Chapter 2700 Expect the enemy to be lenient 1
Of course, the specific aviation tactics are formulated by professional aviation personnel. For example, Major General Mitchell, who had killed the Japanese attack ship with Su Xiong before. Yes, you read that right, this guy became a major general after fighting a war. Now his aircraft carrier, the Constellation, has also become the flagship of the US Navy aircraft carrier team.
"In order to ensure that carrier-based pilots have sufficient rest time and to ensure that every warship pilot can receive the baptism of war, I think that after entering the war zone, five aircraft carriers take turns to perform air alert tasks, and each aircraft carrier performs for half a day." Mitchell said.
"This is OK. After entering the war zone, the Constellation will be the first day, followed by the Independence, Zeppelin, Langley and Assaulter." Old Fletcher said solemnly. "I repeat the battlefield discipline again. Unless I can confirm that I encounter a Japanese warship, all aircraft responsible for reconnaissance shall not actively report to the fleet! The aircraft carrier detachment will not actively contact you except for navigation information." It seems that the Japanese's performance in communication and radio in the last war made the American general remember it deeply!
"Add to add a little more, if you encounter any unidentified aircraft, the pilot can directly choose to shoot down without reporting." Mitchell added.
"Okay, this can be implemented." After only less than half a minute of consideration, Fletcher, the old man agreed with this obviously radical approach.
"Now we should think about what we should do after entering the Taragan Island area." Logan said as he distributed some documents to several officers present.
"If our time and range estimates are accurate, then we should enter the assault distance of 100 nautical miles at around 7 o'clock in the afternoon, and then the first battleship team will use 5 hours to arrive at Dalagen Island! That is to say, the attack will be launched in the early morning, and before the fleet launches an attack, we need to send reconnaissance aircraft to reconnaissance the situation on the island." Logan said.
"We have already thought about this issue. Reconnaissance is divided into two types, namely visual reconnaissance and electromagnetic reconnaissance. We will use Japanese painted aircraft to perform this mission. In order to prevent being shot down by our own firepower, we will add special identification marks. Visual reconnaissance is naturally to determine the port ships and infrastructure conditions, while radio reconnaissance is to determine the surrounding Japanese military forces and communications. We will accurately locate each radio release point and evaluate the telegram content." Mitchell said.
"If I remember correctly, in the Taragen Island War Zone, Japan has at least one seaplane squadron and three airports, and there are a large number of aircraft in these airports?" Logan asked.
"Yes, the main mission of the seaplane squadron is anti-submarine. The Japanese obviously know the importance of this place, so they specially deployed aviation anti-submarine forces. As for the aircraft from other airports, most of these aircraft seem to belong to the reserve aviation team. Because there is more oil here, the Japanese chose to arrange some reserve training units nearby. The combat effectiveness is very limited." Mitchell said.
"It seems that this word is best not to appear in the battle plan. Since the Japanese will choose to deploy seaplanes for anti-submarine, the aircraft in these airports may also be regular combat troops, such as the squadrons that were crippled on the front line retreated and supplemented. We cannot take these forces lightly." Logan was a little dissatisfied with Mitchell's explanation. "Can we kill these airports with naval guns?" Logan asked then.
"Impossible, these airports were not deployed on Taragan Island, but on Kalimantan Island to the north, which had obviously exceeded the range of naval guns. In this plan, the carrier-based aircraft troops may not perform ground attack missions. On the one hand, it is because of limited output, and on the other hand, it is because time is not allowed. We will only stay on the battlefield for less than one day, and we will evacuate the next morning. If we consider sending bombers to attack, it will take at least 4 to 5 hours to delay." Mitchell said.
"If we can't destroy it, we have to consider the other party's revenge. By day, we need to send fighter troops to cover the evacuation of the First Battleship Detachment from Taragan Island." Logan said. "The fighter jets of the two aircraft carriers should be enough, right?"
"The problem should not be big. Our battle time is about 3 to 4 hours. After all the high-explosive bombs are exhausted, the fleet will evacuate. Before dawn, we can walk 60 to 70 nautical miles. Even if the dawn starts to take off, it will be difficult for the other party to find us. The fighter jets of 2 aircraft carriers can provide at least 70. As long as we can stare at the torpedo planes, even if there are bombers to attack the battleship, there will not be much damage." Mitchell said.
"That's good. It seems that our plan is perfect. If it is not discovered by the Japanese army, we will complete the task smoothly. But you should be very clear that we have to walk thousands of kilometers, and nearly one-third of the voyages are sailing within Japan's control, especially the Sulawesi Sea, which is a key controlled area of Japan. Even if we arrange sailing at night as much as possible and try our best to control all ships we encounter, what should we do if we are discovered and the Japanese fleet follows us?" Logan asked.
"Their fleet has not yet completed preparations. And even if they come to intercept, they are definitely not our opponents. They are not as good as the main ships and auxiliary warships." Old Fletcher said.
"But if the God of War did not stand on our side this time, would it be a bit unlucky in time? It was the worst situation we set in the plan. We covered the retreat of the First Battleship Detachment, and at this time, the Japanese battleships and aircraft carriers launched an attack on our aircraft carrier detachment and the Second Battleship Detachment." Logan asked.
When Logan asked this question, the Americans tended to avoid it because they did not believe that as God's elect, they would be so sad. However, war is war, and any hidden dangers may be likely to be transformed into reality on the battlefield. Therefore, the so-called lenient enemy means this. If this happens, even the US Navy, which has the advantage of total strength, will be at a disadvantage due to the dispersion of troops. Is naval warfare? Everyone knows that sometimes half an hour is decisive. In the Battle of New Ireland, it doesn't take long for Su Xiong's fleet to steal the King Kong-class battlecruiser or the Japanese's final counterattack...
Chapter completed!