News of the fall of Midway also reached Spruance at around eight o'clock, and the U.S. forces on Midway sent a final telegram that was relayed by Theater Command before reaching Task Force 51. Spruance didn't expect at all that the Marine Corps, which had been holding out for more than 20 days, would be suddenly defeated. But he wasn't surprised that the battle at Midway was over, and the only way to salvage the defeat was to win at sea!

While the staff members whispered about the bitter battle at Midway and what to do next, Spruance gave an order: the fleet was moving westward at full speed.

"General, in this case, our reconnaissance aircraft may not be able to return to the fleet."

"I know, calculate the time for the reconnaissance plane to return." Spruance's decision was decisive, and as always, he would not seek the advice of a staff officer when making a decision, "and immediately turn around." If we still don't have anything to gain this time, then Task Force 2 is out of our range. On the return of the reconnaissance planes, a telegram was sent to bring them to the new rendezvous point. Are the first reconnaissance planes all back? ”

"It's on the way back, a lot of it. In addition, the aviation crew has been prepared to refuel these aircraft in accordance with your orders. ”

"All of them are bombed!" Spruance turned, "In an hour at most, we should have received the news, and if nothing is found, the fleet will retreat north." ”

It was already 8:40 a.m., and the second group of reconnaissance planes had just set off. Spruance glanced at his watch, this was his last chance to find Task Force 2 today. If still no task force 2 has been found. Then Task Force 2 is not within its strike range, and similarly, Task Force 51 is not within the strike range of Task Force 2. Midway has fallen. The campaign plan will definitely be revised, and the fleet will be withdrawn from the battle first. Then organize a new ground counterattack, which is Spruance's only option.

At this time, on the flagship of the Second Task Force, Lei Shaoqing was also thinking about the same question. This naval battle was fought around Midway, and now the U.S. forces on Midway are finished. So is it still necessary to fight a naval battle? Lei Shaoqing did not first consider the possible actions of the US fleet, but what kind of actions the second task force should take at this time.

Task Force 2's primary mission was to assist the Marines in taking Midway, a task that Task Force 2 had been carrying out prior to the U.S. Fleet's operation. Until the US fleet may appear in the surrounding waters, Lei Shaoqing's new mission is to avoid being attacked by the US fleet and to look for an opportunity to annihilate the US fleet. The ultimate goal of annihilating the U.S. fleet was still to assist the Marines on Midway Island in completing the offensive mission.

Now, the most basic purpose has been achieved, and tomorrow a large number of marines will reinforce Midway, the transport fleet will also send a large amount of combat materials, and a group of HNA tactical aircraft will arrive at Midway. Is it necessary to fight Spruance anymore? Obviously, there is no longer such a need, even if the US military is ready to reinforce Midway on the 10th. But the problem is that the U.S. military does not have a landing fleet, and sends a convoy of transport ships to deliver troops and supplies to Midway. And if the U.S. military wants to re-prepare the landing fleet, it will take several days. Even more than ten days of hard work. By then, the Marines on Midway had already consolidated their defenses, and it would be difficult for the US troops to land smoothly, and they would even abandon the landing operation at Midway.

Thinking of this, Lei Shaoqing felt that there was no need to entangle with the US fleet anymore. As long as the Second Task Force still exists and is operating in the Central Pacific, no matter where it operates, the US military will definitely have some scruples when it lands on Midway, and this has become the best way to prevent the US military from landing on Midway. He quickly told Zheng Guanhua about the idea.

After thinking about it for a while, Zheng Guanhua also thought that Lei Shaoqing's analysis was very reasonable, as long as the Second Task Force still had combat effectiveness, the US military would not dare to let go of the landing on Midway. And Lei Shaoqing also said all his thoughts at this time.

"You mean, we're now immediately maneuvering to the southwest?"

Lei Shaoqing nodded. "Midway has been captured by us, and Spruance must have received the message. If he was still in the waters west of Midway, it wouldn't make much sense.

