Spruance received a message from the air force on Necker Island at 7:20 a.m. that the First Task Force had been found, and that the location of the First Task Force was also very shocking, about 10 degrees north-west of the Fifth Fleet, about 220 nautical miles away. That is, just, just in the extreme strike radius of shuttle bombing!

Originally, Spruance was supposed to let his bombers set off immediately, but the problem is that none of the bombers on the four aircraft carriers can leave immediately, there is only one reason, the state of the four aircraft carriers is problematic, and most of the bombers are still undergoing maintenance, even if they immediately replenish ammunition and fuel, it will take half an hour before they can set off one after another, and the time of the group's departure must be after eight o'clock.

"Let the bombers take off as soon as possible." Spruance did not hesitate, "All pilots must be ready, before seven fifty, the bomber must take off!" ”

The fleet was busy, and the hastily repaired aircraft carrier "Franklin", as well as three other small aircraft carriers that had only completed basic overhauls, exposed problems at this time Spruance did not expect.

Wars often take a major turn because of some very small problem, and many times it is some unexpected factor. I'm afraid Spruance himself didn't even think about what kind of impact the state of these four aircraft carriers would have in the end.

The "Franklin" was overhauled twice, and the two overhauls were not actually completed, only the most critical parts were repaired, and many other minor problems persisted. In the last battle against Task Force 2, the impact of these minor problems was not very large, and it can be delayed until now. A lot of small problems have become big problems. For example, at that time, only three of the five aviation refueling stations on the aircraft carrier were in normal use. In addition, there are two fewer trailers for hanging bombs for bombers. There are also problems with the ammunition lifting and lowering channels, which are much less efficient.

When many small factors are combined, the place is not a small problem, but a big problem.

The situation with three small aircraft carriers is not much better.

"Independence", "Princeton". The "Blauwood" is the first three small aircraft carriers of the "Independence" class to enter service, and it is also the three ships that have been operating on the battlefield for the longest time. It stands to reason that these three small aircraft carriers should have returned to Hong Kong for overhaul in June, but because of the intense fighting, they have not carried out normal overhauls until now, but have been running around the battlefield.

Originally, the equipment on a small aircraft carrier was not as perfect as that of a fleet aircraft carrier, and now the problems exposed are not much less than those of the "Franklin".

All these factors combined had the most immediate effect that the first bombers left the fleet at 7:55 a.m. And it was not until half past eight that the first bombers completed their takeoff.

It's been a little too long, but it's not that simple. The delay in the take-off of the bomber group will ultimately affect the operations of the fleet. After all, in fleet operations, often each factor is not separate. Rather, they are interrelated, and one issue can affect many aspects.

Under the circumstances, if the first group of bombers could depart at eight o'clock, Spruance could immediately order the fleet to sail eastward, to distance itself from Task Force 1 and avoid detection by Task Force 1, and then release a second group of bombers after turning, so that the second group of bombers could also fly over Task Force 1. But the problem is that the first batch of bombers took off at half past eight, and the first task force had half an hour more time to maneuver, and its position must have changed, so how far was the first task force from the Fifth Fleet? It was certainly impossible to make an accurate judgment, so in order to ensure that the second group of bombers could fly over, and then have to return to the airfield on Necker Island on the way back, Spruance had to let the fleet continue to sail west at this time, in order to shorten the distance with the first task force. And in half an hour, the fleet can sail at least 15 nautical miles to the west.

At 8:40 a.m., the second group of bombers began to take off, and Spruance immediately ordered the fleet to turn to 110 degrees and withdraw from the battlefield at full speed. Before the bombers had completely left the carrier, new news arrived, and the bomber group on Necker Island reached the skies over Task Force 1 and was intercepted by a large number of fighters.

At this point, Spruance once again had a trace of the First Task Force, but he was not sure at all. Spruance knew very well how strong the air defense force of the First Task Force was, and that the Fourth Task Force was able to withstand two groups of Halsey's bombers in a row, and only lost two small aircraft carriers and some escort warships, and the two large aircraft carriers were not hit, so you can imagine how good the quality of the carrier-based fighter pilots of the Tang Imperial Navy was. And the fighter pilots of Task Force 1 are by no means inferior to Task Force 4. In contrast, the quality of the inexperienced bomber pilots on Necke Island was certainly inferior to that of the 31st Task Force. To make matters worse, the fighter jets on Necker Island were already on anti-aircraft patrol duty over the Fifth Fleet, and there were no fighters to escort the bombers.

Originally, these bombers were meant to be sacrificed, and according to Spruance's idea, if the intelligence was on time, the first bomber group he sent should reach the skies over Task Force 1 first, and then the shore-based bomber group would attack. Now, not only was the position reversed, but the first bombers he sent would not reach Task Force 1 until at least 9:40 a.m. In other words, the 1st Task Force has enough time to adjust its air defense network and meet the bomber group he sent after defeating the shore-based bomber group, and the time difference between 20 minutes and half an hour can almost decide the fate of the 1st Task Force, and maybe even the fate of the 5th Fleet, because the 1st Task Force has enough time to let the bombers take off in this half hour!

At 9:20 a.m., just ten minutes after the departure of the second bomber group, Spruance received a third telegram from which the shore-based bomber group attacking Task Force 1 had been completely routed. Less than twenty bombers escaped, almost all of them wounded. The problem is that these bombers are no longer able to return to Necke Island. According to Spruance's arrangement, they were supposed to land on the carriers of the Fifth Fleet. Moreover, the Fifth Fleet should give a signal at this time to direct these aircraft over.

"General, do you want to give a guiding signal?"

