The Battle of the Coral Sea

If Japan had won the Battle of the Coral Sea and had then triumphed, a month later, in the Battle of Midway, where they were decisively defeated, then the Pacific War might well have had a very different outcome.

George Cannon

Following their simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbour, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies on the 7th and 8th December, 1941, the Japanese advance through Southeast Asia was swift, brutal and incredibly successful. More critically, Japanese military planners had been surprised that the losses of warships and naval transports had been far less than the 10 to 30 per cent they had predicted and allowed for.

The Japanese plans for a Battle at Midway had already been drawn up when the two fleets, the Japanese and American, began manoeuvring towards each other in the Coral Sea on the morning of the 4th May, 1942, when a Japanese covering force comprising the carrier Shoho supported by cruisers, entered the Coral Sea.

Opposing this force was the U.S. Navy's Task Force 17 commanded by Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher. Supporting Task Force 17 was Task Force 44 which included Australian ships under the command of Rear Admiral John Crace. At this time, neither side was certain of the other's position and the initial stages of the battle were dominated by land and carrier-based aircraft searching for signs of the opposition as the carriers closed for combat.

The battle began in earnest on the 7th May, 1942, when two American destroyers were sunk along with the Japanese carrier Shoho. The most significant losses, however, occurred the following day when the U.S. carrier Lexington was lost, scuttled after being seriously damaged. Also, the Japanese carrier Shokaku from the Carrier Striking Force, under the command of Vice Admiral Tagaki was seriously damaged to an extent that it was removed from the battle and sent back to its base in Truk (Chuuk).

The Australian ships under Crace were too far west, protecting the immediate approaches to Port Moresby, to become involved in the main battle. They were, however, subjected to an intense air bombardment. However, the RAN had learned from the earlier experiences of the loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse off Malaya the previous December and none of the ships were hit although some of the attacking Japanese aircraft were shot down.

The doomed aircraft carrier USS Lexington burns three hours after being attacked
by torpedo bombers. Enormous internal explosions reduced the carrier to a useless hulk.