Then it is quite possible that he will sail north first and then return east to Pearl Harbor. If the U.S. military still wants to take Midway, then it will definitely have Spruance's fleet to support the landing of the marines, and it must move quickly, otherwise it will miss the best opportunity. As long as the Marines consolidate the defense of Midway, repair the airfield on the island, and our fighters are stationed at Midway, then it will take a lot of effort for the U.S. forces to attack Midway. ”

Zheng Guanhua thought for a while, then nodded. "It's entirely possible that Spruance would have been heading north now, even if Spruance had been active in our northwest direction."

"So, let's head back to the southwest, avoid Spruance first, and as long as we're still on the battlefield, then the U.S. forces will have to find us first and destroy us when they counterattack Midway. Therefore, by preserving Task Force 2 now, it is putting pressure on the U.S. military, and it will also buy valuable time for the Marine Corps. As for how to play in the next stage, we don't need to think about it yet. ”

"General Lei, then I'll contact ......"

"Don't contact the reconnaissance plane yet, and only contact the reconnaissance plane half an hour before the reconnaissance plane returns to the fleet." Lei Shaoqing stopped Zheng Guanhua, "Also, to strengthen the air defense of the fleet, there is no need to leave escort fighters, all of them are carrying out air defense tasks." We can leave the dangerous sea around twelve o'clock, and then let the fighter pilots take turns to rest. ”

The 2nd Task Force began its turn at 8:58, nearly 20 minutes later than Task Force 51. Also in order to avoid the fleet's premature exposure, Lei Shaoqing did not ask Zheng Guanhua to immediately notify the reconnaissance aircraft group of the new rendezvous area, and in addition, the radar on the cruisers in the fleet was not turned on.

The ultimate goal of the two commanders is the same, but the two are a little different. Spruance did not give up the last effort, he did not rush to get the fleet back. And Lei Shaoqing had already let the fleet move in the direction of leaving the battlefield at this time. This is related to the personal judgment of the commander, but also to the objectives of the battles of the fleets of both sides. Perhaps it is not possible to think about who is right and who is wrong because of this, after all, in wartime. Different units have different tasks, and how to complete them. That's the most important thing.

It was precisely this difference that the delicate balance between the two fleets was upset at this time.

At 9:15 a.m., when the Second Task Force had been sailing southwest for more than 10 minutes, two radio monitoring stations in the fleet received a faint radio signal at the same time, and the experienced communications officer (there were no electronic warfare officers at that time) immediately judged that it was a signal from a long-range radio on the plane. And it was a signal from a long-range radio station on a US military reconnaissance plane.

Five minutes later, the radar on the cruiser "Xuanwu" was first activated (the new radar, the warm-up time was much shorter), and then a target was found in the northwest direction, about five nautical miles, and in that airspace, there was exactly a cloud! Several fighters immediately rushed over at the call, and soon, the SBD, which was hiding in the clouds, was driven out and was quickly shot down by air defense fighters.

"!" Zheng Guanhua scolded secretly.

"Let all the fighters take off at once." Lei Shaoqing did not hesitate. The fleet has been exposed, and the appearance of US reconnaissance planes here proves that the US fleet is at a very close distance.

"Contact the reconnaissance plane, try to complete the search mission, and send out the new rendezvous site."

Zheng Guanhua looked at the aviation operations staff officer standing next to him.

"Also, the fleet immediately accelerated to 33 knots. Switched to anti-aircraft arrays. Lei Shaoqing's expression was very calm, "We have about an hour to an hour and a half, if we can find the US fleet during this period, then we still have the ability to counterattack, if not, then we have to pray." ”

The fighters that had been parked on the flight deck immediately began to take off, combat sirens sounded in the fleet, the radars on other cruisers were turned on one after another, and all the air defense fighters began to concentrate in the northwest direction. In addition, all the anti-aircraft gunners went to their posts, and the battle was about to begin.

