When the 12 Japanese aircraft carriers began to assemble in Rabaul Harbor, the six aircraft carriers of the US Pacific Fleet were also concentrated in San Diego, among which the Saratoga and the Enterprise entered the dock and were undergoing routine maintenance, and at the same time, the K1 twin water-cooled 40 anti-aircraft guns were being installed, which was the American copycat version of the famous Bofors anti-aircraft guns.
From the second half of '42, such anti-aircraft guns were massively installed on the combat ships of the US Navy.
In addition to the K1 twin-mounted water-cooled 40 anti-aircraft gun, a secret weapon called the "proximity fuse" also appeared on the ships of the US Navy.
The "proximity fuse" is the size of a draught beer cup and has five tubular radio transmitters on its head, which constantly transmit and receive radio signals.
When it flies to about 21 meters from the target, the main is electrically detonated and the shell explodes.
That is, the American anti-aircraft shells did not have to hit the Japanese planes, they could blow up when they got close However, due to the size of the "proximity fuse", small and medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns such as 40 and 20 are not used.
Anti-aircraft artillery used.
"Admiral, the people at the Navy Yard told me that the Saratoga and Enterprise will be undocked on Saturday, and I want to leave next Monday."
"Brute Bull" Halsey had just returned to the Pacific Fleet Command from the Navy yard in San Diego, and as soon as he saw Admiral Nimitz, he immediately offered to lead the fleet to attack.
"Sortie" Nimitz looked up at Halsey, who was rushing over.
"Where to strike" "Of course, in the South Pacific," said Halsey, "Commander, you won't fail to see the latest war briefing, the Japanese devil's fleet is concentrating on Rabaul, and their planes are beginning to drop bombs on Port Moresby.
This means that they will soon attack Port Moresby."
"William, we know that the Japanese are about to attack Port Moresby, and we know that they are preparing to attack Australia."
Vice Admiral Spruance, chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet, who was sitting in Nimitz's office, interjected, "The commander and I are working on countermeasures. ” "What else we can't afford to lose Australia," Halsey exclaimed, "that's a continent of more than 7 million square kilometres."
If the Japanese devils want to get Australia, sooner or later it will become a powerful country like our United States. ” Don't look at the fierce shouting he is now, but in the past few months, the fleet under his command has never been impulsive when it comes to escort missions.
No matter what kind of bait the Japanese set, he resolutely refused to take the bait.
Honestly carry out escort missions, and walk around the Japanese devils, this guy is cheap, and whoever wants to believe his words must be a big fool.
"Well, of course we can't afford to lose Australia, that's for sure," Admiral Nimitz nodded, and said, "William, since you're here, let's discuss it together." ” Halsey nodded, pulled a chair and sat down at Nimitz's desk.
Nimitz picked up the coffee pot and poured Halsey a cup of fragrant coffee.
"Admiral," Halsey took a sip from his coffee cup, then analyzed, "we have six motherships now, and the Independence will arrive in a few days."
That is, 7 fleet aircraft carriers, although it is less than the 1,012 that the Japanese can use, but our aircraft carriers can carry more carrier-based aircraft, so they may not suffer a loss in the fight.
In addition, we have deployed a number of shore-based aircraft in Australia, including the 40 and 38, which are sufficient to counter the Japanese Zero fighters.
Moreover, the 40 also has a certain ability to attack the ground and sea, which can allow them to participate in air strikes against the Japanese fleet if necessary. ” It turned out that Halsey had been thinking about how to counteract the superiority of Japan's aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft, and he had found a way.
It is to resist the sea by land, and make full use of the 38 and 40 deployed in Australia to fight against the Japanese Zero.
As for the 51 that worries Yamamoto Isoroku, there is no such aircraft in the Pacific theater now, and this kind of aircraft is now fighting with the Fokker Zero in the European theater.
In addition, the F6F and F4U, which have defeated the Zero Air Superiority in history, are now just coming out.
The F6F is still in its final test flight, and the F4U has just entered the naval aviation trial, but because the landing performance of this aircraft is not good, it is similar to the problem of the F, so it is being complained about by the pilots on the USS Independence.
"William, you have a good idea."
Nimitz listened to Halsey's suggestion, smiled and said, "But we still have an army in the United States, and they also have the responsibility to defend Australia, don't we have to put all the burden on ourselves I remember that in September of this year, we had already transported 9 divisions to Australia." ” "Yes, of course I do."
