The impact of the unexpected in war is truly unimaginable. In the previous "Second Battle of Wake Island", the American pilots had misjudged the losses of the Second Task Force, which led to Spruance's misjudgment, and this time, the American pilots made the same mistake.

In fact, the two groups of bombers bombed by the Fifth Fleet were actually the same target, that is, the "Gaoyouhu" aircraft carrier. And when the second group of bomber pilots sent back the report, they did not forget one thing, that is, the aircraft carrier had been damaged before they bombed it, but at the same time, they did not forget another point, that is, the speed of the aircraft carrier exceeded 30 knots, and there was no sign of being hit by a torpedo When Spruance received this strike report, he was also a little puzzled. If this attack was on another aircraft carrier, then, in the previous bombing, this aircraft carrier should have been hit, otherwise how could it be injured? But the problem is that the reports of the first batch of bombers do not mention that the second aircraft carrier of the opposing side was hit. If the same aircraft carrier had been attacked, then it would have been impossible for this aircraft carrier to reach a speed of more than 30 knots, and there was no sign of fire on the aircraft carrier, which proved that the aviation gasoline depot had not exploded, and it was impossible for the officers and men on the aircraft carrier to extinguish the fire caused by the leakage of aviation gasoline in just a few dozen minutes, right?

In other words, even Spruance himself was puzzled, and he didn't figure out whether one aircraft carrier of the First Task Force was heavily damaged, or whether two aircraft carriers were heavily damaged. But one thing is certain, the Fifth Fleet has lost its aviation strike capability, and less than 80 bombers escaped from the three groups. And most of them were wounded, and less than 30 bombers were able to take off immediately to carry out bombing missions. And now that Task Force 1 is withdrawing from the battlefield, it is impossible for these bombers to catch up with Task Force 1. So. No matter how many aircraft carriers were wounded, the Fifth Fleet had to withdraw from the battle. It is better to slip away before the enemy bombers arrive, so as not to be hit with a retaliatory strike.

At 10:50, that is, after Spruance received the report of the second batch of bombers, he turned due east and withdrew from the battle at full speed. At this time, the Fifth Fleet was only about 80 nautical miles from Necker Island, and the island's shore-based fighters, as well as some carrier-based fighters, had been patrolling the skies over the fleet.

Just as the Fifth Fleet began to turn, a reconnaissance plane from the First Task Force flew about 30 nautical miles north of the fleet, and this reconnaissance plane was almost reaching the limit of its reconnaissance radius. The pilot lost the U.S. bombers on the way. As it was about to return to the fleet, the pilot was startled by the sudden appearance of several fighters in front of him, and then the reconnaissance plane quickly burrowed into the nearby clouds and sent a telegram.

Tan Renhao got the telegram of the reconnaissance plane at about 11 o'clock. But this telegram didn't mean much at all.

The reconnaissance plane found that the enemy fighter plane was nearly 300 nautical miles away from the First Task Force, and it did not say at all whether it was a US carrier-based fighter, nor did it mention the fleet. If the Fifth Fleet is nearby. That was also outside the strike range of the carrier-based bombers of Task Force 1. More importantly, at this time, the task force of the First Task Force was to rescue the aircraft carrier "Gaoyouhu" that was on the verge of "death."

"The fire on the aircraft carrier has been basically brought under control, but it is definitely impossible to continue the operation." Hao Dongjue was solely responsible for arranging the emergency repair of the aircraft carrier. "Efforts are underway to restore part of the power system, perhaps eventually reaching speeds of 16 knots, and the flight deck, hangar, forward lift, and two catapults have all been severely damaged, which are difficult to repair at sea and will have to be repaired back to port."

"Then let the 'Gaoyouhu' break away from the formation, arrange for the six destroyers to cover the aircraft carrier's return cruiser, and assign them to the other two battle groups." Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Try to rescue the aircraft carrier, if you can't do it, the captain will decide whether to abandon the ship, and save the lives of the officers and men of the battleship for the highest purpose, understand?" ”

Hao Dongjue nodded. "I'll get in touch right away, maybe we'll have to arrange for two cruisers to accompany the carrier back home, the destroyer's ground power system isn't enough to support the pumpers on the carrier running at full speed."

