At 7:54 a.m., Yamaguchi received a telegram from the flagship of the Combined Fleet about the First Task Force of the Tang Empire.

The anti-submarine patrol plane that discovered the First Task Force of the Tang Empire belonged to the Iwo Jima Garrison Command. At that time, Japan had deployed a total of 24 anti-submarine patrol planes on the island, and at 5:15 a.m., all of these anti-submarine patrol planes, which could fly for six hours in a row, left their bases on the island and went out to look for traces of the Tang Imperial fleet. And after discovering the First Task Force of the Tang Empire, the telegram sent by the patrol aircraft was first sent to the garrison headquarters on the island, then transferred to the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and then to Yamaguchi Wenta. Because of the different frequencies of the codes, patrol aircraft could not send telegrams directly to the First Air Fleet. This problem existed in the navies of all countries at that time.

Yamaguchi Wenta immediately gave the order to attack, and the fighters and bombers on the three aircraft carriers took off one after another. It was at this time that Yang Shihong discovered the Japanese First Air Fleet and burrowed into the clouds when the radio signal was issued. As a result, the lookout on the Japanese battleship did not find the Tang Imperial reconnaissance plane flying almost under the clouds, and the electronic officer in charge of listening to the radio signal did not notice the radio signal, thinking that it was sent from Iwo Jima (at that time, there was no radio signal mapping device in the fleet, so it could only listen to the general direction of the nearby radio signal, but could not determine the specific place where the radio signal was transmitted). In other words, Yamaguchi Wenta didn't know at all, and he was also discovered by his opponent.

This brave Japanese admiral did not leave himself any bargaining chips, and sent all his forces out. He had already learned from the telegram he received that the First Task Force of the Tang Empire had four aircraft carriers instead of three! Previously, Yamaguchi Wenta was also preparing to bomb in two batches, but as a result, after knowing the specific scale of the first task force of the Tang Empire, he immediately decided to send all the bombers in both batches. And also increased the number of escort fighters by 18 units. As a result, bombers and fighters will not be able to completely land on the aircraft carrier when they return home, and a group of fighters will have to land on airfields on nearby islands. Yamaguchi Wendo didn't think about this at all, these fighters could replenish ammunition and fuel on the island airfield, and then bomb the Don Imperial fleet again. All he could think of was that in order to break through the air defense network of the four-aircraft carrier fleet and deal a fatal blow to the opponent, then he would have to concentrate all his forces and use them. And to disperse the forces, it will lead to the failure of both bombings!

Yamaguchi's decision to smell is not actually wrong. At that time, Japan's three aircraft carriers carried a total of 134 bombers, of which 77 were "99 ship bombers" and 57 were "97 ship attackers". In addition to these bombers, there were 54 "Zero Battles". If Yamaguchi Wenta divided these bombers into two groups, then they would be easily defeated by the ground air defense fighters over the Tang Imperial fleet, and it would also give Tan Renhao a chance to counterattack on a large scale. But Yamaguchi Wenta made a wrong decision, that is, he only left 12 air defense fighters for the fleet and sent 44 escort fighters. Maybe. He was taking into account the fact that the fleet of the Don Empire had a large number of anti-aircraft fighters. That's why such a decision was made, otherwise he should have left 30 air defense fighters and sent only 24 escort fighters. And it's that difference. The fate of the 1st Air Fleet was ultimately decided.

As for why Yamaguchi Wenta made such a decision, many people are making inferences. Some people believe that Yamaguchi Odora believed that he would be covered by shore-based fighters, so he was not worried about the problem of fleet air defense (in fact, the shore-based fighters that took off from the home island arrived in the airspace over the 1st Air Fleet at 9:35, and by this time the battle was nearing its end). Another part of the population believes that Yamaguchi does not know that he has been exposed, so he is not worried about the task of air defense of the fleet. And some people believe that when Yamaguchi Wenta led the First Air Fleet to the expedition, he already knew that he would not be able to return.

