"Send a telegram to the 'Essex', telling them that the Germans have sent fighter planes to attack us. We urgently need the air defense cover of fighter jets!" Admiral Hasben Kimmel looked serious.
"Your Excellency, the Germans only sent over a hundred planes to attack us. With our anti-aircraft firepower, we should be able to withstand them. After all, among the over one hundred planes, the ones that really pose a threat to our armament There should be only about half of the dive bombers and torpedo attack aircraft." Major General Keweier said.
All warships of the U.S. Navy are equipped with a large amount of anti-aircraft firepower. Especially the "Montana-class" battleships and the "Iowa-class" battleships, the number of anti-aircraft guns is as high as dozens. This can be regarded as being armed and no different from a hedgehog. It is undoubtedly very difficult for idle enemies to threaten them.
"Hmph! Will the Germans let us go? That's impossible. The batch of planes they sent is only a part of it. I'm sure there will be more German planes soon!" Ha Admiral Siben Kimmel said.
Major General Keweier nodded, he also wanted to understand the question. The German Navy will never let go of this opportunity to eliminate the US Navy's capital ship formation in one fell swoop. Therefore, the German Navy will definitely send a large number of fighters to attack them. These more than one hundred fighters are just appetizers. The real big dish is yet to come.
The battleship 'Montana' once again sent a telegram to the aircraft carrier 'Essex'. It's just that the US Navy's aircraft carrier formation is still in radio silence at the moment, and even if it received the telegram, it did not respond to them.
In fact, just after dawn, the US Navy's aircraft carrier formation had already taken off its carrier-based aircraft.
On the four "Essex-class" aircraft carriers of the US Navy's 1st aircraft carrier formation, 18 F4U fighter jets took off from each aircraft carrier to support the capital ship formation and provide them with air defense cover.
The other fighter jets are also waiting seriously and can take off at any time.
When the telegram from the "Montana" was received, the 72 F4U fighter jets that took off had completed their formation and flew to the capital ship formation.
"Your Excellency, Commander, a telegram from the capital ship formation. Their air search radar has detected the German fleet. Although the fleet is not large, there are only more than a hundred fighters. But, Haas General Ben Kimmel is worried that this is just the vanguard of the Germans, and the Germans will definitely take off more fighter planes to attack them." Lieutenant General Halsey said.
Admiral Nimitz nodded: "The Germans should not let go of this opportunity to severely damage or even wipe out our capital ship formation. Therefore, they will definitely seize this opportunity and do their best."
"So, general, do we need to take off more carrier-based aircraft to reinforce the capital ship formation?" Lieutenant General Halsey asked.
Admiral Nimitz thought for a while, then shook his head: "Our real enemy hasn't shown up yet, so we can't dispatch our main force so quickly. There are 72 F4U fighter jets to reinforce them in the battleship formation. That's enough. Besides, the capital ships and the escorting battleships all have dense anti-aircraft firepower. Even if the Germans dispatch a large number of aircraft groups, they can resist one or two. We need to find the Germans at this time The aircraft carrier formation, and then attack, sink their aircraft carrier, this is the key!"
When the capital ship formation did not complete the scheduled mission, Admiral Nimitz could only find a way to win the naval battle by sinking the German Navy's aircraft carrier formation. Only in this way can the US fleet have a chance to turn defeat into victory.
"Yes, Your Excellency Commander." Lieutenant General Halsey nodded. The capital ship formation has strong anti-aircraft firepower, even if the German navy launches a fierce attack, it may not be able to sink it. There is indeed no need to waste a large number of carrier-based aircraft in the aircraft carrier formation.
If they really want to win this naval battle, the German Navy's aircraft carrier is their biggest enemy.
"Send more aircraft and seaplanes to search for the location of the German aircraft carrier. Other carrier-based aircraft are also ready. Once the German aircraft carrier is discovered, attack immediately!" Admiral Nimitz ordered.
"Yes, Your Excellency Commander." Lieutenant General Halsey replied.
At this moment, in the sky, the F4U fighter jets of the US Navy are rushing towards the capital ship formation of the US fleet. Seventy-two F4U fighter jets, flying at high altitude. Their speed was kept above 600 kilometers.
F4U fighter, code-named "Pirate", is a fighter that the U.S. Navy has high hopes for against the advanced carrier-based fighters of the German Navy. The maximum speed can reach 640 kilometers without being scared to death, and even when diving, the limit speed can be increased to 710 kilometers. Coupled with the powerful firepower of six 12.7mm machine guns, this fighter is very suitable for air combat. Of course, this refers to air battles between fighter jets. If you want to deal with bombers, especially large bombers, the power of the 12.7mm aviation machine gun is still a little weak, not as easy to use as a machine gun. However, the advantage of the aviation machine gun is that it has a large ammunition load and can continue to attack. Unlike machine guns, which carry less ammunition, you have to save every time you fire. Otherwise, if the shells run out, you can't drive the plane to hit the enemy's plane, right?
The performance of the F4U fighter is even completely comparable to that of the German Navy's carrier-based BF-109 fighter. However, if compared with the carrier-based FW-190 fighter, there are still some gaps. However, the gap is not huge. This also means that the U.S. Navy's carrier-based aircraft pilots are no longer helpless when facing the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft.
With the eager expectation of the U.S. Navy, 72 "Pirate" fighter jets rushed to the battlefield. These pilots are also elites selected from the US Navy carrier-based aircraft pilots. They also hope to defeat the German navy in one fell swoop in the naval battle and achieve brilliant results.
"General, the air search radar has detected a group of fighters coming towards us from the west. That should be our carrier-based fighter." Rear Admiral Cowell said.
Admiral Hasben Kimmel couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after hearing the news. The arrival of their own carrier-based aircraft will make their pressure relatively less. Coupled with the anti-aircraft firepower on the battleship, it should be no problem at all to resist the attack of the German Navy's fighter planes.
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