Empire Conquest
Chapter 157 - 153: Riding High on Spring Breeze

Chapter 157: Chapter 153: Riding High on Spring Breeze

Aboard the "Imperial Capital".

After the last fighter had taken off, Bai Zhizhan stepped out onto the open-air gallery outside the Command Bridge.

It was the replacement air defense fighter that went up last, the last batch of attack mission fighters had flown away an hour earlier, allowing the busy ground crew to finally catch a breath.

In fact, Bai Zhizhan had relaxed as well.

At the beginning, he had received a report from a reconnaissance aircraft that had spotted the Third Air Corps; the pilot visually confirmed it as the "Longxiang" class small fleet carrier.

Although they hadn’t located the "Fengxiang" yet, finding the "Longxiang" was enough.

Among these two carriers, the "Longxiang" posed the most significant threat.

Moreover, the "Longxiang" that was found was accompanied by the "Wasp," while the accompanying "Flying Fish" was intercepted far away.

It meant, Major General Tsunoji of the Third Air Corps might still think he hadn’t been exposed.

Additionally, it remained to be seen whether the tactics proposed by Zhou Yongtao would work.

Although he felt that this complacent Lieutenant’s strategies were fanciful or presumptuous, in this sure-win situation, Bai Zhizhan didn’t mind giving more chances to the young man. Besides, Zhou Yongtao had put his career on the line with a military decree.

The tactics were exceedingly complex.

After the reconnaissance aircraft had deployed, the attacking shipborne aircraft began taking off one after another, forming groups that headed west towards Zu Island. If the reconnaissance aircraft did not locate the enemy ships, the attacking aircraft group would turn back to the Special Mixed Fleet after an hour and a half.

In this scenario, the biggest losses would be the bombs and torpedoes on the fighters, plus the fuel burned during the round trip.

However, once the reconnaissance aircraft located the enemy ships, everything changed.

This time, the reconnaissance was not done solo but by two shipborne aircraft flying together, only swapping positions, allowing the torpedo bomber to fly high and the bomber to fly low. The two aircraft maintained a distance of about ten kilometers and kept in touch via short-wave radio. If the leading torpedo bomber was intercepted, the trailing bomber had to immediately find cover and continue the original course. Importantly, once the torpedo bomber shook off the not so fierce enemy aircraft, it had to return to its original flight path to rendezvous with the bomber.

Indeed, it was a bit complicated; Zhou Yongtao nearly confused himself while explaining it to the pilots.

Furthermore, each pilot had a sea chart marked with the attack aircraft group’s flight route and times for reaching certain reference points.

Once the enemy ships were discovered, the faster bombers could rendezvous with the attack aircraft group to lead an assault.

That was the crucial point.

Unless unforeseen circumstances occurred, such as the Third Air Corps not being within the predicted maritime area or being intercepted by enemy fighters, the attack aircraft group would have to fly west towards the southwest of the Watcher Strait and then turn to attack from southwest or west.

In this case, the round-trip distance would increase by several hundred kilometers, possibly exceeding the operational radius of the shipborne aircraft.

To this end, Zhou Yongtao suggested that, after deciding to launch an attack, i.e., after locating the Third Air Corps, the Fleet should turn towards the Watcher Strait, reducing the distance the attack aircraft group needed to fly back. If returning was indeed impossible, the pilots were allowed to crash-land after consuming all fuel.

According to Zhou Yongtao, after wiping out the Third Air Corps, even without shipborne aircraft, there was nothing to worry about.

They might not beat a battleship, but they could surely outrun it.

Bai Zhizhan was somewhat speechless over Zhou Yongtao’s rhetoric, but he didn’t contest it. He only added that the reconnaissance aircraft, upon locating the Third Air Corps, should use the Imperial Navy’s communication frequency to signal Zu Island, preparing the First Shipborne Air Force Wing stationed there.

It wasn’t about involving the First Shipborne Air Force Wing in the attack operation, but rather as a backup.

They were just two small fleet carriers.

A surprise attack from the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet’s planes should suffice, and there was no need for a second round of strikes to sink other battleships.

Moreover, the Watcher Strait was over five hundred kilometers from Zu Island, beyond the range of shipborne aircraft.

The Third Aviation Mixed Fleet launched an attack from the southwest, disguising themselves as the First Shipborne Air Force Wing. If they tried it again, the disguise would be pointless.

If they were lucky, they might catch the First Main Battle Corps in the afternoon.

Since the First Main Battle Corps was coming from the south, the quickest route to Watcher Strait was near Zu Island. Thus, at that time, the shipborne aircraft stationed at Zu Island would be even more valuable, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to fly back after launching an attack.

The most critical point, Zhou Yongtao did not mention, but Bai Zhizhan knew it well.

Why deceive the opponent?

Worried about being attacked after being exposed?

Clearly not.

The sea area where the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet was located was thousands of kilometers away from the Saiyi mainland; the closest land was the North and South Sado Islands to the northwest.

After eliminating the Third Air Corps, there would be nothing to worry about.

Why was that?

Fundamentally, it was to stay in the East Ocean.

If they could decide the outcome through this battle, even if they couldn’t annihilate them entirely, as long as they drove away the Permanent Fleet, there would be nothing more to say.

What if they couldn’t decide the outcome?

Don’t forget, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet only had two carriers, and the shipborne aircraft had enough for just one attack, then they would have to wait for several hours!

Even under ideal circumstances, they could only redeploy the shipborne aircraft in the afternoon.

What was more deadly was the lack of torpedo attack aircraft.

Before the outbreak of the large-scale battle, the Imperial Navy had conducted many live-fire tests. Against battleships like the Main Battle Ship, torpedo bombers were more useful than bombers.

Primarily because torpedoes caused far more damage to battleships than bombs did.

Although, when dealing with unprotected or lightly protected battleships, aviation armor-piercing bombs were impressive, and dive bombers had a higher bomb hit rate, aviation armor-piercing bombs often fell short against heavily protected targets. Sometimes, even if they hit, they could not cause severe damage.

The reason was simple, Treaty Type battleships placed great emphasis on horizontal protection. Previous Treaty Type battleships had also increased the thickness of horizontal armor during the mid-life refurbishment, and the horizontal protection of the post-Treaty Type battleships built in recent years was even more robust.

Many modern battleships were designed to withstand heavy armor-piercing shells weighing over a ton, such as sixteen-inch armor-piercing bullets, making them naturally nonchalant toward much smaller air bombs.

Perhaps this was precisely why Liu Xiangzhen was unwilling to pursue the Mobile Fleet.

As can be seen, even if the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet exerted all its strength, it still might not be able to inflict heavy damage on the two main battle corps before nightfall.

Who could guarantee Takano wouldn’t bet everything?

If Takano entered the Xu Sea with the remaining warships, the Domestic Fleet would surely engage them, and they would fight near Watcher Strait.

Such a battle, with a bombardment of cannons, was extremely brutal.

In the end, only the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet could come out to clean up the situation and, more precisely, to reap the fruits of victory, controlling Watcher Strait.

Additionally, they had to stop the Saiyi Navy’s transport convoy.

If necessary, they would also need to annihilate the remaining enemy ships.

In this situation, it was definitely more advantageous for the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet to remain in the vast East Ocean than to return to the narrow Xu Sea.

That was exactly why Bai Zhizhan adopted the attack tactics proposed by Zhou Yongtao, even though everyone else opposed them.