Spruance hesitated, he was well aware. His plan failed, at least not fully realized. If all goes well, the aircraft carrier of Task Force 1 is already on fire, and he doesn't have to worry about exposing himself by sending a radio signal. But the problem is that now the three aircraft carriers of the 1st Task Force are intact, and even the escort warships are intact. Tan Renhao must have prepared the bombers for departure a long time ago, and the Fifth Fleet was only about 210 nautical miles away from the First Task Force, and this distance was within the absolute kill range of the Tang Empire's carrier-based bombers.

If the signal of the Fifth Fleet had been given at this time, perhaps the exact location of the fleet would not have been revealed, after all. On the nearby islands, the Tang Imperial Navy did not have several radio monitoring stations, and it was difficult to measure the approximate location of the Fifth Fleet. But the problem is. If Tan Renhao had arranged for reconnaissance planes to fly behind those shore-based bombers, or if the Fifth Fleet's radio monitoring stations had received the signal and judged the direction, then the Fifth Fleet would certainly have been attacked by the adversary in retaliation.

And in this case, Spruance didn't even have the strength to fight back.

What to do? It was too dangerous to send a telegram, but if you didn't send a telegram, the bombing of the returning ship would ......

"No, don't give a guiding signal." Spruance made a quick decision, "The fleet will return at full speed, arrange a seaplane to go to Neck Island, and let them arrange a search and rescue plane to find the overboard pilot." ”

"General, this ......"

"Go!" Spruance almost roared, the first time he had flared up while commanding the fleet.

Seeing Spruance's excited appearance, the staff officer didn't dare to say anything more.

Spruance's hands were shaking slightly, and he struggled to control his emotions. He didn't sacrifice more than a dozen bombers, he had to do this in order to save the Fifth Fleet, even if it would be infamous, but he had to do his best to save the last fleet of the US Navy. Five minutes later, Spruance gave a new order, and the fleet's course turned to 150 degrees, that is, 60 degrees south-east. He had to get away as soon as possible, and he must not be found by the reconnaissance planes of Task Force 1.

In fact, by this time, Spruance had lost much hope of annihilating Task Force 1. The interval between the arrival of the two groups of bombers he sent was forty minutes, and the first task force had enough time to organize air defense, and even let the fighters land on the aircraft carrier to replenish fuel and ammunition in the interval between air defenses. Perhaps, these two groups of bombers were able to annihilate one of the opponent's aircraft carriers, and even severely damage the other two, but the Fifth Fleet also lost its aviation strike capability. In other words, it is very likely that Task Force 1 will be able to preserve enough air strike force to destroy the Fifth Fleet. In this way, as long as the First Task Force captures the Fifth Fleet, then the Fifth Fleet will be finished.

It is completely understandable that Spruance made a decision at this time, he must first save his life, all the bombers have been dispatched, and this batch of bombers will return directly to the airfield on Necke Island to land, not back to the fleet to land. He sent the fleet to the south in order to distance itself from the bombers who were originally planned to land on the aircraft carriers of the Fifth Fleet, so as not to be detected by the bombers of the First Task Force. Even if the First Task Force cannot be annihilated this time, it can still inflict heavy damage on the First Task Force, then, after the Fifth Fleet is replenished with bombers, Spruance will be able to continue to search for the First Task Force for a decisive battle!

At this time, on the aircraft carrier "Xingkaihu", the flagship of the First Task Force, Tan Renhao was also judging the approximate location of the Fifth Fleet. He had already arranged for two bombers to take off urgently to follow the butts of the returning American bombers. These tactical bombers will certainly not be able to fly back to Necke Island, so they will have to land on the aircraft carriers of the Fifth Fleet. And when he figured out this problem, Tan Renhao also suddenly realized one point, that is, the Fifth Fleet must be nearby, and it is within 250 nautical miles, or even 20 nautical miles away from them, otherwise, those tactical bombers who have flown 400 nautical miles will not be able to land on the aircraft carrier of the Fifth Fleet. In other words, the bombers sent by the Fifth Fleet were already very close to the First Task Force.

"Let the fighter be lifted into the air as soon as possible, and in which direction did the enemy plane return?"

"East, a little south."

"Send all the fighters over there, expand the air defense radius to 40 nautical miles, and intercept them in three layers." Tan Renhao gave an order to the staff officer in charge of air defense operations, "All fighters must be lifted into the air within 10 minutes, and first ensure that they are fully loaded with ammunition and fuel plus two-thirds." ”

The order was quickly given, and then, Hao Dongjue ran back.

"The bombers are all arranged, as soon as they find the Fifth Fleet, they will take off immediately."

Tan Renhao nodded slightly and said, "Now, we still have to block the bombing of the Fifth Fleet. ”

Hao Dongjue frowned slightly. "I think so, maybe it's only the shore-based bombers on Necker Island that have started to bomb us, and the carrier-based bombers of the Fifth Fleet have not yet arrived."

"Spruance has at least 180 bombers in his hands, which is enough to form two groups.

And the fighters on Necke Island must go to cover the Fifth Fleet, then he can arrange enough escort fighters. Tan Renhao sighed, "The biggest threat to us is the carrier-based bombers, I hope they arrive a little later, otherwise it will ......."

Hao Dongjue also sighed, and the two of them thought of a question at the same time. After the exposure of Task Force 1, if the Fifth Fleet was within striking Task Force 1, then the bomber group of the Fifth Fleet should arrive first, not the shore-based bombers on Necker Island, which flew from 400 nautical miles away, so why did the shore-based bombers arrive first, and not the bombers of the Fifth Fleet?

"Immediately arrange for several reconnaissance aircraft to search in the direction in which the enemy bomber group enters!" Tan Renhao had to think about it a little more perfectly, "Perhaps, the Fifth Fleet is in this direction!" ”