"When will the reconnaissance plane depart?" Tan Renhao quickly calmed down, a wonderful night, will it be a wonderful day next?

"Forty-five minutes to go." Hao Dongjue glanced at his watch, "The mission has been arranged, do you want to send a seaplane to contact the Fourth Task Force?" ”

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you think Huang Xiaotian will honestly stay in the rear?" ”

Hao Dongjue frowned, and then laughed. "If he really stays behind to watch the excitement, then he won't be Huang Xiaotian."

"That's right, now you know where Task Force 4 is?"

Hao Dongjue shook his head. "We can send planes to Task Force 3 and ask Lao Chang to send us a telegram, he is now returning triumphantly, and he will be happy to help with this."

Tan Renhao glanced at his partner. "Okay, you go and draft the content of the telegram, send out our purpose, intentions, and the current location of the fleet, I hope Huang Xiaotian's actions will be faster, otherwise he won't be able to catch up with this big drama."

When Hao Dongjue went to draft the telegram, Tan Renhao asked Du Xing to get two copies of the breakfast, and when Hao Dongjue rushed back, he just sent them over early.

"We'll probably have to wait a few hours to hear from Huang Xiaotian, but it doesn't matter, as long as Huang Xiaotian knows what we're doing, he definitely knows what to do."

"I'm not worried about this, Huang Xiaotian knows his abilities very well, and he also knows the situation on the battlefield." Tan Renhao quickly eliminated his share of the morning, "Dongjue, there won't be a problem with your newly planned reconnaissance route, right?" ”

"Don't worry. The Xindi Scouting Method was something I thought about for a long time. Hao Dongjue glanced at his partner and put down the half of the bun in his hand. Previously, our reconnaissance aircraft flew in a straight line. There are two problems with this. First, within the range of 150 nautical miles, the reconnaissance planes passed through and densely packed the ground. There are many areas where reconnaissance is repeated, and a lot of reconnaissance forces are wasted. In addition, it is easy for the enemy to judge the approximate position of the fleet from the course on which our reconnaissance planes entered. Of course, there are also advantages to this, such as the fact that the ground line of the reconnaissance aircraft is relatively fixed, and the requirements for the pilot are not high.

And the maximum reconnaissance radius can reach 350 nautical miles, which is farther than the strike radius of our bombers. ”

Tan Renhao nodded slightly, it wasn't that he didn't believe in Hao Dongjue's ability, he just felt that as the commander of the fleet, he should know a little more.

"This time, I used a circular route, so that after the reconnaissance plane departed, it could be dispersed as soon as possible to avoid the phenomenon of wasting reconnaissance forces. Secondly, it is difficult for the enemy to judge the approximate location of the fleet from the flight routes of our reconnaissance aircraft. It is not even possible to determine the direction of the fleet. The trouble, of course, is that this is more demanding for the pilots, and. The maximum reconnaissance radius is only 300 nautical miles at most, and during reconnaissance operations, the area of activity of the fleet is limited. ”

"None of this is a problem, the quality of those pilots is good. And there is no need to immediately modify the route now. Tan Renhao stood up, "Finished eating?" ”

Hao Dongjue nodded, wiped his mouth, and stood up.

"Let's arrange a reconnaissance plane, it's about to dawn, Lao Chang has already killed Kincaid, now it's up to us to see if we can kill Halsey."

Hao Dongjue immediately left Tan Renhao's main cabin, and he still didn't say one thing, that is, the new reconnaissance method did not take into account the situation on the front of the reconnaissance fan within 80 nautical miles of the fleet, and only those reconnaissance planes would pass through this sea area when they returned, and they would not pass through this sea area when they set off! In addition, Tan Renhao didn't ask.

Just after six o'clock, the carrier-based reconnaissance planes on the three aircraft carriers set off one after another. According to Hao Dongjue's deployment, after leaving the fleet, these 36 reconnaissance planes first flew to the north, that is, to the right rear of the fleet, and when they reached 120 nautical miles north of the fleet, they flew along an arc route. The distance between each reconnaissance route was 5 nautical miles to 8 nautical miles (this distance was influenced by many factors), and 36 reconnaissance planes covered a 220-nautical-mile wide sea area, and any enemy fleet that appeared in this area would be detected.

