Canteen System Assistance Notes

Most major naval powers maintain training fleets composed of older vessels, and the UJN is no exception. These "academy ships" used for marine training are not part of the Combined Fleet, but rather are managed by the various naval academies and can be directly commanded by the Naval General Staff.

These ships basically have no missions - although training ships like Hiei are active on the front lines all year round, serving as valuable fast battleships, cooperating with the heavy cruiser fleet in fleet operations - and are maintained day and night by diligent naval cadets. Although they are very old, the condition of these ships is very good and they can be mobilized at any time.

Among them were not only veterans of the Japanese Navy, the Fuso and the Yamashiro, but also several older patrol ships with a displacement approaching 10,000 tons, as well as a number of coastal defense ships and torpedo boats. Considering the low intensity of this operation and the high operating costs of large warships, the proactive but limited Naval General Staff selected the vessels for this operation with the intention of conserving engine hours, reducing the life of the main guns, and conducting a sea-going artillery training exercise.

The Navy will select two armored cruisers from the cadets' ships in the mainland: the German-built Yakumo and the French-built Azuma, and pair them with a relatively new Chidori-class torpedo boat, Manazuru, and sail them to the East China Sea. They will then meet up with the Chinese fleet's armored cruiser Iwate, the ocean-going gunboats Hashidate and Uji, and the coastal gunboat Ataka to form a small squadron of three armored cruisers and four gunboats to jointly carry out this shore bombardment mission.

In this operation, the PLA airfield in Rizhao was an expansion and renovation of an existing Japanese Army airfield, so its location was already known to the Navy, eliminating the need for reconnaissance. Furthermore, once Rizhao Port came within the Navy's visual range, the azimuths of landmarks could be measured to determine the ships' own positions, allowing them to calculate the necessary parameters for bombarding the airfield.

The airport itself is located approximately 16 kilometers offshore in the Shanzi River region, protected by a small hill, making it an ideal location. Due to the draft constraints of ships, a naval bombardment could only be carried out from a fan-shaped area east of the airport, requiring an extremely long-range bombardment with a range of 21 to 25 kilometers.

Therefore, in this operation, the three modified first-class cruisers Iwate, Yakumo and Azuma will use the eight-point British Armstrong guns on their front and rear gun positions as the main output means to launch devastating picric acid shells at the target, while the densely packed six-point and three pairs of secondary guns on the three cruisers can complete the suppression of Rizhao Port and cooperate with the four gunboats to suppress the torpedo boats that may be dispatched by the Communist Army.

At the same time, considering that they had previously fought against the Eighth Route Army's air force on the Chinese mainland and suffered considerable losses, the navy also expected the enemy to generously withdraw shore-based air forces from the garrison forces in Haikou and the mainland, stationing them at the airfields in Weihaiwei and Jiaoaocheng. Two air combat squadrons consisting of 15 Type 96 carrier-based fighters and 21 Zero fighters would be responsible for providing direct air defense cover for the seven ships and intercepting any possible Communist harassment.

Not to mention that these warships are equipped with high-angle guns and anti-aircraft machine guns (referring to 7.7mm machine guns), which have the ability to protect themselves.

Now, it should be alright, right?

Although the three cruisers were old, they were still large ships with a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons, equipped with secondary main guns, and having undergone a "modernization reconstruction," they could naturally maneuver freely on the Chinese battlefield. However advanced the Communist army's land warfare skills were, they didn't have warships, did they? What was the maximum caliber of their artillery? How could the torpedo boats and fighter planes they might have penetrated the blockade of gunboats and direct-aircraft aircraft?

Above the ocean, whether it's the sea surface or the blue sky, it will always belong to the Imperial Navy!

-―--—-—-

Across the Seto Inland Sea, two warships with tall, three-furnace towers quickly finished their fires and prepared for launch. Driven by classic triple-engine engines, the confident sailors weighed anchor and set sail. The two forty-year-old ships plowed through the slightly murky waters, carrying a small, 700-ton torpedo boat, and began their journey toward their eastern neighbor.