Having received the report of the reconnaissance aircraft, Spruance did not hesitate and immediately ordered the bomber to take off.

"Contact the reconnaissance planes, guide the bomber group in the direction, bite the second task force." Spruance glanced at the chart, and the distance was 220 nautical miles, which was exactly on a relatively ideal strike radius for the bomber. "Also, the radars are all activated, and the second batch of bombers will also take off immediately."

The nautical staff is marking the course of Task Force 2 on the chart.

At this time, the first bombers outside had already taken off one after another. The bombers had already been filled with fuel, hung up bombs and torpedoes, and the pilots immediately boarded their planes as soon as they received the order, and one bomber after another was ejected.

"General, how many escort fighters will be arranged for the second group of bombers?"

Spruance turned his head, he had delayed this deployment before, and after thinking about it for only a few seconds, he said: "Leave one squadron of air defense fighters, and send out all the rest." Also, when will the radar be turned on when the air defense fighters are deployed to the southeast of the fleet? ”

"It will take about half an hour."

"Then do it right away." Spruance glanced at the somewhat dumbfounded staff officer.

The first batch of bombers all left the carrier at 9:40 a.m. There are 36 F4U, 62 SBD, 42 TBD in this batch of bombers. And after the departure of the first bombers, the three aircraft carriers began to receive the first reconnaissance aircraft returning home. These reconnaissance planes have been circling over the fleet for about twenty minutes, and they are about to run out of last drops of gasoline.

The aviation crews on the aircraft carrier are the busiest at this time, and these returning reconnaissance planes will participate in the second batch of bombing. They did not have time to check the state of the aircraft, and immediately after the reconnaissance plane landed, they began to refuel and hang bombs. Therefore, the second group of bombers was not able to leave immediately, and it was not until after 10:05 that these bombers took off one after another.

By 10:28, the second group of bombers had all left the fleet. Among this batch of bombers were 36 F4U, 54 SBDs (more than half were reconnaissance aircraft), and 39 76Ds. Spruance left only more than thirty F4U in the fleet, and several dozen SBDs of the second batch of reconnaissance aircraft have not yet returned to the fleet.

At this time, on the second task force, Lei Shaoqing was still anxiously waiting for news from the reconnaissance planes, and he had already given an order at 9:20 a.m. for all the bombers to hang bombs and torpedoes, and they were sent to the flight deck, ready to take off at any time. But the problem is that he doesn't know where the U.S. fleet is now!

"General Lei, the US bomber group must have hit the road!" Zheng Guanhua was also very anxious, and he also roughly calculated the time when the US bomber group would arrive. If the distance between the two sides was between 150 and 250 nautical miles (this is the most common), Spruance would have prepared the bombers for departure, and he would have taken off the bombers as soon as he received the news, and the size of the first wave of bombers would certainly have been no small. Then, between 9:40 and 9:50, this batch of bombers should have left the sky over the US fleet. And 150 nautical miles to 250 nautical miles takes 50 minutes to an hour and a half to fly. That is, there is a high probability that the US bombers will arrive between half past ten and eleven twenty. And now it's almost ten o'clock, and the fleet bombers will definitely need twenty minutes to take off, and if they don't send bombers, then the enemy's bombers will arrive.

"Let the bombers prepare for departure, our reconnaissance planes should already be returning home, and they still haven't sent back a telegram, which proves that nothing has been discovered." Lei Shaoqing was not in a daze, he was also quickly judging the situation in front of him, "The US fleet must not have gone north, otherwise their reconnaissance planes would not have appeared with us, and they are very likely to come to the southwest, or even south." That is, to the east of our reconnaissance sector. Let the bomber group fly in this direction with a maximum sortie radius of 250 nautical miles! ”

Zheng Guanhua nodded and immediately prepared to deploy the bombing mission.

After Zheng Guanhua went out, Lei Shaoqing sat down, he never thought that Spruance would continue to approach him at this time, could it be that Spruance was so eager to win?