The flagship of the Special Mixed Group, "Longjiang."
Although at 7:40 AM they had grasped the whereabouts of the Mobile Fleet, it was true, the reconnaissance aircraft that discovered the Mobile Fleet had taken off from the "Longjiang." But by now, at 8:20 AM, they hadn't launched the ship-borne aircraft carrying torpedoes and bombs.
The reason was simple; when they received the reconnaissance report, the Special Mixed Group was accepting ship-borne aircraft sent from the rear.
Two carriers, each replenishing with sixty ship-borne aircraft.
Even at the rate of one aircraft per minute, receiving sixty ship-borne aircraft would take a full hour. Since some pilots came from the Reserve Forces and had not previously landed on a "Longjiang"-class carrier, there were several mistakes, making the actual time taken even longer.
