亚内布拉斯加州怀莫尔哈罗德。J.埃利森乔治。A.菲尔德纽约州布法罗纽约州布法罗小亨利。R.凯尼恩达尔文。L.克拉克纽约州芒特弗农衣阿华州罗德尼小威廉。R.埃文斯。小罗斯。E.比布印第安纳州印第安纳波利斯亚拉巴马州沃里厄格兰特。W.蒂茨霍利斯。马丁俄勒冈州谢里登华盛顿州布雷默顿罗伯特。B.迈尔斯艾什韦尔。L.比科加利福尼亚州圣迭戈路易斯安那州霍马罗伯特。K.亨廷顿加利福尼亚州南帕萨迪纳生还者小乔治。H.盖伊得克萨斯州休斯敦华伦。亨利当然对这个战术上的奇迹一点也不知道。 紧闭在座舱里，由于禁止用无线电通话而同外界隔绝，他被卡住在这蓝色轰炸机的队列里，在越来越厚的云层上面轰隆隆地穿过天空，只知道麦克拉斯基——出于某种值得庆幸的原因吧——终于下令转向东北了；而无线电禁令呢，也有一两次被一段声音微弱的飞机上播发的片断打破了，这说明准是有人发现了日本人，跟着是一条军舰上的大功率无线电广播，没错儿，正是迈尔斯。布朗宁那激动的声音，正粗声大气地叫着，“进攻！我再说一遍，进攻！” 接着，两小时多以来第一回，华伦听到麦克拉斯基的男中音，冷静、清晰、微带嘲讽的味儿，是年轻的职业军人在叫激动、唠叨的老派人保持镇静，“照办，只等我发现这帮狗杂种。”他心里顿时涌起一阵对麦克拉斯基的热烈信任。只过了几分钟，透过云层中的空隙，只见日本舰队陡地出现在眼前，一大片舰只，从天边展开到天边，叫人胜目结舌。 看上去真象太平洋舰队的一次大规模作战演习。这是华伦最初的印象，而对它们进行俯冲轰炸就简直等于大屠杀。麦克拉斯基低沉地下令开始下降到进攻的高度。轰炸机大队朝耀眼的白云直沉。穿过上层白云，只见在一缕缕低空的云絮下，整个敌方舰队一览无余地展现在眼前。 舰队的队形一片混乱。长长的肮迹在海面上打弯，纵横交叉，象小孩子用指头在蓝底上画的白道道，屏护舰只阵势凌乱，有的朝这边驶，有的朝那边开；整个场景上空漂浮着一团团高射炮的黑烟。象蒲公英的绒冠；处处地方，炮口闪着淡黄色的火光。华伦第一眼只看到一条航空母舰，可眼前正有三条几乎排成一个纵阵，全都迎风行驶着，冒着黑烟，长长的白色航迹笔直地拖在后边；而在远远的北方有另一条大船，有一簇舰只护卫着，也许就是那第四条航空母舰吧。 一大群微小的飞机掠过浪峰在舰只之间冲刺。华伦看到有一架尾巴上冒着烟，另一架突然着火焚烧；下面已经在进行某种战斗，可是敌人的战斗巡逻机群在哪儿啊？天上空得出奇。麦克拉斯基已经在下进攻令啦！一个中队对付一条航空母舰，第六侦察机中队对付殿后的那条航空母舰，第六轰炸机中队对付第二条；眼前且放过那第三条。说时迟，那时快，只见麦克拉斯基已经把机头朝下开始俯冲了，而华伦的中队长紧跟在他后边。 从这时起，无非是熟悉的那一套，简直等于中队轰炸练习，俯冲轰炸的那套基本功。唯一的不同点——在这最后关头，一手搭在俯冲的闸把上，开始感到一辈子从没这样心情舒畅过，他不禁心里这样想——眼前唯一的不同在于远在下面一万五千英尺外的海面上他得击中的长方形物体不是靶排而是条航空母舰！这使得投弹分外的容易。飞行甲板的面积是一条靶排的一百倍。他曾不止一次地用假炸弹击破靶排的边缘哪。 可是，战斗巡逻机群在哪儿呀？