"We have been in the war for so long but have not achieved any results, and we have always followed the fleet as a perimeter guard. Pen ~ Fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info" The first mate of the submarine Salmon complained loudly, "When will we have our own results?" ”

"This kind of thing can't be forced." Enjoying the fresh air, the captain exhaled a smoke ring and said with a smile, "As long as you can win the war, personal honor is actually not important. If we lose the war, what good is it if we sink a million tons of Ming warships? ”

"But......" The first mate, whose consciousness was obviously not so high, and when he opened his mouth a little unwillingly and wanted to say something, the star officer lying on the observation telescope on the side suddenly shouted loudly: "Sir, there is a situation!" ”

In the middle of the night on November 3, 1941, Vice Admiral Fletcher, commander of the U.S. Navy's Task Force 59, was awakened by a sharp knock on the door. After hurriedly putting on his military uniform, he opened the door of the luxurious cabin that originally belonged to the captain, and looked at the communication staff officer in front of him suspiciously.

"Sir, it's an emergency." The communications staff officer, who looked uneasy, handed the telegram in his hand to Fletcher, who was slightly nervous.

This is an urgent message from the SS129 Salmon submarine, which states that the submarine Salmon has encountered an extremely large Ming fleet in the sea about 300 nautical miles south of Task Force 59. The size of this Ming fleet is so large that the number of the Salmon submarine cannot be confirmed, and it can only be described as having many large warships.

"How is that possible?!" That was Fletcher's first reaction. The main force of the Pacific Fleet of the Ming Navy should be playing a game of hide and seek with Spruance thousands of miles away at Johnston Atoll, where else can there be any super-large fleet in such a place? Where else in the world could there be another fleet of this size?

Fletcher felt ridiculous. But he also knew that the crew of the Salmon would never be able to joke about such a thing in wartime, and it was no longer something that a court-martial could afford. They must have seen such a fleet there!

After hurrying to the bridge in his military uniform, Fletcher asked aloud, "Has the follow-up confirmation telegram from the Salmon arrived?" ”

"Sir." Chief of Staff of Task Force 59 Henry Brown. Kent. Rear Admiral Hewitt hurriedly replied, "No new messages have been received. They've either ducked down to avoid it, or they've been sunk. "The naval submarines of various countries are basically equipped with backup radios in case they are needed. So basically, there will be no oolong incidents where the telegram cannot be sent because of a radio failure.

"Whew~~~" Fletcher pulled off his collar vigorously, unbuttoned the wind and discipline buttons, and walked back and forth restlessly in the flagship bridge. This time the incident is big. Although the Ming Navy is powerful, it is absolutely impossible for another large fleet to appear. It can already be confirmed that if the telegram of the Salmon has no moisture, then they must meet the main force of the Pacific ships of the Ming Navy!

"Where are they?" Fletcher asked loudly next to the chart.

The staff officer on the side quickly stepped forward and pointed out the location of the telegram sent back by the submarine Salmon. It was only about 300 nautical miles away from Task Force 59. This is a very dangerous distance, because the 59th Task Force is within the strike range of the Ming naval aviation.

Fletcher couldn't believe that the main force of the Ming navy would appear in such a place. Because during the day, he received a telegram from the Admiralty, saying that the main force of the Pacific ship of the Ming Navy was still playing games with Spruance, why did they appear on his side at night? Could it be that they flew over?

Raising his hand and scratching his hair vigorously, Fletcher's bloodshot eyes raised his head and looked at his chief of staff, "What do you think?" ”

Hewitt, who was originally on the night shift, paused and said softly, "I feel that this matter is really unbelievable. The Ming Navy will never hide a huge fleet all the time, right? Personally, I feel that we should get in touch with the Salmon as soon as possible and ask them to confirm the accuracy of the information as soon as possible. Maybe it's too dark or it's raining over there that they're looking at something wrong? ”

"You mean." Fletcher frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Let's take the initiative to send a message to ask?" Break the radio silence? ”

With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the time of naval battles that were calculated in days hundreds of years ago has been greatly shortened. Because of the timeliness of war, fleets of various countries will always choose to maintain radio silence after sailing in wartime. Because advanced triangulation technology and radio monitoring technology can easily and roughly confirm the position of the warship sending the telegram, sometimes it can even be judged which warship it is based on habit and previous intelligence analysis!

Skilled monitors can even determine the dispatching habits of a telegraph operator by constantly receiving and analyzing a large number of telegrams sent by the same telegrapher. This is very fatal in terms of intelligence secrecy. Therefore, the navy will basically change the operator on the battleship every once in a while.

