At 4:30, the prelude to pre-war preparations began. The aviation crew has been busy all night, preparing the fighter plane for the pilot. The pilot, who had rested all night, also got up at this time, spent fifteen minutes washing, and had breakfast. At 4:45 p.m., the pilots gathered in the aviation war room and began to listen to a briefing on the mission, while the officers of the Fleet Aviation Operations Staff assigned each pilot a specific target. At five o'clock, the pilot entered the hangar and began to check his landline. The first bombers were also sent to the flight deck and began to load ammunition and refuel.

Tan Renhao has been paying attention to the situation around the fleet. More than a dozen destroyers have dispersed, as have the cruisers that provided close protection for the aircraft carrier. Nervous to nervous, for more than two hours, no second Japanese submarine appeared, and the discovered Japanese submarine did not dare to surface at all surrounded by three destroyers. I'm afraid, now the Japanese officers and soldiers on that submarine are wondering, why didn't the destroyers of the Tang Empire drop depth charges?

"Renhao, it's past ten o'clock."

Tan Renhao looked up at the navigation clock, and then nodded at Lei Shaoqing. "Let's get the bombers ready to take off, it looks like our whereabouts aren't revealed."

Lei Shaoqing immediately nodded to the staff officer next to him and gave the order to attack.

Five minutes later, the first "vulture" with two small bombs left the flight deck of the aircraft carrier "Taizu", and as in the last bombing of Iwo Jima, these escort fighters will also carry out some secondary bombing missions. The target of the "Taizu" aircraft carrier group bombing was Brother Island in the Ogasawara Islands to the east. There is an airport on this island. An ammunition depot, an underground oil depot, as well as three anti-aircraft positions. These targets had to be destroyed in the first wave of bombing, especially the two airfields, as well as the hangars on the airfields, the Japanese fighters parked on the airfields.

At 5:20 a.m., the fighters on the aircraft carrier "Xuanzong" began to take off. Every second is right from the scheduled time. The target of the aircraft carrier "Genjong" was Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands. There are two airfields and one headquarters on the island. An ammunition depot, two underground oil depots, as well as five anti-aircraft positions.

At 5:23 a.m., the first bomber on the ground of the aircraft carrier "Yellow River" left the flight deck, only half a minute later than the scheduled take-off time. The target of this group was the mother island of the Ogasawara Islands. There is an airfield, an underground ammunition depot, an oil depot on the island. As well as four anti-aircraft positions.

At 5:32 a.m., the "Yangtze River" hailed the bombers on the aircraft carrier and began to take off. The target of the bombing was the nearest island, Iwo Jima, to the southeast. On the island there are two airfields, a headquarters, an oil depot, an ammunition depot, as well as four anti-aircraft positions, as well as several observation posts on Oriba Mountain.

Five forty-four minutes. The last bombers left the sky over the fleet. The squadrons of fighters on the "Xuanzong" and "Huanghe" were left behind to carry out the task of air defense of the fleet, and these fighters were to take off at 10 a.m. so that they could patrol the skies over the fleet until half past nine. If the fleet's whereabouts had been revealed, then the fleet would have been most likely attacked by Japanese bombers during the hour between half past eight and half past nine. And the bomber group will return between eight and half past eight. In this way, the fleet can concentrate almost all fighters to carry out the task of air defense of the fleet and ensure the security of the fleet.

It can be said that the entire battle plan was very thorough. Staff officers who had drawn up several battle plans were well acquainted with how bombing operations should be arranged and how to ensure maximum security for the fleet. Actually, that's a time difference. In the end, the pressure is concentrated on the pilots, as long as the pilots are of good quality, then the fleet has a strong combat effectiveness.

Seeing the last batch of fighters disappear into the night sky, Tan Renhao let out a sigh and sat down. At the same time, he lit a cigarette. Lei Shaoqing stood next to him. I took the cigarette and lit it.

