Key Facts
- Dates
- 4–8 May 1942
- First of its kind
- First battle fought entirely by carrier aircraft
- Japanese carriers damaged
- Shōkaku damaged; Shōhō sunk
- Allied carriers lost/damaged
- Lexington sunk; Yorktown damaged
- Strategic result
- Port Moresby invasion cancelled
Strategic Narrative Overview
Japanese forces occupied Tulagi on 3–4 May but suffered losses from a Yorktown air strike. Both carrier fleets searched for each other, and on 7 May each attacked mistaken targets: the U.S. sank the light carrier Shōhō while Japan sank the destroyer Sims and damaged the oiler Neosho. On 8 May the fleets finally located each other; Shōkaku was heavily damaged by U.S. aircraft, while Yorktown was damaged and Lexington was so critically hit it had to be scuttled.
01 / The Origins
To consolidate control of the South Pacific, Japan planned Operation Mo: the seaborne invasion of Port Moresby in Papua and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Securing these positions would threaten Australia and extend Japan's defensive perimeter. U.S. signals intelligence revealed the plan, allowing Admiral Frank J. Fletcher to deploy two carrier task forces and an Australian-American cruiser force into the Coral Sea to intercept the Japanese Combined Fleet units assigned to support the invasion.
03 / The Outcome
Both sides disengaged after suffering severe aircraft and carrier losses. Admiral Inoue cancelled the Port Moresby invasion due to the loss of carrier air cover. Though Japan sank more tonnage, the battle is considered a strategic Allied victory: it was the first time a major Japanese advance had been repelled, and the damage to Shōkaku and Zuikaku's air group kept both carriers out of the decisive Battle of Midway the following month.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue.
Side B
2 belligerents
Admiral Frank J. Fletcher.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.