The appearance of that reconnaissance plane once again proved Kitamura's speculation that the Third Air Force was in the north and might have begun to lift carrier-based aircraft on attack missions.

Lan Yun did not intervene, and as the commander of the mobile fleet, he did not need to be concerned about everything.

Soon, the 99 shipburst parked on the flight deck began to rise into the air.

In the distance, the "Feilong" also sped up and let the Zero Combat take off in advance

At this time, it was exactly 7:40.

When Kitamura came out of the commander's bridge, Lan Yun was still staring at the low-pressure cumulonimbus cloud in the northwest direction, and his expression was very depressed.

In the past few decades, Westerners have often lamented that their God has immigrated to the Liangxia Empire, and Lan Yun and other soldiers and civilians of the Narrow Imperial Kingdom still scoff at this, feeling that such thoughts are to destroy their own prestige and increase the morale of others, which is not only extremely ignorant, but also has no meaning.

Now, Lan Yun is secretly exclaiming the same exclamation.

It's just that it was not the god of the West who "immigrated" to the Liangxia Empire, but the god Amaterasu that the people of the Sayi believed in.

"Commander ......"

After Beicun reminded him, Lan Yun came back to his senses.

"Do you want to prepare for a second wave of attacks right away, or do you want to wait a little longer?"

Lan Yun frowned, obviously not understanding what Beicun meant.

This can't be blamed on Lan Yun, because when he was a staff officer, carrier-based aviation had not yet been born, and even airplanes were very rare. For aviation operations, Lan Yun has mastered nine out of ten. It's just that the commander of the fleet is responsible for decision-making and does not need to be proficient in everything.

The commander of the fleet took care of everything, and what did the staff officer do?

"If you prepare for the second wave of attacks now, it will probably take an hour to complete. When the time comes, the fighters that have risen into the air before dawn can be returned to the aircraft carrier to refuel. Kitamura paused slightly, and then said: "The Third Air Task Force is 400 kilometers northeast of us, and even if the carrier-based aircraft are ready to take off before dawn and the carrier-based planes are lifted into the air immediately after receiving the report from the reconnaissance plane, it will be at least two hours later, at about half past nine." If we had not launched a second wave of attacks immediately, but had been arranged according to the previous plan, taking into account the air defense operation, then it would certainly not have been possible to send out the attack aircraft group before half past nine. ”

"The first wave of aircraft has already departed, and the first Zero will arrive at about half past eight. Next, at least an hour left, not enough? ”

According to the previous arrangement, the second wave of attacks will not be launched until the first wave of aircraft arrives and the attack is launched, that is, after it is confirmed that the reconnaissance planes have found the third air task force. The key point is that the mobile fleet is just a few carrier-based aircraft, and it must not be untargeted.

"An hour is certainly enough, but at that point, priority must be given to getting the air defense fighters back, and the flight deck is occupied, and it is impossible for the attack aircraft group to take off." Kitamura gritted his teeth and said again: "If you let the fighters return now, then the second wave of attacks ......"

Lan Yun pressed his hand, and Beicun didn't say any more.

Recovering fighter jets will occupy the flight deck, and it will certainly not be possible to prepare the fighters for the second wave of attack missions, which will inevitably lead to the delay of the launch of the second wave of attacks. If it drags on until after half past nine, I am afraid that there will be no chance for the carrier-based aircraft carrying out the second wave of attacks to take off.

Even if you can, you have to put it off until after eleven o'clock.

After a few hours of delay, will the Third Air Task Force still be in that area and do nothing?

However, now to launch a second wave of attacks, what if the reconnaissance plane makes a mistake?

Also, who can guarantee that the task force that fought yesterday did not follow behind the ass?

If the task force is still in pursuit, and the Third Air Task Force to the north turns to evade after being exposed, then launching a second wave of attacks now is a waste of troops. Next, when you find the task force following behind, what will you do to attack?

Do not forget that the first wave of attack aircraft, even if everything goes well, will take three hours to fly 800 kilometers round trip. Counting the time it takes to refuel and reload after returning home, it would theoretically be possible to go out again before noon, but in practice it will definitely take more time.

It can be seen that in the next few hours, these carrier-based aircraft left on the two aircraft carriers were the only means of attack for the mobile fleet.

It's just that Kitamura made it very clear.

If we wait for the first wave to send back a message, then we will definitely not be able to dispatch the second wave of attack planes before it is attacked.

After staring at the aviation service personnel on the flight deck for a while, Lan Yun let out a sigh.

"Commander ......"

"Let's make arrangements. Don't forget to tell Yan Ben Shaozuo to give me fifteen minutes to personally practice for the pilots who carried out the second wave of attack missions. ”

This Yan Ben, the leader of the fighter group of the First Air Force and a zero-combat pilot, made three sorties yesterday and scored six crashes. Because Genda led the team to launch the first wave of attacks, and You Yong was killed yesterday, so now only Yan Ben can be in charge of the front-line command.

Kitamura didn't ask much, if there was a second option, he wouldn't suggest a second wave of attacks either.

The mobile fleet has been spotted by enemy reconnaissance planes and is within the strike range of the 3rd Air Task Force.

The task force that engaged yesterday is likely to follow.

No matter which way you look at it, the mobile fleet will be hit before noon, and it will not be able to withstand it at all with only a dozen or so Zero Battles. If the second wave of attacks is abandoned, and the more than a dozen Zeros planned for escort are left behind for air defense missions, there may still be some hope.

It's just that there is not much hope.

The anti-aircraft fighter really worked so well, and the reconnaissance plane had already been spotted at the beginning.

In addition, yesterday's battle has also been demonstrated.

As long as the pilots of the enemy planes are not afraid of death and forget about the casualties, there will always be a few that will be able to break through the interception of the air defense fighters.

It can be seen that even if enough fighters are left, I am afraid it will still be useless.

So, what else is there to worry about?

Obviously, launching a second wave of attacks now is tantamount to making a trade-off between saving oneself and destroying the enemy.

Kitamura had also realized that Lan Yun may not have had any hope from the beginning, and he did not think that he would be able to lead the mobile fleet to escape from the Yanhai.

Don't forget that the reconnaissance planes that were sent out before dawn were all flying north.

The focus was on attacking the Third Air Task Force from the north, which was actually covering the main force in front. If we proceed from our own safety, we need to be more vigilant against the task force that is chasing after us, so we should keep an eye on the west and let the reconnaissance planes go to the west to search.

Looking at it from another perspective, everything suddenly becomes clear.

If the mobile fleet can't escape from the Yanhai Sea, then being able to kill the Third Air Force of the Liang Xia Navy in today's battle and successfully cover the breakthrough of the main team can be regarded as a great achievement. More importantly, if the war is finally won, then the whole imperial kingdom will regard the mobile fleet and the naval officers of the mobile fleet as the heroes of the revitalization of the imperial kingdom and gain a place in the temple.

Besides, if yesterday's task force hadn't chased after you, then launching a second wave of attacks now might be able to save yourself while destroying the enemy!

No matter what, there can be no hesitation.

Beicun did not delay time, and went directly to find Yan Ben, and asked Yan Ben to mobilize the pilots as soon as possible and arrange the task of launching the second wave of attacks.

Actually, Kitamura and Lan Yun were mistaken, the reconnaissance plane was not from the Third Air Task Force.