What was the first naval battle in history when warships attacked each other without firing a shot?

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Analysis:

Battle of Coral Sea

The night in the Coral Sea seems particularly long, but the Lexington obviously can't wait for dawn. The deck has been cleared, and the crew made a final inspection of the plane before dawn. The pilot in the preparation room listened to the briefing while eating the chocolate after breakfast; The medical team under deck has prepared external dressing and morphine; The rescue team is checking whether the watertight compartment has been closed one by one; The antiaircraft gunner stared nervously at the brighter and brighter sky. Then Lexington turned around in the wind. When 1, the last of the 18 reconnaissance planes, disappeared in the northern sky, on May 8, the sun was bursting out from the eastern sea.

1. Delay

At the beginning of 1942, the joint fleet was still immersed in victory disease. The task of the first stage has been overfulfilled, but the task of the second stage has not been completed. In Japan's view, although the United States has great economic potential, it still needs a process to change into wartime regulations. It is expected that the United States will be able to organize a counterattack in the summer of 1943, and Japan will have time to further advance the front and expand the defense circle. Controlling Australia is the embodiment of this strategy. Japanese Lu Haijun agreed that Australia would be the biggest stronghold for the British and American counterattack. However, because the Japanese army was deeply trapped in China, it could not send troops to land in Australia. The feasible choice would be to cut off the connection with Pearl Harbor.

1942 In early February, Japanese troops occupied the rabaul base in Bismarck Islands in northeastern Australia, and in early March, they occupied Laicheng and Saalamo in New Guinea. According to the plan, the ports of tulagi and Morebiz in eastern New Guinea should land later. However, due to the activities of the US aircraft carrier, this plan was postponed. It was not until the end of April that the 5th Air Force (Xianghe and Ruihe) and the 5th Cruiser Force (Miaogao and Yuhei) returned to the trucks from the Indian Ocean. Plans to attack tulagi and Port Morebiz began immediately.

On April 30th, 1942, the 5th Air Corps, 5th Cruiser Corps and 6th Destroyer set off from trucks as mobile units, crossing between Shovell and New Guinea Islands, waiting for an opportunity to destroy allied surface ships. The landing cover formation consists of Xiangfeng light aircraft carrier, 8 cruisers and 6 destroyers. As the first action to capture the port of Morebiz, the advance landing troops from rabaul on April 28th, under the cover of Xiang Feng, a carrier aircraft, occupied tulagi Island without any resistance on May 3rd. Then, on May 4th, the main landing force took the 14 troop carrier from rabaul, and under the cover of six destroyers and 1 cruisers, sailed for the port of Morebiz. The Xiangfeng, which completed the landing cover in tulagi, and the cover ship sailed westward to meet the landing troops, while the 5th Air Force of the Mobile Force entered the Coral Sea. However, in fact, the US 17 and 8 special mixed fleets that came to meet the attack had already entered the Coral Sea before the Japanese mobile formation, so the famous Coral Sea naval battle took place in the history of naval battles.

2. Secret

At the beginning of 1942, the Pacific was a bleak scene for the allied forces, but there were still things of great significance to the war process. 1942 65438+1On October 20th, the Japanese 124 was sunk while laying mines in Darwin Harbour. The US military then fished out the password book from Iraq 124 by diving boat. In the following months, with the accumulation of intelligence, especially after Tokyo was attacked by air, the Japanese Empire overreacted and almost dispatched a joint fleet. The intelligence department of Pearl Harbor began to gradually decipher the Japanese code and gradually draw the attack target of the joint fleet with scattered information. This opportunity is the most important basis for the US Navy to deal with the joint fleet in the early Pacific War.

Although it was known by deciphering the code that the Japanese army was about to land in the port of Morebiz, its advance team would occupy tulagi first, and basically mastered the troops invested by the Japanese side. Nimitz has made up his mind to stop the Japanese from landing in Morebiz, which is not an easy decision, because it is not easy for the allies to assemble the necessary troops to deal with the invading enemy. Saratoga was injured by a Japanese submarine and repaired on the west coast. On the way back from the attack on Tokyo, the Enterprise and the Hornet were able to use the 8 th special mixed fleet Lexington and the 17 special mixed fleet Yorktown, as well as 8 cruisers and 13 destroyers. Under the unified command of Fletcher, two fleets entered the Coral Sea on May 1.

