The decision made within the Oval Office of the White House soon turned into a sprawling fleet rapidly moving south along the Mexican coastline, Task Force 16 under the command of Vice Admiral Raymond Spruance 2 Yorktown-class aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown, 1 Independence-class aircraft carrier USS Independence, 2 Northampton-class heavy cruisers USS Northampton and USS Chicago, 2 USS Pengla heavy cruisers USS Pensacra and USS Salt Lake City, 2 Brooklyn-class light cruisers USS Brooklyn and USS Phoenix, 2 Cleveland-class light cruisers USS Cleveland and USS Columbia, and a 164th Destroyer Detachment with 19 destroyers.
There were 30 warships of all types, which in terms of the number of ships was equivalent to 75 of Japan's 1st Mobile Fleet, which was rushing to the waters near Clipperton Atoll.
And that's not all the U.S.
Navy's forces in the waters off Panama, including the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific.
If you include the 9th Fleet stationed in Panama City, the 11th Task Force, which is the main force of the 2nd Fleet, and the 3rd Fleet, which is headed by Admiral Halsey, which is arriving from Mayport Naval Base on the Atlantic coast.
The United States must have outnumbered the entire fleet of the Japanese Combined Fleet near the Panama Canal, and the total number of aircraft carriers of all types was 16 As the world's number one industrial power, the shipbuilding industry in the United States is finally beginning to show its might.
After a series of naval defeats in 41 and 42 years, the size of the U.S.
Navy fleet has not shrunk, but has expanded rapidly, and aircraft carriers, light cruisers, and destroyers have been launched from the slipway like dumplings, becoming the new main force of the U.S. two-ocean fleet However, the most satisfying thing for Vice Admiral Spruance, commander of Task Force 16, was not the dumpling-like new warships, but the cutting-edge carrier-based fighters such as the F4U and F6F.
Although they were not necessarily able to fight the legendary German jets, the Japanese Zero fighters were certainly no match for them, as evidenced by the numerous air battles that took place in the Pacific theater from the winter of 1942 onwards.
Whether it is the Japanese Zero or the German FW190 carrier-based type, the F4U and F6F can be on par.
Therefore, Spruance is very sure that as long as the United States can implement the strategy of "No. 1 in the Pacific" and concentrate 3,050 aircraft carriers of various types, including escort aircraft carriers, and more than 2,000 F4U and F6F fighters, then the goal of counterattacking the Hawaiian Islands can be accomplished within 1943 However, just when the United States was about to launch a major counteroffensive in the Pacific, the Germans on the other side of the Atlantic jumped out first, which is really hateful.
"Any news from the Caribbean" Spruance asked, turning around, to ask Admiral George Murray, the captain of the 165th Carrier Group, who was also the chief of staff of the 16th Task Force, who was also looking down at the briefing.
"Another one over Guyana, this time losing four B17s, but the Germans were not invincible either," replied Colonel Murray, handing Spruance the battle report in his hand.
He was talking about a tentative operation, with the loss of 4 B17s to confirm the power of German jets, and also to test the superior airspace of this aircraft, this time the B17 group broke into the sky over Guyana from 50006000 meters, and 4 German jets launched a dive attack on them from a high altitude, using the tactics of one hit and leave to shoot down 4 planes.
But then these 4 German jets were chased by 51, if it weren't for the fact that there was a Fokker Zero hovering in the airspace below 5000 meters, which gave 51 a headache, 2 of the 4 German jets would have been knocked out by 51, because the jet engine acceleration at this time was a little slow.
It is clear that the superior airspace of the German jets is at high altitudes and extremely high altitudes, and the applicable tactic is to leave with one hit, and there is no advantage in the airspace below 7000 meters, and even the Fokker Zero is required to provide cover.
"Did the Grand Fleet of Americans get to the Panama Canal" While Spruance's attention was drawn to 262, Jizaburo Ozawa was worried about the missing U.S.
Third Fleet.
The U.S.
Third Fleet had been under the radar of German seaplanes and submarines before entering the Caribbean Sea, but as soon as it entered the Caribbean, the German seaplanes did not dare to enter, and the submarine sent to track it had lost contact with the American destroyer a few days earlier.
Then Halsey's Third Fleet seemed to evaporate, and neither the Japanese nor the Germans knew where the big fish went However, Ozawa, who was rushing to the waters near Clipperton Island, was not worried about not being able to find the American fleet at first.
Because Ozawa believed that they were going to the Panama Canal, and the German intelligence agencies had already laid a lot of eyeliner in the canal zone, and a fleet as large as a whole fleet was to pass through, those German spies would definitely be able to find out if they were not blind.