因为他们自己没有护航，他一直担心的就是这个。这件事到现在为止真容易得叫人难以相信。他老是扭回头去望望有没有零式飞机从云端里猛扑下来。一点踪影也没有。麦克拉斯基和最前面那几架轰炸机，已经一架接着一架，摇摇晃晃，一路陡峭地冲到下面老远的空中，竟连高炮炮火也没有挨到。华伦曾时常想象、憧憬轰炸航空母舰的情景，但是从来没想到竟是这样走过场的事儿。 他兴高采烈地朝对讲机里说：“我看，我们动手吧，科尼特。全准备好了？” “是，亨利先生。”干巴巴地拖长了音调。“哦，零式飞机到底在哪儿，亨利先生？” “我哪知道。你有意见吗？” “没有，亨利先生！把蛋下个准，长官。” “试试看嘛。我们把右舷朝着阳光。他们很可能从那边出现。” “行，亨利先生。我把眼睛擦得亮亮的。祝你走运。” 华伦扳扳操纵俯冲襟翼的手把。沿着两翼的有孔金属襟翼张开了，构成V 字。飞机好象失灵似的慢下来，航空母舰掉到机身的一边，被机翼遮住，看不见了。机首往上抬，飞机一阵颤动，简直象是活的，在给人提警告；华伦把身子朝前一冲，头晕目眩地把机首冲着下面极远极远的海面，象滑行铁道上的游玩车般朝下直扎，然后挺直了身子。 天哪，航空母舰就在他的望远瞄准镜内，正在那颗颤动着的小珠上方。但愿他们下冲到比较温暖的空气里时这瞄准镜不致被水气弄模糊才好！透过油污的座舱罩，能见度不会太高。 真是一次十全十美的俯冲。危险始终在于俯冲冲过了头，来个倒栽葱，那时再要控制简直就不可能了，但他正以非常完美的角度冲向这条航空母舰，大概六十五、七十度，几乎正对着舰尾，略微偏左，恰到好处。他这会儿已不坐在座位上，而是脸朝下紧贴在安全带上，纯然是俯冲时的感觉。他一向认为这正象从高台上跳水。同样的脑袋朝下栽的感觉，同样的在肠子和睾丸间叫人难受的感觉，这是难以消除的。下冲的路程很长，几乎整整一分钟，他有出色的操纵装置来校正侧滑或摇晃，但这次俯冲进行得很顺利。他死劲地踩住一个脚镫来抵销这架SBD 型经常偏航的倾向，只听得减速的引擎呜呜地响，增加阻力的副翼被气流震撼得呼呼地叫，他们正欢快地朝下飞掠——而那飞行甲板就在他的一点儿没被弄模糊的小透镜内，越来越大，越来越清楚，硬木甲板在阳光里显出一片明亮的黄色，岛状上层建筑前面那块白色长方形中央有个显眼的红色大圆球，甲板后部杂乱无章地停满着飞机，细小的日本人象昆虫般在飞机周围奔忙。他高度计的指针在朝反方向转，他感到耳朵受压，飞机里热起来了。 他突然看见一颗差一点命中的炸弹在岛状上层建筑边激起的一大片白色水花；接着是一片火红，一声大爆炸、把那肉丸似的红球四周的白漆掀个精光，猛的腾起一片黑烟。原来有颗炸弹命中啦！他看见两架轰炸机陡直升上天空。他两耳痛得要命。他咽了一口口水，耳朵又感到受压。这条航空母舰眼前正处在困境中；再好好送它一颗炸弹就当真能使它报销。华伦在五千英尺的高空。条例上规定在三千英尺左右的上空投弹，但他打算至少下降到两千五。高高兴兴地控制着一切，注视着仪表度盘，注视着几乎就在他正下面的飞快地增大的甲板，他打起精神，准备在临阵的一刹那当机立断。