open fire

The first battle started on May 3rd. When Fletcher's navy received the news that the Japanese army had landed in tulagi, his Yorktown was still more than 0/00 miles west of Cape Buttercup. "This is the news that we have been waiting for a month," he wrote. He immediately stopped refueling and ordered to sail north to the central Solomon Islands at a speed of 26 nautical miles per hour. At dawn on May 4th, the aircraft carrier York City arrived in the sea about 100 miles southwest of Guadalcanal Island (remember this name). The fighter pilots of the aircraft carrier read the introduction of the old National Geographic magazine, launched a series of attacks on the enemy in the sea near tulagi, destroyed the seaplane, and sent back an exaggerated report, reporting how many enemy ships were sunk. Fletcher happily reported the good news of victory to Pearl Harbor, and then the American fleet also reported to West Mobile. Nimitz later re-evaluated the so-called Battle of tulagi: "Compared with the ammunition consumed and the results achieved, this battle is absolutely disappointing." Another mistake of this attack was to expose the strength of the US military. Before the Battle of Coral Sea, the United States had an intelligence advantage. After the attack on tulagi, the intelligence of both sides was even.

Miss it

On May 6th, under the cover of Miyun, Fletcher joined Admiral Grace and Lexington to refuel together. According to the latest news from Pearl Harbor, the troops invading port moresby, provided with air cover by two aircraft carriers, will cross the Lu eells Yade Islands the next day. Fletcher then headed west to the Coral Sea. Fletcher didn't know that he was found by a Japanese seaplane searching everywhere that afternoon. After learning that two American aircraft carriers would intercept the Japanese fleet invading port moresby, it almost caused panic in vice admiral's headquarters in Inoue, rabaul. The headquarters urgently ordered the transport ship to stop. Major General Takagi's mobile units, mainly Xianghe and Ruihe, were refueling south of Guadalcanal when they received the alarm. When he was preparing to narrow the distance and launch an air raid, the fleet encountered thick clouds. So, he decided to continue to refuel and wait until dawn to catch up.

At 4 o'clock on May 7, because the position of the US fleet was basically known, the Japanese mobile formation sent 12 carrier aircraft into 6 groups to search for the enemy within the range of 180 degrees to 270 degrees and 250 nautical miles. At 5: 45, the Japanese plane searching south reported "enemy aircraft carrier and cruiser 1". From 0600 to 0600 15, 9 fighters, 17 bombers and1torpedoes took off from Ruihe, and 9 fighters, 19 bombers and 13 torpedoes took off from Xianghe. ***78 Japanese planes flew to the discovered target. However, when we arrived at the target, we found that it was not the aircraft carrier formation of the US military, but the oil tanker Neosho and the destroyer Sims that broke up with Fletcher's team on the afternoon of the 6th. These two ships have doubled in size, and they must be like an aircraft carrier and a cruiser. The Japanese assault fleet flew over the motorcade and found that it was not an aircraft carrier, so it searched the nearby waters repeatedly for two hours and still found no other targets. Among them, the torpedo plane did not attack, and 09 15 began to return, while 36 dive bombers barely attacked the original target between 0926-40. This is what it feels like to kill a chicken with one knife. The Sims were hit by three 250kg bombs, two of which exploded in the engine room and sank in less than 60 seconds. The Neo-Shaw was hit by seven bombs. It floated on the sea for a few days with fire and then sank.

At this time, Fletcher's main American aircraft carrier was heading west after breaking up with the tanker, in order to intercept the Japanese landing fleet, but the American fleet also made the same mistake: no fleet troops were found. Two hours after dawn, a patrol plane on the Lexington reported that "two aircraft carriers and four heavy cruisers were found". Fletcher thought it was a Japanese aircraft carrier, so he decided to attack with all his might. Lexington dispatched 28 dive bombers, 12 torpedoes and 10 fighters, Yorktown dispatched 25 dive bombers, 10 torpedoes and 8 fighters, and 93 carrier-based aircraft flew to the target one after another. After flying to the target, it was discovered that it was two light cruisers and two gunboats, which were the cover troops for the Japanese landing. Because of the wrong password, they were exaggerated as assault troops. But the U.S. military finally found a target worthy of attack in the exaggerated fleet: the aircraft carrier Xiangfeng. Half an hour after 93 American fighters and bombers took turns to attack, Xiangfeng had hit the 13 bomb and seven torpedoes. Ize gave the order to abandon the ship. A few minutes later, the Xiangfeng sank, leaving only a cloud of black smoke and oil in the coral sea, marking the loss of imperial japanese navy's first large ship here.

