During the night, Task Force 11 was evacuated into an anti-submarine formation to prepare for the possible presence of Japanese submarine forces. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The threat of submarines at night is enormous. For a fleet sailing in dense formation, a few torpedoes fired by a submarine at close range were enough to sink several battleships to the bottom. Therefore, a Z-shaped anti-submarine formation is a must.

Of course, at the 24 knots that Task Force 11 has been maintaining at the moment, there is no submarine on the planet that can keep up with it right now. Unless it's an ambush in advance.

Han Dongwen walked out of the bridge and came outside, took out a cigarette and lit it, and smoked silently.

Wandering on the sea all year round, Han Dongwen found that the night sky on the sea is the most beautiful on the planet. Not only is the starry sky in the sky brighter and more dazzling, but it is also able to stop at the sound of the waves of the sea when you calm down. Only now all he could hear was the noise of the aircraft carrier at high speed, and the voices of the communications officers in the cabin.

Since leaving the Lion City, Task Force 11 has maintained radio silence, receiving, not transmitting. Stay as hidden as you can. In this otherwise unusually busy sea, because of the threat of war, there are basically no unorganized ships moving.

Looking at the starry night sky, Han Dongwen knew that tomorrow must be a good weather, which means that an unprecedented sea and air battle will have the best battlefield. Han Dongwen turned his head to look in the direction of the fleet, what kind of ocean and what kind of sky were waiting for them hundreds of nautical miles away?

Before dawn, a large number of navies had already gotten up and headed for their respective posts. The first to work were the hardest working ground crews, who had to scrutinize every plane, every bomb and torpedo before launching an attack. Do your best to protect your pilots. At this moment, the vast majority of pilots are still asleep.

"The commander enters the bridge." When Tong Haifeng, who had rested for a few hours, returned to the bridge, the adjutant on duty shouted, "The commander takes over the command." ”

"Go rest for a while." Tong Haifeng came to Han Dongwen, whose eyes were bloodshot, and said softly, "Eat something more." ”

"Not right now." Han Dongwen smiled and shook his head: "After this battle, there is time to sleep." ”

"Are the pilots ready?" Tong Haifeng did not continue to dwell on this issue.

"The main commanding officer is discussing the battle plan." Han Dongwen replied softly.

The commander of the fleet is only responsible for giving orders, and as for how to carry out orders, that is the business of the officers of the air wing. At this moment, the flight officers, who had already woken up early, were gathering in the war room to discuss the plan of the upcoming attack. And this kind of thing is not going to be involved in the officers of the fleet.

"What time is it?" Tong Haifeng nodded, and then asked the time.

"4:38." Han Dongwen glanced at the navigation clock.

Tong Haifeng walked to the porthole, looked at the darkest scene before dawn, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly turned to look at Han Dongwen, "I decided to immediately send a reconnaissance plane unit to take off to reconnoiter in the northern waters of Bali." Based on the current distance and time, they will arrive after dawn where the Japanese 1st Air Fleet may be possible. At the same time, the aviation wing was ordered to be ready and ready to strike at any time. ”

"Okay." Han Dongwen didn't talk nonsense, and nodded directly. Turning his head and looking at the aviation officer on the bridge, "Let the reconnaissance aircraft unit prepare, it must leave within half an hour." ”

After the aviation officer saluted and left, Tong Haifeng came to the navigation table, frowned and stared at the sea map in front of him, "The strength of us and the Japanese is very different, if we follow the lesson plan prepared by General Zhang Cheng and then send a wave of attacks, it will put us in a very unfavorable situation." After all, it's 2 to 6. ”

"What do you mean?" Han Dongwen looked at Tong Haifeng suspiciously.

"Order all warplanes to be ready, except for the preservation of the minimum required fleet air defense. After receiving a report from the reconnaissance plane's enemy position, the other fighters immediately split into two waves and attacked. The interval between is no more than half an hour. ”

The main reason why not all aircraft take off together is that in addition to the fuel consumption caused by circling in formation for too long, the size of the formation will also make it difficult for air commanders to control all troops. At the same time, the poor quality of shortwave radio calls between groups can also lead to communication difficulties. Another important reason is that it is now the beginning of the war, and the Ming naval aviation unit is officially entering the battlefield for the first time, and their lack of experience is likely to lead to large-scale chaos.

Splitting into waves of offense would solve this problem well. More than 100 planes in a wave, which is the best choice for tactical, communications, and command technology in this era. As for the half-hour interval, it is mainly used for air formation.

In the years when the quality of airborne shortwave stations was poor, air formations took a lot of time. However, Daming's technology was very strong, at least far superior to that of the Japanese naval aviation, which had always used gestures and drawing boards. If it weren't for the fact that the Americans supported the Japanese Navy's advanced shortwave radio stations, the Japanese pilots would have relied entirely on mute language to communicate in the air.

