Chapter 65 found the target

On May 4, both sides had aircraft carriers that needed to be refueled.Fletcher's side is Fitch formation, and Inoue's side is Takagi formation. Both aircraft carrier formations were absent from the battle that day. After the air attack on Tulagi Port, the Takagi formation was too far away to provide support in time, so Inoue had to temporarily withdraw the landing force, leaving only a small force to guard the island.Then, the Goto formation arrived, but at this time the US task force had disappeared without a trace. Knowing that a large number of US fleets had appeared in the Coral Sea, Takagi immediately issued an order: "Let's go, prepare to fight!"

Because of the defeat of the allied navy in the Java Sea Battle, Takagi became a first-line star in the Japanese naval circle, and his reputation and prestige were second only to Nagumo, who became famous by attacking Pearl Harbor.As fame rises, temper rises. Takagi, like Nagumo, now has a characteristic, that is, he is eager to win, arrogant and underestimates the enemy. No matter what work Yamamoto arranges, he always has an impatient expression: anyway, he will kill with one arrow. For the matter of hitting the target, do mothers-in-law and mothers need to be afraid of this? The Takagi formation broke through the waves and went south. After entering the Coral Sea, they pouted their buttocks and looked for the task force. At the same time, Fletcher was also scouting the location of the Takagi formation.For the two fleets, whoever finds each other first will be able to launch an offensive first, and of course they will be able to take the lead.

On May 5, I searched for a day, but found nothing. On May 6, continue.On the vast sea with low rain and fog, it is not easy to find a few warships. Both sides stared wide-eyed, hoping to find each other first and launch an attack early. At 11 am, a Japanese search plane spotted the task force refueling after the rendezvous, and the pilot immediately reported to the Japanese radio station. Several Allied radio stations received the news through the radio at the same time, and the Pacific Fleet Command was very nervous for a while, and Nimitz's heart was in his throat. The Japanese army knew where the task force was, but the task force did not know the location of the Takagi formation. The Takagi formation could launch an attack in advance. In that case, the task force would really be completely over.

Nimitz was very afraid of receiving the news that Fletcher was attacked, but he was relieved when there was no news until night. It turned out that due to the failure of the radio signal, the Takagi formation neither received the reconnaissance report from the search plane, nor the situation report forwarded by the Japanese military radio station, and missed a great opportunity to attack in vain. Everyone was playing hide-and-seek in the dark, and due to the use of radio silence, Fletcher also did not know that he had been found by the search engine.According to the information provided by the headquarters, the two formations of the Japanese army will invade Port Moresby the next day. Since Takagi could not be found for the time being, he simply decided to wait for the rabbit, and after refueling, he went to the vicinity of the channel leading to Moresby Make an ambush.

At noon that day, the Goto formation escorted a group of transport ships preparing to pass through the channel.The Japanese search plane grasped the movement of the task force, so it hurriedly reported directly to Inoue's headquarters. Knowing that two US aircraft carrier formations were about to launch an ambush, the Inoue Command reacted with panic.While Inoue urgently ordered the transport ship to stop advancing, he ordered the Takagi formation to attack quickly. Takagi got the truth this time, but at that time he was refueling south of Guadalcanal Island. By the time he was ready to narrow the distance enough to launch an air strike, the clouds and fog had thickened, making it very difficult for fighter jets to pass through and see. .

Takagi didn't take the task force seriously.Anyway, it's a matter of left and right, and it's okay to chop it later.He decided to continue to work hard and wait until dawn before going after him. On May 7, one night later, due to the cover of night, everyone returned to the same starting line. Although the actual distance was less than 100 nautical miles, the fleets of both sides did not know where the other side was. That morning, Japanese search planes circled over the Coral Sea again.It was not easy to find the target in the misty morning fog, but the pilot re-locked the target and immediately reported in military language through the radio that he had spotted the US "aircraft carrier" and "cruiser".

This remark happened to be monitored by the Hawaii intelligence station.Rochefort reported the situation to Layton via a secure phone call, and Layton immediately reported it to Nimitz. The air in the war room became tense again.The Japanese are also constantly correcting mistakes and summing up. Yesterday, the radio signal made two mistakes, and it is unlikely to make a second mistake. The task force will be doomed. However, when the officer on duty marked the situation on the map, everyone was stunned. The location reported by the search plane is far from the actual location of the task force, that is to say, it is not the same place at all!