Chapter 153 The Fifth Fleet Collapses

Xie Huaqiang fired a string of bullets, and the Japanese fighter plane in front, which had been fleeing for a long time and whose engine had now stalled, exploded with a bang.

Seeing the enemy plane fall apart in the air, with no Japanese pilot parachuting out, Xie Huaqiang was satisfied and made a beautiful turn in the air.

Wagging his wings, he proudly headed towards the rest of the squadron. He could hear from his headset that the entire squadron was engaged in a fierce battle with the Japanese aircraft.

Commander of the Humen Fortress, Taichi Shiraishi, was running laboriously on the road. During his morning exercise, his footsteps were light, and he didn't feel any fatigue.

Now, the road was still the same road, and the air was only filled with the smell of gunpowder, but it made him feel heavy-footed, and this short distance left him panting.

His adjutant, Kaito Numata, who was running alongside him, was in slightly better shape at the moment, but he had already seen the state of the Weiyuan Fort: the entire Weiyuan Fort had now become a sea of fire.

These Japanese soldiers could see from a distance that the cannons on the fort had fallen. Commander Shiraishi's fatigue was more mental than physical.

He saw that the Weiyuan Fort and the Shajiao Fort had all been engulfed in flames, clearly destroyed by the attacking bomber squadron.

When Lin Fan was piloting the bomber and diving to bomb the Weiyuan Fort, under his command, three of the four eight-hundred-kilogram bombs he dropped hit the target.

The subsequent bomber squadron that followed up only took one round of bombing to destroy the Weiyuan Fort. Next, Lin Fan led his team of twelve bombers to bomb the Shajiao Fort and the Zhenyuan Fort as well.

From the beginning of the bombing until now, the Japanese anti-aircraft fire on the Humen Fortress had not fired a single shot, completely lacking the power to resist.

Commander Shiraishi finally stopped. He had already seen that his headquarters had collapsed, and he no longer needed to rush in to command.

At this moment, the several forts of the entire Humen Fortress were shrouded in smoke, with no retaliation and no resistance.

Commander Shiraishi muttered to himself, "It's over! It's over!"

He was thinking about the Fifth Naval Fleet parked not far away. The squadron that attacked today was so fierce that the forts of the Humen Fortress did not even have the power to fight back.

They were completely paralyzed before they could even react, and the Fifth Naval Fleet's fate would not be much better.

His thinking was correct, but the Japanese Fifth Naval Fleet was much more tenacious than his fortress.

Even now, there was still anti-aircraft fire from the warships, and planes were trying to take off forcibly.

The main force of the Second Air Battle Group of the Japanese Fifth Naval Fleet was the aircraft carriers *Soryu* and *Ryujo*.

Construction of the aircraft carrier *Soryu* began on November 20, 1934, and was completed on December 29, 1937.

This was one of the most advanced warships in service in the Japanese Navy. The ship had a standard displacement of 15,900 tons, a full length of 227.5 meters, a width of 21.24 meters, a draft of 2.5 meters, and a depth of 20.4 meters.

The power plant consisted of four steam turbines, eight main boilers, an output of 152,000 horsepower, four propellers, and a maximum speed of 34.5 knots per hour. The range (at an economical speed of 18 knots) was 7,680 nautical miles.

The crew consisted of 1,100 people. The ship was equipped with six twin-mounted 127 mm dual-purpose guns and fourteen twin-mounted 25 mm anti-aircraft guns.

The ship could carry approximately seventy fighters, attack aircraft, bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft.

The commander of the aircraft carrier *Soryu*, Chihaya Hyakutai, ordered the ship's anti-aircraft fire to be opened at the first moment of the attack. His warship had only been successfully built last year.

At this time, the Japanese had paid more attention to the combat capabilities of aircraft, so the entire warship had twenty twin-mounted anti-aircraft guns, a total of forty anti-aircraft guns.

So many anti-aircraft guns firing into the air greatly deterred the Special Forces Brigade's low-altitude bombing of the *Soryu*. Mimaki Shijuroku was a gunner of the 25 mm anti-aircraft gun on the *Soryu*.