"Let the destroyer kill that submarine!" Tan Renhao spat out the cigarette, "Forty-five minutes later." The bombs will fall, and with the speed of the Japanese army's reaction, even if we are exposed now, they will not be ready! ”

Soon, a dull explosion sounded from the south-west side of the fleet. On the pitch-black sea, huge columns of water rose and then fell, and the high-powered searchlights on the destroyer shook on the surface of the sea, and in the sea, three sonar waves shrouded the poor submarine. The water depth in this sea area is more than 1,000 meters, and the maximum depth of the dive is not more than 100 meters, and the Japanese submarine is like an iron coffin hanging in the middle of the sea, and there is nowhere to hide. And the maximum speed of the submarine under water does not exceed ten knots, and it is not a destroyer opponent at all. To make matters worse, the Japanese submarine was spotted with only a third of its battery charged, and if it had been submerged at maximum speed, it would have used up the power in the recharge cells in less than 20 minutes. Therefore, for more than three hours, the submarine hid without moving, as if it were a prisoner waiting for a death sentence.

The three destroyers dropped at least eighty depth charges, as if those depth charges didn't cost money, and they threw as many as they wanted. The attack ended when the debris of the submarine appeared on the surface of the sea, as well as a large amount of oil contamination. Subsequently, all three destroyers used sonar to scan the sea area where the Japanese submarine was active, and when it was determined that the stump of the submarine had sunk to the bottom of the sea, it swaggered back to the fleet's anti-submarine net. It was six o'clock, half an hour before dawn, and half an hour before the bombers reached the four islands where there were airfields.

When the sea was quiet again, so was the commanding cabin. Under Tan Renhao's acquiescence, those staff officers began to watch the wonderful "performance" of the destroyers, the flickering searchlights, and the rising water columns, and the dull explosion made the three destroyers like ghosts at sea.

Tan Renhao glanced at the staff officers who had returned to their positions, and then laughed. More than a year ago. Japan kicked off the war with a sneak attack on the fleet and bases of the Tang Imperial Navy, and now the Tang Imperial Navy will start its invasion of the Japanese mainland with a sneak attack on Japan's outer islands, pushing Japan to take the first step towards the gallows.

The 72 bombers of the 1st Air Group ("Taizu" Good Aircraft Carrier Unit) led by Deng Zichao were tasked with destroying the Japanese air and air defense facilities on Brother Island. This task was practically not difficult for 72 bombers.

In the fleet, 36 "Kingfishers" hung on the ground with 500-kilogram high-explosive and armor-piercing shells. Their bombing mission was the Japanese ground air defense positions, ammunition depots and oil depots. Each of the 36 "Ospreys" had two 500-kilogram submunitions (later known as cluster bombs). Each submunition contained 80 bomblets weighing 4 kg each and containing 3 kg of explosives. This is a bomb of a new production in the Empire. And its purpose is to destroy airfields, barracks and other large area targets.

The 72 bombers of the Second Air Group (the "Xuanzong" aircraft carrier unit) led by Zhang Naiding and the 24 fighters of the First Air Group transferred to the command of him were tasked with destroying airfields, headquarters, and other targets on Chichijima. It was precisely because of several more important targets that the fighters of the 1st Air Group were assigned.

Like Deng Zichao's group, the "kingfishers" in this group are all high-powered bombs, while the "ospreys" are bombs. Specialized in sabotaging Japanese airfields. At this time, the advantage of the "Osprey" large bomb load was obvious, and at that time, the Tang Imperial Navy was the only torpedo bomber capable of hanging 1,000 kg of bombs and then flying hundreds of nautical miles away to carry out bombing missions.

Taking off from the "Yellow River" was the Fourth Air Group, and the temporary leader of the group was Lieutenant Colonel Yang Shihong. The original captain was wounded in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was sent back to recuperate. Originally, a squadron leader should be promoted to serve as the captain of the squadron at the time, but Tan Renhao directly arranged Yang Shihong over. made Yang Shihong a temporary captain. This group of 84 bombers (12 reconnaissance planes also participated in the bombing operation) was also tasked with destroying important Japanese installations on the islands.

Of the four groups, only the fighters of the Third Group led by Colonel Jiang Wenhan flew southward, and the other three squadrons all flew eastward. Thus, there are also 36 escort fighters in this group, as well as 72 bombers. They were going to deal with the Japanese troops on Iwo Jima.

