The commander of Task Force 52 was Rear Admiral Turner, who was Spruance's partner since the Pacific Fleet was reorganized into the 3rd and 5th Fleets, and he served as Chief of Staff of the Fifth Fleet when Spruance became commander of the Fifth Fleet. When the Fifth Fleet had two task forces, Turner would generally serve as commander of one task force, while when there was only one task force, Turner would remain at Pearl Harbor and preside over the day-to-day work of the Fifth Fleet.

Turner doesn't feel much aggrieved about this position, after all, Spruance is highly valued, and he has a good relationship with Halsey, and Nimitz is also very important. Whether in terms of ability or qualifications, Turner is not as good as Spruance, and he especially admires Spruance. Spruance was questioned and investigated after the Second Battle of Wake Island, and Turner attended the meeting as a witness, proving that Spruance was not wrong in ordering the fleet to retreat, which was the wisest decision. And Turner himself was not bad at commanding the aircraft carrier fleet operations, at least, at that time he was recognized as the third commander of the aircraft carrier fleet in the US Navy.

When assigned to Task Force 52 as commander, Turner knew exactly what his mission was. Of the two task forces of the Fifth Fleet, the 51st Task Force under the command of Spruance was the main force, while the 52nd Task Force was only an auxiliary force. The main force of Task Force 52 is the three small aircraft carriers of the "Independence" class under the command of Spruance, and the escort warships have been strengthened. The officers of the fleet command were not replaced, ://.. Cn

After leaving Pearl Harbor, Spruance maneuvered east with Task Force 51. Turner, on the other hand, led the 52nd Task Force to maneuver westward. Task Force 52 has been hovering around Johnston Island since it reached the waters off Johnston Island. Waiting for the new land command was several days.

Shortly after Spruance received a telegram from Nimitz. Turner also received a telegram from the Pearl Harbor Theater Command, which was also sent by Nimitz, and the two telegrams were not identical. At this time, Turner also received an order from Xindi to send bombers to support the defenders on Midway.

"Order the fleet to turn." Turner sighed, "Arrange the first batch of bombers tomorrow morning, in addition." Prepare to make contact with the defenders of the island. ”

"General, how many bombers do we arrange?"

Turner hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let the fleet turn first, and I'll tell you in the evening." ”

The staff officer didn't say much and returned to his post. Turner walked up to the chart, and when he received the telegram he had a feeling of resignation, but now he felt that it was not hopeless.

At the time of departure, Turner knew that his mission was to be a stepping stone for Spruance. Help Spruance to victory. Initially, he thought that he was fighting against the 1st Task Force, the most powerful task force in the Tang Empire, after knowing that it was the 2nd Task Force operating near Midway. Turner had thought otherwise, but soon, after he learned that Task Force 2 had been reinforced with two smaller carriers, Turner never had such an idea.

If Task Force 2 had only two fleet carriers. Turner was confident that he would inflict heavy damage on this fleet with dozens of bombers on three small carriers, but now Task Force 2 has four carriers, which means more fighters, more reconnaissance planes, and more bombers. Even if they were able to send bombers, they would not necessarily be able to break through its powerful air defense network, and the bombers of Task Force 2 could easily defeat Task Force 52!

In other words, Task Force 52 has become meat on a chopping block and can only be slaughtered. With this idea, Turner almost didn't make it back to Pearl Harbor. He stayed, he had to create a chance for Task Force 51, but was Task Force 52 doomed?

At the beginning of the staff officer's proposal for how many bombers to arrange, Turner thought about this, maybe he was no match for Task Force 2, but it should still be possible to save his life.

The various areas are clearly marked on the charts. This is marked by the staff officers after combining the previous information from all sides. Midway was the center of the entire battlefield. And the Don Imperial fleet has been operating in the waters west of Midway, and the waters east of Midway are controlled by the US Navy.

Thinking of this, Turner had an idea, and he called the nautical staff over.

"Follow this route?" The nautical staff officer was a little puzzled.

"Yes, is it possible for the fleet to reach this area by tomorrow morning?" Turner didn't let the staff ask questions.

The navigation staff officer thought for a while and said: "The speed needs to be increased to 22 knots. ”

"Then go and arrange it immediately, follow this route, and reach this sea area before dawn!" Turner clicked on the chart, "You set how much speed you want." ”

The fleet turned again, and Turner did not interfere with the work of the nautical staff, he continued to think.

There are 90 SBDs, 45 F4U on three small carriers. The weather in the Central Pacific is now very good, and those fighters tethered to the flight deck of aircraft carriers will not be damaged. That is, Turner had 135 fighters in his hands, and reconnaissance missions could be assigned to seaplanes on the cruiser.

So, how many bombers would need to be put in to support the defenders on Midway?

Turner read the telegram again. The telegram only mentioned that the situation on Midway was already very critical, and that the Marines were likely to be split into two parts, that is, strong air support was needed. After thinking about it for a while, Turner came to the conclusion that in order to stop the Tang Imperial Marines from continuing to advance, he would have to commit at least half of the bombers, and he would have to arrange some fighters.

When Turner saw the route on the chart that represented Task Force 51, he gave up on the idea of attacking in both directions at once. After sending half of the bombers, he was left with just over 40 SBDs. And to ensure the discovery of the second task force, he also had to arrange for a part of the SBD to carry out reconnaissance missions (the radio stations on the US SBDs are very powerful and are often used directly as reconnaissance aircraft). Then there may be only 30 bombers left, and 30 bombers are unlikely to threaten the second task force at all, even if the second task force is found. These 30 bombers are just going to die.

