The maximum strike radius of US bombers is only 250 nautical miles, and the premise is that the two sides are approaching, and the current situation is that when the bombers sent by Halsey flew to the sea area where the Fourth Task Force was once located, the Fourth Task Force had already sailed northeast for at least 70 nautical miles, which was completely beyond the maximum strike range of the bombers. Even if Halsey had brought the fleet close at full speed, the bombers would not have returned.

You can imagine how angry Halsey was at that time, and finally found the fourth task force, but now the situation is that his bomber can't fly at all! But Halsey didn't know, and it was precisely because of this that he was not exposed, and two of the reconnaissance planes arranged by Huang Xiaotian at that time flew to less than 30 nautical miles away from the US fleet, and then turned around and returned home; if Halsey could strike at the Fourth Task Force, then the bombers of the Fourth Task Force would also be able to send Halsey to the bottom of the sea.

Halsey will not think about his own safety first, he has nearly 700 fighters in his hands, and there are about 450 bombers, and more than 200 fighters, as long as he catches up with the fourth task force, then he will definitely be able to kill the fourth task force in one fell swoop, and he has enough strength to block the attack of the fourth task force. But the question is, how to chase?

The escape speed of the 4th Task Force is 33 knots, while on the side of the US fleet, the 31st Task Force can reach a maximum speed of 33 knots, and even if it cuts the nearest route, it will not be able to catch up before dark. In addition, the 32nd task force could only reach the speed of 31 knots, that is. If it were to catch up all night, Task Force 31 would be dozens of nautical miles away from Task Force 32, and it would certainly be difficult for the two task forces to attack at the same time. And the air defense of the fleet is also a problem. More importantly, if Task Force 4 is determined to escape. Halsey can't catch up with the ground!

Halsey was well aware that Task Force 4 was not determined to escape, but must have smelled danger and left the dangerous sea for the time being. It is even possible to rendezvous with Task Force 1 and then come together to fight the American fleet. Thinking of this, Halsey did not hesitate, he had to chase, he had to chase, if the fourth task force and the first task force were combined, the aviation strike force of five fleet aircraft carriers and two small aircraft carriers would exceed that of the American fleet, and the result was very likely to be a defeat for both sides, or even a victory for the Tang Imperial Navy. Then the counterattack of the US fleet in the southwest Pacific will be completely finished. At this time, if the fleet retreats along the same route, it will not only lose its fighters. It is even possible to be overtaken by the enemy, and in the end there is no strength to even fight back (the aircraft carrier cannot sail at high speed in shallow water, so it is difficult for the bomber to take off).

Halsey didn't think about retreating either.

Halsey first judged that Task Force 4 would stop in the southern waters of the Solomon Sea, east of Tagura. Perhaps Task Force 1, which had previously operated in the waters south of Rennell Island, was also rushing over. Well, these two task forces will definitely act together. If Task Force 31 and Task Force 32 were to pursue at full speed, the bombers would be ready to go by dawn tomorrow. But the problem is, if you want to ensure victory, you have to first make it impossible for the two Tang Empire's task forces to arrange bombing operations at the same time, how to achieve this goal? If this goal cannot be achieved, then it is necessary to divert the attention of the Tang Imperial Navy, at least to distract the aviation strike force of the Tang Empire's task force, so how can this goal be achieved?

Halsey immediately thought of Task Force 33, and as Task Force 31 and Task Force 32 sailed north, Task Force 33 returned to the waters near the Willis Islands, remaining within cover of shore-based fighters. At this time, Task Force 33 was only 240 nautical miles away from Task Force 4, and Task Force 33 could allow four battleships to move at 33 knots, while the other three South Dakota-class could follow at 27 knots. Halsey immediately decided to let the 33rd Task Force pursue the Fourth Task Force, and strive to get close to the Fourth Task Force at night, if the Fourth Task Force turned halfway, then the Fourth Task Force could be dealt with at night with the battleship ground cannons, and if the Fourth Task Force withdrew into the Solomon Sea, then the 33rd Task Force would attract the bombers of the Tang Imperial Fleet, so that Halsey could safely and boldly launch an attack. But what Halsey didn't know was that in addition to the Fourth Task Force and the First Task Force, the Third Task Force had been on standby in the waters south of the Solomon Sea, and Tan Renhao had already let the Third Task Force come over. Halsey, on the other hand, has always believed that Task Force 3 is preparing for an attack on the New Hebrides!