Those who adhere to this last point of view present a lot of evidence. Like what. When Yamaguchi returned to the fleet, he left a suicide note for his relatives, and he also sorted out the medals he had received, the emperor's commendation, and so on. There are even rumors that Yamaguchi is very pessimistic about the mission of the Combined Fleet, believing that going to find the Tang Empire's No. 1 Task Force for a decisive battle before the "Xianghe" aircraft carrier completes its overhaul is simply sending him to death. Of course, these evidences are also half rumors, and the so-called suicide note. What is so strange about the fact that all the Japanese admirals who carried out combat missions at that time would leave a suicide note when they set off with the fleet?

Yamaguchi Wenta threw all the weights in his hand in a desperate manner, and he did not leave a way back for himself. The bomber group who led the bomber group is still immortal several times, and Mishio Fuchizo, who is about to become a master. Originally, after the last campaign, Mishio Fuchizu had the opportunity to be promoted to brigadier general, leave the front-line combat units, serve as a senior general of the Japanese naval aviation, and stay in the rear. However, he refused to be promoted, remained on the aircraft carrier "Zuihe" and continued to command the aviation unit in combat.

At 8:25, 132 bombers (two "97 Ship Attackers" failed to take off due to engine failure) and 41 "Zero Battles" (one was left behind because of a problem with the oil circuit) completed the formation over the fleet, and then flew in the southwest direction, which was the direction where the first task force of the Tang Empire was located.

Until this time, the Japanese fleet did not find the "Osprey" reconnaissance aircraft hiding in the clouds. But Yang Shihong discovered a group of Japanese bombers dispatched. Moreover, he adopted an extremely bold strategy, flying with the Japanese bomber group, transmitting the news back to the fleet in time, and acting as the clairvoyant of the fleet!

Of course, Yang Shihong is also a daring artist, and after he hid in the clouds, he immediately realized that the Japanese did not notice him, so he kept driving the "Osprey" to wander in the clouds. Of course, there was no need for Yang Shihong to risk sending intelligence anymore, and it was enough for him to start sending ground intelligence to make the fleet vigilant.

The dense clouds became Yang Shihong's best cover, and he kept following about three nautical miles behind the Japanese fleet, maintaining visual contact. The navigator in the back seat sent out a telegram every ten minutes, providing detailed information to the fleet at any time.

When the Japanese fleet departed, the bombers of the 1st Carrier Strike Group were also assembled over the fleet. At 8:30 a.m., the bomber group hit the road. At 8:35, Tan Renhao received a second telegram from Yang Shihong. He was surprised at first, and then he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yang Shihong actually followed behind the ass of the Japanese fleet?" Lei Shaoqing was also surprised after reading the telegram, "He's just playing with his life!" ”

"But it's important!" Tan Renhao laughed. "Immediately let the fighters who had just taken off catch up, let the escort fighters go twenty nautical miles, and try to disrupt the lineup of the Japanese fleet on the way. Also, let the bomber group carefully evade the Japanese fighters. ”

"This will ......"

"Now that our location has been exposed, do we still have to observe radio silence?"

Lei Shaoqing smiled awkwardly, and immediately went to give the order, so that the 24 "vulture" fighters that took off immediately after the bomber group caught up with the bomber group in front.

When Tan Renhao went home to visit his family, the first task force underwent a major rearmament. All the fighters were replaced with "Vultures", and those pilots, who were previously accustomed to the "Sparrowhawks", also underwent intensive training in less than a month to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of the "Vultures". Because most of these refitting pilots are veteran pilots with actual combat experience, it is not very difficult to familiarize themselves with the new fighters, and what is lacking is only to use the new fighters to obtain battle results.

By this time, Tan Renhao had already sent 72 fighters to the bomber group, including 48 escort fighters and 24 new follow-up fighters. Finally, these 24 fighters will be responsible for intercepting the Japanese bomber group on the periphery, so that there will be more opportunities to intercept, and at the same time, they will be able to give full play to the speed of the "vultures". Firepower violently performance characteristics.

The 24 fighters that Tan Renhao left over the fleet were all concentrated in the airspace 50 nautical miles north of the fleet. Responsible for the tasks of interception of the outer layer of air defense of the fleet. And at the speed of the Japanese bomber group, half an hour before it reaches the sky over the fleet, the group that bombed Iwo Jima will return to the sky over the fleet. In other words. Tan Renhao had enough time for the group of escort fighters led by Colonel Jiang Wenhan to complete the landing on the aircraft carrier, replenish the fuel, and then take off again, and the fighters would be responsible for the fleet's mid-level air defense.

