On the night of the 26th, the First Fleet reached the sea area where the islands of Terlayina and Hawaii were found, before dawn. The fleet will reach the first volley. For two days, Tan received three telegrams a day from the Third Fleet, all of which were forwarded from the Kauai Underground Transit Station. According to Tan Renhaodi's order, the Third Fleet reached about 800 miles northeast of Hawaii Island and less than 1,000 nautical miles from the west coast of the United States on the 25th. All three task forces were scattered and advanced south at a speed of 24 knots, and the fleet's reconnaissance planes covered the entire sea area within 400 miles to the south of the fleet. If the U.S. Fifth Fleet was just south of Huang Xiaotiandi, then Turner would definitely know that there was a powerful ground fleet in the north, so he would not dare to rush back to San Francisco, let alone approach the Hawaiian Islands easily. If Turner heads towards the American coastline, it will be easy for Huang Xiaotian to catch up. Therefore, Turner had only one option, and that was to speed to Christmas Island and enter the First Fleet ambush circle.

Second half of the night. The officers and men on the aircraft carrier got busy. The busiest of all were the aviation crews, who had to inspect the reconnaissance planes, and they had to check all the bombers and fighters before 5 a.m., and load the planes with fuel, and prepare bombs and torpedoes, and as soon as the reconnaissance planes discovered the whereabouts of the US fleet, the bombers would immediately depart.

Tan Renhao arrived at the command cabin at half past four in the morning, about two hours earlier than usual. Zhu Rongzhe has been persevering for almost a day, but he still seems very energetic, and he doesn't look tired at all.

"The Third Fleet just sent the message." Zhu Rongzhe sent the telegram to Tan Renhao." Now they are heading south at full speed, and in order to avoid missing the Fifth Fleet, Huang Xiaotian has arranged a number of radar alert ships. In addition, the Third Fleet ground reconnaissance aircraft will depart at half-past five, if Turner does not turn to the ground. Then, our ground reconnaissance planes will definitely be able to find the Fifth Fleet, and they will not be able to escape today."

Tan Renhao yawned, and then lay on the chart table. The distance between the two task forces is less than 850 miles, and Huang Xiaotiandi's reconnaissance plane has not discovered the Fifth Fleet before, that is to say, the ground speed of the Fifth Fleet is also 24 knots, or 24 knots. The Falcon has a reconnaissance radius of at least 400 miles, if you hang the auxiliary fuel tank. It can even fly up to 600 nautical miles, but the maximum reconnaissance radius is only 450 miles due to the limited distance of the radio. And the ground reconnaissance planes of the two fleets will cover the entire sea area in the middle. As long as Turner is here. Then it would be impossible for him to avoid all the reconnaissance planes!

The chart clearly marked the flight route of the 72 reconnaissance planes of the First Fleet, densely packed, like a huge spider's web. There is no Third Fleet ground reconnaissance line on it. Huang Xiaotian did not send the Third Fleet's ground reconnaissance arrangements, mainly because the long-wave communication ground was inefficient. And the amount of information in the reconnaissance arrangement is very huge, and Huang Xiaotian has no need to inform Tan Renhao.

Tan Renhao was able to roughly estimate Huang Xiaotiandi's reconnaissance arrangements, and he would definitely concentrate the reconnaissance planes within 120 range to the south, which was the most likely area for the Fifth Fleet to appear. In addition, the Third Fleet has 108 reconnaissance aircraft, which is half more than the First Fleet, then . It is very likely that Huang Xiaotian will arrange more reconnaissance planes in other places, especially in the southeast. If Turner is indeed more daring than a mouse. Then he will definitely avoid in a southeasterly direction.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao measured it on the chart. Then I took pen and paper and calculated it.

If the Fifth Fleet still maintains a 16-knots southward speed after being attacked by the No. 371 submarine, then the Third Fleet may have discovered the Fifth Fleet on the 25th, that is, when it intervened in the route of the Fifth Fleet, and on the 26th at the latest, Huang Xiaotian's reconnaissance plane would have gained something. But the problem is that Huang Xiaotian sent a ground reconnaissance plane that did not find it in the past two days. Well, Turner's speed of going south to the ground is certainly not 16 knots!

