This is a new ship attack method summarized by the federal naval aviation forces during training and actual combat. Because of its excellent power and effect, it has become a fixed subject in the federal naval aviation training, called jump bomb delivery.
This method actually uses the resistance of the water and the huge inertia of the bomb to make the bomb jump on the water and then hit the target. Although this principle is simple, its effect is very good, sometimes even as good as that of a torpedo.
Power. Because warships of this period generally had thick armor on the waterline and weak armor below the waterline, this method of jumping bombs allowed the pilot to use the height of the aircraft to control the jumping distance of the bomb, making it easier to hit the ship.
below the waterline, thereby causing greater damage to the hull.
But what is the difference between this jump bomb and a torpedo attack? In fact, the difference is very big. Although they are both aimed at hitting the weak points of the ship's armor below the waterline, the torpedo is huge and heavy, and the torpedo has a fixed depth and speed.
The restrictions on the launch angle, launch height and launch distance prevent torpedo attack aircraft from flying at will when attacking warships, and they are more likely to be hit by anti-aircraft fire.
The jumping bomb delivery method overcomes these shortcomings. The attack aircraft carrying the bomb can swoop down from a high altitude and maneuver at will. As long as the height is controlled when the bomb is finally dropped, the attack aircraft's flexibility is increased.
Many times, it is even less likely to be hit by anti-aircraft fire. In fact, this method was discovered by pilots of dive attack aircraft during countless penetration trainings.
It's easy to say, but it's not easy to do. Only pilots who have undergone careful training can master this method of bombing, and it is not 100% effective. Because this type of bombing depends on the height of the aircraft and the distance from the ship when the bomb is dropped.
All have strict requirements.
For example, if you want to hit the ship below the waterline, you must drop the bomb within 150 meters from the warship and at a height of more than 40 meters to 60 meters. Only then can the bomb not bounce on the water and directly plunge into the water and touch the ship.
When you want the bomb to jump up and hit behind the warship on the waterline, you have to drop the bomb 200 meters away and less than 40 meters behind the ship, so that the bomb will jump up on the water and then hit the ship.
Physically.
This method is simple in theory. But in actual operation, it will test the pilot's skills. Bombs of different weights, warships of different heights, warships with different armor thicknesses, and different sea conditions will all affect the choice of bomb delivery method. These technologies are not just a few.
It can be practiced in a month and a half. Only veteran pilots who have trained hard can master this technique and apply it freely in actual combat.
With this technology, Federal Navy aircraft have an additional means to attack enemy ships from behind. Not only are dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft attacking enemy ships from high altitudes and from the sea, but there is also this sudden altitude attack.
The suddenly low attack route makes the enemy ship's anti-aircraft firepower focus on one thing and miss the other, unable to concentrate the artillery fire. Therefore, this attack method is not only an attack method, but also an important means of breaking defense.
A bomb weighing 500 kilograms is no better than a torpedo. The fragile cruisers and destroyers of the Australian Navy and the British Navy are basically doomed. Only two old battle cruisers have not been sunk for the time being due to their thick skin and large tonnage.
Or capsize, no matter whether it is seriously injured or not, it still persists on the sea with thick smoke.
But this is only temporary, because several white tracks have appeared on the sea near their sides. Those torpedo attack aircraft dropped their torpedoes after diving to attack the fuselage, and are now flying over the two battlecruisers.
Flying by, a few pilots with relatively inferior skills even pressed the switch of the aircraft cannon while flying. I don't know who they wanted to hit.
In addition to these two groups of aircraft attacking forts and ships in the port, other attack aircraft taking off from the aircraft carrier were also divided into two groups. Their missions were to two military airports near Melbourne, which are the main bases of the Australian Air Force.
, wherever it was blown up, the Australian Air Force basically had no combat effectiveness.
However, one of the attack aircraft units encountered a little trouble when it arrived near the airport. Two monoplanes painted with the British Air Force logo flew from the airport within visual distance of the attack aircraft group.
In this situation, the commander of this attack group had to make a choice in a very short period of time, whether to continue bombing the airport with all his strength, or to allocate part of his force to pursue the two escaped British aircraft.
In the end, the naval aviation commander chose a safer approach, which was to continue bombing the airport and destroying the aircraft on the runway and in the hangar. As for the problems with the two British aircraft, he could only report them to the fleet and then let the senior management
Decide what to do with it.
The two planes that escaped were two of a hurricane squadron deployed by the British Air Force in Australia. Since two Australian Navy patrol boats lost contact last night, the pilots of these two planes were woken up early in the morning and prepared to go.
The sea is being searched for the two missing naval vessels.
But when the two planes just started refueling, there were bursts of explosions and large clouds of smoke rising from the direction of the port. The Australian pilots and ground staff at the airport ran to the tower to watch the excitement, and several officers were taking the
They kept in desperate contact on the phone. Unlike those Australian cowboys, these two British pilots had experienced air combat and ground combat. They could tell by the sound and smoke that it was not an accident. It was the explosion of a heavy bomb, and it was not
One or two.
Their analysis was scorned by their Australian colleagues. No one believed the two British guys' story about the port being attacked. In desperation, the two British pilots had no choice but to climb into their own planes and plan to fly to the port themselves.
Where to find out.
Their experience and prediction saved their lives. Just when their plane started to pull up, dozens of planes flew in from the sky on the right side of the airport. Judging from the color, size and shape of the fuselage,
The pilot quickly recognized that this was neither an Australian nor a British aircraft. The two pilots exchanged opinions with simple hand gestures, then increased the throttle and flew farther east.
When they entered the sea from the east of Melbourne, black smoke was already rising from the entire Port Phillip Bay. More than ten warships of the Australian Navy and the British Navy were directly sunk and destroyed on the berths. Not to mention maneuvering, even one
There is no one to light the fire
.Many warships are sitting in the harbor, and the superstructures are burning. Since swarms of planes fly over the harbor from time to time, people on the pier do not dare to sail to the rescue. They can only watch these warships.
It smokes like a torch on the water.
Several nearby cargo ships were also accidentally damaged due to misfortune, and many civilian ships parked at the berths closer to the pier began to mess up. Some wanted to dock at the pier to allow people to escape ashore, while others wanted to rush out of the harbor and into the sea.
For a time, dozens of ships of various types in the harbor turned into a pot of porridge, with more than a few of them scraping and colliding with each other.
Due to their small size and high horsepower, the two yachts rushed out of the harbor channel first, but within a few minutes, they ran back again, and at a faster speed. The people on the yachts stood on the top of the boat and waved to the boats that wanted to go out to sea.
, signaling not to go out, and then the two ships sailed to the nearest dock quickly.
Just as the captains on the sea were puzzled by the strange behavior of the two yachts, they were stunned by the appearance of a large warship from the harbor channel. When some experienced and knowledgeable captains saw clearly that
After the flag was hung on the warship, it immediately began to turn around and run towards the dock. Even if the other captains did not recognize the red, yellow and blue flag, they knew from the reactions of the other captains that there was no good trouble ahead, and they also turned around together.
Escape.
What sailed into the harbor from the channel was a Manila-class destroyer. It was here to serve as a target, to test how much of the Australian army's shore artillery and port defense strength was left. The officers and soldiers on the destroyer stared at it with wide eyes.
On the highlands on both sides and the potentially threatening ships and buildings in the port, no one has the time to deal with the civilian ships escaping in all directions. (To be continued...)
