The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 612: Extinguishing the Kamikaze and Landing on Ryukyu

The main turrets of several light cruisers and destroyers also began to rotate slowly, with their muzzles raised high - they were no longer loaded with anti-ship shells, but with anti-aircraft high-explosive shells equipped with domestically produced VT proximity fuses.

Large-caliber high-explosive bombs equipped with this type of fuse do not need to hit the enemy aircraft directly. They can automatically detonate when they are within a certain range of the enemy aircraft, forming a large and deadly fragmentation killing area. They are a powerful weapon for dealing with dense air targets.

You Hongxuan raised the telescope and looked at the northern skyline.

Soon, a black dot appeared in the field of vision, growing larger and larger, accompanied by the roar of the engine.

There were dozens of Zero fighters painted with red pills and other miscellaneous aircraft. They were flying very low, almost sticking to the sea level, and rushing straight towards them desperately.

You Hongxuan could even imagine the crazy and desperate expressions of the Japanese pilots carrying out suicide missions.

A brutal and fierce air defense battle suddenly broke out in this blue sea far away from the South China Sea.

The carrier-based fighter jets launched by the three escort aircraft carriers Tianshu, Tianxuan and Tianji had already moved forward.

And with the guidance of the radio, they discovered the incoming Japanese planes.

Then, dozens of fighter planes swooped down with a roar, heading towards the desperate Japanese special attack planes.

"Fire! Fire! Don't let them get close to the fleet!" The voice of the squadron leader of the F6F Hellcat squadron sounded on the radio channel.

In an instant, the air was filled with a fiery barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.

With superior aircraft performance and better training, the pilots from Nanyang took advantage of altitude and speed, and hunted their targets calmly from the rear and flanks.

The Japanese Zero or other old fighter planes were constantly hit, falling into the sea with black smoke, or exploding in the air and turning into a dazzling fireball.

Particularly horrifying were the suicide planes whose noses were filled with explosives. Once they were hit in the vitals, they would instantly cause a violent chain reaction explosion, exploding into huge fireballs and billowing black smoke clouds in the air, with fragments flying everywhere.

"Keep your distance! Stay away from the explosion range! I repeat, stay away from the explosion range!" The leader's plane immediately shouted a warning on the radio, fearing that one of their own pilots, who was in a killing mood, would get too close and be accidentally injured.

You Hongxuan on the bridge held a telescope and observed the air battle closely.

He soon discovered something unusual. These Japanese planes hardly made any complicated evasive maneuvers. They just rushed towards the fleet stupidly, with their flight paths going straight back and forth.

"It seems the intelligence was correct. They're all newbies who've barely learned how to take off and land...poor souls who've been brainwashed and sent here to die."

Only a few Zeros, seemingly flown by experienced pilots, attempted to engage in dogfights with the "Corsairs" and "Hellcats" in the South China Sea, and their movements were obviously much more skillful.

But they were too few in number and were soon besieged by several Nanyang fighter planes, and fell into the sea one after another, trailing thick smoke.

Thanks to the early warning of radar and the early interception of carrier-based aircraft, most of the special attack aircraft were shot down when they were still more than ten kilometers away from the fleet.

However, a few still managed to break through the barrier of fighter jets by relying on low-altitude penetration or pure luck.

These remaining Japanese pilots all had crazy expressions on their faces, shouting "Board!" and flying their planes straight towards the First Fleet in the South China Sea.

"All units, fire freely, don't let them hit us." You Hongxuan roared on the fleet communication channel.

In an instant, the entire South China Sea Fleet seemed to have turned into an erupting volcano.

“Boom boom boom!” “Bang bang bang!” “Boom boom boom!”

The large-caliber anti-aircraft guns equipped with VT fuses on each ship opened fire first at a long distance. The shells exploded in front of the special attack aircraft, creating deadly black smoke clouds, and the fragments swept across the airspace like the scythe of the god of death.

Soon after, the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun and the 20mm Oerlikon cannon joined the chorus.

The dense tracer bullet tracks were like a scorching steel storm, interweaving into an almost impenetrable web of death in the air, madly chasing and tearing apart those clumsy and desperate special attack planes.

A special attack aircraft tried to rush towards the Tianshu, but was hit continuously by the Bofors gun fire from a light cruiser on the flank and disintegrated in mid-air.

Another one twisted and turned and tried to crash into a transport ship, but the transport ship's own Oerlikon cannon accurately shot off its wing, and it rolled into the sea, and the explosion stirred up a huge column of water.

The Nanyang carrier-based aircraft that had completed the interception mission did not dare to approach the airspace above their own fleet at this moment. They could only hover and keep watch in the distance, for fear of being accidentally injured by the violent anti-aircraft fire.

Between the sea and the sky, the sound of artillery is deafening, the air is filled with smoke, and the burning wreckage of planes and the figures of pilots who fell into the water are dotted in between, forming a cruel and heroic picture of war.

When the last special attack plane crashed and exploded in the sea not far away, the sound of gunfire gradually subsided.

The sea breeze temporarily dispersed the smoke, but the tense atmosphere did not ease.

"Radar, sonar, maintain maximum alert." You Hongxuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave the order again. "The Japanese planes were able to locate us so accurately. There's a high probability that their submarines are nearby, secretly guiding us. Also, Kikusui's madness won't end just this time."

His hunch was correct.

On the following day, the First Nanyang Fleet encountered two smaller-scale kamikaze attacks in succession.

In addition, the fleet captured a Japanese submarine and sank it directly with depth charges.

The fleet's air defense forces continued to fight and were exhausted, but relying on tight formations, advanced radar and fierce anti-aircraft firepower, they successfully shot down most of the incoming enemy aircraft, with only a small amount of damage, but none of them sank.

On the evening of April 3, the First South China Sea Fleet, after many twists and turns, finally reunited with the huge Fifth White Eagle Fleet in the designated sea area.

What lies before my eyes is an extremely spectacular sight. Countless battleships, cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers and various auxiliary ships cover the sea surface. Fighter planes are patrolling in the sky at all times. In the distance, dull artillery fire can be heard from the direction of the Ryukyu Islands, and gun smoke is faintly visible.

There was no time to rest, the landing operation began immediately.

For this verification, the White Eagle side generously provided the Nanyang with a large number of tank landing craft (LCT) and personnel vehicle landing craft (LCVP) to help the Nanyang Army quickly unload troops and equipment.

On the sea, various landing craft shuttled back and forth, their engines roaring.

On a shaking LCVP landing craft, Lu Daniu, who has now been promoted to regimental commander, was chewing gum in his mouth, with a helmet on his head and a submachine gun hanging on his chest. He rushed heavily onto a beach on the west coast of Ryukyu with the landing craft.

The hatch was lowered and salty sea water immediately rushed in.

"Hurry! Hurry! Get off the boat! Follow me!" Lu Daniu roared, and was the first to jump into the waist-deep sea water. He waded through the water and rushed towards the shore, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

The soldiers behind him jumped down and followed closely.