Chapter 732 Naval Battle (2)
"Oh my God!"
The US fleet consisted of more than 50 P-40 fighters and more than 50 B-25 bombers. The P-40 fighter pilots could not help but exclaimed when they saw that the number of German fighters on the opposite side was twice that of their own. It was obvious that the German fleet not only had aircraft carriers accompanying it, but also at least two. However, they could not retreat, and had to entangle these German fighters and cover their own bomber groups to approach the German fleet and launch an attack.
But it was easier said than done.
In most cases, land-based aircraft of the same level would have an advantage against carrier-based aircraft. Due to the use environment of carrier-based aircraft, for example, in order to meet the requirements of catapult takeoff and arrested landing, the landing gear has been greatly strengthened. In order to meet the requirements of small space occupation, the wings of carrier-based aircraft need to be folded. In addition to the requirements of corrosion resistance, a land-based fighter needs to be converted into a carrier-based aircraft, which often requires hundreds of kilograms or even more than one ton of weight sacrifice to meet the various needs of shipboard. When such carrier-based aircraft fight against prototype land-based fighters, their combat performance often falls behind due to the problem of dead weight.
Unfortunately, the land-based FW-190 almost crushes the P-40 fighter in various performances, while the FW-190T model uses a lot of chromium-nickel-manganese super-hard aluminum alloy, which reduces a lot of weight, and its combat performance is not much weaker than that of the land-based model.
"Kill these fighters first!" The German carrier-based aircraft ignored the slow bomber formations and rushed directly to the US P-40 fleet.
Soon the two fleets were entangled.
Although the American pilots fought bravely, the German FW-190T had an absolute advantage in performance and quantity; they might not win even at a 1:1 ratio, let alone a 2:1 ratio.
"Boom boom boom!"
The FW-190T fighter was equipped with four 20mm cannons, and a few shells could blow up a US fighter in mid-air. Under such terrible firepower, it was difficult for American pilots to parachute to escape, and most of them would be shot on the spot. After all, the power of the cannon is much greater than that of the aircraft machine gun.
Of course, the power of the cannon is great, but it also has a big weakness, that is, the cannon's ammunition capacity is pitifully small. The four cannons of the FW-190T only have 150 rounds each; in air combat, it must be used sparingly. If it is used up in one breath, it can only return to the aircraft carrier to replenish ammunition.
"Damn it! Why are our fighter planes equipped with 7mm aircraft machine guns? Why don't you add machine guns to ours?!" A U.S. pilot couldn't help complaining as he watched his comrades being disintegrated in mid-air.
The U.S. P-40 fighter plane is equipped with 6 7mm aircraft machine guns. Such firepower is actually quite powerful, and the aircraft machine guns can carry more bullets, and the durability of firepower is undoubtedly much higher. However, compared with the four 20mm machine guns of the German army, the power is much weaker.
In fact, the Americans have also tinkered with 20mm machine guns.
Speaking of 20mm machine guns, the Oerlikon machine gun is definitely indispensable.
The Japanese army in the original time and space introduced the Oerlikon FF, and then built the 99-1 aircraft cannon based on it; Germany also purchased the production license of the Oerlikon FF, and then produced the MG-FF; France introduced the Oerlikon FFS, but there were differences on the patent issue, and developed the Hispano cannon (HS404) under multiple references; Britain introduced the HS404, developed the Hispano MK1, and then installed a receiver on the MK1, named MK2; the United States also introduced the HS404, but the reliability was poor at the beginning, and a batch was built with reference to the British MK2, but the reliability was quite bad, so bad that the United States had 4 million 20mm shells in 1942, but there was no usable 20mm cannon. The United States did not have a relatively usable 20mm cannon until 44 years later.
"Da Da Da!" The US P-40 fighter planes were also firing continuously. Unfortunately, the maximum flight speed of the P-40 fighter was only 580 kilometers per hour, while the maximum flight speed of the German FW-190T could exceed 650 kilometers per hour; this made it very difficult for the US fighters to catch up with the German fighters. At the same time, it was not conducive to them to seize a favorable air combat position, which put the US fighters at a complete disadvantage.
Even if they occasionally hit the target, the German FW-190 was famous for its tough skin and thick flesh. If there was no continuous firepower, the FW-190T could easily escape or even kill.
The number of US fighters decreased sharply, from 2:1 to 3:1, and soon became 4:1. There were four or five German fighters chasing after each P-40 fighter. Who could withstand this?
Soon, more than 50 US P-40 fighters were wiped out, and the German fighters turned around to chase the B-25 bomber fleet that had not flown far.
"Oh my God!" The commander of the B-25 bomber formation was immediately caught in a dilemma. He did not expect that the performance of the German carrier-based aircraft would be so strong that it would completely crush their fighters. However, these large and bulky bombers had no speed, no maneuverability, and no firepower (four Browning 7mm machine guns were fixed on both sides of the fuselage, two were installed on the movable base in the nose, and two were installed in the back, tail and waist turrets). However, no matter how much firepower was installed on the bomber, without fighter escort, it would be like fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.
"Boom, boom, boom!" An FW-190T fighter lightly dodged the dense firepower of the bomber group and fired a round of shells at a B-25 bomber, making a row of bowl-sized holes on its fuselage. The bomber dragged a long black smoke and fell to the sea, splashing high water columns.
"Oh my God! What should I do?! If this goes on, we will be killed by them!" Some American pilots screamed in fear. Although they were all brave pilots, they would also be timid and afraid when they saw the friendly planes next to them being shot down one after another.
In just a moment, more than a dozen B-25 bombers were shot down. After all, these bombers had no maneuverability at all. They were just large targets moving at a constant speed. As long as they avoided their firepower network, they could easily shoot them down.
Finally, the bomber commander gave the order. "Drop all the bombs and get out of here!"
The remaining B-25 bombers hurriedly dropped all their bombs, but even so their flying speed could not exceed 450 kilometers per hour. It was simply a fantasy to escape the pursuit of the FW-190T.
"They are too fast, we can't get rid of them at all!" A US pilot shouted this sentence desperately. Soon, several shells broke the wings of his plane. The plane lost balance in an instant and fell to the sea. The crew members had to parachute to escape. But this is the vast ocean, more than 300 kilometers away from the US coastline, and even if they parachuted, their chances of survival were slim.