The bomber group was led by Colonel Deng Zi, and escorted by the fighter squadron of the 2nd Group, led by Major Daniel Zhang. Less than half an hour after the group left the fleet, the fighter group led by Major Daniel Zhang caught up, and then Daniel Zhang led a small group of fighters forward to about 2o nautical miles in front of the bomber group, and the fighters of the other two squads stayed above the bomber group to the left and right, responsible for close cover.

These fighters are equipped with rockets (rocket catapults cannot be dropped in the air) and do not carry bombs, and their main task is to escort bomber groups, and if they are intercepted by enemy fighters, then they will be responsible for covering the bombers, and if the raid is successful, they will take on part of the ground strike mission.

Daniel Zhang is also an old pilot, at the time of the outbreak of the war, he was still an ordinary pilot, and later accumulated combat merits and was promoted to the squad leader of the air force, and before he transferred to the Second Air Wing, he was already an ace in air combat. Because most of the squadron leaders stayed in the First Air Wing at that time, most of Daniel Zhang's squad leaders were promoted to squadron leaders after they went to the Second Air Wing. He also successfully became the leader of the fighter squadron of the second brigade, and his direct supervisor was Colonel Zhang Naiding, and he was usually commanded by Colonel Jiang Wenhan.

During this operation, Jiang Wenhan wanted to personally command the escort operation, but as a result, he was retained, because the fleet needed better fighter pilots, and he was even more needed as the acting wing commander to command the fleet's air defense operations. As a result, he sent Daniel Zhang to the front. At this time, Daniel Zhang was already the No. 3 air combat ace of the Second Air Wing, with 24 victories, and he could be said to be one of the best fighter pilots of the Imperial Navy at that time.

The fleet flew fast at an altitude of 55oo meters at a cruising altitude of 18o knots. Daniel Zhang has been calculating the flight distance. There is a US military radar on Wake Island, and the current distance of the radar to high-altitude targets is more than 5o nautical miles, and the current distance to low-altitude targets below 5oo meters is less than 15 nautical miles. In order to achieve the goal of a surprise attack, the group will reduce its altitude about 8o nautical miles from Wake Island and penetrate at a low altitude. The forward escort fighters led by Daniel Zhang will also follow to reduce the altitude. As a matter of fact. This is the last thing Daniel Zhang wants to do, in air combat, if the altitude is too low, it is actually putting himself in a position to be slaughtered by the enemy, and no fighter pilot wants to see the enemy's fighter swoop down from a high altitude, and they are difficult to climb quickly.

"Squadron Leader, fifteen minutes left."

Daniel Zhang coughed dryly twice, and the sky had already brightened. Fifteen minutes later, the fleet will be lowered.

"Squadron leader, did you say that the Yankees haven't gotten up yet? Let's go and help them sound the horn of the bed! ”

"Yes, they may not know that a catastrophe is coming!" ……

The pilots all laughed, but Daniel Zhang didn't want to laugh at all. "Everyone pay attention to the surrounding airspace, maybe the enemy already knows that we are coming, maybe they are lying in ambush behind the clouds nearby!"

After being warned by Daniel Zhang, the pilots who were still laughing at the beginning quieted down, they were all veteran pilots, and they knew very well that anything could happen in battle.

"Squadron Leader, five minutes left!"

The wingman pilot signals to come again.

"Got it. The fleet is ready to lower ......"

"Squadron Leader. To the northeast, unknown target, four. No, it's eight, it's close to the middle ......."

"Damn, it's a 'pirate', it's a 'pirate' of the Yankees!"

"The group of planes immediately dispersed, two planes in formation, kill them!"

Daniel Zhang immediately gave up the idea of reducing the altitude, and at this time, the appearance of American fighters in the sky already indicated that their whereabouts were exposed, and it was useless to reduce the altitude. "Contact Colonel Deng Zi. Prepare the fighters behind for air combat, damn it, our raid failed! ”

The twelve "Falcons" were immediately divided into six two-plane formations, and the Tang Imperial Navy still insisted on using a two-plane formation instead of a three-plane formation, while still having a certain performance advantage and the quality of the pilots was significantly higher than that of the opponent. In fact, in a brutal naval and air battle, the combat effectiveness of the two-plane formation is also higher than that of the three-plane formation. Only the 6 Air Force, which does not lack fighters, will adopt the tactics of a three-plane formation.