On the morning of May 7, the attack fleets of the United States and Japan were just on the verge of attacking each other, but the two sides failed to find each other for technical reasons and missed the opportunity of preemption. The mistake made by the US military is even more dangerous, because the carrier aircraft it attacked deviated from its main threat by more than 90 degrees, but the US military achieved even greater results-knocking out an aircraft carrier; The mistakes made by the joint fleet are a pity, because they at least know the approximate location of their main target. When the Fifth Air Force wants to correct its mistakes, it will face a time problem: take off on 14 in the afternoon and return on 18 (two hours after sunset). This is not an easy decision in 1942, but the former Lieutenant General's Fifth Air Force will send 12 bombers and 15. Fly to the expected target. At dusk, these planes did fly over the American fleet, but because of the weather, they didn't find the target. Only after they returned did they find the American fleet, but these fighters had dropped bombs and were intercepted by American wildcat fighters. In the twilight, several disoriented Japanese pilots mistakenly tried to land on the Yorktown. However, because the identification signal was wrong, it was discovered by the machine gunner, one of them was shot down into the sea, and the others hurriedly fled into the night. This made Fleche realize that the Japanese naval aircraft carrier was nearby, and the duel between the aircraft carriers that decided the outcome of the naval battle was bound to take place the next day.

fight a duel

In the last hour before sunrise on May 8, four aircraft carriers within 200 nautical miles of the Coral Sea completed the same preparations. Perhaps the only difference is that chocolate is given to American pilots, while rice cakes are given to Japanese pilots. The reconnaissance planes all took off before sunrise. Planes destined to search will find each other's targets almost at the same time. At 8 o'clock 15, a reconnaissance plane flying in the northernmost part of the United States reported that the enemy aircraft carrier task force was heading south at a speed of 25 nautical miles per hour, about 175 miles northeast of Lexington. Just a few minutes later, the radio station of the American aircraft carrier received a cheerful report from the Japanese, which clearly showed that they had been discovered. Then "Yorktown" and "Lexington" took off 15 fighters, 46 bombers and 2 1 torpedoes ***82 planes pounced on the Japanese fleet. An hour and a quarter later, American commandos found that Xianghe and Ruihe were heading southeast. The two aircraft carriers are eight miles apart and are escorted by two heavy cruisers and destroyers. Just as the US military used a few precious minutes to organize the attack in the cloud, Xianghe took the opportunity to dispatch more fighters, while Ruihe hid in the nearby sea in the heavy rain. The American pilot who launched the first attack on the aircraft carrier of the heavily guarded enemy fleet is still in a state of confusion when facing the real strong enemy. Torpedo planes and dive bombers were scattered by zero fighters and lacked cooperation. Fish laser into the sea, away from the target, bombing blindly. Only two bombs hit Xianghe, and the flight deck of Xianghe caught fire due to oil spill. More than ten minutes later, the plane on the Lexington arrived, but it was difficult to find the enemy ship under the thick clouds. Make the attack suffer further setbacks. Only fifteen bombers managed to find the target, but only six wildcat fighters were protected and easily dispersed by Zero fighters. The torpedo attack failed again, and the bomber dropped only one bomb. However, the report of American pilots is not the case. Captain Taylor was optimistic after the first attack. He said: "The port side is about 50 to 100 feet, and it is a sea of fire from the waterline to the flight deck ... About 15 minutes after the attack, when I finally saw this aircraft carrier, the firepower was very fierce. It is believed that it was badly damaged and finally sank. "

When the remaining 43 American planes returned, they found that Japanese opponents could launch more effective attacks. Thanks to the radar, Lexington fighter commanders can know the arrival of enemy planes when they are still in the air more than 70 miles northeast, and take off the fleet to intercept them. However, the 69 carrier-based aircraft of the 5th Air Force were divided into three attack groups before being intercepted. The Japanese torpedo fleet first flew to the American warship Yorktown. Due to the flexible evasion of the ship, the attack of the Japanese plane did not achieve results. The two aircraft carriers in the circular warning sequence are avoiding themselves, which makes the distance between the two ships widen rapidly, and the warning ship splits into two, which weakens the air defense and gives the Japanese opportunity. Japanese planes dropped eight torpedoes on the port side of the Yorktown, and all these torpedoes were avoided by the ship. Then the bombers began to dive and drop bombs on the Yorktown. An 800-pound bomb hit the flight deck near the bridge, but it was still able to continue fighting. When the Japanese torpedo fleet attacked Lexington, it successfully used the attack tactics, projecting torpedoes from both sides of the bow, with a height of 15-70 meters and a distance of 1000- 1500 meters. Lexington has a large tonnage and a large circle radius, and it is not flexible to turn. Two of the 13 torpedoes launched by Japanese aircraft hit the port side of the ship, resulting in three water inlets in its boiler room. Just as the Lexington was desperately trying to avoid the torpedo, the Japanese bomber fleet began to attack it again, and two more bombs hit the target. This encounter only lasted 13 minutes. When the Japanese flew away, they happily reported that they had avenged Xiangfeng's failure the day before and sank a "large aircraft carrier" and a "medium aircraft carrier" unequivocally.

