Before Nimitz's order reached the USS Lexington aircraft carrier, Halsey had actually made a similar decision. He set a "stop loss point" for this maritime bet. As long as one of the two aircraft carrier teams was severely damaged by the Japanese side (such as losing two aircraft carriers or one sunk, one severely damaged or two all severely damaged), the other team would retreat immediately. This would have a high probability of ensuring that the US Pacific Fleet still had two available large aircraft carriers after this battle.

After setting up the "stop loss point", Lieutenant General Halsey decided to send the first attack wave of the 1st Air Force (Lexington, Saratoga) at 4:20 am on November 6.

"Sir, don't you need to conduct reconnaissance?" Major General Browning was a little hesitant when he heard Halsey's decision. "We don't know the composition of these six Japanese fleets now."

Now the Halsey fleet knows the approximate locations of the six Japanese fleets, which were found by Katerina seaplane using radar at night. However, the current radar cannot distinguish between Qing aircraft carriers, battleships, heavy cruisers and large cargo ships.

So Halsey and Browning had no idea about the composition of these six formations, so they could only try their luck.

"Then try your luck!" said Halsey. "My luck has always been very good, otherwise I wouldn't have been a lieutenant general in the Shanghai Army. And... I believe in God, those damn Japanese monkeys will definitely not believe it, so God will definitely help."

Major General Browning frowned and asked again, "So where are we betting on?"

"Beat... bet on the Japanese fleet closest to us (it was the first air battle commanded by Tadichi Nagamo! Send 2 attack waves! Let Major General Fletcher's second team also send 2 attack waves to attack them."

...

Just when Halsey was betting on all his bets, Takaichi Nagamoto had just sent an enemy-seeking plane. Since the Japanese army did not have a large seaplane that could carry radar in the Coral Sea, it was impossible to find the formations of Halsey and Fletcher at night. He lost one move in the ability to seek enemy-seeking!

However, Tadaichi Nagamo, who knew that he had this weakness, also had the means to make up for it. After releasing 6 comet dive bombers, he immediately sent 24 Zero carrier-based fighters as direct covers. At the same time, he also deployed 12 Zero carrier-based fighters on the decks of the Akagi and Kaga, all of which were placed in positions that could take off at any time.

At the same time, he also set up an air defense formation early, as if waiting for the American plane to beat him up because he knew that his position was the south. If the US aircraft carrier was preparing to attack, the Yihang Battle would most likely be the first target of attack!

Nanyun's waiting did not last long. At 6:35 in the morning on November 6 (now the autumnal equinox has passed, the night in the northern hemisphere is long, and the day in the southern hemisphere is long), the radar officer of the Akagi suddenly shouted: "The number of enemy aircraft is found, more than 10, and it is suspected to be an attack aircraft group..."

"It's finally here!" Natsuki took a breath and quickly ordered, "Let the Air Elegant Squadron on the deck take off immediately! Be sure to give the Americans some excellence!"

"Hayi!" Gendashi answered loudly.

Everyone in the Akagi Command Tower became nervous. The team between the aircraft carrier and the aircraft was nothing foolproof! If you were unlucky, if you were unlucky, you might have to break through an American dive bomber, which could damage an aircraft carrier.

But the good news came in a few minutes.

"Hisser Commander, our Zero and enemy planes are in exchange for fire." Genda Min shouted excitedly, "They are 4 and sbd...it should be carrier-based planes!"

Because the performance of 4 is not satisfactory, there are few 4 shore-based aircraft in the South Pacific now. Moreover, Americans have arranged p38 on the east coast of Australia with a performance far exceeding 4. If the sbd dive bomber flying out of the east coast, the p38 will definitely be escorted. According to the description of the Japanese frontline pilot, this twin-body monster is a difficult aircraft to deal with. It has fast speed, strong firepower, strong dive ability, and good performance at high altitudes. When fighting against Zero aircraft, if the situation is not good, they often raise the altitude. If the Zero aircraft is raised together, they will suffer a great loss when it reaches a certain altitude. Therefore, the US military on the South Pacific battlefield likes to use p-38.

Now it is 4 and SBD, so most of them have American aircraft carriers nearby.

Everyone on the USS Akagi aircraft carrier is firmly convinced of this. As long as the US aircraft carrier is nearby, it will be doomed!

Most of the people in the Allied South Pacific Theater Command also had the same idea.

