When the naval guns were ineffective and the assault on the ocean island failed, Taniguchi Naozhen agreed with Yamamoto's suggestion. With permission, Colonel Yamamoto Isoroku also commanded the carrier-based aircraft on the "Akagi" to begin fire penetration from the air.
The aircraft of this era were still made of wooden skins and had many characteristics such as slow speed, short range, weak attack power, and leaving nothing behind after takeoff. China's aircraft were the focus of investment, so although it started late, it was roughly on the same level as the Japanese army. On the starting line.
The Japanese carrier-based aircraft are inferior to their land-based aircraft. Those used for bombing will carry a bomb, and those used for interception will have a machine gun attached to the tail. Of course, the accuracy is greatly reduced. .
There has never been a precedent for large-scale carrier-based aircraft dispatching for combat, and the Japanese army has no experience in this area. Of course, daily training is not discussed. However, the appearance of a large group taking off is also spectacular, showing Japan's position on the ocean in this era.
According to the establishment of the Marine Corps in 1927, only those at the division level would be equipped with air defense units, and there was no such thing at the brigade level. At this time, the Marine Corps was only an army that could launch water, and the concept of air defense had not yet risen to a corresponding status.
It¡¯s not that Zhang Hanqing didn¡¯t do his best, but when military construction just started, the threat from the air was far less than the threat from the ground. How could he be willing to spend the already insufficient military expenditure to develop a relatively advanced air defense force? Being one step ahead is genius, being too much ahead is a waste.
But just because it¡¯s not armed doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t have plans for threats from the air. Officers and soldiers have been educated that if they find an aerial threat, they can use machine guns or rifles to shoot into the air, provided that people do not stay in open areas.
The air threat is not big against non-fixed targets, such as people, and is more of a psychological effect, just like when the Fengtian Air Force bombed Beijing, it relied on luck. Of course, being hit by large-scale bombing is an exception.
Fifteen planes took off one after another, and in a blink of an eye they were over the ocean island. It's just that the surroundings are densely covered with short grass. There are more than a dozen boats of various sizes leaning on the anchorage in the center of the island, and there is no one everywhere.
A few planes still found the target, which was under a temporary bunker made of large rocks on the mountainside. Occasionally, a huge muzzle protruded from it, letting them know that this was not an empty city. However, they also have no good way to deal with the artillery formations composed of these caves or boulders.
As a last resort, the Japanese pilots dropped some bombs. One is to test, and the other is that it is not safe to bring these bombs on board the ship. After the explosion, as the smoke was blown by the sea breeze, everything returned to its original state.
In this way, after the first, second, and third wave of Japanese aircraft patrolled the island one after another, the combined fleet launched a new attack. They sent several destroyers to approach the island in order to wait for an opportunity to find a piece of land. A suitable landing point.
Despite receiving a new round of bombing, the Japanese ships who did not know the details were carefully cruising at the edge of the maximum range of the shore artillery. Once the shore artillery made any movement, they could escape as quickly as possible.
But there was no movement on Haiyang Island.
Ten minutes, or half an hour? Anyway, after a while, the Japanese reconnaissance plane reported that there was no sign of the Chinese moving around. Maybe, they have been hit hard?
The headquarters decided to give it a try. So the Japanese destroyer once again sailed towards the ocean island at high speed, but it was not a straight line, but a gradual spiral. Maintaining high speed is just a matter of maneuvering to change tracks in case of emergencies.
As they approached, they fired naval guns at suspicious places, but in the end they did not resist.
I don¡¯t know how much time passed, but it was less than three miles away from Haiyang Island, and the People¡¯s Army¡¯s shore artillery fired again.
Needless to say, almost all the destroyers that were caught in the range of the shore artillery were hit. Two of them were relatively lucky. The main part was blocked by a destroyer. They only suffered flesh wounds and quickly slipped away.
The "Brave Shield" was not so lucky. Two shells penetrated its vital points: one under the chimney and one in the ammunition magazine.
The violent explosions that sounded almost simultaneously almost shattered the eardrums of the artillerymen hiding in the caves on the seaside. Even the 155mm heavy artillery they fired was not that loud, right?
The explosion caused the destroyer to be almost cut off from the waist. After jumping at least one meter high out of the sea, its bow also broke again with a roar. Breaking into three parts also allowed it to sink very easily. In less than three minutes, only its remaining mast could be seen on the sea.
The third attack after the air raid still ended in failure, and General Taniguchi lost his temper. In a duel at sea, the Japanese ships can show off their power, but in this crappy place, the power of their giant ships and cannons cannot be used.
So even though we know that China¡¯s Bohai Fleet hasThe Japanese destroyer fleet was hiding on the sea to the north of Haiyang Island. They looked at Haiyang Island, thought about Zhangzi Island to the west, and decided to give up on this hard nut.
It¡¯s not that it¡¯s impossible to beat, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s not worth it. For such a small island, does the entire fleet have to be wasted here? That¡¯s a total displacement of hundreds of thousands of tons! It is true that Haiyang Island and Changdao Islands are important, but if the main fleet is wasted here, then it will be the trick of the Chinese people, right? The youth in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai are their key!
So the Japanese ship was ordered to fire dozens of demonstrative shells at the island and then turned around and left. They wanted to open a bloody road from the Miaodao Islands straight into the Bohai Bay. Ocean Island, let it exist tepidly. Anyway, after experiencing this battle, the China Navy must have seen a huge gap. This gap cannot be changed by bravery!
The Japanese ship slowly left, and Li Debiao, who had eaten a mouthful of dust, exhaled a filthy breath: "Damn it, the Japanese planes are still powerful!"
Although the artillery shells fired from the cruisers and battleships of the Combined Fleet were extremely loud, they caused very little damage. On the contrary, the bombs dropped from the sky by a few inconspicuous aircraft injured many people and damaged several guns. gun.
Although there is no aiming device, the relative accuracy is still very high because of the slow flying speed. Moreover, as long as it is not diving, ground weapons have no effect on the aircraft. This makes the Japanese aircraft confident and can slowly find the target. The most hateful thing is that the ocean island is too small and lacks depth. Basically, you can get a bird's eye view of it as soon as the plane takes off.
Although the People's Army artillery can hide in bunkers, how can we fight this battle if they come one after another like this?
Therefore, when summing up after the battle, Li Debiao decisively ranked the air threat as top priority. Because of his status in the mind of the old commander, his opinions were taken seriously, reported all the way to the Navy Headquarters, and finally placed on Zhang Hanqing's desk. His description made Zhang Hanqing realize that it is imperative to strengthen air power and build up air defense power.
War has risen from two-dimensional to three-dimensional warfare! Based on the principle of being one step ahead and having enough, Zhang Hanqing began to consider a new round of military establishment issues after the war. (Remember the website address: www.hlnovel.com