Chapter 1281: 1282The same night
In the dark night, a Prowler carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft was hovering over the war zone. Two pilots were checking the status of the aircraft in parallel cockpits against various screens flashing green lights.
Behind them, the other two pilots were controlling the electronic jamming equipment on the plane to interfere with the frequency bands of electronic communication equipment in Qin and the Dorne Empire.
The other side's command and dispatch has been completely interrupted. On the dark sea, the two fleets are almost unable to communicate effectively.
The light signal kept flashing, and the commander of the combined fleet, John Cleeves, sat in front of the chart table with eyes blank, and could not even speak a word.
His counterattack fleet failed to return, not a single Stuka attack aircraft returned. Also missing were 7 Corsairs.
There were 35 aircraft, but there was no news. It was only after dark that everyone in the Combined Fleet realized that these aircraft would probably never come back.
Because it was getting dark, the entire fleet was no longer able to take off more planes. There is no way, piston fighters do not have all-weather combat capabilities.
What makes people even more anxious is that because it is too late, they have no possibility of taking off search planes to look for friendly aircraft.
In other words, there is no way to send out rescue, and the 35 aircraft that bravely attacked the enemy fleet can almost be declared "lost".
"If these planes returned, they would be able to fly to a channel where the radio could barely communicate...but they didn't." Next to the chief of staff, the commander of the HNA Aviation Force was explaining technical problems to him.
At that time, the interference from the Tang Army had weakened a lot. If the returning aircraft flew about 50 kilometers around the fleet, it would be possible to restore communications and find one's own fleet.
It is a pity that these planes did not appear within a radius of 50 kilometers of our own fleet. No one knows where these planes went and what happened to them.
"We did not capture any radio signals." The officer shook his head and continued to add: "Because we are worried that the other party will know our exact position, we cannot actively send the fleet's position to those carrier-based aircraft like we did in the exercise. "
"I understand...you have tried your best." The chief of staff comforted the other party. In fact, throughout the day, the pilots of the combined fleet had indeed tried their best.
They have been taking off non-stop since the morning, and then persist in the sky for an hour or two. Then they have to land in chaos and deal with the dangerous situation of lack of fuel.
What’s even crazier is that the Tang Dynasty’s fleet has never been found, and there is no way to counterattack. Several attack batches can only search in the sky above the fleet, which is simply torture.
Finally discovered the possible location of the Tang fleet, but the dispatched carrier-based aircraft fell into the sea like a mud cow and there was no news.
Their aircraft was shot down by friendly forces, and because the aircraft carrier they were on was sunk, two were damaged, one was unable to land, and some crashed. The fleet that went to attack did not return...
This situation is like this. The morale of the naval aviation unit of the entire combined fleet is very low. Everyone has been busy for a day, but they didn't even see the shadow of the enemy.
In fact, the Tang Army's fighter jets found these poor Stukas and pirates head-on and shot them all down. The aircraft of both sides are not at the same level at all. No matter how **** the Phantom fighter is, it is still a genuine second-generation jet fighter. It is definitely much more powerful than a propeller aircraft like the Pirate.
10 Phantom fighter jets, encircling and destroying 7 Corsair fighter jets and 28 Stukas, seemed to be killing a chicken with a knife.
Because they could not contact their own fleets, the fighter jets of the Qin Army and the Dornish Navy had no way of feeding back what they saw to the fleets.
Their intelligence is very important: the other side has jet carrier-based aircraft! But John Cleeves had no chance to know such news. At this moment, there was only a harsh current interference sound in the communication channel of the United Fleet.
Of course, all the downed Combined Fleet carrier-based aircraft have no way to return, and the Combined Fleet, which has lost its light, cannot continue to send aircraft to counterattack.
Night was an unsolvable existence for aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft in the World War II era. Although they had some methods to barely take off and land, carrier-based aircraft were unable to fight at night.
So, apart from retreating, the entire fleet had no other good solution: John Cleeves knew that night was not a state in which the Tang army could not fight.
At least the opponent can launch anti-ship missiles. If the distance is enough, these anti-ship missiles are absolutely very deadly.
Because of this, after confirming that there was no hope of recovery of his carrier-based aircraft, John Cleeves ordered his fleet to quickly flee westward along the coastline.
There was no other way. After using the coastline to eliminate the two general directions in which the Tang army might exist, the combined fleet also almost locked the direction of its escape.
If they fled to the ocean, there was only one direction to the southwest. And this direction is obviously a direction that is "gradually approaching" the Tang Army. It would be okay if the Tang army did not discover the whereabouts of the combined fleet. If it did, countless anti-ship missiles would attack in the middle of the night.
This was something that the combined fleet could not tolerate, so John Cleeves finally had no choice but to order his fleet to advance at full speed westward along the coastline.
In order to take care of the old battleships in the fleet, the speed of the entire fleet is only about 20 knots. The Tang Army's forward speed at this moment still remained above 27 knots.
What's more, Tang Jun's planes are not about speed, they come faster! When it was just getting dark, when the special forces of the Tang Empire began to operate in the north, the Tang Army's carrier-based aircraft also launched a new round of offensive.
Dozens of aircraft roared close to the combined fleet, using radar to lock on the largest targets. Because it is close enough, the attack accuracy is more guaranteed.
The attack during the day was unable to allow the Harpoon missile to lock on to the large target at the core of the fleet, but now it is possible! As long as the distance is sufficient, the difference in radar reflection signals will become clearer.
Harpoon anti-ship missiles one after another flew out from under the wings of the invader's carrier-based attack aircraft, and the fire from the tail nozzle streaked across the sky like a meteor.
“This time, they must have a headache.” Watching the missile follow the radar guidance of the carrier aircraft and fly towards the warship with the largest reflective area, a Tang Army pilot showed a cruel smile.