After the USS Franklin returned to Pearl Harbor, Spruance was personally responsible for the ship's restoration. And this time it will take much more time to repair the aircraft carrier than the last time.

Relatively speaking, the specific weight of an aerial bomb charge is much greater than that of an aerial torpedo, but the damage of an aerial torpedo to a battleship is much greater than that of a bomb, because the torpedo directly hits the battleship below the waterline, while the bomb generally hits the part of the battleship on the surface of the water. For example, in the "Battle of Midway"

The "Franklin" suffered four bombs, but these four bombs only damaged the water part of the battleship, and caused great damage to the battleship's cabin, but did not cause great damage under the battleship's waterline, so when it was repaired, the aircraft carrier did not need to be towed into the dock, and only needed to dock next to the dock with heavy cranes to carry out maintenance operations. This time, the "Franklin" was hit by a torpedo, and there was a huge hole in the bow waterline, which caused a large number of adjacent compartments to be flooded, and the first step in the repair work was to fill the hole and then pump out the water in the hull. Therefore, the aircraft carrier had to be towed to the slipway for repairs.

Repairs began on 29 August, when the carrier was towed onto the slipway, and first repaired the damage under the waterline of the hull, and then spent a day just pumping out the water inside the hull. Then, hundreds of workers and engineers from the Navy Shipyard began to inspect the main structure of the aircraft carrier, and after confirming that the main load-bearing structure had not been damaged, they removed the flight deck and main deck above the damaged parts, repaired the damage inside the aircraft carrier, and replaced some new equipment. After completing this step of the restoration work.

Then attach the main deck and flight deck to make a final inspection to determine if there are any safety hazards. Do the final touch-ups.

In fact, the damage to the aircraft carrier "Franklin" is not so simple. In the last restoration work. Because of the rush of time, many hidden dangers have been left behind (some of which cannot even be eliminated, which is why the "Yangtze River" aircraft carrier has not been able to fully restore its combat effectiveness), and the time required for the repair work is far longer than planned. It was not until September 10 that engineers thoroughly inspected the aircraft carrier. A remediation plan was determined. When Spruance learned that it would take at least a month to repair the aircraft carrier, he gave the engineers only ten days, that is, on the last day of mid-September, the repair of the "Franklin" had to be completed!

During the repair of the USS Franklin, Spruance also kept an eye on the changes on the battlefield. The annihilation of the Third Fleet was hard for him to believe, but he had to accept the fact that Halsey had been killed. But the problem is that now only the Fifth Fleet remains. One fleet aircraft carrier, three small aircraft carriers, and the Tang Imperial Navy had at least seven fleet aircraft carriers. Two small aircraft carriers. In addition, in terms of cruisers, destroyers, etc., the superiority of the Navy of the Tang Empire was also extremely obvious. How will this battle be fought?

Spruance breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the newly formed Fifth Task Force of the Tang Imperial Navy was heading for the South Atlantic Theater of Operations. Although the Fifth Task Force has only one fleet aircraft carrier and two small aircraft carriers, if this fleet stays, the US Navy will hardly have any power to fight back, and after the Fifth Task Force leaves the Pacific Theater, the Tang Imperial Navy will have to arrange another task force to come to the Central Pacific Theater, and the result is that the two combat task forces of the Tang Imperial Navy are deployed in two directions, and the Fifth Fleet has the ability to launch a fatal blow to any task force. There is at least a little hope for the U.S. Navy.

Then, when the news of Task Force 1's return to Naha was sent, Spruance immediately went to Nimitz and told him his judgment. That is, the Tang Imperial Navy is letting the fleet rotate and rest, and in the short term, the First Task Force will not go to the Southwest Pacific Theater, where only the Fourth Task Force is active in the Coral Sea, and if it can seize this opportunity and kill the Fourth Task Force, then the passive situation of the US military will be somewhat improved, and there is even hope to regain the initiative. And the only way is to let the Fifth Fleet go south and go to the Coral Sea to find the Fourth Task Force for a decisive battle.

