Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 37- Preparations

Yelland watches the sky behind the Nimitz as another of his F/A-18s comes in for a landing. After hours in the air on the way there and back, his planes are finally returning.

Yelland was very pleased when he received the first report about the effects of his planes' strike on the main Japanese fleet. He was particularly pleased to hear that 5 of his 8 torpedo pilots had hit their targets with their torpedoes, a very good record for the Hornet's debut as a torpedo bomber.

Yelland watches as the F/A-18 carefully comes in and touches down, catching the number 2 arrestor wire. As soon as it has stopped, deck crew move in to help guide the Hornet into it's parking spot to prepare for its next strike.

Yelland had already received word from Admiral Halsey that the Japanese had attempted to hit the Third Fleet with a good portion of their air group, but had failed. He had also learned that the Japanese seemed to have initiated the use of kamikazes a bit early.

Also included in Halsey's message was an order that Yelland immediately prep his planes for another attack. And Yelland has already ordered that the process begin.

"Sir! Deck crew report re-armament moving smoothly. Weapons are being brought up from the magazines and they're already working to get the missiles loaded on the first two Tomcats," one of the bridge officers calls out.

"Excellent. Continue aircraft recovery and get them re-armed and re-fuelled with 50 minutes of landing!" Yelland orders.

(Third Fleet)

Halsey picks up his binoculars and looks over in the direction of the Essex, which is currently about two miles away from the New Jersey. He watches as deck crew move planes about on the flight deck.

With all of his aircraft recovered, and all the aircraft that had been unable to fly for the first strike for various reasons now ready to fly, Halsey is ready to unleash the full fury of his air wings against the Japanese fleet. He has ordered every available aircraft be made ready to attack. Even Hellcats are being armed with bombs for the coming attack.

"Any word from Yelland?" Halsey asks.

"Yes. Yelland reports all his aircraft are back aboard, and he's re-arming and refuelling his jets. He expects to be ready to launch them again in about 40 minutes," an officer responds.

"Good. Keep me updated once we hear from Yelland," Halsey orders.

(40 minutes later)

From his position atop the bridge Yelland watches as the men down on the deck race to get the jets airborne. After a few moments, he looks away and directs his attention off into the distance, where his WWII planes are disappearing from sight along with planes from Wasp and Kearsarge. Yelland had launched prop planes from his three carriers to launch another attack on the Occupation Force, which is now closing in on Midway.

Yelland looks back down at the flight deck and watches as a deck crewmen works to secure a 500 pound bomb beneath an F-14. This will be the first mission in WWII where F-14s will operate as bombers.

All of his Tomcats will be armed with a few Sidewinders, and will be carrying a few 500 pound bombs. His Intruders will each be carrying a trio of GBU-16 1,000 pound Paveways. Eight of his Hornets will be armed with a pair of torpedoes and a pair of Harpoons. The rest of his Hornets will be armed with four Mavericks and a pair of 1,000 pound Paveways. They will be accompanied by the available KA-6s and Vikings to operate as tankers to refuel them on the way.

"Sir, aircraft almost ready to launch. Only 2 aircraft left to finish arming," an officer calls out.

"Begin launching immediately. Put the 2 planes still arming at the end of the list," Yelland orders.

The order is quickly ordered. The air boss immediately orders, "Get 'em in the air!"

On the bow, 2 Tomcats taxi up to the catapults. The catapult crews quickly get their front gears hooked up to the catapults. The two pilots throttle up as the catapult crews prep the catapults. Then, at the signal from the shooter, the catapults spring forward, hurling the Tomcats into the air.

The two Tomcats climb into the sky as the next planes taxi up to the catapults. The Nimitz quickly gets into a groove, launching two aircraft every 30 seconds. It doesn't take them too long to get all of their aircraft into the air.

Finally, about 20 minutes later, the aircraft are all in the air. In the cockpit of the lead Tomcat, the now promoted Captain Owens orders everyone to proceed. Having formed up, the strike force turns north and starts heading on course for the Japanese fleet at 320 mph.

(Waters near the Japanese fleet)

As the Japanese main fleet is starting to split and slowly starting to pick up speed again, just under the surface, the USS Balao moves slowly through the water. The relatively new submarine moves relatively slowly, her periscope unnoticed by the Japanese.

"We still have them in sight?" the sub's XO asks.

"Yup. Dead ahead," the captain says.

Balao is one of 4 submarines that has managed to surround the Japanese fleet. The four subs know from a transmission they picked up that the US and British fleets are planning to launch their aircraft again, and have all decided to wait until they spot aircraft attacking the fleet before attacking.

Her captain continues to watch as the Balao moves slowly through the water. He knows before too long, he'll be in a prime situation to unleash his torpedoes on the Japanese fleet.

(Third Fleet)

On the outside of the bridge of the New Jersey, Admiral Halsey watches as the first F6F Hellcat of the strike force rolls down the deck of the Enterprise and climbs into the air. The Hellcat climbs into a orbit above the task force as the next Hellcat rolls down Enterprise's deck.

Within seconds, Hellcats begin to roll down the decks of the Hornet, Essex, Lexington, and Bunker Hill. Finally, Hellcats start taking off from the Independence, which has quickly been repaired and put back into action, even though she's now down three of her bombers thanks to the kamikaze hit earlier.

Halsey smiles to himself as he watches Hellcats continue to take off, with SBDs, Helldivers, and Avengers queuing up on deck for their turns. He knows that with the size of the strike force being launched by the four Allied carrier forces, and the sheer amount of ordnance being carried by all of his aircraft, that soon enough the Japanese fleet will be at the bottom of the sea.

And I'll end there. I know, it's short, but it's kind of a set up chapter.

Next chapter will show the combined air wings of Task Forces 38, 54, 37, and 39 attacking and destroying a lot of the main Japanese fleet. It should be up soon. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!