Empire Conquest
Chapter 117 - 113: Discovery of the Flat-Top Ship

Chapter 117: Chapter 113: Discovery of the Flat-Top Ship

6:45 in the early morning, the northern waters of the Flame Sea Southwest of Zu Island Strait.

Although daylight had already brightened the sky, the sun had not yet risen. From high above, looking down, everything blurred by the morning mist, nothing was clear.

In order to see the ocean surface, Petty Officer Amari lowered his flight altitude to below one thousand meters.

Unfortunately, it was the time of day for fog to form, with dense clouds overhead. Even squinting, he couldn’t be sure to see anything.

Amari felt a bit frustrated, thinking this was a waste of effort, but there was nothing he could do.

In any case, he had to fly this 97 Ship Attack Squadron aircraft toward the northeast until the endpoint of the route, the turning point for the return flight.

When he would arrive, the fuel gauge would tell him.

Because there was no wind, in theory, he could fly all the way to the southern mouth of the Zu Island Strait.

This was not cause for celebration, as the farther north he went, the closer to the Liangxia Empire mainland, the likelier he was to encounter enemy planes.

If he encountered the searching Enemy Fleet, that is, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, the probability of returning to the Mobile Fleet was virtually zero.

Amari was quite emotional when he received the mission, feeling as if he had run into major bad luck back several lifetimes.

Yesterday, he was still a seaplane pilot aboard the "Birui," with his main tasks including piloting the seaplane to patrol around the Fleet. If necessary, he would rescue those pilots who had been shot down in combat, parachuted into the water, or had managed emergency landings on the sea.

During the daytime yesterday, he had flown the seaplane to save five Zero Fighter pilots.

Of course, if the shipborne air force was too busy, such as when all the ship-borne aircraft had missions, Amari could also be dispatched to perform reconnaissance tasks.

Before the outbreak of the war, Amari’s biggest dream was actually to become a real pilot.

That’s why, at the beginning of the year, he enrolled in the selection for shipborne pilots, passed the physical examination smoothly, and went to flight school for several months of basic training. To make training at the flight school easier, Amari was transferred to the Reserve Forces, assigned to the "Ligen," a Heavy Cruiser that was still undergoing reorganization and training, temporarily not part of the combat fleet, and still serving as a seaplane pilot. If there hadn’t been a war, after completing his training and passing the exams, he might have joined the Fifth Air Corps as a Fighter pilot.

Little did he expect that a seaplane pilot from the "Birui" wouldn’t be able to return before the Fleet set out.

At that time, Amari was running errands at the Fleet Headquarter in East Capital Bay.

As a result, he was recalled by the "Birui" and continued to serve as a seaplane pilot.

The Captain of the "Birui" promised to write him a letter of recommendation after the drill concluded, allowing him to serve with the First Air Corps once he graduated from flight school.

If he was lucky enough, he could even serve under Colonel Genda!

Little did he expect, the promise was fulfilled ahead of time, and there was no need for a recommendation letter.

After yesterday’s battle concluded, Amari arrived aboard the "Jiahe" and soon learned that he had been promoted to shipborne air force pilot in advance.

The reason was nothing other than a shortage of pilots who could fly the 97 Ship Attack planes!

Including Colonel Genda, many pilots from the First Air Corps were injured in combat, some of them very seriously, definitely unable to continue guiding ship-borne aircraft on missions. On the other hand, after strenuous efforts, the technical personnel in the aviation department had repaired about a dozen 97 Ship Attack aircraft. Even though the condition of these torpedo bombers wasn’t great, they were more than enough for performing reconnaissance missions.

Amari didn’t volunteer, as he wasn’t the type who liked to stand out.

It was the Captain of the "Birui" who recommended him to the Air Corps Commander, and there was a personal file of his in the First Air Corps.

Originally, to further his studies at flight school, Amari had sought three flight officers from the First Air Corps as referees, which left behind his personal file. Although several months had passed and the three flight officers had offered their help conveniently, when his name was mentioned, they definitely could recall who Amari was.

Had he known in advance, Amari would certainly not have asked those three officers for help.

Of course, if he could have known everything in advance, Amari wouldn’t have gone to the Fleet Headquarter on that day.

Even though Petty Officer Amari had only completed basic training and still had many skills to master, he was already able to pilot the Type 97 ship attack aircraft for the prescribed distance on takeoff.

Clearly, that was enough.

Moreover, Amari was originally a seaplane pilot and had previously carried out reconnaissance missions during training and drills, making him somewhat of an expert.

As for how to land, that would be figured out upon returning.

"Amari, take a rest for a while, it’s my turn."

"Okay."

Sighing heavily, he vigorously rubbed his already sore and aching eyes. Amari then leaned back onto the headrest behind him and closed his eyes.

In this crew, the pilot was injured, but the telegrapher and machine gunner were completely unharmed.

Of course, this was definitely a good thing.

The two experienced crew members could take on most of the search operation, so what was required of Amari was essentially the fundamental tasks.

However, during hours of continuous search operations, the pilots still had to exert themselves.

This was unavoidable; even on a clear day, anyone who stared at the sea for more than ten minutes would get extremely fatigued and need someone else to take over. In the evening or early morning—when the lighting wasn’t as good—a few minutes would be enough to feel tired.

No matter how good one’s eyesight, it couldn’t withstand that!

Usually, three people would observe for ten minutes each.

Actually, this was also a major reason why torpedo bombers are used for reconnaissance missions.

Twenty minutes, he could snooze for a bit.

Amari went to the "Jiahe" last night and received news around three in the morning that he had been assigned to the Ship Attack Squadron of the First Air Corps. He was to pilot the Type 97 aircraft to carry out a reconnaissance mission before dawn. But it wasn’t until past four in the morning that he received the mission briefing.

Before this, he had rested for less than three hours, and he hadn’t really fallen asleep.

Before taking off, what Amari could do was have a good meal at an officers’ mess hall he had never visited before, and then take along a few loaves of bread. Based on his experience of flying seaplanes on reconnaissance missions, even with a following wind, it would take five to six hours to return.

Amari had already dozed off several times, each time awakened by the telegrapher behind him.

After returning, no matter what, he must get a good sleep, and sleep until he woke up naturally.

No, before sleeping, he must have a big meal, fill his belly with rice balls stuffed with sausages, baked bacon, and candied fruit, lest he be woken up by hunger halfway through sleep.

In fact, Amari even felt that perhaps he had starved to death in his past life, as his most prominent talent was eating, with an especially hearty appetite!

It might be hard to believe if told.

One of the primary reasons he joined the Navy was that the Navy’s food was much better than the Army’s and could keep the officers and men satiated.

At least according to recruitment propaganda, the Navy’s personnel would never have to worry about being hungry.

"Hey, do you see that? Amari, look down below!"

As Amari was dozing off in a daze, the telegrapher suddenly shouted, startling him awake.

"Ten o’clock direction, on the sea surface. Do you see that? That’s a flat-top ship, no mistake, it’s definitely a flat-top ship!"

Flat-top ship... a carrier!?

Amari jerked into awareness and immediately grabbed the binoculars hanging in front of his chest.

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