.Chapter 51 Continue to work hard

Dongxiang Zuwang had no intention of leaving, and Yang Yufang had no intention of escaping either.

Because the fleet command center is below the hangar deck, not on the island, the fleet commanders such as Yang Yufang were not threatened.

Shortly after the fire was put out, the communications department repaired the damaged communications equipment.

At 1:30, Yang Yufang adjusted his combat deployment and allowed all air defense fighters to return to the Tianshan Mountains to replenish fuel and ammunition. Although the Kunlun Mountains can also recover fighter jets and release fighter jets, the damage managers are still cleaning the flight deck and hangar and are temporarily unable to carry out aviation operations.

Given the situation at that time, the Joint Fleet had launched two rounds of attacks, and had dispatched a total of 200 fighter jets, and they were definitely not able to launch a third attack immediately. Therefore, Yang Yu's side had reason to believe that even if the Joint Fleet refused to give up, they would have to recover the fighter jets first.

During this period, the First Fleet had enough time to let all fighter planes take off.

Judging from the losses, the fleet's air defense power was not greatly affected. There was still enough ammunition on the air defense warships, and the damaged "Kunlun Mountain" could still sail at full speed. However, before extinguishing all the hidden fires, the "Kunlun Mountain" had to reduce its speed to less than twenty knots, otherwise the strong winds pouring into the hangar would likely cause rekindling and trigger fires again. Moreover, rapid navigation was also very unfavorable to the aftermath work.

Of course, it only takes half an hour at most to complete the damage management operation of the Kunlun Mountain.

In order to speed up the pipe damage, the "Kunlun Mountain" is equipped with the latest fire extinguishing equipment, such as a foam fire extinguisher with flame retardant effect. When performing pipe damage operation, you only need to spray flame retardant foam that quickly solidifies when the air encounters the fire, and you can quickly extinguish the fire.

As for clearing these bubbles, that's what happened after returning to the port.

It can be seen that Yang Yufang was not panicked, but thought at the first time that the joint fleet would not give up and would definitely launch a third round of attack before dawn.

Given the situation at that time, if it were someone else, they would definitely choose to retreat.

Yang Yufang did not do this: First, in the next few hours, he could only sail for dozens of nautical miles at most, and still could not escape the strike range of the joint fleet; second, the aviation strike force of the joint fleet has been greatly reduced, and the intensity of the third round of attack will not be much higher; third, the second fleet is coming at full speed, and it is very likely to arrive before dawn, so there is reason to drag the joint fleet.

If we can create an opportunity to wipe out the joint fleet for the Second Fleet, it would be fine even if we suffer some more losses.

Of course, Yang Yufang did not forget the most important thing: reporting the battle situation to Mu Haoyang.

The problem is that Yang Yufang did not know the situation of the Second Fleet, because the Second Fleet was still radio silent and did not contact the First Fleet.

At less than 1:40, Mu Haoyang received a telegram from Yang Yufang.

"The joint fleet is still two thousand kilometers away from us. Even if we go north at full speed, we will not be able to shorten the distance to within 1,500 kilometers before dawn." Zhou Yusheng sighed and said, "If Dongxiang Zuwang feels threatened, he will evacuate the battlefield in advance, and we will not be able to arrive in time."

"Even if you can arrive, you will not be able to complete the attack at night."

After Ma Mingtao finished speaking, Zhou Yusheng said again: "The situation is worse than we imagined. The 'Kunlun Mountain' was damaged and might have lost its aviation operation capabilities. If a carrier-based fighter jet is dispatched to attack the joint fleet, it will definitely not be able to land on the 'Tianshan'."

When Zhou Yusheng said this, Mu Haoyang carefully read the telegram.

Yang Yufang only mentioned that the "Kunlun Mountain" was hit by an anti-ship missile, causing the fighter plane on the flight deck to explode, causing serious damage, but did not clearly mention the degree of damage.

Of course, this cannot be blamed on Yang Yufang.

The communication efficiency of long-wave radio stations is very low, so the information content of telegrams is very limited. More importantly, the communication antenna is concentrated near the ship island. Before the restoration work is completed, Yang Yufang can only use a lower-efficient backup radio station and cannot use the main radio station.

If it is not a backup radio station, it can still be used, Yang Yufang has to transfer to the "Tianshan" to command the battle.

After pondering for a while, Mu Haoyang said: "How likely do you think Dongxiang Zuwang launches the third round of attack before dawn?"

"This..." Zhou Yusheng didn't answer.

"The possibility should not be great." Ma Mingtao took out a cigarette and said, "The joint fleet has launched two rounds of attacks, but the result has only severely damaged the "Kunlun Mountain", indicating that the attack effect is not very high, and it also indicates that the joint fleet's aviation combat forces have suffered heavy losses. If Dongxiang Zuwang still has enough strength to launch the third attack, it will definitely not be delayed for too long, and there will be a following in at most two or three hours."

After Ma Mingtao said this, Zhou Yusheng immediately nodded in agreement.

"Then, we will wait patiently for two to three hours. Anyway, we will not be able to dispatch fighter jets during this period." Mu Haoyang did not spend any more energy, "Tell Yan Yingbo and ask him to arrange an attack operation, based on the maximum dispatch momentum. If the joint fleet attacks the First Fleet again before 4 a.m., we will dispatch fighter jets at 4 a.m. If the joint fleet does not launch an attack before 4 a.m., we will have to make other arrangements."

