Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Guest: The aircraft on Midway are being held in reserve for use against the Occupation Force.
SnithPogi12: I have already addresses this in the pat. I know nothing about those animes, so how my story would affect them is not really a concern of mine, and is something I'll leave up to my readers.
RicoRodriguez2018: I'll admit I've thought about having one of the Yamatos be captured, but sadly that will not be happening. We'll see the Musashi in action next chapter, and you'll have to wait until then to find out what happens to it.
Chapter 38- Smashing the Kido Butai
In his cockpit, Alex Vraciu takes a moment, while holding his aircraft steady, to look around at all of his surroundings. All around him, he can see nothing but aircraft.
Halsey's aircraft had been the first to launch. They had made their way to a rendezvous point between the Third Fleet and the Japanese fleet. Not long after their arrival, they were joined by the Spruance's planes, and not long after by Fraser's. They were now on their way to the Japanese fleet.
The strike force launched against the Japanese is massive. Between the three carrier forces, they've launched 200 Hellcats, 24 Corsairs, 90 SBDs, 122 Helldivers, 152 Avengers, and 18 Barracudas. Almost 600 aircraft in total, all of which have bombs or torpedoes for use against the Japanese fleet. Not only that, but the Nimitz' aircraft will be joining them sometime in the next few minutes.
Vraciu feels a sense of excitement. There's probably no Zeros left, or very Zeros left, on the Japanese carriers. There will be next to no fighter opposition. And it's up to him and his fellow Hellcats to try and take out the rest of the fleet's AA guns, and then use their bombs to assist the bombers in sinking the fleet.
As Vraciu returns his attention to the cockpit, he suddenly hears his radio come to life as his squadron leader calls out, "Tallyho! Friendlies on bearing 270, distance 4 miles."
Vraciu turns his head in the indicated direction, and smiles as he sees Nimitz' Tomcats approaching the massive Allied formation, with the Hornets and Intruders following close behind.
Captain Byron guides his Hornets around to the front of the Allied formation, as they have been designated to lead the force in. The Intruders take up a position in the rear of the strike force. The Tomcats take the opportunity to have a bit of fun with their comrades of the past as they roar over the formation at almost 500 miles per hour, then circle back around to take up position above the strike force.
Adjusting the frequency of his radio to speak to the whole strike force, Owens calls out, "Jolly 1 to all Allied aircraft. Hawkeye 1-2 reports Japanese fleet on bearing 2-6-5, distance 20 miles."
"Copy that," Dick Best responds over the radio.
The pilots of the strike force prepare to start their attacks on the Japanese fleet. Meanwhile, in the cockpits of 8 of the Hornets that are armed with Harpoons prepare to launch their missiles. Each Hornet pilot powers up his missiles and locks onto one of the destroyers on the outskirts of the fleet. Then, on a command from Byron, the 8 Hornets launch their Harpoons at a distance of 17.5 miles.
The 16 missiles nose downwards, streaking down towards their targets at almost Mach 1. As the missiles get within about a mile of their targets, one Japanese lookout spots the incoming missiles. He screams a warning, but it takes a moment before others are able to pass it on. By that point, the missiles are seconds from impact.
The first pair of missiles is targeted on the destroyer Hatakaze. The two missiles tear through the bow, the explosions shredding the bow forward of the forward gun, virtually taking it off. The bow quickly begins to dip into the sea, and the captain orders the abandon ship.
As Japanese sailors across the fleet see the explosion from the missiles hitting the Hatakaze, the rest of the missiles begin finding their targets. In a matter of minutes, 7 more destroyers are hit. The Uzuki and Sukukaze are both blown in two, the Isokaze, Tanikaze, and Kasumi all have their magazines exploded by the missiles, and the Nokaze and Oite have their sides ripped out by the exploding missiles. In a matter of minutes, 8 destroyers are sinking or already sunk.
The Japanese are shocked. They now realize that their fears have been realized and that the Nimitz has arrived on the battlefield. However, the Japanese quickly try to get over their fear and race to their guns, determined to fight back. At the same time, the last 3 Zeros in the Japanese fleet launch, determined to do something to fight back against the incoming strike force.
