At 9:30, Jizaburo Ozawa sent a fourth wave of fighters. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

There were 82 fighters in this batch, and it was used as a cover force or a finishing force...... As for whether it is a covering force or a finishing force, it depends on the results of the previous waves of fighters:

If the previous waves of fighters fought well, then this batch would be the final blow when the enemy reinforcements did not arrive in time and the target was dying.

But if the first few waves did not fight well, that is, they were unexpectedly defeated by the enemy and suffered heavy losses, then the task of these 82 fighters is to cover, they can temporarily seize air supremacy and suppress the enemy's artillery fire, so that the first few waves of fighters have time to land on the islands and replenish fuel and bombs, and then immediately take to the skies to fight.

This is also the essence of Ryunosuke Kusaka's "Operation A" plan...... Although the overall quantity and quality of Japanese fighters are not comparable to those of the US military, one fighter can be used as two fighters in a certain environment near the island. On the other hand, the US fighters need to take off and land from aircraft carriers, and the lift rate is certainly not as good as that of the Japanese army, so the Japanese fighters will form an overwhelming numerical superiority in local areas and thus achieve victory.

It is clear that under this tactic, the closer the enemy ship group is to the island airfield, the greater the pressure, because it means that the Japanese fighters will have less time to get to and from the island airfield to reload.

The sad thing is ...... The 7th detachment, under the command of John, brought the distance closer to 80 km, which made it only a few minutes for the Japanese planes to take off from the island and attack the 7th detachment.

John didn't feel the danger at this time, and he really did as Jizaburo Ozawa thought...... Bombers were sent out in batches to bomb, and at the same time, there were many warplanes loaded with aerial bombs and ready to go out on the deck.

However, Zhang Chi felt more and more uneasy, although the fighters patrolling and reconnoitring outside at this time had not yet returned...... Zhang Chi knew that he could not pin too much hope on reconnaissance planes and patrol planes, because the Chinese Navy had too few fighters and too much space and direction to reconnoitre, and it was very likely that the enemy's aircraft group would break in through the loopholes in reconnaissance, and by the time the enemy was discovered, it might already be too late.

Sure enough, what Zhang Chi was worried about happened, and the Japanese plane group was lucky enough to insert it from between the two groups of reconnaissance planes...... To be precise, this was not the luck of the Japanese army, because as mentioned before, Vice Takeshi Toyoda attached great importance to intelligence, so before the war, he laid a very tight intelligence network around the Mariana Islands, including Japanese intelligence officers and water reconnaissance planes on the islands.

Therefore, in fact, the reconnaissance planes and patrol planes sent out by Zhang Chi were all under the surveillance of the Japanese army, and the Japanese aircraft group avoided the reconnaissance of the Chinese fighters on the basis of this accurate information...... This method seems primitive, but in fact it is very effective, and sometimes it is even more reliable than radar, because at this time, the radar of the US military is affected by the thick cloud cover, heavy water and air detection range and stability near the Mariana Islands.

As a result, it was not until 9:45 that the radar of the Chinese army detected the first wave of Japanese aircraft.

"Master!" The radar soldier reported to Zhang Chi: "The group of planes was discovered, and there were 70 planes, and it was not clear whether they were friends or enemies!" ”

This is also one of the weaknesses of the Chinese Navy's participation in the war, because it does not form a system with the US Navy, so it always does not know friend or foe when it discovers the aircraft group.

"How far is it?" Zhang Chi asked.

"More than a hundred kilometers!" The radar soldier replied, "It will take ten to fifteen minutes to arrive!" ”

As soon as Zhang Chi turned his head, he ordered to Zhang Junhua, who had also been waiting for a long time beside him: "Get ready for battle, and the patrol team will go to meet the enemy!" ”

"Yes!"

The air defense sirens soon sounded, and the crew and gunners of the Chinese army rushed to their posts as fast as they could, loaded their ammunition and adjusted their direction, and the warships also formed a circle around the escort aircraft carrier to adjust their defensive formation.

This sudden change also alarmed a group of reporters aboard the "Pinghai", including Page and American journalist Kayla.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kayla tried to stop a Chinese sailor running to the cabin, but the Chinese sailor pushed her away without even looking at her, and then ran away with a single breath.

"Hey!" Kayla yelled at the sailor's back, "You can't do that!" ”

"No, they can do that!" Page replied: "Because they are preparing for battle, they are trying to protect our lives, and you are in his way!" ”

"Combat readiness?" Kayla spread her hands: "I got the news that we're safe!" ”

Kayla then raised her head in the direction of the escort carrier and said, "Look, they didn't react. ”

"We'll see!" Page said: "I think ...... We'd better go back to our cabins! ”

With that, Paige turned and left.

The U.S. military did not react much, and they even sent bombers towards Tinian Island.

So Zhang Chi called John: "General, our radar has found a suspicious group of aircraft, it is likely to be Japanese, I suggest that you release all fighters and bombers immediately, and push those who are not in a hurry to release them into the sea!" ”

"This can't be, Colonel!" John's tone was still relaxed: "Maybe it's our own fleet...... Don't be overly nervous, take it easy! ”

Zhang Chi shook his head helplessly, he didn't know what to say to John.

"Colonel!" John looked out the window at the ocean while drinking his coffee and said, "I know you are doing well on land, but you have to believe that air and sea warfare and land warfare are two completely different ideas......

Zhang Chi didn't answer, but just raised the microphone and pointed at the communication soldier who was turning his head to report, and the communication soldier was shouting at Chi Chi: "Master! Our patrol fleet has confirmed that it is an enemy group and is intercepting it! ”

"Do you hear that? Checkmate! Zhang Chi said to John, "My communications soldier just told me...... Our patrol fleet is already engaged in battle with enemy aircraft, and in a few minutes the enemy aircraft will fly over us! ”

"What? This...... That's impossible! John was stunned.

After a long while, John seemed to suddenly come to his senses, and shouted to the staff officer beside him, "What are you doing in a daze? Air defense alert! Man your posts! ”

Suddenly, the US soldiers on the escort aircraft carrier were in a mess, and when they heard the alarm sounded by the Chinese warship, they were in a state of confusion, and at this time, they finally determined that the air raid was indeed a fact, so they immediately took action.

But they wasted eight precious minutes, so casualties were inevitable.

(To be continued.) )