他打算把炸弹砰的扔在他瞄准镜中停着的那些飞机中间；不过，如果这条母舰再先挨一颗别人投的炸弹的话，他就不必用一颗宝贵的半吨重的炸弹来再给以重创，就还来得及掉转方向，去袭击远在前方的那第三条航空母舰。 可是眼前在望远瞄准镜中正朝他迎面涌来的这些凌乱地挤在一起的飞机，清晰得连机身上的白色号码也看得清，还有那些微小的日本人看见他迎面冲下来，四散奔逃，打着手势，这些是多出色的轰炸目标啊！至今尚未挨到别的炸弹；那么由他来吧。这会儿，他的心怦怦地跳，嘴里发干，耳朵好象快要爆裂开来。他使劲一拉投弹器，随着炸弹离机下坠，感到机身一震，顿时轻起来，为了保证不把炸弹投偏，他没有忘记继续朝前直飞，然后爬升。 他身子朝后倒在机座上，头脑发晕，肚子好象啪地紧贴在脊骨上，眼前一片灰雾忽现忽隐；他把机尾一甩，朝后一望—…。乖乖，我的天！ 一片白热的火焰从这些飞机中间升起，冒着滚滚黑烟；就在他望着的当儿，火势蔓延开去，沿着甲板一路爆炸，向上直冒，一片美丽的颜色，红、黄、紫、粉红，还有五光十色的烟柱直冲云霄。仅仅一两秒钟，多大的变化啊！碎片朝四面八方飞迸，飞机的碎片、甲板的碎片，整个人体象被抛起的布娃娃般在空中翻跟头；多么可怕、叫人难以相信的壮丽景象啊！这一大片充满疯狂的大屠杀的地方，烈火和浓烟轰隆隆地朝天直冲，朝舰尾涌去，因为这条被击伤的航空母舰依旧在以全速迎风前进。 “亨利先生，有架零式在大约一干英尺的空中，角度八点钟。”对讲机里传来科尼特的声音。“它正朝我们冲来。” “明白。”华伦把飞机机头朝下，朝水面俯冲，拚命地躲闪、偏航。海面涌起一排排浪峰，又长又自，他穿过象雹子般打在他座舱罩上的浪花一路猛冲，捉摸不定地闪避着，这架SBD —3 型能始终灵敏地适应这样颠来倒去的飞行，使他感到庆幸。这是按规范办事：紧贴水面，让那个日本人打不中，诱使他扎进海里。科尼特的机枪哒哒哒地怒吼起来，飞机震得使华伦牙齿哒哒响。他看到机首前方几码外的水面被子弹溅起一行水花，抬眼一望，只见那架零式正朝他俯冲下来，喷射着黄色的火焰和白烟。在珍珠港上空把他击落的那架战斗机漆的是和平时期的银色；这架是肮脏的斑斑驳驳的棕绿两色，但机翼上那些红色大圆点却是完全相同的。零式飞机直冲到水平面才爬升，消失在一片高炮烟中；我的天，这些该死的玩意儿操纵起来可灵活哪。 华伦在飞行中打眼角上瞥见了一幕悲惨的景象——一片上有一颗白色五角星的蓝色机翼，突出在水面上；就只剩下一片机翼。它消失了，接着一条巨大的灰色军舰出现在他的挡风玻璃前，但见有四十道黄色光芒在朝他闪烁，准是条战列舰或重巡洋舰。高炮炮弹在他周围砰砰地爆裂，冒出团团黑烟，震撼、冲击着他的座机。几秒钟工夫，军舰横在他的正对面，拦住了他的去路，一大堵灰色的铜墙。华伦拚命把这无畏式飞机拉起，于是它越过前甲板蹿上天空，飞得比那弯曲形的塔式桅杆低得多，差一点碰上前炮塔上那几根灰色的长炮筒。 他如今总算飞越屏护舰队啦！但愿好运能维持下去，能把正从背后朝他周围水面上撒弹片的高炮群抛在后面——“亨利先生，那狗杂种又来了。他一路钉着我们不放哪。” "clear." 华伦又想用那一套东躲西避的办法，放大胆子尽量紧贴水面飞行，可是飞机如今驾驶起来不灵活了。