Under the order of MacArthur, the fighter jets stationed near Brisbane were also dispatched in full swing, and all attack aircraft and bombers that could be obtained were taken out.

In Brisbane, 6:40, 24 b-25 bombers, 18 b-24 bombers and 18 Beaufort torpedo bombers attacked under the escort of 36 p-38s.

Ten minutes later, the Bondborough base sent 10 B-25s, 22 Beaufort and 12 P-38s.

Before the 128 shore-based aircraft were dispatched, the two teams commanded by Halsey and Fletcher sent a total of 122 SBD dive bombers and 108 TB torpedo bombers. Under the protection of 72 4 fighters, they were divided into four batches of the first aviation teams that rushed towards Tadakaichi Nakamoto.

In this way, the total number of aircraft dispatched by the Allied forces reached 442!

However, so many planes did not fly to Natsushi Nakamoto at the same time, otherwise his Zero fighter would not be able to withstand even with three heads and six arms. Just when dozens of American planes that were flying in the first wave were beaten by Zero, Japanese reconnaissance planes also discovered the location of the US aircraft carrier.

"Your Excellency Commander, there are at least 2 American aircraft carriers!" Genda Shik said loudly, "It is about 180 nautical miles southwest of the 1st Team!"

"Very good!"

"Now it's going to win!"

The commander tower of the Akagi was filled with joy, completely ignoring the American bomber above his head.

"His Excellency Commander, you may order the Second Air Force and the Fifth Air Force to send attack aircraft groups."

Chief of Staff Kusato Ryunosuke immediately made a suggestion, and aviation staff member Genda Mitsuki also echoed: "Because our team is suffering from an enemy air strike, we must respond with all our strength."

Nakayama looked up at the pursuit battle that was happening in the sky. His Zero fighter jets had already won a great victory, while Americans' planes were running away.

But this is just the first wave of attacks!

"Okay, that's it."

At this time, Tadaichi Nagamo, Ryusuke Kusato and Minata Genda had all expected that the 1st Air Force might suffer from the overwhelming saturation strikes by the Americans. However, the long-term outstanding performance of the Zero fighter made them think that relying on the 1st Air Force's own strength was enough to fight this strike. Moreover, they firmly believed that relying on the 2nd Air Force and the 5th Air Force would be enough to sink the exposed US aircraft carriers.

But something unexpected happened. Today's anti-aircraft guns on the US ship seemed particularly fierce and they were hit very accurately!

When the captain of the aircraft carrier Canglong and the second attack wave commander of the Japanese Navy's 2nd Air Force, Navy Grand Secretary Ekuoka Takahashi, led the fleet to find Halsey's aircraft carrier formation, fierce battles were taking place over the aircraft carrier formation.

Jiang Cao Longfan did not lead the plane to charge immediately, but slowly hovered in the air, as if he wanted to find his opponent's weakness. However, after a little observation, he was shocked.

He found that although the number of American ships on the sea was not particularly large, the air defense firepower was extremely fierce, and 4,000 meters below were almost shrouded in stringing bombs!

"Can be able to hit 4,000 meters! This is Bofus anti-aircraft gun..." Master Jiang Cao suddenly realized that he was likely to face a bloody battle. The shooting height can cover the attack position of dive bombers, and the powerful Bofus anti-aircraft gun has long been the standard equipment for surface ships on the European battlefield, but it seems that this is the first time it has appeared in the Pacific!

"Master, look ahead, at 11 o'clock... One of our planes was hit, above 4,000 meters!"

Asano, the bomber behind Ekura Ryuki, suddenly shouted. Ekura hurriedly looked over and found an aircraft that seemed to be a comet dive bomber falling rapidly.

"It's really more than 4,000 meters?" Jiang Cao Longfan asked. After receiving a positive answer, he thought to himself: The shot down plane was so unlucky that it was actually shot down by a 127mm anti-aircraft cannon.

"I am Grandmaster Jiang Cao, the commander-in-chief of the attack." Jiang Cao began to issue an order without thinking much, "The enemy's firepower is a bit strong today. Be careful, I wish Wu Yun a long time! Now, the attack begins! Implement the first plan."

The formation and order of the attack were planned long ago. The 2nd Air Force is a place where veterans are piled up, and the cooperation between them has long reached a perfect level.

Jiang Cao Longfan found that the US aircraft carrier on the water was still twisting happily, and there was no sign of injury, so he knew that the attack that the first attack wave did not fall into vain. So he ordered the implementation of the first case, which is the standard attack process. First, the dive bomber began to dive from an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, and at the same time, the Type 97 torpedo bomber hovered down and entered the altitude of the torpedo attack.

The escort Zero aircraft is responsible for covering the Type 97 torpedo bomber. The dive bomber used by the Japanese Combined Fleet is a comet with an air-cooled engine (same as the Folk 100). Because it is very fast and difficult to intercept, according to the current combat mode of the Japanese Navy Air Force, zero cover is not required.

After Jiang Cao Longfan issued the order, he took the lead and rushed towards a large American aircraft carrier shrouded by the fire net.

boom……

As soon as he rushed into the fire net, Jiang Cao Longfan found that he was not against him. An anti-aircraft artillery shell exploded very close to his plane. Under the impact of the heat wave, his plane shook violently for a few times.

Jiang Cao is an old driver. He knows that heavy anti-aircraft guns are completely a matter of character. Because heavy anti-aircraft guns are slow to fire, the probability of hitting the aircraft directly is very low. At the same time, the fixed-height fuze used by heavy anti-aircraft guns is very unreliable. It is difficult to measure the correct altitude and set the high-height fuze on a busy battlefield. Therefore, even strictly trained Japanese anti-aircraft gunners are difficult to hit enemy aircraft with heavy anti-aircraft guns.

The shells that exploded near Jiangcao's landline just now were not only accurate, but also the setting of the fixed-high fuze was also accurate. This is a coincidence!

Jiang Cao quickly lowered the joystick and lowered the height.

boom……

Two more 127mm anti-aircraft shells exploded near his plane! The fuselage shook again and began to tremble. Somewhere must have been hit.

Baga! Have you met the God Gunner?

Jiang Cao quickly drove the plane to dodge, but after a few dodges, there was another bang in his ear.

The plane was shaking even more!

Have you met a group of magic gunners? Are you going to become a magician? Jiang Cao Longfan's forehead was filled with sweat. He knew that his plane had been hit three times, and he didn't know how long he could last? When he got on the plane, he only brought a big knife and no parachute...

At this moment, he found that his plane had arrived above a US aircraft carrier!

"Run!" He took back his mind, gave a loud order, and then pushed the joystick hard, pressed the nose of the aircraft, dived down almost at a right angle, trying to complete the bomb drop before the aircraft disintegration.

But his plane soon seemed to have crashed into a rain of bullets. First, the fuselage trembled violently, and then thick smoke came out of the place where the head engine was!

Now I am going to become a god! Ekao knows that he is dead, but his long-term Bushido education tells him that even if he dies, he has to take a boat of people.

"Onboard!" he shouted, holding the joystick in both hands, and flew the plane and slamming towards the American aircraft carrier below.

A few dozen seconds later, the plane carried a bomb and was unbiasedly leaning against the rear deck of the USS Lexington aircraft carrier, which suddenly turned into a fire, and ignited several four carrier-based fighters on the deck that were refueling ammunition...

The fire and thick smoke enveloped the Lexington aircraft carrier. Although it did not cause any heavy damage, it temporarily blocked the sight of the anti-aircraft gunners. The aircraft carrier's air defense firepower suddenly weakened, which created an opportunity for the comet dive bomber following behind Jiangcao.

In just two or three minutes, six bombs hit the Lexington, causing the aircraft carrier to fall into a sea of ​​fire!

I don’t know if it was encouraged by the “God of Military” Jiang Cao. Ten minutes later, another comet dive bomber also hit the Saratoga. Although it did not cause a fire, it also caused chaos, which allowed the subsequent aircraft to successfully drop three bombs.

...

"His Excellency Commander, the two American aircraft carriers are severely damaged and may sink soon!"

When Kusou Ryunosuke's victory came, Tadakaichi Nagamo was sweating heavily as he watched the densely packed planes in the sky fight into a group.

American planes came one after another, as if there was no end. Although the Zero fighter jets on Akagi and Kaga ships performed well and almost blocked all enemy planes. However, losses still inevitably happened!

There are fewer and fewer teams in the sky, and the Americans' p38 is obviously an aircraft that can fight against Zero fighters! Moreover, the Americans also understand the performance of Zero and have found some tactics that can effectively fight against. The exchange ratio is not overwhelming...
Chapter completed!