Night is the attacker's best cover! No matter when, blocking the line of sight can block most of the opponent's detection methods.
The naked eye is the best detection method, and it can most effectively detect opponents. Unfortunately, the combined fleet cannot find its opponents at all now.
"We have no way to counterattack! The carrier-based aircraft cannot take off at all!" the chief of staff said to his immediate superior, John Cleeves, with a sad look on his face.
"But we must find a way to fight back! This is our last chance." John Cleeves looked at his chief of staff. His face was not very good, as pale as a vampire suffering from lack of blood.
He had been so autistic that he could not speak before. It was not until the chef brought him a cup of hot tea mixed with milk that he regained some of his consciousness.
"If we just run away all night and don't make it until dawn, we will be finished! Completely finished!" John Cleeves regained some sense, so his analysis of the problem became somewhat clearer.
The combined fleet has now lost close to half of its strength, or in other words, has lost close to half of its core combat strength. Under such circumstances, they really cannot hold on until dawn tomorrow.
Keeping running away like this is basically the same as waiting for death. Now the only way out is to fight back, and to fight back firmly.
"But! Sir John Cleeves, we have no means of counterattack! Even if we take off the carrier-based aircraft, there is no way to fight." The chief of staff said with some embarrassment.
The Qin representative who was responsible for liaising with the Qin fleet was always there. His job was to supervise Dorne's commanders and prevent them from doing stupid things with Qin's fleet at the critical moment.
From the beginning of this naval battle to the present, the combined fleet has indeed had no means of counterattack. The representatives of the Qin army were not able to say anything, so they could only stand still.
Later, the Qin fleet cut off the retreat and rescued people, which was also requested by the fleet itself and had nothing to do with the commander of Dorne.
"Forced takeoff! We have trained to take off planes at night! Take off dozens of planes! Keep fighting back!" John Cleeves was almost crazy. He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth.
"Radio navigation cannot provide any help to the fleet! This is not to fight back, this is to die." Dorn's chief of staff urgently reminded his superiors.
"You have to go even if you die! If they don't go, we will be completely finished! The aircraft carrier was sunk and exploded! Aren't they going to die too?" John Cleeves asked his deputy in a loud voice.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Both sides stared at each other. The remaining officers did not dare to interrupt casually and could only accept this moment of silence.
Outside the porthole, one of Dorn's aircraft carriers was exploding violently. Although the other aircraft carrier burst into flames, it was not particularly serious.
This aircraft carrier is an Essex class purchased from the Tang Empire, so its damage control equipment is relatively complete and its performance is good enough to suppress the flames.
Other battleships were not so lucky: one of Qin's aircraft carriers had exploded and sunk, and another battleship was also capsizing.
The entire Qin fleet suffered heavy losses, Dorne's fleet was also scarred, and everyone's morale had collapsed. Everyone knew that this was a unilateral killing and hunting by the Tang army, and it was not an equal battle at all.
In fact, many captains of battleships have begun to shout in their own bridges to disperse and escape. Anyway, destroyers and cruisers have small targets and are of little value, so it seems that they can really escape if they disperse.
But the problem is that if they really run away, it means that they have given up any possibility of counterattack. If the commander issues such an order, it means that his fighting spirit has collapsed.
At this moment, Qin still has two aircraft carriers that are okay for the time being, and Dorne still has two aircraft carriers that can still fight.
From a purely numerical perspective, more than half of the Combined Fleet's aircraft carriers have been lost. However, because two of Dorne's aircraft carriers were actually wounded, they were simply unable to fight and were not completely eliminated.
This is equivalent to saying that in fact, the combined fleet still has 6 aircraft carriers, but two of them are unable to continue fighting.
"But the problem is, we still don't know where the Tang Army's fleet is, and these carrier-based aircraft that barely took off have no way of finding the enemy." The chief of staff continued to explain patiently.
The commander of the carrier-based aircraft next to him also added in embarrassment: "Commander, it is possible to forcefully take off the aircraft, but these aircraft cannot fight in the dark."
There is no way. Neither the Corsair nor the Stuka has night combat capabilities. They can take off in formation in the dark, but these aircraft have no way to launch attacks.
The Stuka with torpedoes had to be close to the water to launch the torpedoes. They had no way to accurately identify the water surface in the dark night, nor could they confirm the enemy's route and estimate the torpedo projection angle.
Similarly, dive bombers cannot find ships sailing on the sea at all, unless the Tang Army's warships turn on all lights and instruct the pilots of the combined fleet to drop bombs on themselves...
This is not the most disastrous. What is even more disastrous is how on earth did these Stukas and pirates find their own fleet when they returned? Without radio navigation and precise coordinates, how did they find the aircraft carrier and land safely?
The entire mission is to commit suicide, a life-threatening suicide. How can anyone be willing to carry out such a mission? If it can successfully attack the enemy's fleet, it still makes sense, but if the enemy cannot be found, then he falls to his death on the sea... This
Isn't it stupid?
"If the carrier-based aircraft really fails, then let the battleship fleet turn!" John Cleeves no longer cares about so much. The only thing he can confirm is what his fleet must do.
"There is no way we can hold out until dawn! Counterattack with battleships! Let the fleet turn around! The enemy's battleships must not be as many as ours! We will sacrifice all the aircraft carriers. As long as the battleships can get closer to the artillery range, we can still bring the enemy together.
Sink to the bottom of the sea!" John Cleeves said crazily.
He is crazy... This is the true thought that many officers in the bridge of the aircraft carrier Viva Dorne Empire had for the first time.
If the commander of the combined fleet hadn't gone crazy, he wouldn't have come up with such a crazy idea. Now they think they're running too slowly, so what's the point of turning back and counterattacking?
And...battleships charging at night...isn't this something that the main fleet of the Mirage Kingdom has done? Do you know where the main fleet of the Mirage Kingdom is now? Do you think the anti-ship missiles of the Tang Empire are just decorations?