In the sweltering heat of Qiongzhou City, a group of fighter planes sporting mottled green paint were loaded with undercarriage drop tanks by ground crew. According to the relocation plan, they would take off from Qiongzhou, transit through Shanghai's Shanghai airport, and then fly across nearly the entirety of China to Jiao'ao, where they would participate in the ensuing battle. This long and tedious journey wasn't a problem for the Zero fighters, known for their range, but it was excruciating for the pilots. To avoid potential embarrassment, the pilots lined up in front of the restroom, ready to relieve themselves beforehand.

At this point, a small-scale but high-level encore is about to be staged again on the North China war that seems to have just ended.

The other side of Zhang Hai is...

(Update)

Modern China's memory of the ocean is not very "romantic".

For many naval powers, the ocean is like a wide four-lane highway, representing free traffic and prosperous trade; however, for modern China, the ocean often means bad things.

Because, on the other side of the sea, the enemy may arrive at any time.

The Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Battle of Shanghai... Most of the invasions suffered by this semi-colonial and semi-feudal society came from the ocean; and after being forced to sign unequal treaties, the surging economic invasions also mostly came from the ocean.

The best way to stop an invasion from the sea was to build a navy of their own. However, from the Westernization Movement to the end of the Anti-Japanese War, neither the Qing Dynasty, the Beiyang government, nor the Republic of China had built a navy capable of carrying out basic coastal defense tasks.

Among these factors, there are subjective factors such as being constrained by psychological "pigtails" and the class represented by the rulers, as well as objective factors such as the long and expensive construction period of a "century-old navy" - so even the Communist Party, with its golden fingers, cannot maintain a navy of even the most basic scale near the Chinese coast:

Indeed, the Abe didn't even have a single battleship capable of matching the three patrol ships Yakumo, Azuma, and Iwate. Furthermore, if a naval battle truly unfolded, the few "Fellmier" (likely a mistranslation of a ship name) and MTB gunboats and torpedo boats in the hands of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army wouldn't even be enough to defeat the four IJN gunboats.

However, with the development of world aviation technology, another more cost-effective defense method has emerged: shore-based aviation.

The Eighth Route Army's navy is still in the form of small boats, and is not capable of having an independent aviation command organization, but the Eighth Route Army's "naval aviation" has already been planned and trained in advance under the air force system - even many of the main fighter planes currently used by the Eighth Route Army are real "saltwater planes."

In previous aviation deployments, the Eighth Route Army Air Force also employed a distinctly naval-style approach. Given the relative weakness of Japanese air power within the Great Wall and our near-absolute intelligence advantage, we were able to easily detect enemy aircraft movements and diversions, and determine the precise locations of high-value targets. This allowed the Eighth Route Army Air Force to often achieve tactical objectives of air control, bombing, and destruction through one or two raids on clusters of airfields and high-value targets.

In this situation, whether it was in interception operations such as the Yellow River Air Battle, or in the campaign of western Mengxi to sweep the transport trains of the 51st Division (formerly the 2nd Independent Mixed Division) along the railway, or in the battle of attacking the mechanized mixed brigade across thousands of miles in the anti-mopping-up campaign in central Hebei, the Eighth Route Army would often choose a method similar to the "full-deck attack", fighting in a larger formation, sacrificing a stable presence over the war zone in exchange for a decisive attack effect.

This type of tactic is not suitable for a long-lasting and large-scale battle like the Shanxi Campaign, but it is very suitable for the current situation where sea attacks and anti-ship operations need to be carried out.

To this end, the majority of the Eighth Route Army Air Force's F4Fs and nearly all of its SB2U and DB7 attack aircraft were transferred to Shandong Province before the campaign began, following instructions from the Central Military Commission. They were dispersed across multiple field airfields. During the Shanxi campaign, only a small number of F4Fs and 153s and 116s were deployed, tasked with carrying out tasks like battlefield air control and escorting precision-guided bomb carriers. This unusual absence didn't cause much trouble for the Army, which had long been accustomed to solving problems on its own. It did, however, lead to a few complaints from the soldiers, such as, "Why aren't those flying guys here often?"