With their missiles launched, the 8 Hornets now dive down towards the surface to prepare to drop their torpedoes. The rest of the Avengers come down with them to be ready to start their torpedo runs. The other Hornets lead the dive bombers as the Hellcats and Corsairs surge ahead to start their attacks first.
Finally, the Hellcats and Corsairs come within view of the Japanese fleet. Instantly, the Japanese fleet opens up with every single anti-aircraft gun they have, and many of the ships even open up with their main guns. The Yamato leads this effort, firing Beehive shells from its 18.1 inch guns. Several Hellcats and a Corsair fall to anti-aircraft fire, but the fighters press on.
Finally, they come within gun range. The pilots open up with 50 caliber machine guns, sending streams of bullets into the Japanese ships. Bullets tear into anti-aircraft gun mounts, destroying the guns and tearing through the gunners. Japanese sailors scream in pain as shrapnel cuts through their bodies. More sailors running across the decks are cut down by more strafing.
The fighters move from ship to ship, strafing any target of opportunity. Several of them drop their 500 pound bombs, hitting the cruisers Chokai, Tone, and Natori, causing light damage and knocking out more gun mounts.
On the bridge of the Yamato, Yamamoto watches with worry as the Hellcats and Corsairs streak around the ships like a swarm of bees. Yamamoto recognizes that the fighters could cause heavy damage to the ships of the task force, and could even sink a number of the remaining destroyers on their own.
Meanwhile, the remaining 8 Hornets prepare to make their first attack with their Maverick missiles. At the word from Byron, the 8 Hornets nose down and dive towards the task force below.
As the Hornets dive out of the clouds and separate to go after their individual targets, the Japanese finally spot them, and fear starts to fill them. They know that these planes can cause heavy damage. Many gunners direct their guns towards the incoming Hornets as they dive to the attack.
In his cockpit, Byron looks around at his available targets, and spots the Yamato almost in the center of the fleet. Byron smirks as he banks his Hornet towards the massive battleship and streaks towards it at 400 mph. Byron quickly locks up his 4 AGM-65 Mavericks. Knowing Yamamoto is likely on the battleship, Byron smirks as he says, "Night-night, Yamamoto." He then squeezes the trigger and ripple fires his 4 Mavericks.
The 4 missiles streak down towards the Yamato. The first missile impacts on a 25mm gun mount, tearing apart and destroying another from the shrapnel. Another impacts on one of its 6.1 inch gun turrets on the side of the superstructure, knocking out the turret. The third impacts lower on the superstructure, causing light damage. Finally, the fourth missile strikes at the top of the window into the flag bridge, punching through the thick glass and the light armor around the window.
Yamamoto watches as the fourth Maverick streaks right towards the bridge. He feels a sense of acceptance come over him as he watches the missile come in before it breaks through into the flag bridge and explodes, tearing apart everyone on the flag bridge.
As Byron zooms past the Yamato, the other seven Hornets make their runs. One of the pilots fires his missiles on the damaged Hyuga, destroying multiple anti-aircraft gun mounts and damaging the superstructure. The other six separate into pairs, each pair attacking one of the light cruisers of the fleet. Two of them attack the Kuma, causing heavy damage and starting a massive fire in the bow. Two more attack the Nagara, causing extensive damage topside. The last two attack the Noshiro, knocking out a number of its AA guns, causing heavy damage to the bridge, and causing moderate damage below decks.
However, as the Hornets pull up out of their runs, AA gunners of the battleship Kongo spot one of the Hornets and fire in its direction. Moving a bit slower as he's trying to climb, he's a bit easier to hit. Several flak bursts rock the plane, causing just light damage, before a flak burst explodes right next to the tail. The burst tears through the tail, causing damage to one of the vertical stabilizers and the adjoining horizontal stabilizer and damaging the engine outlet.
The pilot levels his Hornet and quickly manages to reign in his fighter. Taking a risk, he throttles up and heads away from the Japanese fleet. As he does, he gets on the radio and calls out, "Diamond 4 to Hawkeye 1-2. I've got heavy damage to my tail. Unable to make it back to the Nimitz."
"Copy that, Diamond 4. Stand by," the Hawkeye controller responds. A few moments later, the controller says, "Diamond 4, your current position is on bearing ? degrees from Midway, distance 182 miles. Keep in mind, radar shows your current distance from Task Force 38 as 151 miles."
Diamond 4 quickly runs through this in his mind. The runway at Midway is long enough for him to safely land with runway to spare. However, he's losing fuel now, he doesn't know how long his airplane will be in the air, and the Third Fleet is 31 miles closer than Midway. Not only that, but he would have to circle around a bit to land on Midway, whereas he may be able to secure a straight in approach with the Third Fleet. However, he knows none of Halsey's carriers were really designed for this.
However, it doesn't take him too long before he makes his decision, made easier by looking at his instrument reading and glancing back at his tail. He gets on the radio and says, "Diamond 4 to Hawkeye 1-2. I am setting course for Task Force 38. Alert Halsey I am coming, and request he position one of his carriers that I can make a straight in approach."
"Copy that, Diamond 4," Hawkeye 1-2 replies, the controller hoping this will work out.
As Diamond 4 flees the scene, the other 7 Hornets loop around to make their next attacks. The Hornets arm their laser targeting pods, fire the targeting lasers, then drop their 1,000 pound Paveways.
The fighters that earlier targeted the light cruisers keep them as their targets. Each cruiser is hit by four 1,000 pound Paveways. The bombs cause massive damage below deck, opening holes in the hulls and starting large fires. While the Noshiro so far remains afloat, is just barely, the Nagara starts listing heavily, her crew unable to contain the leak. The Kuma takes most of the damage to its stern. However, only a minute later, the forward magazine detonates thanks to the fires started by the Mavericks. The cruiser begins to sink straight down, but its bow settling faster than the stern.
Byron and his wingman now fixate on the heavy cruiser Chokai, which had already taken three 500 pound bombs from attacking Hellcats. After dropping their bombs, they pitch up and climb. All four bombs hit the Chokai. Two explode on the top deck, causing heavy damage to the superstructure, while the other two explode below decks, causing heavy damage.
As the Hornets climb away, the dive bombers and torpedo bombers prepare to begin their attacks. In the cockpit of his SBD, Dick Best fixates on the carrier Hiryu, positions himself with the sun at his back, then noses over and starts his dive on the Hiryu. All around him, over 200 dive bombers begin their dives on their targets. Between the dive bombers, they're targeting 15 ships. At the same time, the Avengers and Hornets armed with torpedoes throttle up a bit to start their runs.
In his cockpit, Dick Best focuses on the Hiryu. Although the Japanese are firing, as they know there are enemies in the area, the sky in his vicinity is virtually empty of flak so far. As he continues his dive, there is still almost no flak. Finally, at just barely under 1,500 feet, Best pulls the bomb release and yanks back on the stick. His SBD pulls out and starts climbing again as his bomb falls towards the Hiryu. The bomb hits the Hiryu right in the center of the rising sun painted on the deck and explodes. The blast of the 1,000 pound bomb rips apart the bow, shredding the flight deck above the detonation point, leaving the Hiryu useless as a carrier.
On the bridge, Admiral Yamaguchi feels the carrier rock from the blast. Looking up, he feels his blood chill a bit as he sees that 18 more dive bombers are diving on the Hiryu.
The next 5 bombers to drop on the Hiryu miss with their bombs. Then, two 1,000 pound bombs hit amidships only second apart. One explodes on the hangar, setting off fuel stores, while the other plunges down two more decks before exploding. The next seven bombers also miss the Hiryu before another SBD, flown by Dusty Kleiss, scores a direct hit between the bow and the strikes amidships, exploding down on the third deck, starting a fire. The next two bombers miss before the last dive bombers, a British Barracuda, scores a direct hit with a 500 pound bomb on the stern, which explodes down on the hangar deck, starting another fire.
As the bombers dropping on the Hiryu finish their attacks, 8 dive bombers dive on the damaged carrier Hiyo, still listing from its two torpedo hits earlier. The first three miss, but then three in a row score direct hits with 1,000 pound bombs, shattering the flight deck and starting massive fires below decks. The last two also miss with their bombs.
As the Hiyo is being attacked, another dozen dive bombers dive on the Ryuho. They score five hits on the carrier, with three of those bombs exploding below the hangar deck, starting massive fires and causing extremely heavy damage below decks.
As the Ryuho is hit, 21 more dive bombers dive on the light carriers Chitose and Chiyoda, both very close to each other. The Chitose is hit only three times, but the Chiyoda takes half a dozen hits from 1,000 pound bombs, shattering the upper three decks.
As they go, another twenty eight dive bombers dive on the carrier Zuikaku. The first four pilots to dive miss, but then three score direct hits in a matter of seconds. Several more misses are followed by a series of half a dozen hits and one near miss that causes light damage to the ship's stern when it explodes in the water. The flight deck is ravaged and blazing fires started below deck.
At almost the same time the Zuikaku is hit for the first time, the carrier Taiyo is hit by the first of eleven dive bombers attacking it. The hit shatters the flight deck and starts a raging fire below deck. A second hit moments later plunges down five decks before exploding, causing massive damage below decks.
As the carriers are being hit, 44 more dive bombers concentrate on the battleships Kongo, Haruna, and Hyuga. The bombers succeed in hitting the Kongo ten times, the Haruna four times, and the Hyuga nine times. The hyuga has now been hit by a dozen bombs since that start of the battle, and is now burning badly.
At the same time, another 59 dive bombers dive on the 5 remaining heavy cruisers. The first hit is the Tone, which takes 9 hits, adding to the damage from bombs and torpedoes it's already been hit by. Next up is the Takao, which is hit rather quickly by 5 1,000 pound bombs. The Maya takes 7 hits, while the nearby Atago is hit by 6 bombs. Finally, the Chokai is hit 8 times. As the last bomb hits, it explodes amidships and sets off the Chokai's torpedoes, which blows out the ship's side. The damaged Chokai quickly begins to settle as her captain orders the abandon ship.
Finally, the remaining dive bombers target the cruiser Noshiro and Yahagi, hitting the Noshiro twice and the Yahagi four times, causing moderate damage to both ships.
As the bombers begin to pull out of their attack runs, the Japanese sailors across the fleet stare in horror at what they've just witnessed. Then, as they are watching, the forward magazines of the Hiyo explode violently, almost ripping the bow clean off the ship.
Even as they watch the horrifying explosion of the Hiyo's magazines, the Japanese sailors become aware of another sound. Looking out over the waves, they see the swarm of Avengers, led by the 8 Hornets, streaking in to drop their torpedoes.
By now, the Japanese are really starting to worry. They've lost most of their anti-aircraft guns thanks to either bombs or strafing, leaving them with little to use to fight back against the incoming torpedo bombers.
The Hornets lead the way in, targeting some of the damaged cruisers on the outer parts of the fleet. Acting on command from the lead pilot, each Hornet drops his two torpedoes in perfect sync with the others. Each Hornet then pops their nose up and zoom climbs as the torpedoes streak towards their targets.
In a matter of seconds, the light cruisers Noshiro and Yahagi are each hit by two torpedoes, and the light cruiser Tama is hit by four torpedoes. Seconds later, the damaged Tone is hit by two torpedoes. The Maya and Atago are each hit at almost the same time by two torpedoes. The last two torpedoes miss their target, the Takao.
Most of the cruisers begin to list. However, the Noshiro and Tama are both overwhelmed by the effects of their torpedo hits, and begin to capsize. At the same time, the badly damaged Tone begins listing heavily, her crew trying to contain the leaks.
As the Hornets climb, the Avengers move in for their torpedo runs. Unlike the dive bombers, which faced moderate anti-aircraft fire, the Avengers have almost no AA fire heading for them. For many of the Avenger pilots, it seems almost like a training run than a combat mission.
A number of Avenger pilots start targeting the destroyers on the outside of the fleet. In a matter of seconds, 28 Avengers have dropped their torpedoes. In a matter of seconds, the destroyer Kamikaze is hit by three torpedoes, the destroyer almost disintegrating under the heavy impacts. The shiratsuyu is hit by two torpedoes and blown in two. And the Nokaze, Naganami and Oite are each hit by one torpedo. All of them start listing heavily, with all of them capsizing within a half hour.
More Avengers decide to target the remaining heavy cruisers. About a dozen Avengers drop on the Tone. They score three direct hits on the Tone, adding to the three hits it's already taken. The Tone begins listing even further, and will eventually capsize.
More Avengers attack the damaged Maya and Atago, dropping a total of 28 torpedoes on the two cruisers. Five torpedoes hit the damaged Atago, and two more hit the Maya. The Atago, which has by now been hit by seven torpedoes, and begins rapidly listing. It takes only 18 minutes for it to capsize. The Maya begins listing less heavily, but also starts settling rather quickly. The captain orders the ship be scuttled.
Several more Avengers attack the Takao, but fail to hit cruiser. At the same time, the light cruiser Noshiro is hit twice by torpedoes, finishing off the damaged cruiser.
More Avengers target the battleships. About 15 Avengers attack the damaged Hyuga. The Avengers succeed in hitting the old, battered battleship with 6 torpedoes, although one fails to detonate. Still, the 5 that do detonate rip open massive holes on the ship's starboard side. The battleships begins listing to port, her previous damage leaving her crew unable to contain the leaks.
A number of Avengers target the two Kongo class battleships. They succeed in hitting the Kongo with seven torpedoes and the Haruna with two torpedoes. Although the Haruna weathers the hits reasonably well, the Kongo, already damaged, starts listing heavily. Several of the torpedoes have damaged or destroyed critical systems that could control the flooding. The Kongo begins to settle as it is listing rapidly to starboard. Despite the best efforts of the crew, the Kongo begins to capsize. However, 33 minutes later, before it can fully capsize, the rear magazine explodes,, causing massive damage to the stern. After the explosion, it takes only a few more minutes for the battleship to capsize and then sink by the stern.
More Avengers try to attack the Nagato and Yamato. However, each battleship is only hit by one torpedo, with minimal impact to each ship.
The rest of the Avengers, numbering 86 planes, head after the remaining carriers. In a matter of moments, the Hiryu and Zuikaku are each hit by eight torpedoes, the Chiyoda takes four torpedoes, the Chitose takes three torpedoes, and the Ryuho takes one torpedo.
The Avengers finally begin to pull away from the task forces and start heading for home. However, the attack is not yet done.
With most of the ships badly damaged or sinking, the Intruders from the Nimitz fly in to finish off some of the remaining heavy ships. Firing their targeting lasers, they start dropping their Paveways.
Two Intruders drop their bombers on the light cruiser Natori. All six bombs hit the cruiser, exploding below decks, causing massive damage below decks and starting roaring fires. Another Intruder hits the cruiser Takao with his three Paveways, causing heavy damage aboard the cruiser.
Another Intruder targets the destroyer Shirakumo with his bombs. The three Paveways rip up the destroyer's topsides, dooming the ship.
Another flight of Intruders targets the remaining light carriers. Two drop on the Ryuho, one drops on the Chitose, and the last drops on the Chiyoda. All of the bombs hit their targets, causing further damage and starting more firs, dooming the damaged carriers.
Two more Intruders drop their bombs on the damaged Hiryu and Zuikaku, determined to send the carriers to the bottom. The bombs cause further damage to the already crippled carriers, further sealing their fate.
Two more Intruders target the escort carrier Taiyo, hitting it with all six Paveways and shattering the upper decks, dooming the already damaged carrier. Another Intruder drops its bombs on the escort carrier Unyo, causing heavy damage to the upper decks.
The remaining three Intruders target the three surviving battleships. Each battleship is hit all by all three bombs dropped on it. The Haruna and Nagato take moderate damage, while the Yamato is not too badly hit.
As the Intruders pull away, the escorting Tomcats start diving in to make their own bombing runs. Diving down to about 2,000 feet, the quick Tomcats start dropping their 500 pound bombs. The Tomcats succeed in hitting the Yamato several times, causing moderate damage topside, and also hitting the damaged Unyo and finishing it off.
