It is naturally impossible for aircraft carriers to stay away from the formation. On the one hand, because the range of carrier-based aircraft in this era is limited and the command and guidance system is very immature. On the other hand, aircraft carriers must be protected by the main battleship. You must know that aircraft carriers are very fragile. If a team of light cruisers or destroyers approaches, they will be very fatal to aircraft carriers of this period. After all, they are all changed by civilian ships! The number of frigates in the German high seas fleet is far less than that of the British, so it is unrealistic to divide troops to protect them. The aircraft carriers must be close to the main fleet to avoid being caught by a running British fleet because they are alone.

This is not an exaggeration. In history, in the Battle of Jutland, although the main forces of the fleets on both sides were well gathered, many British light cruisers and armored cruisers ran around. Otherwise, how could the Black Prince be directly blocked by the German battleship with the main gun?

The Beihai is known for its bad weather, and this naval battle may take 2 or even 3 days to end. It is inevitable that the fleet will spend the night at sea. Therefore, in order to ensure that the precious aircraft carrier is not stolen by the opponent's light cruiser or destroyer, even when attacking, the distance between the aircraft carrier squadron and the main fleet is very close!

"100 kilometers? Earl, when we attacked the Allied fleet, how far did the reconnaissance planes discover them?" Raidel looked at Earl Suxiong and asked.

"150 kilometers away, of course, we were lucky that time. They did not implement radio silence. We first used radio to determine the general direction, and then searched with a seaplane, and found it soon." Su Xiong thought for a while and said.

"So, I want to say that the attack distance is actually much smaller than the opponent's reconnaissance distance." After Radell said that, he looked at Major General Rodhart. Of course, if you want to be serious, it can be said that the exposure of the Japanese fleet was due to the radio side problem. If the fleet ensures that the radio is silent, it will not be easy to be exposed. However, based on the principle of lenient information on the enemy, the Major General could not care about these technical problems with Radell.

"Under normal circumstances, during the day, our two battleships will ensure that at least one seaplane will perform alert missions in the air. This aircraft will fly back and forth about 70 kilometers away from the fleet. In the weather, in the clear weather, the pilot can theoretically see fleet smoke from 30 kilometers or even 40 kilometers away in the air."

"As an escort fleet, their aviation reconnaissance forces will be more inclined to the side or front, because if they approach from the back, unless the time is very good, the attacker knows the approximate location of the transport fleet in advance, and then uses the cover of night to approach, and then launches an attack at dawn, otherwise it is very troublesome to pursue from the back. If the Japanese use radio silence, it is difficult for us to know the exact location by relying on intelligence alone. After all, the other party has been in a remote way and rarely supplies near the ports along the way." Raidel said.

"It seems that we have caused trouble for ourselves." Major General Rodhart said with a wry smile. In fact, it is very difficult to lock in the opponent on the ocean. Otherwise, if it is really easy to catch, the results of the cruise operations in Germany in the second battle would not be that small. The system that can really put huge pressure on the fleets on the ocean is still the system! For example, the wolf pack system, submarines, headquarters coordination and command, the confidentiality provided by Eniger's cipher, the surface fleet's restraint on the escort force and the support of land-based aircraft together constitute the glory of the German wolf pack tactics in the second battle in history.

Now, in the Allies, it is really not easy for the Germans to seize their opponents this time!

"This is indeed a problem, but it is not irresolvable. From the perspective of a fleet commander, such a large-scale civilian fleet can be replenished, and there are not many enemies who can provide supplies. You must know that the Japanese fleet is coal-burning, and the general endurance of ships is not very large. So, no matter what, they will definitely replenish before entering the Atlantic Ocean! The supply must be in South Africa, and we can completely guard the waters from South Africa to Madagascar." At this moment, the long-silent Earl Suxiong spoke again.

"Although it seems that it is still very difficult to take into account the areas of South Africa and Madagascar, but in fact it is not the case. Everyone, if the US military intelligence is accurate, if the Japanese fleet will detour from the southern Indian Ocean, then the fuel will definitely be very tight, especially when it is close to Africa. The more this happens, their route can only be the most economical route, because there are almost no ports to replenish. Where do you find thousands of tons of coal on a small archipelago?" Su Xiong asked back.

As a fleet commander, at least it has absolutely in-depth research on navigation. The coal-burning fleet has a coffee table, and once this civilian fleet enters the port, it cannot be solved in a few days. After all, a fleet of 21 ships and a warship are equipped with more than 20,000 tons of coal at a time is not a problem. These coals require manpower and machinery to operate together. Unlike warships, there are many people on a battleship, but even in this way, the coal replenishment operation requires the whole ship to participate in the whole ship, and a civilian ship has only a few crew members? If it is in a small place, let alone no coal, even the port personnel will be on and off, the efficiency will definitely not be high! Therefore, it is almost impossible to replenish supplies along the way, so there are really few routes that the Japanese fleet can choose under the limitation of its endurance.

"I'll make up for the last link." Raidel also spoke at this time. "We also have submarines, which can use these submarines as a reconnaissance force. After all, our submarines have a large endurance and good surface speed. Another point is that if the Japanese fleet conducts reconnaissance through seaplanes, there will definitely be long-band radio communication between the aircraft and the fleet. In this way, if radio positioning equipment is installed on the submarine, the reconnaissance distance of the submarine can be effectively increased."

"This method can be found. Maybe the Japanese will reduce the chance of exposure by trying to reduce radio communications, but as long as they use reconnaissance aircraft, they must use radio to navigate. Their current technology should still be the British, and we still know the British radio technology very well!" Major General Rodhart nodded and said.
Chapter completed!