Chapter 884： Lexington aircraft carrier

The advantage of a submarine is that it is underwater, not on the sea. Even if the submarine has more anti-aircraft guns, it will be beaten against the plane.

A 10,000-ton battleship, equipped with so many anti-aircraft guns and so thick armor, still has to kneel in front of a dive bomber, let alone a submarine.

The devil made his own right choice, but he couldn't fight or run?

It's a pity that when he ran like this, he was confirmed by others.

"They are going to dive! Where are our reinforcements?" Chris asked.

They no longer have anti-submarine weapons. Now, when the other party dives into the sea, they may run away at any time. As time goes by, the more they want to find it, the harder it is.

"Call Taylor, call Taylor, the target submarine has dived and is about to slip away!" Schroeder in the rear compartment shouted loudly to the radio.

Soon, an echo came from the radio: "Please keep searching, the Lexington has taken off to support the aircraft and will arrive soon!"

Because German submarines haunt the Pacific Ocean and threaten the U.S. hegemony in the Pacific, the United States has dispatched a large number of navies in an attempt to extract the German submarine under the sea.

At this time, the Lexington aircraft carrier formation happened to be sailing in the sea area near Chris, but only more than 100 nautical miles. After receiving the warning, the Lexington immediately began emergency operations.

The Lexington, an early American aircraft carrier, was similar to the British aircraft carrier and was converted from a battleship.

It started construction as a battlecruiser in January 1921, but according to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, the US Navy’s "Lexington"-class battlecruisers were all suspended, and the US Navy decided to make the most progressing "Lexington". The USS and "Saratoga" were converted into aircraft carriers CV-2 and CV-3.

It was launched in October 1925 and officially entered service in December 1927.

This is a large aircraft carrier with a straight-through deck, with a full load displacement of more than 36,000 tons, which is advanced in the entire world.

The 271-meter-long flight deck looks extremely wide. At this time, at the rear of the deck, SBD fearless dive bombers are quickly preparing for departure.

The biggest power of the aircraft carrier is the carrier-based aircraft, and the carrier-based aircraft needs to be replaced according to the mission.

For example, if it is an air defense mission, it needs fighters, an attack mission, and a bomber. Attacking surface fleets and attacking submarines are different bombs.

It is impossible to park all the aircraft on the deck, and it is even impossible to place the required bombs. In short, deck operations are a very serious and challenging subject. Only after years of operation can efficiency be improved.

Fortunately, there is no big problem now.

The US Navy originally carried out anti-submarine operations. On their decks, all dive bombers were placed, and the bombers mounted were all anti-submarine deep bombs.

As a professional bomber, the main armament of the Dreadnought aircraft is a blockbuster not exceeding 1,600 pounds hanging below the centerline of the fuselage and a 100-pound bomb or depth bomb under each wing. Now, all are mounted. All are depth charges.

Now, after receiving the news of the discovery of the submarine, they immediately dispatched.

"Headwind, full speed, ready to release the carrier aircraft!" Captain Sherman issued an order.

The huge warship drew an arc on the sea. The warship made a 30-degree turn, faced the wind, and began to accelerate.

In the middle of the starboard side of the hull, in the thick chimney, black smoke was constantly rising, and the boiler was burning violently. Five minutes later, the main engine reached the maximum power of 180,000 horsepower, and the battleship of more than 30,000 tons sprinted. 33 knots.

take off!

On the deck of the aircraft carrier, a dreadnought bomber accelerated forward against the shaky centerline of the deck.

The 1000-horsepower Wright XR-1820-32 "tornado" engine drives the three-blade variable-pitch propeller to produce maximum thrust. Under the headwind on the deck, it accelerates and accelerates swiftly toward the front, before reaching the deck. Foremost, the pilot pulled the control stick, and the bomber rose from the deck!

The big depth bomb under the belly of the plane looked extremely dazzling.

One, another, the Yorktown did not reserve, and all the 26 SBD bombers she carried were released!

No one knows that the conflict between the U.S. Navy and the navy of the island nation started from this incident. There was no deep hatred between the two parties. A small misunderstanding caused a huge conflict.

All this can only be attributed to God's arrangement.

When competing for the carrier-based bomber contract, Northrop aimed at the layout of the monoplane, believing that although this type of aircraft has poor low-speed capabilities, it is definitely the future trend.

As a result, they made a right bet.

The biggest advantage of a single wing is its fast flight speed. Even if it is a bomber, it can fly to a speed of 400 kilometers per hour. As an aviation weapon, it has always been developing higher and faster.

The fleet of Fearless bombers flew towards the target sea area quickly, and soon they merged with the solitary water reconnaissance plane.

"The goal is to disappear fifteen minutes ago. Even if they use the maximum underwater speed, they can only sail a few nautical miles. I suggest that there be a intensive bombing here." Chris was on the radio, and the incoming fleet got it. Contact.

The submarine is not fast underwater. According to their current knowledge, it is only five or six knots, so the other party must still be underwater here!

"Understand, all bombers pay attention, and drop 100-pound depth charges in sequence!"

Twenty-six bombers lined up in a large square formation in the air, with five in each row, and the long plane cruised high.

They flew smoothly over the target .

"First row, let go!"

"Second row, let go!"

Following the command of the lead plane, the bomber carried out a round of carpet covering bombing, successfully covering half of the sea!

Then, turn around in the airspace ahead and cover the other half of the airspace!

Generally speaking, when an airplane throws deep bombs, it's the kind of thing that you don't see the devil and don't hang the strings. You can only throw bombs after confirming that the opponent is underneath. Now, this kind of carpet-like covering throw is more like the practice of surface ships.

"Puff!" The first deep bomb fell into the water.

Waves of circular waves appeared on the sea, spreading outward. At the same time, the sound of splashing into the water was also spreading in all directions along with the spread of the waves. Sea water is a good medium for sound and can travel far.

For submarine soldiers, the most unwilling to hear is this kind of voice.