Judging by the actual combat effectiveness of the Fifth Fleet, especially the actual quality of the officers and men of the Fifth Fleet, the performance of the Fifth Fleet in this battle was actually not bad.

In terms of fleet air defense, the penetration rate of bombers of the Fourth Task Force is less than 5 percent, and more than 6 percent of the bombers have been shot down, and the hit rate of bombs dropped has also been much lower than in the past. At that time, most of the officers and men of the Fifth Fleet were novices, and the air defense capability of the escort warships could not be compared with that of the Fourth Task Force. In addition, the bombers attacking the Fourth Task Force were also good in terms of penetration rate, bomb delivery success rate, and return rate, at least they successfully blew up the three aircraft carriers of the Fourth Task Force, and they did so in the case of scattered penetration. It can be said that the officers and men of the Fifth Fleet, especially the pilots, showed due bravery and quality in the battle, which was much better than Spruance had initially expected.

In this battle, the Fifth Fleet also emerged a number of outstanding officers and men. More than a dozen of these anti-aircraft gun squads shot down more than two enemy planes in battle, and these gunners were awarded commendations or awards. In addition, the number of excellent pilots who emerged from the battle was not small. One of the most famous is the pilot who shot down the number one air combat ace of Task Force 4!

This man's name was George Bush, a recruit who had only served for less than half a year, and the first enemy plane he shot down during the battle was Wang Zhihua's plane. The battle record has been confirmed, and the camera gun on the F6F accurately captured the record mark on the fighter, and then confirmed that this is the landline of Wang Zhihua, the number one air combat ace of the Fourth Task Force. Although Wang Zhihua was rescued by the Tang Empire's seaplane, which arrived first, the fact that he was shot down by Bush cannot be denied.

Spruance personally summoned this young pilot named Bush, and it is indeed a little unbelievable that a rookie who has only been in service for less than half a year and has only been flying fighter alone for less than two months actually shot down a super air combat ace in battle. Perhaps it was with this curiosity that Spruance summoned Bush alone. Wonder what the young pilot thought at that time, and how he did it.

Bush was not able to satisfy Spruance's curiosity, because he himself did not know how the "Golden Eagle" fighter was shot down at that time, and he did not even read the markings on the fighter plane clearly, but only began to dive at an accurate time and according to the most accurate line, and then pulled the trigger at the most accurate time, firing dozens of machine-gun bullets. And then shot down that fighter. When Bush was scooped up, returned to the aircraft carrier, and learned from others that he had shot down a super air combat ace of the Tang Imperial Navy, Bush himself could not believe it, because he had shot down that enemy plane in battle, and was beaten down by another "Golden Eagle" two minutes later. Suffice it to say, throughout the fight, Bush never imagined that he would become a celebrity.

"Tomorrow there will be a plane to take you back to the mainland." Spruance didn't just look to Bush out of curiosity, "Now you have a new land mission, and it's a bigger task than fighting." Now we need a hero. Do you understand what I mean? ”

"General, I'm ......"

"You are the hero of this battle, the real hero. Now the United States needs heroes like you. Spruance thought the lad was a little sluggish in his head. Two other pilots will return home with you, and you will have a good time at home, explaining your experiences on the battlefield to all the people who want to know the truth about the war, telling them that we are winning, that we need more heroes, that we need more good soldiers. Therefore, you have to prepare your own speech and tell all the citizens about your combat experience, understand? ”

Bush hesitated. He still didn't react.

"Captain, you will be promoted, and the next time we meet, you will be a major officer!" Spruance didn't want to bother to say more, there would be other officers to explain the specific situation to Bush, "You go and pack your bags first, and say goodbye to your comrades by the way, if there are no unexpected circumstances, you will be busy at home for a few months!" ”

"Yes. Checkmate! ”

Spruance nodded, and asked the adjutant to send the captain officer out. He felt that this pilot's reaction was indeed a bit stupid, and he really didn't understand, how did he shoot down that super ace of the Tang Empire at that time, was it really luck? Of course, Spruance didn't know that it was this opportunity that brought Bush into politics and became the president of the United States decades later, and the president of the United States who finally ended the Cold War.

In Spruance's view, he did not want to let go of any of the good pilots, and the Fifth Fleet needed these pilots, and the fleet had not yet returned to Pearl Harbor at that time, so these pilots could only return to Pearl Harbor by plane, and then return to China by transport plane. Orders are given in the name of the president of the United States, or rather by an office directly accountable to the president.

The three pilots, along with a few fleet officers and men, and several Marine Corps officers and men, will form a lecture tour that will travel to cities and towns in the United States to tell American citizens who are working in the rear about their experiences on the battlefield, how they fought the enemy bravely, how they braved artillery fire to rush to the front, how they shot down enemy bombers in the heat of battle, and how they dropped bombs on enemy warships. These people are representatives of all branches of the military, and their speeches not only let more Americans understand the war, but also re-establish Americans' confidence in victory, so that all Americans can firmly believe that soldiers are fighting fearlessly on the front line, soldiers need strong support from the rear, and at the same time, the United States is moving towards victory, not being defeated by the Tang Empire.

Obviously, this is a political task, one to boost morale, or rather, to deceive citizens. Spruance didn't know who came up with it, but he knew it was necessary, and there was nothing more important to the United States at the time than boosting national morale.

With the defeat of France, the annihilation of the Anglo-French joint expeditionary fleet, the attack on the Australian mainland, Russia's fate hanging by a thread, and Spain's intention to retreat. Italy is struggling to hold on, more than a dozen large cities in Britain have almost become Jiaoshi, and more and more unfavorable news has made many Americans wonder whether they will be able to achieve a final victory, and more and more Americans are beginning to wonder whether the president's decision to bring them into the war is right. There have even been statements that are unfavorable to the war, and there have been many public or non-public expressions by civil society. The war will completely destroy the United States, and eventually the United States will completely lose the war, and even lose its own country.