"They are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Marine Divisions, the 6th, 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions, the 11th Airborne Division, and the 82nd Airborne Division," Halsey said.
It took us 9 months to get them to Australia, and we didn't have time to fight the Japanese. ” "But the U.S. president thinks that nine U.S. divisions are not enough to ensure that Australia is not occupied by the Japanese Army," Nimitz shrugged, "The Japanese Army is very strong, so the President ordered more troops to be sent to Australia." ” "More Army" "The Army's 1st and 4th Armored Divisions will be shipped to Australia in the near future."
"Transporting 2 divisions at a time" Halsey frowned, "There is 1 armored division among them, how many ships do you need?"
Spruance added: "Add 250 A36 Apache dive bombers and 100 51B fighters. ” Halsey hadn't heard of the Apache dive bomber, so he asked, "What kind of plane is the A36 Apache?"
"It's a 51 converted dive bomber," Spruance said, "and it was supposed to be used in Ireland, and now half of it is being shipped to Australia." ” "With these 350 aircraft, the strength of 3 divisions, and 9 divisions and hundreds of aircraft already in Australia," Halsimer calculated, "the ground force is almost 200,000, and there are thousands of aircraft." ” "Not only," Nimitz said, "but also the Anzac with two or three hundred thousand men, more than a thousand aircraft of all kinds, and a small fleet.
He paused and smiled coldly, "Aren't the Japanese going to fight Australia, let them fight, and when they hit Brisbane and Sydney, we will have time to come to the rescue." ” "So what are we going to do before this," Halsey asked.
Nimitz stretched out two fingers and replied, "The first is the escort; The second is the breaking of diplomatic relations.
Four large aircraft carriers served as the core of the escort formation, escorting the FS06 from San Francisco to Sydney, and the fleet to Sydney.
The Raider and the Wasp do the same job as the Independence.
William, you continue to be in charge of escorting, and the three detachments are under the command of Colonel Mitchell, Major General O'Brifitch, and Major General Kinkaid. ” In a few words, Nimitz assigned the task, and then looked at Halsey's brute face.
"Okay," Halsey nodded, "then I'll make another trip to Australia."
He thought for a moment, and then said, "This time the Japanese may enter the Coral Sea to intercept FS06, and their fleet in Rabaul is very large." ” Nimitz shrugged his shoulders and said, "Raymond Spruance and I are studying this matter, but unfortunately we haven't thought of any good way yet, if the three detachments we sent can't lead the Japanese fleet away from Rabaul, then I'm afraid we will have to fight to the death." ” The Japanese fleet could intercept the FS06 flotilla escorted by Halsey by going south a thousand or several hundred nautical miles from Rabaul.
If the Japanese detect the FS06 flotilla, it is quite possible to send Rabaul's fleet to the Coral Sea to intercept it.
At that time, Halsey was escorting a large number of merchant ships and tens of thousands of American troops, and it was impossible to slip away at all, so he could only fight with the Japanese fleet.
On the second day of Halsey's acceptance of a very dangerous, but very important, escort mission.
The USS Independence and the light cruiser USS Cleveland, which had sailed all the way from New York, finally arrived in San Diego, and the commander of the formation, Colonel Mitchell, who was also the captain of the USS Independence, got off the ship and rushed directly to Nimitz's headquarters, where he went to Nimitz for F4U on the Independence.
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The landing performance of these aircraft was a bit poor, and the training carried out during the voyage was fraught with danger.
"F4U is not easy to use" Nimitz frowned, F4U is the latest model of aircraft, no matter how difficult it is, then the next battle will be difficult.
"It's not bad, it's that it's hard to land on an aircraft carrier, and I think it's a shore-based aircraft with very good performance."
"Kikiki," Nimitz shook his head, "But your people have all passed the test of flying the F4U on the ship, which shows that they can handle it."
So I can't agree to a change of plane, and the situation is so urgent that we can't afford to delay. ” "The situation is urgent, and there is a war" Colonel Mitchell hurriedly asked, "Is it a counterattack on Hawaii?"
"No, it's not, it's broken belligerents."
"Broken Relations" Mitchell was a little disappointed, "with a submarine" "Not just submarines, but aircraft carriers," Nimitz said, "and that's what brought you to the Pacific, and your Independence and Cleveland will form a broken formation to go to the Pacific to deal with Japanese merchant ships." ” t1706231537: