By eleven o'clock, Spruance had also received a message from the first group of bombers: the enemy carriers had not been damaged, at least five enemy cruisers had been destroyed, and no group of enemy returning bombers had been found. When Spruance learned that the first group of bombers he sent had only 26 units on the return, he had to sigh at the strong air defense capabilities of the Don Imperial fleet.

By this time, ten reconnaissance aircraft were already on board the aircraft carrier ready for takeoff, and the first two batches of SBDs transferred from the 51st task force had arrived one after another. Spruance didn't hesitate, since the opponent's bomber group has not yet returned, then he must send bombers before this to kill the aircraft carrier of the second task force!

The bombers of the aircraft carrier "Franklin" did not attack the aircraft carrier "Lake Bell", but first attacked the escort warships of the aircraft carrier, which was ordered by Spruance. He can use more than 100 bombers to kill the second task force, and the first batch of bombers will attack again after returning home, so the first batch of bombers will be killed, and the second group of bombers, that is, those SBDs transferred from the 51st task force, will be able to attack the aircraft carriers, so that the strike power of the bombers can be fully brought into play.

According to Spruance's idea, if the first batch of bombers were mainly to attack escort warships, then the loss rate would not be very high, and the success rate of the attack would not be very low. In this way, the second group of SBDs, which were divided into several small batches, could more smoothly break through the enemy's air defense network, and would not be destroyed one by one by the enemy's anti-aircraft guns because they arrived in a scattered manner. The idea is good, after all, it is very difficult for SBDs divided into small assault groups to effectively break through in front of heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire. But the battle didn't go the way Spruance had intended. The first bombers he sent were not able to complete all the tasks, and the rate of loss far exceeded Spruance's previous estimates.

This was the only twist and turn that Spruance encountered in this combat operation, and it was also the biggest trouble.

The fighter group of the Don Empire returned to the fleet "ahead of schedule". At least 50 U.S. fighters were shot down by those fighters alone, and 20 of them were shot down before the bombs were dropped. In other words, the first SBDs lost half of their striking power, as a result of which there were two more cruisers, and the large cruisers with the most heavy anti-aircraft fire were guarding the side of the carriers. Now Spruance is facing a problem, and that is. If these two cruisers had not been killed first, those SBDs that went to assault aircraft carriers would have suffered even greater losses.

Spruance thought quickly as the SBDs transferred from Task Force 51 landed on the aircraft carrier's flight deck. The bombers were not sent to the hangar, but were refueled directly on the flight deck, and then they were towed to the take-off area in front of them, where they were ejected into the air, and the pilots did not even leave the cockpit, only the aviation crew sent the route map and the list of bombing tasks to the plane.

"Let the first two batches of SBDs first concentrate on bombing those two cruisers, if there is excess ammunition.

And then against aircraft carriers, or destroyers. Spruance gave the order at this time.

"General, the fleet has begun to take off."

"Then use the radio to tell the captain of the team!"

The staff officer didn't say much. Immediately went to contact the captain who led the team.

"When will the bombers in the back arrive?"

"It'll be there in less than an hour."

"Receive one squadron at a time, and then let them immediately take off and strike in a squadron manner." Spruance is very strong-willed, and if he doesn't win, he loses. There is no other option. "When will our bombers return?"

"Arriving in about an hour."

"Let the pilot report on the situation of the bombers, and after returning home, organize all the bombers that can be organized and continue to attack the enemy fleet."

Staff officers and officers are very busy, and it can be said that everyone on the aircraft carrier is very busy now, and even a group of officers and men of the warship who should be in the damage control post have helped the aviation service personnel to get busy. Each time the twelve SBDs land will be refueled directly on the flight deck, while six small tankers run back and forth on the deck. These SBDs have bombs hung on them, so there is no need to go to the hangar to replenish ammunition. There were also some service personnel who brought water, food and other things to replenish the pilot's strength. These pilots from Task Force 51 had been flying for hours on end, and they would continue to fly for several more hours, which would be a serious test for any pilot.

