Against the Tide Imperial: The Struggle for Ceylon (The Usurper's War: An Alternative World War II B by James Young (story reading txt) 📕

that all twenty-five of the SB2Cs that made it to push over initially concentrated on the Taiho rather than dividing their attacks and the anti-aircraft fire. From the Japanese perspective, the Helldivers resembled a falling tidal wave of light gray aircraft. The voluminous Japanese anti-aircraft fire claimed another three SB2Cs on the way down before they could release. Four more more fell into the ocean as they began their pullout.

In return for the high butcher's bill, the Bonhomme Richard's dive bombing squadrons put only two bombs onto the Taiho. Like her British counterparts, the Japanese carrier was built with an armored, enclosed flight deck to mitigate the damage from just such an assault. This made the first bomb's point of impact all that more ironic, as the weapon pierced through the new radar aerial atop the island, penetrated into the structure, then completed the annihilation of the Kido Butai's most potent sensor by detonating in the radar flat. The resultant fragments and explosions rippled through the flag and navigational bridges, decapitating the vessel's captain and cleaving the helmsman in two.

The second 1,000-lb. bomb hit after three successive near misses holed the large carrier's starboard side. Like the trio of weapons before it, the big half-ton warhead was off the point of aim, piercing the starboard flight deck edge at an angle. This delayed the weapon's detonation while simultaneously clipping an aviation fuel line that had not been drained. In a horrible, roiling instant, Taiho's forward hangar deck became a cauldron fed by spraying aviation gas. The resulting fireball ignited several of the fully fueled aircraft that had been intended for a strike on Fletcher's carrier force once that group was found. While the weapons aboard the Suisei's and Tenzan's had been stricken below thanks to the warning provided by the Taiho's now defunct radar, the intense cauldron almost immediately began warping the carrier's forward flight deck.

Even with the resultant major fires, the Taiho's damage was not fatal in and of itself. It was what the two bombs facilitated that wrecked the IJN's newest vessel. Even as the big carrier was continuing sharply into the tight turn initiated by a dead man, the Bonhomme Richard and Independence's Avengers were beginning their run through fire and flame. Belatedly sighted by gunners who had been tracking Helldivers through their weapons' deliveries, the large Grumman aircraft set up on the Taiho's bows in a classic anvil attack pattern.

If the SB2C's had paid a butcher's bill, the torpedo bombers went through the equivalent of buying an entire stockyard. The Independence's squadron, their numbers depleted by Isoro and Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, began their attack from Taiho's starboard side with eight TBFs. Bonhomme Richard's squadron struck from port with eighteen more Grummans. Of these, only thirteen would survive to begin their egress back towards Task Force 24.

With her bridge destroyed, it was only through dumb fate that Taiho turned into the Bonhomme Richard's squadron. The twelve weapons dropped resulted in zero hits with two of the weapons bracketing the carrier by less than thirty feet on either side. In avoiding the more lethal threat, however, the Taiho turned her entire length to the five Avengers that managed to drop from starboard. Independence's squadron commander, in an act of professional bravery he did not survive to reap the fruits of, had ordered the magnetic pistols removed from the weapons. The late lieutenant commander had then doubled down by having the torpedoes depths set five feet shallower than the targeting directives called for.

Rather than a court-martial, the man's act led to Taiho suffering three major wounds. First the carrier's No. 1 engine room was struck, with the blast and fragments also damaging a fuel pump. Scarcely had her hull stopped shaking from that strike when two more torpedoes struck Fire Room and Engine Room No. 4. The whipsaw from the dual blows knocked out several of the carrier's circuits and a dynamo, with the resultant electrical cascades killing two dozen men at their post. More ominously, the rolling brownout cut power to both the firefighting apparatus and the carrier's pumps. Burning, listing, and leaderless, the Taiho began coasting to a stop as the Bonhomme Richard and Independence's air crews fled for their lives.

Blue One

Northern Indian Ocean

0800 Local (2230 Eastern)

"Holy shit, look at that bitch burn!" a shocked voice said over the VB-11 radio net.

"Cut the damn chatter!" Lieutenant Commander Brigante barked. "Red Section, fo…"

VB-11's squadron commander was cut off by the strident notes of a trumpet and the muffled sounds of anti-aircraft guns. Indistinguishable yelling and banging on metal shortly followed, as an unknown Japanese transmitter continued to jam the VB-11 net.

Well that's as annoying as it is effective.

The sky was suddenly alive with flak bursts, the crack! and smell of acrid smoke taking him briefly back to a different sky half a world away. Biting his tongue and shaking his head, Eric forced the memories of his former squadron's leader's death from his mind as he began seeking targets.

Damn Atlantic boys concentrated on the same carrier. That’s not helpful when there are at least two more here than we were briefed about.

Looking forward, Eric saw Brigante furiously waggling his wings. A moment later, a red flare shot out to port from the tailgunner, followed a moment later by a green one to starboard.

Well, glad I paid attention during the briefing.

The signal was for section leaders to hunt their own carriers. With the Japanese interference a constant din in his ears, Eric looked for a target. VS-11 was pushing over on the closest carrier even as VT-11 was arrowing in on the same ship far below.

Have to put as many holes in flight decks as we can.These are the same bastards that hurt the Hornet. I don't feel like going through survivor's reissue again.

"We're going after the next two carriers," Eric said over the intercom. "Scouting Eleven's got that one in hand."

"Why in the hell are Enterprise's air group going after the battleships?!" Brown asked incredulously. Eric turned