Rear Admiral Wu Qianlong issued the "Combat Order No. 1" on the same day, ordering the ship's pilots to "bomb, torpedo or straf any ship that endangers the fleet's mission." The bombs were detonated and the dive bombers were loaded with bombs. The torpedoes were also equipped with detonating cones, and all the guns on the ship were loaded with shells, ready to go into battle at any time.
At 6 o'clock, the "Xuanyuan" turned around to the left and stood into the wind to allow the aircraft on the ship to take off with the wind. A squadron of reconnaissance aircraft took off immediately. At this time, the sky was already bright.
Viewed from the sky, the "Xuanyuan" aircraft carrier looks like a free-floating long board (334 meters long and 48 meters wide). The chimney, bridge and all external observation and command structures are generally located on the starboard side. People call this part the "ship island" ". The surface of the aircraft carrier is higher than that of an ordinary battleship. Since the shape of its surroundings is asymmetrical, its appearance is extremely weird no matter what angle it is viewed from. When you stand on the bridge of another ship for the first time and look at an aircraft carrier from a 45-degree angle, you will feel strange and wonder what this stubby monster with a disproportionate chimney is. But when you get up close and make out this long island plowing through the waves at 25 knots, you realize it's a majestic instrument of war. An aircraft carrier, like a monarch, never acts alone. Destroyers and cruisers crowded in front and behind, keeping a certain distance from the aircraft carrier, and sometimes even a battleship escorted them; as soon as day broke, there were layers of aircraft protecting them in the air, and the aircraft carrier advanced amidst the roar of its powerful engines, giving A strong smell of heavy oil was left on the sea. This is how the "Xuanyuan" acted. After the reconnaissance plane took off, the "Xuanyuan" turned back to the bow and continued eastward, and the escort ships also turned around and headed eastward. A signal flag flew on a sling of the "Xuanyuan" to indicate that "an air exercise is underway."
In addition to enforcing the "stop transmitting" ban, aircraft generally maintain contact with each other through short-wave wireless telephones in the air: first, the aircraft communicate with their aircraft carriers; second, the aircraft communicate with each other; third, they communicate with ground facilities when approaching the airport.
The aircraft of the "Xuanyuan" flew in an evacuated formation. Looking from a distance, we could see the endless blue sea and clear sky. There were white clouds and visibility was good.
The pilots¡¯ attention was quickly attracted by the black clouds rising from the ground. It couldn't be anything else but smoke. Then, above the smoke, a large number of black clumps appeared. This can only be the smoke cloud generated by the explosion. Just at this time. Monoplanes with orange disk markings on their wings rushed into the reconnaissance group from all directions. Heavy fire with machine guns.
The aircraft of Lieutenant Colonel Mingyang, the leader of the reconnaissance aircraft squadron, is the leader of the reconnaissance aircraft squadron. Lieutenant Colonel Srock and Lieutenant Colonel Mingyang from the staff of Major General Wu Qianlong were on the same plane and sat in the gunner's seat at the back. When he recognized the Japanese plane, he immediately wanted to set up the machine gun, but he couldn't mount it anyway. At this time. A swarm of mustard-colored monoplanes, known as Gales, swarmed him like flies, shooting non-stop while Srock struggled to set up his machine gun. Sudden. He found that the plane was close to the ground, descending rapidly, and the engine failed. Lieutenant Colonel Mingyang made an emergency landing in the sea. None of the two were injured.
Lieutenant Liu Weijia was the first to recognize the Japanese. After he reported to the "Xuanyuan", he knew that the enemy fighter jets were much faster than him, so he immediately descended at full speed and flew low against the waves. The Japanese torpedo plane flew over his head, and there were no torpedoes under the fuselage. Gallagher watched the enemy planes flying northeast, and decided to return to the aircraft carrier to refuel before taking off to find the Japanese aircraft carriers. In order to report to the "Xuanyuan". He passed through the smoke and came to the sea where the thick smoke was rising. He saw an aircraft carrier with billowing black smoke. It was the "Yichun" escort aircraft carrier.
