Chapter 2732 Unsuccessful Attack 2
Chapter 2732 Unsuccessful Attack 2
Different from Lieutenant General Charles's method of concentrating his forces to destroy the opponent's anti-aircraft firepower in one wave, Colonel Veron's method is to make the opponent make mistakes through continuous small batch attacks, and let their defense line collapse before the anti-aircraft firepower is completely eliminated. Something went wrong!
Eight bombers participated in the third round of attacks. This was already a formal attack! After all, Veron only has about 50 bombers in his hands, and one-third of his strength has been used in the first three waves, so this wave must achieve results! Due to the position and space of the battleship, there is an upper limit to the superposition of air defense firepower density. This time, the Japanese finally seized the opportunity and successfully dropped two 500KG bombs on the Colorado. Sims' flagship was here The first drop of blood was left in this battle!
The first bomb landed behind the chimney! This was originally a high-explosive round used to destroy ship surface anti-aircraft firepower, so it had insufficient penetration and take-off capabilities and did not completely penetrate the mesh armor at the bottom of the flue! But the violent explosion of more than 250 kilograms of picric acid explosive still destroyed one-third of the flue! A large amount of thick smoke and debris were spread by the shock wave generated by the explosion. A rain of debris and flames fell from the tall bridge and fell on a busy anti-aircraft gun deck. The fire began to spread. The damage control team members were properly dressed and tried to use water hoses. Control the fire!
The second bomb hit the Colorado's No. 2 turret. It was a 500KG semi-armor-piercing bomb. This bomb was destined to be unable to penetrate more than 4 inches of horizontal armor on the Colorado's main turret, but the violent explosion still caused this The turret caused serious damage. The optical rangefinder and various fragile equipment on the turret were destroyed. Due to the violent vibration, the hydraulic equipment and servo inside the turret also malfunctioned.
The loss of the main gun caused the Colorado to suffer a lot in the following battle, but maybe Sims should be lucky, because if these two bombs fell on the anti-aircraft gun deck, then the next attack might be This battleship cannot bear it.
"The anti-aircraft firepower of the two enemy battleships formed a trap, and we rushed in all at once. This is unacceptable! Our suppression weapons are not easy to use. Whether it is machine guns or small bombs, they have no effect on the anti-aircraft firepower on the battleships. It's all a bit bad. We used one-third of the aircraft, but we didn't achieve much results. The American fighter force has caught up. We can't continue to attack Colorado! Choose a suitable target, and then leave after the attack. !" An officer next to him yelled at Veron.
There are obstacles in front, and pursuers behind... Veron's plan was good. He wanted to severely damage the enemy's most important warship, but the implementation fell short due to some calculation errors. The defensive firepower on the opposite side exceeded his imagination, and there were pursuers behind him. If there were no pursuers, more than 50 attack aircraft would be able to penetrate the Colorado-class defenses sooner or later, even if they were covered by other US warships. But now, it is obvious that there is not much time left for him. He must immediately let the fleet attack a simpler target and then withdraw from the battlefield.
"Concentrate your firepower on the New Mexico! At the same time, let our last giants choose an easier target to attack!" Veron finally backed down.
The remaining bomber group gave up the attack on the Colorado-class, which was under layers of protection, and aimed at the New Mexico. More than a dozen bombers took turns to dive and launch air strikes. At the same time, torpedo planes also launched an attack formation. . The flexibility of the air force's attack was fully demonstrated at this moment. They can easily choose a weak link in the opponent's defense to launch an attack. In fact, what can really effectively intercept the air force is not the air cannon itself on the battleship, but the fighter jets!
Veron's final adjustments brought chaos to the Americans. The destroyers originally used to guard the Colorado began to rush towards the New Mexico, but it was all a bit late. The bombers had completed dive bombings one after another, and tons of The bombs were dropped, and after the first few planes were shot down or dispersed, more targets broke through the air defense net and caused serious damage!
At least four bombs fell on the New Mexico. The first bomb chewed off a corner of the anti-aircraft artillery array on the left side of the New Mexico! The second bomb knocked out two twin secondary batteries that were relatively close together. The third shot severely damaged the New Mexico's smoke pipe, and the fourth shot blasted the seaplane take-off and landing equipment in the middle of the hull to pieces! Although the deck of the battleship was already in a mess, with debris and gunpowder smoke everywhere. But no matter what, the main structure of this more than 30,000-ton American battleship is still intact.
The Japanese's final torpedo attack was also not very successful. The American seaplanes that had been waiting at low altitude bravely rushed towards the Japanese torpedo planes that could not be avoided. The two sides fought at an extremely close distance. From time to time, planes crashed into the sea. In the end, with the help of Captain Carr and the seaplane force, only 6 Japanese torpedo planes completed the attack. They fired 6 torpedoes, but only one hit! However, this torpedo hit the middle of the New Mexico's best-defended hull. The thick five-layer underwater defense system well blocked the energy generated by the explosion. In the end, in addition to bringing more than 700 tons of water to the New Mexico It doesn't have much impact outside of that.
"We finally completed our mission." Captain Carl looked at the Japanese bombers that had left in the distance. He said with relief. At this time, his plane's fuel was no longer enough to return, so he decisively chose to make an emergency landing on the sea and then let go. People on the destroyer came to the rescue. However, just when more than 90% of people thought that the war was about to end, several huge figures rushed close to the sea and rushed towards the outer armored cruiser detachment. The last Japanese aviation force today finally entered the battlefield! This is the giant army that Veron calls!
Compared with virtue, the Japanese are very poor, but they can also afford to support a heavy bomber force! The V1500 was a very famous heavy bomber during the war. As an early heavy bomber, its structural strength did not support it for dive bombing, which meant that its bombing accuracy would be poor. But compared with ordinary bombers or torpedo planes, the V1500 has one of the biggest advantages, that is, the bomb load is large enough. Especially in close combat, its bomb load advantage has become unprecedentedly huge. An aircraft is loaded with Are you afraid of three 700KG torpedoes? !
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