In fact, although the Lexington was hit by torpedoes and bombs and had a 7-degree heeling, it regained its balance after adjusting its fuel and continued to accept the returning plane to land. At the same time, refuel the fighters and strengthen air control. However, due to fuel leakage, Lexington suddenly exploded and caused a fire, which spread rapidly and could not be controlled. At about afternoon 15, the captain ordered all the crew to leave the ship. At about 17, the destroyer Phelps was ordered to fire five torpedoes at it, and the Lexington sank at 17: 56. The 36 planes that landed on the ship also sank into the sea. Although there are still 27 bombers, torpedoes and 12 fighters on the US Task ForceNo. 17, Fleche has no intention of fighting again at night, so he led his team to leave the battlefield. The next day, when the pilot of the Ruihe again conducted reconnaissance patrols to chase American ships, only the wreckage of the Lexington was left at sea.

6. Gains and losses

"Congratulations on your brilliant achievements in the past two days." Although Nimitz sent Fletcher such a message, there was a gloomy atmosphere in the Pearl Harbor headquarters, because the Lexington sank, but it was hard to judge how much the Japanese joint navy was hit. However, from a strategic point of view, the Coral Sea is of far-reaching significance to the United States, the Pacific war situation and the history of world naval battles. As a prelude to the war, although not many warships participated in this battle, the scale and intensity of the engagement were not very large. But the Battle of Coral Sea was the first duel between aircraft carriers. As we all know, in the past modern naval battles, the warships of both sides approached each other and then used naval guns to solve the problem. The coral sea battle is completely different. The warships of the two sides did not fire or fire torpedoes, nor did they enter each other's sight. Instead, we use our own carrier-based aircraft to win from a distance of hundreds of nautical miles. This battle is the first time in the history of world naval warfare, but it is not accidental, but the inevitable result of the development of aviation technology and weapons. This naval battle pointed out the direction for the Pacific War. In this case, whoever can understand this new feature more quickly and deeply and improve his combat effectiveness accordingly may gain more initiative in the battle. From the subsequent development, it is obvious that it is too late for the joint navy to discover this.

Second, in terms of tactical gains and losses, the United States was sunk by the large aircraft carrier Lexington, an oil tanker, a destroyer, 66 aircraft, 543 people died, and another aircraft carrier Yorktown was injured; Japan lost 77 light aircraft carriers, 1074 people died and another aircraft carrier was injured. From the numerical point of view, the imperial navy has obviously won the tactical victory in the Coral Sea naval battle. However, further, if the consequences of the Coral Sea naval battle that did not take place in the first week of May 1942 are related to the subsequent events, then the United States will undoubtedly win a decisive victory. Major General Fletcher's troops successfully defeated Japan's strategic plan to control the Coral Sea and the southern Australian sea passage. Since the Pearl Harbor incident, the invincible myth of the Japanese navy suffered a heavy psychological blow for the first time, which greatly changed the balance of strategic power.

Nimitz declared this a "decisive and far-reaching victory". How far-reaching the significance is, he still has no way to know for the next month. In fact, more specifically, Xianghe was damaged, and Ruihe was seriously reduced in staff. The two aircraft carriers of the Fifth Air Force originally wanted to participate in the midway plan, but now it can't be realized. Then, from an arithmetic point of view, the direct impact of the Coral Sea naval battle on the subsequent Pacific War process is that the sinking of one aircraft carrier brought the fact that two aircraft carriers could not participate in the Battle of Midway. Otherwise, the ratio of American and Japanese aircraft carriers in Midway will be 4 to 6, not 3 to 4, and this difference is absolutely very important from the perspective of the Midway War 1 month later.

The Battle of Coral Sea is the first battle between aircraft carriers in the history of naval warfare, and it is almost the fairest battle in the Pacific War, which basically reflects the combat effectiveness of both sides. It can be said that it is the most appropriate introduction to the Pacific epic. If the joint fleet is the first or second air force to participate in the Coral Sea naval battle, then the Yorktown will probably not return to Pearl Harbor, so midway is too cruel to the United States; If the US military does not attack Tokyo smartly, then the United States can have four aircraft carriers to participate in the Coral Sea. Without the guarantee of complete victory, the loss will not be as serious as that of an aircraft carrier, and midway Island will be less exciting and suspenseful.

7. Closing remarks

Although just right, but like every battle, the Coral Sea is still cold and cruel. Here is an example. When the sailors of Lexington fought an impossible battle with the terrible scene deep in the flight deck, the Yorktown was also hit, the code room was blown to pieces by the bomb, and the radar was useless. Lieutenant Colonel Oort, the captain of the dive bomber attack team, and his operator damaged the plane when they returned after attacking Xianghe, and found themselves in the most dangerous situation for pilots-lost in the vast sea, and the oil level indicator was shaking above zero. Oort can radio the Yorktown: