The importance of the Shivan Canal does not need to be explained.

Even after losing hundreds of Mosquito bombers in the morning, the Royal Air Force did not flinch and continued to attack in the afternoon.

However, the main character becomes a fighter.

From 1:30 p.m. until dark, the Royal Air Force dispatched more than 200 fighter jets to launch three large-scale air strikes against Task Force 11. The main force is the Spitfire fighter and, most likely, from field airfields in the Sudan region.

Of course, it is also possible to replenish fuel with the help of front-line field airfields.

The point is that almost all of these fighters carry bombs and rockets, and their combat missions are very clear, attacking any warship they encounter.

Interestingly, the Royal Air Force once again spared Task Force 12.

It is also understandable that the 12th Task Force is more than 100 kilometers away from the rear, and the 11th Task Force has also expanded the range of air defense interception. As long as the enemy planes flying from the north will definitely encounter the 11th Task Force first, and they will not be able to directly attack the 12th Task Force.

As a result, Task Force 11 was under almost all the pressure.

Fortunately, Task Force 11 is not alone.

At the end of the morning battle, Task Force 12 sent four fighter squadrons, and the aviation crews of Task Force 11 seized the time to assemble the spare fighters, so that by the afternoon the number of fighters available to Task Force 11 was 78.

In addition, Task Force XII was replenished with six squadrons of fighters sent by shore-based aviation on Socotra Island.

It is also a "roaring" fighter, which is no different from the "roaring" of carrier-based aviation.

As a result, the 2 task forces have a total of 14 fighter squadrons, totaling more than 140 aircraft.

Even with the need for the 12th Task Force's own air defense, more than 100 fighters provided cover for the 11th Task Force in the afternoon battle.

Crucially, the assault formation slowed down in the morning, and by the afternoon the distance between the 11th Task Force and the 11th Task Force had been reduced to less than 100 kilometers.

It was in this way that during the afternoon air defense operation, 2 fast battleships took on the heavy burden of command.

Although ocean-going cruisers also have air defense command capabilities, due to the size of the hull, the air defense combat command center is much smaller than that of fast battleships, with only 6 command communication lines, and can issue combat orders to up to 6 formations at the same time, while fast battleships can command 12 formations at the same time. At the "South Zhuhai" level, four general-purpose command stations have also been set up, capable of commanding 16 formations at the same time.

In terms of command capability alone, the "South Zhuhai" class is definitely the most powerful warship to date.

Of course, for the time being, the dedicated flagship is not classified as a "battleship", but as a military auxiliary ship.

The point is that the radar of a fast battleship is better to use.

Not that the radar is more advanced, but the mast on which the radar is installed is higher, so the detection range of enemy aircraft flying at low altitudes, especially at ultra-low altitudes, is longer.

Launching a surprise attack from an ultra-low altitude has become a standard attack tactic.

Even in good weather, the measured distance of air defense radars to enemy aircraft flying at ultra-low altitudes is generally only 30 kilometers.

Actually, it's almost in the field of vision.

If the weather is bad, the detection range will be shorter.

Of course, in dealing with ultra-low-altitude penetration tactics, the Imperial Navy has summed up some more useful tactics, the most important of which is to expand the scope of defense.

To put it simply, more air defense warships are needed.

Since it was not possible to increase the number of warships, it was only possible to equip more warships with anti-aircraft radars.

As long as there are enough air defense warships in the direction of the enemy plane's attack and there are enough air defense fighters nearby, then even if the enemy plane penetrates from an ultra-low altitude, it will be able to detect it in time and arrange for the air defense fighter to intercept it, so that the enemy plane will not be able to approach the aircraft carrier.

It was for this reason that the Imperial Navy equipped all cruisers with anti-aircraft radars.

To put it another way, this is also the key reason for the fall of ocean-going cruisers.

Up to now, in addition to the 10,000-ton heavy cruisers, even the light cruisers with a displacement of less than 10,000 tons have been equipped with anti-aircraft search radars, and have strengthened anti-aircraft firepower, which can take on the task of detection and interception in the fleet's air defense operations, and have a strong independent combat capability.

If anything, because there were enough anti-aircraft warships, the 11th Task Force was able to withstand the successive attacks launched by the Royal Air Force of Bran.

Compared with bombers, the threat of fighters with bombs and rockets is not small at all.

Even if it is difficult to sink a large warship with small-yield bombs and rockets, let alone a survivable aircraft carrier, it can make the warship incapacitated.

The reason is also very simple, just a few rockets can paralyze an aircraft carrier.

Heavy damage to an aircraft carrier, especially damage to the flight deck, means a loss of combat effectiveness and a need to take months to repair.

On the side of Fanyanyang, the Imperial Navy has no available naval bases for the time being.

Even if they could rely on self-propelled floating docks, they would have to return the damaged warships to Sri Lanka or go to Gwadar, which would take half a month to sail back and forth.

In addition, after discarding the ammunition loaded, the fighter will be able to immediately restore its complete air combat capability and turn from an attack aircraft into an escort fighter.

If anything, this is the key to the popularity of multi-role fighters.

It was in this way that the fighting in the afternoon was very fierce.

Also thanks to the large number of air defense warships.

During the three successive rounds of attacks, it was the air defense warships on the periphery that discovered the incoming enemy planes in time and guided the air defense fighters to intercept them, so that the enemy planes did not break through the fleet's air defense network, and the aircraft carriers located in the rear were not threatened, thus avoiding unnecessary losses.

However, the cost is also significant.

By evening, in addition to the two fast battleships that suffered minor injuries of varying degrees, two ocean-going cruisers were hit, and the damage was relatively serious, one of them was hit by more than a dozen rockets, and the hull was seriously flooded, temporarily losing its combat effectiveness.

In addition, more than 40 combat aircraft were lost.

Of the 32 "Roaring Sky" that were shot down by enemy planes during air defense operations, 7 were forced to land near the aircraft carrier, and 5 were scrapped after returning home.

It must be admitted that the Spitfire fighter of the Bran Kingdom is indeed formidable.

If it is to be said, this is also the second opponent of the Imperial Navy's "Roaring" fighter with comparable performance, in addition to the F6F.

In terms of performance, neither of these two fighters has an absolute advantage.

Because the "Spitfire" type is a long-range operation, half of the fuel is burned before the air battle, and the weight is reduced a lot, while the "Roaring Sky" is in air defense, not only takes off with a full load, but does not burn much fuel during the engagement, so the "Spitfire" type has no small advantages, especially the acceleration performance.

As for the capabilities of the pilots, the difference is also not very significant.

Unfortunately, the Bran fighter was alone.

Because it is not supported by the system, in many cases, the incoming enemy aircraft are in a passive state, and it is difficult to compete with the air defense fighters who have received the command of the battleship.

In fact, this once again proves the importance of the chain of command.