Tan Renhao quickly calculated. In the end, it was concluded that if on the 25th. The Fifth Fleet was outside the search range of those reconnaissance planes in Huang Xiaotiandi, so the Fifth Fleet must have reached 24 knots after being attacked by the No. 371 submarine. In other words, Turner has become a frightened bird. So, how would Turner react when the Third Fleet sent out a long-wave telegram and the U.S. military's ground surveillance radio intercepted the telegraph?

It's almost a question to ask, and Turner will run away as desperately as he did in the last fight. And Turner certainly didn't know the specific location of the First Fleet, and the First Fleet had participated in the bombing of Oahu before, and the U.S. military already knew that the First Fleet had reached the waters of the Hawaiian Islands, and Turner would avoid the Hawaiian Islands first. Will he head straight south to Christmas Island?

Tan Renhao was a little suspicious, the Third Fleet's actions were a bit too explicit, if Turner stayed awake and thought about running for his life, he would definitely know that the Third Fleet would not be able to catch up with him, after all, the extreme speed of both sides was about the same. Then he would be able to guess the true purpose of the Third Fleet, and know that there is danger on Christmas Island. If Turner really had this in mind, he would have to avoid it east. And considering that he would not be overtaken by the Third Fleet, he could not directly turn to the east. Rather, it will increase the speed. Keep your distance from the Third Fleet and try to avoid danger ahead!

Tan Renhao did the math again, and this time he came to the conclusion that Turner could only adjust the route to about 170, and the speed should reach more than 30. In this way, he was able to avoid Christmas Island as much as possible without being overtaken by the Third Fleet. If Turner had changed course on the 25th, after the Third Fleet's whereabouts had been revealed, it would have been quite obvious in the waters where he was now.

Finally, Tan Renhao drew a large circle on the chart of the First Fleet 60 to 80 degrees northeast, about 400 miles away from the First Fleet, which is the sea area where the Fifth Fleet is likely to be located.

"Xiao Zhu." Tan Renhao called Zhu Rongzhe over, "Have all the reconnaissance planes set off?" ”

"Just go." Zhu Rongzhe glanced at the navigation clock. Is there a SHKP Scouting arrangement? ”

Tan Renhao nodded. How many more bombers are ready for take-off? ”

"There are about four aircraft carriers per carrier, and now the aviation crew is refueling the other bombers."

"Enough, let these 12 bombers immediately switch to reconnaissance missions." Tan Renhao clicked on the circle on the chart, "Send all 12 reconnaissance planes to this sea area and search repeatedly. There is a good chance that the Fifth Fleet is here . And it's heading south at full speed."

Zhu Rongzhe frowned slightly, and this sea area was not mentioned in Hao Dongjue's reconnaissance plan.

"Let's arrange it as soon as possible." Tan Renhao did not delay time, "directly contact the other two aircraft carriers and let the reconnaissance plane take off immediately. Strive to arrive at dawn. Once we find the Fifth Fleet, then we don't have to wait for the Third Fleet to do it."

Zhu Rongzhe didn't ask anything more, and immediately went to arrange a reconnaissance mission to Xindi.

Tan Renhao also breathed a sigh of relief. He thought about it again, unless Turner went to the waters of the Hawaiian Islands, otherwise, Turner would have to go straight to Christmas Island, or sail south, he had no other choice. And the two fleets of ground reconnaissance aircraft are enough to cover all the possible areas of the Fifth Fleet. Turner would not have been able to avoid the bombardment that followed. And the only thing that worries Tan Renhao is that the dog is in a hurry and has to jump off the wall. Maybe Turner will really muster up the courage to fight the Imperial fleet. When the time comes, if the First Fleet is the first to expose the earth, I'm afraid it won't be unscathed. But thinking of this, Tan Renhao also felt that there was nothing to worry about, the Third Fleet had been exposed, and its route was very clear, even if Turner wanted to find someone desperately, he would not come to the First Fleet, which could not determine the specific location, but reflexively dealt with the Third Fleet. When the time comes, it will be Huang Xiaotian who should have a headache, not talk about Renhao.

Twelve reconnaissance planes at the emergency take-off site left the skies over the fleet before 5:15 a.m. This time, the radius of the reconnaissance was only 400 or 450 nautical miles, and the huge range of the "Falcon" and the cruising speed of up to 280 knots gave full play to the huge advantage. If it is a "water bird" dialect, first, it is impossible to fly to such a distant sea area to carry out a reconnaissance mission, and second, it takes more than two hours to fly, while the "Falcon" only needs less than an hour and a half to fly this distance, and if you do not consider the patrol flight, it can even increase the speed a little. Reduced flight time. Don't underestimate the time to get to the ground, it gives the fleet commander more options. Strike tactics are also more flexible.

