Coral Sea, Battle of the

On May 4, 1942, a Japanese invasion force commanded by Adm. Shigeyoshi Inouye left Rabaul, New Britain, bound for Port Moresby, New Guinea. Simultaneously, another Japanese force, led by the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, sailed into the Coral Sea, northeast of Australia. The object of these coordinated movements was an assault on Australia preparatory to an invasion of the country. Recognizing the imminent threat, and in the face of one Japanese triumph after the other, U.S. Adm. Frank Fletcher assumed command of a hastily assembled task force and ventured into the Coral Sea to meet the Japanese. On May 7, Fletcher launched planes from the aircraft carriers Yorktown and Lexington, which attacked the invasion fleet north of the Louisiade Archipelago. The Japanese carrier Shoho was sunk, forcing the troop transports under escort to turn back. On May 8, the main body of the American force and the main body of the Japanese force approached one another. They did not, however, make a visual sighting. Instead, both launched history's first over-the-horizon attack, using aircraft to fight a naval engagement at long range and without direct ship-to-ship contact. Naval warfare was changed forever. The battle was fierce and costly to both sides. U.S. aircraft damaged the Shokaku but at the cost of 33 out of 82 of the attacking craft. The Japanese, in turn, sank the Lexington as well as a destroyer and a tanker. They lost 43 of 69 aircraft committed to the battle. Tactically, the American side lost the battle by suffering significantly heavier losses, including that of a capital ship. Strategically, however, the Japanese were defeated. For the first time in the war, a Japanese advance had been stopped. Not only was Port Moresby saved—and, with it, Australia—but the Japanese had been driven into retreat, out of the Coral Sea. The battle set up the circumstances under which the more decisive Battle of Midway would be fought early the next month. A clear (albeit costly) American victory, Midway would be the indisputable turning point of the Pacific war.