零式飞机发射出的红色曳光弹象雨点般沿着他的左舷落下，击起一股股白色水柱。他使劲朝右拐，一片机翼差一点被浪峰卷住。飞机不象刚才那样听人使唤了。 “呱呱叫！亨利先生，我看哪，也许把这狗杂种打中了。”科尼特的声音听上去象个在看中学垒球赛的孩子。“我敢说，他准是赶回家看妈妈去了。你瞧，亨利先生，他就在正后方。他在冒烟哪。” 无畏式飞机掉头爬升。那架歼击机朝敌特混舰队退去，尾巴上拖着条浓烟；而在它的后面，屏护舰只的后面，三条航空母舰全在阳光灿烂的青天下冒着火焰和黑烟。他不禁纳闷，是谁击中那第三条航空母舰的呢？另外有个驾驶员干下了他想干的事吗？这第三条航空母舰在燃烧，这是绝对没问题的。这三根黑色烟柱直冲特混舰队的高空，象枢车上插的三片黑羽毛。 他看看表，望望油表，再望望航空地图。这时是十点半，而他是在十点二十五分飞来袭击的；这五分钟内他过了多长的一段生活呀！油太少了，不能多考虑了。他相信，参谋部定的选择点的方位准是搞错了。这帮参谋部的笨蛋没准儿以为斯普鲁恩斯会以全速进军——他们对日本人也同样估计错误——而实际上他倒很可能掉头迎风，去回收战斗巡逻机或者返航的飞机了。华伦朝十点钟方位飞去，心情沉重地意识到飞机的反应还是不大灵活。 “这一下真出色，亨利先生。乖乖，这小玩意儿可真一飞冲天哪！” “喂，科尼特，察看一下机尾部分。我就要摇撼机尾操纵杆啦。如果翼面上有什么损伤，告诉我。”。 “是，亨利先生。啊，老天爷，方向舵掉了，长官。只剩一小块破片儿啦。” “没关系。'哗伦硬压下心头涌起的一阵恐惧。”我们自己也要回家看妈妈去啦。 " “我们回得了吗，亨利先生？” “哪有回不了的道理，”华伦愉快地说，心里可没这么乐观。“我们也许得扔它两三块巧克力糖在油箱里。” “哦，不管怎样，亨利先生，”科尼特带着他难得有的欢乐笑声说，“不管会出什么事，光是投中那一下，看那帮狗杂种在那边挨火烧，就值得了。” "agree." 华伦这会儿想起禁止使用无线电的阶段已经过去了，倒是个可喜的意外。他把汽油孤注一掷爬升到两千英尺，收听“企业号”上发出的YE 返航信号。从正前方的十点钟方位，又响亮又清晰地传来他盼着的莫尔斯电码发送的字母。他把速度减到近乎失速的程度，下降到贴近覆盖着白色浪花的汹涌的大浪。这是桩千钧一发的事，不过总是有可能碰到救护驱逐舰的。他心里很得意，在海面上迫降也吓不倒他。他依旧看得到那条日本母舰上火焰在翻腾，飞机在爆炸，人体在纷飞。是他干成的；干成了，他呢，可还活着，正光荣地返航。 机尾后好多英里的地方，南云中将正被他的参谋们拉着离开那在燃烧而朝一边倾侧的“赤城号”。炽热的铁甲板仍然被一声声爆炸震撼着，甲板上那些断肢缺腿的死尸被烤得发出一阵阵烤肉的气味，他一边在这些尸体中间小心地觅路前进，一边还在婆婆妈妈地嘀咕，实在还没必要弃舰而逃。他没授权那条没中弹的“飞龙号”上的下属山口来指挥，甚至也没给山口任意出击的权利。这位心神错乱的老先生爬下绳梯，到一条巡洋舰的救生艇中，仍旧是这支被击溃的航空母舰突击队的总司令。可是山口不愿再等待南云（他也许刚替日本断送了战争的胜利）的命令了。看到第一批炸弹使“加贺号”上冒起一片浓烟烈火，山口马上开始发动反击。