Nanyang Storm 1864

For decades, the royal family of the Great Chu Empire has attached great importance to the development of aviation and provided substantial financial support.

In the field of aviation research and manufacturing, it has always been at the forefront of the world. All these efforts were recouped in the war in the early 30s.

After a brief air and sea battle, the Royal Navy fighters, having shot down the American aircraft one by one and gained air superiority, quickly expanded their coverage of the airspace.

The battlefield was left to the biplane torpedo bombers that arrived later. Before the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet could complete its air defense formation, the torpedo bombers swooped down from the sky and launched wave after wave of fierce attacks.

These torpedo bombers, operating in pairs, established their attack routes during high-speed dives, broke through the blockade of US warships' anti-aircraft fire, and closed the distance to 3-4 kilometers, reaching a bombing range of approximately 50-60 meters above the sea surface.

Pull the torpedo release mechanism sharply, and the steam gas torpedo, which was already powered on and running, was suddenly released and plunged into the rippling blue sea.

The torpedo's tail propeller spun rapidly, propelling the 950-pound torpedo across the sea at a speed of over 900 meters per minute, leaving a clear white trail in its wake.

The torpedo bomber suddenly felt lighter and, under the pilot's control, roared upwards, tilting violently to evade the fierce anti-aircraft fire, like a petrel darting through a storm of bullets.

The US cruisers, destroyers and gunboats that rushed to the scene opened fire fiercely on the air, and the ammunition exploded into black clouds in the air, but they could not stop the agile torpedo bombers from swarming down like locusts.

The sounds of cannons and explosions echoed across the sea and sky.

Suddenly, the USS Carins was hit by a torpedo. The muffled explosion sounded like a death knell from the seabed, and a large amount of seawater lifted the USS Carins directly up.

The booming explosion, accompanied by bursts of fire, instantly tore the destroyer "Karins" in two. As it crashed back into the sea, it was engulfed in flames and explosions.

That's it, the USS Carins is dead. But who's next?
At this critical moment, the US Navy fleet demonstrated a strong spirit of sacrifice.

One after another, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers bravely shielded the main battleships, using their hulls to block deadly aerial torpedoes.

Amidst the roar of fighter jets and the thunder of cannons in space, torpedo bombers were constantly being hit by shells, exploding into violent fireballs in mid-air.

However, this did not frighten the brave Royal Navy pilots of Chu at all.

Being able to pilot a fighter jet soaring over the sea and sky is the highest honor for a soldier. Many of these young elite naval pilots come from aristocratic families and have their own pride.

They were passionate and brave; when they seized the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, they bit down hard like wolf cubs and refused to let go.

Groups of torpedo bombers swooped down from the sky, swaying left and right to evade artillery fire as they descended.

Once a torpedo attack line is established, it is necessary to maintain a stable course for at least two to three minutes and descend to an altitude of 50 to 60 meters before releasing the torpedoes.

This was the most dangerous moment, yet no one was afraid.

This wave of 120 torpedo bombers launched a frenzied attack. After suffering the loss of more than a dozen fighter jets, the remaining hundred or so torpedo bombers released torpedoes one after another.

All that could be seen on the sea were white death trails, densely packed like a madman's painting. The surging waves, the violently moving warships, and the constant explosions made the sea surface boil like a pot.

In this situation, the trajectory of the torpedo will also change, and no one knows where the torpedo will hit.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Violent explosions rang out continuously. The USS Freyner heavy cruiser was hit by two torpedoes, the USS Porter light cruiser by one torpedo, the USS Harvenport destroyer by one torpedo, and the USS Nevada battleship by one torpedo...

Bad news kept coming in; explosions occurred repeatedly on the sea within a radius of tens of miles, and more than a dozen huge flames rose into the sky.

The burning ships, like incomparable torches, sent thick black smoke soaring two to three hundred meters into the sky, turning the entire sea into a scene of carnage.

After completing their attack, the torpedo bombers roared away, gradually climbing into the sky to form squadrons, and then returned in an orderly fashion, one squadron after another.

This single attack caused considerable casualties to the main force of the US Atlantic Fleet, and an even more terrible nightmare was yet to come.

More than ten nautical miles away
The First Battleship Squadron, the Second Battleship Squadron, and the Third Cruiser Squadron of the Royal Navy of the Great Chu Empire, like arrows released from a bow, are cutting through the waves and rushing towards the battlefield.

