Until Zhang Naiding returned to the war report, the Japanese bomber group did not "come" to the First Task Force. This surprised Tan Renhao, who couldn't figure it out, even if the Japanese bombers couldn't help the bombed Combined Fleet, they should take a counterattack, right?

"Zhang Naiding: Before the end of the bombing, they were intercepted by Japanese fighters and lost more than a dozen bombers, but the escort fighters played a great role, and now Zhang Naiding and they are on their way home." Lei Shaoqing was also exhausted: "I will return to the fleet in about an hour and twenty minutes, do I need to send a seaplane to rescue the pilot?" ”

"Do you need to ask? Every effort must be made to get all the pilots back who had parachuted. Tan Renhao glanced at Lei Shaoqing: "In addition, before drafting the battle results report, contact the Navy Command, let the Navy Command contact the submarines operating in this vicinity, if we can't find those pilots in time, let the submarines help us find the pilots." Every pilot is a priceless treasure in the fleet, and we must convince all the pilots that we will not abandon them even if they are shot down, and I will not hesitate to give the order to rescue a pilot at the cost of ten men. In this way, those pilots will fight desperately without worries in the future, understand this truth? ”

Lei Shaoqing nodded, of course he understood this truth, but this account may not be calculated like this.

"Okay, I'll draft a report on the results of the battle, you first go and contact the Navy Command to arrange search and rescue aircraft." Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment: "In addition, the air defense force that continues to maintain the sky over the fleet must not be slackened at all!" ”

Writing this battle report made Tan Renhao put a lot of thought into it, and he didn't want to fall twice on the same issue. He repeatedly read the battle reports submitted by various aspects, including the battle results report and the battle damage report.

In the battle report of Deng Zi and Zhang Naiding, all the battleships under the "Yamato" of the Japanese Combined Fleet escaped except for some battleships that did not enter the stream. The heavy cruisers were all sent to the bottom of the sea. And both of them watched as these battleships sank. These warships were also the focus of bomber group strikes.

In the ground battle reports of the shelling formations, it is mainly the report of losses. The number of dead and missing officers and men (those who sank with the battleship because they were trapped in the battleship are counted in the missing list) has passed 18oo, and the number is rising.

Combined with these reports, Tan Renhao spent half an hour writing a very well-worded report. Only those definite results were clearly spelled out, and all the controversial or other possible aspects were brought over in ambiguous terms. Anyway. In the future, Imperial Intelligence will prove the results of this campaign, and the First Task Force will only receive its own commendation for a later period of time.

At 10 o'clock, the two groups led by Deng Zi returned to the fleet, and the bombers landed on two aircraft carriers in succession. Naturally, these pilots were received heroically. The news of the sinking of the "Yamato" had already come back, and Deng Zi, who commanded the battle as the captain, became a hero among heroes. Of course, the other pilots have all been in the limelight.

At 8:45 a.m., Zhang Naiding's group returned to the fleet. At this time, the flight decks of the "Xuanzong" and "Huanghe" aircraft carriers had been vacated. The fighters who escorted the bomber group landed on two other aircraft carriers, and immediately after replenishing fuel and ammunition, they took to the air to carry out the air defense of the fleet. Zhang Naiding: They were also greeted heroically, although they were not able to participate in the bombing of the "Yamato" site. But they sank all the other large warships of the Japanese Combined Fleet. This result was actually no worse than sinking the "Yamato".

This time. Tan Renhao handed over the prepared report to Lei Shaoqing and asked Lei Shaoqing to send the telegram.

At 8:55 a.m., the first group of returning escort fighters joined the sequence of the fleet's air defense. And the air defense fighters that took off before returned to the aircraft carrier for refueling. It's still busy in the fleet.

