Following Zheng Xin's order, all carrier-based aircraft of the "Han Xin" aircraft carrier had taken off ten minutes later. All destroyers and frigates were tightly surrounding the aircraft carrier and cruisers, and the battle was imminent.
"Warning, warning, this is the warning range of the South China Sea Fleet of the Republic of China. You have invaded my warning range. Please leave immediately, otherwise we have the right to shoot you down."
The twelve F6F "Hellcat" fighter jets that took off first to meet the enemy issued a warning to the six oncoming "British" Spitfire fighter jets.
The Spitfire was the best piston fighter in Europe at this time. Its excellent performance had been put to the best test in the Battle of Britain. In the entire air battle of Britain, the British could use 1,115 aircraft.
The cost of fighter aircraft was the loss of more than 2,000 Luftwaffe fighters. In addition to relying on their radar and geographical environment, the excellent performance of the "Spitfire" fighter jets also played an important role.
Captain Giggs, commander of the 10th British Air Force Squadron in Malaysia, flew a Spitfire at the front of the formation, with five partners following closely behind it.
After hearing the warning from the fighter plane ahead, Captain Giggs just smiled contemptuously. He swung the joystick and rushed up towards the clouds. Captain Giggs' purpose was obvious. He wanted to occupy a favorable height and then dive down.
.This move is a lesson learned from blood and fire by Captain Giggs who participated in the "Air Battle of Britain". In today's air battles, speed, altitude, and firepower are still the keys to winning in air battles.
The confident Captain Giggs led his team as soon as they climbed to an altitude of 6,000 meters, when they saw the opponent's carrier-based aircraft roaring towards them. At this point, there was nothing more to say, and both sides opened up in unison.
The safety bolt on the cockpit was released, and tongues of flame spurted out from the wings of the respective fighters.
"Da da da da"
Captain Giggs moved very quickly. He made a beautiful roll, and eight 7.7mm machine guns immediately sprayed out eight tongues of flame, cutting off the tail of a Chinese fighter plane in front.
Looking at the Chinese fighter jet in front of him that was forced to glide down in the thick smoke, Captain Giggs didn't have time to be happy. He only noticed a flash of fire in the corner of his eyes. It turned out that just now he was just enjoying the fight and was killed by an opponent's fighter jet.
He was targeted, so he also followed in the footsteps of the fighter plane just now, falling downwards through thick smoke.
Strictly speaking, this was the first air battle between the young Chinese naval aviation and the established European maritime powers. Before the battle, both sides seriously underestimated the capabilities of the other's fighter planes and the combat effectiveness of the pilots. The British themselves were in the "British Air Battle"
After repelling the Germans, both combat effectiveness and air combat experience have been rapidly improved, and the actual combat experience of the young pilots of the South China Sea Fleet comes more from the experience of fighting with Japanese naval aviation.
Therefore, the British were fighting the Chinese Air Force in the same way as the Germans, while the pilots of the Chinese Naval Air Force were fighting the British in the same way as the Japanese. The two sides suddenly became confused. As soon as the battle started
The battle was very fierce, but the numerically superior Chinese naval aviation soon showed this advantage. After forming a two-on-one advantage in the sky, the "Hellcat" equipped with six 12.7 mm high-speed machine guns
Continuously pouring out tongues of fire, the six Spitfire fighter jets led by Captain Giggs soon turned into bright balls of fire and thick black smoke.
"Report to the Red Arrow Squadron that they have shot down all six invading British fighter planes. One of our fighter planes was shot down and one was damaged." In the war room of the "Korean Signal" aircraft carrier, Zheng Xin quickly
The battle report was received, and the successful results made the staff officers in the war room smile with joy.
"If the fight is good, a small group of "Hellcats" will be left to protect the aircraft carrier, and all the other dive bombers and torpedo planes will launch an attack on the local fleet." Now that the fight has begun, Zheng Xin has no intention of holding back. He wants to give the British a chance.
A lesson that will last a lifetime.
On the battleship "Prince of Wales", the news that all the Spitfires in the first attack wave were killed also reached the ears of Rear Admiral Botja, "Rear Admiral Botja, our first wave of Spitfires
"All the fighter planes have been killed, and now the enemy planes are flying towards us at full speed. Now our second wave of twelve shore-based fighters are flying towards the enemy fleet."
"Report, dozens of Chinese aircraft were spotted flying towards us from the front, and they will make contact with our fleet in about three minutes." As the reports came one after another, the atmosphere in the war room became more and more stagnant.
"All ships' anti-aircraft firepower is fully activated, and all attack channels must be blocked. The fleet must turn and retreat toward the port."
Following Major General Botjia's order, more than 20 British ships, large and small, fired dazzling fire, countless shells exploded in mid-air, and the black smoke turned into deadly fireworks in the sky.