But the question is, how do you get the order into Kincaid's hands? Halsey did not hesitate for long, and immediately sent three seaplanes to convey the order, and these three seaplanes departed after four o'clock, and arrived at Task Force 33 at five o'clock.

When he received Halsey's order, Kincaid almost jumped up, this was literally an order for Task Force 33 to send him to his death! At the time, Kincaid was unaware that Task Force 3 was operating in the waters near Rennell Island. Like the southern part of the Coral Sea, the northern part of the Coral Sea, and the southern part of the Solomon Sea are also forbidden areas for submarines, but they are only forbidden areas for American submarines, and hundreds of anti-submarine patrol planes of the Tang Empire, especially those with radar installed at night, make it impossible for US submarines to operate in the northern waters of the Coral Sea. As a result, no U.S. submarines discovered the whereabouts of Task Force 3.

In addition, the deployment of the Tang Imperial Marine Corps has been adjusted, and the intention to attack the New Hebrides is obvious. The intelligence of the U.S. military even judged that if the Tang Imperial Navy won the victory in the Coral Sea, then the Tang Imperial Marines would inspire an attack on the New Hebrides, laying the foundation for an attack on the Australian mainland at the beginning of 26 and even at the end of 25. In Task Force 1 and Task Force 4, the southern gate of the Solomon Sea must be guarded. And with the sea route to Port Moresby secured, only Task Force 3 would be able to support the landing of Marines in the New Hebrides. The Third Task Force did not have aircraft carriers, and the Tang Imperial Navy rarely let the aircraft carrier task force and the battleship task force jointly carry out naval combat missions. Therefore, the US military judges. It is likely that Task Force 3 will operate near Kuah Island, waiting for the two carrier task forces to seize sea supremacy and then support the landing of Marines in the New Hebrides.

The problem is that even if Kincaid doesn't know about the existence of Task Force 3, he's still worried about himself. Now he has seven battleships in his hands, the last seven battleships of the U.S. Navy.

Although at the beginning of the year the president had already approved the construction of the second batch of "Iowa"-class battleships. But at least until the end of '26, the US Navy will not get new battleships. Halsey's order was clearly to send Task Force 33 to death and create an opportunity for the carrier task force. Task Force 4 would definitely not have a head-on duel with Task Force 33, the aircraft carriers of the Tang Empire could run far away, and then arrange hundreds of bombers to take out Task Force 33 at dawn, and as a result, Task Force 33 was finished, and Halsey's bombers also killed Task Force 4.

It would have been strange if Kincaid hadn't jumped in anger, but he knew very well that Halsey wasn't sending a request. Rather, it is an order. As a soldier, he instinctively wants to carry out the orders of his superiors, no matter how ridiculous and ridiculous the order seems to him. He had to do it.

However, Kincaid did not choose to let the four cutting-edge battleships operate separately from the three "South Dakota"-class battleships, and in Kincaid's opinion, maybe seven battleships act together. Anti-aircraft fire will be more intense, and the survival rate will be higher when bombed.

Task Force 33 began to turn to acceleration at 5:10 a.m., and at a speed of 27 knots instead of 33 knots. Seven battleships, twelve light cruisers, and twelve destroyers sailed together in a northeasterly direction, almost in the same direction as the 4th Task Force. It was at this time that the Mustang fighters, who had been patrolling Task Force 33 for two hours, had left, and another group of fighters was due to arrive before dark, but there was at least a ten-minute interval between them.

