The telegram sent by Task Force 6 was received not only by Task Force 1, but also by Task Force 3 in the field about 40 nautical miles to the northwest. At that time, Chang Jianxin also felt very strange, it stands to reason that if Gu Zhenyun wanted to come to meet him. It shouldn't be in that area. On the contrary, if Gu Zhenyun did not intend to join up with the Third Task Force and still withdrew from the strait in the same way as before, he should not appear in that sea area. Why did Task Force 6 appear in the most dangerous places? As long as a British bomber gets lost when attacking the Sixth Task Force, it is very likely to collide with the Third Task Force, which is closer to the British mainland and close to the port of Pontesmouth, at that time, the Third Task Force will be wiped out. Therefore, at this time, Chang recommended that the new ground be considered how to escape, how to let the third task force leave the English Channel safely!

Chang Jianxin has always had good luck on the battlefield, much better than his old partner Lei Shaoqing, but Chang Jianxin is not the kind of general who relies on luck to win, let alone a commander who relies on luck to escape the enemy's blow. Compared with Gu Zhenyun's deployment when he commanded the Sixth Task Force, Chang Jianxin's deployment when he commanded the retreat of the Third Task Force was more in place and more effective. It was these deployments that finally allowed Task Force 3 to escape from the English Channel.

The first is in terms of weather forecasting. The 3rd Task Force is more well prepared. Before dawn, that is, at the end of the artillery battle with the British Home Fleet, Chang Zhixin ordered a meteorological reconnaissance plane to detect the weather changes in the interior of the strait, so when deciding on the place of retreat, he had a more accurate grasp of the weather forecast, knowing that there was a heavy rain area in the northern waters of the strait, so that the fleet could turn. Avoided the ground strike of the British bombers.

After the turnaround, Chang Jiexin continued to send several meteorological reconnaissance planes. And let the meteorological officer report on the changes in the sky and the earth at any time. By about eight o'clock, Chang Zhixin was already sure that if the fleet was not attacked before half past nine, then he would be able to enter the rainstorm area unharmed. Then under the cover of the rainstorm, they left the English Channel to rendezvous with Task Force 1 and complete the ground combat operation.

However, anything can happen in this hour and a half. Weather changes are not always out of control, and the RAF is by no means stupid. After the discovery of Task Force 6, RAF ground commanders discovered that there were only four battleships in this fleet, whereas the information they had received from the Royal Navy claimed that there were at least five battleships, and that four more battleships were later mentioned in a telegram sent back from the "War Wey". So, before the bombers attacked the 6th Task Force . The ground commander of the British Royal Air Force judged that there were two Tang Imperial naval ground fleets operating in the strait. The reconnaissance aircraft found only one of the fleets and were not able to find the other.

After making this judgment. In addition to the eight squadrons of "Mosquito" bombers at the first place of departure, several other bomber squadrons were ordered to slow down their flight speed and stand by in the waters north of the strait. At the same time, the reconnaissance planes that had been sent out to find the whereabouts of the Tang Imperial fleet had also received orders from Xindi to expand the search area. In other words, at this time, the third task force was no longer safe, and at least more than 30 reconnaissance aircraft were looking for its whereabouts. There are nearly a hundred bombers with torpedoes on standby in the air. Get ready to attack!

Chang recommended new does not know the RAF ground judgment. But he understood. As long as the fleet is still active in the strait, as long as the fleet has not entered the sea area of heavy rain, then the fleet will not be safe at all. British ground reconnaissance planes could spot the Third Task Force at any time, and British ground bombers could arrive at any time. Under these circumstances, Chang Jianxin made a new deployment, and he first called the meteorological officer to the command cabin, and the meteorological officer and the navigation staff officer jointly determined the course of the fleet, and adjusted the direction of the fleet's navigation at any time according to the changes in the meteorological situation. In addition, he sent more destroyers and increased the air defense alert range of the fleet, which was definitely a very important decision.