He had rushed to his post after hearing the broadcast on the warship. When he rushed to his post, the bombers in the air were already diving towards the *Soryu*.

The entire aircraft carrier *Soryu* was in a state of panic. All the Japanese soldiers on the deck were shouting loudly, but in the huge sound of the ship's guns and the roar of the fighter engines, it was impossible to hear what they were shouting.

Although Mimaki Shijuroku could not hear what those Japanese soldiers were shouting, he guessed that they were reminding the anti-aircraft guns to fire quickly.

Although the ship's anti-aircraft guns were already firing at this time, most of the anti-aircraft guns were still silent. The gunners were still running hard, trying to get to their posts.

Sergeant Mimaki Shijuroku did not dare to hesitate any longer. He got to his post and urged the loaders to load ammunition. Due to the sudden incident, although he was in position, the other Japanese soldiers at this gun position had not yet arrived.

Having just climbed onto the gun position, Mimaki Shijuroku had to start loading shells himself. His twin-mounted 25 mm anti-aircraft gun could load ten magazines at a time, and each magazine contained five shells.

Climbing back onto the gun position, Mimaki Shijuroku tried hard to raise the angle of the muzzle towards the sky, trying to track the planes diving towards his warship, aim, and then fire.

Fifty shells were fired, but none of them hit any planes. Sergeant Mimaki Shijuroku was not discouraged by this. For anti-aircraft guns, it was a stroke of luck if a hundred shells could hit one plane.

Fortunately, at this time, the Japanese soldiers at the gun position began to arrive one by one, but the diving planes also dropped their bombs. At the same time, there were also bullets from machine gun strafing.

Mimaki Shijuroku was unlucky. The first wave of strafing hit him, although he did not die immediately.

But it was clear that he could no longer fight.

"Medic! Medic!" Taro Nojiri, who had just rushed to the gun position, shouted loudly. While calling for rescue, he dragged Mimaki Shijuroku out of the gun position, laid him flat on the deck, and began to bandage him.

At this time, a bomber strafed bullets on the deck, and more Japanese soldiers fell under the machine gun strafing.

Taro Nojiri perfectly avoided several rounds of machine gun strafing. Just as he was secretly rejoicing in his heart, he suddenly heard a violent explosion.

In fact, they had heard many explosions just now. Although there were many bombers diving towards the *Soryu*, and many bombs were dropped, those shells all fell into the sea.

Although the sound of the bomb explosions was very loud, Taro Nojiri was not actually flustered in his heart. This time was different. The sound of the explosion was a bit special, and then the warship trembled violently.

From his squatting position, Taro Nojiri saw that the island in the center of the warship suddenly burst into flames. It was clear that it had been hit by a bomb.

This one bomb alone put out at least ten anti-aircraft guns.

The planes on the *Soryu* warship were the main force of the Second Air Battle Group. This aircraft carrier could carry as many as seventy planes.

When the gunners on the aircraft carrier were firing, the commander of the Air Battle Group, Yuichi Kuraki, had already issued an order for all planes to take off.

The first to taxi onto the runway was Squadron Captain Nagatoshi Wakana. He was the duty squadron of the Second Air Battle Group today, and also the commander of the duty squadron.

He was also the first to react, rush into the fighter plane, and drive the plane onto the deck.

When the battle alarm of the aircraft carrier *Soryu* rang quickly, his fighter plane was already accelerating.

Captain Haiqing He led twelve bombers, and his target was the *Soryu*. When he began to dive, he saw densely packed planes parked on the warship, and each plane was already starting up at this time.

They were lining up in an orderly manner, trying to take off from the deck. How could this be allowed?

Captain Haiqing He was determined not to let the Japanese planes leave the deck. He knew that although the Special Forces Brigade had dispatched many planes this time, most of them were bombers.

If all the planes on the Japanese warship were allowed to fly up, it would cause a lot of losses to the entire air force.

