Chapter 818 German-Soviet War (113)

All the seaplanes sent out were shot down by German fighter planes, but before they were shot down, they sent back the terrible news that the number of German fighter planes exceeded 200.

"More than 200?" Commander Isakov could not help but frown deeply. So far, they have not been able to find out the specific performance of the German aircraft carriers, and they have no idea how many carrier-based aircraft a German aircraft carrier can carry. However, three aircraft carriers sent out 200 carrier-based aircraft, and he was somewhat suspicious whether the Germans had sent all the carrier-based aircraft that could take off.

200 carrier-based aircraft, can the anti-aircraft firepower of his fleet withstand it? ? Although he was not sure, he could not retreat, so he could only order the fleet to form an anti-aircraft formation, and the four Soviet-class battleships were also ready for air defense.

These Soviet-class battleships are copycat versions of the Yamato class, and their anti-aircraft firepower is naturally not much different from that of the Yamato class. The anti-aircraft weapons equipped include 45 triple-mounted 25mm anti-aircraft guns and 21 single-barreled 25mm anti-aircraft guns. In addition, there are 12 twin-mounted 127mm dual-purpose naval guns and 4 triple-mounted 155mm naval guns; as for anti-aircraft machine guns, there are only four 2mm anti-aircraft machine guns. Yannick didn't know what the four anti-aircraft machine guns were for. For a battleship with a displacement of more than 70,000 tons, the firepower of these four anti-aircraft machine guns could be completely ignored and had no effect on air strikes.

Because according to the actual combat experience of the Navy in World War II, anti-aircraft machine guns have no effect on propeller fighters; as for large-caliber anti-aircraft guns above 127mm, due to the very limited number of projectiles fired per unit time, the anti-aircraft combat effect is not satisfactory. Small and medium-caliber anti-aircraft guns above 20mm are the mainstay of air defense operations.

The Japanese Navy was also very bad at anti-aircraft operations, so a large number of 25mm single-barrel, triple-mounted anti-aircraft guns were deployed on the main naval ships above the light cruiser level. Unfortunately, they were seriously lacking or had no medium-range anti-aircraft firepower at all.

Moreover, these 25mm anti-aircraft guns themselves also had significant defects, such as the use of 15-round magazines for ammunition supply, which required manual magazine replacement, and excessive vibration during the actual shooting of the triple-mounted guns. At the same time, three magazines could cause failures and interruption of firepower when changing magazines. The actual operation was to fire two guns, one ready to fire, and then fire again when changing magazines, resulting in the combat rate of fire failing to meet the design requirements (the maximum theoretical rate of fire of the triple-mounted gun is 450 to 660 rounds per minute). Moreover, the design rate of fire is based on the condition that the loader is not injured. In fact, except for a small number of Yamato-class anti-aircraft guns equipped with metal shields to defend against muzzle storms, other temporary installations or remote gun positions did not have them, which could easily lead to huge casualties among loaders and operators, affecting anti-aircraft operations.

In contrast, the US Navy of the same period had its fleet air defense firepower arranged in layers. The long-range is the 5-inch anti-aircraft gun, that is, the 127mm anti-aircraft gun, which was later equipped with a VT fuse, that is, a radio proximity fuse, which doubled the air defense efficiency. The medium-range is the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun, which is divided into twin and quadruple mounts. Medium and large ships are even equipped with linkage with the electromechanical fire control director, which does not require manual operation to turn the direction angle and elevation angle, and only needs to stuff ammunition in. The short-range is the Oerlikon 20mm machine gun, equipped with a large-capacity drum with 70 rounds.

In this way, the full coverage of long, medium and short distances, after being intercepted by the outer carrier-based aircraft and the 5-inch gun equipped with the VT fuse, and then swept by the Bofors 40 gun with the highest shooting rate, there are very few who can enter the defense range of the 20 gun.

Under Yannick's operation, these problems and defects of the Yamato battleship's air defense firepower were inherited by the Soviet-class battleships one by one. But Commander Isakov didn't care about these. Now he could only move forward with gritted teeth, hoping to reach Adak Island as soon as possible and fight a decisive battle with the German fleet!

But they are still 400 kilometers away from Adak Island. It will take more than eight hours to arrive at the fleet's speed of 25 knots (3 kilometers per hour). And how many attacks will they have to endure from the Germans in these eight hours? At least ten or eight times? How many warships will be left when they arrive at Adak Island? !

Just as Commander Isakov sighed in his heart, countless black spots appeared in the distant sky.

"Prepare for battle!"

Although the battle order had been issued long ago, Commander Isakov emphasized it again.

Looking at the fleet approaching with a telescope, he saw that forty or fifty fighters in the fleet flying 25 kilometers away began to slowly descend in altitude.

"They are going to..." Seeing that these fighters had descended to an altitude of less than 100 meters from the sea surface, Commander Isakov instantly realized that they were going to launch torpedoes.

Torpedoes in World War II were relatively delicate, and there were strict requirements for the height, speed, and distance of torpedo planes. Dropping bombs too high or too fast would damage the torpedoes or even make them ineffective. Therefore, the bombing speed is generally below 350km/h and the height is below 100 meters. For example, the Japanese army dropped bombs at an altitude of less than 30 meters when attacking Pearl Harbor. In short, torpedo planes were very close to the sea surface when dropping bombs, and there was no minimum unlocking distance. The torpedoes would explode as soon as they touched the sea, which would damage the aircraft.

Seeing the torpedoes under the belly of the fighter planes fall into the water one after another, Commander Isakov's mouth twitched slightly. Even if the speed of these torpedoes can reach 40 knots (74 kilometers/hour) when launching torpedoes 25 kilometers away, it will take at least 20 minutes to arrive. How accurate can a torpedo that has sailed for 20 minutes be? Why are the Germans so confident? !

But he still ordered the fleet to turn to avoid these torpedoes.

The dozens of fighter jets dropped torpedoes and returned to high altitude. The remaining attack aircraft group divided into two groups and flew towards both sides of the fleet.

Is this to encircle our own side? !

Commander Isakov really couldn't understand the opponent's tactics, but these fighters were 20 kilometers away from them. Even if the anti-aircraft guns opened fire, it would just be a waste of ammunition.

For aircraft traveling at hundreds of kilometers per hour, the distance of 20 kilometers can be said to be fleeting. Soon these attack aircraft groups flew to both sides of the fleet, also lowered their altitude and dropped torpedoes.

In this way, the Germans had dropped nearly 150 torpedoes, and the fleet had already evaded them twice. Logically speaking, these torpedoes could not harm their fleet, but Commander Isakov felt increasingly uneasy. After all, the Germans are not fools. They would waste their torpedoes and leave their luck to God? Or do they have any means to ensure that the torpedo will hit the target?

"boom!"

Just when Commander Isakov was deeply anxious and unable to extricate himself, a violent explosion was heard in the distance.