The four fighter squadrons of Task Force 1 arrived at about half-past eight, when Task Force 2 had just left the skies over the fleet. Leading this group of fighters was Colonel Ellsler. Ellsle quickly made contact with the air defense command officer of Task Force 2 and immediately assigned his fighters to several important air defense directions.

In less than five minutes, five fighter squadrons from the Fourth Task Force also rushed over, which was a group of planes led by Colonel Wang Zhihua. The fighters of these five squads were also quickly dispersed in the direction of important air defense patrols.

Each fighter in the two fleets had an oversized fuel tank attached to it, and did not carry external weapons. The endurance of the Peregrine Falcon was already very strong, and after attaching the extra-large auxiliary fuel tank, these fighters were able to patrol over the second task force for at least three hours while retaining 20 minutes of spare fuel in the air and returning to the fleet. None of the previous fighters could do this, and it was precisely because the "Peregrine Falcon" had such a strong endurance that the three task forces were able to coordinate their defense. If necessary, these fighters can also land directly on the aircraft carrier of the Second Task Force to replenish fuel, of course, in order to reduce the burden of aviation operations of the Second Task Force, An Shile and Wang Zhihua will not easily land on the aircraft carrier of the Second Task Force.

Immediately, Hao Dongjue received a telegram from Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian that the bomber groups of the two task forces were setting off, hoping that the bomber groups of the second task force would be able to smoothly tear through the air defense network of the US task force and create an opportunity for the bomber groups that arrived one after another. The significance of Hao Dongjue's arrangement for two groups of bombers to depart at the same time has been revealed, which also shows Hao Dongjue's talent in planning aviation operations. If someone else, even Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian, had planned this strike, they would have strengthened the fleet's air defense first after arranging the first batch of bombers, rather than immediately dispatching the second batch of bombers. Hao Dongjue didn't do this, and the two sharp arrows he shot in a row were enough to tear a big hole in the air defense net of the American fleet. When the time comes, even the bombers of Task Force 2 will not be able to annihilate the enemy. The bombers of the other two task forces that arrived immediately were also able to bury the entire Fifth Fleet!

"Do you want to contact Zhang Naiding and Yang Shihong?"

"No, you don't." Hao Dongjue stopped Wei Dongbei, "There is no need, the two of them know what they should do, if even Zhang Naiding and Yang Shihong can't complete the task, then the bombers of other fleets can't do it, we have to have confidence in them." ”

Wei Dongbei nodded, and said nothing more. Before partnering with Hao Dongjue, Wei Dongbei knew nothing about aviation operations. I don't even know anything, and in the past year or so, after hearing and witnessing, Wei Dongbei has also followed Hao Dongjue to learn the tactics of aviation operations. Although Wei Dongbei is still far from replacing Hao Dongjue's position, and he can't even help Hao Dongjue much in the fleet aviation operations, compared with more than a year ago, Wei Dongbei's progress is still very great, at least Hao Dongjue will now hand over some minor tasks to Wei Dongbei to do, instead of doing everything himself.

Minute by minute, every two minutes. Hao Dongjue would take a look at the navigation clock. He was calculating the time when the bomber would arrive. Zhang Naiding's group departed before 8 o'clock, and the fighters that took off later would catch up, so its departure time should have been around 7:50. 250 nautical miles flight range. The average speed of the bomber group was 180 knots, and the speed of the forward escort fighters should be around 240 knots. In other words, before nine o'clock, the escort fighters will first encounter the US air defense fighters, or help the bombers behind them find the US fleet. It's 8:40 a.m., and perhaps the pilots have already seen the US air defense fighters.

"Did the radar detect it?" Hao Dongjue suddenly asked the staff officer in charge of the air defense of the fleet.

"No, not a single battleship has sent a message."

Hao Dongjue frowned slightly, he felt a little strange. Spruance wouldn't have even arranged a reconnaissance plane. When the U.S. fleet was discovered, it was heading south, which meant that it was approaching a dangerous sea, which also showed that Spruance was looking for an opportunity for a decisive battle. So. Spruance will definitely send reconnaissance planes. The US Fifth Fleet has nine aircraft carriers, and at least nearly 100 reconnaissance planes can be dispatched. According to the most normal tactical arrangement, the US military reconnaissance planes will also take off before dawn, could it be that Spruance will make such a huge and low-level mistake?