Maybe Chang Zhixin didn't know how much the radar detection range would be shortened in bad weather, and he didn't know that those wood-to-ground bombers were difficult to be detected by radar. Arrange more radar alert warships and expand the range of air defense alert of the fleet. This is just a very basic deployment in Fleet Defense. Any one calmly. Aware of the danger, commanders will make such deployments in defensive operations. But on the contrary, Gu Zhenyun did not make such a deployment. Otherwise, Task Force 6 would not have been hit suddenly.

At that time, six destroyers were deployed to the north of the fleet. The distance from the flagship of the fleet is about 10 nautical miles, and each destroyer is responsible for a 30-degree angle, and the destroyer located directly north of the flagship is about 20 nautical miles from the British mainland. The destroyers are about 6 nautical miles away from each other, so these six destroyers can ensure that any aircraft that appear on the north side of the fleet will not be allowed to pass through their alert airspace and approach the fleet. At that time, the squadrons of "mosquito" bombers on standby over the southern part of the British mainland were only about 20 nautical miles away from the nearest destroyer!

In order to ensure that the fleet was not discovered, Chang Zhixin also deployed two destroyers to the southeast of the fleet, that is, towards the area of the sixth task force. The two destroyers were about 10 nautical miles from the Nanchang at the rear of the battleship formation, and 50 nautical miles from the 6th Task Force. This distance is also very close, and it can be said that if the two destroyers were to get a little closer to the 6th Task Force, it is very likely that they will be detected by British bombers attacking the 6th Task Force, which will expose the 3rd Task Force.

After these deployments are completed. The new ones can only be left to fate. He's done everything he needs to do, and Task Force 3 has been traveling at 30 knots. The course of the fleet has been adjusted, and every five minutes, a meteorological report from Xindi will be sent back, and the meteorological reconnaissance planes in front have been closely monitoring the movement of the rainstorm clouds, and the navigation staff officers have adjusted the course of the fleet according to the movement of the rainstorm clouds, so as to ensure that the fleet can enter the rainstorm area in the shortest possible time.

After receiving a telegram from Task Force 6, Chang Zhixin did not call back. At this point, his return call could not help Task Force 6. Task Force 3 must not be allowed to turn back to the battlefield to cover Task Force 6, and no one asks Task Force 3 to sacrifice themselves to save others. Opposite. Task Force 3 is more important than Task Force 6, and if Task Force 6 is saved at the expense of Task Force 3, and if you are not sure to rescue Task Force 6, then Chang Zhixin will definitely be court-martialed!

The third task force is not an escape from the battle. The battle for the 3rd Task Force is over, and it is now retreating at full speed. In the big picture, this is also a battle, and as long as Task Force 3 safely withdraws from the strait, then this battle will be won. Chang Zhixin knew this very well, so he didn't go back to rescue the Sixth Task Force, and he didn't even send a telegram. The British must have been closely monitoring all the electromagnetic waves that appear in the strait, and even if it takes some time to determine the approximate location of the radio waves through radio reconnaissance, they cannot take this risk. As a result, while the 6th Task Force desperately resisted the British bombers' ground strikes, the 3rd Task Force was still retreating at full speed!

By 8:45 a.m., the "Songjiang" and "Hefei" had been damaged, and the "Fuzhou" was besieged and was struggling to resist. The good fortune of the third task force is over. A telegram was sent from the 2 Radar Alert battleship located northeast of the flagship.■ The destroyer's radar detected an aircraft approaching the fleet, and confirmed that it was a British plane. Five minutes later. The ground radar of the ground cruiser on the right side of the "Nanning" also detected the plane and judged it to be a slow-moving ground reconnaissance plane. By 8:53 a.m., the officers and men of the "Nanning" could see the enemy plane with the naked eye. This is really a British ground plane and a biplane reconnaissance aircraft . Unfortunately, at that time, the fighters who provided cover for the 3rd Task Force had been recommended to cover the 6th Task Force, and the officers and men on the battleship could only watch the seaplane wander leisurely outside the kill range of the anti-aircraft guns. Although several nearby cruisers landed large-caliber anti-aircraft guns that fired shells at it. However, the reconnaissance plane lingered northeast of Task Force 3 for more than ten minutes before finally leaving.

