Coral Sea search, intelligence, and a missed radio report

Overnight intelligence placed the Japanese invasion force heading north but left the carriers' whereabouts uncertain. At 0625, about half an hour before sunrise, Lexington launched 22 aircraft on a search covering all directions, with a 200-mile radius in the northern semicircle. At 0820, a scout turning for home found a carrier hidden in rain squalls, but a slipping generator clutch prevented his initial report from reaching the ship. A scout in the adjoining sector relayed the message, found the enemy himself, and reported its movements. Lexington received the news at 0828: two carriers, four heavy cruisers, and destroyers had been sighted, with the subsequent position report putting them 175 miles from Task Force 17. An intercepted radio transmission indicated that the Japanese had sighted the American force almost simultaneously. The accompanying order of battle also lists a seaplane carrier encountered at Tulagi on 4 May, while leaving its presence with the main force on 8 May uncertain because it had not been sighted there.