Chapter 157 Dagger and Spear It was another sunny day. On the calm sea southeast of Saipan, a fleet with strong vitality was assembled. The battleships were still as powerful and majestic as usual. In ordinary people's eyes, In the eyes, they are still the undisputed maritime overlords, but for real military commanders, their strategic position has been completely replaced by aircraft carriers. In fact, except for the three aircraft carriers assisted by the German Navy, the other nine are all genuine American products. In addition to the "Enterprise" and "Wasp" that were sunk in the two Marianas battles, as well as the "Lexington" that sank earlier, the USS Langley, the first aircraft carrier of the US Navy, returned to the battlefield after overhaul The "Essex", plus four escort aircraft carriers converted from large cargo ships, together form this aircraft carrier formation that is stronger in scale than strength. On the decks of several major aircraft carriers, fighter jets neatly arranged at the stern of the ship took off in an orderly manner. Flying in the blue sea and sky were both the F4F "Wildcat", the main carrier-based aircraft of the U.S. Navy, and the F6F "Wildcat" that was just installed at the beginning of the year. Hellcat" - This fighter was developed based on the Zero fighter captured by the US military. Although its absolute speed is not fast, it has extremely excellent low-altitude performance. It is regarded as a "magic weapon" by senior US Navy officials and is listed as a priority production equipment project. However, their current equipment quantity is not large, and there are only two squadrons in official service, which are respectively equipped on the aircraft carriers "Enterprise" and "Raider". Before the fleet even approached Guam, U.S. military fighter jets from the newly-opened Guam No. 3 Sa Airfield were welcoming them. Today, the U.S. Army Aviation and Hainan Airlines have deployed more than 900 fighter jets and long-range reconnaissance aircraft in the Mariana Islands. , the first batch of equipped bomber units are currently stationed at the large airport on Saipan. However, their range is not enough to attack the Japanese mainland and the Philippines, and they can only patrol and attack in a larger radius centered on the bases in the Mariana Islands. Japanese ships appear in nearby areas. If you want to fundamentally weaken Japan's war capabilities, you must either seize an aviation base closer to its homeland or invest in bombers with a longer range - the B29 is the best choice in history. However, this This ultra-long-range heavy bomber will not enter service until the end of 1943. In terms of range, only the "German Empire's Flying Fortress" JU-490 currently equipped in batches with troops around the world can undertake this task, but not only. Whether the German government is willing to lease or transfer this expensive strategic weapon, the JU-490 must reduce the bomb load and increase fuel when flying directly from Saipan to Japan. This will weaken the bombing effect, and the White House seems to be very worried. Therefore, the military is still debating whether to seek German assistance over the long-term impact of the strategic core position being occupied by German personnel and equipment. Only after a more consistent conclusion is reached, the proposal will be placed on the external aggression negotiation table. Due to the great significance and the amount of money involved, it is likely to hit a new record. Whether the trip will take place will ultimately have to be decided by Congress. The crescent-shaped Mariana Islands are roughly oriented north-south, with the north close to the Japanese archipelago and the south facing the Philippines. Saipan is located in the middle of this archipelago, while Guam is basically located at the southernmost point. Since the news of a large fleet arriving in Manila, the main force of the US Pacific Fleet has been operating near Guam. This time, conclusive news came: A fleet with battleships and heavy cruisers as its core has been anchored in Manila for a week. Over the weekend, excited Italian sailors filled various leisure venues in the dock area, and had unpleasant encounters with the local police and even the Japanese garrison. There was friction, but in the end the situation was settled. Two days later, the persistent foggy weather in the northeastern Aleutian Islands finally ended, and the lazy sunshine just fell on the largest naval and air base of the US military in the Aleutian Islands. -Dutch Harbor, groups of Japanese fighter planes appeared in the southwest sky. Under the early warning of the US military radar station, the fighter jets of the port garrison took off immediately, and the aviation units deployed at the surrounding air bases also immediately took off. Taking off to fight, they were always able to easily get rid of their pursuers, and after several consecutive dazzling maneuvers, they appeared behind the opponent, and then heard the disgusting crunching sound of the 20mm cannon - it was like The Japanese infantry screamed with bayonets, and although the 7.7mm i¨£ caliber machine guns participated in the battle from time to time, to put it bluntly, they played no role most of the time except for drilling holes in the opponent's body in vain.