The Resurrected Fleet: Isekai World War 1942

Chapter 74 - 78

CHAPTER 74

Attack Group, Launch

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On August 8th, just before dawn...

Passing through the Luzon Strait, the Japanese Third Fleet finally emerged from the heavy rain that had persisted until yesterday.

"Attack group, prepare to launch!"

On the flight decks of the eleven aircraft carriers of the Third Fleet, planes were being lined up one after another.

Comprising four Carrier Divisions, two anti-aircraft Cruiser Divisions, and the 10th Destroyer Squadron, the Third Fleet was ready.

Its main force, the carrier task force, consisted of the 1st Carrier Division led by Vice Admiral Ozawa with the carriers Zuikaku, Shōkaku, and Kokuyō (a composite carrier formed from the former Iwami and Borodino-class battleship). The 2nd Carrier Division had the flagship Sōryū and three others, Kōyō (formerly Moltke), and Zuiyō (formerly Seydlitz). The 3rd Carrier Division included the Suiyō (formerly Derfflinger), Sōyō (formerly Hindenburg), and Hakuyō (formerly Von der Tann). The 5th Carrier Division consisted of the two returning ships, Akagi and Kaga.

There was a discussion within the Third Fleet command about whether to return the flagship to Akagi temporarily, but considering the order of return to training and the skill level of the pilots on board, Zuikaku remained the flagship.

On Zuikaku's bridge, Vice Admiral Ozawa turned to Chief of Staff Kusaka with a wry smile.

"The rain has stopped."

"Yes, it seems that things are finally going according to plan."

Kusaka looked up at the sky.

"From here on, we don't know when we'll be spotted by the enemy. A complete surprise attack might be impossible."

"No worries, we'll just overwhelm them with sheer numbers when the time comes. That's the concentrated deployment of the eleven fleet carriers for."

Ozawa grinned.

"It's like your swordsmanship. A single decisive blow."

Kusaka was known as a master swordsman. While Ozawa dabbled in judo and tried to make a witty remark, Kusaka just gave a vague smile.

Indeed, Ozawa thought, he gave off quite a serene impression. Frankly, he seemed to lack initiative at times. However, he remained calm and composed no matter what, showing great courage. Ozawa had heard from Jinichi Kusaka, his classmate at the Naval Academy, that Kusaka was a somewhat mysterious man. He seemed not to think deeply about things, yet according to Jinichi, he was quite intelligent. By the way, Jinichi Kusaka was a distant relative of Ryūnosuke Kusaka.

"Preemptive strike. That's the only way."

Ozawa believed in moving before the enemy and striking before the enemy. This had been his philosophy since his days as a torpedo man before his focus shifted to aviation. In fact, the shift to aviation might have been because airplanes were faster than torpedoes.

"I agree, sir."

Kusaka nodded. A single decisive blow. The idea of concentrating the maximum attack made sense not only from the perspective of defeating the enemy without retaliation but also from the viewpoint of ensuring victory.

Soon, the eastern sky began to brighten.

On the flight decks of each carrier, aircraft were lined up tightly. Zeros, D3As, B5Ns – except for being equipped with magic bulletproof technology developed by the Magitek Research Department, their specifications remained unchanged.