Bathed in the first morning light on the sea, the Ming fleet continued to sail westward, constantly distancing itself from the Japanese fleet. According to the reconnaissance of the light ships behind, the Japanese fleet was more than 20 nautical miles away and was also sailing westward, as if it wanted to catch up and continue the naval battle.

However, the overall degree of the Japanese fleet could not be driven fast, and it was several knots slower than the Ming fleet, and the distance was getting bigger and bigger. The Japanese army was obviously afraid that the Ming army would accept it and return to Hong Kong if it saw that it was good, so the Japanese Navy's fiasco was a certainty. Now the Japanese army is desperately chasing, looking for an opportunity to get back. Although it was more advantageous for the large-caliber main guns of the Ming army during the day, submarines were easy to spot. The Japanese army summed up that after the night battle, almost all the heavy losses of the Japanese army were due to submarines. Now, as long as the factor of submarines can be removed during the day, in a dignified naval battle, even if the Japanese army suffers a loss, it may not lose to the Ming army.

The Ming fleet obviously saw through the other party's thoughts, and the more it raised its sailing, the longer the distance. After a night of fierce fighting, the officers and men were sleepy, tired and hungry. Now, taking advantage of this opportunity to leave the battlefield, the officers and men of the non-important posts of the Ming fleet have been arranged to eat and rest.

But on the two aircraft carriers, it was a tense scene. One plane after another was lifted from the hangar, and the ground crew used carts to push bombs and torpedoes and hang them on the bombers. The mechanic wore a long, heavy chain of bullets around his neck, which he attached to the fighters' wings. Below deck, the first pilots had already put on their flight suits and had breakfast in the dining room. Browned and fragrant potsticker dumplings are fried in the pan, and dozens of drawers of xiaolongbao are spraying hot air on the stove...... In addition, there are more than a dozen traditional Chinese snacks served in the restaurant, which are available for pilots to eat at their own leisure. The food for the pilots of the Navy can be regarded as the best in the entire navy.

……

At about half-past six, visibility was ready for the plane to fly. The whole fleet of the Ming fleet turned and sailed against the wind, and the two aircraft carriers began to release the first aircraft. Most of the first planes were bombers, with one squadron each of dive bombers, torpedo bombers, and fighters, and fighters accounted for only one-third. The mission was to attack the Japanese fleet behind it and attract the Japanese aircraft carriers.

At this moment, the Japanese aircraft carrier formation did not know where it was, so even if the Ming army faced a sumptuous meal behind them, they did not dare to feast, but honestly kept the main aircraft group and waited for the air decisive battle with the Japanese aircraft group. Of course, the Japanese battlefleet behind them was also a tempting target, but the main targets of the Ming army this time were the two Japanese aircraft carriers. Once the two aircraft carriers are successfully annihilated, then the sea supremacy of the entire western Pacific Ocean will almost be the Ming army's.

And just an hour ago, when the sky was just dawning, the Japanese aircraft carrier group, which was 8o nautical miles away to the east, was also in full swing to prepare. Although the Japanese army did not know that the Ming aircraft carrier was in the Grand Fleet at the moment, they knew that it must be not far away, but they didn't expect it to be so close. The general flagship, the Hyuga, has given an order to the flagship of the aircraft carrier detachment, the Akagi, to let the carrier-based aircraft fly at dawn to participate in the pursuit of the Ming battlefleet. At this moment, the two aircraft carriers of the Japanese army, the Akagi and Kaga, are also releasing the first batch of aircraft groups.

However, the Ming aircraft carrier was only 25 nautical miles from the Japanese battlefleet, while the Japanese aircraft carrier was 8o nautical miles. Fifteen minutes later, when the Ming bomber group flew over the head of the Japanese fleet, the Japanese carrier-based group in the east was still at least 2o minutes away.

The sudden appearance of the Ming army took the main fleet of the Japanese army by surprise. The Japanese fleet did not expect the Ming aircraft carrier to be so close that it could let the plane fly overhead not long after dawn. The Japanese fleet was originally pursuing the Ming fleet, and it was lined up in a horizontal formation that was conducive to the deployment of firepower, but now the flagship immediately ordered all the fire to change positions and form a circular air defense formation. For a moment, countless white marks on the sea below were twisting and twisting, as if dozens of insects were crawling, and the formation was chaotic.

The Ming bomber group seized the opportunity, selected two targets, the Hyuga and the King Kong, divided into two groups, and swooped down in turn.

Artillery fire flew in the sky, and large and small black smoke clouds exploded. However, the Japanese army's horizontal line was too open, in order not to miss the movement of the Ming army, the Japanese ships were 15oo meters apart, and more than 30 warships lined up into a large net with a width of 2o nautical miles. It was very good to deal with the enemy battleship that was also in a horizontal formation, but against the group of planes from the air, the firepower was too scattered.

Now, five battleships were in the middle of the long line, and the Hyuga and Kongo were lined up right together. 32 Ming bombers concentrated their fire on these two giant ships, in addition to the artillery fire of the Hyuga and the Kongo, that is, the artillery fire of the Haruna and Kirishima on both sides was relatively sufficient. No matter how far away the warships are, the shelling effect is already very poor.

The surprise attack of the carrier-based aircraft of the Ming army had a very good effect. In 15 minutes, the Hyuga was hit by three bombs and two torpedoes, and the Kongo was hit by two bombs and one torpedo. Now, the Hyuga has accumulated 15 battleship main gun shells, 3 aerial bombs, 2 heavy torpedoes, and 2 aviation torpedoes, and is already seriously injured and dying. And the King Kong also hit a total of 12 battleship main gun shells and 1 aviation torpedo. For a battleship of this class, which is not too well armored, this can be considered a serious injury.

However, just when the Ming army's carrier-based aircraft group was happily killing and getting carried away, in the distant eastern sky, the Japanese carrier-based aircraft group appeared.

……

Like the Ming army, the Japanese army did not find out the location of the Ming army's aircraft carriers, and the first batch of carrier-based aircraft also did not dare to put too much, and they also focused on armed reconnaissance. The bomber strength this time was comparable to that of the Ming army, with a squadron of dive bombers and a squadron of torpedo bombers. But fighters, the Japanese sent two squadrons. Fighters and bombers form a 1: 1 escort ratio. The Japanese army was not like the Ming army, which knew that its target was more than 20 nautical miles away, close at hand, and if the situation was not right, it could be reinforced immediately. The Japanese army didn't have a score in their hearts, and they didn't dare to bring more fighters.

On the way, the Japanese fleet received an urgent order from the Akagi, saying that the main fleet had been attacked by air and ordered them to speed up their voyage and go to the rescue. The squadron of Japanese bombers slowed down, stayed behind, and made sure not to break into the battlefield. The two fighter squadrons immediately threw off the bombers and flew west.

Since the Japanese fighter group came from the east, it happened to follow the rising sun, and it was perfectly hidden in the dazzling morning sun. It wasn't until they had already flown very close that the Ming fighter who was alerted appeared. The Ming army aircraft group was caught off guard, and was suddenly killed by the Japanese army aircraft group. The Ming army had only one squadron of fighters, and half of them flew to low altitude and participated in dive strafing. A squadron of dive bombers and a squadron of torpedo bombers below were even more focused on the large warship on the surface of the water, completely unaware that they had suddenly changed from hunters to prey.

The Ming army's aircraft group suffered heavy losses, and within a few minutes, bombers and fighters fell into the sea like dumplings.

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