Chapter 853: Meeting on a Narrow Road (Part 1)
Krank didn't know that his break-up fleet had gone to Hell's Gate two days ago. In order to block and destroy him, the entire main force of the Atlantic Fleet was dispatched. 7 aircraft carriers and 5 battleships all came to the South Atlantic to attack him. If Hoffmann had not suddenly caught Britain and the United States off guard in the British direction, forcing Nimitz and Cunningham to urgently return for reinforcements, he would probably have been eaten by others.
All the German officers and soldiers, including him, knew nothing about this. Not only did they not know that Nimitz had led the fleet to the north of Puerto Rico, but they also did not know that the Spruance fleet had actually been following the South Atlantic and was even following the Germans' return. Just wait and see on the only way to Buenos Aires.
Krank followed the established rhythm and harassed Brazil first, then wandered around the outskirts of Guyana. He found that there was no oil and water to fish for and he did not dare to go to the depths of the Caribbean to head-on, so he returned south to prepare for the transportation that had been loaded. The fleet returns home. In order to avoid aircraft detection along the coast of Brazil, the route he chose to return south was closer to the coast of Africa and was a distinct vertical line. At this time, Spruance's return route to Cape Town was an approximate diagonal line connecting Buenos Aires and Cape Town, with an obvious intersection between the two.
This intersection point is in a theoretical sense. Not only is it a long way from the two fleets, but there is also great uncertainty in reality. Before reaching the intersection point, the Krank fleet will turn to the southwest. If both are traditional battleships, The formations would never intersect but pass by each other, but now they are all aircraft carrier formations, and the situation has changed significantly.
Although he didn't know that the British and American fleets were hiding aside and preparing to use their dark guns, Krank, who had broken off diplomatic relations over the years and gained numerous victories, was very cautious. He launched a reconnaissance plane early in the morning on April 5, first to check whether there was any enemy presence, and secondly. came to check whether there was oil or water. By 11 o'clock at noon, no special findings were reported from other directions. Only No. 4 aircraft sent a report: "An aircraft was found during reconnaissance. It is suspected that the British and American fleets have been present, but the specific details of the aircraft cannot be found." location, ready to continue searching.”
The plane discovered by No. 4 was the reconnaissance plane sent by Spruance. The latter was also very cautious and paid great attention to the search even when he returned to South Africa. The only difference was that his pilot did not find the German plane. At this time, Krank did not know that this was the British and American fleet preparing to attack him. He thought it was just an Allied transport fleet returning from South Africa. It was probably a reconnaissance aircraft released by the escort aircraft carrier. He happily thought that he had caught another fat fish. While ordering the fleet to speed up and return south, he also asked the reconnaissance plane to continue to expand its range. Anyway, the maximum range of the Ar-352 could reach an abnormal 5,000 kilometers.
Since last night, the distance between the two fleets has been shortening at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. After Krank ordered the fleet to speed up at noon, the relative distance between the two fleets has been shortened to 25 kilometers per hour. By evening, the actual distance between the two sides had rapidly shrunk from more than 1,400 kilometers to less than 1,000 kilometers.
Although the investigation that day was inconclusive, Krank insisted that the pilot's report deserved great attention. Because all three people on this Ar-352 confirmed that they saw the aircraft, and the probability of making a mistake was extremely small. In this area and this location, there were either no aircraft or only British and American carrier-based aircraft. Therefore, he firmly believed that there must be a British and American fleet. Maybe it was not very large, or maybe it was hidden due to various reasons. He decided to take it out early the next morning. All reconnaissance planes were released, focusing on strengthening reconnaissance efforts in the south.
Just after dawn on April 6, 12 Ar-352s took off to conduct a southward search. Each aircraft was responsible for a 15-degree sector search area. More than 20 minutes later, the second batch of Ar-372 water reconnaissance aircraft was also released. It is also responsible for the 15-degree sector surface, but it is exactly 5 degrees staggered from the previous wave, forming a cross double search.
Spruance still didn’t know that Crank was determined to find him and still returned to Cape Town according to the established rhythm... At 9 o'clock in the morning, he was discussing with Roddick how to carry out the Indian Ocean war next, and suddenly the radio sounded loudly: " Sir, we found a German reconnaissance plane, they should have discovered the fleet..."
"What?" The two were shocked and quickly ran to the deck to take a look.
When he said this, the four F6Fs responsible for the protection mission had already rushed over to kill this daring reconnaissance aircraft. The German pilots did not hide. Relying on their skill and boldness, they swaggered over the U.S. fleet to conduct reconnaissance while quickly launching Report: "Discovered a large enemy fleet, including 2 fleet aircraft carriers, 1 medium aircraft carrier, 1 light aircraft carrier, 1 battleship, and more than 20 light ships, with a speed of 18 knots and a course of about 105 degrees. They are suspected to be heading to the Cape of South Africa. Dun, its current approximate location is 550 kilometers south-southwest of St. Helena..."
"Sir, we have detected that the enemy plane is sending a telegram. It is estimated that it is reporting its position."
