Empire Conquest
Chapter 354 - 350 Scapegoat

Chapter 354: Chapter 350 Scapegoat

On the "Imperial Capital".

A storm of activity erupted in the Command Bridge upon receiving the message sent back by Shen Pu.

Yet, Bai Zhizhan showed not a hint of excitement.

Seeing the Commander act this way, the other staff members promptly calmed down as well.

Before this, right after receiving the message from the Special Mixed Fleet 21 that they had begun their attack on the Newland 16th Special Mixed Fleet, Bai Zhizhan immediately thought that the Attack Aircraft Group led by Shen Pu would surely deliver a decisive blow, leaving no suspense for the battle in the northwest.

Being attacked by two Plane Groups, especially in a pincer movement, that Newland Fleet was bound to be doomed.

According to Shen Pu’s report, the 4th Wing Plane Group he led had attacked a "York" class, and at the end of the attack, the carrier had suffered a massive explosion.

The ship’s body was severely tilted, and it was expected to sink within a few hours, making it unnecessary to launch another attack.

Furthermore, the 3rd Wing Plane Group attacked another carrier about 10 minutes later, and the lead pilot visually identified it as a "Lek" class.

After being hit by five bombs and three torpedoes in a row, this carrier also suffered a massive explosion, and the fire inside the ship was completely out of control.

However, Bai Zhizhan wasn’t focused on these details.

Shen Pu also specifically mentioned in his report that when the attack started, there were hardly any ship-borne aircraft on the flight decks of these two carriers.

So, where had the other ship-borne aircraft gone?

According to earlier reports, the Special Mixed Fleet 21 had only suffered one attack, and the Attack Aircraft Group they dispatched did not encounter any other Newland Plane Groups in transit. Yet the ship-borne aircraft from those two carriers could have formed two Attack Aircraft Groups by themselves!

Stored in the hangar?

That seemed highly unlikely.

Whether they were attacking the Plane Group from Fleet 21 or air defense fighters, there was no need for a short-term return to the carrier to land.

What’s more, before the Attack Aircraft Group from Fleet 21 arrived, the Newland Special Mixed Fleet had approximately one hour to prepare. During this time, they would have certainly prepared the bombers and torpedo bombers on the flight deck instead of letting them "rust" in the hangar.

Before Shen Pu’s Group arrived, those two carriers faced no threat.

At that time, the Plane Group from Fleet 21 was intercepted on the periphery and didn’t approach the carriers.

That is to say, there was no situation in which, due to a threat, ship-borne aircraft fully fueled and loaded with bombs and torpedoes would have to be pushed into the sea.

There was only one explanation.

Before this, the Newland Special Mixed Fleet had already launched a second Attack Aircraft Group, only this attack was not directed at the Fleet 21 commanded by Liu Xiangzhen.

Who then?

What targets nearby were worth attacking?

The 43rd Special Mixed Fleet to the north?

Whoever was in command of that carrier mixed fleet, after intercepting the seaplanes coming from the south, would not waste forces on the 43rd Special Mixed Fleet.

It could only be the 41st Special Mixed Fleet!

Indeed, around 10:30, Bai Zhizhan approached Li Mingbo and requested all ships to keep a vigilant watch for low-flying aircraft.

Additionally, he asked Zhou Yongtao to adjust the air defense deployment.

If the enemy aircraft also used low-altitude breakthrough tactics, a portion of the air defense fighters would have to stay at low altitudes to ensure they could intercept incoming enemy aircraft immediately.

Crucially, moving a portion of the fighters forward.

Bai Zhizhan was well aware that the most likely target of the attack was not the 41.1 Subsquad but the forward-positioned 41.2 Subsquad.

Before this, the 41.2 Subsquad had already been exposed.

Bai Zhizhan’s judgment was soon confirmed.

Not yet 10:50, the "Wuzhou" sent a message—the fighters providing air defense coverage had discovered the enemy aircraft coming from the north.

Correct, it was the Attack Aircraft Group from the Newland carrier mixed fleet up north.

