In the northwest waters of Texel Island, the extremely large US and British fleets had been reduced by two-thirds of the scale. Many troop carriers and transport ships unloaded their cargo and embarked on the road to return. The main combat ships, including the Great Britain-class and South Dakota-class battleships, rushed to the southeastern waters of the Azores at full speed, leaving only the aircraft carrier fleet and some auxiliary ships.

On the outer corridor of the bridge of the "York City", US Admiral Claude Brock was smoking a cigar in a slump. Victory was at hand, but the arrival time of the main warships of Germany and Ireland was one day earlier than expected. It was this day's difference that caused the battlefield situation to take a sharp turn. The "Enterprise" battle sinks, "Independence" and "Hornet" were all injured to varying degrees. The most injured "Hornet" and the British Navy have staggered back under the escort of two Lexington-class battlecruisers. The British Navy also has "indomitable", "fairy" and "victory" three aircraft carriers. Among them, "fairy" and "victory" miraculously avoided many enemy air strikes, and became three coalition aircraft carriers with complete combat power with the "York City" of the United States Navy.

Relying on the "stolen day and exchange for sun" supply strategy of "stealing the sky and changing the sun" in aircraft carriers, the US and British fleets still have 219 carrier-based aircraft that can take off, but there are only 207 carrier-based aircraft pilots who can still participate in the battle. It is really a difficult situation where even the aviation commanders have to go on the battlefield. Because of this, the US and British troops on the front line of Texel have contacted the German commanders trapped in Heroes Port, trying to exchange certain conditions for pilots captured by the German army. The Germans of course know the value of these US and British pilots. Now the main force of the Allied fleet has arrived and entered the battle, and the opportunity to turn the situation is close. How could the more than 20,000 German soldiers who are defending Heroes Port fall before dawn?

The enemy's air strikes followed by waves, which did not give the US and British fleet a chance to breathe. Brock had to admit that his opponent's vision of seizing the victory point was vicious enough, but he would never give up. The US and British fleet that gathered from Boston Port traveled day and night and arrived in the Azores tonight. The "Princeton" that failed to participate in the war due to mechanical failure has been repaired. It is coming from Norfolk Military Port. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be able to follow the fleet tomorrow afternoon.

Reunion. Furthermore, the injuries of the Independence and Indomitable were initially controlled, and people were trying to transfer the carrier-based aircraft on the ship to the other three aircraft carriers. Taking advantage of the gap between the enemy air strikes, the US and British fighters have redeployed the air defense lines on the periphery of the fleet, and the position of the enemy fleet is now clear. "York City", "Awesome", and "Victory" are organizing a second wave of attack aircraft groups, and the real showdown may have just begun.

Seeing the aircrews orderly sending the prepared carrier-based aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck, and neatly arranged them in the takeoff area like a vendor placing fruit, Brock felt inexplicably anxious. After a while, his adjutant came hurriedly: "General, our early warning radar found an invading enemy aircraft in the southeast, and the fighter aircraft left in the air were going to intercept it. It is expected that the enemy aircraft will enter the fleet's air defense fire circle in 10 minutes."

"What are you waiting for?" Bullock said angrily, "Let our bombers take off quickly and all go to the formation above Texel Island to attack the enemy fleet together with the aircraft of the Army and British Air Force!"

The adjutant wanted to explain something, but when he saw Brock was on the fire, he honestly agreed. After a moment, the orderly scene on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier was broken, and the carrier-based aircraft that had already been in place quickly started. The air crew quickly removed the anti-moving pads under their wheels, and the elevator temporarily stopped working. The carrier-based bomber carrying aviation bombs or torpedoes under the belly of the aircraft glided forward with a deafening roar, pulling up at the end of the runway...

In less than five minutes, all the carrier-based aircraft on the flight deck took off, and the elevators started to operate again, lifting the five Grumman F3F carrier-based fighters to the flight deck. After they left the ship, they continued to lift the bombers on standby in the hangar. At this time, the enemy aircraft group had already appeared in sight, and the outer guard ships only began to shoot at the air. When they could be attacked by enemy planes at any time, the aircraft carrier could not always maintain a headwind. The takeoff of the carrier-based aircraft would face some conditions. If the fuel was filled with carrier-based aircraft, the carrier-based aircraft carrying bombs would stay on the flight deck in battle, which would be a huge hidden danger to the safety of the aircraft carrier itself. As the commander of the aircraft carrier fleet, Admiral Brock, who is the commander of the aircraft carrier fleet, has the responsibility to make choices.

