Battering Ram of the Sea

Chapter 35 - Albacore Onslaught

When the attack groups launched by the three British aircraft carriers appeared in front of the 1st Air Fleet, there were a total of 36 Zero fighters in the sky. These fighters took off from the four carriers: Hiryū, Sōryū, Zuihō, and Shōhō. Compared to the Battle of the Coral Sea, the number of combat air patrols had been reduced by half. However, it was believed that this would be sufficient for the British carriers, which carried fewer aircraft than the American carriers.

On the other hand, the attack group launched from the British carriers Indomitable, Formidable, and Illustrious was large. There were 54 Albacores and 36 escorting Martlets, totaling 90 planes. This number far exceeded the initial estimates and this miscalculation would bring the worst disaster to the 1st Air Fleet.

The Zeros were aiming at the Albacores that were armed with torpedoes that could easily sink even a battleship. To deter them from reaching the torpedo bombers, the Martlets fired 12,7 mm rounds from a long range. Although the Zero fighters, aware of the formidable firepower of the large-caliber Browning machine guns, attempted to evade the rounds, doing so meant temporarily giving up the attack on the Albacore. The crew of the Martlets, who knew what they should do, did not chase the Zero fighters too closely and instead focused on escorting the Albacores. As a result, the Martlets had very few Zero fighters shot down, but this approach was the optimal strategy on this battlefield. Unlike some fighter pilots from other countries who would quickly abandon their escort missions and become engrossed in dogfights with enemy fighters, the Martlet pilots were different.

While the Martlets engaged the Zero fighters, the Albacores closed in on the carriers. Some of the Zero fighters, determined to protect their mother ships, exposed their backs to the Martlets and opened fire on the Albacores. Although the Albacores, with their weak armor compared to American planes, sustained significant damage from the 20 mm rounds, the attacking Zero fighters were not spared from the 12,7 mm retaliation rounds fired by the Martlets. The Illustrious air group was reduced to half of its 18 Albacores by the Zeros' desperate attack, while the Indomitable and Formidable air groups were able to close in on the two Japanese carriers unscathed.

The primary targets were the Sōryū and the Shōhō positioned on the left side of the 1st Air Fleet. The Indomitable air group was divided into groups of nine and closed in on the Sōryū from both sides, attempting to encircle it. The targeted Sōryū utilized her speed, surpassing 34 knots, to evade the attack desperately. During this evasion, she fired shells from the 12,7 cm high-angle guns and 25 mm autocannons on both sides of the ship to deter the Albacores from approaching. However, due to the poor performance of the fire control systems and the ship's constant maneuvering, accurate aiming was difficult. The Albacores managed to release all 18 torpedoes toward the anticipated future position of the Sōryū without suffering any losses.

On the other hand, Captain Yanagimoto of the Sōryū desperately maneuvered the ship in an attempt to evade the torpedoes, but it was impossible to avoid all of them. As the Sōryū surged forward with her bow wave, columns of water rose one after another along her sides. First, one torpedo hit from the left bow and one from the center, followed by one from the right center and one from the stern, slightly delayed. With four torpedoes hitting her simultaneously, there was no way for the Sōryū with a standard displacement of only 15.900 tons to survive. The successive torpedo hits caused billowing smoke, and the Sōryū rapidly lost her speed, turning into a blazing torch on the sea in a short period.

On the other hand, the Shōhō, which was targeted by the Formidable air group, suffered an even worse fate. She was not as fast as the Sōryū, and in addition to having only four 12,7 cm twin high-angle guns and four 25 mm triple autocannons as her weak anti-aircraft armament, she was easily closed in on by the Albacores, which hammered her with torpedoes. The Shōhō took nearly seven torpedoes, twice as many as the Sōryū, and quickly sank beneath the waves.

Meanwhile, the Hiryū was also under attack by the weakened Illustrious air group of nine planes. Unlike the Sōryū and the Shōhō, which were attacked from both sides, and with the skillful maneuvering of Captain Kaku, the Hiryū managed to evade all the torpedoes heading her way. However, despite their best efforts, the experienced British aircrew managed to land one last torpedo on the Hiryū, striking her on her side. After the Albacore attacks had concluded, the only carrier left unscathed was the Zuihō.

Nonetheless, had the 1st Air Fleet been equipped with radar for long-range interception, it could have had multiple opportunities to intercept the numerous Albacores using the Zero fighters. Such a scenario might have prevented the extent of damage witnessed in this battle. The battle revealed the vulnerability of the mobile fleet, which lacked radar and the ability to conduct effective aerial control. In any case, the 1st Air Fleet had effectively lost its combat capabilities.