The ship's air defense troops were shooting at air targets. The beacon smoke on the ship was in a mess, and everything was desolate. The hangar and oil depot were burned to the ground. The aircraft on the deck were completely destroyed, some were still burning, and some were smoking. People were coming and going, running here and there. Some walked as fast as flying, and some walked with difficulty. Some people were sitting on the damaged plane. Shooting with the machine gun in the rear cabin, others removed the machine gun from the aircraft and mounted it on a makeshift stand to shoot. Others ran out of the smoke carrying stretchers. There was chaos everywhere, the rumble of bomb explosions came one after another, and the airport was shaking from time to time.
Liu Weijia pulled up the plane again. He traveled about 280 kilometers but found nothing. The Japanese planes quickly retreated after attacking.
Lieutenant Wang Di was attacked by Japanese fighter jets before he arrived here. Under his feet was a blue sea, with a shining spot in front of him, which was the aircraft carrier "Yichun". The ship was filled with smoke, and Wang Di found a monoplane in front of him. Tracer bullets were shot out from under the wing, and machine guns were firing continuously. The bullets were whizzing and the tracer bullets were falling slowly, making Lieutenant Wang Di overwhelmed. Suddenly, the enemy plane rushed over at a diagonal angle, as if it was going to fly quickly.As if it was yawing, Lieutenant Wang Di opened fire immediately. He heard the rear gunners firing as well. At this time, a "Gale" aircraft appeared on the right. Immediately afterwards, another one sprang out in front. Lieutenant Wang Di tried his best to maintain altitude and maneuver. But he felt that his plane was surprisingly slow compared to Japanese planes that were capable of aerobatic maneuvers. He soon found that he was out of ammunition. After a while, the rear cabin machine gunner ran out of bullets and reported to Lieutenant Wang Di that he had been shot in the arm. Fortunately, all the surrounding enemy planes flew away. Lieutenant Wang Di decided to return to the aircraft carrier and land. So, he flew towards the aircraft carrier "Xuanyuan". At this time, several more Gale aircraft surrounded him. Lieutenant Wang Di suddenly felt as if someone kicked him hard in the leg, and the aircraft engine was hit and stalled almost at the same time. The plane is getting closer and closer to the sea. Lieutenant Wang Di tried his best to control the plane, and finally fell heavily on the water, but the plane did not crash. Lieutenant Wang Di moved his injured leg: the injury was very minor. The plane floated steadily on the water. Lieutenant Wang Di left his seat to look for the machine gunner. The machine gunner's arm was seriously injured, bleeding, and his clothes and seats were stained red. Lieutenant Wang Di returned to his seat and pulled a piece of wire from the radio plug to use as a tourniquet. A few hundred meters away, blue waves happily lapped at the coast of the small island not far away, stirring up layers of spray. But a huge roar filled the sky, and no other sound could be heard at sea. The Japanese army launched another attack, and explosions rumbled; clouds of black smoke rushed into the blue sky, and were blown away by the wind after a while. Lieutenant Wang Di wrapped the wire around the machine gunner's arm, and the bleeding finally stopped. Lieutenant Wang Di pulled out the rubber raft from the cabin and inflated it. Japanese planes paid no attention to the plane that fell over the sea. After the rubber raft is inflated. Lieutenant Wang Di helped the machine gunner get out of his seat and get on the rubber raft. After the two sat down, Lieutenant Wang Di began to paddle toward the shore. Although there was a bit of headwind, the waves pushed the boat forward. Lieutenant Wang Di rowed straight towards the shore. At this time, several people on the shore discovered this apricot-yellow rubber raft. Just run this way. They helped the machine gunner ashore. Help him back. Lieutenant Wang Di didn't mention his injury at all; he didn't think it was a problem. Walking on the shore, Lieutenant Wang Di told the pilots on the "Yichun" that he wanted to find another plane. They shrugged and joked that not a single plane could fly here, not even one that could taxi on the ground.