As the first SBDs took off, Spruance glanced at his watch. It was eleven twenty o'clock, and he couldn't help but get anxious, and the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for him.

The bombers of the Tang Empire bombed the convoy for the first time at about nine o'clock, and the first to arrive were the fighters with bombs, and now all these fighters should have been lost.

The convoy was bombed a second time at about 9:30 a.m., this time all the dive bombers came, and only three were shot down, and all the others returned home at about 9:50 a.m. And the time for this batch of bombers to arrive at the second task force should be between eleven and eleven o'clock, and it takes ten to fifteen minutes to land, and replenish fuel and mount bombs (this is extremely troublesome, the bombers can only replenish ammunition in the hangar, and cannot directly replenish ammunition on the flight deck, which was stipulated in the design of the "Lake" class aircraft carrier of the Tang Empire and the American "Essex" class aircraft carrier at that time, and later changed the previous way in consideration of improving the efficiency of the bomber sortie, Ammunition lifting channels are installed on the flight deck so that the bombers can replenish their ammunition directly on the flight deck), check the condition of the aircraft, etc., it is normal for these to take twenty minutes to half an hour, and then these bombers depart, which is considered the time of formation, then these bombers will leave the second task force between half past eleven and twelve o'clock.

Spruance looked at his watch again, it was already eleven twenty-two, and perhaps the bombers were already refueling and making the final preparations before departure. But the problem is. The first batch of 10 SBDs he sent out (the previous reconnaissance planes returning home) departed at 11:10, while the second batch of 12 SBDs departed at 11:20, and the third batch of SBDs has not yet taken off. It will take at least 70 minutes for the BD to fly over, and when the time comes. The bomber group of the Tang Empire may have already set off!

Thinking of this, Spruance had a headache, if the dive bombers of the Tang Empire arrived, I am afraid that the aircraft carrier "Franklin" would not be guaranteed. It's not that he doesn't believe in those two large cruisers, as well as the ability to cover on other escort battleships. He did not dare to doubt the capabilities of the bomber pilots of the Don Empire. At present, neither side has air defense fighters, so they can only rely on air defense warships to cover the aircraft carriers, but it is impossible to completely cover the aircraft carrier by relying only on antiaircraft artillery ground fire. As long as two bombers succeed in penetrating the defense, then the "Franklin" will hit at least one bomb!

Just when Spruance was thinking about how to solve the problem of fleet security, suddenly the air defense sirens sounded, and the radar on the cruiser "Alaska" first detected the low-altitude approaching group, and then the radar on the cruiser "Hawaii" also found this group of aircraft, and at that time, the radar installed on these two large cruisers had the best performance.

"General, right. 15 nautical miles, it seems to be full of torpedo bombers. ”

"Torpedo bombers?" Spruance was stunned for a moment, "Prepare air defense immediately." Don't let enemy planes get close! ”

The aircraft carrier "Franklin" immediately passed to the left, and the cruiser "Hawaii", which was originally on the left side of the aircraft carrier, also immediately turned to the left, while the "Alaska" on the right side of the aircraft carrier turned a little slower. Those light cruisers, destroyers on the periphery of the fleet are also rapidly turning. All the ground battleships aimed their right sides in the direction of the Tang Empire's bombers, and the anti-aircraft gunners on the battleships were immediately ready for battle.

At this time, in the second task force, Zheng Guanhua was busy arranging a lot of work.

First of all, the salvage of the officers and men who fell into the water had to begin immediately, and the fleet also began to turn around at this time, and several destroyers broke away from the fleet and searched the sea for the officers and men who fell into the water. The two destroyers covering the cruiser "Kruren River" also withdrew from the battle, and the officers and men of several other cruisers that had not yet sunk were struggling to rescue their battleship.