These "flying guys" waited for the Japanese army in Shandong Province for nearly a whole month in vain!

"Okay, okay! Are the Japs coming?"

"Yes! According to the intelligence just released, the Japanese transferred 12 'Egg' fighter planes from Qiongzhou to the Magic City yesterday. They will probably take off soon and come to our side!" "As soon as the planes arrive, the Japanese will probably take action!"

The pilots flying the SB2U Guardian bombers were eager to take on the action. Their time in Shandong Province had been rather "boring." Their only task these days was helping the engineers maintain the oil-felt field airfield and working with the ground crew to maintain the aircraft. To guard against Japanese reconnaissance, they hadn't even dared to maintain their regular flight training.

"Did the intelligence tell us how many ships the Japs were coming?"

Iwate, who was docked at Jiao'ao, brought the Ataka and reunited with the Hashidate and Uji ships from the Magic City. They are now going out to sea for training every few days. I guess they are waiting for reinforcements from the mainland.

Although the Eighth Route Army's intelligence work against Japan was excellent, the radio silence commonly used by the LUN Navy still played a certain role in confidentiality. Up to now, the Eighth Route Army only knew that a reinforcement fleet would be sent from the mainland, but it did not know when the enemy would appear and in what lineup.

The pilots didn't seem too concerned about this situation. One said, "We'll know after we check the reconnaissance report... Speaking of which, this ship can cooperate with the Iwate."

I'm afraid it's just those outdated warships—I feel like I'm being underestimated!"

"Don't underestimate the enemy. During the previous exercises on the Yellow River, they were only targeting a target towed by a 25-ton barge. The Iwate, like the Izumo, weighs just over 9,000 tons, making it a large ship."

"Where's the Izumo?" someone asked. This warship, which had bombarded Shanghai during the Battle of Shanghai, was still attracting considerable attention. "The Japanese navy's flagship in China, isn't it coming back this time?"

"It's said that Yaowan was hit by an American mine in the Philippines and was severely damaged. It needs to be towed back to the shipyard for overhaul."

"That's a shame..." someone sighed. He turned to look at the semi-armor-piercing bombs being pushed back into the underground ammunition depot by the ground crew and shook his head. "It's a pity that we didn't get to fight this guy."

"I'd rather you didn't have this opportunity to 'get rid of your regrets'."

As he spoke, a tall man walked over and said, "If the Izumo can't be repaired, the Japanese will have one less cruiser, and the Chinese people will suffer less." "Coach Zhao!"

"Hey, why are you being so distant?" Zhao Qun, the instructor of the attack aircraft group, waved his hand and pulled chocolate bars from his cloth bag, distributing them to the pilots gathered in the briefing room. "Here, try some! I just got some peanut chocolate bars from the logistics department."

"Thank you, instructor."

Everyone took the chocolates. Some put them in their pockets, while others peeled off the wrappers and took a bite with the caramel peanut chocolate bar. Then, the buyer frowned. "Comrades," Zhao Qun, seeing the atmosphere was good, sat down and spoke to the pilots in the front and back seats of the bomber.

"The combat plan we submitted to intercept the Zero fighter transfer formation and bomb the airport when the Japanese army landed was rejected." Ah, this... Many people's upper bodies were half straightened, and their postures were pulled down.

Earlier, the Guardian attack aircraft group, which was almost suffocating, pulled together the "Wildcats" responsible for air control and submitted a combat plan. In this plan,

The Eighth Route Army prepared to use radar early warning to intercept the Zero fighters that were transferred to the battlefield, and launched a preemptive strike.

The enemy bombed the Jiaoao Cangkou Airport in order to gain a greater combat advantage while the enemy aircraft were running low on fuel and to destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible on the ground.