Haiqing He ordered, "Dive down and blow up the Japanese runway." After speaking, he was the first to dive down, braving the dense fire below.

The anti-aircraft fire of the *Soryu* was the strongest in the Japanese Fifth Naval Fleet. Now Haiqing He was operating the bomber and rushing towards this aircraft carrier.

The Japanese anti-aircraft fire was so powerful that he could not rush too low. At the same time, he also saw that a Japanese fighter plane had taken off from the deck, and there was no longer a chance to stop it.

Haiqing He could only report to Wenxing Mao, "A Japanese fighter plane has taken off from the warship. Please send fighter plane reinforcements."

Wenxing Mao had just dispatched thirty-six fighter planes to the interior of the battlefield in order to attack those Japanese fighter planes that had just taken off from the warship.

Although Haiqing He reported that Japanese fighter planes had taken off, Wenxing Mao was now unable to locate Haiqing He's position, and therefore could not know the direction of the Japanese fighter planes.

He was also powerless. When Fan Lin heard Haiqing He's report, he knew clearly that his temporary arrangement of Wenxing Mao to act as an early warning aircraft in modern warfare was temporarily impossible.

At least modern early warning aircraft can completely know the position of each of their own planes. What Wenxing Mao can now command is external defense.

The bomber squadron that Lin Fan led had completed the bombing of the Humen Fortress. The Japanese anti-aircraft forces on the fortress side had completely collapsed. Now Lin Fan was leading the bomber squadron towards the Japanese Fifth Fleet port.

Squadron Captain Nagatoshi Wakana had just lifted the fighter plane into the air and locked onto a bomber in front. He quickly chased after it, bit the bomber's tail, and kept shooting.

Bombers are different from fighter planes, they are thick-skinned, fleshy and more resistant to attack.

Renyi Quan felt the bomber shaking and immediately began to call, "I'm being bitten by an enemy plane, request reinforcements! Request reinforcements!"

The situation in the air now is that there are airplanes everywhere. His call only attracted the attention of fighter pilots.

These fighter pilots immediately searched around. Youjing Guo shouted loudly, "I found it, hold on!"

Youjing Guo saw a Japanese fighter plane following behind Renyi Quan's bomber and firing non-stop.

He immediately drove the fight from the side, the gunsight of the machine gun set on the Japanese fighter plane. At this time, Nagatoshi Wakana was still excitedly shooting.

It was following behind the bomber, and the flying speed was not fast, and there was no maneuvering action.

According to his thinking, as long as there were five more minutes, no! Three minutes, the bomber in front would definitely not be able to hold on.

Just at this moment, the corner of his eye noticed a flash of fire on the right, and then the entire plane suddenly fell apart.

"What's going on?" At the time of his death, Squadron Captain Nagatoshi Wakana had not yet understood what had happened.

"The danger is lifted! The enemy plane has been blown to pieces!" Youjing Guo reported loudly.

Renyi Quan finally relieved, "Thank you brother, I will treat you to a drink when I go back!" His bomber is not badly injured now, and it has not affected the operation of the plane.

He can bomb the Japanese warships a few more times.

When Lin Fan led the bomber squadron to the Japanese fleet, he saw smoke billowing everywhere on the sea. Each puff of smoke was a sign of a Japanese warship being hit.

Most of the Japanese warships on the sea now have no air defense capabilities. They have not fired at the air.

Only one large aircraft carrier still has very strong air defense capabilities. Lin Fan ordered the planes of his squadron, "Follow me!"

Driving the bomber towards the aircraft carrier that was resisting the most fiercely.

Commander of the Fifth Naval Fleet, Kouichi Shiozawa, has now transferred from his flagship to a small boat. His flagship, Myoko, has been hit by three bombs in a row in the recent bombing.

There is a risk of sinking at any time, and he had to transfer from the "Myoko". Try to continue commanding the entire Fifth Naval Fleet.

But now he has seen that: the Fifth Naval Fleet is completely at a disadvantage. When it just started, there were still many anti-aircraft guns of warships firing, but at this time those artillery have stopped.

