Chapter 2702 Uninvited Guest
"Ignore him, let the reconnaissance team pay more attention, the original plan remains unchanged!" Sims's face changed slightly, but he quickly made a decision.
"Okay, follow your orders." Maggie Fen said. At this time, what the Americans did not expect was that at the edge of the fleet warning zone, a ghost-like figure was quickly passing through at low altitude. This ghost had noticed the group of destroyers and found the rear of the destroyers serving as reconnaissance and vanguard. Mission 1 Armored Cruiser Detachment!
"Captain, there seems to be a situation ahead." At this time, a Felixstowe F5 seaplane was cruising around the US fleet. He belongs to the 5th Seaplane Squadron of the Japanese Navy, but it is a unit staffed by ordinary British crew members. There are 4 people on each aircraft, including the captain, radio operator, navigator and driver. Under normal circumstances, the captain and radio personnel are British.
At this time, the seaplane numbered Bat No. 3 was conducting a "spider web search" in the nearby waters with three other seaplanes of the same model. This does not mean that the Japanese knew the whereabouts of the American fleet through some circumstances, but because American submarines often enter the Sulawesi Sea through here and then disperse to Japanese-controlled waters. Therefore, both Britain and Japan have stepped up their searches of this sea area. Considering that it is far away from the base and it is inconvenient to deploy large warships, seaplanes in this sea area have undertaken a considerable part of the anti-submarine mission. However, this time, instead of catching a submarine hidden in the deep sea, the British encountered a "big shark"!
"It's a destroyer! There is at least one team. Look, they are patrolling. And I guarantee that it is definitely not Japanese. If the Japanese appear in this area, they will send us a telegram." Gates, who was operating the radio equipment, put down his phone. With the work in hand, he picked up the telescope and began to observe the fleet in the distance. He could already determine the identity of the other party, an American destroyer squadron!
"There seems to be smoke in the distance?" At this time, Taro Kojima, who was serving as the navigator, said, pointing to a place further than the destroyer's position. There were several faint smoke pillars there, and the color was very light even under today's good weather. . Under the smoke column, there seemed to be some slender figures looming between the sea and the sky.
"Are you sure the United Fleet has not had any activity recently?" Cunningham looked at the strange fleet appearing in the distance with a complex expression. If he wanted to see more clearly, then he should get closer or climb up.
But unfortunately, he didn't dare, because he knew that even if a seaplane as big as his Felixstowe F5 was painted with camouflage paint, it would still be discovered if it flew too high. Then alert the snake. If you are more unlucky, you may be killed by a plane sent by a warship equipped with seaplanes or fighter jets. This situation often happened in the North Sea at the end of the war. The British and Germans had many seaplanes. This is how the plane was lost.
"Can you tell the size of the opponent's fleet?" Gates put down the telescope in his hand and said.
"can not tell,
Obviously, a single American destroyer should not come here. This is already the hinterland of Japan's controlled area. What can a group of them do here? Shelling ground facilities? The 5-inch artillery is too weak to fight? It would be better to use a submarine, and it is so far away from the westernmost supply station in the United States. It is completely abnormal for a destroyer to appear here. " Cunningham said.
As someone who had been in the British destroyer squadron and often performed reconnaissance missions, Cunningham was very good at judging the enemy's situation. In just a few minutes, he judged that the destroyer squadron in front of him should be just an avant-garde, or even an avant-garde. The avant-garde is responsible for the outermost guard. If it is a large fleet, the outermost guard fleet may be more than 20 nautical miles away from the main fleet! That means nearly 40 kilometers! He has no ability to guarantee that he can see the entire fleet across a distance of 40 kilometers! And it is even more impossible to send the telegram directly, because that is courting death! Perhaps, in the sky, enemy aircraft hidden there are overlooking the sea, ready to give the peepers a fatal blow at any time!
"Captain, we don't have much fuel and we must make a decision early." The pilot looked at the pointer on the fuel tank and said. The specially modified Felixstowe F5 seaplane can fly for 6 hours on its own internal fuel alone. With the addition of the auxiliary fuel tank, it can support 9 hours. Now, it is almost night, and according to the normal task schedule, it is time to embark on the return journey. But now, because an accident happened, they had to make a choice, continue the reconnaissance or return quickly.
"Let's get past the destroyer squadron and see what's behind the destroyer," Cunningham said after thinking for a moment.
"Are we reporting to headquarters now?" Gates asked.
"No first, unless we are discovered, we cannot send the report first and expose ourselves this time." Cunningham thought for a while and said. In fact, the meaning of the current report is relatively limited. First of all, from the time point of view, it is almost night, and once it enters the night, the opponent's fleet will definitely not be able to track it. After one night, who knows where this fleet has gone? The message sent out today does not make much sense. Second, reporting may expose oneself. So Cunningham just wants to determine the size of this fleet. As for what this fleet does? To be honest, Cunningham doesn’t know. Maybe he wants to attack a certain island at night, maybe he just comes for a walk, maybe there is a supply ship behind him, used to provide supplies for American submarines entering the Sulawesi Sea. Who knows? .
"We approach from the rear of the stern of the local fleet. The observation positions of the new American warships are in front of the chimneys. The observation points at the back are low and easily disturbed by smoke. We are safer." Cunningham ordered, and then , the seaplane adjusted its course and sneaked past the warning area of the destroyer fleet, flying deeper.
"Get closer, we can't tell the type of each other's warships." Cunningham ordered while holding the telescope with one hand and observing the shadow of the ship in the distance. The weather has darkened now, but the distance between the two sides is still relatively far, and the worst thing is The opponent's warship also used camouflage, and it was impossible to determine the true height of the stem and the length of the warship. However, according to Cunningham's experience, the length of the ship was at least about 120 meters, and the displacement should be tens of thousands of tons.
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