Chapter 125: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 124: Ten Defenses Nine Empty

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Boom!

A 250-kilogram aviation bomb exploded with a thunderous roar on the forward deck of the Longmen Battleship, flames sweeping shrapnel across the area.

A twin-mounted 25-millimeter machine gun position was hit directly, and the gun crew was thrown into the air by the blast wave. The shockwave shattered the glass of the bridge's observation window, sending fragments flying.

Matsui Iwane wiped his face, looking toward the torpedo boats drawing ever closer: "Damn it, why haven't they used the main guns yet? The planes can't be shot down, and the enemy's torpedo boats are about to reach us!"

The captain gripped the ship's wheel tightly: "Commander, the Type 4 410-millimeter main guns are meant for warships and shore targets! It's not worth using them on fast, maneuverable torpedo boats, and they might not even hit. The Kaga's carrier aircraft have already taken off; please trust professional judgment!"

On the sea surface, An Bang's Torpedo Boat Squadron had already completed tactical maneuvers.

Compared to the Huangpu River, the wide sea surface gave the torpedo boats plenty of maneuvering space.

That day, during the siege of the Yunhao on the Huangpu River, because the river surface was narrow, torpedo boat losses reached nine vessels.

But this time, the torpedo boats decided to attack and then disperse and retreat; three formations turned simultaneously and fired a salvo of torpedoes about 1,500 meters from the Longmen Battleship.

Twenty-two Type 450mm Torpedoes traced fan-shaped trajectories, hurtling toward the massive hull of the battleship. After completing the attack, the torpedo boats immediately turned around and withdrew, refusing to dogfight.

"Whether we hit or not is up to fate! Leave the rest to the High Command!" An Bang warned everyone over the radio not to dogfight.

High in the air, the fighter group led by Gao Zhihang began their second dive.

Fighters equipped with 20-millimeter machine guns specialized in strafing anti-aircraft gun positions, while also drawing the enemy's anti-aircraft fire to open a path for subsequent bomb-carrying fighters.

A squadron of Hawk III fighters hovered in the air on standby, ready at any time to intercept enemy reinforcement fighters.

On the Longmen Battleship's numerous anti-aircraft gun positions, enemies were frequently turned into minced meat by aircraft machine guns and cannons.

Gao Zhihang piloted his fighter in a daring dive, using 20-millimeter machine guns to attack a 25-millimeter anti-aircraft gun crew, narrowly escaping while hitting the enemy's gun crew.

An enemy ammunition loader was originally holding the anti-aircraft gun's trembling magazine; when the machine guns opened fire, both of the enemy loader's arms were broken off at once, and the shooter was left with only half his body sitting at the gun position, the anti-aircraft gun instantly becoming blood-stained.

The enemy's Type 96 25-millimeter dual-mounted anti-aircraft gun—truly Showa anti-aircraft: nine out of ten shots miss!

However, the enemy's gunners were also worthy successors; when one 25-millimeter gun crew was destroyed by machine guns, replacement sailors immediately rushed to the battle stations.

Fresh blood dyed the anti-aircraft gun's gun shield red, but the anti-aircraft fire never stopped, and some Xia Guo fighters were still shot down into the seawater.

The scene was filled with the bang-bang sounds of anti-aircraft gun fire, as well as explosions.

"Enemy torpedoes approaching! Starboard 30 degrees!" An enemy observer's strange cry made Matsui Iwane and the Longmen Battleship's captain face a formidable foe.

The Longmen Battleship's captain hurriedly issued helm orders on the bridge: "Full right rudder! Full speed ahead!"

The massive battleship began to turn with difficulty, carving a huge white wake on the sea surface.

"Allocate 25-millimeter machine guns and 140-millimeter secondary guns to fire at the sea surface! Intercept the torpedoes!"

Some twin-mounted 25-millimeter machine guns lowered their muzzles one after another, pouring a rain of bullets onto the sea surface, while 140-millimeter secondary gun shells exploded in continuous water columns on the water surface, attempting to detonate the torpedoes before they hit.

Just as the Longmen Battleship was doing its best to evade the torpedoes, a new group of aircraft appeared on the skyline.

A formation of Type 96 Torpedo Bombers that took off from the Kaga Aircraft Carrier arrived at the battlefield and immediately engaged in fierce combat with the Hawk III Squadron on alert duty.

Gao Zhihang observed this change from his cockpit, broke off combat with the enemy battleship, pulled back on the control stick, and relied on superior climb performance to quickly seize altitude.

The BF 109 Fighters of his squadron saw that Captain Gao Zhihang had disengaged from combat, and they also climbed in altitude one after another, preparing to meet the Type 96 Carrier Fighters coming to provide support.

The Hawk III fighter group circled with the Type 96s at about 3,000 meters altitude, and the entire air combat suddenly presented a clear layered situation.

Some BF 109 Fighters not carrying bombs occupied 5,000 meters altitude; there were currently no enemy fighters above this altitude, while the Hawk III formation engaged in dogfighting with the enemy's Type 96 Carrier Fighters at 3,000 meters altitude.

The remaining BF-109 and P-26 Fighters carrying bombs still targeted the Longmen Battleship, seizing the opportunity to launch a new round of dives against the battleship; 250-kilogram and 100-kilogram bombs fell one after another, exploding into towering water columns around the Longmen Battleship.

An aviation bomb exploded on the port side of the bow, and the water curtain it raised even splashed onto the bridge.

The BF-109 Squadron led by Gao Zhihang began executing a tactic like an eagle catching chicks, diving down from 5,000 meters altitude and opening fire furiously with 20-millimeter machine guns at the Type 96 Torpedo Bombers.

Often only one or two hits were needed for the Japanese planes to trail black smoke and fall toward the sea surface; after completing a round of attacks, whether they hit or not, the BF-109s immediately climbed in altitude, preparing for the next dive, leaving the Guofu Air Force's Hawk III fighters below to continue pinning down the enemy's Type 96 Carrier Fighters.

Although the Guofu Air Force's Hawk III was slightly inferior to the enemy's Type 96 Carrier Fighters in performance, with the assistance of BF 109 Fighters, they could still firmly pin down enemy fighters, creating more attack windows for the BF 109 Fighters.

On the sea surface, the Longmen Battleship maneuvered at full speed; although it successfully evaded most of the torpedoes, it kept changing position and gradually drifted further and further away from its original Destroyer Squadron.

The bomb-carrying P-26 formation seized the opportunity, diving from different directions, and the BF 109 Fighters dove down recklessly, with aerial bombs falling like dumplings.

Matsui Kenichi clearly realized the situation was not good; first, he hadn't expected Xia Guo to find his formation's position so accurately; second, he hadn't expected Xia Guo to deploy so much sea and air power to attack him; and finally, he hadn't expected this joint sea-air offensive to be so fierce, with the once-arrogant battleship actually falling into a disadvantage!

"Ashore... I want to go ashore!" Matsui Kenichi said repeatedly.

"Commander, what nonsense are you talking!" the Longmen Battleship's captain asked.

"The Navy is too unreliable! I want to go ashore!"