At this time, the only one that still has the power to fight back is the "Soryu", but the island of the Soryu has already been hit by a bomb.

Under such circumstances, will the time for the second bomb be far away?

Just as he was thinking this, he saw another team of bombers like proud dragons, swooping down towards the "Soryu".

The leading bomber was rolling left and right in the dense anti-aircraft fire, and soon he threw out four bombs. The anti-aircraft fire on the aircraft carrier "Soryu" has been staring at this bomber.

This relaxed the defense against the bombers behind him, Lin Fan drove the bomber to attract most of the anti-aircraft fire of the aircraft carrier "Soryu".

The entire squadron behind him took the opportunity to dive to low altitude, machine guns strafed the Japanese soldiers on the deck, and bombs were dropped one after another.

Those small boats that had just seen the strong anti-aircraft power of the aircraft carrier "Soryu" and had specifically ran to her side to seek protection, are now suffering.

Those bombs that were not thrown onto the "Soryu" were borne by these small boats.

Small boats were constantly blown to pieces beside the "Soryu", and the "Soryu" was also hit by five bombs in this wave of bombing.

Five bombs completely paralyzed the anti-aircraft power of the Soryu. This time the Japanese Fifth Naval Fleet no longer had air defense capabilities.

Commander Kouichi Shiozawa can only pin the order of the Fifth Fleet on the fighter planes that took off from Guangzhou and Taiwan.

Humen Fortress was attacked, and the Fifth Naval Fleet was bombed!

This news left Lieutenant General Kan'ichiro Izumi, the commander of the Japanese Twenty-First Army in Guangzhou, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe that there would be a team daring to provoke the Fifth Naval Fleet.

He is clear about the strength of the Fifth Naval Fleet. However, as the subsequent intelligence sent by his infantry teams stationed around Humen confirmed.

This time Commander Kan'ichiro Izumi could only believe it if he didn't believe it.

However, the Special Forces Brigade's attack on the Navy only used the Air Force, which made his Twenty-First Army completely powerless.

The last time the Special Forces Brigade wiped out all the air force of the Twenty-First Army in Conghua, it has not recovered yet.

The aircraft lost by the Fifth Naval Fleet have not been fully replenished, and not even one aircraft has been replenished for the Twenty-First Army.

Just right, now he doesn't have to send a team to reinforce.

Commander Kan'ichiro Izumi only did two things: The first thing was to order the Japanese troops stationed around the Humen Fortress: to pay attention to observation and rescue the Japanese pilots who parachuted from the air and capture the Special Forces Brigade pilots who parachuted.

The second thing he did was to report the matter of the Fifth Naval Fleet being attacked in the port to the Army Headquarters in Japan, as for the Navy Headquarters, the Fifth Naval Fleet would naturally report it themselves.

At this time, Commander Kan'ichiro Izumi realized that the news sent back by the person who had infiltrated the Special Forces Brigade was accurate.

The big move of the Special Forces Brigade refers to attacking the Fifth Naval Fleet. Unfortunately, the entire headquarters analyzed the intelligence wrong, and the direction of defense was completely wrong.

The Fifth Naval Fleet has no defense at all, which is embarrassing!

At this time, Commander Kan'ichiro Izumi only believed that the Fifth Naval Fleet would suffer a loss this time, he did not know how big this loss was.

Commander Kouichi Shiozawa now has the heart to jump into the sea, he has already seen that the Soryu, which was still resisting just now, has now stopped struggling.

The entire Fifth Naval Fleet, hundreds of ships of all sizes, now does not have a single one that is resisting.

Many bombers in the air have now flown down to a height of 50 meters above the sea. They unscrupulously strafed the Japanese soldiers in the sea and dropped bombs on the warships that were still floating on the sea.

The Japanese fleet completely lost its ability to resist. Wenxing Mao had now ordered all the fighter planes originally arranged inside to withdraw and were on the periphery, guarding against Japanese planes from other places coming to reinforce.