kingnovel Chapter 281 Avukuma, 80,000 Steel (Part 1)
Chapter 281 Avukuma, 80,000 Steel (Part 1)
The sky was just azure blue, the sun was shining on the surface of Yangon Port, seagulls were soaring in the sky, and occasionally a breeze passed by, bringing up layers of tiny ripples.
But all this tranquility was broken in an instant by a loud roar.
In the distance, groups of fighter planes were like dark clouds, covering the entire sky.
One after another, the ANP fighter planes were arranged in neat formations, occupying the low, medium and high airspaces, and arrived over Yangon Port in batches, amid the roar of piston engines.
"Dongdong calling all crews, Dongdong calling all crews, the Japanese ships are in sight, all squadrons, attack according to the predetermined plan!"
As the aviation commander's orders were transmitted over the radio, one plane after another began to dive with a roar.
For the retreating Japanese fleet in Yangon, Zhang Chi prepared a luxurious package for them that was comparable to the one faced by the Yamato, the leading ship in the Japanese movie "Yamato of Men".
At the highest point in the sky were 104 P-47D Thunderbolt fighters, all of which carried only anti-aircraft equipment (8 12.7mm heavy machine guns). They would be specifically responsible for gaining air superiority and fighting against any possible Zero fighter fleets of the Japanese Navy.
而在更低一些的空域则是37架F6F-3型‘地狱猫’战斗机，其机身下挂1枚2216磅（1005kg）的Mk13-6型空投鱼雷，或者3枚直径为11.75英寸（298毫米）的小提姆（TinyTim）重型火箭弹。
(The picture is at the end of the chapter.)
The former, the Mk13-6 air-dropped torpedo, is a "weapon" carefully selected by Zhang Chi. It has a diameter of 570 mm, a length of 4.09 meters, a speed in the water of 33.5 knots, and a range of about 5800 meters.
As the White Eagle's main air-launched torpedo in the late World War II, it was loaded with 600 pounds (272 kg) of aluminum powder mixed explosives, and its explosive power per unit weight was nearly 1.5 times that of TNT, which means it was actually equivalent to the explosive power of 435 kg of TNT.
Even a 10,000-ton cruiser would be paralyzed if it did not sink after being hit by an underwater explosion of nearly half a ton of TNT.
(Due to the interwar Treaty of the City of Lights, the only differences between the light and heavy cruisers launched by various countries before the war were the caliber of their main guns and tonnage. Their actual protection capabilities, especially underwater protection capabilities, were similar. This also resulted in almost all of the treaty heavy cruisers launched before the war being very fragile.)
As for the latter, the Tiny Tim heavy rocket, it was specially prepared by Zhang Chi for those "primary school students".
Compared with the Yamato, Musashi, Shinano and other large ships of tens of thousands of tons, the maneuverability of these Japanese destroyers undoubtedly has a qualitative advantage. Coupled with the Japanese's carefully trained helmsmen and sailors, it is very easy for them to just twist slowly to launch air-launched torpedoes or fly straight ahead dive bombers.
(A little-known fact: after the Yamato was bombarded, it was the destroyers Yukikaze and Fuyutsuki that survived, and the Japanese survivors were salvaged)
These heavy rockets, each weighing 534kg, with a charge of 67kgTNT and a penetration of up to 100mm, are specially developed for these agile little guys.
Whether it is the bridge, turret and other parts above the waterline, or the engine room and ammunition depot below the waterline, the high-speed and powerful Tiny Tim heavy rockets will easily tear them apart.
Everyone knows that the closer you are to an air defense weapon, the higher its accuracy.
The maximum range of 1.5km means that Tiny Tim's carrier aircraft does not need to get face-to-face with the target ship to drop bombs like in dive bombing, which significantly improves the survivability of the carrier aircraft.
除此之外，在更低一些的空域还有42架SB2C-4型俯冲轰炸机，它们专门携带着500、1000或1600磅的穿甲炸弹。
They will be responsible for using heavy bombs to "finish off" the Japanese warships that have been paralyzed by torpedoes and rockets.
As for those Japanese transport ships, considering that they were loaded with either Japanese or good things looted by the Japanese in Pegu, Zhang Chi’s requirement was to capture them alive as much as possible.
After all, Japanese prisoners of war are rare cheap labor. It would be a waste to send them to Siberia after the war to help the steel workers dig potatoes. It would be better to keep them in Pegu to open mines or build roads.
As for the goodies looted by the devils in Pegu on the transport ship, Zhang Chi said, "That's all my money, mine!"
-----
In the junior officers' mess, the Japanese Army Major, with curry sauce still on the corner of his mouth, asked without reacting:
"Is that our plane?"
"Baka!" Colonel Futagawa Yosuke slammed his hand on the table, causing the cutlery to jingle. "Didn't you hear the air raid sirens? It must be the Anmin Army planes! They're coming!"
Seeing that the small black spots in the sky had begun to dive, Futagawa Yosuke turned his head to look at the curry rice that was still warm in his hand, with a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
But he quickly stood up, grabbed his hat, and roared at Sato and others:
"Don't just stand there, run to the deck! You'll become bait if you don't leave now!"
Although there was no tradition of using humans to attack targets these days, Futakawa Yosuke, who had suffered PTSD from the bombing of the Anmin Army's air force, knew very well that with the navy's idiot-like "visual air defense" and the level of "human-powered shooting down" that they howled like their beast-like predecessors, this ship would most likely sink.
If they were still in the officers' mess at that time, they would be drowned by the inrushing seawater and sink with the ship.
Buried deep in the seabed along with a coffin made of tens of millions of tons of steel, being gnawed into bones bit by bit by torpedoes on the seabed, the mere thought of it made him tremble all over.
He had to quickly find a good spot on the deck with his colleagues and be ready to jump off the boat and escape at any time.
As for whether this is reliable or not, at least that's what was written in the novels that Futagawa Yosuke read. (The content and themes of novels at that time were already very rich, and stories like time travel and revenge were already there.)
So before the majors and lieutenant colonels could react, Yosuke Futagawa had already grabbed their collars and pulled them out of the cabin.
His movements were hurried, but his expression was eerily calm.
"Hurry to the deck! There's a chance of survival on the deck!" he shouted as he ran.
"Are we going to fight?" the major asked, panting.
"Fighting!" Futagawa Yosuke yelled without even turning his head. "It's a wonder those idiots in the navy can hold on! We have to jump before the ship sinks!"
----
Several army elks rushed out of the restaurant and went up the gangway, and actually ran onto the deck by accident. However, when they opened the watertight door, they were greeted by chaos on the deck.
The navy elks on the ship naturally had no mood to care about these army elks running around. As the alarm sounded, the entire Abukuma entered combat status.