After giving the order, Mu Haoyang breathed a sigh of relief.

If the joint fleet can be destroyed in one fell swoop, he doesn't care about losing dozens of fighter jets. Anyway, the battlefield is near Iwo Huang Island, and fighter jets that cannot land on aircraft carriers can make an emergency landing on Iwo Huang Island, or let the pilots parachutize near Iwo Huang Island and the First Fleet.

The key is, are you sure to eliminate the joint fleet in one fell swoop?

Based on the situation at that time, Mu Haoyang could not make an accurate judgment, because Dongxiang Zuwang was likely to voluntarily evacuate the battlefield after the aviation army suffered heavy losses. In this way, the Combined Fleet could sail more than 100 nautical miles before dawn, and the Second Fleet would not be able to catch up with the Combined Fleet in any case.

More importantly, if Yang Yu's side did not send reconnaissance aircraft, they would not even have the chance to find the joint fleet.

You should know that even if Mu Haoyang ordered an attack on the joint fleet, it would take at least one and a half hours to prepare, and the attack aircraft group would take two hours to arrive after it was launched. That is to say, during this period, the joint fleet would have three and a half hours to avoid it. If the time before Yang Yu's side sent the report, the joint fleet would have a full four hours to avoid it, and there would be enough chance to get rid of the Second Fleet.

In fact, Mu Haoyang's judgment is not wrong.

While actively organizing the fleet's air defense, Yang Yufang did not dispatch reconnaissance aircraft again, and did not even arrange for early warning aircraft over the fleet to fly eastward.

At that time, he had a reason to do so.

Before 1 a.m., the shore-based aviation force on Iwoyu Island sent a message that he was sure to let the anti-submarine patrol aircraft take off before the early morning...

If the anti-submarine patrol aircraft can be launched, there is no need for the First Fleet to send reconnaissance aircraft.

In addition, Yang Yufang's fighter jets are already very limited. If reconnaissance aircraft are dispatched, it will definitely weaken the fleet's air defense power.

In the early morning...before, the two air wings of the Second Fleet completed the preparations before the attack.

At this moment, the first anti-submarine patrol aircraft left Iwoyo Island.

According to Yang Yufang's deployment, all 54 fighter jets on the Tianshan aircraft carrier have been launched. Because the restoration of the Kunlun Mountain has been completed, Yang Yufang dispatched eight reconnaissance aircraft after five minutes, and then let the remaining thirteen fighter jets take off for patrol.

At that time, there were several fighter jets on the Kunlun Mountain, but all of them were malfunctioning.

However, at this time, the situation on the battlefield has changed.

Before this, Yang Yufang had already known that the joint fleet was sailing south, so when arranging reconnaissance missions, he focused on the south.

The problem is that after the first two rounds of war ended, Dongxiang Zuwang changed the route.

At about half past, the joint fleet turned to sail eastward.

There are two main reasons for Dongxiang Zuwang doing this. One is that the distance to the First Fleet is close enough to attack the First Fleet even if he sails eastward. The second is that the reconnaissance aircraft dispatched by the Joint Fleet have searched all the sea areas in the north and westwards, but no second Fleet was found. Therefore, the possibility of the Second Fleet being in the south is very high, and the possibility of appearing in the east is the lowest. Only by sailing eastwards can we avoid encountering the Second Fleet.

Given the situation at that time, Dongxiang Zuwang did not expect to defeat the Second Fleet immediately.

With only one hundred fighter jets left, even if the Second Fleet can be discovered first, it is impossible to defeat the Second Fleet in the night air battle.

If it enters the strike range of the Second Fleet, the Joint Fleet will die without a burial place.

Of course, Dongxiang Zuwang did not forget to strengthen air defense alert.

As time goes by, the probability of the second fleet appearing is getting higher and higher, and the joint fleet has already been exposed and the first fleet supports it. Therefore, the second fleet may not necessarily dispatch reconnaissance aircraft, but may use the intelligence provided by the first fleet to launch an attack directly.

Therefore, while sailing eastward, Dongxiang Zuwang dispatched all carrier-based early warning aircraft.

According to his arrangement, an e-2f flew southward and searched the southern waters through passive search.

However, when arranging the fleet's air defense forces, Dongxiang Zuwang did not do too much. After all, only by eliminating the first fleet can the losses of the joint fleet become valuable. More importantly, if it is destined to be attacked by the second fleet, it is not necessarily useful even if it is strengthened.

In this way, Dongxiang Zuwang still placed his hope on the third round of attacks.

To this end, Dongxiang Zuwang arranged only twelve air defense fighters, and the remaining 116 fighters were all incorporated into the attack aircraft group.

Because the joint fleet turned to sail eastward, neither the anti-submarine patrol aircraft nor the reconnaissance aircraft were able to find the target before four o'clock.

At this time, the joint fleet had completed all preparations for the third round of attacks. In order to boost morale, Togo Zuwang also personally spoke to the pilot, saying that this round of attacks was a battle that determined the survival of the joint fleet, the rise and fall of the Japanese navy, and even the ultimate fate of Japan.
Chapter completed!