The Battle of Coral Sea
4-8 May 1942
SBD-3, LTJG Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa, VS-5, USS Yorktown
Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4th-8th, 1942
 (Note: Click on any image to see a larger version)
What the Battle Meant to the War Effort
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from May 4th-8th, 1942, was
the first naval engagement in history where the opposing ships
neither saw nor directly fired on each other. It also marked the
end of Allied defensive-only activity, and paved the way for future
Allied offensive operations.
This was the first of six battles between opposing aircraft carrier
forces during the war. This battle resulted from American and Australian
naval and air forces thwarting a Japanese amphibious operation
intended to capture Port Moresby in New Guinea. A Japanese air
base there would have threatened northeastern Australia and strategic
sea lanes, possibly forcing Australia out of the war and certainly
enhancing the strategic defenses of Japan's oceanic empire and
further Japanese expansion into the Pacific.
The Japanese scored a tactical victory by sinking the aircraft
carrier USS Lexington, heavily damaging the carrier USS Yorktown,
and sinking a destroyer and an oiler. Against those losses, the
Americans managed to achieve their first substantial kills against
the Japanese Navy by sinking the light carrier Shoho and severely
damaging the Shokaku, as well as damaging other smaller ships.
In truth the battle was an operational and strategic defeat for
the Japanese--the first major check on their offensive sweep begun
five months earlier at Pearl Harbor.
First, the invasion of Port Moresby was thwarted, boosting Allied
chances in the bitterly fought New Guinea campaign, and fending
off a threat to the supply lines running between the US and Australia.
Second, the Japanese were denied the services of their two newest
carriers on the eve of the Battle of Midway a month later. Historians
have argued whether these two Japanese carriers would have actually
been used at Midway; regardless, had these two carriers been available
at Midway, things might well have turned out very differently for
the Americans.
Elsewhere in the War
To put the importance and timing of this battle in context, we
need to take a quick look at what else was happening in late April
- early June 1942:
- April 23rd was the beginning of the Luftwaffe's air attacks
against the British cathedral cities.
- On May 1st, General Carl Spaatz was designated commander of
the Eighth Air Force, which had not yet left for England and
was still Stateside at Bolling Field, Washington, DC.
- On May 4th, US Navy aircraft attacked the Japanese invasion
fleet at Tulagi Island, the first shots in what developed into
the Battle of the Coral Sea.
- Corregidor Island in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese
invaders on May 6th, ending US resistance in the Philippines.
- May 7th marked the sinking of the Japanese light carrier Shoho
by US Navy dive bombers, while the Japanese sank a US oiler and
destroyer, mistaking them for a US carrier and cruiser. US Army
Air Force bombers mistakenly attacked US ships, but caused no
damage. During the day, the Japanese invasion force headed for
Port Moresby turned back towards Rabaul.
- May 8th was the day the US Navy lost the USS Lexington (much
more on this below).
- May 8th was also the day the Germans began their Crimean offensive
in Russia.
- It was not until five days after the end of Coral Sea combat
that the first 8th Air Force bomber squadron, minus its aircraft,
reached England (May 13th).
- June 4th-7th was the pivotal Battle of Midway, which truly
turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.
The Forces Involved and the Timeline
The Japanese campaign included two seaborne invasion forces, the
main one aimed at Port Moresby, and a smaller one targeting Tulagi,
in the Southern Solomons. These would be supported by Japanese
land-based airpower from bases to the north and by two naval forces
containing a small aircraft carrier, several cruisers, seaplane
tenders and gunboats. Simultaneously, a powerful screening force
built around the big carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku sortied from
Truk to prevent interference from any Allied naval forces that
might be in the area.
The U.S. Navy, tipped off to the enemy plans by superior communications
intelligence and codebreaking, countered with two of its own carriers,
plus cruisers (including two Australian cruisers), destroyers,
submarines, land-based bombers and patrol seaplanes.
Sunday, May 3rd, 1942
On May 3rd, the smaller of the two Japanese naval forces made
an unopposed landing at Tulagi in the southern Solomons. The small
force of Australian commandos and airmen who had garrisoned Tulagi
evacuated the previous day, having been notified by coastwatchers
that the Japanese were en route. (Read a short but fascinating
history of the Japanese invasion of Tulagi
here).
