Empire Conquest
Chapter 79 - 75: The Threshold of Actual Combat

Chapter 79: Chapter 75: The Threshold of Actual Combat

"...After completing the mission, if there’s not enough fuel to return to the Fleet, head east to Foot Island and make a forced landing, then wait patiently for rescue. Remember, you are the most valuable treasure of the Empire Navy, and each of you is irreplaceable..."

As he settled into the cockpit, Liu Xiangzhen’s admonition still echoed in Zhu Huasheng’s ears.

To boost morale, or perhaps feeling it appropriate to say something before the maiden battle of the shipborne Air Force, Liu Xiangzhen had used the Fleet’s broadcast to address all the pilots.

The Fleet broadcast used a high-frequency radio with just a few tens of kilometers range, which wouldn’t reveal their position.

Zhu Huasheng was surprised, as in his impression, Liu Xiangzhen wasn’t the type to talk much.

Everyone described him as: a man of few words but decisive actions.

Of course, the moment he sat in the cockpit, Zhu Huasheng set aside his random thoughts and reclaimed the demeanor expected of a squadron leader.

He was the squadron leader of the First Shipborne Air Force Wing’s Second Squadron, while the other squadron leader was Shen Pu.

Soon, Zhu Huasheng completed the pre-flight preparations, then with the help of ground crew, he started the engine and warmed it up.

He flew a "Flying Fish" torpedo attack aircraft.

Indeed, whether it was the Empire Navy, the Saiyi Navy, or the Newland Navy, almost all commanders of shipborne air forces flew in torpedo bombers.

There was nothing strange about this.

Although torpedo bombers were the bulkiest and slowest, they had the largest cockpit, generally three-seats, with one crew member specifically responsible for navigation, bombing, and signaling.

An extra person could significantly reduce the burden on the commander.

Besides, torpedo bombers generally had the longest range among contemporary ship-borne aircraft.

If they weren’t armed with torpedoes or bombs but auxiliary fuel tanks instead, a torpedo bomber could fly over a thousand kilometers, thus they were most suited for command tasks.

In previous trainings, the squadron leaders’ aircraft were usually fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks.

But this time, they were armed with air torpedoes.

It was not that Zhu Huasheng didn’t need to command, but unlike exercises, after completing the attack, they didn’t have to stay to wait for the referee’s judgment.

Actually, this was also a test for Zhu Huasheng.

Don’t forget, he was trained in aerial reconnaissance, not as a professional pilot, and he had only started learning to fly around the age of thirty.

In terms of flying ability, Zhu Huasheng certainly was not as good as the prodigies.

Of course, what he had the prodigies lacked was a comprehensive strategic view, a comprehensive tactical mindset, and richer experience than any of the younger generation of pilots.

This was a distinctive feature of the Empire Navy Air Force.

From the squadron leaders down, every commander who piloted a ship-borne aircraft in combat missions was invariably an "old" officer over the age of thirty-five. At the flight leader level, almost all were "middle-aged" officers around thirty years old, and those about twenty-five were the junior pilots.

However, this phenomenon wasn’t intentionally created by the Navy, but rather influenced by objective factors.

Don’t forget that in the twenty years following the end of the great war, not to mention large-scale wars, there were barely any conflicts, and it was almost like setting the horses south of Mount Mang and storing the swords and guns in the armories. As a result, many talented military personnel had no chance to prove themselves, and climbing the ranks was as hard as reaching the sky.

Let alone regular soldiers, even heroes like Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen, after struggling for twenty years, had barely advanced from Captain to Colonel.

With the resurgence of war, opportunities for military personnel had arrived!

Soon, the five minutes warm-up time passed.

Since there was a catapult, the first to take off was the bulkiest torpedo attack aircraft, followed by dive bombers, and fighters were last.

Furthermore, the fighters didn’t require catapulting.

As long as the carrier’s speed reached thirty knots, and there was no tailwind, the "Typhoon" fighter could take off from the deck using its own power.

Mainly, the reliability of the catapults was not high, and both the maintenance period and service life were not long.

Under permissive conditions, it was necessary to use the catapults as little as possible.

Ground personnel pushed Zhu Huasheng’s seat aircraft to the launch point, attached the tow rope, and the take-off guide then gave Zhu Huasheng a thumbs-up.

This was the hand signal for readiness, allowing take-off.

Zhu Huasheng was not rushed, nor did he need to hurry, as his wingman’s aircraft had just been towed to the dispatch point, and the ground personnel were still securing its tow rope.

After checking the instruments again, Zhu Huasheng gave the ready hand signal to the take-off guide.

Then, the take-off guide crouched with his left knee bent, his right hand wrapped behind his back, and his left hand pointed towards the bow in a shooting gesture.

This was the standard "go ahead" motion.

Of course, if on the right side, it would be vice versa, with the guide facing the pilot and pointing toward the bow, which was the attack direction.

As the brakes were released, the "Flying Fish" was catapulted out.

More than ten seconds later, Zhu Huasheng’s piloted "Flying Fish" was still climbing, and his wingman had also taken off.

Within the next fifteen minutes, twelve "Flying Fish," fourteen "Wasps," and twelve "Typhoons" from the flight deck were all airborne.

Several kilometers away, the shipborne aircraft from the "Longjiang" were also taking off successively.

According to the Empire Navy shipborne air force’s rule, which was commonly known as "whoever spots the enemy, attacks", the first round of the attack action was spearheaded by the First Shipborne Air Force Wing, commanded by the squadron leader of the Second Squadron, with the First Squadron merely assisting.

For safety, Major Shenpu, the squadron leader of the First Squadron, would remain on the carrier.

Due to limited manpower, the second round of attack would definitely be led by the Second Shipborne Air Force Wing, again commanded by a squadron leader.

Thus, only by launching a third round of attack would it be Shenpu’s turn to enter the fray.

Given the current situation, or rather timing, there was basically no possibility of launching a third round of attack; managing two rounds before nightfall would be quite an achievement.

Over ten minutes later, Zhu Huasheng led the second squadron’s shipborne aircraft flying east first.

Soon, the First Squadron’s group of planes caught up. There were still twelve fighters, but the dive bombers were four less and the torpedo attack aircraft two more.

A few minutes later, Zhu Huasheng and his group flew over the Second Aviation Mixed Fleet.

The eight fighters, thirty-two dive bombers, and thirty-six torpedo attack aircraft deployed from "Heng River" and "Ling River" had already gathered.

The group of planes didn’t wait but continued flying east at a slower speed to conserve the precious fuel.

In previous drills, they often did this—merging and forming formations in mid-flight before launching a joint attack on the enemy fleet.

However, whether this was feasible in real combat was another matter.

Because they had to undertake the fleet’s air defense tasks, the Second Shipborne Air Force Wing had not deployed many fighters.

If one looked at the number of bombers and attack aircraft, the main force was actually the Second Shipborne Air Force Wing.

Four carriers, two shipborne air force wings deployed a total of thirty-two fighters, fifty-six dive bombers, and sixty-two torpedo attack aircraft, totaling one hundred fifty aircraft.

However, like the Mobile Fleet, the Special Mixed Group did not immediately launch a second round of attack.

It was not that they did not want to, but that they couldn’t!

After a full deck launch, it took more than an hour to complete the turn-around from the hangar to the deck before they could again launch a full-scale attack.