Even on the night of the fourth day, Spruance still had palpitations, and he even believed that he had escaped the blow of the other party!

What saved the Atlantic Fleet were the two fighters patrolling the western side of the fleet. At that time, Spruance arranged for the patrol radius of the air defense fighters to be about 30 nautical miles, and the west side of the team. Every two fighters form a formation, focusing on searching the airspace of 3000 to 5500. At that time, the maximum cloud height over the sea was about 4,000 meters, and the lowest cloud height was 3,500 meters, and the clouds were not dense. If it weren't for the two "super pirates" who discovered the enemy reconnaissance planes in time and quickly intercepted them, I am afraid that Spruance would not have known that he had been exposed before the bomber group arrived.

This also made Spruance realize a serious problem, that is, the radar on the battleship could not detect a reconnaissance aircraft flying alone 30 nautical miles away! At that time, the reconnaissance plane was >, and when it was intercepted by fighters, it quickly made evasive maneuvers and then accelerated away, which proved that the reconnaissance plane had discovered the fleet. That is, the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft can detect the fleet from a distance of 3 nautical miles, while the air defense radar in the fleet cannot detect the reconnaissance aircraft at the same distance!

This is an extremely serious problem, this time the luck is very good, the fighter found the reconnaissance plane in time, but will the luck be so good every time? If you don't have such good luck the next time you encounter it, wouldn't you even know that the fleet has been exposed?

Thinking of this, Spruance also felt a little chilled, this technological gap was too obvious, and it had completely changed the aviation tactics and changed the original balance of technology between the two sides. But Spruance did not have time to think so much at that time, and after receiving the report from the fighters, he immediately ordered the fleet to turn to the 90-degree course and immediately accelerated. Prepare to run away as fast as you can. Of course. Spruance did not forget another extremely important thing, which was to immediately lift all the fighters in the fleet into the air and increase the density of anti-aircraft patrols to avoid being detected again.

The reality was far worse than Spruance had anticipated. Forty minutes later, the emergency lift-off fighters spotted two other reconnaissance planes, but the two reconnaissance planes also used accelerated dives to quickly get rid of the fighters' ground attack. Then, more reconnaissance planes appeared, and Spruance had to expand the air defense circle, arranging several destroyers equipped with radar to be responsible for perimeter vigilance. Guide the fighter to intercept those approaching reconnaissance planes.

After a while, just when Spruance thought that he had driven away all the reconnaissance planes, the reconnaissance planes that had fled before approached the fleet again. Spruance reacted at this time, the other party must have sent a bomber group, so let the reconnaissance aircraft monitor the actions of the fleet and guide the bomber group to attack the fleet!

This time, the reconnaissance plane, which was trying to approach the fleet regardless of life or death, became the target of the fighters. In any case, the "Reconnaissance Eagle" could not be a match for the "Super Corsair," and it would be very difficult for the reconnaissance plane to escape the pursuit of the fighters in a completely reckless situation. But Spruance was also terrified. The enemy's reconnaissance aircraft have already appeared, so will the bombers be far away?

Having determined that the last reconnaissance aircraft had been driven away, Spruance ordered the fleet to sail south at full speed. In fact, by this time, the bomber group was still more than an hour away from Spruance, and in this more than an hour. The fleet could sail more than 30 nautical miles to the south, enough to leave the coverage of the bomber group. And it will take time for the bomber group to disperse and search the fleet, during which the fleet will be able to run further. Given the distance between the two sides, if the pilots of the bomber group wanted to return to the fleet, it would not have been possible to spend much time searching, and it would have been difficult to find the Atlantic Fleet.

At that time, Spruance did not know how far the two sides were, and he did not even know where the Tang Empire's ground fleet was to the west. The shore-based reconnaissance plane, which was supposed to be dispatched in the morning, did not send him a message at all. This annoyed Spruance without knowing the exact location of the other party. Even if Spruance wanted to fight hard, he didn't have the capital to fight hard, so Spruance's only choice at that time was to run for his life, save his life first, and then talk about other things.