By the time the enemy reconnaissance plane flew away, it was almost 10 a.m. It is not easy at all at this time. Two minutes earlier, he had asked the Navigation Staff to confirm that it would take at least nearly 20 minutes for the fleet to enter the Rainstorm Zone. At this time. The officers and men on the ground of the battleship could already see the black, oppressive rain clouds in the northwest direction. But the problem is that 20 minutes is enough time for the bomber group to organize a fatal strike, and the reconnaissance plane has been hovering around the fleet for more than ten minutes, and there is enough time to report the whereabouts of the third task force, and the fleet is no more than 30 nautical miles from the British mainland at this time, and if the British bomber group enters the ground below the rainstorm clouds in time, the third task force will be attacked by British bombers!

The reality is even worse than Chang Xin thinks. After the reconnaissance plane spotted the 3rd Task Force and sent back the reconnaissance report, the 5th Squadron of "Mosquito" bombers, which had been on standby over the southern part of the British mainland. and the three squadrons of Mustang fighters that escorted it received the order at 8:55 a.m. and flew towards the 3rd Task Force. Then. These fighters were about 40 miles away from Task Force 3, even if they were flying at cruising speed. It also takes up to 15 minutes to reach Task Force 3. But the reconnaissance plane made a mistake that caused the British bomber group to miss the 3rd Task Force. When the reconnaissance plane was sending out the report, because it was attacked by the antiaircraft guns of the battleship, the navigator was in a hurry at the place where the report was made, and he made a mistake in the coordinates of the location of the third task force, and as a result, the bomber flew to the ground behind the third task force, and it was just after 9:10 a.m., that is, after the reconnaissance plane left the sky over the third task force, that the second reconnaissance report was issued, and the accurate coordinates of the third task force were mentioned in this reconnaissance report. The bomber group that went to the attack site received the new land command at 9:14 p.m. At this time. The bomber group was about 40 nautical miles away from Task Force 3 and was almost on the verge of Task Force 6

These bombers began to accelerate after turning. The RAF ground commander also judged that Task Force 3 was preparing to take refuge under the rainstorm clouds. It must be intercepted before then. Even if these bombers were flying at maximum speed, it would take about ten minutes or so to catch up with Task Force 3. In other words, these bombers could only reach the skies over Task Force 3 at about 9:25 at the earliest.

The two destroyers located southeast of the fleet spotted the approaching British bomber group at 9:20 a.m., and it was at this time that Chang Zhixin received a battle alert. At this time, the fleet was still about 3 miles away from the rainstorm area, and the rainstorm clouds were moving eastward, so it actually took less than ten minutes for the fleet to burrow under the rainstorm clouds and avoid bombardment. Therefore, when receiving the report from the destroyer, Chang Zhixin did not let the fleet switch to the air defense combat formation. Because this will reduce the speed of the fleet. At the same time delay precious time. He must fight for time with the enemy, even if the enemy's bombers have a few minutes to attack, as long as they can hold out for these few minutes, then the fleet, at least most of the main warships, will be in danger!

It was like the two sides were in a race, which might seem a bit ridiculous, but at that time there was really only one way out for Task Force 3. And just when Chang Recommended New was anxious, the weather changed again. The rainstorm clouds, which had been moving eastward, began to move southeastwards after reaching the vicinity of the British coastline due to the high pressure air on the ground. That is, towards the third task force. This is undoubtedly good news for the officers and men of Chang Jianxin and the 3rd Task Force, so that the fleet will be able to enter the sea area below the rainstorm clouds more quickly! Sea Soul Volume 22 Victory Route Section 74 God helps