The entry altitude of the fighters on both sides is almost the same, and there is no altitude advantage, while the maneuverability of the F4u "Corsair" and "Falcon" is comparable, and the two sides fight for the quality of the pilots and the performance of the pilots in battle.

Before he had time to make adjustments, the fighters of the other two squadrons escorting the bomber group on the left and right of the bomber group immediately entered a combat state, widening the distance between them and the bomber group, and at the same time began to raise the flight altitude, preparing to intercept the American fighters that might appear at any time.

The navigator behind Deng Zi also immediately reported the news back, of course, the mission of the bomber group has not changed, they still have to continue to fly to Wake Island and bomb the US military airfield on the island. At this time, Deng Zi had already realized that it was impossible for them to easily destroy the US airfield, and the Americans seemed to have anticipated the arrival of the Tang Empire's bombers.

"I just received information that our bomber group was intercepted by American fighters."

"Interception?"

Lei Shaoqing glanced at his partner with dark circles under his eyes.

"Yes, it's unclear whether it was intercepted by patrolling U.S. fighter jets, or if the U.S. forces on the island knew when we bombed, and that won't be known until Deng Zi and the others enter the skies over Wake Island."

Lei Shaoqing's expression immediately sank, it stands to reason that the US air defense fighters will not take off until after dawn, and now that the sky is only dawning, the bomber group is still dozens of nautical miles away from Wake Island, and it is impossible for the US fighter to fly so far so fast, and directly collide with the bomber group, this chance is too slim.

"It must have been the enemy who judged the timing of our bombing!"

Lei Shaoqing only took half a minute to think, "Is there any news from the reconnaissance plane?" ”

Chang Jianxin shook his head and said, "Now they haven't reached the maximum patrol radius, and they haven't sent any news back. ”

Lei Shaoqing gritted his teeth. "With the addition of a second squadron of air defense fighters, the air defense range of the fleet will be increased to 35 nautical miles, with a focus on patrolling to the southeast and east."

"Do you want the air defense battleship to turn on the radar?"

Lei Shaoqing hesitated for a moment and said, "No." Arrange a warning ship, do not use radio communication if you do not have a definite appearance, we have not been exposed by the enemy yet, so we cannot take the initiative to expose our position. ”

Chang Zhixin nodded, and prepared to give the order.

"Also, let the reconnaissance planes on the cruiser take off immediately, fill all the fuel tanks, and bring as many auxiliary fuel tanks as possible. Strive to increase the patrol radius to 25o nautical miles, can it be done? ”

"It's not a big problem, but it reduces the degree of the plane."

"That's not a problem, just do it, let the reconnaissance planes on the cruiser take off immediately and, according to our backup plan, search the surface waters within 9o degrees to the east."

Lei Shaoqing nodded at his partner, "Maybe the U.S. fleet is near us, and our first wave of reconnaissance planes missed them before dawn." This loophole must now be closed. ”

The order was quickly conveyed. At 6:45, those seaplanes on the cruiser 6 left the catapult and rose into the air. The fuel tanks on these seaplanes were full. And it also brought a few additional fuel tanks (in fact, it was a fuel barrel placed in the engine room, unlike the reconnaissance planes on the aircraft carrier, the seaplane did not have an external fuel tank, and the pilot could only pour fuel into the plane's fuel tank during the flight), and these planes could carry out a reconnaissance patrol mission for half an hour at a distance of 25 nautical miles.

Next, Lei Shaoqing had to wait for more news. At half past seven, Deng Zi replied to a second telegram: There were not many planes parked at the airfield on Wake Island, and the bomber group was subjected to ground anti-aircraft artillery fire and stubborn interception by US air defense fighters, and several bombers were shot down. But they also managed to drop bombs, destroying at least two-thirds of the runway, but the remaining one-third of the runway was still ready for fighter landing. In addition, the long-range reconnaissance aircraft that were supposed to be parked in the lagoon of the island are gone.

