On the American Navy's aircraft carrier Essex, Admiral Nimitz and Lieutenant General Halsey had both returned to the carrier. As the lead ship of the Essex-class aircraft carriers, Essex had undoubtedly been very fortunate in this naval battle.
During the fierce naval battle, no German military carrier-based aircraft had attacked this carrier, allowing it to safely weather the intense battle. In fact, the entire American Navy 1st Carrier Fleet had lost only one aircraft carrier. Compared with the other carrier fleets, their losses had been exceedingly minor.
Of course, it was not that the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft group had not wanted to attack this carrier fleet. Rather, this carrier fleet had been positioned at the westernmost edge of the entire fleet, farthest from the German Navy's Aircraft Carrier Formation. That was why the German Navy's carrier-based aircraft group had not made this carrier fleet its primary target.
Having returned to Essex, neither Admiral Nimitz nor Lieutenant General Halsey felt the slightest joy. Their losses in this naval battle had simply been too severe.
"General." Lieutenant General Halsey entered Admiral Nimitz's office.
"Have the battle damage statistics been compiled?" Admiral Nimitz asked.
"Yes, General." Lieutenant General Halsey nodded.
"Then just how great were our losses in this battle?" Admiral Nimitz asked.
Clearly, he knew the losses would be horrifying, and had already prepared himself to face the outcome.
"General, fifteen aircraft carriers were sunk in this battle. They included Randolph, Ticonderoga, Lexington, Saratoga, Hancock, Hornet, Yorktown, Ranger, Enterprise, Wasp, Princeton, Belleau Wood, Cowpens, Independence, and Monterey," Lieutenant General Halsey reported.
As he listened to the names of aircraft carriers sunk one after another, Admiral Nimitz shut his eyes in pain. To him, those sunken aircraft carriers undoubtedly represented the American Navy's formidable strength and the fruit of their painstaking labor!