Throughout the afternoon, Spruance was nervous, whether standing or sitting, he felt uncomfortable, until the sky gradually darkened, Spruance's mood gradually calmed down, at least now there is no evidence that the carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire have the ability to bomb the fleet at night, that is, at night, the Atlantic Fleet is relatively safe.

In the evening, Spruance received a telegram from the shore-based air base, the main content of the telegram was that three reconnaissance planes were very likely to have discovered the Tang Empire's ground fleet, but it was impossible to determine the specific location, because the three reconnaissance planes did not return to the base within the scheduled time, but lost contact with the base. In addition, the telegraph also gave the routes of the three long-range flights.

Combined with the flight routes of the three reconnaissance planes, Spruance quickly guessed the location of the other party. It is clear that all three reconnaissance planes were hit by a sudden blow and were shot down before they had time to send a telegram. Of course, long-range reconnaissance planes generally do not easily change their reconnaissance routes, that is to say, the place where these three routes intersect is the sea area where the enemy fleet is located. In addition, the first reconnaissance aircraft of the enemy fleet at that time appeared from the west, and combined with this, Spruance was almost certain that the Tang Empire's fleet was operating in the waters south of the Bahamas, but it is certainly no longer there.

At this point, Spruance basically figured out the situation at that time, and at the same time figured out why the bombers of the Tang Imperial Fleet did not catch up with the Atlantic Fleet in time, because the distance between the two sides was more than 400 miles. Perhaps, the Tang Imperial fleet had already given up the pursuit in the afternoon, and Spruance's fear of the afternoon was only in vain. Now, however, Spruance was confronted with a more serious question: where should he go?

If he returned to Norfolk, it would certainly not be possible, he had no reason to return to Norfolk at this time, and at the same time, he did not even think to report this encounter, after all, he did not fight a decisive battle with the enemy, and if the president knew about it, would he not be removed from office?

Go on

The decisive battle of the main fleet of the Empire. It's also very difficult. The first is to be vigilant. Knowing that the Atlantic Fleet is nearby, it is even possible to conclude that the purpose of the Atlantic Fleet is to enter the Caribbean Sea and launch a sneak attack from the rear. Then, the Tang Imperial Navy will definitely closely monitor those straits that enter the Caribbean Sea, and if the Atlantic Fleet rushes forward, it will be exposed again. In addition to going south, it is not realistic to approach the main fleet of the Tang Empire to the west, the reconnaissance ability is already inferior to that of the opponent, and the shore-based aviation is not very reliable. If you can't be sure that your opponent will be spotted first, then what's the difference between rushing over and sending you to your death? Back in the northern waters of the Bahamas, there are also a lot of questions, how to explain to the staff officer, and what to do next? Enter the Florida Strait, or return to Norfolk? Neither option is clearly the best.

After thinking for hours, Spruance finally allowed the fleet to continue to move east. And I thought of a reason to convince the staff officer, that is, the fleet continued to wait for an opportunity near the battlefield, and used shore-based reconnaissance aircraft to find the main fleet of the Tang Empire, as long as it seized the reception. immediately went to attack the main fleet of the Tang Empire and defeated the opponent in one fell swoop.

This is just a beautiful lie, the effect of which is only to stabilize the fleet command so that the staff officer does not doubt Spruance's determination to fight a decisive battle with the enemy. And Spruance has only one real purpose, that is, to delay as much time as possible, and whether he can seize the opportunity of a sneak attack. He had little hope.

It can be said that Tan Renhao knew Spruance very well, and Spruance's decision at that time was almost no different from Tan Renhao's speculation. This also shows Spruance's cunning side. The main task of the Atlantic Fleet leaving Norfolk Harbor was not actually to fight the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy, but to cover Cuba, prevent the landing of the Tang Imperial Marines in Cuba, and support the ground forces to launch a counterattack to drive the landing enemy out to sea. Now the marines of the Don Empire have landed in Cuba. And the results are expanding, and Bradley's early judgment has been fundamentally wrong. There is a big problem in the movement of troops, and it does not have superior air supremacy, and it is far inferior to the opponent in terms of firepower. In other words, even if Bradley tried his best, it would not be possible to defeat the Tang Imperial Marines who boarded Cuba, and defeat was only a matter of time.

