Because of its extreme proximity to Necker Island, the fleet's air defense arrangements were also quite compact, with three squadrons of fighters scattered in the east, southeast, and south directions of the fleet, and two squadrons of fighters in the west and northwest directions of the fleet. The air defense patrol radius of these fighters has been reduced to 20 nautical miles, and their patrol density is quite high; when the radar in the fleet cannot be used for the time being, it is necessary to ensure the density of air defense patrols as much as possible, and the enemy's reconnaissance planes cannot easily reach the airspace over the fleet.

Tan Renhao came to the command cabin at noon, and Hao Dongjue still insisted on his position.

"Still haven't found out, maybe Spruance was a little delayed on the road."

"Didn't Han Shaofeng send a telegram?"

"Four telegrams were sent, but none of them were written about the American bombers."

Tan Renhao frowned. "Alright, you go and rest, and come back in the evening."

Hao Dongjue yawned, he was indeed so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes.

"General, there's a discovery!"

Hao Dongjue, who walked to the door of the commander's cabin, immediately stopped.

"A US reconnaissance plane has appeared in the southwest direction, and the fighter has already passed!"

At this point, everyone got nervous. This means that the fleet is very likely to be exposed, even if the reconnaissance plane does not have time to fly over the fleet, as long as it is intercepted by fighters, then it will be known that there are aircraft carriers of the Tang Empire active here, that is, where the first task force is located near here. Five minutes later, the fighter jet sent back the message that the U.S. long-range patrol plane had been shot down, about 20 nautical miles from the fleet.

"Did the other party send a telegram?" Tan Renhao looked over at the officer in charge of monitoring radio activity.

The officer nodded. "The telegram has been sent. It lasted about 30 seconds. ”

"This is not enough to report the full picture ......"

"But there's definitely something important going out." Tan Renhao looked at Hao Dongjue, and then called the navigation staff over, "The fleet turns to the northeast." Sail at full speed. ”

The nautical staff didn't ask much, the most important thing now was to leave this area. At the very least, we have to get out of here before the arrival of U.S. long-range bombers, or more reconnaissance planes.

"Contact air defense fighters, as well as reconnaissance aircraft, and tell them about the new rendezvous point." Tan Renhao gave a new order to the communications staff officer before he said to Hao Dongjue. "We're in big trouble right now, but it might push Spruance to make the decision to fight us.

"The point is, we don't even know where Spruance is."

"He doesn't fully grasp our position either, and besides, the Fifth Fleet should still be some distance away from us now, and even if Spruance roughly judges our position, he can't immediately send bombers!"

Hao Dongjue nodded. "Let the fleet evade first, if you can avoid today, maybe you will be able to fight the Fifth Fleet tomorrow."

"You go...... Never mind. You'd better go and rest. Tan Renhao patted his partner's shoulder, "Take care of your spirits and come back to replace me at night." Whether we can win the battle depends on whether we can dodge the enemy's blow today! ”

Hao Dongjue didn't argue anything, when Tan Renhao redeployed the fleet's air defense mission and let all the fighters of the remaining four squads rise into the air. He went back to his cabin and went to sleep.

The fleet accelerated to more than 30 knots in ten minutes, and then quickly fled northeast in a new course, that is, along the tangent of the line between the fleet and the Necker Island, which was the best route to avoid the enemy's attack. At this time, the fleet was about 500 nautical miles away from Necker Island, and even if the US military received accurate information, it could only send medium bombers or above to deal with the fleet at most, and these bombers would have to spend four hours from preparation to departure and then to fly over the fleet, and within four hours, the fleet could run more than 120 nautical miles, and it was almost impossible to find the fleet in such a large area. In addition, airfields on Necke Island have limited capacity, and tactical bombers such as SBDs and TBDs are most effective against the fleet, rather than B-25s or larger bombers. Therefore, the US shore-based bombers on Necker Island were not a great threat to the fleet.

Tan Renhao was not worried about being attacked by American bombers on Necke Island, the biggest trouble was that the approximate location of the fleet had been revealed, and Spruance would definitely know that the first task force appeared in the northwest direction of Necke Island, not in the southwest direction of Necke Island. So, what will he do? Even if the Fifth Fleet hadn't entered the area where the First Task Force was attacking it yet, Spruance would have taken precautions and would have to change course, so would he continue to Necke Island, or would he go somewhere else?

The crux of the matter is also here, if Tan Renhao could still judge that the Fifth Fleet would appear in the waters northwest of Necker Island, then now he doesn't know where Spruance will go. This also made him very irritable, and the victory that was about to be won was actually gone, could he really not kill Spruance?

"General, the fighters have all risen into the air, does the fleet need to turn?"

"No, not yet." Tan Renhao shook his head, he was still looking at the chart and thinking.

"Then do you want to turn on the radar, it's ......"

"No, arrange two squadrons of fighters to patrol within 120 degrees of the south of the fleet, and if an enemy reconnaissance plane approaches, shoot it down immediately." Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation staff, "You guys are also going to rest." ”

"It's still early for the shift."

Tan Renhao laughed, he forgot that it was only noon, and there were still a few hours before the shift change. "Then go get busy, and let me know when you have news. In addition, in accordance with the arrangement of the chief of staff, reconnaissance work continued in the afternoon. ”

The seafaring staff did not bother the commander any longer, and at this time everyone knew that the fleet had to evade the enemy's blows, and at the same time it had to be ready for battle, and perhaps the enemy was somewhere nearby.

There was silence in the command cabin, except for the ticking of the radio. The staff officers are doing their essential work, and Tan Renhao gradually calmed down, and then. He realized that maybe this exposure was not a bad thing.