Further back, more than 100 nautical miles away, the fourth and fifth aircraft carrier groups were roughly positioned in a pincer formation, separated by a distance of 20 to 30 nautical miles.

They are rapidly deploying and reloading their fighter jets, as well as re-arming and refueling them, in preparation for the next sortie.

On the USS Colorado, the flagship of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

General Hughes stood in the large command tower, her face ashen, facing a difficult decision.

Should they disband the formation and flee for their lives, or continue air defense operations?
The battle that took place at around 8 a.m. revealed a harsh reality: the Great Chu Empire possessed overwhelming air superiority, and the main force of the US Atlantic Fleet, which was sailing south along the Gulf, was in danger of being completely annihilated.

But issuing the order to disband the fleet was no easy task, as it meant utter defeat in the naval battle between Chu and Mei, leaving them with no fighting power and only the option to flee for their lives.

This is a complete surrender, which will inevitably lead to court-martial after the war.

However, if we continue to insist on air defense operations, then we must deploy a large number of warships around each main battleship to form a dense air defense network.

Generally speaking

Torpedo boats and destroyers were positioned on the outermost perimeter, with light cruisers and heavy cruisers moving closer to the core. At the very core were the main battleships and aircraft carriers, which were heavily protected.

Every capital battleship is a vital national asset and cannot be easily lost.

The current situation is giving Admiral Hughes a major headache. Of the nine main battleships, one is lightly damaged, and the aircraft carrier USS Ranger was not targeted and is fortunately unharmed.

The problem is that the aircraft carrier USS Ranger has lost almost all of its aircraft, making it a real burden, and a large number of warships have to be deployed to protect it.

The battle report now indicates that two heavy cruisers, one heavily damaged and one lightly damaged, have been lost, along with three lightly and heavily damaged cruisers, and six destroyers, two of which have been lost and heavily damaged, and are beyond salvage.

If it happens twice more, I really won't be able to handle it.

The main force of the US Atlantic Fleet has clearly been targeted, and the main force of the Chu Royal Navy is probably on its way. A decisive battle between the sea and the air is imminent.

With such a significant air superiority, how easy is it to break through the encirclement?
"Emergency call for ground and air force support. What's the situation?"

"Sir, Raleigh Air Base and Wilmington Air Base in North Carolina have responded and are urgently scrambling aircraft. Four batches of more than 180 fighter jets are en route."

"Not enough, far from enough. Especially the fighters that took off from Raleigh Air Base. At such a distance, how long can they cover the fleet? They'll probably have to turn back as soon as they arrive."

"The Air Force is urgently deploying forces. Aircraft that took off from Wight Island and Richmond will arrive at Wilmington Air Base one after another, and after refueling, they will urgently reinforce our Atlantic Fleet."

"How many fighter jets are there in this follow-up batch?" "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the total is approximately 340 aircraft, of which 70% are fighter jets."

"What is the earliest you can arrive?"

“在中午时分，现在是上午10:27分，约莫还需要两个小时左右，大致在12:40~12:50能够抵达。”

"May God bless America! Pass on my order: regroup the lightly and heavily damaged warships, head due west, immediately break away from the formation and return to Wilmington base. Send the Third Guerrilla Squadron to protect them."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief. The Third Guerrilla Fleet will be dispatched for protection."

"The main force of the Atlantic Fleet has been formed into an air defense formation. Orders have been sent to all ships to quickly replenish ammunition and prepare for air defense operations. We are determined to fight the Easterners to the bitter end."

With the protection of land-based air power, Admiral Hughes regained his confidence and decisively issued the order to fight to the death.

at this time

The piercing air raid sirens wailed once again, putting the main force of the US Atlantic Fleet on high alert. The officers and men on every warship tensed up, their eyes fixed on the sky.

The azure sky was dotted with white clouds, and soon a dense array of black dots appeared.

"Enemy aircraft, enemy aircraft... air defense operations!" The US commander shouted so hard his voice was hoarse.

When they saw the formation of the incoming fighter jets, their faces turned deathly pale.

There was no other reason than that there were too many enemy planes.

The sky was filled with countless black dots, like locusts. I counted about three or four hundred of them, and I don’t know how many more were behind them.

The Chu fighter planes that attacked again were armed with bombs, each plane carrying eight small bombs, each weighing 45 pounds.

The Chu fighter squadrons, high in the sky, swooped down like eagles searching for their targets. At this moment, the US Atlantic Fleet's artillery fire was already raging, blasting out patches of black clouds in the sky.