Once a high-powered wireless telegraph is sent, it means that everyone can receive it. Whether it's your own people or your enemies, it's like shouting "I'm here!" ”

"This ......," Fletcher raised his hand and pinched his chin, and muttered slightly for a moment before he said aloud, "I'm still waiting." Maybe a telegram from the Salmon will come later. ”

The intelligence department of the Ming Navy had already collected a large amount of military intelligence about the United States before the war, and one of the most important was the intelligence of senior commanders.

In the portrayal of Fletcher's intelligence, the senior experts of the Ming Dynasty concluded that this was an indecisive man. A character like Fletcher is more suitable to be a staff officer who is not responsible, but only has ideas. And not the commanders of the frontline.

When the traditional naval warfare gradually came to an end, the era of fast-paced aircraft carrier sea and air battles became the mainstream of the maritime battlefield. Warfare at sea is often unraveled within a matter of hours.

And in such fast-paced naval battles, the indecisive commander, who cannot make decisions on the spot, is simply joking with the fate of the entire fleet and the entire country. Many times, a mistake of just a few minutes can ruin a country's hopes!

It's just that such a thing as human affection cannot be avoided in any era and in any country. Who made Fletcher the nephew of General Fletcher Sr.?

A few minutes have passed, ten minutes have passed, and hours have passed! The submarine Salmon never heard anything again. Just when Fletcher was restless, a telegram was sent from the command of the United States Pacific Fleet in distant San Diego.

Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, telegraphed to Fletcher that the Ming Navy was most likely playing a trick to get rid of the shell of the golden silkworm. Pretending to go south actually turned the main force north to deal with him! Nimitz demanded that Fletcher retreat immediately to avoid being besieged by superior enemy forces.

It wasn't until he received Nimitz's telegram that Fletcher suddenly realized that he had become the first target of the Ming Navy.

In fact, after receiving a telegram from the submarine Salmon, Nimitz quickly understood the Ming Navy's operational intentions, which were to take advantage of the dispersion of the U.S. Navy to eat Fletcher's 59th Task Force in one fell swoop. Nimitz was still waiting for Fletcher to report on his current situation, but he couldn't wait for Fletcher's telegram.

Seeing that time is passing little by little, once it waits until dawn, the 59th Task Force, which is within the strike radius of the Ming Naval Aviation, will inevitably encounter an unprecedented fierce blow. Nimitz, who couldn't wait any longer, could only take the initiative to give Fletcher the order to retreat. Time waits for no one.

Because the aircraft carrier technology is excellent, the performance of the fighter is also very good. The Daming aircraft carrier, which uses steam catapult technology, can take off and land heavy fighters with very large bomb loads and fuel. The combat radius of these fighters taking off with a full load is about 330 nautical miles. At this moment, the combat radius has covered the 59th task force.

"Quick! The whole fleet retreated. Order the ground crew to be ready for a fighter sortie! Fletcher was sweating on his forehead, shouting orders his men to act as quickly as possible.

Don't look at the distance between the two sides now hundreds of nautical miles. But this is no longer the era of battleships. For a fighter flying at high speed, 300 nautical miles is just over an hour's journey. Once a large number of Ming fighters flew over the fleet after dawn, it would definitely be an irreparable disaster.

The American submarine kept a constant watch on the Ming Navy. Similarly, the submarine unit of the Ming Navy has been monitoring the American fleet. In particular, the 59th Task Force was disguised as the main force of the fleet to attract the attention of the Ming Dynasty, and was also preparing to quickly attack and approach the Hawaiian Islands to cover the landing force after the fighters appeared. Therefore, their approximate whereabouts have always been in the hands of the Ming Navy.

Both sides are regular aircraft carrier fleets, and the speed of the warships is basically the same. Even if Fletcher ordered the entire fleet to increase to its maximum speed despite the danger of boiler overload and explosion, it would not actually be able to pull much distance.

At this moment, it is only five or six hours before dawn. Because a lot of time was wasted waiting for the confirmation telegram from the Salmon submarine, it is very likely that the main fleet of the Ming Navy has approached them even more. The distance between the two sides may now be just over 200 nautical miles.

Five or six hours was enough for Task Force 59 to run a distance of more than 100 nautical miles, and this was not counting the time required for the huge fleet to be fully mobilized. Similarly, the Ming Navy was also able to chase a roughly comparable distance. At this time, it depends on how the commander chooses the combat plan.

In the era of aircraft carrier operations, the decision of the front-line commander can directly determine the victory or defeat of a battle! (To be continued.) )