"Strengthen vigilance and report as soon as you spot an unknown aircraft." Hao Dongjue felt that this was impossible, "In addition, contact each air defense fighter individually." Let Ansler and Wang Zhihua pay attention to the situation in the fleet and pay attention to the search around the fleet. ”

Orders were quickly communicated, but it took time to contact each fighter to determine its location and identity. Hao Dongjue also realized the danger, Spruance would not make low-level mistakes, then the US military reconnaissance plane had already arrived, and where were those damn reconnaissance planes? At this time, the radio monitoring stations in the fleet could not play a role, the radars on dozens of warships were working, and the communication between the fleet and the air force was also very frequent within the fleet, and the simple radio monitoring stations on the warships could not find the telegrams sent by the US reconnaissance planes from so many radio signals.

"General, Colonel Zhang Naiding sent a telegram that the US bomber group is flying in our direction!"

Hao Dongjue was taken aback. "Are you sure it's a group of U.S. bombers?"

"It's completely certain that Colonel Jiang Wenhan has led a squadron of fighters up."

"How many bombers are there in the US fleet?"

"No less than 200 units, and there are numerous escort fighters. At this time, we have not been able to contact Colonel Jiang Wenhan, and we are unable to determine the specific situation. ”

"Contact Zhang Naiding and ask them to arrange two bombers to track the US military fleet!" Hao Dongjue wiped the sweat from his forehead, "In addition, contact Tan Renhao and General Huang Xiaotian and ask them to strengthen their vigilance, maybe the US bombers are not coming towards us." ”

The communications staff officer immediately nodded and prepared to send a telegram.

"Also, search the surrounding airspace again, and let the fighters gather together in small teams, and be fast!"

This trick quickly worked, and when the nine squads of air defense fighters were concentrated, as long as it was a lone plane, it was definitely not their own. The first to send back the report was the cruiser "Tianlu" in the "Poyang Lake" battle group. This is a "Rui Beast"-class cruiser with the most advanced radar installed on it, and after Hao Dongjue ordered the air defense fighters to be concentrated, the ship's ground radar immediately discovered three targets flying alone. And before that, the radar operators had always thought that these were three fighters patrolling around the fleet, and did not think that this would be a reconnaissance aircraft of the US military!

"Immediately arrange for fighter jets to come over, visually confirm their identity before attacking!"

Six twin-plane formations immediately flew towards the three suspicious planes, which were indeed three enemy planes. It is a Type 0336 reconnaissance aircraft only equipped by the US military. Fighter pilots launched an attack as soon as they identified the enemy aircraft. "The enemy plane has been shot down, but it is not possible to determine whether a telegram has been sent or not."

"There's no need, the US bombers are definitely coming at us." Hao Dongjue didn't feel nervous, but he breathed a sigh of relief, as if a stone had fallen to the ground in his heart. "Calculate the time of the arrival of the US bomber group, readjust the air defense deployment of the fleet. Also, let Jiang Wenhan and them stop wasting their strength, their first task is to cover the bomber group to attack the US fleet. Also, Yang Shihong's side is the same, don't get too entangled with the US bomber group. Their mission is to take out the enemy. Instead of protecting the fleet, if the US military can be prevented from dispatching the second batch of bombers, then it will be the most effective way to protect the fleet! ”

The communications staff officer has already called two officers. Assist him in communicating with the fleet ahead.

