Chapter 464 Caribbean Sea (6)

It was also easy to reach a consensus on the first half of the second point. The primary target was definitely the enemy fleet's aircraft carriers, but Roosevelt was in a dilemma about the secondary target: whether the enemy's battleship force or the light aircraft carrier force was the secondary target, the top leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were divided into two factions and argued endlessly.

Marshall and Arnold advocated the battleship force, because the battleship had a louder name, was more difficult to build, and was more accountable to the people, while Admiral King and Li Hai advocated the light aircraft carrier formation, on the grounds that the battleship force was at the end and the slowest, and if it was properly operated, there would be another strike opportunity today, while the aircraft on the light aircraft carrier posed a direct threat to our fleet.

Finally, after repeated arguments and persuasion, it was determined that the light aircraft carrier formation was the secondary target and the battleship force was the ultimate target. At the same time, another sentence was added at the end, granting full authority to the commander of the aircraft carrier formation, Vice Admiral Fletcher, who could freely choose to strike the targets he thought were important and feasible, but he must strike the enemy hard.

This is not only power, but also pressure!

After reading the telegram, Cox, the chief of staff of the carrier fleet, curled his lips and said: "Washington has been driven crazy by the Japanese and Germans... Now they are putting all their hopes on us, which is not a good thing."

Fletcher sighed: "With great ability comes great responsibility. Who said that the United States now has few troops left to fight? If there is no major victory this time, not only will we be unable to explain to the American people, but the status of the United States in the eyes of the allies will also be gone."

At 4 a.m. on April 21, 1943, 24 B-25s took off from the Puerto Rico airport. They will arrive at the suspicious sea area around sunrise for reconnaissance and provide accurate strike directions for follow-up troops. On the five aircraft carriers under Fletcher's command, ground crews are refueling the attack aircraft and mounting bombs or torpedoes. Everyone is ready to get ready for a big fight.

Almost at the same time, on the decks of the four aircraft carriers of the Axis Fleet, all fighters were fully fueled and ready to engage in fierce battles. Earlier, a large number of naval reconnaissance aircraft had been sent out in advance for reconnaissance. Their search focus was the 160-degree fan-shaped area in the north. Unexpectedly, Tsukahara did not ask for the attack aircraft to be ready in advance. Although there was not enough space on the deck and the ground crew could not prepare so many aircraft at once, this tactic still made people feel very strange. Genda Minoru, Fuchida Mitsuo and others were full of doubts about this, but they did not show it. Instead, they took great pains to coordinate the various formations and arrange the rotation order. After a day and a night of rest, the pilots who were rescued all recovered.

The two checked the equipment of each pilot one by one. In addition to the parachute, there were life jackets. Several pilots complained that it was awkward to wear this thing. Genda Minoru's face sank and he said earnestly: "You must wear it well. Whether you can save your life after falling into the water depends on this thing. There will be no shortage of enemy planes today. Everyone is likely to be shot down. Everyone must survive-the Nanyang battlefield is still waiting for us to return safely. How can we waste our lives at will? As for the planes, don't worry. All the Germans who lost in the battle will guarantee to make up for us. We have plenty of planes, but not enough pilots. Every pilot is extremely valuable."

"Please, gentlemen!"

Now with the German tycoons as a foundation, the Japanese Navy did not care too much about planes, but the pilots were extremely valuable. A few hundred planes are just the weekly production of the Germans, but this group of elite pilots has been accumulated from before the war to now. Without them, the fleet could not withstand the successive attacks of the US Army Aviation in the past two days.

Time passed bit by bit, and the commanders of both sides held their breath and dared not let go of any suspicious points.

At 4:45, Tsukahara released the first direct-cover aircraft formation, and 16 Bf-219s roared over the bombardment fleet; at 5:05, the second direct-cover aircraft formation was released, and 12 German fighters flew towards the decoy fleet - there were not only 3 light aircraft carriers there, but also many transport ships, which looked more realistic: at 5:45, the third direct-cover aircraft formation was released, and a total of 24 aircraft flew over the mobile fleet. After 52 fighters took off, the mobile fleet still had 66 fighters left, but what surprised Genda Minoru and Fuchida Mitsuo was that Tsukahara only asked the Skyhawk to prepare the attack aircraft formation, and the other aircraft carriers were still ready to launch fighters, and they were required to mount auxiliary fuel tanks like the direct-cover aircraft.

No one knew the commander's intention, so they could only calm down and wait patiently.

At 6:15, the sky began to clear up. The direct-cover aircraft formation sent by Tsukahara was in place. All fleets were covered by aircraft. Except for the mobile fleet, which was still moving slowly at a speed of 23 knots, the bombardment fleet and the decoy fleet were moving eastward at the maximum speed.

At 6:35, the heavy cruiser Mogami, which was on guard at the periphery, was the first to report: "Two large aircraft were found, coming from the north, and they are expected to be Puerto Rican reconnaissance aircraft."

Afterwards, two more heavy cruisers reported this situation, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Genda, let the direct-cover aircraft send 8 aircraft to intercept, and the fleet's course remains unchanged."

After implementing the order, Genda Minoru reported: "Sir, the decoy formation sent a warning that the enemy reconnaissance aircraft has discovered our fleet, and the aircraft has been shot down by the direct-cover aircraft."

"Very good, the water reconnaissance still didn't find anything?"

"No, but there are no abnormalities reported in the direction of Puerto Rico and near the Virgin Islands, and the water reconnaissance is ready to return."

Tsukahara nodded and stopped talking. A moment later, news came from the front that the two large aircraft were confirmed to be B-25s and had been shot down by direct-viewing aircraft. A short message was intercepted.

At the same time, on the flagship of the US aircraft carrier fleet, the Lexington, Cox was also reporting the enemy situation to Fletcher: "Sir, the No. 7 aircraft sent intelligence that the enemy light aircraft carrier formation was found, located 160 kilometers northeast of Caracas, Venezuela, 870 kilometers from the current position of our fleet, and about 750 kilometers from Puerto Rico. It was heading due east and had a speed of 27 knots. However, the aircraft was shot down as soon as it reported..."

"The distance is still far away. Are there any reports from other reconnaissance aircraft?" Fletcher asked.

"Not yet."

As soon as the voice fell, a staff officer hurriedly handed over the telegram: "Report from Puerto Rico, No. 8 and No. 9 have lost contact one after another, and they both disappeared in the No. 25 sea area."

"It seems that the enemy's main aircraft carrier should be lurking nearby." Fletcher frowned, "Ask them to continue to send more reconnaissance planes to the sea area at all costs, I want to obtain accurate intelligence."

As soon as Fletcher's order was issued, another 6 B-25s rushed to this sea area...