"Sir! I was shot in the middle of the hull!" As soon as an officer ran out of the bridge and lay on the iron railing on the outside, he saw the thick smoke rolling and surging in the middle of the hull.

He turned around and shouted loudly at the bridge, and his head was broken by bullets fired from Japanese fighter jets.

This is definitely an amazing coincidence. While dodging the air defense firepower on the ship, Japanese planes just habitually suppress and strafuse.

Originally, such a strafing rarely hits the real target, but this time it is obviously an exception...

Seeing his subordinates breaking their heads outside the door and blood even splattering into the bridge, Spruins widened his eyes and didn't know what to say.

A staff officer at the door quickly looked and quickly closed the thick armored door, twisted the door lock, and isolated the sound of bullets flying outside.

"Sir! Our speed does not seem to be affected!" Although I don't know how serious the damage to the hull is, professional technical troops can estimate where the damage to the battleship is based on the performance of the weapon.

After hearing the report there, Spruins returned to some state. As long as the boiler was not blown up and the speed of the warship did not drop, it means that he could continue to persevere.

As long as the high speed is maintained, the hit rate of the Japanese torpedo will be reduced. Once the opponent's carrier-based aircraft is out of ammunition and food, he will be considered a victory.

But the problem now is: if your warship is damaged, even if it is only damaged on the surface, the damaged anti-aircraft gun position will still leave gaps for Japanese carrier-based aircraft.

In this way, the next attack by Japanese planes may take advantage of the situation from this direction.

"Hell!" Spruins frowned and complained in a low voice. Just as he was complaining, a new round of attacks from Japanese planes began.

Because of his rich experience, Japanese aircraft pilots know that it is better to cut one finger than to hurt one finger.

These Japanese planes began to surround the injured battleship North Carolina, as if they had smelled fishy flies.

"Where is the fighter unit? Why haven't they come yet?" General Spruins, who could no longer sit still, asked loudly when he saw his warship in a torpedo attack.

The torpedo just now rushed over to the tail of the battleship North Carolina, almost killing the tail rudder of the battleship.

If the Japanese were asked to do so a few more times, the warship would probably have sank into this sea shortly after it was put into service.

"Sir! Our fighter jets will arrive here soon!" The officer in charge of contact finally gave good news at this unlucky time.

"Great! Let the fleet turn to the south! Give up chasing the Japanese fleet! They have been fooled, and now we must be as close to the Solomon Islands as possible!" Spruins set off the route to change the fleet.

Originally, the US fleet route was southwest, and their purpose was to act like they wanted to approach the Japanese fleet and let the Japanese Navy bit their "bait".

Once the Japanese Navy sends attack troops, the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft will have the opportunity to attack first.

Now that the purpose has been achieved, Spruins feels that he should find a way to save his fleet.

Therefore, he ordered the fleet to change from the southwest route to the south, so that his fleet would go from pursuing the Japanese Combined Fleet to moving closer to the Solomon Islands.

In this way, it means walking towards the US Army aviation team that came to aid, shortening the time for fighter jets to arrive on the battlefield.

After receiving the order, the Second American Fleet drew neat rudder-turning tracks on the Pacific Ocean.

Warships sailed on the ocean, and their bodies were much more flexible than they seemed. With the continuous roar of anti-aircraft artillery, all American warships began to adjust their bows.

A huge curved white trail was left on the sea, and under the siege of Japanese planes, the American fleet completed its own turn.

"Boom!" As the entire fleet turned, the battleship North Carolina was once again hit by Japanese bombers!

This time, the one who hit the battleship North Carolina was not an aviation bomb, but a torpedo! Although the warships were turning and the anti-aircraft artillery troops desperately dispersed these Japanese aircraft, they still missed a Type 97 carrier-based attack aircraft with torpedoes.

The attack aircraft flew close to the sea, carrying a torpedo to the side of the North Carolina in a rain of bullets.

Then, at a very close distance, the Japanese attack aircraft dropped the torpedo. In the next second, the Japanese attack aircraft that successfully dropped the torpedo was hit by the anti-aircraft guns that were fired over and instantly shattered on the sea surface.

Anyway, the torpedo was dropped, so it doesn't matter whether the plane was shot down.

Just as Spruins confirmed the location of his fighter plane, the torpedo also hit the side armor of the North Carolina.

Unlike the last time he was hit by an aviation bomb, General Spruins felt that the warship under his feet was lifted away from the sea by huge force, and then he fell back heavily.

He tried his best to keep himself standing, but he was still shaking on the floor by the violent vibration. This time he fell so hard that he even forgot where he was.

Finally he got up from the floor of the bridge and found that everyone around him was as embarrassed as him.

Then, the phone number from the damage management department came over, and the officers in the cabin reported on the damage to the warship.

"Water is entering the hull! We are trying to plug the loophole! Speed ​​will definitely be affected!" On the other side of the phone, the voice of the officer talking could not even cover up the sound of the sea water pouring into the hull.

Spruins clenched his teeth, knowing that the fleet he led might have to pay a heavy price.

Even if only one battleship was sunk, it would be a huge loss for the US Navy, which had no more troops.

Although the subsequent warships are still in the water, the time in front of us that is not enough to kill the US Navy.

"Let other warships continue to accelerate! Don't worry about us! Order Colonel Carl to temporarily take over my command! Let the Washington fly the command flag! Temporarily act as a flagship to issue orders!" Spruins, who was burning in the boat, firmly issued a new order.
Chapter completed!