"Then go and arrange the cruiser and try to rescue the aircraft carrier."

After Hao Dongjue left, Tan Renhao let out a sigh. Although it seems from the present point of view that the heavy damage of the "Gaoyou Lake" has the same significance as the sinking, it will cause the First Task Force to lose one-third of its aviation combat effectiveness. However, for a few months later, this is a completely different story. The construction period for the construction of a new aircraft carrier is close to a year, while the repair of the aircraft carrier "Gaoyou Lake" will take only three months at most.

Therefore, in the long run, the significance of preserving aircraft carriers is very significant.

This is not the first thing to consider when talking about Renhao. In the first twenty minutes or so, the fleet suffered the most painful blow. Although the air defense fighters led by Ellsler and Yao Boyan made the most arduous efforts, they were still unable to intercept all the US bombers in the end. 18 SBDs broke through the interception of fighters, and in the end 12 dropped bombs. After being hit by two bombs, the "Gaoyouhu" aircraft carrier hit four bombs again, two of which hit the front end of the aircraft carrier's flight deck, destroying the front elevator and catapult, and the other hit the middle of the flight deck, exploding in the hangar, blowing up the No. 2 hangar into ruins, and the last one hit the right side of the tail end of the aircraft carrier's flight deck, blowing up all the more than 10 antiaircraft guns on this side, and also blowing up several side decks.

By this point, the "Gaoyouhu" aircraft carrier had completely lost its combat effectiveness, and it hit the middle of the flight deck, and the bomb that exploded in the hangar also damaged the two boiler compartments below, causing the aircraft carrier to lose half of its power. In addition, an electric bay located at the nose of the battleship was damaged, and the aircraft carrier lost half of its power supply. The bomb that hit the right side of the aft end of the aircraft carrier's flight deck exploded less than 3 meters above the waterline, causing water into several nearby compartments, which was not very serious, but it was enough for the carrier to close the propulsion module on the far right side to prevent more seawater from pouring into the carrier.

None of this damage was enough for the aircraft carrier to sink immediately. The biggest problem was that the fire on the aircraft carrier had to be brought under control, and then some way of pumping out the seawater and restoring some of its speed. As long as the aircraft carrier can still run. Then there is hope for a return to the ports of the Empire, undergoing full repairs. This is also the reason why Tan Renhao asked the "Gaoyou Lake" aircraft carrier to withdraw from the battle alone.

And this is not the issue that Tan Renhao is most concerned about now. Maybe Hao Dongjue had already thought about retreating, but Tan Renhao didn't think so, even if the First Task Force only had half of its strength left, its combat effectiveness was above that of the Fifth Fleet, and his purpose had always been to annihilate the Fifth Fleet. And until this goal is achieved, he will not give up easily.

"General, the statistical report is out."

Tan Renhao nodded, took the document, and let the aviation staff officer get busy. While Hao Dongjue was busy reorganizing the fleet, he gave an order to the aviation staff officer, that is, to count the remaining aviation strike force of the fleet, and he would decide whether to continue the battle or lead the fleet to retreat.

After three harsh air defense operations, except for the "Gaoyouhu" aircraft carrier, which suffered heavy losses. The biggest losses in the fleet were the fighters. Before the withdrawal of US troops, there were less than 60 fighters left that could return to the aircraft carrier, and some of them were damaged. It may not necessarily be repaired on an aircraft carrier. In addition, the reconnaissance planes that had returned to land on the "Gaoyou Lake" aircraft carrier and the more than 10 bombers that had not had time to transfer from the "Gaoyou Lake" to the other two aircraft carriers before the start of the battle were all on the list of losses.

Now all the fighters have returned to the carrier. Fuel, ammunition, and basic overhaul are being refilled, and then they will be lifted off again. This is a precautionary measure, and in fact there is not much need for it, after all, all the bombers that the US military can dispatch have already been dispatched. It was at this time that the statistical report was completed, and there were three squadrons of dive bombers, two and a half squadrons of torpedo bombers, and one and a half squadrons of ground fighters on the "Xingkaihu" and "Hongzehu" aircraft carriers. The number of fighters carried on these two aircraft carriers has exceeded the prescribed limit, and many fighters have to be stacked on the flight deck, which greatly limits the efficiency of aircraft carrier ground aviation. But there is no way to do this, if the "Gaoyouhu" aircraft carrier is not seriously damaged, then a group of fighters will be transferred over.