Spruance was going to take advantage of this, and there was always a time limit for the fleet's activities outside, and this time limit was the end of the Cuban landings. At that time, whether the landing Tang Empire Marines were driven out of the sea or the port of San Diego fell, there would be no point in the Atlantic Fleet continuing to operate on the battlefield, and Admiral King would also demand that the fleet return to Norfolk at this time to avoid unnecessary losses, and the president had no reason to oppose this proposal. That is to say, Spruance only needs to be active at sea until this period, and during this period, he does not need to go to a decisive battle with the main fleet of the Tang Empire, as long as the main fleet of the Tang Empire cannot fully support the marines, he can tell anyone that it is the Atlantic Fleet that has pinned down the main fleet of the Tang Empire and has done its best, and it is not the responsibility of the land forces that have been able to defeat the Tang Empire's marines, not the responsibility of the Navy and the Atlantic Fleet.

Suffice it to say that from the beginning of the departure of the Atlantic Fleet from Norfolk, Spruance had such an idea. Why go to a decisive battle with an enemy when you know that you are not an enemy opponent at all? In Spruance's view, as long as the Atlantic Fleet has always existed, the Tang Imperial Navy will not dare to invest all the ground fleets in other directions, and must retain a certain amount of strength to deal with the threat of the Atlantic Fleet, so that the Tang Imperial Navy will not be able to launch an attack with all its strength, effectively delaying the enemy's advance, and buying time for the US Navy and even the entire United States to recover and accumulate the strength to counterattack.

This was the value of the existence of the Atlantic Fleet at that time. Spruance was well aware of this, so he tried his best to save the Atlantic Fleet and avoid a premature decisive battle with the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy. In fact, Tan Renhao also clearly understood this, so if he was not absolutely sure of annihilating the Atlantic Fleet, he would not risk a decisive battle with it, but would put more energy into other aspects.

Relatively speaking, Tan Renhao has more decision-making power, and as long as the attack on Cuba is successfully completed, whether or not he can annihilate the Atlantic Fleet will not have a great impact on him. Spruance, on the other hand, did not have so much freedom, especially when the Tang Marines had reached Cuba and began to march on Santiago, and the President of the United States, and other forces, were even less likely to keep the Atlantic Fleet out of the way.

On the morning of the 5th, when Spruance went to rest for a few hours and was about to arrange for reconnaissance planes to search the waters around the fleet in the morning, Spruance received a telegram from Admiral King that the Tang Imperial Marines were preparing to encircle San Diego, and the President ordered the Atlantic Fleet to enter the battle as soon as possible, strike at the landing fleet and transport fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy, and assist Bradley in blocking the Tang Imperial Marines from the San Diego defensive line.

There is no doubt that this is an extremely absurd order, even if the Atlantic Fleet has enough strength at this time, it must first defeat the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy, instead of dealing with the landing fleet and transport fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy, and this is completely different from the president's original order. Spruance also noted the wording in Admiral King's telegram that the order was given by the "president", not by the secretary of the navy, that is, Admiral King did not support the president at all in doing so, nor was he in favor of letting the fleet take risks.

Spruance thought about it for a while, and then ordered the fleet to turn to the south, but the speed was still 16 knots, because the currents in the sea area were northward, that is, the fleet speed was less than 16 knots. Spruance didn't think about going into the Caribbean, he just wanted to keep stalling for time. According to the advance rate of the Marines of the Tang Empire, it would take a few days to take San Diego, and then he would be able to return to Norfolk. As for whether Cuba can be held, that is a matter for Bradley and the Army General Staff, and what does it have to do with him, the chief of the General Staff of the Atlantic Fleet?