The officers and soldiers on board the "Xuanyuan" are young men of green color. No one had ever seen a warship hit during the war. Rear Admiral Wu Qianlong is 40 years old. He is 170 centimeters tall and weighs 77 kilograms. He has a big face, a long chin and a short neck. But he has a broad forehead, broad eyebrows, bright eyes, and vivid facial expressions. It seems that the general impression given by Wu Qianlong is that he has a lively and cheerful personality, and he is open-minded and bold. He became famous in the Naval University for playing good football in his youth. Because he was used to rushing and hitting when playing football, his classmates nicknamed him "T-Rex". It is indeed Wu Qianlong's nature to rush and fight fiercely. This character may have had some influence on his later style. because. A person's behavior often corresponds to a certain extent with the image people give him.
Wu Qianlong has been commanding destroyers for many years. Even in peacetime, he would rush into the destroyer. Galloping on the sea and grazing several torpedo boats, this is just a small thing for the wealthy Chinese navy. He was rarely criticized, and in the Japanese navy, the launch of the smallest ship was treated as a major event. In World War I, Wu Qianlong was awarded the Golden Dragon Medal of the Chinese Navy for "completion of an important and dangerous mission" and "actions of fierce attack, defense and continuous combat". When he was 30 years old. Perhaps because he was tired of destroyers, he longed to fly airplanes. He declared: "Airplanes are the future. Airplanes will soon play a primary role in naval battles. I want to learn to fly." Originally, people with poor eyesight like him were not allowed to take pilot courses in principle. But he still entered the Dalian Naval Aviation School and obtained the observer qualification certificate. Later, after repeated requests, he finally got a pilot certificate. This was mainly a mental comfort to him. Wu Qianlong has never flown a modern fighter jet or taken off from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. However, his reputation was high because of his naval talents and his insistence on using aircraft in naval battles. This is enough to make him qualified to command the "White Phoenix" light aircraft carrier. Later, he served as the vice principal of the Dalian Naval Aviation School where he once studied. After the "Xingtian" aircraft carrier was launched, he served as the commander of the "Xingtian" and "Bai Feng" aircraft carrier task forces. The Pacific War broke out, and "T-Rex" was ready to fight hard. This time he was leading not a torpedo boat, but an aircraft carrier.
Wu Qianlong soon became a unique and "attractive" model among commanders in the eyes of war reporters. In addition to his boxer-like body and "T-Rex" reputation, he also swears a lot. An old saying about hating the enemy was on his lips all day long: "Kill the Japanese pirates."?Kill the Japanese pirates. "In 1943, he said in Auckland, New Zealand: "In the early days of the war, I advocated that one of our soldiers fight against the Japanese, one against three. I have now increased this ratio: one Chinese against twenty Japanese. "Soon, he publicly predicted in Noumea that the Pacific War would end with the Allied Forces holding a military parade in Tokyo in 1943. However, at the end of 1943, Wu Qianlong was still in Noumea, sitting at his desk. His troops did not embark on the 3,500 nautical miles from Guadalcanal to Tokyo, but struggled to reach Bougainville, which was only 300 nautical miles away from Guadalcanal.
Wu Qianlong speaks freely and is highly praised by reporters, but he often arouses the disgust of China's highest command. Shen Honglie had no choice but to defend his subordinates: "He has the talents to do his job, and he is aggressive. This is also the temper of a soldier. It cannot explain his temper and recklessness. He is rough and fine, and has the wit and bravery of a soldier, which is commendable." . He can accurately predict the dangers contained in a battle, and the error is no more than a millimeter." His words are extraordinary. A left-leaning Chinese historian later wrote: "In the Battle of Tonkin Bay, Wu Qianlong's actions horrified thousands of Chinese people. It brought fatal disaster to thousands of them." After the battle, Wu Qianlong met with the families of some sailors and received some letters that made him unhappy. The historian gave his passage a straightforward title: Portrait of a Murderer.
