After letting go of his worries, Bai Zhizhan finally took a nap in peace.

In fact, it was only a few hours before dawn came to wake up.

After breakfast, Bai Zhizhan returned to the commander's bridge.

"These were received last night, nothing unexpected happens. No, I have to go and have a good sleep and don't call me before lunch."

"Okay, go and rest."

After Li Mingbo went out, Bai Zhizhan sat down and picked up the telegram left by Li Mingbo.

There are only two important news.

After three o'clock in the morning, the "Wuzhou" sent a telegram, which had encountered the first main force in the Shuangche Strait and evacuated after the battle. Before the artillery battle ended, the first main force had turned to sail to the northeast, but it was impossible to infer its destination.

In the final battle, the cruiser detachment destroyed and injured several pursuing Nayi battleships.

Before sending the telegram, the cruiser detachment had already escaped all the enemy ships and was sailing towards the Watcher Strait in order to catch up with the first main force.

The Guard clearly mentioned that after catching up with the first main team, a power report would be sent immediately.

After that, the "Wuzhou" sent another telegram. If it did not catch up with the first main team, it did not receive a telegram from Bai Zhizhan, and would return to Xuhai from the Watcher Strait. The expected arrival time was on the evening of the 28th. The implication was that if there were other arrangements, it would be necessary to send a message to contact us before this.

Another message came from the local fleet, which Gui Boyong personally issued.

He had received a telegram from Bai Zhizhan and would send all seaplanes to monitor the Watcher Strait before dawn and search for the sea area east of the Strait.

To this end, the local fleet has allowed four heavy cruisers to move forward at full speed.

The main reason is that the range of the carrier-based seaplane is limited, and it is necessary to let the heavy cruiser go two hundred kilometers in front before it can fly to the waters east of the Watcher Strait to perform reconnaissance missions.

There are a total of sixteen seaplanes, all set out before 5 a.m.

Because the time for the report was before five o'clock, the four heavy cruisers would not report to the flagship immediately, so it is not clear how many seaplanes were successfully launched.

Gui Boyong mentioned in the telegram that after receiving the message, he would immediately contact Bai Zhizhan.

In addition, the message contains the communication channel used by seaplanes, so as long as the radio is within the working distance, the Third Air Special Mixed Fleet can intercept the telegram of the seaplane.

The sixteen seaplanes looked a lot, but Bai Zhizhan was not at all relieved.

To be said, because the Imperial Navy's carrier-based seaplanes have always had various problems. In fact, in the past decade, the Imperial Navy has always used ship-based seaplanes as search and rescue platforms, that is, searching for officers and soldiers who fell into the water during battle, such as pilots who parachuted and forced landings, and never thought of using ship-based seaplanes to perform reconnaissance missions.

The reason is that the seaplane is slow and the range is short.

Although the problem of short range has improved, the problem of slow speed has never been solved. Dragging a huge float, even with the best engine, it will definitely be much slower than the carrier-based aircraft of the same era, and the efficiency of performing reconnaissance tasks is far less than that of carrier-based aircraft.

Besides, before the war, the Imperial Navy had never encountered enough carrier-based aircraft.

Looking around the world, the Imperial Navy's fleet aircraft carriers have the best capabilities to carry combat aircraft, and they emphasize and attach great importance to aviation combat capabilities.

Not to mention anything else, in combat state, the "Imperial Capital" class can carry up to three additional squadrons and more than twenty carrier-based aircraft.

Bai Zhizhan made a second-hand arrangement.

When he came to the commander's bridge, Li Yunxiang arranged missions to the pilots who were dispatched today at the aviation combat center below.

It's a reconnaissance mission!

The two aircraft carriers each dispatched eight "flying fish", and all of them were commander landlines, all equipped with long-wave radio stations. In order to obtain sufficient range, they all took off overload and carried a large secondary fuel tank at the center of the belly of the aircraft. The key is that when the reconnaissance aircraft was flying northwest, that is, when flying to the north-south Sadou Island, they had to return to Zudao Island and land at Zudao Airport after discovering the target, that is, the third aviation team, and land at Zudao Airport. If they did not receive the order from the fleet, they would temporarily be incorporated into the first carrier-based aviation corps that had arrived at Zudao Island.

Simply put, it doesn't have to fly back.

It’s not that the range is insufficient, but that the reconnaissance planes return, which may not be exposed to the Third Aircraft Special Mixed Fleet.

However, the problem of this arrangement is also very prominent.

After yesterday's battle, there were only 47 torpedo aircraft left in the Third Ship-Board Air Force, including two spare aircraft that were pieced together overnight. After dispatching sixteen torpedoes for reconnaissance missions, the remaining thirty-one aircraft were only enough to launch one attack.

If two attacks are required, then there will be no torpedo machines available in the second round of attacks!

As for bombers, that's quite sufficient!

There were originally a total of 64 aircraft, but seven were lost yesterday. Including the spare machines, there are now fifty-nine aircraft, which is enough for two rounds of attacks.

Fortunately, the target is the third aviation team, two small fleet aircraft carriers, and dive bombers are the main force.

In this way, sixteen seaplanes and sixteen torpedo planes perform reconnaissance missions.

In Li Yunxiang's words, as long as the third aviation team follows the second main team, or follow the second main team to the Watcher Strait, dispatch fighter jets from the rear to provide air defense cover for the second main team, it will definitely be found by the reconnaissance aircraft.

The North-South Sadou Islands are northeast to southwest, like a chain across the Xu Sea and the West-East Ocean. The Watcher Strait is in the middle of the archipelago. On the geographical level, the Watcher Strait is the boundary between the North-South Sadou Islands and the South-South Sadou Islands. However, the exact location is actually slightly southwest, not in the middle. It is also true that the Watcher Strait is closer to Zu Island.

This determined that the Third Air Force could only move southeast of the Watcher Strait.

Go to the south of the strait?

It is too close to Zu Island, and it is not only easy to be discovered by Zu Island patrol aircraft, but also easily attacked by shore-based air forces deployed on Zu Island.

Yesterday, the shore-based aviation force on Zudao had attacked the second main force.

At that time, the Fifth Air Force provided cover for zero warfare. Did the Third Air Force have so many zero warfares?

East of the Strait?

Yes, but it is impossible to meet with the first main team that returns at full speed in time.

At least from the telegram sent by the "Wuzhou", after turning, the first main team was likely to go directly to the Watcher Strait.

Don't forget that the two new fast battleships of the Imperial Navy have returned to the Xuhai.

In the Navy, except for the four "Golden Steel" class that have not yet escaped, only the two "Gate" class of the first main team can block two "Gate" class of the first main team. Although the "Gate" class is not fast enough, the sixteen-inch naval guns are equipped with enough sharpness. In theory, only the "Gate" class of the "Gate" class can pose a threat to the new fast battleships of the Imperial Navy.

It can be seen that the Third Air Force is likely to move south to welcome the return first main force.

Now, the net of heaven and earth has been spread out, just waiting for the enemy to jump into the net!
Chapter completed!