sbdcsierra Chapter 342: Lao Li, you must not act on impulse now. Fighter jets are the nemesis of bombers!
Chapter 342: Lao Li, you must not act on impulse now. Fighter jets are the nemesis of bombers!
"I just don't believe it. We have the advantage in numbers and firepower. Can't we kill the pursuing Japanese fighter planes?" Li Yunlong said angrily.
Because of the oxygen mask, Li Yunlong's words sounded a little distorted. As the commander-in-chief of the operation, Lin Zhenhua had no intention of exchanging fire with the Japanese.
Once they were held back by the Japanese, Lin Zhenhua knew very well that with the remaining 16 bombers and the main city's anti-aircraft firepower, they would not be able to destroy the pursuing Japanese fighter planes. The final result would be the annihilation of the entire army, and not a single bomber would be able to return.
"Old Li, we must not act rashly at this moment. The Japanese must have a fleet behind them. What's coming now is only the vanguard of the Japanese fighter planes. There must be many Zero fighters on the way. If we are dragged here by the Japanese fighter planes, then no one will be able to go back today!"
"Before we started Operation Boomerang, I told you that you had to follow my orders after you joined this operation. You promised me that you would never act on your own. Just now, you fired the twin machine guns on the right side in a completely random manner. You didn't hit the Japanese fighter planes at all, but instead caused a small chaos in the bomber formation. Fortunately, I issued a command with the lights in time to resolve the chaos!"
"Bombers are no match for fighters. I've told you many times before. Even if our 16 bombers can form a tight aerial firepower network and shoot down a few Zero fighters, so what? What we have to do now is to escape from the danger zone as quickly as possible. Frequent climbs are also a huge test for the strength of the bomber's body. We can only be cowards now."
Lin Zhenhua finally calmed Li Yunlong with words and ordered the bomber formation to increase the flight speed again to distance themselves from the Japanese Zero fighter. After consuming half of the fuel, the weight of the bomber was greatly reduced and the speed was also increased a lot, reaching a flight speed of 500 kilometers per hour. Lin Zhenhua did not pay attention to the life of the engine at this time. The life of this engine was not long. By sacrificing the life of the engine to increase the speed and endurance, it seems that this approach is very successful now. Everything is developing in the direction Lin Zhenhua expected.
Below the bomber formation, nine Zero fighters gathered together, closely monitoring Lin Zhenhua's every move. They belonged to the Kinoshita Squadron, and the squadron leader was Kinoshita Takuno.
"Captain Kinoshita, we just received a telegram from the Second Fleet of the Navy. The aircraft carrier formation deployed on the periphery of the mainland has urgently launched a squadron of Zero fighters. They will take over from us in an hour to continue tracking this bomber formation and find out their true affiliation. As long as they dare to descend in altitude, they will be resolutely destroyed." Lieutenant Yoshida of the Communications Officer reported with a smile on his face.
A smile also appeared on Takuno Kinoshita's face. He had just led the Kinoshita squadron to climb to an altitude of more than 9000 meters, wanting to use the range of the 20mm machine gun to shoot down the enemy's bomber formation, but in the end the enemy was unharmed. What really surprised him was that two bombers suddenly crashed into the sea without any warning, which he still couldn't figure out the reason for. He could only attribute it to the fact that the enemy's bomber had a lot of mechanical failures and did not meet the conditions for service at all.
"Attention, all aircraft, use a rotating step-flying method to monitor the bomber formation in the air. There is a thick cloud ahead, so you must be careful and do not lose track of it!" Lieutenant Colonel Takuno Kinoshita warned worriedly.
On the Maruno aircraft carrier, all 36 Zero fighters were launched. This was an aircraft carrier that had never appeared in the history of the Japanese. It was an emergency modification of a half-built battleship hull. From the combat command bridge, it can be seen how anxious the modification of this aircraft carrier was. The bridge used for combat command was actually made of hundreds of steel plates urgently welded together. However, its combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. It can carry 56 fighter planes, which is nearly twice the number of fighter planes carried by the escort aircraft carrier urgently built by the Japanese. Anyone who sees it clearly will definitely suffer a great loss.
The one that just took off was the Kisarazu Air Wing, which had four Zero fighter squadrons, two torpedo plane squadrons and two dive bomber squadrons. Its combat effectiveness was also ranked first in the Japanese air force combat sequence. Lin Zhenhua had indeed encountered a tough opponent this time, and the subsequent return flight would involve many risks.
"Immediately accelerate to the southeast and reunite with the Kinoshita Squadron as soon as possible. We must keep the enemy bombers and let the enemy know how powerful our Kisarazu Air Force is!" Colonel Kameda shouted in the intercom with a vicious look on his face.
An hour later, the Kameda Fighter Squadron replaced the Kinoshita Squadron and continued to follow Lin Zhenhua's bomber formation. At this time, the pressurized cabins of six bombers had problems again. Fortunately, the pilots dealt with it in time and quickly descended the altitude to get rid of the crisis.