At 6:15, the seaplanes on the cruiser also began to depart. Because the speed and range of the seaplanes are limited, and they have always been the "backup" reconnaissance planes in the fleet, Hao Dongjue still arranged the reconnaissance routes of these seaplanes in the same way as before.

Eighteen cruisers sent a total of 36 seaplanes, all of which were distributed within a 96-degree radius from due north to due west, with a reconnaissance radius of 250 nautical miles. Four more seaplanes remained, serving as liaison aircraft between fleets, as well as spare.

Seeing these planes departing one after another, Tan Renhao asked the staff officer to inform Hao Dongjue, who was still in the aviation operations center, to let the bombers prepare for takeoff. Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue only rested for about an hour before dawn, and both of them insisted on their posts, they both knew that this would be a decisive day, and they did not dare to relax in the slightest.

While the First Task Force dispatched reconnaissance planes, the reconnaissance planes of the Fourth Task Force were also taking off one after another. Huang Xiaotian also set the time for the reconnaissance plane to be dispatched at six o'clock, and at this time he had not yet received the news from the Third Task Force. At 6:20 a.m., the seaplanes of Task Force 4 also departed, and before the seaplanes had completely left the skies over the fleet, a telegram from Task Force 3 came.

"Task Force 1 is probably here now, and this is their route." The communications staff officer first marked the location of the 1st Task Force on the chart, as well as the course, "General, what are they going to do?" ”

"I want to know that too." Huang Xiaotian laughed, "Go and let the aviation combat department take action, the bombers must prepare for departure, let those group leaders and squadron leaders gather, it seems that we have something to play today." ”

Huang Xiaotian also received messages from the Third Task Force and reconnaissance planes on Tagula Island at night, and was well aware of the decisive battle between the Third Task Force and the 33rd Task Force. Just like Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue, when he knew that Chang Jianxin had captured two enemy battleships. I was so surprised that my jaw almost dropped. At half past five, Huang Xiaotian arranged the reconnaissance mission and mobilized the pilots of the reconnaissance plane. He prepared 24 carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft, as well as 30 seaplanes.

The location of the three task forces is clearly marked on the charts. Course. Task Force 3 is now about 70 nautical miles south of Tagura, and is returning to the Solomon Sea at a speed of 8 knots (the fastest speed for towing the Massachusetts). Task Force 4 was about 50 nautical miles southeast of Task Force 3, and at 5 o'clock it was about 75 nautical miles. And what made Huang Xiaotian a little unbelievable was that the First Task Force had run so far!

At this time. Task Force 1 is located 15 degrees east-south of Tagura, about 25 nautical miles, and is only 100 nautical miles from the outer islands of the Great Barrier Reef, while the maximum patrol radius of US shore-based fighters is about 40 nautical miles outside the outer islands of the Great Barrier Reef. In other words, the 1st Task Force is only 60 nautical miles away from the patrolling navy of US shore-based fighters!

I am afraid that no one would have imagined that the First Task Force, which was still operating south of Rennell Island yesterday evening, would go southwest for more than 300 nautical miles in more than 10 hours and appear under the noses of the US military. Huang Xiaotian himself did not expect this, he always believed that Task Force 1 was very likely to be 200 nautical miles south of Tagura, and waiting for Halsey to appear. Then deal a fatal blow to Halsey when he attacks Task Force 4.

Looking at the sea chart and thinking for a while, Huang Xiaotian suddenly laughed. He had to admire Tan Renhao's boldness, if he was allowed to command the First Task Force. He certainly didn't dare drive Task Force 1 over there. But this would certainly come as a surprise to the enemy, and as a result, even if Halsey knew that the threat of Task Force 1 was very great, he would not be able to find Task Force 1.

At least it is impossible to find the first task force right away!