Almost at the same time, a "waterfowl" from Task Force 4 appeared to the northeast of Task Force 33 and was immediately spotted by Task Force. The pilots did not immediately report the situation, because they were clearly told that a telegram must not be sent until the American aircraft carrier was discovered. The reconnaissance plane lingered outside the 33rd Task Force for 10 minutes, and only when it discovered that the US fighters had arrived did it quickly return home and issue a reconnaissance report.

The reconnaissance plane pilot first confirmed that there were at least seven battleships and more than 20 other warships in the US fleet, but he did not mention whether there were aircraft carriers.

In addition, the pilot also mentioned that there are fighter jets in the skies over the US fleet.

Huang Xiaotian was also very puzzled when he received the telegram, there is no aircraft carrier, but there are fighters! But he did not forget to send a telegram to Task Force 1 immediately. When Tan Renhao and Hao Dongjue received this telegram, they were also very puzzled.

"At least, this is the 33rd Task Force of the U.S. Army!" Hao Dongjue put down the telegram, "The seven battleships are four large and three small, and four of them are not in our enemy ship catalog, they must be the 'Iowa' class battleships newly commissioned by the US military, and the other three are the 'South Dakota' class battleships. But the question is, where did those fighters come from? ”

"Shore-based fighters providing anti-aircraft cover for Task Force 33." Tan Renhao made a judgment very quickly, "When the Fourth Task Force discovered the US reconnaissance plane, they were only 240 nautical miles away from this sea area, which was completely within the strike range of the US bombers. So this is definitely an American shore-based fighter, and Halsey's carrier task force is somewhere else. ”

"So, where is Halsey's carrier task force?"

"We'll know that for sure, and now it's important to get two things right." Tan Renhao already had a clue, "First of all, send a telegram to the Third Task Force, and ask them to rush to the southwest of the Fourth Task Force immediately, and prepare for a night battle with the 33rd Task Force, don't break the radio silence, and we will provide him with news." Secondly, how many reconnaissance aircraft do we have that can perform night reconnaissance missions? ”

"We?"

"HNA, how many night reconnaissance planes does HNA have in the vicinity here, as well as night patrol planes?"

"There are about 80 of them, 50 of which are deployed on Rennell Island."

"Immediately let these reconnaissance planes move to the airfield on Tagula Island, and make every effort to search the waters southwest of Tagula Island at night, and all the reconnaissance planes have to carry out the search mission." Tan Renhao did not rush to explain his arrangement, but first gave an order, "In addition, contact Huang Xiaotian and ask them to stop about 80 nautical miles east of Tagula Island, and prepare to send a reconnaissance plane before dawn and let the bomber depart." The fleet stopped giving radio signals at eight o'clock, and resumed the means of communication by water planes, so that they must be hidden. If the HNA found out, then Huang Xiaotian himself commanded the offensive operation of the Fourth Task Force after dawn. ”

"What about us?"

"We? It's still early, and we have time to maneuver in the evening. Tan Renhao glanced at the communications staff officer, "Send the news immediately, if there is no need, don't send a telegram."

Tan Renhao's judgment was very accurate, the 33rd Task Force definitely wanted to pursue the Fourth Task Force at night, and Halsey's real purpose was not to let the 33rd Task Force shell the Fourth Task Force, but to keep the Fourth Task Force busy fleeing for its life, and unable to organize forces to attack his aircraft carrier task force at dawn. Halsey's carrier task force used the night to catch up and bomb the fourth task force while the fourth task force was attacking the 33rd task force. As for whether the U.S. military is ready to fight with the Third Task Force, this does not matter, at least in Tan Renhao's view, this is not the key to determining the outcome of the battle, but the real key is whether the First Task Force and the Fourth Task Force can find Halsey after dawn and let the bombers set off immediately!