The General Staff believed that the distance from Shanghai to Jiaozhou was only over 600 kilometers, making it unlikely that the Japanese Zero fighters would run out of fuel. Furthermore, the Japanese Navy was likely to launch fighters in advance to meet the relocating enemy aircraft. At this predictable weak link, the enemy's vigilance was likely to be at its highest. If they were suddenly attacked by our forces, even if the Zero fighters didn't engage, they would likely continue northward, heading for Weihaiwei or Yantai for an emergency landing.

"Not only would we fail to destroy the enemy's effective forces, but the suddenness of subsequent battles would also be weakened, and the Japanese would be on guard against us," Zhao Qun explained. "So the General Staff rejected our plan."

"I see, that does make sense..."

Despite their reluctance, most pilots were sensible. After the instructor's explanation, they largely agreed with the idea, though regrettable. "However, resolving some of the problems in the air on the ground is a very good idea."

Instructor Zhao was silent for a moment, then turned to the large map of the Jiaozhou Bay area on the wall and said, "The chief of staff said that besides us, the artillery can also do this job."

Chapter 634: Enemy planes, right above, descending straight down!

Colonel Matsumoto Takeshi put down the telescope, his face not relaxed.

This is already the third day, and the mission is still not completed.

The flagship of this operation, the Iwate, formed a single-column formation with the patrol ships Yakumo and Azuma, allowing for easy bombardment. Escorted by four gunboats, they were cruising the Yellow Sea approximately 10 nautical miles off Rizhao, gradually closing in on their target. Since departing Jiao'ao Harbor and forming a task force with the mainland dispatch fleet in the Yellow Sea, the Iwate had temporarily assumed the role of flagship of this squadron. Captain Matsumoto Takeshi was quickly met by the fleet commander, Vice Admiral Kawase Shiro, who had arrived in a small boat from the Yakumo. He had the sailors raise the flagship's command flag, initiating the operation.

With Lord Kawase, the former commander of the 3rd Expeditionary Fleet, once again acting as Feng Fu, re-boarding the former 3rd Expeditionary Fleet flagship, everyone felt a surge of confidence. For a moment, the sailors seemed to have returned to the carefree, unbridled days of sailing along the Chinese coast six months earlier. After all, this was supposed to be a simple mission: approach the coast under the protection of direct-fire aircraft, suppress the coastal defenses, bombard the airfield with modified 8-hour Armstrong guns... and finally, depart in triumph—just like the old Expeditionary Fleet's simple mission, everyone thought.

But even before the battle began, misfortune and accidents shrouded the navy.

A few days earlier, twelve Zero-21 fighters, having made the long journey from Qiongzhou, landed safely at Jiao'ao Cangkou Airfield, supported by the Type 96 carrier-based fighter. The Communist interception the Navy had anticipated did not occur, and the carrier-based aircraft, alternating between them, remained vigilant but encountered no enemy. But that evening, after all the aircraft had landed safely and parked in their positions, as the pilots relaxed and feasted on red bean rice mixed with sugar and fried chicken nuggets, a thunderous boom like muffled thunder was heard from 11 kilometers away, across Jiaozhou Bay.

"What's that?" Someone stood up and looked towards the northwest. Then, a dense hail of shells and bullets came one after another.

The enemy's artillery fire was clearly coming from across the sea. The first volley was not particularly accurate, hitting the runway, but the second and third volleys began to cover the Zero fighters parked in the open-air stands one by one. Over three hours of shells fell in such a dense barrage that it seemed as if all twelve Zero fighters were destroyed in an instant.

Then, just as the Sea Eagles bravely rushed towards the plane, intending to rescue the Emperor's assets, the incoming shells began to explode in the air, pouring down a dense rain of steel arrows, spreading the ground crew and brave pilots who had arrived early into a single layer, and evenly spreading the ground, painting a seductive bloody picture.

