CARRIER DUEL IN THE CORAL SEA

Carrier duel in the Coral Sea

Even as Corregidor fell, the fortunes of the Pacific war were beginning to shift at sea. In early May 1942, American and Japanese carrier groups maneuvered through the Coral Sea, each searching for the other’s position with aircraft rather than surface scouts. On May 8th, following the sinking of the light carrier Shoho the day before, the main carrier duel unfolded. Planes from USS Lexington and USS Yorktown struck the Japanese carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, damaging one and depleting the air group of the other, while Japanese aircraft inflicted fatal damage on Lexington and hurt Yorktown. Tactical losses were heavy, and Americans mourned the loss of a proud carrier, but strategically the Japanese advance toward Port Moresby was halted. The battle became the first major naval engagement in which opposing fleets never saw one another directly, fighting entirely through their air wings. Coral Sea demonstrated that carrier aviation now sat at the center of naval power, setting the stage for the battles to come.