"Inform Task Force 1 and Task Force 2 that our location has been revealed, and according to the plan, they should distance themselves from us to avoid being attacked at the same time." Hao Dongjue hesitated slightly, "Besides, we don't need other fighters, let them strengthen their own air defense, and we will report it immediately after there is further information!" ”

Soon. Tan Renhao and Huang Xiaotian both sent telegrams of inquiry, Hao Dongjue did not ask for more ground air defense fighters, in his opinion, more than 100 fighters in nine squads are enough, even if there are more fighters, they may not be able to play a greater role, after all, the air defense space of the fleet is only so large, and it can only accommodate so many fighters. Task Force 1 and Task Force 4 also turned around at this time, distancing themselves from Task Force 2. This is also part of the battle plan. Whichever fleet is exposed first must go to the front and act as a bomb magnet to attract the attack of the US army, so as to ensure that the other two task forces are not attacked. This is in fact self-sacrifice, self-sacrifice to preserve the fraternal forces. Hao Dongjue did not hesitate, the Second Task Force was heading towards the US fleet, and in his opinion, even if the Second Task Force would be defeated, he would drag a few backs on his back, and he would never let the US troops take advantage.

The three aircraft carrier battle groups in the fleet also began to disperse, and the escorting warships began to move closer to the aircraft carriers. Prior to this, in order to prevent a sneak attack by submarines, and at the same time, in order to allow aircraft carriers to sail against the wind, the distance between the warships was relatively long, and the place was to sail in anti-submarine formations. Immediately after the air defense alarm was sounded, the fleet switched to an anti-aircraft formation and was ready for an enemy strike. This is the most basic fleet formation tactic, and the three aircraft carrier battle groups have a sufficient number of escort warships, four cruisers, and several destroyers, which is enough to provide tight protection for the aircraft carrier. In order to avoid being attacked at the same time and at the same time to expand the distance of the US surprise attack as much as possible, the three aircraft carrier battle groups must be separated, so that the power of the heavy anti-aircraft guns on the air defense warships can be fully brought into play, so that the US forces can spend more time during the assault, which will also give the antiaircraft guns more opportunities.

Less than half past nine, the radar on an air defense alert ship located in the northwest of the fleet, that is, a "City" class destroyer, discovered a group of American bombers that were rapidly approaching, to be precise, a group of American bombers divided into three groups, each of which numbered more than 150 planes, and the three groups were very close to each other. At this time, the US bomber group was less than 100 nautical miles away from the "Poyang Lake" aircraft carrier battle group at the forefront of the Second Task Force, and it was only about 130 nautical miles away from the "Xingkai Lake" aircraft carrier battle group.

The group of air defense fighters commanded by Ansler was the first to meet him, and he directly killed the group of bombers flying in front. Such is the benefit of an air defense alert ship. In addition to being able to extend the air defense alert range of several tens of nautical miles and provide the fleet with more than 10 minutes of air defense preparation time, it can also allow air defense fighters to intercept enemy planes as soon as possible and extend the time for air defense interception. Maybe ten minutes in peacetime is very inconspicuous, and it will pass quickly, but in the life-and-death fleet air defense operation, ten minutes can often decide the life and death of the fleet, and many times, even one more chance of interception can change the outcome of the battle!

Wang Zhihua's plane group was a little far away from the battlefield, and he did not directly meet it, but let the fighters be divided into two groups, the upper and lower groups, and quickly accelerated, heading towards the left side of the US plane, that is, the east side. This was a characteristic of Wang Zhihua's operations, as he rarely engaged in head-on confrontations with the enemy, and as in ground battles, attacks from the flanks were often more effective. As long as Ansle and the others can hold on to the front, the surprise attack launched by Wang Zhihua's group from the flank can quickly defeat the US bomber group and buy time for intercepting the next bomber group.

It can be seen that Wang Zhihua is a very smart warrior. Fleet air defense operations are very different from escort operations, and in fleet air defense operations, the most important thing is not how many enemy aircraft to shoot down, but time. It can be said that the phrase "time is life" is most clearly manifested in the air defense operations of the fleet. In addition, it is far more important to defeat enemy aircraft groups than to spend more time annihilating enemy aircraft. A defeated group of enemy bombers will be much less of a threat to the fleet, and only those enemy bombers that are concentrated together are the real threat!

This is also the importance of experience in battle, Wang Zhihua and An Shile's experience is not something that the US military can obtain through training, and only experienced soldiers can know what to do and how to do it in the first time. This is where the strength of the Imperial Navy lies, and from the very beginning, experience has been the key factor in determining victory or defeat on the battlefield!