This was the first time Spruance had proposed to lead the Fifth Fleet south, but Nimitz was not in a hurry to agree. At that time, there was no evidence that the Tang Imperial Navy would rotate fleets for rest, and Spruance was just speculating. In addition, the battle situation is not completely clear now, and the Tang Imperial Navy also needs time to adjust the battle line and troop deployment, so there is no need to rush to arrange for the Fifth Fleet to go south.

Within a few days, the first information on the deployment of troops in the Central Pacific Theater was sent to the Pacific Theater Command for the adjustment of the Tang Imperial Navy. Spruance got the news in the first place.

At this time, he was also a little puzzled, but he didn't believe that the Tang Imperial Navy would disperse its forces on two fronts when it was difficult to gain strategic superiority, and launch an attack that was difficult to win quickly every second and every year, which was simply a waste of the precious victory that the soldiers had exchanged for their lives and blood!

Then, more and more information was sent, and Spruance still did not believe that the Tang Imperial Navy would divide its forces in the Central Pacific before the decisive victory in the battle in the Southwest Pacific, which was completely contrary to the strategic direction that the Tang Imperial Navy had adhered to in the Pacific theater for more than a year.

During this time, Spruance repeatedly presented Nimitz with his ideas, as well as his suggestion, that the Fifth Fleet should go south to the Coral Sea, first deal with the Fourth Task Force, and then return to the Central Pacific. Spruance also had good reason, that is, even if the Tang Imperial Navy was going to attack the Hawaiian Islands, it would take more than a month to prepare for the battle, and the time to launch the attack would definitely be in October, or even November. As long as the Fifth Fleet moves quickly, it is entirely possible to take advantage of the fact that the First Task Force is not in the Coral Sea to take out the Fourth Task Force, and then return to the Central Pacific Theater to hold the First Task Force so that MacArthur can hold the New Hebrides, and in the Central Pacific, as long as the Fifth Fleet returns in time, then it will be able to hold the Hawaiian Islands.

Spruance's claim had a definite purpose, and Nimitz was about to decide to adopt his opinion, but at this time. When the news of the defeat of the Anglo-French forces on the Western Front in Europe came, the President of the United States personally spoke to Nimitz on the phone. Nimitz also pledged to defend the Hawaiian Islands with all his might. As a result, Spruance's plan to lead the Fifth Fleet south had to be cancelled.

By September 10th. That is, when the official maintenance work of the "Franklin" began, Nimitz gave Spruance a clear order, that is, Spruance must restore the Fifth Fleet to combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and the four aircraft carrier groups were organized into the 51st Task Force, preparing for a decisive battle with the First Task Force of the Tang Imperial Navy (at this time the First Task Force was rushing to Apra Harbor).

Until this time. Spruance still did not believe that the Don Imperial Navy would shift the focus.

He gave three good reasons. First, the Tang Imperial Navy showed no signs of changing its strategic direction, and the focus of the Tang Imperial Navy remained on the Southwest Pacific until it won a decisive victory in the Southwest Pacific. Second, there has been a major turning point in the war situation in Europe, and the most rational choice is to continue to strengthen the offensive in the southwest Pacific and win a decisive victory in the southwest Pacific while the United States is making strategic adjustments. Finally, and most crucially, if the Tang Imperial Navy decided to launch a strategic offensive in the Central Pacific after the European war situation took a turn in the war, then this chronological order is reversed, because the Tang Imperial Navy began to prepare first, and then the European war situation took a turn!

Other than that. Spruance also raised the question of whether the intelligence came too quickly and accurately. Spruance did not directly question the intelligence services. But what he meant was very clear, if this was a scam, then the Tang Imperial Navy would definitely deliberately release some erroneous information, and at the same time achieve the goal of confusing the opponent through troop adjustments. The purpose of the Tang Imperial Navy was to keep the Fifth Fleet in the Central Pacific Theater, not to let the Fifth Fleet go to the southwest Pacific to obstruct the offensive operations of the Tang Imperial Navy.

