Battle of Coral SeaPrint Page

The Battle of Coral Sea
4 – 8th May 1942

In January 1942 the Japanese forces continued their push south with the purpose of capturing Port Moresby and the Solomon Island Group. Rabual was an important support base for the capture operation and was known as Operation R by the Japanese. Japan secured the territory of the Caroline Islands which was selected as the site of the Imperial Japanese Navy Base on the Island of Truk. As the list of military defeats and reversals for the Australian, British, American and Dutch military and naval forces began to mount, the feeling within the general populace of Australia was one of depression and a general expectation that the Japanese would invade at any moment.

In May 1942, the Japanese decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby and Tulagi in the Southern Solomon Islands. Australia was involved in the battle from the very first when locally-based signals intelligence units made a significant contribution to the early detection of the Japanese thrust. Aerial reconnaissance flights were flown from Australia and Port Moresby by USAAF and RAAF aircraft. Eleven US submarines based in Brisbane were deployed to the Papua area. The U.S. sent two United States Navy carrier task forces and a joint Australian-American cruiser force to oppose the offensive. The battle is historically significant as the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other.

On 3–4 May, Japanese forces successfully invaded and occupied Tulagi, although several of their supporting warships were sunk or damaged in surprise attacks by aircraft from the U.S. fleet carrier Yorktown. Now aware of the presence of U.S. carriers in the area, the Japanese fleet carriers advanced towards the Coral Sea. Beginning on 7 May, the carrier forces from the two sides engaged in airstrikes over two consecutive days. On the first day, the U.S. sank the Japanese light carrier Shono; meanwhile, the Japanese sank a U.S. destroyer and heavily damaged a fleet oiler. The next day, the Japanese fleet carrier Shokaku was heavily damaged, the U.S. fleet carrier Lexington was critically damaged (and later scuttled), and Yorktown damaged. With heavy losses in aircraft and carrier damaged or sunk, the two forces disengaged and retired from the battle area.

The Battle of Coral Sea marked a major turning point in the Pacific War because it effectively stopped the Japanese advance to the south towards Australia.

This plaque was generously provided by Mr Colin and Mrs Helen Withey of Kingscliff.