While Tulagi was being occupied, the main force of the Japanese
Fourth Fleet was completing its final preparations for the amphibious
invasion of Port Moresby, which was scheduled to start on May 10th.
Monday, May 4th, 1942
The USS Yorktown, which had been refueling at Espiritu Santo,
ran north and launched three air strikes against the Japanese shipping
in Tulagi Harbor, hitting a destroyer and several small boats.
It then returned southward to rejoin the Lexington.
Yorktown SBD aircraft return to their carrier after striking Japanese shipping in Tulagi harbor
Koei Maru (center) is straddled by bombs while at anchor in Tulagi harbor
during the attacks by Yorktown aircraft
Meanwhile, long range, land-based bombers from General MacArthur's
SWPA command were combing the seas for the Japanese convoy approaching
Port Moresby, but failed to locate it either that day or the next.
Tuesday, May 5th, 1942
Allied intelligence reported that Port Moresby was the main enemy
objective and that landings could be expected any time between
May 5th and May 10th. B-17s and B-26s of the SWPA stood by for
an attack order, while other planes carried out neutralizing raids
to keep Japanese land-based air power from participating in the
coming battle.
Wednesday, May 6th, 1942
It was not until late on the 6th, however, that three AAF B-17s
finally located the Japanese invasion force headed for the Jomard
Passage and the Louisiade Islands. US Rear Admiral Frank "Jack" Fletcher,
Commander of the Allied Fleet, dispatched a group of cruisers and
destroyers to cover the Jomard Passage, and moved north with his
carrier force to contact and close with the main enemy fleet.
Thursday, May 7th, 1942
SBD-3, LTJG William E. Hall, VS-2, USS Lexington
Battle of the Coral Sea, May 7th-8th, 1942
The opposing commanders, Admiral Fletcher and Japanese Vice Admiral
Takeo Takagi and Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara, endeavored to strike
the first blow, an essential tactic for victory (and survival)
in a battle between heavily-armed and lightly-protected aircraft
carriers.
However, both sides suffered from inadequate efforts by their
scouts and launched massive air strikes that sank relatively unimportant
secondary targets, while leaving the most important enemy forces
untouched.
That morning, American scout planes reported sighting an enemy
carrier, which proved to be the Shoho, and four heavy cruisers
off Misima Island. Unfortunately, they were misreported as "two
carriers and four heavy cruisers".
Ten B-17s were immediately sent to attack at high level. They
were unsuccessful, but were able to start a fire on one cruiser.
More important, by throwing the Japanese formation into complete
disorder they caused the carrier to reverse its course.
Yorktown and Lexington sent a huge strike force of fifty-three
scout-bombers, twenty-two torpedo planes and eighteen fighters.
They caught the Japanese unprepared, with few planes in the air
and with their carrier headed away from the wind. Nine bomb hits
and four torpedoes sank the Shoho within five minutes after the
first blow was struck.
A second strike aimed at the retiring enemy force was readied
but not ordered aloft because the other Japanese carriers had not
yet been located.
The undiscovered Shokaku and Zuikaku were meanwhile to the northeast,
frantically searching for the American aircraft carriers. Japanese
scouting planes from these two ships spotted the American oiler
USS Neosho (AO 23) and her escort, the destroyer USS Sims (DD 409),
before 8 AM, far to the south of Admiral Fletcher's carriers.
Misreported as a "carrier and a cruiser" by the Japanese
scouts, the two ships were attacked twice by high-level bombers,
but escaped unscathed.
However, about noon a large force of dive bombers appeared overhead,
and they did not miss. Sims sank with very heavy casualties and
Neosho was reduced to a drifting wreck whose survivors were not
rescued for days. Admiral Fletcher did not learn of this attack
until dusk, too late to take any effective counteraction.
Compounding the Japanese misunderstanding of the situation, Japanese
land-based torpedo planes and bombers struck the force of Australian
and American cruisers far to the west of Admiral Fletcher's carriers.
Skillful ship handling prevented any damage to the Allied ships.
Adding to the general confusion, several Australia-based U.S.
Army B-17s also arrived over the Allied ships and dropped their
bombs, fortunately without hitting anything.
All this had one beneficial effect: the Japanese ordered their
Port Moresby invasion force to turn back to await developments.
The Japanese learned of the sinking of the Shoho as their planes
were returning from the attack on the tanker group, and at dusk
about twenty-seven bombers and torpedo planes again left the Shokaku
and Zuikaku in another effort to locate and sink the Lexington
and the Yorktown.