Finally, after counting, only two of the 12 Zero fighters successfully took off and escaped the bombardment. The other eight were completely destroyed. Although two were intact, their flight crews were shattered and could not be used. The Navy and the Army were furious, blaming them for not defeating the Communist Army and promptly informing the Navy that the controlled area had retreated across the Dagu River.

The bombardment that night came from the Qingyun Palace area on the other side of Cangkou, where

According to the army, it still belongs to the "Imperial Army Control Area".

As for the spies hiding in the city and providing "fire observation" for the Communist army's artillery bombardment, they escaped during the city-wide search - the army did catch two people with Qingdao Municipal Government ID cards, handed them over to the navy, and insisted that they were the ones who did it, believe it or not.

As for going out of the city and across the river to counterattack and destroy the Communist artillery positions? Navy idiots, what nonsense are you talking about?

This incident reduced the number of fighters that could be used for direct cover to 26, of which only 11 were the latest Zero fighters. It also forced the navy to move the fighters' home ports to the relatively safe Weihaiwei and Yantai, and made it almost impossible for the navy's troops in Shandong to launch air operations against the airport - this also forced the entire formation to be more cautious in its combat operations.

This should have been the case, but the formation commander, Lieutenant General Shiro Kawase, did not think so.

Because Rizhao's Shanzihe Airport was far from the coast, even the Armstrong guns, modified for gun elevation, needed to approach within three nautical miles of the shore before they could fire. Therefore, the fleet needed to suppress the Communist coastal defense firepower deployed around Rizhao Port. To suppress the coastal defense firepower, they first had to detect the location of the coastal defense batteries.

Vice Admiral Shiro Kawase used a tactic that worked in the China Expedition Fleet: he first sent the Manazuru, the fastest and shallowest ship in the formation, to cruise and conduct reconnaissance close to the shore, while the remaining ships were on standby in the open sea; at the same time, he ordered the Yakumo to dispatch crew members and marines, carry radios and go ashore in a small boat to conduct infiltration and reconnaissance.

This is a tactic that the China Fleet has used in South China, Central China and even on the Yangtze River. It has worked every time and is very useful.

The midshipmen and marines, full of naval spirit, grabbed their "Type" rifles from the ship's arsenal and, shouting their slogans, began rowing toward the shore. Manazuru also increased its speed, zigzagging closer to the coast to disrupt the artillery fire. She prepared to fire her 120mm guns, preparing for a combined visual and firepower reconnaissance.

The result… the Marines, having barely escaped visual contact, were snared by the Eighth Route Army. Under intense mortar fire, the retreating boats quickly exploded and caught fire. Had the Manazuru not abandoned its mission in time, rushed over to launch the small launches, and called in a salvo of fire from the fleet, creating a fire barrier for the Marines, half the remaining men would likely have been unable to escape. The first day's shore bombardment mission, unsurprisingly, was forgotten during the "Shun Dingli rescue of the reconnaissance team."

"Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, I suggest that we organize a fire reconnaissance tomorrow. Don't let the soldiers take such risks again." After sending off the Zero fighter who was in charge of direct protection that day, Colonel Matsumoto Takeshi suggested.

The next day, the four escorting boats formed a single-column bombardment formation and began a barrage of 120mm guns toward Rizhao Harbor. As expected, the Communist shore artillery finally began to retaliate against the approaching small ships—approximately three pairs of shells rained down like raindrops. The Manazuru, leading the single-column bombardment, was particularly targeted by the Communists. Huge columns of water rose around her less than a thousand-ton frame, and even with her zigzag evasive maneuver, she was hit by a shell.

Frightened by the counterattack, Manazuru was forced to create a smoke screen and withdraw from the bombardment formation. The Iwate, Yakumo, and Azuma, positioned in the rear, then launched a fierce artillery barrage at the exposed Communist troops, but this was clearly ineffective. Soon, after the smoke cleared, the remaining shore fire resumed, hitting the Hashidate with another round. The Hashidate had come too close during the bombardment, and once again became a target of concentrated fire.

