Ansloth parachuted after the last drop of fuel on the plane had run out. By the time they returned to Task Force 2, Ansle had not had enough fuel to fly more than 1oo nautical miles. The escort fighter group he led took part in the air defense operations of the 1st Task Force, and most of the fighters exhausted their last strength. He also witnessed the bombing of two aircraft carriers.

While still slowly descending in the air, Ellsler saw the second wave of bombers led by Colonel Yang Shihong heading southeast. Then, he landed on the sea less than three nautical miles away from the "Yangtze River" aircraft carrier. The "Yangtze River" has been abandoned, and all the officers and men who can be evacuated have been withdrawn to other warships. Soon, a destroyer spotted Ellsle, who had parachuted, and a lifeboat was immediately sent to salvage him.

The two destroyers of the First Task Force who sent the "Yangtze River" away, and these two destroyers fired more than 10 torpedoes at the "Yangtze River," speeding up the sinking of the aircraft carrier. When Ansler climbed onto the destroyer, the destroyer was turning, adjusting the angle of the torpedo tube, and then more than a dozen torpedoes were fired. This is a heavy torpedo for destroyers, much more powerful than an aviation torpedo.

The explosions sounded one after another, and the aircraft carrier was like a patient with convulsions, constantly fighting and shaking. When the aircraft carrier's island was about to be submerged by the sea, Ellsley closed his eyes. He didn't want to see it, it was his mothership, the place where he had lived and fought for years.

"Major, go change into clean clothes!"

A sailor came over with a sailor's suit, "Maybe it's a little smaller, just make do with it!" ”

"Thanks!"

Ellsler nodded at the sailor who was about the same size as him, and after a long breath, he looked towards the sea where the "Yangtze River" used to be.

The "Yangtze River" has disappeared from the sea, leaving behind only a huge whirlpool, and only a few pieces of broken wood and other debris floating on the surface of the sea. The destroyer began to turn, and Anslo entered the cabin. There were still some officers and men on the sea who had not been salvaged, and the destroyers occasionally stopped. Put down the lifeboat, or throw the rope to salvage the emperor ** people who are floating on the sea.

When Zhang Naiding's group and Deng Zi's group returned to the sea together, when they passed through the sea area where the First Task Force was attacked, only the destroyers were still searching for people who had fallen into the water on the sea (including many US pilots), and a few long-range maritime patrol planes (large seaplanes with three engines installed) had already flown over to help the destroyers search for people who had fallen into the water.

"Has Task Force 1 retreated?"

Deng Zi said as he looked at Zhang Naiding's landline on his left.

"It should be, probably the 'Xuanzong' aircraft carrier is not finished yet."

Zhang Naiding sighed secretly. "Let's go back quickly, Yang Shihong and they should be able to deal with the remaining two aircraft carriers!"

The bomber group continued to fly northwestward, and nearly an hour later, when Zhang Naiding and Deng Zi saw the fleet in front of them, they were immediately dumbfounded.

"Captain, that's our fleet?"

"!"

Deng Zi scolded in a low voice, "Contact the fleet and see if we have a way to land." ”

The navigator immediately got in touch with the command staff of the fleet aviation, and the answer was no, all three aircraft carriers were still fighting fires. And the flight deck was damaged to varying degrees. Not only was there no place for the bombers to land, but there were also no personnel to organize the landing. At this time, Zhang Naiding and they were all a little dumbfounded. The bombers have a maximum of 5o nautical miles of fuel left, and the fleet is still more than 2oo nautical miles from the nearest island!

"Arrange a sea area for them to make a forced landing."

Huang Xiaotian immediately made a decision, "Arrange for the destroyer to rescue the pilot who made a forced landing as soon as possible, the bomber has lost nothing, the pilot must be rescued, no one is missing!" ”

The bombers began to concentrate, and those with little fuel made a forced landing first, and some pilots simply parachuted at high altitudes. This is simply an acrobatic game, and the bomber will definitely not be able to keep it. But the bombers are not important, it is not very difficult for the Imperial Navy to replenish the bombers of an air wing, the most important thing is those pilots, they are the essence of the Imperial Navy, and they must be rescued.

"Mother, that's it!"

Deng Zi did not choose to make a forced landing, but chose to parachute, "Boy, you jump first." Jump on and don't lose time! ”

"Captain, then I'll go first!"

