That's exactly what Fletcher was looking for. The ship's pilots rushed to the standby room, the ground crew began to warm up, and the whole ship entered a state of combat readiness. A few minutes later, the bridge gave the command to bring the whole ship into the "z" state (that is, in combat state). This order was given by the commander when he really thought it was going to be entered into battle. After the order was issued, the aircraft carriers "Habakuk", "Tahiti" and "Regulus" must immediately close all watertight doors and hatches to ensure their unsinkable surnames.

On the "Habakuk", the whole ship was filled with the sound of the crew closing the watertight door, and they also pinned it with pins, once the hull next to it was pierced, it could withstand the huge pressure of the sea outside. The steel hatch cover between the two decks was tightened and secured by tightening more than forty nuts and screws around the hatch cover. Each hatch has a round hole large enough to drill through a person, which the Navy calls a manhole. There is a large wheel on the top of each manhole cover, and a screw rod is longitudinal, and the wheel on the front of the manhole cover can be opened by loosening the wheel on the front of the manhole cover, and then closing it after putting a person over. After entering the "Z" state, each watertight door and manhole is assigned a special person to take care of it.

The reconnaissance aircraft did not report anything again. Rear Admiral Richie, who was on a reconnaissance mission near him, heard Smith's report and flew over to help him, and a few minutes later arrived at the location where Smith reported an enemy.

Richie didn't immediately notice him. It was covered with low, rarely-woolly clouds, under which was a drifting columnar rain curtain that did not form a large fixed cloud. Richie began to search the area. He found that in some places, due to rain or fog, there was zero visibility from the sea to 2,000 meters above. Finding a fleet here is as difficult as finding a deer in the forest.

Suddenly, he spotted himself in a clear sky, and immediately supplemented Smith's report and corrected the position of the fleet. He reported that he was 200 nautical miles from the fleet. He found 4 aircraft carriers, 10 cruisers, at least 14 destroyers. On top of that, he was constantly hovering overhead, burrowing through the clouds, monitoring the enemy, and constantly radioing back the enemy's position in order to guide the various flying squadrons to engage the enemy. He reckoned that they had already taken off and came to attack.

But Richie made a mistake. Although the attack squadrons on the "Habakuk" were ready to be dispatched, they remained on the ship and did not move. Vice Admiral Fletcher apparently wanted to wait for reports from other reconnaissance planes to divert his forces in one direction. He wanted to make sure there were any other fleets in the search area of the reconnaissance planes around us before he moved. This was logical and a necessary military factor, but the pilots were impatient because of the delay in the operation. They wanted to annihilate the planes on the aircraft carrier before they took off.

In this way, Richie's situation is not good. Alone, he was soon spotted by enemy aircraft patrolling the air. There were about 20 "Gale" fighters in the air, and one after another made a feint attack on him. He rushed into the clouds to avoid many enemy planes, but it was impossible to dodge them all. His plane was shot in multiple places and caught fire, but he managed to avoid a hard fight with the enemy plane.

His mission is to keep the fleet alive. He did an excellent job, staying in the sky over the enemy for two hours and fifty minutes, an hour longer than he expected the attack formation to arrive. In the end, he had no choice but to return home, because the fuel was already dangerously low, and he had to fly back 200 nautical miles. Richie's calm and solitary spirit is the embodiment of the heroic actions of all those who took part. He flew a reconnaissance plane alone and operated alone over four (possibly five) aircraft carriers, and these large aircraft carriers were full of the best fighters and pilots in Japan. Rich flew the Skylark P1M reconnaissance fighter sold by China to the United States, which is also a good aircraft. It is said that he dealt with Richie with their "Gale" fighter jet that they flaunted for a while. The single-seater aircraft can reach a maximum speed of more than 350 knots and is armed with two 20 mm guns and two 13.2 mm machine guns. The Gale fighter was also one of the most mobile combat aircraft, and all this, combined with various other advantages, would have not been a problem to shoot down Ritchie's plane. However, Rich not only managed to stay in the skies over him, but also returned safely.

It was a miracle that Richie survived, and he returned with radio silence for an hour and a half, worrying his comrades half to death. Richie bobbed around in the clouds. It is said that when the plane pursued him, it did not really fight, but only carried out a feint, apparently trying to wait for him to run out of ammunition before approaching the attack. Richie didn't fall into this trap, and as long as he didn't get into the effective range, he wouldn't fire. If he got too close, he made a sharp turn and flew diagonally towards them. This made it possible both to put his machine gun in a firing position and to interfere with the opposing side.

Richie remained in the skies over the enemy for a long time and played an inestimable role in the later battles. The weather over the fleet was so bad that it was difficult for all the Allied flying squadrons to spot them. He stayed until the first Allied fleet arrived 15 minutes before returning home (he had no idea if his own fleet had already departed). He kept signaling back to guide the Allied planes to their destination before returning home, and in doing so, he made it easier to search for the attack formation.

It was not until about 9 o'clock that Vice Admiral Fletcher decided to send all his planes to attack the fleet that Richie had been monitoring. The order to dispatch was given, and the pilots quickly copied down the flight information on the blackboard in the waiting room and rushed to their respective planes. The first plane took off at 9:30 a.m. What appeared before them was an hour-and-twenty-minute flight to the enemy.

The attack force sent by the "Habakuk" was 112 torpedo planes, 109 dive bombers, 90 fighters and a command group of 10 reconnaissance bombers led by Group Leader Olt. The aircraft carrier "Tahiti" sent 17 torpedo aircraft, 54 dive bombers and 26 fighters. The aircraft carrier "Regulus" sent 22 torpedo aircraft, 46 dive bombers and 19 fighters. This time, the bombers all carried a 1000-pound bomb. In total, more than 500 aircraft: 151 torpedo aircraft, 209 dive bombers, 135 fighters.

As soon as the last plane flew away, on board the "Habakuk", it was heard that an hour earlier a reconnaissance plane had spotted the Allied fleet and fled. This, of course, meant that he already knew the location, strength, course, and speed of the Allied fleet. Upon hearing this, everyone felt that there was no doubt that the "Habakuk" would become a target for enemy air attack forces similar to the group of aircraft sent by the Allies.

The planes of the Allied attack department mass base were formed into a large formation, and then the large formation was divided into several smaller formations. The torpedo planes climbed to an altitude of 4,200 meters and were covered by fighters, each commanding reconnaissance bomber was covered by two fighters, and the other fighters covered the dive bombers. The purpose of forming several squadrons is also to maintain a five- to ten-minute interval between the fleets.

As the attack formation approached the waters where the fleet was located, the clouds became heavier. As soon as they had just passed through the Cumulus dense cloud from above, they were intercepted by some of the Yakona fighters who were on guard in the distance. These aircraft were advanced Gale fighters, which formed the enemy's outer air defense network.

The torpedo planes immediately burrowed into the clouds, and the fighters went up to meet the enemy. They wanted to contain the "Gale" fighters, but there were "Gale" fighters on all sides, entangled the Allied fighters to the death, and they were quickly in a life-and-death struggle. In a matter of seconds, they turned and shot, and then turned again, not letting the other person shoot them down.

It was an unprecedentedly fierce battle, and Second Lieutenant Taylor said, "This large group of 'gales' made me have nothing but the strength to parry." There was always an enemy plane that bit me. At first, I dodged an attack from a plane and bit his tail. He immediately played the old trick of the 'Gale' fighter jump. Keep in mind that these guys can climb up to 1,500 meters a minute, and when they climb, they want you to follow you. As soon as you climb up, they climb out of range of your guns, throw you off, and then suddenly come back and dive down on you, and you're almost in a stall and a piece of fat. ”

"I figured he was going to climb high, so as soon as he pulled the nose of the plane, I gave him a shuttle and hit him on fire. Then, I immediately burrowed into the clouds and dodged another group of enemy planes flying in. I had to stay in the clouds for several minutes, and every time I came out of them, there were enemy planes waiting for me. I climbed to the clouds, where there were also enemy aircraft. I had to burrow from the bottom of the cloud into another cloud. Those clouds became my safe haven. Finally, I came out of the clouds and saw a plane below, and as soon as it spotted me, it instinctively pulled up from the front of my gun, and I opened fire on him. ”

The Englishman, who survived the air battle, later said he was sure that the other three men in his formation had shot down at least one plane. They lost visual contact with each other as they maneuvered through the clouds. They never heard the two pilots again (he didn't know their names). Taylor's wingman, Ensign Clark, soon reported by radio that his plane had been badly damaged and had to make a forced landing at sea. Everyone was expecting him to land successfully and inflate the yellow rubber boat. If he could get into his rubber boat, there was a good chance that he would be blown to a nearby island by the constant southeast winds. Taylor went to chase the torpedo machine brigade again. He returned to the sea in search of the torpedo unit.

When the escort fighters fought a decisive battle with the "Gale" fighters, the torpedo planes continued to fly to the target. As they approached the target area, they came across the command plane of Lieutenant Commander Oort, and they joined forces with the reconnaissance plane and began to search the ocean. Dense clouds and torrential rain completely obscured the warship. They searched carefully for fifteen minutes and finally found a light aircraft carrier.

During the search, Rear Admiral Brett had been trying to make radio contact with the dive bombers of the Habakuk in order to carry out a coordinated attack, but without success, Brett and Aort decided to attack immediately. Aort and his four remaining planes were the first to carry out dive bombing, and in conjunction with Bret they carried out torpedo attacks. In order to drop torpedoes, Brett's torpedo planes could only enter at low altitudes and low speeds, which naturally made it easy to get shots.

Each of the pilots of these two units knew perfectly well that their forces would be insufficient to complete the attack. The squadrons of the Habakuk have been successful in previous battles, as in most cases 80 to 100 aircraft have attacked from different directions. The result of such a coordinated attack was to disrupt the enemy's defenses, distract enemy anti-aircraft artillery fire, and disrupt their combat patrols.