"Let the returning fighters land in the first carrier strike group, and the bombers still land in the second carrier strike group." Tan Renhao made the second arrangement, "Let the aviation service personnel prepare as soon as possible, after the fighter lands, the first fighter must take off within 10 minutes, and all the ground fighters must leave the flight deck of the aircraft carrier within 15 minutes." No matter what method they use, they must complete this task! ”

Lei Shaoqing immediately asked the staff officer to give the order. There were 34 fighters returning home (two crashed during an air raid on Iwo Jima). On average, an aircraft carrier takes off 17 fighters in five minutes. And at the normal take-off speed, only ten planes can take off in five minutes, and this is not counting the time for emergency preparation. However, Lei Shaoqing has enough confidence in the aviation service personnel in the fleet. In training and previous battles, the 1st Carrier Strike Group had 96 fighters in the air in 25 minutes, with the best result being 22 minutes. That is, on average, four fighters leave the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in one minute!

At 9:05 a.m., Tan Renhao received the third telegram from Yang Shihong. By this time, the fighter group he sent out had already encountered the Japanese bomber group. 72 "vultures" are like hungry wolves entering the flock. Directly from a height of 2500 meters, the Japanese bomber group was attacked.

The battle was fierce, Tan Renhao had the radio signals of the fighters connected to the fleet radio channel, and Yang Shihong also acted as a front-line "commentator", just like a front-line reporter sitting on a reconnaissance plane!

With Yang Shihong's guidance, the "vulture" is like a tiger with wings. When approaching the Japanese fleet, 72 "vultures" were divided into two groups, and 24 climbed to an altitude of 4,500 meters, specifically responsible for dealing with those escort fighters flying at an altitude of 3,500 meters. Forty-eight Vultures flew at an altitude of 2,500 meters behind 5 nautical miles, targeting the Japanese bombers flying at an altitude of 2,200 meters.

The battle first broke out between the fighters of both sides. The 24 "vultures" suddenly swooped down from a high altitude, and the more than 40 "Zero Battles" were caught off guard, and immediately six of them dragged the black smoke to the surface of the sea, and the other two were torn to pieces by intensive artillery fire, and the two pilots did not even have a chance to parachute.

Commanding this group of fighters was Major An Shile, squadron leader of the aircraft carrier fighter squadron "Taizu" of the 1st Carrier Strike Group. He already holds 6 shot down records and was one of the first ace pilots born in the war of the Imperial Navy. In the last naval battle, he was unlucky, because the plane broke down in the first air battle, and as a result, only one enemy plane was taken, and his victory was already surpassed by the other two pilots in the squadron. This time, he wants to seize the opportunity and become the number one ace in the squadron again.

Under the command of Ellsler, the eight "vultures" were divided into four twin aircraft formations, and used their excellent dive and climbing performance to rush and scatter the Japanese fighter group. An Shile took another 16 fighters into eight two-plane formations, specifically picking out those who were left behind in the "Zero Battle".

Most of the poor Japanese pilots had only just come out of the flight training units, and only a handful of them had actual combat experience. The Japanese Navy lost a large number of excellent pilots before. Now, the problem is exposed. Almost all of these "Zero Combat" pilots are rookies, and the "Zero Combat" is no better than the "Vulture" in terms of performance, and the difference in the quality of the pilots will determine the outcome of the air battle.

By the time Ellsler turned the second "Zero Fight" into a "Firebird", the 48 "Vultures" following him had already entered the Japanese bomber group. The Japanese bombers who went to bomb the fleet of the Tang Empire were about to face the first hurdle.

The pilots of the "Zero" also immediately discovered that the bombers they were covering were under attack. Most of the pilots chose to dive to intercept the Don Imperial fighters that were attacking the bombers. Ellsloth also chose to dive, but after the Japanese fighter butt dived. The dive performance of the "Vulture" far exceeded that of the "Zero Battle", and as a result, several more "Zero Combat" were shot down in an instant......