Ten minutes later, the seaplanes on the large warships were ejected one after another, and the detachments of reconnaissance planes on the two aircraft carriers also took off one after another. Because the area of the waters north of Bali is not very large compared to the huge sea and air battles, the fan-shaped reconnaissance aircraft group will almost certainly be able to obtain information from the Japanese fleet. It was probably not long after dawn.

Waiting is the biggest headache for commanders, but patience is a must in war.

In fact, it is much better now, and if it were in the age of sails, even if you saw the enemy's fleet, I am afraid it would have taken several days to catch up with the enemy and fight. At present, technological progress in various fields, especially in communications, has accelerated the pace of naval warfare a lot. From obtaining intelligence to launching an attack, it has been shortened from days or even months in the sail era to hours or tens of minutes. It's just that it's still an ordeal for the commanders.

At this time, the decks of the two aircraft carriers were busy, and many fighters were sent to the deck one by one through the elevator, and a large number of ground crews were making final preparations for the takeoff of the fighters.

By this time, all the pilots had already gotten up and washed up, and were eating the flight stove. Pilots are the only branch of the military on an aircraft carrier that does not need to be involved in any labor, and the only thing they have to do is fly the plane into the air. And these are the regulations on aviation tactics compiled by Zhang Cheng, and the newly-born Ming naval aviation unit completely implements these aviation tactics.

After more than an hour, the sky was already bright, and the dazzling morning sun rose from the sea, casting a golden light on the slow sea. A communications staff officer hurried to the bridge "Sir, the B07 reconnaissance plane found a telegram, they found the Japanese aircraft carrier fleet!" ”

Tong Haifeng, who was sitting on a chair with his eyes closed, suddenly jumped up and grabbed the telegram. And Han Dongwen on the side also quickly walked over, "Where is it?" ”

Tong Haifeng, who pursed the corners of his mouth, walked quickly to the navigation table and stared at the navigation chart. Han Dongwen glanced at the telegram and asked suspiciously, "Why are there only four aircraft carriers?" Where did the other two go? B07 did not report on the position of the other two aircraft carriers? ”

"Nope." The communications staff officer shook his head: "The message was interrupted before it was finished. "When the telegram was suddenly interrupted, it was possible that there was a problem with the radio, but the biggest possibility was that the reconnaissance plane was shot down by enemy air defense fighters.

Tong Haifeng stretched out his hand and pressed the sea area of the Japanese fleet reported by the reconnaissance plane, and did not care at all about the downed reconnaissance plane. He is responsible for more than 10,000 officers and men of the entire fleet!

"What now?" Han Dongwen asked softly, "We have already taken the lead, and the Japanese fleet is within the attack range." Do you strike immediately or wait until the reconnaissance planes rushing from other directions find the two ......"

"Can't wait!" Tong Haifeng clenched his fist and smashed it the navigation chart: "The Japanese reconnaissance plane must have attacked, and the terrain of this sea area is destined to be discovered." And the downing of the B07 is almost a sign that we have arrived. is already weaker than the opponent's strength, if you hesitate at this time and miss the opportunity, you will inevitably pay a heavy price! ”

Tong Haifeng seemed to be talking to Han Dongwen, but he was actually talking to himself. He's building up his faith. After all, after dispatching all the forces in their hands, the two Japanese aircraft carriers that have not yet been found will soon send a powerful attack force after the reconnaissance plane discovers the enemy's 11th task force!

"And if those two aircraft carriers of the Japanese launch a counterattack?" Han Dongwen looked at Tong Haifeng worriedly.

"Even if we were all sunk, it would be 2 to 4!" Tong Haifeng narrowed his eyes, and a fierce color flashed in his eyes, "It doesn't matter if we lose, there are still a large number of warships." And more is being built on the slipway! But the Japanese, with their industrial strength and national resources, losing one is a combat power! ”

Tong Haifeng's meaning is very clear, even if the 11th Task Force is exhausted, then as long as they can take the lead in sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier, it will be a victory!

"Order Colonel Yang Jing to attack immediately!" After Tong Haifeng's order was issued, the entire 11th Task Force instantly boiled.

All the information on the Japanese fleet reported by the reconnaissance plane was sent to Colonel Yang Jing, who was the wing commander of the air wing. After a brief briefing on the mission, the pilots, who had already been prepared, put on their fur hats and ran to their planes. After boarding the fighter plane, the take-off officer waved the flag in his hand vigorously. Numerous ground crews and sailors on anti-aircraft gun positions took off their hats and waved vigorously, shouting loudly to see off the fighters.

"Separate the fleet." Tong Haifeng looked at the fighters that took off one after another, and spoke in a deep voice.

"What?" Han Dongwen asked suspiciously.

"Wait until all the planes have taken off and immediately separate the fleet. The Poyang Lake and the Taihu Lake each turned around and returned with half of the escort force! After the attack, the planes did not need to return to the aircraft carrier, but all went to Bali and Surabaya to land and refuel before catching up with the aircraft carrier formation. "Tong Haifeng is determined to save at least the next aircraft carrier and leave a striking force in his hands! Strike force! (To be continued.) )