From the relative position of the Fourth Task Force and the First Task Force, Huang Xiaotian soon discovered that Tan Renhao's purpose was to let the Fourth Task Force rush to the front, so that Halsey would definitely discover the Fourth Task Force soon, and the reconnaissance planes of the Fourth Task Force would definitely soon discover Halsey's fleet, and the result would be that Halsey was completely finished, and the First Task Force would become the absolute protagonist on the battlefield during the day.

When the adjutant brought breakfast, Huang Xiaotian sat down, and while eating breakfast, he thought about the current situation on the battlefield.

Now that the decisive battle between Task Force 3 and Task Force 33 has come to an end, this result is certainly not expected by anyone. Task Force 3, which was missing one battleship, knocked the 33rd Task Force down and annihilated seven American battleships at the cost of one sinking and three serious injuries. This result must have been unexpected by Halsey, so now Halsey would have to bomb Tagula Island, destroy the airfield on the island first, and then deal with the Tang Empire's aircraft carrier task force.

Thinking of this, Huang Xiaotian knew in his heart. Halsey would definitely have a hand, and he must have sent bombers by now, and maybe they would reach the skies over Tagura.

So, will Halsey bomb Task Force 3? After thinking for a while, Huang Xiaotian denied this idea, the Third Task Force has no aviation strike capability, and the current speed is very slow, as long as Halsey blows up the airfield on Tagura Island, and then then kills the Fourth Task Force, the First Task Force, then the Third Task Force will not be able to escape.

Huang Xiaotian walked to the chart table, looked at the chart and continued to think. Halsey was certainly not going to bomb Tagura Island with all his strength, so would he use Task Force 31 or Task Force 32 bombers to bomb Tagura? The answer is very clear, Halsey will definitely let Mitchell complete this task, the 31st Task Force is the main force in Halsey's hands, if the 32nd Task Force bombards Tagura Island, then Halsey will definitely be ready to use the 31st Task Force to kill the Fourth Task Force!

Well, now Task Force 32 is at most 250 nautical miles from Tagura, maybe less than 200 nautical miles, and it should be in the southwest direction of Tagura, not too west, but more southerly, then, where is Task Force 31? If Halsey didn't know that Task Force 1 had bypassed, then Task Force 31 would have been flank and rear of Task Force 32, that is, to the southwest, and it wouldn't be very far away, if that was the case......

Thinking of this, Huang Xiaotian called the communications staff officer over. "Pay attention to the situation on the other side of Tagura, if there is a telegram, send it to the aviation operations center immediately."

Soon, Huang Xiaotian arrived at the aviation operations center, and instead of rushing to give the pilots bombing orders, he asked the 12 "waterbirds" on the "Taihu" aircraft carrier to take off urgently, led by a squadron leader, and went to search for a new sea area. Then, he arranged the bombing mission.

Huang Xiaotian's target was not Task Force 32, but Task Force 31. If the 31st Task Force can be eliminated in one fell swoop, then the 4th Task Force will be the number one contributor to this campaign. In addition, with the current position of the 1st Task Force, as long as the mission of the 32nd Task Force is to bomb Tagura, it is within the strike range of the 1st Task Force. Of course, finding Task Force 32 is key.

These reconnaissance planes set off after dawn, and just as Huang Xiaotian had just finished arranging the bombing mission, the communications staff officer ran over, and a telegram came from Tagula Island, saying that US bombers had bombed two airfields on Tagula Island, and the HNA had suffered heavy losses and the airfields had been destroyed!

"Immediately bring the troops into combat readiness, and the bombers are all sent to the flight deck!" Huang Xiaotian quickly gave an order, "After the reconnaissance plane has news, it will be transmitted directly to other aircraft carriers, and the bomber must set off as soon as possible!" ”

Almost at the same time, Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue also received a telegram from Tagura.

"The US bombers arrived around dawn, although the HNA was prepared, but the number of enemy planes was too large, and now it is judged that there are at least 150 bombers or more, and there are dozens of fighters to escort them."

"Has Task Force 3 been bombed? From which direction are these fleets coming from? ”

"The third task force has not yet sent a message, it should not have been bombed, and the US bombers entered from the west of the island, and it is estimated that the course was corrected at the last time."

Tan Renhao nodded, and then fell silent, Halsey finally made a move!