On November eighth the fleets sortied from Wellington and headed to their rendezvous points. The scouting missions had revealed important information for Operation Ace. Four airfields were identified as primary targets for the airstrikes. Secondary targets such as bunker complexes, trench lines, supply depots, and arterially batteries were also identified. These would be left to the tender care of the cruisers and battleships during the invasion. Due to their slow speed, Tennessee and California stayed at Wellington.
They reached their positions which are a couple hundred nautical miles off Australia's eastern coast. Wildcats launched from the carriers followed by SBDs and Avengers which are loaded with two thousand pounds of bombs. Glorious launched her Sea Hurricanes followed by her Swordfish which are carrying bombs. All of them set course for the airfields.
"Anybody see anything?"
"Negative sir."
"I got nothing."
"No sir. Skies are clear."
"Keep your eyes open. We're passing over Australia's coastline now."
"Copy that sir."
One of the pilots banked his Wildcat to see the coastline. He could see multiple structures along the coastline that he easily identified as bunkers.
"Goddamn they're dug in."
"That's not our problem. We're leaving them to the care of the fleet's guns."
"Ha, they won't know what hit them."
The Wildcats' objective is to engage Abyssal fighters before the bombers reach their targets. Unfortunately, all Wildcats couldn't be assigned to this objective as some stayed back to defend the carriers or the bombers.
"Cloud cover won't be a problem."
"That goes both ways though."
"They definitely have radar stations. It's not like the clouds would cover us."
"Well the might not. Our scouts didn't find any."
"Maybe."
Fifteen minutes passed quietly before a shout broke it. "I have dots below us. They're climbing. Abby fighters incoming."
"Copy that."
"More fighters incoming directly ahead. They're twin-engine aircraft."
"Twin engine? They must be heavy fighters."
"More twin engines inbound off our right wing. Count six."
"Copy. Take three Wildcats and engage."
"Roger that boss. Follow me!"
His Wildcat broke away with three more following. Two Wildcats dropped back. The leading two Wildcats fired a burst before breaking hard. One of the Wildcats was hit but is still able to fight. All six heavy fighters turned to engage leaving them wide open.
Two fighters are shredded by the Wildcats! One broke off and climbed away but the second pushed the attack. He slotted in behind one and fired. Fifty cal rounds tore its left wing apart and set its engine alight. It started to spiral towards the ground and the pilot broke away. The three remaining heavy fighters broke and extended.
"Abby types inbound! Count nine! High!"
"Defensive formations now!"
They formed two pairs and started to weave. The pilots watched the Abyssals circle above them. Four entered a dive!
"Break now!"
The Wildcats turned hard into the dive! The fighters plunged down and opened fire! One of the Wildcats was hit and started trailing smoke. The fighters pulled up right into the gunsights of a Wildcat! The pilot fired tearing the first fighter apart! The second tried to bank away but the Wildcat stayed on it. Bullets tore its tail apart and the Wildcat broke off still firing. Its right wing was set alight and then half of it was blown off.
A fifth dove on the Wildcat as it leveled out. Bullets ripped its fuselage apart and its engine burst into flames. The lone Wildcat firewalled the throttle and headed toward the other two. The pilot looked over his shoulder and cussed as bullets flew over his canopy. He jerked the stick and the plane banked hard. He started weaving hoping to throw the Abyssal's aim off.
His Wildcat shuttered violently and he cussed up a storm. His plane shuttered again and something exploded throwing him forward. More rounds flew over his canopy and a Wildcat roared overhead. He looked over his shoulder and saw his attacker burning. The fire started to spread and it exploded violently.
"Yeah! Suck on that fucker!"
He looked over his plane in the brief few seconds he had. Both his wings had more than a few holes in them, he was leaking fuel, one of his Ailerons was gone, he was missing a flap, the rudder wasn't responding quite right, and he was trailing black smoke. Despite this heavy damage, he stayed in the fight knowing that running wouldn't get him far. The three Wildcats formed up and continued to fly defensively. They watched the five Abyssals with caution waiting for one, or more, to dive.
"Those heavy fighters are coming back. Orders sir?"
"If we dodge one attack we leave ourselves open to another. Dive to the deck!"
"Copy that."
"Here we go!"
The banked left and entered a forty-degree dive. "Are they following us?"
"No. They're heading for the ongoing dogfight."
"Alright. Side climb from the dogfight. We're no good at this altitude."
The three Wildcats entered a climb. The flight leader attempted to gauge the fight but failed to get an idea of who was winning the battle. At such a distance he could only see streaks of fire as aircraft are shot down.
"flight lead, that last engagement fucked my Wildcat up. I'm returning to Wasp."
"Understood. We'll see you there."
The heavily damaged Wildcat broke away.
Once the two Wildcats were above the dogfight they turned to engage.
"Call out your targets."
"I've got a target off my left wing. I'm diving."
He pushed over and lined up his shot. A quick burst set the Abyssal ablaze and he pulled up. The other pilot picked a target and pushed over. His target turned in and he fired a burst. He scored a couple of hits but nothing critical. He searched for another target and quickly found one. He lined up a shot and fired. The Abyssal's right wing was blown off and it spun uncontrollably. The Wildcat it was chasing is damaged and dived away.
"Heads up! Four heavy fighters inbound! Our altitude!"
"Copy that. Same maneuver as before."
He pulled ahead while his wingman dropped back. He fired a long burst and broke hard. Two fighters followed him and he went evasive. The first overshot but the second tried to stay on him. It overshot as well and he fired a burst scoring hits. It pulled up trailing black smoke. He followed determined to shoot it down. He fired setting its number two engine on fire. The fire spread igniting the fuel which blew the Abyssal apart.
He looked for the other three and cussed when he saw a Wildcat plunging toward the ground. He spotted two dots closing and turned his Wildcat into a head-on! He held the trigger as cannon rounds shattered his canopy! His Wildcat shuttered and its engine burst into flames! He was killed when cannon rounds tore his chest apart.
"Heads up, Wildcats have engaged fighters on our course. We'll make a small detour to avoid the fight."
"Copy that."
His gunner checked the thirty cal again and looked around. All thirty of Wasp's SBDs were in formation with only six Wildcats to escort them. Wasp's fighter complement was spread thin between flying advanced escort, covering the bombers, and covering her taskforce. If they were attacked it would largely fall to the gunners to defend their planes.
They cruised for another forty-five minutes in, well, not silence but they weren't attacked. The gunner looked down at Australia below them. The greenery was thinning out indicating they were getting closer to the desert.
"We're almost there. I can see the airfield now."
"Bandits! Four o'clock! High!"
The gunner snapped his gun up.
"More bandits at twelve o'clock. Our altitude. Count six."
Their escorts headed straight for the Abyssals coming in at twelve o'clock.
The first and second SBD formations opened fire. They put up a hail of fire but none of their attackers were shot down. They dived through their formations shooting down three SBDs. His plane jerked to the right and a fighter roared past! Two more roared past and he couldn't get a shot. With no immediate targets, he did a quick scan.
"They're coming back around!"
He brought his gun to bear and fired. Bullets flew past his plane as the fighters closed in. One was hit and broke off. A second was set alight and aimed for an SBD. The pilot evaded the attack and opened fire with his Fifty Cals shredding what was left of the plane.
More fighters dived on the formations; this time the fourth and fifth formations were attacked. One of them was shot down for two SBDs. Two Wildcats roared past and attacked the Abyssals who just made their run.
Bursts of flack appeared around the SBDs. "We're almost there!"
His gunner ducked as a shell exploded dangerously close to their plane.
"Two more Abyssals coming in! Off our three o'clock! High!"
He snapped his gun around and opened fire. They were coming in fast and with the plane rocking from nearby flack explosions it was difficult to hit them. The Abyssals opened fire shredding an SBD. One broke away but the second pressed the attack. It was hit and started smoking. It broke off but was hit a few more times.
"Hang on!"
The plane nosed over into a steep dive and the rest of the formations followed shortly afterward. Tracers filled the sky as they plunged toward the earth. The gunner looked behind him and saw an SBD get hit. It's smoking pretty bad but held its course. His SBD shuttered as it was hit. He looked back and didn't see any black smoke. He saw another SBD get hit with flack and burst into flames.
"Bombs away!"
The plane pulled up hard and he groaned as his head pounded. Despite this, he kept his eyes on the airfield. Multiple explosions rocked the airfield. The hangers and anything that looked important is hit and hit hard. Multiple fires are burning as the final SBDs pull up. He can see a few targets that are still standing but the Avengers will flatten them. He looked at the airstrip itself and noticed twin-engine aircraft parked on the runway.
"Hey! There're a few twin engines parked on the runway!"
"How many!?"
"Five!"
"Copy! Flight one form up and follow me. There are a few parked aircraft and we're going to smoke'em."
"Copy that flight lead."
"Ready to follow you in sir!"
"Anyone have eyes on those fighters?"
"Negative. Since they're not attacking us our Wildcats must have them tied up."
They banked right and lined up for their strafing run. AA fire is still split between the different formations but soon it's focused on them. One SBD was hit and caught fire while another had its tail cut off. Their SBD shuttered as it was hit and black smoke trailed behind them. The gunner did a quick inspection and found fuel leaking from their left wing.
"Hit those fucking AA guns!"
He aimed his twin thirty cal at the closest position and fired. The Dauntless pulled up and he saw the burning remains of the Abyssal fighters. It nosed over and slimmed the ground kicking up a huge amount of dust. The gunner continued to fire until no targets are in range. Bullets continued to fly past their plane and flack clouds appeared around them.
They gained some altitude and the gunner could see the other three members of their formations. Two of them looked fine but the third was smoking pretty bad.
"Flight lead, you're looking pretty rough."
"We've been better but, I think we can make it back to Wasp."
"Roger that flight lead. We'll stay with you all the way."
On the morning of November tenth, Australia's East coast came under heavy bombardment. Battleships and heavy cruisers shelled the defensives along the coastline. The airstrikes launched the day before succeeded in destroying the four airfields and giving them air superiority over the landing sites.
The bombardment has been ongoing for forty minutes. Fires burn all along the coast and massive columns of smoke rise into the air. Wildcats flew CAPs a few miles inland and SBDs hit smaller targets that didn't need an 8 in, 14 in, 15 in, or 16 in shell thrown at them. The bombardment lasted for another thirty minutes before the first landing ships went ashore.