"At our current degree. It was out of range of Japanese bombers at about half past ten. Lei Shaoqing glanced at the navigation clock, "But it seems that the Japanese will not send bombers to attack us." ”

Tan Renhao shook his head slightly, and he also guessed that the Japanese shore-based bombers were not dispatched at all. Judging by the timing of the return of the Japanese Combined Fleet, the fleet was exposed before six o'clock. If the Japanese bomber group had received the order, preparations for the sortie should have begun before dawn. Then at most at seven o'clock it will be possible to reach the sky over the fleet at about half past eight. And it's already nine o'clock. The Japanese bomber group has not yet appeared, and there must be a problem in the middle.

"Continue to maintain high-intensity air defense patrols, let the pilots hold on for a while, wait until we are out of the range of the Japanese bombers, and then we can carry out air defense patrols as normal." Tan Renhao turned around: "Maybe the Japanese are in trouble, but who knows?" We can't afford to make the same mistake again, and now we've won. If we take it lightly, we will miss and our victory will be overshadowed, won't we? ”

Lei Shaoqing smiled and nodded. "Then I'll ask Dong Jue to encourage those pilots. After all, everyone has been under tremendous pressure since four o'clock. ”

Tan Renhao didn't say anything more and asked Lei Shaoqing to deal with this matter. He also couldn't figure out that five days was enough time for Japan to deploy hundreds of bombers from the mainland to nearby islands, and Japan would not lack medium bombers, right? It certainly won't be like this, and there must have been some other reason for the absence of Japanese bombers.

Tan Renhao and Lei Shaoqing actually ignored one point, that is, the "Yamato" was the first to be bombed, and Yamamoto Sixty-five also sank to the bottom of the sea with this battleship. The Japanese Combined Fleet also lost its unified command, so Zhang Naiding's group was able to take out other large warships so quickly. And this also affected the Japanese shore-based bomber group, because these bombers had been waiting for Yamamoto 65 to give the order to attack, and by the time they knew that Yamamoto 65 was finished, Task Force 1 had already run away.

At 10:40 a.m., the group of anti-aircraft fighters, which were running out of fuel, landed on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. These pilots, who had been on the task of air defense of the fleet for several hours, were finally able to step out of the plane and go to the officers' quarters to enjoy a delicious meal. In order to celebrate the victory, the canteen on the battleship also prepared several large dishes, which can be regarded as a temporary improvement of the food. And the fleet also reduced the number of anti-aircraft fighters, maintaining only one squadron to patrol the perimeter of the fleet.

This time. Tan Renhao also affirmed that the Japanese bomber group did not move.

"Let the fleet's radars be turned off, and use flags to communicate with light signals without special circumstances." Tan Renhao lit the last cigarette in the cigarette case, "Let Hao Dongjue preside over the pilot's briefing, and then arrange for the officers and soldiers to take turns to rest." I'll go sleep for a few hours first, and if there is news from the command of the Navy, you send someone to call me! ”

"No problem. You go to bed first, I'll wait for you to change the guard! Lei Shaoqing laughed, he naturally couldn't compete with his friends for rest time.

Tan Renhao patted Lei Shaoqing on the shoulder and left the command cabin.

At 11:25 a.m., the "Duan Zhixuan" reported that two heavy cruisers that had salvaged hundreds of officers and men who had fallen into the water had withdrawn from the range of Japanese patrol planes, and had rendezvous with the two destroyers that had gone to meet them, and were heading back to Naha Port. This was also the last telegram sent by the four ships before returning to the port of Naha, after which they would go into radio silence to avoid being revealed. Besieged by Japanese submarines.

Eleven thirty-five o'clock. The last seaplanes, which went in search of parachutist pilots, returned to the fleet. A total of 10 pilots were recovered from the 12 seaplanes, two of whom were seriously injured. The two wounded were immediately carried into the medical compartment after being sent to the large cruiser "Li Jing". Receive emergency treatment and then find a suitable time to arrange for them to return to the big hospital in the rear for further treatment.

It was at this time that the fleet fell silent. After Lei Shaoqing arranged the relevant work, he asked a staff officer to buy him two packs of cigarettes and came back. No matter how you say it, you have to let Tan Renhao sleep for four to five hours, and you can't wake him up as soon as someone else falls asleep.

