Imperial Overlord

"Sir! Shot in the middle of the hull!" As soon as an officer ran out of the bridge and lay on the railing of the iron ladder outside, he saw thick smoke billowing from the middle of the hull.

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He turned back and shouted loudly at the bridge, and his head was shattered by the bullets fired by the Japanese fighter jets.

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This is definitely an amazing coincidence, the Japanese aircraft just habitually carried out suppressive strafing while dodging the anti-aircraft fire on the ship.

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Originally, such strafing rarely hit the real target, but this time is obviously an exception...

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Seeing that his subordinate's head was smashed outside the door, and the blood even splashed into the bridge, Spruance's eyes widened, not knowing what to say.

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A staff officer at the door quickly closed the heavy armored door, twisted the door lock, and blocked the sound of bullets flying outside.

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"Sir! Our speed doesn't seem to be affected!" Although we don't know how serious the damage to the hull is, professional technical arms can estimate where the damage to the battleship is based on the performance of the weapons.

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After hearing the report over there, Spruance recovered somewhat. As long as the boiler is not blown up and the speed of the battleship does not drop, it means that he can continue to persevere.

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As long as the high speed is maintained, the hit rate of Japanese torpedoes will decrease. Once the opponent's carrier-based aircraft ran out of ammunition, he would be considered a victory.

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But the problem now is: if your warship is damaged, even if it is only on the surface, the destroyable anti-aircraft gun positions will still leave gaps for Japanese carrier-based aircraft.

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In this way, the next Japanese aircraft may attack from this direction.

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"Damn it!" Spruance frowned and complained in a low voice. Just as he complained, a new round of attacks by Japanese aircraft began.

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Because of their rich experience, Japanese pilots know that it is better to cut off one of their fingers than to break them.

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The Japanese planes began to surround the wounded USS North Carolina like flies that smelled fishy.

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"Where's the fighter unit? Why haven't they come yet?" General Spruance, who couldn't sit still, asked loudly when he saw that his battleship was in danger from a torpedo attack.

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The torpedo just now rushed past the stern of the battleship North Carolina, almost killing the rudder of the battleship.

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If the Japanese were to come here a few more times, this warship would probably have sunk in this sea area shortly after it was commissioned.

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"Sir! Our fighter jets will be here soon!" The officer in charge of liaison finally gave good news at this unfortunate time.

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"Great! Let the fleet turn due south! Give up the pursuit of the Japanese fleet! They have been fooled, and now we have to get as close to the Solomon Islands as possible!" Spruance changed the course of the fleet.

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Originally, the US fleet route was the southwest. Their purpose was to make a gesture of wanting to approach the Japanese fleet and let the Japanese navy bite their "bait".

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Once the Japanese Navy sent an attack force, the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft would have the opportunity to strike first.

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Now that the goal has been achieved, Spruance feels that he should find a way to preserve his fleet.

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Therefore, he ordered the fleet to switch from the southwest route to the due south route, so that his fleet changed from chasing the Japanese combined fleet to moving closer to the Solomon Islands.

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In this way, it is equivalent to saying that the US Army Air Forces who came to aid are facing each other, shortening the time for the fighters to arrive on the battlefield.

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After receiving the order, the U.S. Second Fleet drew a neat rudder track on the Pacific Ocean.

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A warship sails on the ocean, and its body of tens of thousands of tons is much more flexible than it looks. With the constant roar of anti-aircraft guns, all American warships began to adjust their bows.

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A huge curved white track was left on the sea, and under the siege of Japanese aircraft, the American fleet completed its turn.

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"Boom!" With the turn of the entire fleet completed, the battleship North Carolina was hit by Japanese bombers again!

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And this time, it wasn't an aerial bomb that hit the USS North Carolina, but a torpedo! Although the warships kept turning, and despite the desperate efforts of the anti-aircraft artillery units to disperse the Japanese aircraft, a Type 97 carrier-based attack aircraft with torpedoes was still missing.

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Flying close to the sea, the attack aircraft carried a torpedo near the broadside of the North Carolina in the hail of bullets.

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Then, at very close range, the Japanese attack plane dropped the torpedo. In the next second, the Japanese attack plane that successfully dropped the torpedo was hit by the anti-aircraft artillery that was strafing over, and it shattered on the sea in an instant.

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Anyway, the torpedo was dropped, and it doesn't matter whether the plane was shot down or not.

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Just as Spruance was confirming the location of his fighter, the torpedo also hit the North Carolina's broadside armor.

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Unlike the last time he was hit by an aviation bomb, General Spruance felt that the battleship under his feet was lifted out of the sea by a huge force, and then fell back heavily.

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He tried his best to keep himself standing, but was still shaken by the violent vibration and fell to the floor. This time he fell into a mess, and even forgot where he was.

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He finally got up from the floor of the bridge and found that the people around him were just as embarrassed as him.

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Then ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ The damage control department called, and the officer in the engine room reported the damage to the warship.

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"The hull is flooding! We are trying to plug the loopholes! The speed will definitely be affected!" On the other side of the phone, the voice of the officer speaking could not even cover the sound of the sea water pouring into the hull.

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Spruance gritted his teeth. He knew that the fleet he led might have to pay a heavy price.

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Even if only one battleship was sunk, it was a huge loss for the U.S. Navy, which had few troops.

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Although the follow-up warships are still being launched continuously, the unreliable time in front of them can cost the life of the U.S. Navy.

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"Let the other warships continue to accelerate! Leave us alone! Order Colonel Carl to temporarily take over my command! Let the Washington fly the command flag! Temporarily serve as the flagship to issue orders!" .

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And just above his head, the circling Japanese carrier-based attack aircraft group began a new round of dives...

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