After receiving the news, Tan Renhao immediately gave the order to attack, but the problem was that at this time, the fleet was still about 350 nautical miles away from the Gulf of St. Helena, and if the British expeditionary fleet had been sailing north, then the shortest distance would be more than 300 nautical miles, so the bombers could not set off for the time being. In addition, as time goes by, the British expeditionary fleet will definitely change course, in order to prevent Cunningham from slipping away like last time, Tan Renhao immediately changed the order, so that the four dive bombers in Yang Qinkai's group immediately hung up the auxiliary fuel tanks and set off first to track and monitor the British expeditionary fleet.

It was much easier to hang the auxiliary fuel tank than to hang the bomb, and the auxiliary fuel tank of the Navy's carrier-based combat aircraft at that time was universal, and before the fighter was made to take off urgently, the aviation service personnel prepared several more auxiliary fuel tanks, which saved a lot of time.

At 11:15 a.m., four reconnaissance planes took off one after another and flew at the fastest cruising speed toward the sea area of the enemy fleet reported by the fighters. New problems arose, and at about half past eleven, the bombers on reconnaissance missions led by Qiu Gengbo had returned to the skies over the fleet one after another.

Receive the returning reconnaissance aircraft first, or let the bombers take off first? Tan Renhao only hesitated for less than half a minute, and then ordered the reconnaissance plane to land on the aircraft carrier first, instead of letting the bomber take off first.

In the past, he would have let the bomber take off first, but this time he didn't have to risk it. The bombers on the three aircraft carriers in the British fleet had a strike radius of up to 250 nautical miles, and now the distance between the two sides was more than 250 nautical miles, so Task Force 1 was not threatened in any way.

In addition, the speed of the battleships of the British expeditionary fleet was simply not comparable to that of aircraft. Getting the bomber to leave half an hour late is not a big problem. Moreover, this can also allow the Qiu Gengbo group to go up at the fastest speed and bomb twice. Enough to deal with the British expeditionary fleet!

When the reconnaissance planes landed one after another, Tan Renhao asked Zheng Guanhua to readjust the bombing sequence of Yang Qinkai's group. Now that it has been judged that there are aircraft carriers in the British expeditionary fleet. No matter how much aviation strike power those three aircraft carriers have, they must first blow up the aircraft carriers, and then blow up the battleships. When Zheng Guanhua first arranged the bombing mission, he put the enemy battleship in the first place, and Tan Renhao was not sure that there were aircraft carriers in the enemy fleet at that time.

By this time. Tan Renhao suddenly thought of something, where did the French expeditionary fleet go? The fighter report only mentioned the British Expeditionary Fleet, and the pilots visually judged that there were five giant ships, three fleet aircraft carriers, and identified the battleships inside as belonging to the British Navy, not the French Navy, so where did the French Expeditionary Fleet go? Tan Renhao almost broke out in a cold sweat, he didn't know that Cunningham's situation was even more difficult than him, the first thing he thought of was. If Cunningham had been cornered, would he have used the British Expeditionary Fleet as bait and then sent the faster French Expeditionary Fleet to attack Task Force 1?

"Let all the radars on the escort ships be activated. Is the seaplane back? ”

"It's coming back one after another." Zheng Guanhua walked over and looked at Tan Renhao with a little surprise.

In order to avoid revealing the fleet's whereabouts, the fleet maintained radio silence, and the British and French expeditionary forces must have set up multiple radio listening stations on the coast of the continent. And as long as the fleet sends an electronic signal, then the position of the fleet is easily calculated.

"When the seaplanes come back, let them focus on searching the sea within 100 nautical miles of the fleet, and all directions must be taken care of." Tan Renhao gritted his teeth, "Where is the Third Task Force now?" ”

"It has reached our south, about 50 nautical miles, and its speed has been reduced to 24 knots, and it is sailing east side by side with us."

"Contact Task Force 3 and get their seaplanes to be dispatched immediately, while turning on the radar and searching the nearby seas." Tan Renhao let out a sigh: "1 The French Expeditionary Fleet has not yet appeared, we must keep an eye on the surrounding seas, and we must not be attacked by the French Expeditionary Fleet when attacking the British Expeditionary Fleet!" ”

Zheng Guanhua also reacted, and he immediately went to give the order, and at the same time sent a telegram to the third task force. After he was done, Tan Renhao asked about the location of the bomber sortie.