However, it is undeniable that Wu Qianlong is a very popular Chinese naval general. Although the reports of war correspondents are somewhat exaggerated. But Wu Qianlong is in front of the Chinese public. Especially among the officers and soldiers of warships, he is indeed deeply supported. Wu Qianlong is "the idol of many people in the fleet. Most of them have never seen him in person. They know almost nothing about him. They can't even tell which naval units he commanded. They can't name a single one he fought." Victory." It can be seen from this that the legend is better than the person. When people accused him of making rash predictions in 1943, Wu Qianlong replied: "It was for propaganda and to boost morale." Indeed, as soon as he spoke. Even his appearance can boost the morale of the officers and soldiers. On September 15, 1942, Shen Honglie boarded the "Xingtian" aircraft carrier parked in Dalian Port to award medals to the officers and soldiers. At that time, he had just received the news that the "Emei" light aircraft carrier had sunk, and he wanted to reduce the possible impact of the news.
"I bring you good news," Shen Honglie said to the sailors, "Rear Admiral Wu Qianlong is coming."
The officers and soldiers suddenly burst into cheers. Every time Wu Qianlong went to inspect or review, he received a spontaneous and warm welcome. He was the only admiral in the Pacific who had this effect. Even more surprisingly, he was moved by the support of the crowd. When he heard the cheers, this "tyrannosaurus" with rude words and stiff attitude could not help but shed tears in his eyes. At the end of January 1942, Wu Qianlong sailed from Dalian Port, leading a small fleet. Heading on an unknown course (his mission was to help the British Navy defend Australia). He didn't even have a battleship to protect the aircraft carrier. Among the crowd watching the fleet enter the outbound channel, some people knew that Wu Qianlong went to the enemy's waters to attack the enemy. They were wondering what would happen if Wu Qianlong's fleet encountered a Japanese battleship equipped with 460 mm cannons. "Moreover. No one knows how our navy will perform in luxurious and comfortable warships in front of the Japanese who live on honor and a handful of rice." Someone wrote.
There is a color documentary film shot on a Chinese aircraft carrier. The French name of this film is "Sea Fighter". As soon as the film started, the Chinese audience reacted very strongly, but it is also reasonable. The screen showed the aircraft carrier's kitchen, with various dishes neatly arranged, poached eggs, meat and fresh fruits put together in a colorful and dazzling array. When the audience saw these shots, they could not help but whisper and praise each other. Fan. The residents of this ancient continent were filled with emotion when they saw such rich delicacies. As the camera changes, the audience's desire and interest become stronger, because not only is the food abundant on the aircraft carrier, but also everything from daily necessities, living equipment to necessary supplies for soldiers is abundant. Seeing this aircraft carrier, people can guess that China's abundant products are enough to relieve its soldiers from material worries.
There is no doubt that this film is not without any promotional intention. However, if you want to provide irrefutable evidence, you can only be there and serve as a sailor on a Chinese aircraft carrier. However, there are many reports that can be verified and many photos that can be carefully checked; it is also helpful to read the service regulations on the aircraft carrier. In short, judging from all the materials that can be collected, life on a Chinese aircraft carrier is different from the military life in people's minds, and it is also different from what the movie "Sea Fighter" tells people.
May wish to take a closer look. in people'sIn this scene, the most common situation is that the "waiter boy" is carrying a big rice bowl, and the rice in it is either smelly or rotten, but this is also unique to military life. However, it is completely different on China's aircraft carriers. There is a service desk where every soldier lives. They go to the service desk to get a tray, order their favorite dishes to the waiter, and the dishes are served, just like in a high-end cafe. The waiter gave each of them a set of tableware, and they could go to the big teapot to pour a cup of tea, and then find an empty seat to sit down and eat. As long as it does not affect the combat, it is usually three meals a day, and each meal lasts two hours. During these two hours, soldiers can eat at any time. You can eat whatever you want, including vegetables and rice. You can eat as much as you like. Eat enough.
PS: After watching "Iron Man 3", I suddenly understood a truth: only terrorists can make all TV stations broadcast the same program at the same time.