You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

Koshiro Oikawa is now kicking himself.

If the General Headquarters had listened to Yamamoto Isoroku's advice before the attack, and had only sent one regular aircraft carrier to provide air cover, would things have turned out differently?

Or, if he himself were a little braver.

If he had disobeyed orders the moment he learned of the fall of Qingcheng Port and turned his fleet back to Shanghai, would things have turned out differently?

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" on the battlefield.

Just as Oikawa Koshiro was falling into despair and regret.

The second wave of attacks has arrived.

Three thousand meters above the ground.

Thirty-six JU-87 dive bombers arrived in neat formation over the battlefield.

To ensure the flight from Qingcheng Port to here, none of the thirty-six Stukas were carrying the heavy 500-kilogram bombs.

Each aircraft carried only one 250-kilogram semi-armor-piercing high-explosive bomb under its fuselage.

Pilot Guan Tiancai tilted the control stick, and Stuka flipped upside down, looking down at the sea.

On the sea, several massive warships were frantically twisting their bodies, while a few smaller destroyers around them were desperately spewing anti-aircraft fire, trying to firmly protect the main warships in the center of the formation.

One of the heavy cruisers was noticeably slower, listing and trailing a long plume of black smoke.

"Attention all squads, disperse and attack, freely search for targets."

The captain's cold command came through the earpiece.

"receive."

Guan Tiancai pressed the microphone and radioed his wingman, who had been following him to his right rear: "Wingman, keep up with me."

Although he came from a system, Guan Tiancai's inherent military honor still made him feel excited at this moment.

All he could think about was sinking the Japanese warships completely and sending them to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.

A 250-kilogram bomb is a bit small in yield.

But Guan Tiancai knew very well that as long as the bomb was aimed accurately, it could send those iron turtles flying by smashing them directly into the Japanese engine room or ammunition depot.

Full of confidence, his gaze swept past the half-damaged Ashigara and locked onto a massive, old-fashioned armored cruiser with an officer's flag flying on its mast.

It was the Izumo.

"You're the one, you old man."

Guan Tiancai sneered, pushed the control stick down sharply with his right hand, and pressed the lever with his left hand to open the speed brakes under the wing.

The Stuka bomber nose-down, at a terrifying angle of nearly eighty degrees, launched a deadly dive towards the Izumo on the sea.

"Ugh—!!!"

The sound-generating device mounted on the landing gear emitted an extremely shrill and ear-piercing whistling sound under the impact of the high-speed airflow.

Guan Tiancai stared intently at the sight in front of the windshield.

The red halo firmly encircled the large smokestack in the middle of the Izumo's hull.

The altimeter is dropping rapidly.

Two thousand meters... fifteen hundred meters...

The Japanese anti-aircraft guns exploded wildly around the Stuka, causing the aircraft to shake violently.

But Guan Tiancai didn't even blink.

One thousand meters!

"Get out of here!"

Guan Tiancai suddenly pressed the bomb release button.

The pylon under the fuselage suddenly swung outward (pictured), and the 250-kilogram semi-armor-piercing bomb detached from the fuselage, carrying enormous kinetic energy, and crashed straight towards the Izumo.

After dropping the bombs, Guan Tiancai immediately pulled up the control stick. The Stuka narrowly leveled off at a height of less than 300 meters above the sea, the immense G-force pressing him firmly into the seat.

"boom--!!!"

The 250-kilogram semi-armor-piercing bomb landed with perfect accuracy on the deck midway between the Izumo and the Izumo.

The Izumo, an old ship built during the Russo-Japanese War, had a paltry 63 millimeters of horizontal armor.

With the aid of gravity, the semi-armor-piercing bomb easily penetrated the old horizontal armor like smashing a cookie, and went straight into the boiler room below.

A violent explosion occurred inside the warship.

The high-pressure steam pipe ruptured instantly, and scorching steam mixed with flames gushed out from the chimney and the gaps in the damaged deck.

The dozens of Japanese engine room crew members inside the boiler room were instantly steamed alive before they could even scream.

Immediately afterwards, the other planes also dropped their bombs.

After being discharged from the hospital, Ha dodged three bombs with incredible skill, twisting left and right, only narrowly escaping being hit by one near miss.

The next second, Guan Tiancai's wingman also dropped bombs.

He only made his move when he was at an extremely dangerous height of 500 meters.

"boom!"

Another 250-kilogram bomb hit the stern of the Izumo.

The massive explosion blew off the Izumo's propeller and jammed the rudder as well.