However, due to bad weather, only 20 aircraft carried out the attack this time. The aircraft of the aircraft carrier "Tahiti" were also nearby, but the meteorological conditions were so bad that Brett and Aort could not see them. They had no contact with the flight unit of the "Habakuk" and were probably attacking another part of the fleet. Brett later learned that he was right. Brett they didn't sit back and wait for reinforcements.

This attack force captured the aircraft carrier and the escorting cruisers and destroyers. They flew to an altitude of 1,200 meters above the enemy, and the ship's anti-aircraft guns did not open fire. Brett guessed that he had mistaken them for his own plane. The plane is modeled after the American-made, and there are many similarities with the American plane, and it is easy to make mistakes when visibility is low. At that time, it was said that the fleet was sailing into the rainstorm area at full speed to conceal itself.

The sea surface is full of clouds from 700 to 2,000 meters. After ascertaining the disposition of the warship, the captain took the lead and plunged down to the attack position.

The attack aircraft group spread out in a fan and rushed down at high speed. Only then did he recognize the enemy and began to fire with anti-aircraft guns. Due to the heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire, many more fighters appeared, which made the attack ineffective. Captain Ault's four dive bombers dived at the same time as the torpedo planes, all of which focused on attacking the aircraft carrier.

The aircraft carrier was attacked and began to make sharp turns incessantly. When it was the turn of the torpedo to drop the mine, it had already been hit, billowing smoke. A torpedo was dropped 500 meters on the starboard stern 25 meters above the water. As a result, it was subjected to heavy anti-aircraft fire and several Japanese fighters.

When they finished their attack and joined up with the other planes, the planes that had not dropped their torpedoes began to attack a cruiser, and the other planes accompanied them in a feint to help them attract anti-aircraft fire from the ship.

Brett: At least 4 of the 11 torpedoes they dropped hit that aircraft carrier. When Brett's squadron attacked, Bill? Aort's dive bombers were also diving, and they were all lucky not to run into anti-aircraft fire, the aircraft carrier's artillery fire was busy dealing with the torpedo planes, and their rapid attacks were not disturbed, three bombshells penetrated the flight deck of the aircraft carrier, and each hit exploded a large puff of smoke and debris.

"It seems that the bomb has a double effect." A torpedo pilot who witnessed the attack of a dive bomber reported that "it is not surprising that not only the aircraft carrier was damaged, but also incendiary." There are huge tanks on the aircraft carrier filled with fuel and high-grade gasoline, and as soon as the tanks catch fire, they are finished. ”

After the mission was completed, the dive bombers and torpedo planes began to return home. The torpedo planes formed a dense defensive formation and flew close to the surface of the sea. They had a dozen Gale fighters on their heads, and they first approached in formation from the right rear. The formation of the Americans made it possible for all their rear guns to be directed at him.

As the leader of the team, the fighter was shot down as soon as it entered the firing range. Other planes pulled up and attacked them from behind around to the left. The formation continued to meet the battle, and all 22 twin guns were aimed at the plane of the leader of the army. The lead plane was also hit and caught fire. The rest of the enemy aircraft were clearly amazed by the shooting techniques of the Americans, but they still did not give up the attack.

However, the attack formation ran into other troubles. Long-range flights, searches, operations, and long-range returns are beyond their ability to fly. They had to reduce the fuel supply, slow down, adjust the optimal angle of attack, and try to make the plane fly for as long as possible.

Lieutenant Commander Ault and his companions joined up with the two fighters as they began their return voyage, but before they could leave the waters where the fleet was located, they were attacked by more than 20 Gale fighters. Fighter pilot Richard? Captain Boer and his wingman, Second Lieutenant Bain, desperately tried to cover them, but they were both shot down. Then, one by one, the reconnaissance planes were shot down, and all 12 reconnaissance planes were killed.

Lieutenant Commander Ault finally reported that he was preparing for a forced landing at sea. He said that his rear gunner was seriously wounded, his plane was badly damaged, and he himself was shot. The pilots made this kind of forced landing, and they had the hope of landing on one of the many small islands. A lot of pilots do just that.

Although the torpedo and dive bomber flotilla of the "Xuanyuan" aircraft carrier were not together with the "Habakuk" flotilla, they were also very nervous in combat. They flew over the fleet and spotted an aircraft carrier. However, this ship is a large fleet aircraft carrier, and it is intact, it is clearly not the one hit by the attack formation "Habakuk".

The plane of Captain Shi Renming was one of the fighters that escorted the torpedo aircraft of the aircraft carrier "Xuanyuan". Shi Renming was joined by three other pilots, Captain Du Chao, Captain Du Min, and Second Lieutenant Chen Yan. They took off at 9:30 a.m. and, after joining the formation, flew smoothly to an area of bad weather.

(To be continued)