"In other words, the American reconnaissance planes are out, and they expected the timing of our attack."

Lei Shaoqing tried his best to restrain himself and keep himself calm and composed. The bombing operation was practically not entirely successful, and now he could choose to stay, sending a second wave of bombers. There is also the option of retreating.

"How long is the runway on Wake Island?"

"About 15oo meters, according to Deng Zidi's report, they blew up at least 1ooo meters of runways, and it will take at least a day for the US military to repair these runways, and the remaining 5oo meters ......"

"Not enough for the bomber to take off!"

Lei Shaoqing sneered, "Immediately arrange for the second batch of reconnaissance planes to go out, the fleet turns, and all retreat to the northwest, contact Deng Zi and the reconnaissance planes in front, and tell them the new rendezvous location." ”

"But this will expose the position of the fleet......"

"Yes, so there can only be one telegram, even if the American bombers force their takeoff, they will need at least two hours to catch up with us, and after two hours, the fleet will be 3oo nautical miles away from Wake Island, beyond the extreme combat radius of the American bombers, and at that time, they will not be able to catch us at all."

Lei Shaoqing patted his partner on the shoulder, "The fleet retreated 15o nautical miles to the northwest, and then turned around again and continued to search the northern and northeastern waters of Wake Island, I don't believe it, Fletcher will watch Wake Island being bombed and not come to help!" ”

Chang Jianxin did not delay any longer, and within five minutes, he calculated a new rendezvous point, and then asked the communications staff officer to send the telegram. The fleet also began to turn at this time. When he was done, he came over.

"Fletcher must be nearby, or on his way."

Lei Shaoqing was already lying on the chart table, "He doesn't have any reason not to show up, but our reconnaissance plane doesn't show up, why?" ”

Chang Jiexin didn't speak, and more often than not, he was a quiet chief of staff.

"The only explanation is that Fletcher hasn't entered the attack sea yet!"

Lei Shaoqing slammed his fist on the chart table, "He should be 3o nautical miles away, maybe 4oo nautical miles." The news of the bombing of Wake Island would only make him rush over, and if our radio signal had been picked up by an American listening station, Fletcher would have thought that we were maneuvering somewhere to the south, and even if he judged that we were retreating, then we would have been evenly matched. ”

"If that's the case, then Fletcher will speed up to get closer to Wake Island and cover Wake Island!"

Lei Shaoqing smiled and nodded. "Then we will step up our search for the northern and northeastern waters of Wake Island, arrange our reconnaissance planes in this sea area, and attack as soon as Fletcher's whereabouts are visible!"

"What about the U.S. bombers on Wake Island?"

Lei Shaoqing glanced at his partner. "Kill Fletcher first, and then make a new decision according to the situation, if we have enough strength, then bomb Wake Island at the same time, if not, try to avoid the American bombers on Wake Island, and try to bomb Wake Island after killing Fletcher."

"Shaoqing, we can't retreat this time."

Chang Jianxin sighed secretly, it seems that Lei Shaoqing has completely come out of the downturn.

"I didn't think about retreating."

Lei Shaoqing leaned on the chart table, and then took out a cigarette, "Ren Hao often told us in the past that as a fleet commander, you must be resolute and decisive, and if you seize the opportunity, you must not let it go, you must kill the enemy as quickly as possible, and do not give the enemy any chance to counterattack." That's exactly what we're doing now, and while it's dangerous, it's also our chance. ”

Chang Jianxin smiled reluctantly, and then lit a cigarette. In his understanding, Lei Shaoqing is a very stable general, but judging from this combat operation, Lei Shaoqing has changed a lot. said that he was learning from Tan Renhao, but it was better to say that Lei Shaoqing was bursting his potential. After knowing each other for so many years, Chang Jianxin also knows that Lei Shaoqing has been living in the shadow of Tan Renhao before, even if he later served as the commander of the Second Task Force, he has not gotten rid of Tan Renhao's influence, and now, he wants to be a real Lei Shaoqing, not a Lei Shaoqing who is influenced by others.

After the fleet completed its turn, the second group of reconnaissance planes, which had been maintained, also began to take off in 6 consecutive years.