After a long and fruitless search, the planes were forced to jettison
their bombs and torpedoes and head back to their ships. During
the return flight, these planes passed over the United States carriers
at night and some landings were actually attempted before the Japanese
pilots realized their mistake.
Almost none of the aircraft successfully returned to their carrier--a
huge and wasteful loss of combat crews and aircraft.
Friday, May 8th, 1942
Before dawn on May 8th, both the Japanese and the American carriers
dispatched scouting planes to locate their opponents. These made
contact a few hours later, by which time the Japanese strike force
was already airborne. The US aircraft launched soon after 9 AM,
and task force commander Admiral Fletcher turned over tactical
command to Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch, who had more carrier experience.
Each side's planes attacked the other's ships at about 11 AM.
While the Japanese ships were partially concealed by heavy weather,
the American ships were operating under clear skies.
Planes from Yorktown hit the Shokaku, followed somewhat later
by part of USS Lexington's air group. These attacks left Shokaku
unable to launch planes, and she left the area soon after to return
to Japan for repairs. Her sister ship, Zuikaku, was steaming nearby
under low clouds and was not molested.
In addition to reconnaissance and preparatory raids against enemy
air installations, Army Air Force land-based aircraft from the
SWPA continued to support the action of the naval forces by flying
some forty-five sorties against the enemy fleet. Bad weather intervened,
however, and frustrated all attempts to bomb the crippled Shokaku,
which succeeded in escaping to the sanctuary of Rabaul.
The "Lady Lex" Goes Down
The Japanese struck the American carriers in a fast and violent
action, scoring torpedo hits on Lexington and with bombs on both
carriers.
Lexington was struck by a torpedo to port. Moments later, a second
torpedo hit to port directly abreast of the bridge. Simultaneously,
she took three bomb hits from enemy dive bombers, and may have
received as many as seven bomb and torpedo hits in all. These attacks
left her with a 7 degree list to port and several raging fires.
By 1 PM her damage control parties had brought the fires under
control and returned the ship to even keel; making 25 knots, she
was ready to recover her air group. Suddenly and unexpectedly,
Lexington was shaken by a tremendous explosion, caused by the ignition
of gasoline vapors below decks, and again fire raged out of control.
At 4 PM, Capt. Frederick C. Sherman, fearing for the safety of
his men working below decks, secured salvage operations, and ordered
all hands to the flight deck. Admiral Fitch ordered "abandon
ship" a few minutes after 5 PM, and the men began going over
the side into the warm water to be immediately rescued by nearby
cruisers and destroyers. This effort was so well executed that
no additional sailors were lost in the rescue.
The now mortally wounded Lexington blazed on, flames shooting
hundreds of feet into the air. Finally, the destroyer USS Phelps
(DD 361) closed to 1500 yards, fired two torpedoes into the carrier's
hull and the "Lady Lex" slid beneath the waves. (Please
note the 1935 official US Navy photo of the Phelps below shows
a different hull number.)
The Battle of Coral Sea Ends
As May 8th drew to a close, both sides retired from the immediate
battle area. In addition to the carriers and other ships lost,
both sides experienced heavy aircraft losses. The US losses totaled
66 and postwar interrogations of Japanese survivors of the battle
put Japanese aircraft losses much higher than 100.
Zuikaku returned to the area for a few days, even though her aircraft
complement was badly depleted, but as the invasion of Port Moresby
had been called off, she withdrew on May 11th. At about the same
time USS Yorktown was recalled to Pearl Harbor. After receiving
quick repairs, she would play a vital role in the Battle of Midway
less than a month later.
Conclusion
The Battle of the Coral Sea prevented the Japanese from occupying
Port Moresby by sea and temporarily delayed their plans to capture
Guadalcanal and occupy the Solomons.
The Allies gained time in their race to improve defenses in New
Guinea and northeastern Australia.
Truthfully, the American victory was purely defensive. Allied
forces in the Southwest Pacific were still unable to launch a major
offensive. The Japanese had lost an important battle, but the strategic
initiative still remained in their hands--at least until the pivotal
Battle of Midway just a month away.
Author's Note: I am indebted to historians at the US Navy and
US Army historical centers and the National Archives, as well as
many others, for the information and photos in this article.
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