It can be said that the second task force was extremely chaotic at that time, except for two large air defense cruisers that accompanied the aircraft carrier, only a few destroyers followed, while the other warships were scattered over a sea area more than ten nautical miles wide. The group of planes led by Zhang Naiding all landed on the aircraft carrier at 11:20 a.m. After Zhang Naiding asked the aviation service personnel to repair his plane, he immediately asked the returning pilot to assemble at the aviation operations center, and he was taken to the command cabin.

"General, Colonel Zhang is here."

When Zheng Guanhua turned around, Zhang Naiding saluted the chief of staff of the fleet.

"Colonel, you're welcome, how many bombers do you have left to take off now."

"There are probably more than 20 that can take off immediately, and several are injured and are now being repaired."

"Accurate numbers." Zheng Guanhua walked over.

, 26, and 7 more are under repair. Zhang Naiding didn't count his landline.

Zheng Guanhua hesitated. "When will these bombers be repaired?"

"I don't know, half an hour, maybe a few hours, I've asked the orderly to speed up the repair.

"Okay, you go and contact the orderly first, let the bombers that don't need maintenance refuel and ammunition first, and give me an accurate report on how many bombers can be repaired immediately."

Zhang Naiding did not waste time, and immediately left the command cabin after saying goodbye to Zheng Guanhua.

The officers of the fleet headquarters were busy, and at 11:30 a.m., a report was sent back, which was sent back by Deng Zichao, they found the US fleet, and now they are organizing an attack, and the report clearly mentioned that the US fleet has a fleet aircraft carrier, two large warships, and more than a dozen other escort warships, and also mentioned another important point, that is, the exact location of the US fleet. Of course, Deng Zichao has not forgotten one point, that is, the bombers on the US aircraft carrier are taking off one after another, and there are about ten of them.

"They don't have fuel to return to the fleet!" The look of the aviation combat staff officer was very sad and indignant, and the dozens of bombers in Deng Zichao's group were about to run out of fuel, and after the attack, it was impossible to return to the fleet at all.

Zheng Guanhua also knew that the bombers in Deng Zichao's group would fly for four hours at most, and if the combat time was included, then they would fly for three and a half hours at most, and now, they had left the fleet for nearly three hours, and the remaining fuel was probably only enough for them to complete the attack.

"Now is not the time to worry about Deng Zichao and them, if we win, we can go to rescue them." Zheng Guanhua hesitated for a moment, "Immediately go and ask the aviation service department if all the bombers can be repaired within half an hour, and if so, then let Zhang Naiding lead all the bombers to set off in half an hour." ”

In the end, Zheng Guanhua was answered that the eight injured bombers would take about forty-five minutes to repair, and this was already the fastest speed. Zheng Guanhua finally gave the aviation service department 45 minutes. As for why Zheng Guanhua delayed for forty-five minutes, this became the most controversial point in this naval battle.

Perhaps, at that time, Zheng Guanhua thought that the US military only had one aircraft carrier, and before that, most of the bombers on the US aircraft carrier had been shot down, according to Deng Zichao's report, this time it must have been the reconnaissance planes that had returned to the previous voyage, and the first batch of US bombers had not yet returned to the fleet. Therefore, Zheng Guanhua did not worry about the safety of the fleet. On top of that, this batch of ten or so bombers must have arrived only after 12:40, while his bombers could depart around 12:25. That is, he still has enough time to send bombers.

In addition, the number of eight bombers is not small, and perhaps whether or not the aircraft carrier in the US fleet can be killed in the end depends on the bombs carried by these eight bombers. Under these factors, Zheng Guanhua decided to let Zhang Naiding lead 33 bombers to set off together, instead of setting off in two batches!

Many people are arguing that if Zheng Guanhua had taken 25 "water birds" that could take off first

If it had been sent, then this naval battle might have been a different outcome. But one problem is that no matter who was in Zheng Guanhua's position at that time, he would consider how to maximize the striking power of the last 33 dive bombers, instead of consuming them in two batches!