It can be said that Spruance's judgment was very accurate at that time, but he had no way to prove that his judgment was correct, and there was no relevant evidence to prove it. Obviously, the final result is that Nimitz asked Spruance to lead the fleet out of port as soon as possible, no matter what the purpose of the Tang Empire is, the First Task Force will appear in the Central Pacific, and Spruance's task is to kill the First Task Force!

Nimitz's decision also has his reasoning, and if the US Navy wants to turn the tide of the war, the key is not to defeat the Fourth Task Force, but to defeat the First Task Force. As long as the First Task Force was defeated, the attack of the Tang Imperial Navy would naturally collapse, and the Fourth Task Force would inevitably have some scruples at that time. Whether it is the first task force or the first task force, the Fifth Fleet must face the most formidable opponent. If the first task force can be defeated, then the US Navy will have a chance to equalize, and if it is finally defeated by the first task force, even if the fourth task force is defeated, the US Navy will still be in a passive position. Therefore, the first task of the Fifth Fleet is to defeat the First Task Force, and now that the First Task Force has taken the initiative to fight, it naturally cannot retreat.

Spruance didn't argue with Nimitz anymore, and he was clear about Nimitz's intentions.

He must defeat the First Task Force, otherwise, the US Navy will not be able to gain the initiative in the Pacific, let alone redeem the defeat. Therefore, after Nimitz gave the order, Spruance began to plan this combat operation and asked the shipyard to speed up repairs.

The three small aircraft carriers of Task Force 51 returned to Pearl Harbor on 14 September, and the maintenance of the aircraft carrier of the "Franklin" fleet was completed on 19 September. Spruance organized the four carriers into three carrier battle groups, with three large cruisers providing direct cover for the carriers, and he also acquired sixteen cruisers (twelve of which were light cruisers) and twenty-one destroyers, from which he formed the new Task Force 51. On the 20th, Task Force 51 left Pearl Harbor and headed for battle.

In this combat operation, Spruance was not too sure. This is evident in his diary. When he learned that the First Task Force had arrived at Apra Harbor, he immediately understood that the purpose of the Tang Imperial Navy this time was by no means to attack the Hawaiian Islands, but to find the Fifth Fleet for a decisive battle. It reminded Spruance of Halsey. Vice Admiral Tan Renhao, commander of the First Task Force of the Tang Imperial Navy, had just defeated Halsey, and now the First Task Force had come to the door, seeking a decisive battle with the Fifth Fleet. Thinking of this, Spruance had a sense of melancholy.

When the war broke out, Spruance knew that this must be a protracted war, but he never imagined that the war would be fought to this point, the U.S. Navy has made efforts again and again in the Pacific, hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers have spilled blood, and millions of soldiers are still fighting bloody battles on the battlefield, as a senior general, Spruance has always believed that the United States will win the final victory, although it is a hard-won victory, which must be exchanged for blood and life, But the US Navy will definitely be able to achieve the final victory. But after the "Battle of the Coral Sea", Spruance found that victory was so far away from them, and it was far away from the United States.

Nearly two years after the United States entered the war, Spruance rose from an ordinary cruiser squadron commander to the commander of the theater fleet, commanding several major campaign operations, but each time he was defeated by the enemy, and the only major victory was rendered meaningless by the Third Fleet's crushing defeat in the southwest Pacific.

Spruance did not complain about Halsey, he knew that Halsey had done his best, and the tragic annihilation of the Third Fleet was not Halsey's fault, but because Halsey's opponent was too strong. In this war, Spruance has made rapid progress, but in the same way, his opponents are also rapidly improving, and their abilities are rapidly improving. That's what worries Spruance the most.

In previous battles with Task Force 1, it was almost always encounters, and Spruance was the main attack. This time, it was the First Task Force that took the initiative to come to the door, obviously, the vice admiral of the Tang Empire already had enough confidence, but Spruance didn't have much confidence!