The commander of the attack group who rushed over the British fleet immediately ordered twelve "Hellcat" fighter jets and "Pointless" dive bombers to open a channel, and torpedo planes waited for opportunities to attack.
Following the commander's order, more than a dozen "Hellcat" fighters immediately climbed to altitude and quickly pounced down, followed closely by more than a dozen "Dauntless" dive bombers.
"Quickly, increase the firepower output and be sure to stop the enemy's fighter planes." Major General Botjia came to Cambridge at this time and raised his binoculars to look at the fighter planes lingering in the sky. He knew that as soon as his own firepower weakened, the opponent's fighter planes would be destroyed.
It will pounce down like a hungry wolf. Therefore, under the order of Major General Botjia, all the anti-aircraft guns in the fleet, including 40 mm, 60 mm, 75 mm and 120 mm calibers, are firing with all their strength.
Tilt the ammunition high into the air.
However, there is an old saying in China that even the most dense firepower network is sometimes neglected. Under the constant tests of "Hellcat" and Dauntless dive bombers, a British destroyer was hit by a five-meter "Dreadnought" bomber.
The 100-kilogram weight penetrated the deck and exploded into fire inside the warship. It spun and sank to the bottom of the sea in less than five minutes.
"Increasing firepower output must not allow enemy planes to get close to the battleship." After seeing the silence of one of our own destroyers, Major General Botjia's eyes turned red. Under his command, the battleship "Prince of Wales" was like a fire-breathing vessel.
The fire hedgehog kept pouring tongues of fire into the air.
"Bomb" a "Hellcat" fighter plane trying to get close to the "Prince of Wales". The pilot reacted a little slowly and was surrounded by a string of 55mm anti-aircraft guns in mid-air. Shrapnel flying in all directions sent the fighter plane into
to the bottom of the sea.
However, the gunners on the "Prince of Wales" battleship did not notice that two "Avenger" torpedo planes flew quietly to their right rear stern. They took advantage of the firepower on the "Prince of Wales" battleship and were blocked by the sky.
When the fighter planes were attracted, they quietly sneaked to the stern of the battleship "Prince of Wales" and fired torpedoes. Two heavy-duty torpedoes with a caliber of 533 mm immediately rushed towards the target with white spray.
By the time the lookout on the battleship "Prince of Wales" observed the torpedo wake, it was too late. Amidst the two earth-shattering explosions, the battleship "Prince of Wales" seemed to have been punched hard by two giants each.
The sea surface suddenly jumped three to four meters, and even the propeller at the tail was exposed out of the water for a moment.
The sudden explosion and violent vibration threw the unprepared Rear Admiral Botjia onto the guardrail. When Rear Admiral Botjia struggled to get up, he found that thick black smoke was rising from the rear of the ship.
After getting up, Major General Botjia immediately rushed to the war room and grabbed the microphone. "Attention all damage control personnel, immediately do your best to rescue the warship and block the hole."
Britain is worthy of being a veteran maritime power. Both its quality and response are first-class. The two torpedoes just hit the stern of the battleship "Prince of Wales" one after another, causing two torpedoes each more than one meter wide.
Through the large hole, swarming seawater poured into the ship's hull at a rate of two tons per second. The experienced damage control commander immediately opened the sealing chamber and sealed the tail, while the rest of the team immediately rescued the fire on the ship.
Although the "Prince of Wales" was successfully repaired, its speed immediately dropped from sixteen knots to eight knots due to heavy damage. The reduced speed of the battleship "Prince of Wales" soon fell behind the fleet, but it refused to admit defeat.
Like a lonely alpha wolf, it still showed its ferocious claws and sharp teeth to all around.
Dive bombers and torpedo planes hovering high in the sky soon discovered something strange about the "Prince of Wales", and the planes immediately pounced on it like vultures smelling the smell of blood.
A high-explosive bomb fell towards it first.
"Boom!" followed by a violent explosion less than twenty meters away from the "Prince of Wales", and a column of water in the sky rushed higher than the warship's trap. Rear Admiral Botjia knew that it must be a
Super heavy high explosive bomb.
"Left full rudder"
The battleship "Prince of Wales" struggled to turn left and right to avoid the bombs that continued to fall at high speed and the torpedoes that rushed from the side from time to time.
"Reporting to the commander, boiler No. 3 is flooded with water. The boiler chief requests that boiler No. 3 be shut down immediately." The report made everyone in the war room feel their hearts sink to the bottom of the cold sea. Boiler No. 3 is the only boiler still working.
, if the No. 3 boiler stops operating, the battleship "Prince of Wales" will lose all power. For a battleship in the middle of a fierce battle, what does losing power mean? This is an answer that even elementary school students know.
Everyone in the war room looked at their fleet commander and captain, Rear Admiral Bertja, commander of the Third Squadron of the Royal Navy.