The fighter jets were more agile and nimble in their dives, weaving through the barrage of exploding shells with ease. They quickly swept past the outer warships, dropping bombs one by one.

The bombs rained down, with eight or nine out of ten landing in the sea, creating a forest of water columns on the azure surface.

There are too many, too many bombs.

Even if one or two out of ten bombs landed on the ships, instantly causing the outer ships to burst into flames, the heavy machine guns that swept like a whirlwind shredded the American soldiers fighting the air defense, sending them flying with limbs to pieces and spraying blood mist everywhere.

These Chu fighter jets swooped down from high altitudes, targeting the destroyers and light cruisers on the perimeter. A dense barrage of bombs rained down, causing the ships to burst into flames and litter with corpses.

It was a terrible sight. In an era when high-altitude rapid-fire weapons were not common, the ships on the outer perimeter of the US Atlantic Fleet suffered severe damage after several aerial bombardments by Chu fighters. It was a shocking sight.

On the battlefield, which spanned dozens of square kilometers, dozens of American warships were hit by artillery shells and caught fire. The raging flames and thick smoke obscured the sun, and many warships were completely silenced.

That wasn't the end of it; the Chu fighter planes, having dropped their bombs, did not leave.

Instead, it pulled back up to high altitude and then swooped down again and again, firing heavy machine guns fiercely, taking all the exposed gun positions of the US warships into its target.

Blood flowed freely, and flames roared.

Just as the Chu naval air force fighters were wreaking havoc, biplane torpedo bombers that had arrived from behind lowered their course and launched a deadly attack on the American warships.

This was truly adding insult to injury; although the US warships had been badly damaged by the bombing, it wasn't fatal.

The 45-pound bomb was quite powerful, collapsing gun emplacements, blasting through smokestacks, tilting ship masts, severing numerous steam pipes, and breaching the ship's deck.

The violent explosion swept across the deck, causing heavy casualties among the American soldiers.

But that's all; such bombing is unlikely to pose a fatal threat to heavily armored warships.

Although the exterior was blasted to pieces, with flames and thick smoke billowing out, these were all external injuries that could be salvaged, at most considered minor injuries.

Airborne torpedoes are different. Each airborne torpedo weighs over 950 pounds and is filled with 120 pounds of yellow high explosives. The key is that it explodes at the waterline.

A violent explosion, conducted through seawater, can create a deadly implosion effect.

A thinly armored destroyer will either sink or be severely damaged if it is hit by a single bullet.

A light cruiser can only withstand 2 to 3 aerial torpedoes at most, and no more than that.

Heavy cruisers and battleships with thick armor are in a better position, but they cannot be attacked by aerial torpedoes indefinitely. If they are hit by seven, eight, or more than ten torpedoes, they will be finished.

This is precisely the main reason why Chu's fighters concentrated their attacks on the outer destroyers and light cruisers. Those small 45-pound bombs fell on the heavy cruisers and battleships like a gentle breeze, causing virtually no damage.

Concentrating forces to strike the outer destroyers and light cruisers is the "peeling onion" tactic. By peeling back the layers of a tightly packed warship group, the core inside is revealed.

The attack effect of these three or four hundred fighter jets was very significant. Almost every destroyer and light cruiser on the outer perimeter of the air defense operations was damaged, and more than a dozen of them had fallen behind.

This clearly indicates that the propulsion system has been severely damaged and is no longer able to keep up with the speed of the main force of the US Atlantic Fleet, which is rapidly heading south.

This is a very dangerous sign, meaning utter annihilation.

Because a large number of damaged warships that had left the formation earlier were attacked again by the first torpedo bombers to arrive, most of them sank.

These heavily damaged US warships, now free from the dense anti-aircraft fire of the fleet, were easy prey for the torpedo bombers circling overhead.

Sending out 5 to 6 torpedo bombers would essentially send the damaged US ship to the bottom of the sea.

Faced with such an extremely passive situation, Admiral Hughes, commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, did not dare to stop for a moment. Instead, he ordered the fleet to fight and retreat, continuing south at an average speed of 16 knots.

General Hughes knew
Now that the location of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet has been exposed, the main force of the Chu Royal Navy Fleet is rushing over at high speed. If it encounters a double attack from the air and the sea, it will be a hopeless prospect.

In any case, the main force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet must not remain stationary; instead, it must accelerate its escape south, at least ensuring that it does not engage in a decisive naval battle with the enemy before receiving protection from land-based air power. (End of Chapter)