At 6:25 a.m., Yang Qinkai's group of planes first bombed the US airfield on Nihua Island, and what surprised Yang Qinkai and them a little was that there were not many US fighters stationed on Nihua Island, and the US military's defensive preparations were not sufficient, and the bombing went very smoothly, only four bombers were shot down, and all of them made a successful forced landing in the open sea, and the other bombers successfully completed their tasks. The airport was completely blown up, and according to Yang Qinkai's assessment, the airport was unusable during the day.

At 6:28 a.m., the group of Qiu Gengbo planes reached the sky over Necke Island, and the bombing operation was also carried out very smoothly. The dozens of bombers parked on Necke Island were all destroyed, and the bomber group was not strongly intercepted by the opposing fighters, and the escort fighters knocked down several US fighters that had scrambled into the air. Only five were shot down by anti-aircraft guns during the bombardment, and three of them managed to fly to the open sea and make a forced landing on the surface of the sea. According to Qiu Gengbo's estimates, the airport on Necke Island would be paralyzed for at least ten hours.

Before the news of the bombing was returned, the first thing Tan Renhao received was a telegram from the seaplane that had discovered the Fifth Fleet, and the two telegrams were delivered within five minutes. At this moment, not only Tan Renhao was unexpectedly surprised, but even Hao Dongjue couldn't believe it. Both of them realized that they had missed the best chance to defeat the Fifth Fleet, that the bombing of Nihua Island was completely unnecessary, and that if Yang Qinkai's fleet was allowed to deal with the Fifth Fleet, then the Fifth Fleet would be completely finished. But the problem is that most of the bombers in Yang Qinkai's group had already dropped bombs at that time, and these bombers were carrying high-explosive bombs for dealing with ground targets. Incendiary bombs were not used against armor-piercing shells and torpedoes on battleships at all, that is.

Even if Yang Qinkai's group had enough fuel, he turned to attack the Fifth Fleet. It doesn't always have much effect.

"Didn't Spruance know we were coming?"

"He must know by now." Tan Renhao gritted his teeth, many of his worries were actually superfluous, "Yang Qinkai, when can they return to the fleet?" ”

Hao Dongjue glanced at the navigation clock, it was already six forty o'clock. "If it goes well, you'll be back in 50 minutes. If Yang Qinkai and the others had completed the bombing ahead of schedule, they would have been able to return in about thirty-five minutes after using the telegram. ”

"Have the aviation crew ready to refuel and ammunition the bombers, recover half of the fighters, and prepare them for escort duty."

"Now get the fighters back, what if Spruance finds out about us? Even his bombers have already departed.

"No way, you take a closer look at the telegram." Tan Renhao nodded to the staff officer, first asked the staff officer to carry out the order, and then said to Hao Dongjue, "It is clearly written on the telegram. At that time, the speed of the aircraft carrier was very slow, and there were more than a dozen supply ships around, and many warships were carrying out replenishment work. In this case. Is it possible for Spruance to get the bombers going? He didn't even arrange a reconnaissance plane. In addition, there are no bombers parked on the aircraft carrier, which proves that the Fifth Fleet is now short of bombers. ”

"You mean. The U.S. military hasn't had time to replenish combat aircraft here? ”

"Yes, now Spruance has nothing in his hands, he can only flee for his life, or, the fighters to replenish the Fifth Fleet are already on the way, but they have not yet reached the Fifth Fleet." Tan Renhao paused, "Now, Spruance must have received the news that Nihua Island and Necker Island were being bombed, and knew that we didn't have bombers. He had two options, one was to run for his life, and the other was to return to fight us. ”

"If he doesn't have bombers, how can he fight us?"

"If he can get reinforcements soon, that's a possibility, because he also knows that it's going to be difficult for us to arrange a new bomber group in two hours." Tan Renhao sighed, "However, one thing can be confirmed, that is, whether Spruance is fleeing for his life or fighting us, he must first accept the new fighter plane and attack before us." ”

"That's for sure, but ......"