6:28 a.m. Jiang Wenhan's group was the first to reach the sky over Iwo Jima (the flight distance was the shortest, and the speed of the fighter formation under Jiang Wenhan's personal command was also the fastest). By this time, the eastern sky was already slightly bright. When the fighter formation flew over the airfield in the middle of the island, Jiang Wenhan immediately saw that dozens of bombers were lined up on the east side of the runway, as if waiting for a review! He immediately called the group of bombers behind him to enter quickly, and then ordered the fighters to start dropping bombs. Of course, the targets of their bombing were not those enemy aircraft, but several nearby air defense positions. They had to suppress enemy anti-aircraft fire before the bombers arrived.

At 6:30 a.m., Yang Shihong's group arrived over the mother island. Same as Jiang Wenhan. When he saw the neatly lined Japanese planes at the airport. It was also a big surprise. Then, he first dropped a bomb on the airport. More than 80 bombers followed by more than 80 bombers who began to drop bombs one after another.

At 6:32, Zhang Naiding's group arrived over Chichijima. The situation was still the same, the airfield was still full of Japanese planes, and many Japanese soldiers were coming out of the barracks, and some were still looking up at them. By the time these Japanese soldiers reacted, the bombs had already been whizzing down.

At 6:36, Deng Zichao's group arrived over Brother Island. The bombing also began immediately, and by the time he dropped the bombs on the Japanese planes on the airfield, the island's anti-aircraft artillery had not fired.

The difference between the four bomber groups was only eight minutes in the start of dropping bombs, which could almost be considered a fraction of a second under the conditions at the time. From this, it is enough to reflect the quality of the First Task Force from ordinary aviation service personnel, fleet officers and men, to pilots and staff officers. This would not have been possible without perfect planning, precise routes, and accurate speed.

It was not until 6:43 a.m. that the Japanese anti-aircraft guns on Iwo Jima returned fire, and by this time, three of the four anti-aircraft positions on Iwo Jima had been destroyed, all the fighters on the airfield had been blown up, and the hangars where the fighters were parked were in ruins. By the time Jiang Wenhan led the fighters back, the Japanese fighters at the two airfields had not taken off, and many Japanese pilots were killed as they rushed to their planes.

Zhang Naiding's group ended the bombing of Chichijima at 6:55, and he was also the last Tang Empire pilot to withdraw from the battle. In the 23 minutes of bombing, at least more than 200 Japanese fighters were destroyed on the ground, more than five bombs hit the island garrison headquarters, and the ammunition depot and oil depot were also bombed, thousands of tons of ammunition were killed, and the fire in the oil depot could be seen more than 20 nautical miles away!

The battle reports of the various aircraft groups were sent back one after another, and when the telegram sent by Zhang Naiding arrived, the officers and men in the command cabin screamed with excitement. A bombardment of the utmost perfection. From the beginning of the battle to the withdrawal of Zhang Naiding's group, less than 10 Japanese fighters took to the air, and these 10 fighters were beaten down by the "vultures" hovering above them when they took off, and they did not threaten the bomber group at all. The Japanese anti-aircraft artillery on the island only shot down eight bombers, four of which struggled to make a forced landing in the open sea, and the pilots all jumped out, and only the pilots of the four bombers were not able to escape.

"The fleet turned south." Tan Renhao was only excited for a few seconds before calming down, "In addition, let the seaplane set off immediately and rescue the parachuted pilot as soon as possible." When the bomber group returned, the fighters landed first, refueled and ammunition, and took off immediately. I hope that the Japanese will not react too quickly, otherwise we will have to prepare for the air defense operation of the fleet! ”

Tan Renhao's worries are completely unnecessary. Because the Japanese garrison headquarters on Iwo Jima and Chichijima were blown up, it was not until half past nine that the Japanese sent the news of the bombing back to the naval headquarters. The angry Nagano immediately ordered the bombers on the home airfield to take off and intercept the Tang Imperial fleet. As a result, when the bombers arrived at about 12 o'clock, the 1st Task Force had already reached the waters southwest of Iwo Jima and was out of the range of the bombers.