"The Japanese aircraft carrier fleet was found in the direction of 0870, with 2 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, and 10 cruisers, sailing southwestward, and a large number of transport ships followed, the purpose is temporarily unknown!"

"Command, please!"

A U.S. Navy operations staff officer reports to Rear Adm. Lalf Eugene Davis.

"First send a search crew and a reconnaissance crew to reconnoiter and search for whether the Japanese army has other fleets nearby, as well as the strength of their fleet!"

Major General Davis decisively gave the order.

"Yes! Commander! ”

The naval operations staff officer replied immediately.

Task Force 38 refers to Task Force 58, which is a fast sailing force under the command of Mark Mitchell.

They are under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Fleet and are responsible for the operations of the Central Pacific Force against Japan.

Originally, he was ordered to go to the Gilbert Islands, the Battle of the Marshall Islands, and the area around Truk Island to assist the U.S. military in air raids.

But on the way there, he suddenly found that the whereabouts of Vice Admiral Toyoda and his command were aircraft carrier fleets.

Originally, this Fourth Group of the 58th Task Force, which was only able to be formed after the establishment of the Fifth Fleet in April 1944, was also formed in advance to deal with the war in the Central Pacific and to confront the Japanese strongholds stationed in Taiwan, especially the airfields deployed by the Japanese army in Taiwan, which was the focus of their air raids.

Although it was an aircraft carrier fleet that appeared in advance, the strength of the 38th Task Force remained unchanged, and it was still composed of 15 aircraft carriers, 7 battleships, more than 20 cruisers and more than 60 destroyers.

It's just that the U.S. fleet that discovered Vice Admiral Toyoda's aircraft carrier fleet was not the entire 58th Task Force, but the 4th Group in the 58th Task Force.

The ships of the Fourth Fleet are the flagship of the Franklin Group, the aircraft carrier San Jacinto, the Enterprise, and the Berau Forest aircraft carriers; As well as the 6th cruiser detachment, and the 6th destroyer squadron, and the 24th destroyer detachment.

However, at this time, the 38th Task Force had not yet set up a task force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers.

Rather, let these battleships, cruisers and destroyers freely form their own fleets of their own liking.

This time the commander of the 38th Task Force 4th was Rear Admiral Lalf Eugene Davis.

At this time, the 4th Group of the U.S. Army was approaching the aircraft carrier fleet of Vice Admiral Toyoda at a course of 260 degrees and a speed of 22 knots.

At the same time, while sailing in the wind, 30 "Hell Divers" SB2C-3 were dispatched to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance in the area where the aircraft carrier of Vice Admiral Toyota was located.

The SB2C-3, carrying two armor-piercing shells of more than 220 kg, took off under the escort of 20 F6F Hellcat fighters with rockets on board.

At the same time, it can be used on aircraft carriers, and pontoons can also be installed to accommodate the SC Seahawk reconnaissance aircraft used on cruisers and battleships, as well as the single-engine, all-aluminum alloy, low-wing American P-43 "Lancer" reconnaissance aircraft, also took off 15 units each, and went to conduct reconnaissance.

In this regard, the aircraft carrier fleet of Vice Admiral Toyota is still in the dark and ignorant of it.

Of course, the aircraft carriers under the command of Vice Admiral Toyota are not the four Japanese aircraft carriers "Akagi," "Kaga," "Soryu," and "Flying Dragon," which were sunk by the US military at Midway.

Rather, it was the Flying Eagle and the Great Eagle aircraft carriers drawn from 14 aircraft carriers, including the Okika, Daiho, Shozuru, Flying Eagle, Okaka, Yunying, Zuizuru, Hayabusa, Zuiho, Chitose, Chiyoda, Shinano, Divine Eagle, and Unryu.

The Flying Eagle aircraft carrier is a modified ship converted from a merchant ship, so its speed and armor parts cannot be compared with regular warships.

And the Great Eagle escort aircraft carrier was also rebuilt from the "Kasuga Maru" cruise ship of the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Plant, so its combat effectiveness is not much better there.

In fact, Vice Admiral Toyota didn't want to command these two aircraft carriers, but because most of the elite aircraft carrier fleet was transferred to the Pacific battle that was now being fought with the US military forces.

In other words, many Japanese aircraft carrier fleets tried their best to avoid the pursuit and ambush of the US aircraft carrier fleet.

Because Japan's resources are so scarce, there is no way to fight the loss of aircraft carriers with the US military, which has deep pockets and strong industrial capabilities.

They lost one in battle, and they lost one.