Time passes by second. Before the staff officer came to change shifts, Tan Renhao called Zhu Rongzhe to go to the officer's dining room for breakfast, and then the two returned to the command cabin before dawn. Pretty much the reconnaissance planes were about to reach the maximum reconnaissance radius, and the seaplanes had left the fleet half an hour earlier, and the seaplanes were patrolling within a radius of 250 miles. Unless the US Fifth Fleet is less than 100 miles away from the First Fleet, it will be impossible to avoid reconnaissance planes and seaplanes at night. If it is really within this distance, then it is very likely that the US ground reconnaissance planes will miss the First Fleet, and the two sides will collide head-on between 8 and 9 o'clock, and then the 3rd Task Force and the two task force escort warships will be able to exert their power.

"General Tan, do you say that this time it is our luck, or is it Huang Xiaotian's luck?" Zhu Rongzhe has taken care of all the things that should be handled. It's also easier now.

"I don't know, it's not just a matter of luck." Tan Renhao leaned against the railing, "If it were just luck, Turner wouldn't have been able to beat us. Isn't it? ”

"You're saying it's a matter of strength?"

"Strength is only one factor, and luck is the same, it is only one factor that determines the victory or defeat of the sea." Tan Renhao is very satisfied with Zhu Rongzhe now, at least Zhu Rongzhe has helped him deal with a lot of annoying things in the fleet." Comparatively speaking, I think the quality of officers and soldiers is a more important factor. This is also a feature of the Navy. In the Army, infantry only needs two months of training

Training, armored troops only need to train for a maximum of four months, and the maximum training time for airborne troops will not exceed eight months. But. The most common sailors in the navy have more than half a year of training, and they need to be trained on a warship for at least half a year before they can initially master the most basic skills. In order to train a good sailor, in addition to this year, it is necessary to fight many times, and only those sailors who have experienced brutal naval battles are qualified sailors. This is the characteristic of the navy, and the quality of personnel is more important than all other factors."

Zhu Rongzhe smiled and nodded. It seems that this is the biggest advantage we have right now."

"Of course, two years ago, the U.S. military still had enough excellent officers and soldiers, and it did create a lot of trouble for us on the battlefield, but now, the U.S. military has almost no decent officers and soldiers. In the last battle. The U.S. military will not be defeated in a single blow, and it will not even get back its capital."

The two of them were also pure small talk, and while they waited for news from the reconnaissance plane, they had nothing else to do. It's also a good idea to find something to talk about to pass the time.

"General......

Tan Renhao and Zhu Rongzhe turned their heads at the same time and looked at the communications staff officer who was standing by the hatch.

"The Third Fleet reconnaissance planes sent a message that they had discovered the US Fifth Fleet."

Tan Renhao frowned slightly, and then walked quickly into the command cabin, didn't Turner have the sea area where he had guessed the last? As a result, Huang Xiaotian still seized the opportunity.

The navigation staff officer had already marked the coordinates of the US Fifth Fleet on the chart, which was sent by the Third Fleet's reconnaissance plane, and after Tan Renhao saw it, he immediately discovered that the Fifth Fleet was exactly within the sea area where he had finally determined.

"Where is the Third Fleet now?" Tan Renhao glanced at the nautical staff officer.

"Here." The navigation staff officer marked the coordinates on the other side." It's about 500 miles away from the Fifth Fleet, which is much farther than we expected."

Tan Renhao was secretly surprised, Huang Xiaotian, this kid really has a hand.

"The ground report of the reconnaissance aircraft was sent directly to our land, and they have left the area of direct contact with the Third Fleet."

Tan Renhao and Zhu Rongzhe both laughed, this is what they didn't expect, it seems that this time Huang Xiaotian is making wedding clothes for the First Fleet.

"Report—" A communications staff officer ran over. The reconnaissance plane sent back a message ......"

"Take it!" Zhu Rongzhe immediately commanded.

Soon, the sound of the pilot of the reconnaissance plane came from the loudspeaker, and at the same time there was a lot of noise, and even the sound of machine gun firing could be faintly heard.

"As with the position reported by the Third Fleet reconnaissance aircraft, this must be the Fifth Fleet!"

Tan Renhao nodded, this time, Turner can't escape.