However, these enemy planes didn’t fly low.

Over a hundred kilometers away from the 41.2 Subsquad, they were detected by the radar of four heavy cruisers, otherwise, it would have been impossible to organize air defense fighters to intercept.

Did the enemy get careless?

Clearly not!

At that time, it’s likely that the Enemy Fleet’s Commander misjudged the distance to the 41.2 Subsquad during tactical planning.

The reason was simple: the 41.2 Subsquad had slowed down after sending a telegram, reducing the distance to the 41.1 Subsquad.

Moreover, when the 41.1 Subsquad launched its ship-borne aircraft, it turned to head north, so its actual position was to the west of where it would be under normal sailing conditions.

The result of this was that the distance between the 41.2 Subsquad and Newland’s Special Mixed Fleet was closer than estimated.

As a result, the Attack Aircraft Group sent by the Newland Special Mixed Fleet didn’t reduce their altitude in time and got detected by the 41.2 Subsquad’s Air Defense Radar.

Flying at low altitude consumes a lot of fuel, so during the cruising phase, one has to fly at medium to high altitudes.

It’s only during the attack phase that they have to lower to a low altitude.

If they were to fly low altitude all the way, whether it is the Imperial Navy’s ship-borne aircraft or Newland’s Navy’s, neither could have a combat radius exceeding 200 kilometers.

This is why, during the tactical planning stage, the air combat Commander had to pre-determine the point of entry into low-altitude flight.

Typically, a specific moment is set, such as how long after takeoff to reduce altitude.

This is also the new requirement put forward for the Combat Staff Advisor after the change in tactics.

Months earlier, Zhou Yongtao had organized the staff of the 41st Special Mixed Fleet to study and exchange on new attack tactics.

Clearly, Newland’s Navy likely did the same after acquiring radar.

Eight "Xiaotians" arrived in time to intercept the Newland Plane Group.

In fact, there were only about ten F4Fs escorting the bombers and torpedo bombers, much fewer than those escorting the attack on the 21st Special Mixed Fleet.

It wasn’t out of disregard for the 41st Special Mixed Fleet, but rather they couldn’t dispatch more fighters.

Don’t forget that when Shen Pu led his Plane Group in a surprise attack, there were simply no fighters near the Newland carriers on air defense duty.

As Bai Zhizhan had feared, the 41.2 Subsquad had become the sacrificial lamb.

This is why Shen Pu’s Plane Group did not encounter the Attack Aircraft Group dispatched by the Newland Special Mixed Fleet along their flight.

The Newland Plane Group flew south while the 41st Special Mixed Fleet’s Plane Group actually flew in the northeast direction; the flight paths of the two groups did not cross, and the distance between them at the midpoint of their routes exceeded 30 kilometers, while a pilot’s visual range in good weather is only about 20 kilometers.

Obviously, the two groups nearly passed each other by.

Despite the eight "Xiaotians" giving it their all, more than 20 bombers and torpedo bombers still broke through the air defense net, approaching the 41.2 Subsquad.

Interestingly, those enemy planes did not immediately attack the heavy cruisers of the 41.2 Subsquad.

They were there to attack the carriers of the 41st Special Mixed Fleet, not the heavy cruisers, so they wouldn’t waste their precious bombs and torpedoes on them.

Regrettably, there were no carriers in that vicinity.

Although the 41.2 Subsquad had already slowed down, the distance to the 41.1 Subsquad was still over 200 kilometers, with two Long-range Cruisers behind them.

At 11:15, the "Wuzhou" sent another telegram.

The enemy had launched their attack, but a number of SBDs did not return after dropping their bombs, instead flying southward and westward.

Obviously, these Dive Bombers were also tasked with scouting missions.

And it wasn’t over yet.

Before the 41.2 Subsquad was bombed, a second batch of enemy planes had already arrived, this time from the east!

This group of aircraft was detected by the radars aboard the "Wuzhou" and other heavy cruisers as they reduced their flight altitude.

The hidden Newland Special Mixed Fleet finally revealed itself!

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