"Well, we'll probably know which direction he's supposed to run away." Tan Renhao patted his partner on the shoulder, "After Yang Qinkai's group of planes returned, he first arranged for the reconnaissance plane to set off, and after arriving at the sea area where the Fifth Fleet was discovered before, he searched to the east and found the Fifth Fleet as soon as possible. ”

At this time, Yang Qinkai's battle report was sent back first, and then, Qiu Gengbo's battle report was also sent back.

"Now, we don't need to have any suspicions, there are not even many fighters on Nihua Island and Necke Island, so Spruance will not have much striking force, arrange the reconnaissance work as soon as possible, and let the reconnaissance plane set off immediately after Yang Qinkai and them come back!" Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue, "Also, remember to let the returning seaplane go and salvage our pilot." ”

"Send a telegram now?"

At this time, Tan Renhao hesitated a little, until now, the first task force has not been exposed, and there are US military ground radio monitoring stations on the surrounding islands, the distance is too close, and the other party can easily accurately measure the accurate position of the first task force (the shorter the distance, the more accurate the position measured by the triangulation method). If the fleet sends a telegram at this time, its whereabouts will definitely be exposed, what should I do?

"General, there seems to be a plane over there."

Tan Renhao hadn't had time to make a decision yet, and the plane that suddenly appeared helped him make a decision.

"It's a long-range reconnaissance aircraft of the US military, twin-engined, not our carrier-based aircraft."

"Let the fighter pass over immediately, and never let it get close to the fleet." Tan Renhao didn't hesitate at this time, "Contact the seaplane immediately and go and rescue the pilot." Also, the radar is ready to start, the fleet goes into an air defense combat state, and half of the air defense fighters are landed. ”

The relevant orders were quickly issued, and the US reconnaissance plane was quickly shot down, and it was finally confirmed that the reconnaissance plane sent a telegram before it was shot down, and it lasted less than a minute, which should not be a complete telegram, and a complete telegram took more than a minute.

The first to return to the aircraft carrier were 15 fighter jets from the previous take-off site, which will then follow Yang Qinkai's fleet on bombing missions. At 7:20 a.m., Yang Qinkai led a group of ground bombers to return to the sky over the fleet first. Then the landing on the aircraft carrier began.

In accordance with Tan Renhao's request, 12 reconnaissance models of "waterbirds" set off first. These reconnaissance planes took off immediately after filling up their fuel and hanging up their auxiliary fuel tanks. And at that time, there was still a group of bombers that did not have time to land. It was only after the departure of this group of reconnaissance aircraft that the last batch of bombers returned to the aircraft carrier.

The officers and men on the aircraft carrier were busy. Now they are in a race against time. The group of planes of the group of Qiu Gengbo will return to the fleet at about 8 o'clock, and the group of Yang Qinkai will only land at 7:40, and they will have to fill up all the bombers in the group of Yang Qinkai within 20 minutes, and even have to hang up bombs and torpedoes, and make preparations for the group of planes of Qiu Gengbo. At the same time, the fleet had to be replenished with several anti-aircraft fighters. It can be said that this is a very high-intensity operation, and it is simply impossible to do this without excellent aviation service personnel.

Tan Renhao has always had a feeling of fear. Although he didn't think that Spruance had the ability to strike him at this time, the problem was that the position of the fleet had been exposed, and if Spruance had gotten the bombers after dawn, then he could have them go immediately. If the Fifth Fleet were to approach the 1st Task Force during this period, it would only take two hours for US bombers to reach the skies over the 1st Task Force. That is, around 8:50. It is very likely that US bombers will appear, and at this time, Tan Renhao may not be able to find the Fifth Fleet again. Even if you find it. It is impossible for Yang Qinkai's fleet to fly over.

At eight o'clock, the escort fighters in the Qiu Gengbo group first returned to the skies over the fleet.

The fighters were commanded by Colonel Yao Boyan, who, after receiving the news that the fleet had been exposed, immediately accelerated their return home. It would be a little good to be able to return to the fleet earlier.

"Don't let them land yet." Tan Renhao made a decision at this time, "Dongjue, when can our reconnaissance plane send back news?" ”

"At least half an hour, maybe fifty minutes."

"How long can they hover?" Tan Renhao quickly thought that he had to let the bomber go, and he couldn't miss this opportunity again.

"If you hover at low speeds, an hour won't be a problem."