These negative statements are even more harmful than losing a decisive battle, and if even the American people have no hope of victory, will anyone sign up for the military? Can factories in Japan continue to operate efficiently? And will the president of the United States remain in the White House? These obviously have huge doubts, maybe the Tang Empire is waiting for this moment to come, as long as the American people admit defeat, then the United States will be completely defeated.

The importance of propaganda is self-evident, and so is the importance of national morale. Spruance knew the importance of raising the morale of the nation, so after receiving a telegram from Nimitz. He immediately picked out three pilots. and three officers and men on the ground on the battleship. These people will leave the battlefield early, and instead of returning home to enjoy preferential treatment, they will go to meet new challenges. Whether the United States can persist in the war depends on whether they can move, persuade, or deceive citizens who do not know the real situation on the battlefield during their lecture tours. Whatever the means, it is necessary to ensure that the Americans continue to fight and continue to fight for victory.

But Spruance didn't quite believe that Bush could accomplish this task, maybe the young man was too immature to know the importance of this task, but this was not Spruance's concern, because the other five were in a similar situation. It was not clear why they were going back to China, that they were going to face thousands of their compatriots, and not to face the enemy's guns on the battlefield. It doesn't matter, there will be White House officials who will be responsible for assisting these officers and soldiers, there will be people who will tell them how to explain the combat operations to the people, and Spruance even bets that the speeches of Bush and others have already been prepared, and there will be several rehearsals before they officially take the stage, and in the end they will complete their new mission. And more support from citizens to provide the basis for the government to continue to raise taxes and continue to strengthen military control. Then, the U.S. military will get more warships, tanks, aircraft artillery, more ammunition and supplies, and at the same time, more young Americans will leave their loved ones, join the army, and take up arms and go to the front line. Perhaps, in the end, the United States will win this war, maybe it will lose this war, but at that time, who remembers the few young people who once addressed them from the podium?

Thinking of this, Spruance laughed, maybe the Tang Empire was also doing the same propaganda work, maybe the Tang Empire didn't need to deceive their people, after all, no one would doubt the internal cohesion of the Tang Empire, and no one would doubt the will of the people of the Tang Empire to war. Perhaps the United States has caught up with the Tang Empire in terms of hard power, but in terms of national quality, the gap is not a little bit.

"General, the telegram I just received!"

Spruance came to his senses, he took the telegram from the adjutant, and after a glance, he got up from the couch, and then left his office and walked towards the commander's bridge.

"When did this happen?"

"Just over an hour ago, both aircraft carriers were torpedoed." The adjutant hurriedly followed behind Spruance, "The 'Shangri-La' has been hit by two torpedoes, and the captain has given the order to abandon the ship. The Bennington was hit by a torpedo and is still being rescued, so I don't know if it will be able to hold on. ”

Spruance's hand holding the telegram trembled slightly, and what he had feared had finally happened.

"Most of the battleships of the Tang Empire were sunk, and at most only one destroyer escaped from the battlefield, and now it is preliminarily judged that a torpedo fired by a destroyer hit the aircraft carrier. Prior to this, two aircraft carriers had already avoided two rounds of torpedo attacks. ”

"Didn't the submarine do it?" Spruance furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"It is not completely certain now, the destroyer is repeatedly searching around, and no submarines of the Tang Empire have been found, and the closest thing to these two aircraft carriers at that time was the destroyer of the Tang Empire."

Spruance was a little incredulous, since he had already avoided two rounds of attacks, why didn't he avoid the third round?

"Of the escort battleships, two cruisers were torpedoed and sunk, and one more was heavily damaged. The destroyer lost two. The Don fleet, which launched the attack, lost three cruisers, five destroyers, the battle ended half an hour ago, and now the search for officers and men who fell overboard is being searched. ”

"Contact the USS Bennington as soon as possible and let it go to Kauai first and then return to Pearl Harbor. Also, let the escort destroyers of the 'Boxer' be vigilant and beware of a sneak attack by the submarines of the Tang Empire, how long will it take for us to reach Pearl Harbor? ”

"It will be three days at the earliest."

"Early tomorrow morning, let the anti-submarine patrol planes cover the fleet, and in addition, send two destroyers to cover the 'Bennington'."

Spruance walked into Commander Cambridge, and the staff officer was busy. It didn't take long for Spruance to receive more news. The "Shangri-La" has already begun to sink, and most of the officers and men on the aircraft carrier have withdrawn. The situation with the "Bennington" is slightly better, the water intake on the aircraft carrier has been controlled, and the cruiser is providing electricity to the aircraft carrier, and if it can reach Necker Island, it will be able to manage to plug the hole first. Therefore, Spruance let the aircraft carrier go to Neck Island first, and did not go directly to Kauai, so a few days later, the aircraft carrier "Boxer" arrived at Kauai before the "Bennington".

This can be regarded as a serious accidental loss, Spruance could not believe that those destroyers fired torpedoes from several nautical miles away can hit the aircraft carrier, and before that, the escorting destroyers had already encountered the submarines of the Tang Empire once, but at that time there was no trace of enemy submarine activity in the vicinity. This made Spruance feel very strange, the only thing that could not be changed was that the aircraft carrier "Shangri-La" was finished, and Spruance could only hope that the "Bennington" and "Boxer" would be able to return to Pearl Harbor smoothly.