The big air battle over Oahu finally ended. The U.S. fighter planes drove away the Japanese fighter planes. The U.S. fighter planes paid a lot of losses. More than a hundred aircraft were shot down. Of course, compared to the U.S. fighter planes, the Japanese suffered greater losses. , one hundred and fifty fighter jets were shot down. Although it was slightly higher than the number of U.S. fighter jets lost, it was not much different.
The biggest blow to the Japanese aviation force was the loss of the bomber group. Nearly a hundred Japanese bombers were shot down. This caused the Japanese aviation force to lose its ability to attack the ground and ships. More importantly, because the Japanese army was not fighting on its own territory, and The fighter planes had poor protection, and most of the pilots who were destroyed died in battle. The remaining parachute jumpers were also captured by the US military. In this battle, the Japanese aviation force lost a large number of outstanding pilots.
Excellent pilots are strategic resources for every country, and the large number of losses of Japan's outstanding pilots has laid hidden dangers for the Japanese army in future air battles.
Xu Rui walked out of the mountain fortification and kept observing the sky with a telescope. After a while, Xu Rui said: "The Japanese were defeated."
"Captain, how do you know?" Zhuoligetu asked.
"Look at the Japanese planes. There was no formation at all when they returned, and they flew in a hurry. So I concluded that the Japanese must have failed in this air battle." Xu Rui said.
"Captain, that's not necessarily true. What if these Japanese planes ran out of ammunition and returned?" Digua shook his head and said in disbelief.
"You will know the result soon." Xu Rui said.
"Commander, General MacArthur is calling!"
Du Junjie walked out of the mountain fortifications, holding a telegram in his hand and saying excitedly.
"Read it." Xu Rui said concisely.
Du Junjie said: "Commander, MacArthur said that this morning, the Japanese naval aviation launched a sneak attack on Oahu, but was discovered by the US military. The two sides dispatched almost all aircraft and launched a large air battle in the air. The Americans shot down two hundred There were many Japanese aircraft, including nearly a hundred bombers, but the Americans only lost more than a hundred. In this air battle on Oahu, the Americans won."
"Captain, you are so amazing, how can you make everything right?" Digua admired Xu Rui.
Xu Rui said: "The reason why the Americans suffered a disastrous defeat before was mainly because the Japanese launched sneak attacks, and the performance of US military aircraft has no advantage over Japanese aircraft. However, I heard that the US military has recently put into service a large number of the latest 'Mustang' fighter jets. This 'Mustang' fighter jet completely crushed the Japanese Zero fighter jet in terms of performance, and coupled with the numerical advantage of the US military fighter jets, the victory in this battle is reasonable."
"Commander, this is great. The U.S. aviation has defeated the Japanese aviation. After the U.S. military has gained air supremacy, it can use the air supremacy to continuously attack Japanese warships, especially Japanese aircraft carriers. The Japanese will surely suffer huge losses." Du Junjie said.
Xu Rui shook his head and said: "This is not necessarily true. The Americans won the victory over Oahu because of the ground artillery support. If the American planes attacked the Japanese fleet, they would be attacked by Japanese fleet fighter jets." With double resistance from anti-aircraft firepower, the Americans have little chance of winning."
"I'm so happy for nothing. It seems that I still can't repel the Japanese fleet." Digua said a little discouraged.
Xu Rui said: "That's not necessarily the case. At the very least, after this battle, the Japanese bombers can no longer pose a threat to Hawaii Island. The Japanese can only rely on shore artillery to attack. This will help us defend San Marino Island..."
Oahu, MacArthur's headquarters. During the entire Oahu air war, MacArthur declined his subordinates' offer to enter the basement for air defense. He kept sitting in his office chair, not saying a word, and just kept talking. smoking his pipe.
"General, we have won!" An officer hurriedly opened the door of MacArthur's office with an excited look on his face.
MacArthur was excited at the time, but in order to pretend to be profound, he still patiently took two puffs of cigarette, then put down the pipe and said lightly: "I know."
The officer suddenly looked confused and said to himself that a general is a general after all, so there is a city like this.
Seeing the officer retreat, MacArthur could no longer suppress his excitement and stood up from the office. Due to the excessive force, his lower body hit the table, hitting a key part of MacArthur. MacArthur gasped. He let out a breath of cold air and almost jumped in pain.
"General!" Outside the door, the officer walked in again.
MacArthur once again regained his calm and calm expression, his eyes looked so determined, and the pipe on his mouth gently exuded a faint smoke.
A feeling of reverence suddenly appeared on the officer's face, and he said sternly: "General, Xu Rui called. In last night's battle, Xu Rui's three regiments almost wiped out nearly 10,000 Japanese marines who landed, and won the victory. A great victory, but most of the ammunition of the third regiment was consumed and urgently needed to be replenished. In addition, our aviation forces requested an air attack on the Japanese ships and defeated the main force of the combined fleet besieging Hawaii in one fell swoop."
