Empire Conquest
Chapter 93 - 89: Return Journey

Chapter 93: Chapter 89: Return Journey

Genda did not know that, when he turned his plane, the flagship "Longjiang" of the First Aviation Mixed Fleet was about thirty kilometers ahead, and the "Mo River" was a bit further, only about fifty kilometers away. Two "Typhoon" fighters were heading this way.

If he had been just a few minutes later, even just two minutes, Genda would have encountered the anti-aircraft fighters and then he would have known about the First Aviation Mixed Fleet ahead. As long as he didn’t think about returning to the Mobile Fleet and successfully lost the fighters, Genda would definitely find the First Aviation Mixed Fleet.

However, there were no ifs.

Moreover, Genda also did not know that he had created several historical firsts.

Under Genda’s organization and command, the shipborne air force of the Mobile Fleet used two 250 kg bombs and four air torpedoes, establishing the first combat-recorded sinking of an aircraft carrier in naval history.

According to the Imperial Navy’s war report, the "Ling River" took the first bomb at 1:43 and then, within the next five minutes, took another bomb and four torpedoes. While the two air bombs caused heavy damage to the carrier, killing and wounding hundreds of soldiers and destroying the entire flight deck and the hangar and half of the high-altitude guns, it was actually the four air torpedoes that were truly fatal.

To be precise, it was the torpedoes coming from the rear left.

Since the torpedo bombers approaching from the rear right were spotted first, the "Ling River" turned to the right, trying to align its bow with the enemy planes. While turning, it exposed its starboard side to the 97 ship bombers coming from the left rear, receiving nine air torpedo attacks.

As a result, three torpedoes fired from that direction hit!

Their impact points were all below the waterline!

The severe flooding caused by this led to the "Ling River" quickly sinking, being the primary cause.

Around 2:20, the "Ling River" had sunk.

According to a subsequent investigation, the cause of the "Ling River" sinking was not just due to the below-waterline damages from the torpedoes, but rather, a combined result of multiple factors. For example, the virtually ineffective anti-torpedo bulkheads meant to control flooding, and the tonnage increased by the automatic flooding of the ammunition hangar by the fire control system after being hit by an air bomb. These included the severe casualties that made it impossible for damage control operations to proceed normally.

Although it could not be proven that the torpedoes dropped by Genda hit the "Ling River," the attack organized and initiated by him, led by his Ship Attack Squadron dropping the air torpedoes that heavily damaged the "Ling River" and led to its sinking, was credited to his name.

Thus, Genda became the first pilot in history to sink an aircraft carrier from a plane.

However, at that time, Genda had no idea that the "Ling River" was going to sink, nor did he think about that aspect. After completing the attack, all he wanted to do was to take the time to rest, rejuvenate during the return flight, and ensure he could launch another sortie after returning to the Mobile Fleet.

Let’s not forget, according to the plan devised by Major Tanimoto, another attack was to be launched in the evening.

After flying out of the combat zone, confirming there were no Liangxia Navy fighters behind, Genda adjusted his heading and then handed over control to the navigator behind him.

This was a function unique to the lead aircraft, which allowed the navigator to remotely pilot the aircraft.

Speaking of remote control, it was just small-scale control of the throttle and rudder to make minor adjustments to the heading. If a sharp maneuver was needed, the pilot still had to handle the aircraft. The original intention of setting up this remote system was actually to allow the commander to concentrate on commanding the battle. However, in practical use, it mainly allowed the commander to take a rest during the return journey.

It wasn’t long before Genda fell into a drowsy sleep.

In fact, it was just a light sleep.

To put it bluntly, Genda was already exhausted. Other pilots just carried out their tasks. He was the commander, responsible not only for organizing combat operations and commanding battles but also needed to communicate with the Commander of the Mobile Fleet, and even worry about minor matters like repairing fighter aircraft.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when the noise coming through his headset woke Genda up.

Then, Genda glanced at his wristwatch.

It was almost half-past three; he had actually slept for an hour and a half!

"Colonel, look quickly!"

By the time the navigator shouted out loud, Genda had already seen that diving fighter, but the fighter hadn’t opened fire.

It wasn’t an enemy plane; it was a Zero Fighter.

Moreover, the loud shouting of the navigator wasn’t to alert Genda about the fighter, but rather the thick smoke ahead.

Black smoke!

Ahead on the ocean’s surface, a half-sunken battleship—which, to be precise, was the portion visible above the water—was fiercely ablaze, with many soldiers nearby, some of whom had not even had time to put on life jackets. Not far off, a light cruiser and several lifeboats were visible.

That was...

That was the flagship of the Mobile Fleet, the "Chicheng" carrier!

Hanging from the mast behind the superstructure was a flag representing the flagship’s status.

Moreover, there was a person atop the mast.

It was unclear, but he was dressed in formal attire that one would normally never wear.

Was that the captain of the "Chicheng"?

From the oil traces on the ocean’s surface, the "Chicheng" had traveled several tens of kilometers after being hit and then sank due to severe water intake in its hull.

The stern had already sunk beneath the water’s surface; there was definitely no saving it.

A few thousand meters ahead, the "Jingang," which had been covering the "Chicheng," was turning around.

Fires had broken out on both the fore and aft decks of the battleship, emitting billowing black smoke. However, it looked like burning rubber, an intentionally created smoke screen.

At that moment, a Zero Fighter flew by, rocking back and forth a few times to signal Genda to follow.

Flying out over ten kilometers, Genda saw the burning "Jiahe."

Like the "Jingang," this was also intentional, with Jiahe having ignited rubber to feign damage without actually being attacked.

However, "Jiahe" had previously been hit by a bomb and had lost its ability to conduct air combat.

Now, the aircraft carrier could only recover the returning ship-borne aircraft and was unable to deploy any.

Genda was quite puzzled, knowing that landing on the "Jiahe" meant he definitely couldn’t head out again in the evening.

And what about the "Canglong" and "Feilong"?

If those two carriers were around, even belonging to the second Air Corps, they should have gone there to land in order to participate in the third wave of attacks in the evening.

The second Air Corps had also been attacked?!

The sudden thought startled Genda.

But now, there was no time for him to dwell on it.

Five minutes earlier, the fuel indicator light had already come on, meaning there was a maximum of ten minutes flying time left. He needed to land on the carrier swiftly.

Not until Genda maneuvered the ship attack aircraft onto the landing strip did the Zero Fighter turn to fly away.

On the flight deck, the recovery net had been raised, primarily because the front end of the deck had been destroyed, making it impossible to take off again after a failed landing.

Of course, landings usually didn’t fail.

Aiming for the runway, as the landing signal officer raised the green flag and waved it rapidly, Genda throttled back and then gripped the control stick.

After a violent impact, the ship attack aircraft bounced up but was then caught by the arresting wire.

It rolled out a few dozen meters and then came to a steady stop.

At this point, Genda could already see Major Tanimoto coming out from the superstructure and looking his way, as well as Vice Admiral Lan Yun standing inside the Command Bridge.