May 4-8, 1942 - US carriers block a Japanese thrust towards Port Moresby at the Battle of the Coral Sea. With the Philippines secured, the Japanese sought to complete their conquest of New Guinea by capturing the capital at Port Moresby. Alerted to the impending threat by decoded Japanese radio intercepts, the Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, dispatched the carriers USS Yorktown and USS Lexington to the Coral Sea to intercept the invasion force. Led by Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, this force was soon to encounter Admiral Takeo Takagi's covering force consisting of the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, as well as the light carrier Shoho. On May 4, Yorktown launched three strikes against the Japanese seaplane base at Tulagi, crippling its reconnaissance capabilities. Three days later both fleets launched all of their aircraft, and succeeded in finding and attacking secondary units of the enemy. The Japanese heavily damaged the oiler Neosho and sunk the destroyer USS Sims. American aircraft located and sunkShoho. Fighting resumed on May 8, with both fleets launching massive strikes against the other. US pilots hit Shokaku with three bombs, setting it on fire and putting it out of action, while the Japanese attacked Lexington, hitting it with bombs and torpedoes. Though stricken, Lexington's crew had the ship stabilized until fire reached an aviation fuel storage area causing a massive explosion (left). The ship was soon abandoned and sunk to prevent capture. Yorktown was also damaged in the attack. With Shoho sunk and Shokaku badly damaged, Takagi decided to retreat, ending the threat of invasion. A strategic victory for the Allies, the Battle of the Coral Sea was the first naval battle in which the opposing ships never saw one another.

Photograph Courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center