Turner didn't think much about it, he asked people to call the aviation operations staff officer.

"General. Do we need to contact the Marines on Midway now? ”

Turner glanced at his watch and said, "Not for the time being, I'll contact the Marines at half past five tomorrow morning, ask them to provide bombing targets, and then deploy the bombing mission." ”

"And how many bombers do we arrange?"

"Leave 15 left. Everything else is sent out. Turner touched his chin, and he could only pin his hopes on dodging the blow.

"Do you need to send fighter jets?"

Turner nodded. "Leave 30 fighters on air defense missions, and send the rest. In addition, a reconnaissance mission was arranged, and all the seaplanes, as well as the 15 SBDs left behind, set off before dawn tomorrow to search the sea area within 90 degrees to the west of the fleet. ”

The Aviation Staff Officer quickly wrote down the commander's order.

"Also, the area of rendezvous with the fleet will change when the bombers and reconnaissance planes return, and I'll tell you later."

The staff officer saluted and immediately walked away.

Turner thought for a moment, and called the nautical staff officer who was designing a new route.

"General. You mean, immediately after sending bombers, the fleet switched to this route? ”

"Yes. As soon as all the fighters had departed, the fleet turned to the 95-degree course. Turner highlighted the route on the chart, "speed 33 knots, additionally. Having calculated the sea area where the bomber group will meet the fleet on its return, when will we be able to enter the cover range of shore-based aviation? ”

The navigation staff officer pondered for a while, mentally calculated the result, and said: "Around nine o'clock, that is, when the bombers return, we can enter the cover range of the shore-based fighters." ”

"Then, go and tell the communications staff officer, after contacting the Marine Corps tomorrow, immediately contact the aviation on Gardner Island, and ask them to arrange for all fighters capable of taking off to come over the sea area where we are located before nine o'clock and provide us with cover!"

"Is there anything else to do?"

"No, not yet." Turner let the nautical staff out.

In the evening, Turner had the Air Operations Staff take care of the mission, and each pilot was told to join the fleet on their way back. As a result, when planning the bombing operation, the aviation operations staff found that all ground bombers could only stay over Midway for a maximum of 10 minutes, and the shortest was only 5 minutes. In other words, the bombers had to drop their bombs and return to their homes as soon as they reached Midway, or they would not have enough fuel left to return to the fleet.

In addition, it is impossible for the fleet to send bombers to support the Marines on Midway again during the day!

Turner wasn't very concerned about this, saving the fleet was paramount, and he was well aware of the significance of the bombing of Midway by Task Force 52. Their task is not to repel the Tang Empire's marines, or even to provide support for the marines defending the island, but to lure out the second task force of the Tang Empire, this is the only chance, if this is not done, then even if it helps the marines defending the island to repel the attack of the Tang army, it is meaningless.

The timing was not chosen by Turner, but decided by the outcome of the battle. If the 52nd Task Force had bombed the Tang Imperial Marines on Midway Island before that, the idiots would have known that this was a trap, and the Second Task Force would never appear easily, let alone attack easily, but would first confirm that there was no danger around, and then catch the 52nd Task Force, send a powerful bomber group, and wipe out the 52nd Task Force in one fell swoop.

Now that the Tang Imperial Marines have launched a strong attack, and the American defense line on the island is in an emergency, it is logical that the fleet appears at this time and sends bombers to support the defenders on the island. Even if the commander of the Second Task Force was still suspicious, when the Tang Imperial Marines were bombed, could the Second Task Force not be saved?

This was Turner's most immediate idea, he wanted to force Task Force 2 out, and then retreat quickly without giving his opponent a chance to kill him. As long as Task Force 2 sent bombers, its approximate location could be determined, and Spruance would certainly immediately send reconnaissance planes to find Task Force 2. Before Task Force 2 was ready to take on Spruance, Task Force 51's bombers were already deployed. Of course, this is the best outcome, and the worst outcome is to lose the 52nd Task Force, and in the end the 2nd Task Force will still not be able to escape.

Turner's judgment was not unreasonable, and from his point of view, from the eyes of the commander of the 52nd Task Force, it was possible for anyone to make such a judgment based on Nimitz's not-so-detailed telegram. Saving the fleet was the most important thing, as Task Force 52 had more to do in the next counterattack, and the loss of Task Force 52 tactics could only be exchanged for Task Force 2 if it was forced to do so. As long as there is hope, Turner must keep Task Force 52 safe and ready for a full-scale counterattack.

Perhaps, Turner only misjudged one point, and that was that Midway was the beginning and key to this counterattack. If Midway is lost, then the American counterattack will also become meaningless, which is why Nimitz arranged the first reinforcements to Midway, which is also the reason why the Fifth Fleet fought a decisive battle with the Tang Imperial fleet around Midway. And Nimitz had already mentioned the word "critical" in the telegram, the wording was much more serious than "urgent", and the meaning was clear, that is, the battle on Midway had reached the most critical stage, and the support of the fleet would be extremely important. But as a result, Turner only arranged one bombing!

Turner was right, if Spruance could seize the opportunity to take out Task Force 2, then Task Force 51 would have enough capacity to support the defenders on Midway, and Task Force 52 would be able to return to the battlefield. But the question is, if Task Force 52 fled for its life immediately after sending out a bomber group, would Task Force 2 appear? Will Spruance be able to catch Task Force 2 right away? If this opportunity is missed, then how can they support the defenders on Midway, how can they ensure that Midway is not completely captured by the Don army?