Yang Qinkai and the others have already obtained the list of targets newly arranged by Zheng Guanhua, and the aircraft carrier will be the primary target. But now, the fleet is still receiving the returning reconnaissance planes, and it will not be until about 12 o'clock at the earliest, and Yang Qinkai's group will not be able to set off. By that time, the fleet had already sailed more than 20 nautical miles to the east, and the reconnaissance planes from the previous departure place would be able to send a message between 12:30 and 12:45 p.m., and then the fleet would send the enemy's specific location to Yang Qinkai and let the bomber group fly directly over.

At about 11:55 a.m., the last reconnaisance plane returning to its home landed on the "Hongzehu" aircraft carrier, and before the bomber could be sent into the hangar, the bombers in Yang Qinkai's group were sent to the flight deck and then towed to the catapult position. Before twelve o'clock, the first two bombers were ejected, and almost at the same time the bombers on the aircraft carrier "Gaoyou Lake" also began to take off. By 12:15 p.m., all the bombers in Yang Qinkai's group, as well as the escort fighters led by Colonel An Shile, had taken off, and there were 32 "water birds," 36 "sea eagles," and 36 "golden eagles" in this group of bombers.

The aviation crews on the aircraft carrier did not stop. While Yang Qinkai's group was still taking off one after another, some aviation service personnel were already busy in the hangar overhauling the returning bombers, replenishing fuel for these bombers, and hanging bombs and torpedoes. This preparation will take about half an hour, which is already the fastest speed that can be achieved, and if it is in the U.S. Navy, it may take more than an hour. At this time, the quality of the aviation service personnel is clearly demonstrated, the less time it takes to prepare for departure, the faster it can take out the enemy, not to mention saving half an hour in the battle against time, sometimes saving a few minutes will bring unexpected results!

At 12:35 a.m., reconnaissance planes sent a report that the British expeditionary fleet was moving at a speed of more than 24 knots. Heading north along the coastline of the African continent, the fleet has more than 50 ground fighters, most of them F4Us. This information was immediately sent to Yang Qinkai's group.

And the number of air defense fighters over the enemy fleet is highlighted. Although there was only one squadron of escort fighters assigned to Yang Qinkai's group, Tan Renhao believed it. The "Golden Eagles" of this squadron under the command of Ellsloer were enough to solve the F4U in the air space above the British Expeditionary Fleet.

"The Qiu Gengbo group is ready to take off, do you want them to leave now?" Zheng Guanhua can be regarded as the busiest person at this time. When the bombers of the Qiu Gengbo group were ready to go, he had to arrange the bombing mission.

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Let them go at once and take out the British expeditionary fleet first. If the French Expeditionary Fleet is discovered, let the Third Task Force hold for a while, wait until Yang Qinkai's group returns, and then determine the third round of bombing operations according to the situation! ”

Zheng Guanhua didn't say anything, and immediately went to the aviation operations center. Now that the British Expeditionary Fleet has been firmly grasped, it is certainly necessary to take out the most powerful British Expeditionary Fleet first.

Moreover, at this time, the fleet had sailed eastward for nearly 50 nautical miles, and the distance between the two sides had probably been shortened to about 270 nautical miles.

It is quite possible to get into the strike range of British carrier-based bombers, then it is all the more necessary to ensure the destruction of the British expeditionary fleet in the first place!

Qiu Gengbo's fleet began to depart at around 12:45. There were 54 "water birds" and 32 "sea eagles" in this group of bombers. and 24 escorted "Golden Eagles". Because it is estimated that by the time the Qiu Gengbo group arrived, there would be no air defense fighters over the British expeditionary fleet, and at that time, the fighter group commanded by Ellsler still had enough fuel (the first batch of 36 "Golden Eagles" all had auxiliary fuel tanks), and there was no need to rush back to the fleet. Therefore. Each of the 24 fighters on escort duty carried two 100-kilogram bombs and could also carry out bombing missions if necessary. By 1:10 p.m., all the ground fighters had left the aircraft carriers in the fleet.