After the navigator jumped out of the cabin, Deng Zi reluctantly stroked the instrument panel in front of him, let out a sigh, and climbed out of the cabin, and when the bomber was about to lose control, he jumped out, and then pulled the parachute. Deng Zi watched his landline sink headlong into the sea, and his navigator was not far below, hanging under a white parachute.

When Deng Zi raised his head, it was in the direction of the "Pearl River" aircraft carrier. The fire has enveloped the entire aircraft carrier, and the aircraft carrier is like a pile of dry wood that is burning brightly. The flight deck of the aircraft carrier is made of wood and burns easily. The fire must have been started by aviation gasoline, or heavy fuel oil used by battleships, and it was difficult to extinguish. The officers and men on the battleship were struggling to put out the fire, and the two cruisers had already approached, and the high-pressure water cannons on the cruiser were pouring water on the aircraft carrier to reduce the temperature of the aircraft carrier and prevent the ammunition inside the aircraft carrier from being detonated due to the high temperature.

In the distance, the situation of the "Huaihe" aircraft carrier was not much better, and its degree had been reduced to less than 10 knots; thick smoke was rising from the aircraft carrier, and many officers and men were running on the flight deck, pushing some irreparable fighters into the sea to prevent the remaining fuel on the planes from igniting. There are also people spraying water inside the aircraft carrier with high-pressure water cannons, presumably the inside of the aircraft carrier is on fire. Damage management personnel wearing asbestos fireproof suits went in and out, and from time to time some wounded officers and soldiers were brought out.

A gust of wind blew, Deng Zi spun around twice in the air, and he immediately pulled the control cable on the parachute left and right to stabilize the parachute. When he looked into the distance again, he saw the "Yellow River" aircraft carrier struggling.

The aircraft carrier "Yellow River" is the flagship of the second task force. The aircraft carrier was also badly wounded, the flag of the fleet commander on the island was still flying, and the officers and men on the battleship were struggling to control the fire on the battleship. Because of the closest, Deng Zi clearly saw that there were at least four huge holes on the aircraft carrier, and the battleship was leaning to the right, probably the right side was hit by a torpedo, causing serious water inflow into the compartment on the right side.

"Commander, the boiler has gone out and is trying to repair it, but ......"

An officer with a face covered in black smoke ran over, "You better get out of here quickly, the cruiser 'Changsun Shunde' is approaching, please transfer to the cruiser, right?" ”

"You're going to abandon the ship?"

Lei Shaoqing immediately understood.

The officer was embarrassed. "General, we'll try to save it. But no one can guarantee it now, so you better transfer to the cruiser first, and leave it to us here! ”

"No, I ......"

Before Lei Shaoqing's words were finished, suddenly an explosion came, and the officers and men on the battleship were all shocked. When everyone looked in the direction from which the explosion came, the huge island of the "Pearl River" had already fallen from the sky and splashed dozens of meters high when it fell into the sea. The explosions were one after another, and it must have been the death of the ammunition depot of the aircraft carrier. Although the ammunition depots have been filled with water, this does not completely prevent the explosion of ammunition. And there is a part of the ammunition depot that is located above the waterline (a fatal flaw in the design), and the effect of water injection will not be very good.

"Throw all the ammunition on the aircraft carrier. Don't stay! ”

On the battleship, a new order was immediately given by a senior officer. The "Pearl River" is already finished, but the "Yellow River" cannot be allowed to finish like this again.

Lei Shaoqing gritted his teeth. Although the "Pearl River" has not sunk for the time being, the officers and men on the battleship have already begun to jump into the sea to escape, and the captain must have given the order to abandon the ship, and perhaps, the captain has been blown up!

"General, let's go!"

The officer on the ground of the aircraft carrier became anxious.

Lei Shaoqing still didn't look like he was leaving, he was a little blind, a few hours ago, the fleet was fine, and now. All three aircraft carriers were badly damaged, and it was only a matter of hours.

"Take the general down, and also, all the senior officers immediately evacuate the aircraft carrier!"

The captain of the 6th squad ran over, and he also brought more than a dozen soldiers of the 6th squadron, "All the officers of the fleet staff are all retreating, this is the order!" ”

The captain gives the order to the major general! But this is indeed an order, when the general is in danger, they must first ensure the safety of the general. As for the general's orders, that's for the future.