So what Ozawa really worried about was that his first mobile fleet would not be able to reach the vicinity of the Panama Canal in time and miss the best opportunity to launch an air attack.
But now it's March 16, and Ozawa's fleet has passed through the waters near Clipperton Atoll last night, and the vanished U.S. fleet still hasn't appeared, and if you count the distance and time, they should have arrived now.
"Haven't arrived yet," Furumura Keizo shook his head, "It's time to count."
As he spoke, Captain Hersmann, the liaison officer of the German Navy, walked briskly into the bridge command center of the aircraft carrier Akagi, holding the telegram he had just received.
"Mr.
Commander, Mr.
Chief of Staff," he reported in English, "an American fleet of 2 Independence-class aircraft carriers and 3 Borg-class escort carriers may well have left Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville. ” "What, there are 5 aircraft carriers again" When Jizaburo Ozawa heard the news, his scalp couldn't help but feel a little numb.
The U.S. fleet that left the Norfolk base and entered the Caribbean Sea before is likely to have five aircraft carriers, the Americans also have a fleet in the Panama Canal, and there are also three escort aircraft carriers, plus the fleet from Jacksonville, that is 13 aircraft carriers Moreover, these 13 aircraft carriers are definitely not all the aircraft carriers of the Americans, and there are really many aircraft carriers of the Americans "Your Excellency Commander," seeing Jizaburo Ozawa's "grandma face" wrinkled, Little Hersman should definitely say something comforting, "According to intelligence, the Americans' Independence-class light aircraft carriers and Borg-class escort aircraft carriers do not have many carrier-based aircraft, the former has only 30 aircraft, and the latter has 28.
Although the Americans probably have 1,015 aircraft carriers concentrated near the Panama Canal, most of them are light carriers and escort carriers, and the Essex-class aircraft carriers with 100 carriers are only 3 at most. ” 100 carrier-based Hearing the number of ships carried by the Essex-class, Jizaburo Ozawa couldn't help but sigh.
There are 300 carriers in the 3 Essex classes, and there are at least 290 escort carriers in the remaining 10 light aircraft carriers, that is, 590 carriers, and 530 carriers The First Mobile Fleet has only 9 aircraft carriers, and there are only 496 aircraft carriers on it, which is 34 fewer than the Americans.
Moreover, the Americans have deployed at least 600 commonly used aircraft in the Panama Canal Zone, and if the "windboat attack on the United States" these days does not force the United States to draw Panamanian aircraft, then the ratio of the number of planes between Japan and the United States in the Panama War will be at least 1:2 What worries Ozawa even more is not that the number of planes in the upcoming Panama Campaign is half that of the enemy, although the aircraft of the First Mobile Fleet are only half that of the enemy, but they have top-notch ace pilots.
These elite pilots, who had been accumulating since before the outbreak of the war, were more than enough to make up for the numerical disadvantage of about 1 times.
However, the huge gap in the number of aircraft commonly used by Japan and the United States is what Ozawa Jizaburo is most worried about, and due to the tight oil supply, the scale of training of Japanese pilots has never been able to rise.
As a result, the total number of commonly used aircraft owned by the Japanese army and naval air force is less than 7,000, while the total number of commonly used aircraft owned by the United States, Canada, and Australia is said to be more than 280,000, and it is still growing Ozawa Jizaburo knew that at this stage of the war with the United States, Japan's first-mover advantage was basically exhausted.
The United States has completely shifted to a wartime state, and if Japan does not achieve another great victory in the Battle of Panama, then the war between Japan and the United States will soon enter the stage of national strength competition.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the radar has detected enemy aircraft" Just when Jizaburo Ozawa was worried about the prospects of the war, the radar officer on the aircraft carrier Akagi suddenly reported loudly: "Azimuth 74, number 1, distance 120, altitude 2000" "Your Excellency Commander, it must be an American seaplane," Keizo Furumura immediately said to Ozawa, "let the direct cover plane expel it." ” "Send 4 Zeros."
Ozawa commanded in a low voice.
He didn't show signs of panic, and given the location of the First Mobile Fleet, it was normal to be spotted.
"Commander, now we are 1,300 kilometers from the Galapagos Islands and 2,200 kilometers from the Panama Canal."
"We can attack the Galapagos Islands first, and then bomb the Panama Canal. ” Jizaburo Ozawa shook his head and said, "There is no need to attack the Galapagos Islands, as long as we maintain a distance of more than 1,200 kilometers from the Galapagos Islands, the planes there will not pose a threat to us."
We continue to move towards the Panama Canal" t1706231537: