Big-Ship Big-Gun Combined Fleet

Chapter 112 - All Planes Charge

Since taking off from the Kanoya Base, they were able to continue our advance towards the enemy fleet without hesitation, thanks to the Type 4 recon planes continuously emitting guiding radio waves. In the chaotic battlefield of the skies, where they would likely be pursued by numerous F6F Hellcat fighters, the crew of the Type 4s guided them, prioritizing the mission over their own lives. Expressing gratitude in their hearts to them, Lieutenant Commander Motoharu Okamura, leading the special attack unit called Jinrai Unit, in the rear seat of the Ki-46, believed that reaching this point with only minimal sacrifices is a miracle, truly a divine wind that has blown.

Led by six Ki-46 recon planes, the special attack aircraft named Ohka, based on the same model, faced interception by over 40 F6F Hellcat fighters as the enemy fleet loomed ahead. The F6F, appearing in the latter half of 1943, had proven to be a formidable adversary, having shot down the highest number of Japanese aircraft to date. The only planes capable of countering it were the late-model Hien or Hayate, and from the Navy, the Zero Model 53 and the Fw 190 supplied by Germany.

For bombers and reconnaissance planes, the F6F was a formidable nemesis. However, the Ki-46-V, had a slightly different situation. With a maximum speed of 660 kilometers per hour, this aircraft could not necessarily shoot down the F6F, but it could outrun it. Therefore, when Okamura received the report of F6F sightings from the vanguard reconnaissance aircraft, he immediately ordered all his units to fly at maximum speed.

Following the commander's orders, the crewmembers revved up their planes. By the time they encountered the F6F, all the planes had accelerated to speeds exceeding 630 kilometers per hour. Confused by the unusually high speed for Japanese twin-engine planes, the F6F frantically fired their machine guns. However, it's not easy to hit a small target approaching at a relative speed close to the speed of sound. Nevertheless, an unfortunate Ohka took a hit from the 12,7 mm bullets fired by the F6Fs and was shot down. Although the Ohka had decent bulletproofing to enhance its survivability until penetrating the enemy fleet, taking a barrage of machine gun bullets directly, especially in a head-on encounter, was unavoidable. Fortunately, only two planes were hit, and while they seemed to have taken one or two hits each, none of them suffered any impairments to their flight.

On the other hand, the attacking F6Fs, realizing the situation, hastily maneuvered. However, by the time the F6Fs, with a top speed just slightly exceeding 600 kilometers per hour, completed their turn, the Ki-46s and the Ohkas had become significantly smaller on the horizon. Although the F6Fs pursued at full throttle, the distance between them only widened.

Furthermore, 80 to 90 F6Fs appeared in front of the Jinrai Unit. However, due to the unit's much higher-than-expected speed, both in altitude and airspeed, they were not a threat. Upon sighting the enemy fleet, Okamura divided the unit into three groups. Just as the American mobile fleet was expected to consist of three groups before the battle, the Jinrai Unit also had three groups, with two Ki-46s and sixteen Ohkas forming one combat unit.

Okamura assigned the reduced Ohka unit of fourteen planes to attack the group of three aircraft carriers, while the remaining two units attacked groups of four aircraft carriers each. The Ohka pilots were among the most skilled among land-based and carrier-based attackers. They aimed their planes at the flight decks of the Essex-class carriers at extreme angles they could control. The anti-aircraft firepower of the American fleet was formidable, and even the high-speed Ohka, almost half of which were entangled in bullets before reaching the target, were shot down. However, the remaining planes carried out successive ramming attacks against the Essex-class aircraft carriers, overcoming the corpses of their comrades.

At the end of the series of attacks, not a single Essex-class aircraft carrier had avoided the Ohkas' charge. All of them were ablaze. With a weight of nearly four tons, the aircraft carried explosives and gasoline in its belly as it plunged onto the flight deck. Its destructive power was beyond comparison with conventional 250 or 500-kg bombs. It was clear that all Essex-class aircraft carriers had lost their combat capabilities.

Having witnessed the achievements of his subordinates, Okamura reported to the First Fleet, Third Fleet, and the Kanoya Base in plain language, "All units successfully penetrated, all Essex-class aircraft carriers destroyed. No Grumman to catch up with us."