| 7-8 May 1942 The Battle of the Coral Sea |
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| The Japanese plan to stage landings at Port Moresby,
Papua, had been scheduled for March. However, raids by U.S. carrier-based aircraft led to the postponement
of the operation until May, when the Fourth Fleet under Admiral Inouye Shigeyoshi could be present
to provide protection for the invasion force. Task Force 17, consisting of the carriers Yorktown
and Lexington as well as eight cruisers and eleven destroyers, was dispatched to intercept the
enemy fleet before it could reach Port Moresby. The resulting battle was the first naval engagement
in history in which the opposing surface vessels never directly saw one another—the only
combat was conducted by carrier-based aircraft. The result was essentially a draw, as each side
lost an aircraft carrier (the Lexington, on the American side). However, the failure to
deal a decisive blow to the Americans led the Japanese once again to postpone the Port Moresby
operation, this time indefinitely.
Histories: Campaign Maps: Documents: |
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