Chapter 146 Hand in Hand (Part 1) The sky finally dawned. (¡ª¡ª) Facing the direction of the rising sun, silver-white war eagles soared from the flight decks of their respective motherships, circling and gathering, flying in formation like wild geese amidst bursts of buzzing sounds. To the distance When the first ray of sunshine shines on the earth, the Barrigada Airport located in the north-central part of Guam is completely silent. The U.S. officers and soldiers who had been standing all night looked at the scene around them and felt like they were in hell: hundreds of Japanese corpses were scattered across the grass, roads, bushes and even streams, and the dark blood eroded the land. Even the stream turned into a horrible river of blood. After a rough inventory, the US military found more than 2,800 Japanese remains and dozens of abandoned seriously injured soldiers within a few kilometers. Although they had lost their combat effectiveness, these Japanese soldiers were still stubborn to a jaw-dropping degree. Some of them detonated grenades and died together with the US military medical soldiers who came to rescue them. Some ended their lives with bayonets or rifles. Even those who could not move stubbornly resisted the US military's medical treatment! Amid the clanging sound of tracks, the first batch of U.S. landing tanks rumbled to the defensive positions outside the airport. Although they missed the fierce and unusual night defense battle, their appearance will undoubtedly cut off the Japanese's hope of recapturing the airport. Following the tanks and armored vehicles, the first batch of tracked forklifts and wheeled engineering vehicles also arrived at the airport. The infrastructure that the Japanese have spent great efforts to build here is still up to standard, but due to the previous heavy bombing by the US military, the bumpy runway has become unable to take off and land aircraft, and essential facilities such as aprons and aprons also need repair. Fortunately, the work efficiency of professional construction machinery is much higher than that of conscripted coolies. The U.S. military's advantage in this regard still lags behind the Japanese! At this point, the U.S. military landing on Guam has consolidated one large beach landing site, three airborne landing sites, and seized one medium-sized airport. The main landing force has broken through the Japanese defense line in northern Guam and rendezvoused with some of the paratroopers who were airborne in advance. The total strength of the landing force on the island has exceeded 3.5 Thousands of people. At the same time, the U.S. Navy fleet responsible for supporting the landing operations is still cruising in the sea near Guam. Their lineup includes two New Mexico-class battleships, one Pennsylvania-class battleship, two Colorado-class battleships, and one North Carolina-class battleship. The six light and heavy cruisers and more than ten destroyers accompanying it looked majestic from a distance and up close. On the sea at the end of the sight, an Essex-class aircraft carrier and three Borg-class escort aircraft carriers, closely guarded by a group of light cruisers and destroyers, provided rapid and effective aviation cover for the landing troops. The U.S. Navy has invested heavily in one fell swoop, and the Japanese garrison in Guam will not turn a blind eye. The always shrewd Japanese Combined Fleet Commander Yamamoto Gossip will not be fooled by a mere six half-old battleships and three aircraft carriers that are not the absolute main force. confuse. With the bait in front, the predator is naturally lurking not far away. With the U.S. Army Air Forces and Naval Air Forces already firmly in control of the air over the Mariana Islands, the Japanese defenders still sent out remaining aircraft¡ªland-based reconnaissance planes, Zero fighters, water reconnaissance planes and even radio-carrying bombers¡ªthe night before. and transport aircraft. Even though the few remaining small airports did not have the ability to land at night, the Japanese army still desperately searched the surrounding waters. That night, the busy US Air Force did not stop at all. Fighters made nearly a hundred sorties, shooting down and damaging 19 Japanese aircraft! Shortly after dawn, a group of aircraft flying from the northwest appeared on the high-power radar screen, and sirens sounded at the three airports in Saipan. In just one minute, the first ready-to-go land-based fighter gained sufficient speed for takeoff on the runway. Looking at the tarmac around the runway, those P47s and F4Us were either on their way to the runway, or It was a short wait while the propeller was rotating rapidly. The early morning air was soon filled with the smell of incomplete combustion of aviation gasoline, and the unique roar enveloped the entire airport, invisibly stimulating people's nerves, heating their blood, inciting their souls, and making them uncontrollably excited. stand up! At the same time, on the sea near Guam, about 200 kilometers away from Saipan, the decks of four US aircraft carriers were also a busy scene. The neatly arranged F4F carrier-based fighter jets had been launched in a short time, one after another. The rack slides off the deck. Not long after, there were more than thirty light blue and blue-gray war hawks hovering over the fleet, and according to the carrying capacity of these four aircraft carriers (one was a specially built combat aircraft carrier and three were escort aircraft carriers converted from cargo ships), Based on the ratio of aircraft capacity to normal aircraft types, they can send up to 80 fighter jets into the air to attack them at a time. Although the number is small, if the tactics