"Let Yang Qinkai's group set off immediately." Tan Renhao looked at his partner, "Can they take off now?" ”

Hao Dongjue frowned, he immediately understood what his partner was thinking. "You can take off in twenty minutes."

"Very well, let them go immediately." Tan Renhao nodded vigorously, "Only arrange bombing targets, let them follow the flight route of the reconnaissance plane, and be ready to adjust the flight route on the way at any time." After the reconnaissance plane got the news, let them change direction. ”

Hao Dongjue hesitated for a moment, and immediately went to give the order.

Time waits for no one, Tan Renhao knows very well that Spruance will do everything possible to restore the Fifth Fleet's strike capability, and when the time comes, the bombers of the Fifth Fleet will be able to take off. And if you want to defeat the Fifth Fleet, you have to seize every opportunity and try to make it impossible for the bombers of the Fifth Fleet to fly. And now all that is done is to get the bombers on the road in advance, and as soon as the reconnaissance aircraft finds the target, then the bomber group can immediately attack.

At 8:15 a.m., Yang Qinkai's plane took off first, and in addition to the 12 dive bombers that went on mission, the four bombers that were shot down, and the two bombers that could not be repaired due to injuries, this time he led 58 "water birds," 32 "sea eagles," and was also covered by 22 fighters. This is all the fighters that could be organized at that time. By 8:35 a.m., all the fighters had left the flight decks of the two aircraft carriers, because there were no more fighters on the aircraft carriers, and the utilization efficiency of the decks was much higher, so the fighters departed a lot faster.

After Yang Qinkai's group departed, the group led by Qiu Gengbo began to land one after another. The first to land were torpedo bombers with minimal fuel, followed by escort fighters, and finally dive bombers. As these fighters landed one after another, new information was delivered.

"General, the reconnaissance plane has found out!"

Tan Renhao immediately looked up at the navigation clock, it was already eight fifty o'clock.

"More than a dozen large ships, as well as some destroyers, are fleeing eastward at a speed of 24 knots, and the reconnaissance plane was intercepted by the opposing fighter jets and is now returning home."

"Spruance, this must be the Fifth Fleet!"

Tan Renhao hesitated for a moment, he felt that there was a problem, but he didn't think about anything more.

"Contact Yang Qinkai immediately, let them catch up, and kill the enemy fleet at all costs!"

The aviation staff officer immediately went to the communications officer and gave the commander's order.

"The fleet is ready to turn due east and close the distance to the enemy fleet as soon as possible." Tan Renhao gave a new order to the navigation staff officer, and then said to Hao Dongjue, "Let the Qiu Gengbo group prepare for departure, perhaps, we will have to carry out a round of supplementary bombing!" ”

Hao Dongjue also knew that time was pressing, so he immediately went to the aviation operations center and began to arrange tasks for Qiu Gengbo's aircraft group.

The officers in the command cabin were busy, and Tan Renhao gradually quieted down. This time he finally caught the Fifth Fleet, but he still didn't dare to relax in the slightest. Until he was sure that all four of Spruance's carriers were taken out, he couldn't take it easy. As Hao Dongjue said, as long as Spruance still has an aircraft carrier in his hand, even if it is a small aircraft carrier, this is a huge threat. Against an opponent like Spruance, if he can't blow him up, then the only way is to let him lose all the aircraft carriers and make him the commander of the light pole!

It wasn't until almost nine o'clock that all the bombers of the Qiugeng wave group landed on the aircraft carrier. Then, the returning fighters all hung up large auxiliary fuel tanks and joined the sequence of the fleet's air defense. According to Hao Dongjue's arrangement, these fighters will participate in escort operations to provide cover for the bombers, and the purpose of hanging up the large auxiliary fuel tanks is to let the fighters have enough fuel and do not need to return to the aircraft carrier to replenish fuel before carrying out the escort mission.

Then, the aircraft crews on the carrier began to refuel the bombers, hang bombs and torpedoes, and do the most basic maintenance. Hao Dongjue also gave the latest orders to the pilots at the aviation operations center, telling Qiu Gengbo and them the general situation of the enemy fleet. Now wait for the bombers to be ready for takeoff.