Tan Renhao sent all the fighters out, including the reconnaissance planes on each aircraft carrier, and the reconnaissance planes in the squadron all took to the road with bombs on them. The First Task Force has already used all its strength, and whether or not it can take out the British Expeditionary Fleet depends on how much striking power the more than 100 bombers in the two groups of bombers commanded by Yang Qinkai and Qiu Gengbo can exert themselves!

After Qiu Gengbo's fleet departed, Tan Renhao reduced the fleet's speed to 18 knots, and at the same time ordered the fleet to turn due south. According to the reconnaissance plane's report, the British Expeditionary Fleet was about 250 nautical miles away from the First Task Force at this time, and he did not want to be attacked by British carrier-based bombers after releasing all the fighters, so it was quite necessary to keep a reasonable distance from the British Expeditionary Fleet. However, the most thankful thing is that at this time no enemy aircraft appeared near the fleet, that is, the exact location of the 1st task force has not yet been revealed!

Shortly after Task Force 1 turned, Task Force 3 also received orders and followed Task Force 1 to turn. When he received the first telegram, Chang Jiexin put the fleet into combat mode, not only did the radar on all the battleships start working, but the seaplanes in the fleet also began to be dispatched one after another.

Task Force 3's seaplanes did not participate in large-scale search operations, mainly because of the complexity of the reconnaissance and search missions, which were rarely performed by Task Force 3 seaplane pilots before. Now, these seaplanes have a new purpose. When Tan Renhao ordered the sea area around the fleet to be closely monitored, the seaplanes in the third task force were divided into three groups and took turns patrolling the waters near the fleet. In addition, Chang Jiexin also arranged for a group of cruisers and destroyers equipped with radar to be dispersed to the east, southeast, south, and southwest in the four most dangerous directions to carry out forward warning missions, so that the radar could be used to detect the situation at a greater distance.

If Chang Jianxin was still complaining about Tan Renhao's adventurous actions that put both task forces in danger, then now he wouldn't think so at all, and he also had to admire Tan Renhao's ability to judge the battle situation, as well as his keen intuition, and his ability to seize that slim opportunity.

Fighting will be risky, on the battlefield, there are dangers everywhere, and Tan Renhao's adventure this time is obviously correct, if the fleet has remained south of Cape Town, then it will definitely not be able to find the enemy fleet, and then when attacking Cape Town, the enemy fleet will be killed, and the trouble will be even greater. And Tan Renhao thought of this, took a crucial step, and caught the trace of the enemy fleet at the most critical time!

Because the initial information received was incomplete, Chang Zhixin did not know that the reconnaissance plane had only found the British Expeditionary Fleet, not the Anglo-French Combined Expeditionary Fleet. When Tan Renhao ordered the fleet to turn on the radar and closely monitor the surrounding waters, Chang Jianxin thought that the first task force must have found an enemy fleet. The news that followed proved his suspicions.

When Task Force 1 dispatched bombers against the British Expeditionary Fleet, Task Force 3 was tasked with acting as a personal bodyguard for Task Force 1, and not allowing another enemy fleet to easily approach Task Force 1. From the moment the fleet entered the Indian Ocean, Chang Zhixin knew that the Third Task Force played exactly this role. Although Tan Renhao has always respected Chang Jianxin and has always put the Third Task Force in the most important position, Chang Jianxin knows very well that Tan Renhao's respect for him cannot change the relationship between the First Task Force and the Third Task Force. If the Third Task Force had been the main force, then there would have been no need to wait until now, Cape Town would have been brought back long ago.

The speed of the 3rd Task Force was quickly reduced to 18 knots. Because the turning time was a little late, the 3rd Task Force was actually about 160 degrees to the 1st Task Force, that is, 20 degrees to the east-south, and the distance from the 1st Task Force was not 50 nautical miles, but about 45 nautical miles. This small deviation will not have a big impact.

"Chang, I have found out!"

Chang Jianxin was stunned for a moment, and immediately looked at Gu Zhenyun.

"The 'Lidong' sent a telegram that the radar had spotted several large targets and were coming towards us!"

Chang Jianxin immediately looked in the southeast direction, and it was in that direction that the cruiser "Lidong" was performing a warning mission!