are correct, they can still provide good air protection for the fleet supporting the near shore! Under the guidance of radar, the US military fighter group taking off from Saipan accurately attacked the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group. At 7:04 a.m. local time, the two sides saw each other's figures on the blue sea; 3 minutes later?The P-47 belonging to the U.S. Army Aviation was the first to launch rockets at a distance of four thousand meters. This sharp air combat weapon was funded and ordered by the U.S. Army, produced by the German Krupp Arms Company, and was used as a prototype weapon in the German Air Force. Corresponding improvements were made on the basis of the aircraft, and it was officially commissioned into the US Air Force on February 14, 1943. With the help of German engineers, 300 P-47s were the first to become the "beneficiaries" of these German weapons, and an equal number of US military pilots received skills training and live-fire exercises. The Japanese aviation force, which thought it could conquer the entire Pacific with its Zero fighter jets, had unknowingly lagged behind in the development of new equipment, and their Italian allies failed to play much role in these aspects. Compensatory effect. At this moment, most Japanese pilots still don¡¯t know what aviation rockets are, let alone that they have a much longer range than machine guns and quite astonishing power. They are rushing towards American fighter jets as ferociously as usual, and They won the victory easily like a mountain eagle attacking a bird. However, the 60mm aviation rocket trailing its tail flame opened their eyes. There was a bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. In this case, although the Japanese pilots' momentum remained unchanged, the battle formation was greatly disrupted. After losing a round first, they tried to use their best aerial combat to severely repair the Americans. However, the P-47 was not comparable to the old P-40. Not only were they fast, but their structure was also quite solid, and their thick armor was very difficult for the Japanese. The fighter's close-range attack has a good "immunity effect", and the strong firepower can make the skin of the thin and light Zero fighter open. Both sides have their own strengths, and the fierce air battle suddenly became inextricable! In a moment, more than 60 Zero fighter jets covered a considerable number of attack aircraft and appeared in the airspace of more than 4,000 meters. The covert tactics had achieved brilliant results, but they were unable to hide in front of the new radar of the US military. After receiving the order from the combat headquarters, F4U, which was already on standby at high altitude, immediately rushed forward. The extra-large propeller and the "curved" inverted gull-shaped wings are unique in this era. However, this is not for the sake of sensationalism, but a masterpiece of the engineers' wisdom. Flat rivets, spot welding technology, a supercharger buried inside the fuselage, and a radiator hidden in the inner wing. These designs that take aerodynamic principles to their fullest extent have finally created a classic fighter aircraft - in the air combat drill , it is also the only fighter in active service in the US military that can compete with the German Focke-Wulf 190 fighter! In order to cover the slower attack aircraft, four squadrons of Zero fighters rushed towards the F4U fleet without hesitation. Due to the relatively scattered formation, only five Zero fighter jets were unfortunately "hit" when faced with the rocket attack from the US military. After a moment of head-on fire, the remaining more than a hundred fighter jets immediately engaged in a melee. . The experienced Japanese pilots tried their best to hold back the U.S. "pirates" so that they could not intercept the "99 Ship Explosives" with plasters on their fuselages and bombs hanging under their bellies. At 7:31 a.m. local time, an air raid siren sounded from the U.S. battleship group cruising near Guam. The sentries on the observation deck saw black spots from the horizon through their telescopes. In the Battle of Mariana that ended not long ago, many main ships of the U.S. Navy were attacked and sunk by Japanese carrier-based aircraft. This time, the American officers and soldiers fought not only for revenge, but also for honor. They knew very well that if they were defeated in a naval battle again, the situation in the Pacific War would irreversibly slide into the abyss! Through radio transmission, the battle warning has long spread to every US military combat unit in the Mariana Islands and surrounding areas. The battleships, cruisers and destroyers floating on the water have all accelerated their speed in advance, and the light and heavy anti-aircraft guns on the ships are also waiting eagerly. The Army and Marine Corps officers and soldiers who had landed on Guam were also prepared in advance. Their personnel and equipment were properly placed under bunkers or camouflaged, and machine guns and anti-aircraft guns were deployed around important strongholds. The first batch of Japanese carrier-based bombers flying over Guam symbolically dropped aerial bombs on the airports and beachheads occupied by the US military. More attack aircraft focused their attention on the US military ships maneuvering offshore. Even though there are dozens of U.S. fighter jets waiting in front, and U.S. escort ships can organize a tight air defense firepower network at medium and low altitudes at any time, these dozens of Japanese carrier-based aircraft still fly eastward over the island without hesitation, those extremely delicious food The bait is exuding a deadly alluring aura