So Brock swung his cigar and quickly returned to the bridge command room, and ordered his officers.

"John, order each aircraft carrier to end the takeoff of the carrier-based aircraft within five minutes, clear the flight deck, and adopt air defense control!"

"I understand, sir!"

"Ike, in five minutes, count the takeoff of each ship, keep in touch with the land aviation command, and make sure to keep the air force on Texel Island in step with our carrier-based aircraft."

"I understand, sir!"

"Bom, what's the situation of the periphery?"

"Our fighter jets have exchanged fire with the enemy. At present, our investment is three incomplete fighter jet squadrons, and the size of the enemy has 6 flight squadrons, so the current situation is not very optimistic."

"General Alberro, please be prepared to pick up the enemy."

"I understand, sir!"

After proper deployment, General Brock asked for a pair of telescopes and walked to the right porthole. In his sight, a fierce sea-air battle had begun: dozens of white war eagles and blue-gray enemy fighters were fighting at high altitudes, and it was difficult to distinguish between good and bad at first glance. The middle and low altitudes were covered with black smoke. The warships painted with light white gray blocks on the sea were flashing with artillery flames and gunpowder... Suddenly, two low-altitude biplane fighters appeared in Admiral Brock's field of view through the floating gunpowder. Their flying posture was like swans that had just left the water surface, which should be very easy to aim. The nearby warships were desperately pouring out their flames, but they were unable to knock them down.

Without General Brock's reminder, Captain Yarborough ordered his subordinates at the right time: "The enemy torpedo planes attacked from 2 o'clock, and the starboard 5-inch secondary guns were blocked and fired, and the remaining guns were on guard."

The most powerful naval gun on the York City-class aircraft carrier is the dual-mounted 38-diameter 5-inch high-level dual-purpose gun. Its range from 14,000 meters to sea and 12,000 meters to air, and its semi-automatic loading, with a combat rate of 12-15 rounds per minute. It is a very effective medium- and long-range air defense weapon. Since the outbreak of the Battle of the Azores, four US aircraft carriers have used ship-based weapons to shoot down and injured more than 20 enemy aircraft, and a considerable number of the results were achieved by the 5-inch gun.

Two enemy torpedo aircraft had already entered range, and the rumbling cannon sounded at the starboard side of the "York City" and the shells exploded under the action of a delayed fuse. The smoke balls in the distance increased rapidly, gradually forming a smoke wall. However, the two "super swordfish" did not disappear. They swayed their fuselage left and right, avoiding the dense firepower in the S-shaped flight line, and then pulled up slightly, passing over a British destroyer like provocatively.

At this time, the air defense commander in the bridge shouted loudly: "Enemy planes have entered the red area!"

General Yabrale then ordered: "Four-piece guns opened fire!"

Before the 40mm caliber Bofors anti-aircraft gun conquered the world, the US Navy used the medium- and short-range air defense artillery as the MKI type 28mm machine gun. This weapon usually uses a four-unit configuration. It is known as the "Chicago Piano" because of its fast firing rate and strong firepower. However, its effective range is only 3,000 meters, which is not perfectly matched with the 5-inch gun. Moreover, the magazine supply method also limits the combat rate of fire of this machine gun.

With the participation of the near-defense guns, the starboard side of the "York City" became lively, with rumbling and banging sounds intertwined. The open-air artillery positions were full of busy figures, and the rising smoke was quickly blown away by the sea breeze. During this period, the wide and straight flight deck had been cleared, neither carrier-based aircraft nor spare ammunition. On the first day of the attack on the Azores, the "Hornets" and "Enterprise" almost caused a disaster due to the explosion of ammunition. The strict control of British aircraft carriers in this regard is undoubtedly a model of success. Therefore, from the next day, the Americans also began to follow suit, but the "Enterprise" finally failed. Judging from the internal factors, its war sinking should have a lot to do with the incomplete ammunition and fuel control and the loss system.

