Chapter 2503: Fleet expansion

? "Your Excellency Commander, the fleet has entered the predetermined sea area and can start a battle at any time." Looking at the New Ireland Island in the distance, a US military officer said.

"Order the aircraft carrier squadron and the seaplane carrier to immediately take off the reconnaissance aircraft to conduct reconnaissance in the waters near the landing site, especially paying attention to the whereabouts of the Japanese fleet. That's it." After hesitating for a while, Benson did not immediately deploy the fleet, but wanted the last Confirm the conditions of the surrounding waters once.

The U.S. fleet did land in the northeastern area of ​​New Ireland, because only here is the terrain relatively wide and can facilitate the deployment of landing forces. Long before the arrival of the fleet, the U.S. submarine force had formed two huge warning lines on the periphery. And then, the destroyer squadron responsible for the perimeter security also arrived at the scheduled location last night. It is now 10 o'clock in the morning. The entire sea area is calm, and no trace of the Japanese navy is found.

Earlier, the U.S. aircraft carrier squadron tried to conduct reconnaissance on Japanese military installations on the island, but was intercepted by a superior number of Japanese fighter jets. After both sides threw away more than ten fighters, the reconnaissance plan fell through. However, the Americans still discovered that, In the highlands of the northwestern part of the island, there are large-scale airports and aviation facilities. Although it was expected, Benson was still full of worries about his own aviation power after experiencing the unresolved air battle this morning.

The 22 battleships of the US-German combined fleet are divided into 5 separate battleship detachments, of which the first and second battleship detachments are ultra-dreadnought warships. The third battleship detachment was the German fleet under the command of Su Xiong, and the fourth and fifth battleship detachments were the dreadnought detachments. Fourteen former dreadnought and quasi-dreadnought battleships formed the sixth, seventh, and eighth battleship detachments. The 12 armored cruisers formed three armored cruiser detachments, each with 4 armored cruisers. The aircraft carrier naturally forms two detachments. Three aircraft carriers per unit. The seaplane carrier was taken apart to temporarily increase the aviation power of certain fleets.

Because the number of destroyers in the United States is relatively sufficient, each main force squadron is assigned to an independent destroyer squad. There are 13 detachments of battleships and cruisers, and a total of 60 destroyers are assigned! As for the remaining destroyer squadrons, they are organized into anti-submarine destroyer squads, reconnaissance destroyer squads and rescue squads according to needs! Yes, it is rescue, ready to rescue people who fall into the water for various reasons.

"Can the aviation force guarantee the safety of the fleet?" Benson asked after a moment.

"If it is only to ensure the air superiority over the fleet and the landing field, the air force can do it. Don't forget that we have 6 aircraft carriers and nearly 500 aircraft of various kinds. According to our estimates, the Japanese Navy has The total number of aircraft will not exceed 400." said the officer in charge of aviation.

"Use your aviation power carefully." Benson thought for a while and said. "As long as you can ensure that the Japanese plane does not appear over the fleet, you can do nothing else. I will leave it to seaplanes to perform corrective shooting, patrol and reconnaissance tasks."

"Command, the fleet unfolded according to plan!" With the transmission of radio waves and semaphores, Benson's command was transmitted to the entire U.S. Expeditionary Fleet in a short period of time. The former fearless of the sixth and seventh battleship detachments carried minesweeper. The ship and the associated destroyer went out first. Their task was to clear a sea channel for the subsequent landing fleet and suppress the Japanese firepower on the shore. Then the first and second armored cruiser units lined up behind, preparing to suppress the second wave of landing points.

Just as the second-class battleship began to move, the German fleet under Su Xiong led the destroyers assigned to him to move to the southeast of the fleet. They will assume the safety of the left wing of the fleet during the day. The 4 dreadnoughts of the Fifth Battleship Squadron were maneuvering southwest under the command of General Robert Kunz, acting as the right wing shield of the fleet. As for the remaining battleships, they are gathered together, ready to deal with the Japanese navy that may appear at any time. Although the aerial reconnaissance has been determined, there is not even a Japanese sampan within a radius of 100 kilometers! Even Pershing strongly requested that Benson's main fleet also launched fire support to the ground.

Of course, this request was rejected by Benson. I knew my family’s affairs. All 14-inch L50 naval guns in the U.S. Navy had severe ablation during use, and their lifespan and dispersion were not ideal. Benson didn’t want to put these in the U.S. Navy. The precious lifespan of the most powerful artillery at present is used for ground support. You must know that once the life of the artillery reaches its limit, it is very troublesome to change the artillery. Therefore, in the battle plan, Benson once wrote, "I must ensure that all 14-inch guns fired no more than 200 times in the entire battle! Otherwise, once the Japanese fleet is engaged, our firepower advantage may only Exist on paper."

"Let’s start!" When the US Navy’s fire support fleet approached 10 kilometers from the beach, along with the firing order, dozens of six-inch or more artillery on the two battleship squadrons prepared for the distant islands. The shells and propellant packs were taken out of the well-protected ammunition compartment, and then loaded into the somewhat outdated artillery under the operation of the servo equipment. Since the armed conflict between the US and Japanese navies in the Bismarck Sea a few years ago , The US fleet has finally returned to the place that once shamed the United States of America~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Now, they are eager to use their shells to wash away the shame!

Along with the huge flames bursting out of the thick and long muzzle, sharp cannonballs flew rapidly in the air, making a heart-pounding sound. After dozens of seconds, along with the flames rising in the distance, the 45-minute fire suppression of the US fleet finally began. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the subsequent US Navy landing ships began to follow the channel cleared by the destroyer. During the landing operation, a large number of people were transferred from a large transport ship to a landing ship or landing craft at a safe distance. In the process of preparing for artillery fire, the officers and soldiers of the US Army and Marine Corps are ready to go, ready to rush to the distant islands at any time!

"Well, boys, we now need to use our feet to complete the next journey. In the future, we will use our feet to measure the land of the entire island of Guinea. Now, cheer up and let us use Let the rifles and grenades in your hand teach those hateful Japanese!" said a US military officer on the landing ship.

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