If Spruance didn't know the whereabouts of Task Force 1. And if he only judged the location of the First Task Force by guessing, he would definitely not dare to fight the First Task Force lightly. With the situation of the two sides balanced, Spruance does not have much advantage in tactical command, and the strength in his hands is worse than that of the first task force, if he really does it. For Spruance, the best outcome was a lose-lose situation, with the Don Empire Navy now able to afford some losses, while the US Navy could not afford any losses. Therefore, Spruance would definitely not take the initiative to find the First Task Force for a decisive battle until he had mastered the whereabouts of Task Force 1.

If this is the reason why the Fifth Fleet has been avoiding the battle, then the exposure of the First Task Force this time will be an important factor in Spruance's decisive battle with the First Task Force.

That side is the patrol area of the US shore-based fighter jets, and as long as the Fifth Fleet enters this area, then it can be protected. Such. Spruance could concentrate the fleet's air strike forces, go all out to attack the First Task Force, and use shore-based fighters to cover the Fifth Fleet. Opposite. Task Force 1 had to use its strength to team the Fifth Fleet while also protecting its own security. Clearly, the situation has turned in favor of the Fifth Fleet. If Spruance could quickly get into the cover area of the shore-based fighters and avoid being discovered prematurely by Task Force 1. Then, he has enough advantages.

Tan Renhao never doubted one thing, that is, Spruance's determination to annihilate the First Task Force. This is also the characteristic of Spruance, perhaps Nimitz regarded the defense of Gardner Island as more important than the annihilation of Task Force 1, but Spruance would definitely make the annihilation of Task Force 1 a top priority. Spruance, then, won't let this opportunity go, and it's likely to be the only one he can take it.

Thinking of this, Tan Renhao felt a little frowning in his heart. If the Fifth Fleet had been nearby, Spruance would have used the cover of night to return to the covered waters of the shore-based fighters, and then arrange for reconnaissance planes to look for the 1st Task Force at dawn and seek an opportunity for a decisive battle with the 1st Task Force. In the same way, Spruance would not have doubted the determination of Task Force 1 to come to the decisive battle, otherwise, what would he do in the waters northwest of Necker Island? Spruance, then, was sure that the 1st Task Force would be active in the waters north of Necker Island, even after it was exposed, and would maneuver at night, ready to fight during the day. But the question is, how will Spruance determine the whereabouts of Task Force 1?

Tan Renhao's first reaction was to let the fleet evade to the north, so that the fleet could get away from the attack of the US shore-based bombers as soon as possible. Spruance, then, should have thought of this as well, so he would certainly place his fleet north of Necke Island, about 100 to 200 nautical miles from Neck, and wait for Task Force 1 to return to the battlefield during the day. If this is the case, then Task Force 1 should not go directly south, but should move to the southwest, or southeast, to avoid the reconnaissance planes sent by Spruance. If it moves to the southeast, then it will enter the sea area patrolled by US reconnaissance aircraft on other islands, that is, the fleet can only move to the southwest.

Tan Renhao quickly calculated the distance on the chart, and if the fleet turned southwest after dark, then at dawn tomorrow, it should appear 15 to 40 degrees north-west of Necker Island, about 400 to 500 nautical miles from Necker Island. If Spruance had thought of this1, then his fleet should have moved to the northwest of Necker Island at night, 150 to 250 nautical miles from Necker. When Tan Renhao marked the two sea areas, he suddenly understood.

Perhaps, this is the sea area chosen by Spruance for the decisive battle.

"The fleet is ready to turn." Tan Renhao called the navigation staff over, and at the same time he marked a general course on the chart, "Can we keep the speed above 30 knots all the time, at least for 24 hours?" ”

The navigation staff hesitated for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be a big problem, but there may be a situation where the battleship falls behind." ”

"Then be prepared, if any warships are left behind, return to Gardner Island alone, go to the northeast of Wei to report, or sail with the fleet behind. The main thing is that three aircraft carriers cannot be left behind! ”

"This is not a big problem, the power system on the aircraft carrier has been completely overhauled."

"That's good." Tan Renhao nodded, "This is a new route, you redesign it, when will our reconnaissance plane come back?" ”

"In half an hour, the second batch of reconnaissance planes should return home."

"Well, immediately after the reconnaissance aircraft returned to the vicinity of the fleet, the fleet turned." Tan Renhao glanced at the navigation staff officer, "Cancel the reconnaissance activities in the afternoon, let the pilots recuperate their spirits, within half an hour, you determine the specific parameters of this route, there is only one purpose, an hour before dawn tomorrow, we must get to this sea area!" ”

The nautical staff glanced at the sea area marked by the commander on the chart, and then hesitated a little. "Do you want to call the chief of staff......

"No, let him sleep a little longer." Tan Renhao sighed, "The air defense of the fleet still has to pay attention, and after turning, the focus of air defense will be arranged in the northwest direction of 120 degrees of the fleet. ”

The nautical staff officer didn't say anything more, and immediately went to carry out the commander's order. Since the abolition of the Operational Staff Officer, the Maritime Staff Officer is the number three man in the fleet and one of the most relied upon staff officers of the fleet commander.

Tan Renhao sat down for a while, and in this short half an hour, he staked the last bit of hope. If his judgment is correct, then he can give Spruance a beautiful hook so that Spruance can't find the north, and if his judgment is wrong, then Task Force 1 will most likely not be able to go back.

Time passed minute by minute, and throughout the afternoon, Tan Renhao felt a little uneasy, the fleet was almost passing by the area covered by the US reconnaissance plane, and if it was exposed again, then the first task force would be completely finished. For safety reasons, Tan Renhao should have used the radar, but he didn't let the radar start. He had to bet on this, as long as it was dark, then he had a great hope of winning, at least, Spruance would not have thought that his opponent would make such an abnormal move, because Tan Renhao himself did not immediately consider this move, and by the time Spruance understood, it might be too late!