The Zeros conducting direct air cover that day did attempt to counterattack targets within the harbor, but the Communists had pre-emptively equipped themselves with anti-aircraft guns (Bofors) and .50mm anti-aircraft machine guns. The dense volleys of bullets kept the Zeros from flying low, forcing them to fire a few token rounds before retreating. That night, the Zero pilots also brought back a crucial piece of information: after much of the camouflage had been blown away, the pilots discovered that the Communist gun emplacements were all semi-buried concrete structures.

Considering that it was able to maintain its structural integrity after being bombarded by a typical round from the Armstrong Cannon, I'm afraid the cement must contain a lot of steel!

———-——-

"Damn it! When did these Communist troops become so rich?" Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Shiro Kawase held up a telescope, gazing at the still-resisting Rizhao Port. He was unusually furious. "The Communists only have a small port, and yet, in just a few months, they've built so many coastal defenses, using such expensive steel and cement!"

On the third day, the squadron had to repeat the seemingly ineffective bombardment, hoping that the armor-piercing shells of the 203mm gun could achieve a direct hit on a bunker - but how easy was that?

"Your Excellency, yesterday's damage report on the Hashidate and Chizuru also mentioned that the Communist shells were likely some type of three-hour shells, so the damage to both ships was not serious, only minor damage," Colonel Matsumoto Takeshi reported, his head bowed. "However, the shells used by the Communists were all semi-armor-piercing shells designed for ship targets, which shows that the enemy was well prepared."

"We've already made preparations, but we still have to complete the attack! Just a bombardment mission..."

Commander Kawase frowned, his mouth opened wide as the bells inside the ship rang.

As another round of deafening artillery fire erupted rapidly in the ship's corridor, he shouted in the smoke-shrouded bridge: "So we must take advantage of the time when the shore artillery is suppressed and complete the bombardment in one go!

"Navy soldiers, how can you retreat just like that?"

"Right 15, second battle speed!" He passed over Captain Matsumoto Takeshi and gave orders to the Iwate and the remaining ships, "Yakumo, Azuma, maintain formation and follow this ship!"

"Hey! Our ship! Right green 15, second battle speed!" The messenger on the bridge chanted into the brass tube in a rhythmic voice, "Light signal! Yakumo, Azuma! Maintain formation and follow our ship forward - one" "The secondary guns of the three ships, along with the rest of the ships, maintain suppression of the opposite shore; all main guns, once all ships are within range, change the intended target to 'A' and fire immediately when ready!"

"Hey! Main gun, stop firing—change target to 'A'—"

As the bombardment command post roughly calculated the various parameters, the three cruisers' 8:00 Armstrong main guns stopped firing and began to slowly rotate, raising their muzzles to almost their maximum elevation angle. Since they could not visually observe the target at this time, they had to rely on map information for "blind fire." Furthermore, because the "Izumo" capable of carrying seaplanes was not present, and the pilots of the Type 96 carrier-based fighters and Zeros overhead had not learned "impact observation," even observation fire was impossible for this bombardment.

But at least the target is something as big as an airport...

But as if it were just what you fear, it almost came true. When misfortune and accident enveloped the entire fleet, before the main guns' warning bells rang again, Captain Matsumoto Takeshi on the Iwate heard the rapid ringing of the bells and the shrill cry of Zhang Yuan from the brass tubes:

"Enemy plane! Enemy plane!

"Enemy plane, right up, straight down!"

Chapter 635: Under the Aluminum Wings, Flowing Fire Across the Sky

It is actually very difficult to carry out a successful anti-ship air attack.

Long distances, poor maintenance, poor communications, low visibility weather, poor coordination, or simply a leader flying in the wrong place could ruin a precious attack opportunity. However, none of these existed in this battle!

