Waiting is the most headache for Tan Renhao, but waiting is a must. This is one of the most distinguishing aspects of naval warfare from land warfare. If it was in the age of sails, even if you saw the enemy's fleet, you would have to spend days waiting for the opportunity and catching up with the enemy. Although the progress of technology in various fields, especially communication technology, has quickened the pace of naval warfare a lot, from obtaining intelligence to launching an attack, from the previous days or even months to a few hours, or even dozens of minutes, this still makes Tan Renhao feel a headache.

No one knows what will happen before the enemy fleet is discovered. Tan Renhao has already reduced the number of anti-aircraft fighters to a minimum of 8 units. So that most of the combat aircraft were parked on the aircraft carrier. It's like when a boxer concentrates all his power into his fists and prepares to deliver the deadliest punch to his opponent's vital point. This is to ensure that you can exert your maximum power when attacking.

The officers of the staff were busy, and Tan Renhao also thought about a lot of questions in an hour, and reconsidered several key details of the battle plan this time. He can't tell anyone what he thinks, it's up to him to make his own decisions. Vice Admiral Wu Xianyu had already put the command of the fleet in his hands, and it was up to him to decide the attack, and the fleet was only assisting him in his actions. This made Tan Renhao feel a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it also made him believe that as long as he grasped the opportunity, then he could win.

An hour has passed, and the reconnaissance aircraft in front have not yet sent a message. At this time, the captain officer, who was in charge of liaison with the command of the Navy, came almost at a trot. "Colonel, just received a telegram that our submarine had spotted the Japanese aircraft carrier formation."

Tan Renhao was startled, almost jumped up from his chair, he immediately took the telegram, and then quickly scanned it. Now, he felt a little confused.

"Where is the Japanese fleet?" Lei Shaoqing also immediately walked over.

Tan Renhao handed the telegram to Lei Shaoqing, and then quickly walked to the chart. The telegram completely confused him.

Lei Shaoqing quickly skimmed through the contents of the telegram, then walked to Tan Renhao's side, and after looking at the chart for a while, he said: "Renhao, how could the Japanese fleet appear in the southeast waters of Jeju Island?" ”

Tan Renhao didn't speak, and that's where he was puzzled. If the Japanese plan to land on Jeju Island, the best place to land would be in the southeastern part of Jeju Island, near Pyoseon-ri. It was the closest to the Japanese mainland, the farthest from the Imperial bombers deployed on the mainland and the Korean Peninsula, and the terrain was flat, so the defending forces could not defend against danger, which was very conducive to landing operations. But the Japanese fleet appeared in the southwest of Jeju Island, why?

"Renhao, three aircraft carriers were mentioned in the telegram, and it is very likely that this is Japan's Southwest Combined Fleet." Lei Shaoqing knew that Tan Renhao was making a decision, "Now that the Japanese fleet is within the range of our attack, if we miss this opportunity, I'm afraid it will ......."

Tan Renhao turned his head to look at Lei Shaoqing, and his gaze shifted to the chart again. After thinking for a while, Tan Renhao laughed. The appearance of the Japanese fleet in the waters southwest of Jeju Island directly shows that the real purpose of the Japanese Southwest Combined Fleet is to deal with the Fifth Fleet, not to support the landing operations on Jeju Island. Previously, the Southwest Combined Fleet only escorted the landing convoy to Jeju Island, but now it has completed its mission, and then it is advancing to the southwest sea of Jeju Island, preparing to intercept the Imperial convoy and the Fifth Fleet that "escorts" it.

"Immediately get the attacking force ready to go, do we have any reconnaissance planes over there?"

"There are two reconnaissance planes operating in the waters near the Japanese fleet, but no information has been received from them so far." Lei Shaoqing frowned slightly, "Do you want to wait a little longer?" ”

Tan Renhao looked at the navigation clock, hesitated slightly, and said, "Let the attacking troops prepare to set off within ten minutes, and we will wait another ten minutes." ”

The "Big Ben Goose" seaplanes sent by the fleet flew at a speed of less than 180 knots, which was much faster than the speed of the fleet, but it was much slower than the reconnaissance planes on the aircraft carriers converted from "Osprey" torpedo bombers. At that time, Tan Renhao had already repeatedly proposed that special reconnaissance planes be arranged for the aircraft carrier, and the air wing had already set up a reconnaissance plane group. However, the production of "Osprey" torpedo planes is very limited, and a part of it will have to be provided for use by flight training units, and a number of will be left behind for the new aircraft carriers that will be commissioned. Therefore, there are no specialized reconnaissance aircraft on board the aircraft carrier. For the time being, the reconnaissance aircraft group of the Fifth Air Wing could only command the seaplanes carried by the cruisers. This is probably a major shortcoming of the Fifth Fleet.

After these seaplanes departed, it would take about an hour and a half to two hours to reach the sea area where they were scheduled to search, and when Tan Renhao received the submarine reconnaissance report from the Navy Command, the closest seaplane to Japan's Southwestern Combined Fleet was still about 40 nautical miles southeast of it.

This is a seaplane that took off from the heavy cruiser "Great Heat", the pilot is Sergeant Li Jian, and the observer is Sergeant Hong Bo. The two of them had only joined the Imperial Naval Aviation Unit for half a year, and they belonged to the most ordinary pilots, and only these novices would be assigned to the seaplane unit.

The flight altitude of the reconnaissance plane is 1,200 meters, which is the maximum altitude that the "Big Ben Goose" can rise to when it is fully loaded with fuel. Li Jian has pushed the engine to maximum power while locking the operating system of the aircraft. Both he and Hong Bo were searching the surface of the sea vigorously. No one knew when the Japanese fleet would be discovered, and they did not dare to be careless in the slightest.

"Damn, it's better not for us to run into the Japanese fleet." Li Jian let out a sigh, then raised his head and rubbed his slightly sore eyes. When he opened his eyes, he suddenly noticed a small black dot in the sky ahead. "What's that?"

Hong Bo also immediately saw the little black shop, he was shocked, and immediately shouted. "Japanese fighters, dive, dive!"

The "Big Ben Goose" was slow and very bulky, and it was simply no match for the Japanese fighters, and the only way to escape was to get as close to the sea as possible and take advantage of the excellent low-altitude flight performance of the seaplane. Li Jian quickly pressed down the operating lever, and Hong Bo also quickly turned on the communication radio station, ready to send a signal. At the same time, the Japanese fighters, who dived down from above, also opened fire......