Staff officers also began to rest in rotation. During the operation, all the staff officers are at their posts, so that at least two staff officers are on duty at one post, so that there are enough manpower to command the fleet in battle, and there will be no shortage of manpower.

After Lei Shaoqing lit the fifth cigarette, he looked up at the navigation clock for the fifth time, and it was only twelve forty o'clock. Tan Renhao went to rest for less than two hours. He yawned and glanced at the staff officers on duty in the command cabin, then smiled and nodded at the staff officers who looked at him. Those staff officers saw that the chief of staff was sticking to his post, and naturally there was nothing to say.

The command cabin was silent, except for the "ticking" of the radio stations when they received the clutter signals, except for the sound of the sea breeze coming from outside, and the dull roar of the machines turning as the staff officers entered and exited. This is like a lullaby that makes Lei Shaoqing want to doze off. Suddenly, a radio station rang regularly. The communications staff officer sitting next to the radio station was startled at first, then quickly put on a headset and began to record the signal, and the translated telegram was typed out on a typewriter.

"Urgent telegram from the Chief of Staff of the Navy Command!"

Lei Shaoqing trembled slightly, and immediately woke up, as soon as he saw the contents of the telegram, all the sleepy insects ran out. Then he read the telegram again, and then said to one of the major officers: "Go and call ...... No, you stay here, news, go to the commander's cabin and look for us, I'll go find the commander! ”

Without waiting for the major officer to answer, Lei Shaoqing rushed out of the command cabin, and five minutes later, he came to Tan Renhao's cabin, and after knocking twice on the iron door, he pushed open the door and walked in. Tan Renhao just got up from the bed in a daze, and his clothes were not put on yet.

"The telegram from the naval headquarters of Renhao has the principal's payment on it!"

Tan Renhao was stunned for a moment, and then pulled off the lamp next to him. "Pour me a glass of water, you can also make yourself some tea, look like a gambler who has just stayed up all night."

Lei Shaoqing smiled reluctantly, poured a glass of white water for Tan Renhao, and handed over the telegram at the same time. "It looks like we won't be able to return to Naha Harbor yet."

Tan Renhao was not surprised, he quickly read the telegram, and then let out a sigh and touched his body a few times.

Lei Shaoqing took out a cigarette and helped Tan Renhao light one, and he also lit one for himself.

"There's nothing strange about it, I've already told you before, and the destruction of the Japanese Combined Fleet is just the beginning." Tan Renhao took a long breath and recovered a lot, "The ultimate goal of this campaign is to assist the 6th Sentai to land in the Volcanic Islands and the Ogasawara Islands, and complete the operation of capturing several important islands. In order to ensure the safety of the 6th Force, we must take out the Japanese Combined Fleet. So by now the campaign has actually just begun. The telegram from the headmaster was to remind us to keep the fleet in combat condition so that we could assist the 6th Sentai in the later operations. ”

"But we have lost nearly 100 combat planes and a large number of pilots. Another five large cruisers, six heavy cruisers have already withdrawn from the fleet, and now let's go and support the actions of the 6 Sentai Squadron, which is simply to let us go and fight the Japanese. ”

"It's not a serious problem, at least we don't have to think about the threat at sea." Tan Renhao sighed, "The only thing that needs to be considered is the threat of those Japanese shore-based bombers. However, the fleet is a movable island, and the islands are stationary. When and how to fight is up to us, and the initiative is in our hands. Am I confident enough, don't you? ”

"I'm not without faith, but now ......"

"The big question now is what exactly are we going to do!" Tan Renhao narrowed his eyes, and then laughed, "It seems that the principal hasn't made up his mind either." For now, let's think about how to join the supply fleet first, and then think about how to fight. ”

Lei Shaoqing sighed and said no more. The command of the fleet is in the hands of Tan Renhao, and Tan Renhao has confidence, and he will have confidence!