Fleet of Books

Chapter 35 - Annihilation of the Eastern Fleet

When the second wave arrived in the combat zone, the two expected British fleets had been reduced into one. It was evident, not through the integration of the two fleets, but by counting the floating ships at sea, that one fleet had been annihilated. There was no sign of interceptor planes. It seemed that they had already been devastated or had reduced the enemy's numbers to the point where they could not withstand interception battles.

The British fleet formed a line with four battleships and one aircraft carrier, guarded on both sides by two cruisers. The eight destroyers, deviating from the formation, seemed to have been engaged in rescue operations just before.

"Designating attack order. First, the Funryū squad, followed by the fighters and torpedo bombers. Regarding the attack methods of the fighters and torpedo bombers, leave it to the discretion of each commander."

Lieutenant Commander Shimazaki of the second wave took a breath and gave further instructions.

"Regarding the targets of the Funryū squad, the 5th and 6th Carrier Divisions should attack cruisers and destroyers by sections. The 2nd Carrier Division should target battleships, and the 1st Carrier Division should aim for the aircraft carrier. In the order of attack, start with the 5th Carrier Division, followed by the 6th Carrier Division, then the 2nd Carrier Division, and the last is the 1st Carrier Division. Each squadron leader should be careful not to overlap targets."

With that said, Shimazaki, leading the first squadron of the carrier Zuikaku, launched the missile attack targeting the light cruiser Danae. The ship, equipped with six single 15,2 cm guns along the centerline, had a decent anti-ship striking capability but was relatively weak in anti-air capabilities.

The Zuikaku's first squadron successfully launched the missiles without any losses, achieving the remarkable feat of hitting out of all launches. A small cruiser reaching its 24th year of service could not withstand the impact of three nearly one-ton projectiles containing 300 kilograms of explosives each. The Danae quickly became a torch at sea.

By the time the squadrons from the Shōkaku, Zuikaku, Kamikaku, and Amakaku completed their attacks, there were twelve smoke columns. Every squadron successfully hit at least one missile on their targets.

Following the 5th and 6th Carrier Divisions, the Sōryū and Hiryū squadrons began their assault on the four battleships. As expected, the anti-aircraft fire from the four battleships was powerful. Before reaching the firing point, the fifth plane of the Hiryū was shot down, and similarly, the seventh plane was shot down during the guidance phase. Meanwhile, out of the 16 missiles aimed at the four battleships, fourteen hit their targets. Some ships took two hits, and others even endured four hits with their limited armor.

The carrier Hermes, targeted by the Kaga squadron, was struck by a whopping six Funryū-1s. For a small carrier with a standard displacement just slightly exceeding ten thousand tons, this damage was fatal.

As the Funryū-1s concluded its attack, the fighter and torpedo units transitioned to assault maneuvers. The targets for the torpedo bombers were battleships or aircraft carriers, while the fighters targeted cruisers and destroyers.

"Shōkaku squadron, target the first ship, Zuikaku squadron to the second ship, Kamikaku squadron to the third ship, and Amakaku squadron to the fourth ship. Kaga squadron, remain on standby until further orders."

With that said, Lieutenant Kitajima, the commander of the torpedo squadron, led the Kaga squadron and, along with his subordinates, observed the efforts of their comrades from outside the range of enemy anti-aircraft fire.

Nine Type 1s each launched an assault on each British battleship. All of them attacked from the right side, where the missiles had hit earlier. The targeted British battleship retaliated with gunfire, but due to the damage from the Funryū-1s, its ability to use weapons had significantly decreased. Nevertheless, the attacking Type 1s were not entirely unscathed, as some planes were hit or shot down. However, their numbers were few, and most of the aircraft successfully dropped their torpedoes.

After releasing the torpedoes, the Type 1s evaded the bow and stern of each British battleship and attempted to withdraw. After a while, two pillars of water rose from the first ship, three each from the second and fourth ships, and four from the third ship. Although having 12 hits out of 36 attackers in the assault might seem somewhat unsatisfactory, there was no doubt that it dealt a significant blow to the enemy battleships.

"First section to the first ship, second section to the second ship, third section to the fourth ship!"

Issuing a brief command, Kitajima along with his two wingmen turned their planes towards the starboard side of the enemy's first ship. The third ship, already hit by four torpedoes on one side, was listing heavily. For a new-generation battleship with excellent torpedo defense, it might have been a different story. Still, for an outdated battleship, receiving four torpedoes on one side was a lethal blow unless extremely fortunate.

Incoming shells from the British battleship were aimed at them.

The enemy was desperate.

However, with the ship listing due to flooding, it can't target the enemy accurately. The Kaga's first section, easily diving into the heart of the enemy battleship's defenses, successively dropped lethal Type 91 aerial torpedoes. Already hit twice by torpedoes, the movement of the British battleship was slow to the point of evoking sympathy.

'All hits for sure.'

Kitajima was convinced, but there were only two splashes rising. Perhaps the hits were confirmed but were duds. In any case, with four of the latest Type 91 aerial torpedoes, which had twice the explosive content of the initial model, hitting one side, it was impossible for any ship, not a new battleship, to remain afloat.

Exiting the range of enemy anti-aircraft fire and gaining altitude, Kitajima, with a gasp, looked down at the scene below. All four battleships were listing heavily to the starboard, with no sign of any ship surviving.

While the torpedo squadron fiercely attacked the enemy battleships, the fighters were also preparing to initiate combat against the enemy cruisers and destroyers. Initially, the British battleship fleet consisted of four battleships, one aircraft carrier, four cruisers, and eight destroyers. However, due to the Funryū squad's attack, all four cruisers were destroyed, and one of them was engulfed in flames and smoke, beyond salvation. Moreover, all eight destroyers had been hit by the missiles and were in varying states of distress. Among them, one destroyer had exploded due to torpedoes or depth charges, and another destroyer, hit by three missiles, was sinking. Even the cruisers and destroyers that were still afloat were mostly stationary, and those moving were crawling at a sluggish speed.

'Three cruisers and six destroyers remaining. And each of them is half-disabled or in critical condition.'

Thinking so, Lieutenant Shiga, the squadron leader of the fighter squadron, issued a concise command.

"Shōkaku, Kamikaku, and Amakaku squadrons, attack the remaining enemy ships in sections. Shōkaku squadron, target the cruisers, while Kamikaku and Amakaku squadrons focus on destroyers. Zuikaku and Kaga squadrons, standby, prepare for any missed shots."

As soon as Shiga spoke, the Shōkaku, Kamikaku, and Amakaku squadrons spread out in squadrons and mercilessly dropped 250 kg bombs on the dying British cruisers and destroyers. Although the accuracy of glide bombing was inferior to dive bombing, if the enemy's movements were sluggish, the hit rate would still improve. With the exception of one plane shot down before releasing the bombs, all aircraft dropped a total of thirty-five 250 kg bombs on the remaining British cruisers and destroyers. Of these, six hits were confirmed, and the hit rate was less than twenty percent. However, for the already damaged two British cruisers and four British destroyers, this additional damage was almost fatal.

"Zuikaku squadron will take out the cruisers, and the Kaga squadron will take out the destroyers! Don't let any of them escape!"

At the same time as Shiga's order, 24 Zeros began their descent toward the last remaining cruiser and two destroyers.