At this moment, the Kameda fighter squadron that was following behind immediately rushed over, and a sudden air battle broke out when Lin Zhenhua was completely unprepared. The six bombers quickly built an air fire network according to the firepower deployment that Lin Zhenhua had explained in advance to intercept the Japanese Zero fighters. The battle between the two sides entered a white-hot level from the beginning. In terms of speed, the Japanese Zero fighters had a slight advantage, which made the six bombers on their side very dangerous.
Ten minutes into the air battle, the two engines of two bombers were hit and caught fire in the air. Fortunately, the pilots handled the situation quickly and immediately turned on the fire extinguishing system to put out the flames on the burning engines.
Fortunately, the bomber was equipped with four engines. If it had two engines, it would be impossible to fly back to the base. However, it was unnecessary to think about it now. As more and more Japanese fighters joined the battle, the battle between the two sides directly entered a white-hot level. Sporadic fighters kept falling from the sky. After 45 minutes, all seven bombers belonging to the independent regiment were shot down by the Japanese.
Lin Zhenhua's eyes were filled with tears, but he tried hard to hold them back. He was planning to go down to provide support, but was promptly dissuaded by Li Yunlong. From the air battle just now, Li Yunlong truly realized that fighter jets are the nemesis of bombers, and there can be no room for luck at this time.
Lin Zhenhua led the remaining nine bombers in the bomber formation and continued to fly at an altitude of over ten thousand meters. Just now, one of the bombers did not follow the order to continue evacuating, but descended to a flying altitude of six thousand meters to support the lagging bomber formation. As a result, it could not escape the clutches of the Japanese and was shot down by the Japanese Zero fighter.
The only thing to be thankful for was the tight aerial firepower network formed by seven bombers, which, with their fearless spirit of sacrifice, killed three of the Japanese Zero fighters and let the Japanese pilots know that the independent regiment was not to be trifled with.
"Lao Li, we must change our route now. The Japanese fighter planes took off from aircraft carriers. According to my estimation, the Japanese aircraft carrier formation should be about 800 kilometers away from us. Now we are still within the attack range of the Japanese Zero fighter planes. We must disengage as soon as possible and return to the base quickly!"
"I ordered that the bomber's unnecessary items be immediately thrown away, thereby reducing the bomber's weight and further increasing its flight speed."
"Lu Yuanhang, turn on the speed limiter immediately. Next, we need to further reduce the life of the engine to obtain a higher flying speed and get rid of the Japanese Zero fighter as soon as possible."
During the next retreat route, Lin Zhenhua led the bomber formation deep into the clouds, playing hide-and-seek with the Japanese fighter squadron, while calculating the fuel consumption of the Japanese fighters in his mind.
"The Japanese have used up half of their fuel. If we don't return, we will have no choice but to land in the sea. As long as we hold on for another half an hour, we will be out of danger. We must cheer up, we are not out of danger yet!"
Lin Zhenhua had been circling around the sea with the Japanese pilots, which consumed a lot of fuel. The Japanese pilots had not yet figured out the true identities of Lin Zhenhua and his group, and there was no land airport nearby for landing, so they had no choice but to return early.
"Send a telegram to the fleet headquarters immediately. My squadron's fighter jets have used up half of their fuel and can no longer track us. Please send bombers to track us!"
The Japanese aircraft carrier formation received Colonel Kameda's telegram. When the fleet commander was about to send out carrier-based bombers, he was stopped by his subordinates.
"Your Excellency, Commander, we have only six bombers in our fleet, and their range is only slightly better than that of the Zero fighter. If we continue to track the enemy at sea, they will not have enough fuel to return. Not to mention that the firepower of the enemy's bombers is very fierce. The Kameda Squadron lost three Zero fighters. This loss is already very huge. If we blindly send out bombers to track, we may find nothing in the end. Anyway, we have fulfilled our obligation to intercept. Let the headquarters worry about the rest. Otherwise, the responsibility for the failed interception will fall on us. Please think twice, Commander!" The fleet chief of staff hurriedly persuaded earnestly.
After listening to the advice of his chief of staff, the fleet commander, Admiral Yamada, turned serious. The blame this time was too big for him to bear. He heard that a bomb had fallen near the imperial palace, and he didn't know how many people had been transferred to the reserve because of this. If he was foolish enough to take the matter over, he was afraid that many people would take advantage of the situation. Not only would his position as fleet commander be in jeopardy, he might even be transferred directly to the reserve. Thinking of this, he suppressed the idea of sending the bomber off.
"Chief of Staff, immediately have the ground crew check the bombers. If conditions permit, dispatch them immediately! Order Kameda Squadron to return immediately and notify the aircraft carrier formation to set sail immediately. We need to welcome Kameda Squadron and ensure that more than 30 fighters can land safely on the aircraft carrier. This is the empire's precious asset and there must be no problems!"