The Japanese Navy, intending to bombard the shore, ventured into the 5-kilometer coastal area of ​​the coastline. The three old and huge ships could be easily spotted with the naked eye, and there was no need to distinguish between friend or foe or identify the type of ship. Although the sky was not cloudless, there were no rain clouds at low altitude to block the view. The attack aircraft, which had been maintained for nearly a month after the transfer, had sufficient spare parts and were fully equipped and manned. Although the fighter jets responsible for cover had participated in two interceptions of the Kwantung Army's aviation before, they could now spare as many as two squadrons.

Backed by powerful onboard radio systems and air-to-ground communications, a naval-based attack wave consisting of 24 SB2Us, 12 DB7s, and 24 Wildcats descended upon the Japanese fleet! "Twelve enemy planes, three thousand to the right, straight down!!!"

Because ten valuable Zeros had been destroyed by ground bombardment, and the direct cover aircraft had been deployed for two consecutive days, their serviceability had decreased, resulting in only four Zeros and six Type 96 carrier-based fighters providing direct cover over the fleet today. These few direct cover aircraft were almost immediately entangled by the F4Fs that flew in from both high and medium altitudes.

Despite this numerical advantage, the Zero fighters were still able to maneuver around thanks to their excellent maneuverability, but the unfortunate Type 96 carrier-based fighters had just made contact with the Wildcats when one of them fell from the sky in flames. As the Wildcats, having completed their first dive, began to climb back to the battlefield, the Japanese defensive circle began to become more chaotic.

A few minutes later, the thin direct air defense circle was blown open by the Eighth Route Army's attack wave. The DB7 attack aircraft, which began to dive shallowly from the middle altitude, broke into a classic two-plane formation and began to enter the route according to the predetermined attack target.

"Left 30, maximum speed! All ships, prepare for air defense operations—"

Aboard the Japanese flagship, Iwate, bells rang and flutes blared, alerting everyone in the small fleet to the threat from the air. The boiler room increased the coal supply and raised the flow restrictions on the steam valves, intent on accelerating these coal-burning vessels as quickly as possible. On deck, helmeted men shouted slogans as they rushed toward the high-angle guns covering the deck.

虽然是老舰，但是磐手等数舰还是有高炮的。76毫米、25毫米、13.2毫米、7.7毫米的对空枪炮均匀地分布在7舰上，就是这个数量有点不够--经过防空改造的磐手号拥有虽说拥有舰队内最强的防空火力，但也就是3门中线布置的三年式8厘米高角炮（口径76毫米)和2蜓布置在舰桥耳台上的1.2毫米高射机枪。而其余副炮、小型舰艇的主炮坊无高平两用设计，是彻头彻尾的对海速射炮。

Even worse, even the Yakumo and Azuma, which hadn't been modified yet, only had one of the Type 300's large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, which used manual screws to trigger a timed detonation. How could such firepower withstand the first wave of genuine attack aircraft?

The seven warships abandoned their original mission of bombarding the airfield and, in an effort to form a circular anti-aircraft formation as quickly as possible, steamed toward the open sea, seeking greater evasive space. However, aside from the Manazuru, which boasted the speed of a torpedo boat, the remaining ships were simply too slow, and the three coal-fired patrol ships couldn't heat up their boilers any faster. Immediately, the DB7s, now split into two-plane attack formations, broke through the desperate attempts of the intercepting direct-fire aircraft and descended upon the slow-moving vessels!

Right in front of everyone, these twin-engine attack planes shot out flames from under their wings, and a series of rockets with white smoke and trailing flames flew over - no bombs, no torpedoes, the first wave of the Japanese attack was met by the "Hyperbol 127" launched by DB7s!

The D87 is not a dive attack aircraft. Its chances of hitting ships with a glide bombing run are quite worrying, and the risk factor of flat-masted bombing is too high. Therefore, the first round of weapons selected by the Eighth Route Army Air Force is the large-caliber aerial rocket that has been tested by history. The "Hangjian 127" uses a solid grain formula from the late 70s and current American casting equipment. It has an energy content and specific impulse close to that of the "AIM-7M" air-to-air missile grain.

It also has an accuracy and warhead quality far exceeding all current aviation rockets.