"I know!" Spruance's face turned livid. Now he could see clearly through the telescope. Facing the formation of fighter jets encircling him from all sides, the plane calmly turned its head to the southwest to find neutral ground. Flying away, 4 F6F fighter jets chased closely behind him. But after chasing for more than 10 minutes at maximum speed, until they disappeared from the sight of the telescope, the distance between the two sides did not seem to be significantly shortened - the pilots had been right to complain, the enemy reconnaissance plane was so fast that even the fighter jets could not catch up. superior!
The performance of the Caiyun Kai is of course impeccable. It is faster after being replaced with a German engine. The German pilots who can now serve as reconnaissance aircraft are all veterans. They are familiar with the performance of enemy and friendly aircraft and would rather see clearly than leave after a quick inspection. Even when leaving, the pilot did not forget to play a little trick and deliberately ran to the southwest, trying to lure the other party into making a wrong judgment and thinking that he was coming from the southwest. In fact, after leaving the opponent's reconnaissance circle and getting rid of the pursuit of the F6Fs, he will turn around and fly to the correct position of the mothership - this is what the 5,000-kilometer range is used for!
"It seems that they were discovered by the enemy. Could it be that the Germans have sneaked back to Argentina without anyone noticing?" Roddick was very confused about this. They had been waiting in that sea area for the past few days, and it stands to reason that they should have allowed the other party to slip away. Very unlikely.
Spruance shook his head. His intuition told him that the opposing fleet had not returned yet and was still in the north at this moment. As for the reconnaissance plane that accidentally collided with and ran to the southwest, it might just be a panicked behavior when escaping just now.
"Let our reconnaissance planes fly again and carefully search for where the enemy ships are!"
Roddick immediately ordered the Unicorn and San Jacinto to quickly break away from the formation and release the reconnaissance aircraft into the wind, and 24 SBDs took off into the sky.
"Sir, do you want fighter jets to take off immediately to provide cover?"
Spruance shook his head slightly: "It's not necessary yet. The reconnaissance in the morning determined that there are no enemy ships around, which means that the opponent is still a little far away from us. Assuming that the enemy takes off immediately to attack the attack fleet, it will be at least an hour later. Tell the boys to get ready, maybe there will be a fierce battle today.”
After releasing the reconnaissance plane, the TF44 fleet still maintained a 100-degree course, but Roddick knew that this was a temporary measure, and the commander must make targeted adjustments in the face of the fact that his side was exposed. Now is the time to truly test a commander's skills. Every judgment and order made by Spruance will determine the survival of the entire fleet.
"Until I get clear evidence to the contrary, I still prefer that the enemy fleet is still in the north..." Spruance muttered, "Adjust the course to 140 degrees and accelerate the overall speed to 23 knots. Let's wait for the reconnaissance results."
"Sir! The enemy fleet has been found, about 600 kilometers away from us..." The confidential staff officer handed the telegram to Krank excitedly, "It's just a big fish, with 4 aircraft carriers!"
Krank was also startled when he heard that there was a fleet of four aircraft carriers. When did the Americans send their main aircraft carrier fleet to South Africa? But the investigation situation was obviously correct, and he couldn't help but ponder: Discovering the enemy first is a good opportunity, but this advantage can only be guaranteed until the sun sets today. As soon as it gets dark, the positions of the two fleets will be exchanged again, and they will be in two positions again tomorrow. A dark situation. Moreover, judging from the enemy's situation, the enemy has twice the number of aircraft carriers as our own. This is an opponent with superior military strength. If we don't strike first, we may be eaten up by the opponent tomorrow without even leaving any residue!
This is Krank independently leading the aircraft carrier combat formation. Now there is no Ozawa nearby to ask for advice. He was a little nervous and said: "The carrier-based aircraft are ready to attack. The fleet continues south and the speed is increased to 26 knots!"
The captain of the Ise, Taijiro Aoki, responded and immediately ordered the engine to speed up. Aoki, who lost the Aquila in the Battle of Newfoundland, did not receive any criticism. Instead, he continued to serve as the captain of the Ise, and by the way, he was promoted to rear admiral. , the latter was very grateful for it. The modified flight deck length of the Ise is 228 meters, and the beveled part is 160 meters. However, the ship is older, and the Germans' careful maintenance and replacement of the boilers can only make it reach a maximum speed of 26 knots. Aoki is familiar with this ship. An old ship of the United Fleet, running steadily at top speed.
The aircraft carried by the Ise including the hangar and deck only include 8 Ar-352, 26 Do-412 and 36 Ju-198. The other Savoy is a comprehensive aircraft carrier converted from a cruise ship and does not have a conventional hangar. , the number of aircraft carried is even less, only 4 Ar-352, 18 Do-412 and 24 Ju-198. The Americans' use of SBDs as reconnaissance aircraft has certainly weakened their reconnaissance performance, but at least they have maintained their attack power. Now the combined attack power of the two German ships is only 104 aircraft, and they still have to retain part of their defense power. At best, it is only more powerful than an Ethiopian ship. It’s just a little more than a Kx level…
The atmosphere on the bridge was very tense. Krank paced back and forth, and after thinking for a few minutes, he made up his mind: "We have few ships and few aircraft. We must attack first today no matter what, otherwise we will be in a disadvantageous situation tomorrow!"