"Understood, immediately send a transport plane to airdrop San Marino Island."
"yes!"
"As for the idea of the aviation force, it is a good suggestion. Let them draw up a combat plan immediately and submit it to me."
"yes!"
With a sound of "Bang!", the door closed, MacArthur let out a long breath, and kept rubbing his lower body painfully...
On the sea near Hawaii, the heavy cruiser Takao floated quietly on the sea. Second Fleet Commander Nobutake Kondo and Chuichi Nagumo sat together and looked at each other.
After a big defeat, both of them were not in a good mood. Kondo Nobutake said: "Nagumo-kun, you don't have to blame yourself too much. No one thought that the Americans had so many new fighters. We were all careless." .”
General Nagumo Chudai had a very ugly face. He sighed and said: "This time in the air battle on Oahu, the Americans used the latest fighter planes. My air force lost nearly a hundred bombers and more than a hundred fighter planes. The losses were huge, especially the loss of bombers, which caused us to lose our ground and ship attack capabilities. The existing fighter jets can only be used for air defense of warships and are unable to launch new attacks on the US military."
Kondo Nobutake said: "This passive situation must be reversed as soon as possible. After losing air superiority, our navy will face a serious threat from US military aircraft."
"General Nagumo, maybe we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory."
"Oh?" Tadashi Nagumo glanced at Kondo Nobutake and asked, "Kondo-kun, is there anything you can do?"
Kondo Nobutake said: "I now have an idea that after the U.S. Air Force wins this air battle, it is likely to send planes to attack our fleet. Therefore, if we set a trap to lure American planes into the trap, , then we can defeat the US aviation force and recover the losses in this air battle."
Nagumo nodded and said: "If the Zero fighter jets occupy the commanding heights in the air in advance, they are absolutely sure to defeat the Americans' new fighter jets. But will the Americans be fooled?"
Nobutake Kondo said: "Whether Americans will be fooled depends on whether our bait is attractive."
"Oh?" Nagumo Chuichi looked at Kondo Nobutake and said, "Kondo-kun, tell me what you think."
"If I use my Second Fleet as bait, do you think the Americans will be fooled?" Kondo Nobutake said.
Nagumo Chuichi shook his head and said: "It can be seen from the previous naval battles that the key to victory or defeat in contemporary naval battles lies in air superiority. The heavy cruisers of the Second Fleet alone may not be enough to attract the US Air Force."
"What if we add the aircraft carrier of the First Air Fleet?" Kondo Nobutake said.
Nagumo Chuichi thought for a while and said: "In this case, we should be able to attract American aircraft, but the risk is too great. The eight aircraft carriers of my First Air Fleet are the essence of the entire Imperial Navy and the main force of the Combined Fleet." , if damaged, it will affect the entire war situation."
"Isn't war made up of many adventures? If luck is on the side of the empire, then we can be invincible. If luck is not on the side of the empire, there is nothing we can do." Nobutake Kondo said.
Nagumo Chuichi was still hesitant, but Kondo Nobutake said: "The empire's luck has always been very good, whether it was the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 or the Russo-Japanese War, or the subsequent September 18th Incident, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Pearl Harbor attack, and the Battle of Midway In naval battles, luck is on the side of the empire. What does this mean? According to Chinese metaphysics, this shows that the empire is at its peak. I believe luck is on our side." said Nobutake Kondo.
Nagumo Chuichi finally made up his mind and said: "Okay, let's take this gamble. The fate of the empire will be in this gamble."
Kondo Nobutake said: "If we win, we will become the heroes of the empire and will be immortal. If we fail..."
"Then we have no choice but to have a disembowelment to apologize to our countrymen." Nagumo Chuichi said.
At this point, Kondo Nobutake and Nagumo Chuichi looked at each other, and Nagumo Chuichi said: "Kondo-kun, the rise and fall of the empire depends on you and me. In this battle, we can only succeed, not fail!"
Kondo Nobutake said: "Nagumo-kun, I already have a plan."
"Oh?" Nagumo Chuichi's eyes lit up and he looked at Kondo Nobutake.
Kondo Nobutake said: "I plan to move the main battleships of the Second Fleet to Oahu. At the same time, your First Air Fleet will also move to Oahu and enter the attack range of US fighter jets. The US commander must not They will miss this golden opportunity to destroy our fleet. Their planes will definitely attack our fleet, especially the First Air Fleet.
I have learned about the weather for the past two days. It is mainly cloudy in the Hawaiian Islands. Our fighter planes are hiding above the clouds. Once the main force of U.S. fighter planes enters the ambush circle, our fighter planes will avoid heights and attack the U.S. fighter planes. In this way, our army will definitely win..."