Seeing this report, Tan Renhao also had a bottom in his heart, he also had a bomber group that was so strong that it could defeat any enemy, which was the capital for him to fight. Even if there is a serious shortage of enough fighters now, Tan Renhao knows very well in his heart that Spruance lacks not only fighters, but also bombers. The Fifth Fleet has lost almost all of its air strike force, and it is impossible for the US air force on Necker Island to be replenished in time, and this is the best chance to take out the Fifth Fleet.

"Navigation staff, continue to maintain the current course, and in ten minutes, the fleet will begin to accelerate."

Tan Renhao made a decisive decision, now is not the time to retreat, he has to recover his losses on the battlefield. "In addition, contact the 'Gaoyou Lake' aircraft carrier battle group and ask them to prepare for a separate retreat as soon as possible. Ten minutes later, the fleet stopped all radio activity and let the fighters return. ”

The navigation staff officer was startled at first, and then looked at the communications staff officer, and both of them were surprised.

"Let's make arrangements, don't delay the time, whether we can take out the Fifth Fleet or not, maybe it depends on how fast we act!"

Hao Dongjue ran back after hearing the news, and he was also very surprised. Tan Renhao didn't say his thoughts in front of so many staff officers, after all, it is very important to stabilize the morale of the army, and now the fleet has only been hit hard, if he disagrees with the chief of staff, it will have a very bad impact.

"Are you going to continue the pursuit of the Fifth Fleet?" After coming to the outside of the command cabin, Hao Dongjue asked, and he also knew that it was very important to maintain the prestige of the fleet commander.

"Have you counted the number of American bombers shot down by us?"

Hao Dongjue frowned slightly. "There is no specific calculation, but there are not 250, there are 200, and now I am arranging personnel to salvage the pilots of the US military."

"Remember to interrogate these pilots and leave them to the Marines, they know how to interrogate the prisoners." Tan Renhao leaned against the guardrail, "We've already killed most of the U.S. bombers, how much weight does Spruance still have in his hand?" ”

Hao Dongjue glanced at his partner and didn't rush to speak.

"Even if it is the US shore-based air force on Necke Island, Spruance has about 300 to 350 bombers at its disposal, and now, we have knocked out more than half of the US bombers, and most of the ones who escaped back are injured, and there must be a lot of scrapped. How many more bombers will Spruance be able to use? Tan Renhao sneered, "Even if he immediately contacted Nimitz and asked Nimitz to provide him with new bombers, it would take more than a day, and during this period, the Fifth Fleet is about the same as a transport fleet, and there is not much threat to us."

And we still have five and a half squadrons of bombers in our hands, and if we can use them, it will be a trivial matter to take out the Fifth Fleet. ”

"But we don't have many fighters left."

"If the Fifth Fleet does not have an aviation strike force, then our remaining fighters are enough for escort missions, and the fleet does not need air defense fighters, at least not too many air defense fighters."

Hao Dongjue nodded slightly, and then said, "The problem is that we don't know where the Fifth Fleet is now. ”

"It's up to us to find the Fifth Fleet." Tan Renhao gritted his teeth, "If we can find the Fifth Fleet within 24 hours, then we have a chance to kill Spruance, if we can't find it, then it's not too late for us to retreat!" ”

Hao Dongjue thought for a moment and said, "Okay, it's decided, if we can find the Fifth Fleet by this time tomorrow, then we will attack, if we can't find it, we have to prepare to flee for our lives." ”

"Remember, hurry up and interrogate the pilots of the U.S. military, they will definitely be able to provide some useful information." Tan Renhao stopped Hao Dongjue, "Let the fleet enter the combat state as soon as possible, and arrange the retreat of the 'Gaoyouhu' aircraft carrier, the fleet must be transferred immediately." ”

After Hao Dongjue walked away, Tan Renhao also sighed secretly, he also knew that whether he could find the Fifth Fleet was the key to the key, if he couldn't find the Fifth Fleet within a day, then Spruance would be very likely to get reinforcements, and at that time, it would be the First Task Force that should flee!