Lei Shaoqing and the others were forcibly dragged to the side of the aircraft carrier, and then put on the fireboat. The cruiser "Changsun Shunde" had already approached, and the high-pressure water cannon on the cruiser was still spraying seawater on the "Yellow River," but it did not have much effect. Soon, the fleet commander's flag was raised on the "Changsun Shunde", and the cruiser became the flagship of the second task force.

Half an hour after Lei Shaoqing and his men boarded the cruiser, the operation to rescue the "Yellow River" was declared a failure, and the ammunition depot of the aircraft carrier was not destroyed, but too much water had entered, and the right tilt was too serious to be leveled. The officers and men on the aircraft carrier did their best, and the result was only a few more hours of support for the aircraft carrier. After the captain gave the order to abandon the ship, the officers and men left the aircraft carrier on 6 and boarded the lifeboats (many of them jumped directly into the sea wearing life jackets, because the lifeboats on the starboard side of the aircraft carrier could not be put down at all) At 5:38, the "Yellow River" disappeared from the sea, and more than 18oo officers and men escaped, and more than 15oo people, including more than 6oo wounded.

The sinking of the "Pearl River" was even later, and although the explosion of the ammunition depot on the aircraft carrier completely destroyed the aircraft carrier and made it lose its value of salvation, the water ingress of the aircraft carrier at that time was not serious. After the captain gave the order to abandon the ship, the officers and men on the battleship did not control the fire again. As a result, the aircraft carrier exploded again at about 5:20 a.m. (this time the second aviation gasoline depot was detonated), and the explosion damaged the main load-bearing structure of the aircraft carrier, and the aircraft carrier began to sink more. At 5:55 a.m., the "Pearl River" disappeared from the sea. The aircraft carrier also had a big explosion after sinking, probably because the ammunition in the main ammunition compartment of the aircraft carrier was detonated!

The "Huaihe" has been holding on, and only one of the four main boilers of the aircraft carrier is still running. It is precisely in this way that the aircraft carrier can sail slowly at eight knots. Fortunately, none of the power units on the aircraft carrier were damaged, and the pumping machines were always working at full capacity. Later, several spare pumping machines were brought from other warships. The water intake of the aircraft carrier was controlled, and it was quickly straightened.

"I just received the news that all three aircraft carriers of the 16th Task Force were sunk, and Yang Shihong saw that these three aircraft carriers were sunk, and in addition, he also sank fourteen enemy warships, most of which were destroyers."

Huang Xiaotian handed the telegram to Lei Shaoqing, who looked a little numb. "We have taken out at least three enemy aircraft carriers, and there is a good chance that the 'Enterprise' of the 17th Task Force has been sunk, but now there is no confirmation from the pilots, and I have arranged for personnel to ask several captains of the First Air Wing."

Lei Shaoqing nodded slightly. "Have all the officers and soldiers who fell into the water been salvaged?"

"The search and rescue efforts are ongoing, probably until after dark. HNA has sent long-range maritime patrol planes to help us find the officers and soldiers who have fallen into the water. ”

Huang Xiaotian hesitated slightly, "In addition, we also picked up some US pilots, what to do with these people?" ”

"Lock them up first, and after returning to the anchorage, hand them over to Team 6."

Lei Shaoqing let out a sigh and stood up from his chair, "Have you contacted the First Task Force?" How is General Tan Renhao's injuries? ”

"We're in contact, and now the ships of Task Force 1 are heading in the direction of Agrihan Island, and they'll probably be able to catch up soon." The damage to the aircraft carrier Xuanzong was very serious, and now that the fire on the aircraft carrier has been extinguished, the officers and men are trying to find ways to plug several loopholes and reduce the water intake of the aircraft carrier, and perhaps, they can really save the aircraft carrier. ”

"It's better to be able to get the aircraft carrier back."

Lei Shaoqing gritted his teeth, "Help me contact Hao Dongjue, and after returning to Agrihan Island, I will go over immediately." Also, inform the military doctors on the island and get them ready. Contact General Liao Hanxiang and ask him to find a way to contact the Ryukyu Island side to see if there is a way to send General Tan Renhao back for treatment immediately! ”

These things were quickly arranged, and Lei Shaoqing slowly returned to normal, he didn't care about victory or defeat, he was only worried about whether Tan Renhao could survive this hurdle!