On board the aircraft carrier Essex, Admiral Nimitz's face was thick with weariness, but he gritted his teeth and held on. The ashtray on his desk was already crammed with cigarette butts. The entire office was shrouded in smoke, and he had lost count of how many cups of strong coffee he had drunk.
Ever since the Capital Ships fleet had sortied last night, he had not closed his eyes. He had originally placed great hopes on the main fleet formation, but he had not expected it to end in failure. This had undoubtedly put the American fleet at a disadvantage in this naval battle. It also made Admiral Nimitz deeply worried that they would lose the battle.
"Commander, the Germans have deployed a large number of aircraft to launch an Encirclement Offensive against the main fleet formation. The escort fighter groups we dispatched were no match for the Germans. After suffering severe losses, they have already withdrawn," Lieutenant General Halsey reported.
Admiral Nimitz put down the document in his hand, a flicker of disappointment passing through his eyes.
"Even our F4U fighter planes are no match for the German fighter planes?" Admiral Nimitz asked.
"Commander, according to the intelligence we received, the Germans deployed not BF-109 fighter planes, but FW-190 fighter planes. Our F4U fighter planes can at most contend with the German BF-109 fighter planes. Compared with the FW-190 fighter planes, there is still a certain gap. Of course, the gap is not too great. It is not like the F4F fighter planes, which are completely unable to withstand a single blow. However, the quality of our pilots also falls short of the Germans'. That is why we suffered such a crushing defeat," Lieutenant General Halsey explained.
Admiral Nimitz nodded. A loss was a loss; even if there