Finally, the Tomcats pull up to 10,000 feet and turn south to head back to the Nimitz. As they are flying away, Owens looks back.
The Japanese fleet is in ruins. Almost the entire fleet is either sunk or sinking. Out of the original fleet, only a single escort carrier, three battleships, a heavy cruiser, two light cruisers, and 5 destroyers have survived the murderous Allied air strikes.
However, the ordeal is not yet over for the Japanese. The four American submarines surrounding the Japanese are now in prime position to make their attack. Each submarine fires a spread of six torpedoes before diving away to evade detection. Two of their torpedoes hit the damaged Natori, finishing it off, while four torpedoes hit the last surviving escort carrier, the Chuyo. The torpedoes open huge holes below the waterline, and set off the forward magazine. It doesn't take long for the escort carrier to sink.
The Japanese 1st Fleet has been completely smashed. Only ten ships of the original fleet have survived, and the top commanders, including Admiral Yamamoto, Admiral Nagumo, and Admiral Yamaguchi have all been killed. The last surviving ranking officer, Vice Admiral Shoji Nishimura, orders the remaining ships to withdraw.
As Owens refocuses on his flight back to the Nimitz, he reflects on the fact that although the main fleet has been smashed, the battle isn't over. Most of the Occupation Force is still intact and sailing towards a surface confrontation with Vice Admiral Lee and his battleships. The Battle of Midway is not yet over.
(Some time later, Task Force 38)
"Diamond 4, you are cleared to land."
In his cockpit, Diamond 4 holds his Hornet as steady as he can as he heads straight for the Bunker Hill. Although he knows that the Essex class has not been designed for operating a plane like the Hornet, he knows he has no choice. He has already jettisoned all his ordnance and fuel tanks, and has dumped most of his fuel to make sure the jet is as light as he can get it. He has almost no fuel left, and his tail is damaged. He knows he has no second chance. He has to land on the Bunker Hill or ditch in the water, which will make him the first of the Nimitz' planes to be lost in WWII.
Diamond 4 lowers his tail hook. Down on the deck, a crewman tries to guide him down. The Hornet is already almost at stall speed as it is coming down. To enable him to go slower and remain airborne, Diamond 4 lowers his flaps further and adjusts the attitude. His airspeed drops below the usual landing speed of 122 mph, and drops down to 110, still higher than any aircraft that normally operates from Bunker Hill.
After agonizing seconds, the Hornet finally touches down on the Bunker Hill, landing just feet from the stern at a speed of 106 mph. The tail hook manages to catch one of the arrestor wires. Although the jet stretches the wire to the breaking point, a barrier has been erected on the carrier to further slow the plane down.
After what seems like minutes as compared to just a second or two that it really is, the Hornet, tangled up in the barricade that was erected, comes to a stop 200 feet from the tip of the bow.
After several seconds of silence, everyone on the deck of the carrier cheers loudly as they see the Hornet come to a stop. Despite worries that it wouldn't work and the Hornet would roll off the bow, they managed to land it.
Crewmen hurry over to the Hornet as the pilot shuts down the engines. Crewmen manage to push the Hornet back onto the elevator, which quickly lowers the Hornet down to the hangar deck, which is more suited to holding the jet. Mechanics are already on standby to start looking the plane over.
As his plane is moved into position, Diamond 4 feels a sigh of relief run through him. Even though the Bunker Hill wasn't supposed to be able to operate aircraft like the Hornet, he managed to make an emergency landing on the carrier and save his plane and his life.
And, I'll end there.
Hope you liked this chapter, and the level of destruction I rained down on the Japanese 1st Fleet. Also, hope you liked the scene I did with Diamond 4 landing on the Bunker Hill. Of course, whether or not an Essex class carrier could actually handle a Hornet trying to land on the flight deck will never be able to be proven, but I think a Hornet that is nearly empty would probably be able to do it if the pilot is careful enough.
So, next battle will be the surface battle between Task Force 36 and the Japanese Occupation Force. It's gonna be epic. It should be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review and stay tuned!