This effectively turned the Izumo into a crippled old lady who had lost power and could not turn.

"Well done!" Guan Tiancai shouted from inside the cockpit as he climbed back up.

Just then, the few remaining 25mm cannons on the Izumo opened fire.

"Clang! Clang!"

The wingman's fuselage jolted violently, and a plume of black smoke rose from its tail.

"I've been hit, the oil pressure is dropping!" came the anxious voice of the wingman pilot through the headset.

"Don't panic, keep your hand on the joystick."

Guan Tiancai glanced at the status of his wingman and immediately gave the order:

"Maintain altitude as much as possible, fly northwest, fly as far as you can, and prepare for an emergency landing."

Guan Tiancai pulled the plane up and turned to look outside.

On the southern horizon, more than a dozen noticeably smaller black dots appeared, flying at high speed toward the battlefield.

Those were Japanese fighter planes that had been urgently scrambled from Shanghai to provide support.

Meanwhile, the BF-110 formation that had been circling and escorting the enemy aircraft immediately ramped up to full throttle and climbed towards them, preparing to intercept them above the clouds.

Guan Tiancai lowered his head and looked at the sea.

The Izumo, which he had bombed, was now billowing with black smoke, completely powerless, and stood motionless like a huge piece of scrap metal.

-----

The Stuka aircraft group indiscriminately pointed out names on the sea.

The Japanese fleet was completely annihilated.

Faced with repeated attacks from multiple dive bombers, the escorting destroyers were too busy protecting themselves to even think about their own safety, let alone provide air defense for the main warships.

There were far too many Stukas.

A 250-kilogram bomb would be catastrophic for a lightly armored destroyer.

Even if it didn't hit directly, it was a near miss that exploded just a few meters away from the warship.

The terrifying water pressure generated by the underwater explosion was enough to tear apart the thin steel plates of the destroyer's hull.

The Japanese destroyer captains, their eyes bloodshot, displayed their exceptional piloting skills, personally taking the helm.

Amid the chilling roar of the Stukas as they swooped down, the destroyer writhed on the sea like a flock of ducks being chased by eagles, desperately dodging the bombs falling from the sky.

Just when the entire Japanese fleet was in disarray and unable to defend itself.

The two HE-111 torpedo bombers, which had been patiently searching for an opportunity at the edge of the clouds without lowering their altitude, finally bared their fangs.

Taking advantage of the Izumo's loss of power and its stationary position, they quickly descended and launched a fatal attack from the Izumo's starboard side.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Four aerial torpedoes entered the water and hurtled straight toward the Izumo.

"BOOM—!!!"

The Izumo was hit by a torpedo again.

This time, the explosion tore open a large gash, seven or eight meters long, directly below the waterline on the starboard side.

This old ship, which had been in service for nearly forty years, was completely finished.

"Reporting to the Commander."

The damage control captain, his face covered in soot, rushed into the bridge and shouted desperately:

"The starboard side took on a lot of water, the boilers were blown up and stopped, and the whole ship lost power."

The water pump is not working; the water inflow is completely out of control.

Koshiro Oikawa stood on the bridge, which was shaking violently and tilting at an increasingly steep angle.

Looking out at the sea of ​​fire surrounding him, and listening to the constant explosions and screams, he was completely stunned.

The ship was listing severely, making it extremely difficult to even stand still.

His flagship is now useless.

On the distant sea, the chaos and despair continued.

Daixia's planes are besieging the Ashigara and Nachi.

Although the Nachi's speed did not decrease, it continued to desperately twist its hull on the sea surface to dodge torpedoes and bombs.

However, raging fires had already broken out on the bow and aft deck, with thick smoke shooting straight into the sky.

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out:

"Look! An airplane!"

Even though the Izumo was listing at more than twenty degrees, the lookout at the top of the mast clung tightly to the railing, dutifully issuing his final, mournful report.

Oikawa Koshiro numbly raised his head.

Ninety-two minutes after the start of the battle.

The third wave of attacks has arrived.

Twenty-four larger HE-115 seaplane torpedo bombers, in neat formation, rushed to the battlefield.

Looking at the densely packed new aircraft in the sky.

The last glimmer of light in Oikawa Koshiro's eyes was completely extinguished.

"It's over...it's all over..."

He closed his eyes listlessly, and in a hoarse voice gave his final command:

"Immediately send a telegram to headquarters: the artillery fleet is under attack by a large-scale enemy aircraft formation; we are in grave danger."

Order the entire ship to abandon ship.

Fleet command has been transferred to the Nachi.