Two Allied torpedo aircraft traveled through the fire nets woven by American and British ships. They seemed to be shot down at any time, but they were as unblocked as gods. Their flight trajectory was sometimes parallel to the trajectory of the "York City" and sometimes wrong with it. It seemed that they were not coming to the US aircraft carrier. But at the last moment, they suddenly turned and lowered their heights. The nose and the torpedo below the belly of the aircraft pointed in front of the "York City". In a blink of an eye, the torpedo jumped into the water, and the splashed water almost touched the fuselage.

The air defense commander standing next to the porthole on the right immediately issued an alarm: "At 3 o'clock, there are two torpedoes, with an estimated speed of 40 knots."

General Yabraro ordered in a cold tone: "Left full rudder!"

"Full the rudder left!" The first mate repeated the instructions while turning the rudder plate. Despite its extra large size, the main aircraft carrier still responded at a very fast speed. When the rudder was turned full, the hull would be obviously tilted. Admiral Brock's previous air defense control order required all aircraft carriers to make corresponding preparations, including fixing the aircraft parked in the hangar to avoid unnecessary trouble and losses when maneuvering at high speed.

On the battlefield, it is usually easy to avoid hidden arrows and difficult to defend against. The sufficient preparation allowed the "York City" to avoid the aviation torpedo projected by enemy planes at a closer distance. At this moment, the port side gun of the aircraft carrier suddenly roared, looking out through the porthole, the air defense weapons located on both sides of the aircraft carrier were shooting upwards.

The air defense commander rushed to the outer corridor of the bridge and shouted anxiously: "The enemy's dive bomber is here! Quick! S-shaped evasion!"

Although he did not observe the enemy situation with his own eyes, General Yabrale still accepted the advice of the air defense commander without hesitation and ordered the aircraft carrier to evade S-shaped. At this time, Brock stared out the window with a tense face. Two British Navy's Glory Class aircraft carriers were not far away. A single-wing bomber dived at an angle of about 70 degrees, and the speed was as fast as a lightning bolt. It suddenly pulled up at a height of 100 meters and dropped a black bomb. In the blink of an eye, a ball of fire rose up on the flight deck of a Glory Class aircraft carrier, and a huge explosion sounded...

Witnessing this amazing scene, Admiral Brock's eyes froze. After only a few seconds, a shrill roar came from above, and another lightning flashed past his eyes. The bomb fell into the sea next to the edge of the flight deck. The snow-white sea water instantly occupied all the vision. Under the impact of the explosion wave, the hearing appeared temporarily deaf. A voice echoed in Admiral Brock's heart: Are we going to be defeated?

It felt like after a long time, people were talking and shouting in their ears, and the roar of naval guns could be heard. Admiral Brock blinked his eyes several times before he came to his senses. He turned around and looked at the officers who performed their duties conscientiously, and no one showed a timid and fearful look. On the sea not far away, the newly injured Tyranny-class aircraft carrier did not give up resistance. Several light ships surrounded it tightly, desperately resisting the successive attacks of enemy aircraft...

General Brock clenched his fists and said loudly to himself in his heart: We have not been defeated yet! We will not be defeated easily!

The enemy air strike was also the beginning of the ebb. After a few minutes, the enemy planes in sight were flying back. After a while, the sound of artillery on the sea gradually decreased and finally completely subsided. The preliminary loss report came out soon, and no warship sank in the enemy air strike, which was gratifying. However, the British aircraft carrier "Indomitable" was hit by a bombshell, and the flight deck and upper hangar were severely damaged. There was no hope of recovering its combat effectiveness in a short period of time. The carrier-based aircraft on the ship that had not taken off was also "frozen", which means that the situation of the aircraft carrier fleet commanded by General Brock continued to deteriorate. The biggest hope at the moment is that the attack aircraft group could bring back good news.

On the other hand, the Allied Fleet, which also has radar equipment, discovered the coming US-UK aircraft group in advance and sent out four squadrons of carrier-based fighters to intercept. The escort ships were on guard against the aircraft carrier formation, which could be kept in full swing. However, this was the first aircraft carrier war in human history. Both sides had objective shortcomings in offense and defense, and subjective flaws were everywhere, which needed to be continuously corrected and improved in the war. The opponent's strong blockade made most US-UK aircraft return in vain, but in the end, more than a dozen bombers broke through the air defense circle of the Allied Fleet and once again went to their aircraft carriers.
Chapter completed!