Battle Of The Coral Sea Facts: The First Aircraft Carrier Battle!

The Battle of Coral sea was an important battle that took place during World War II.

This battle was fought by Japan against the allied powers in the form of the United States and Australia. The war lasted for just four days in the Pacific warzone.

It has been estimated that around 1,617 people lost their lives in this battle: 543 lives were lost for the allied powers, while 1,074 individuals lost their lives for Japan. Had Japan won the battle, Port Moresby would have been under the capture of Japan along with parts of Papua, Guadalcanal, and British Solomons.

The battle of the Coral sea was indeed a unique battle that showcased a new naval warfare technique where the opposing carrier ships did not attack each other directly.

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History Of Battle Of The Coral Sea

History essentially tells us the story of the past, be it that of someone's life, a war, or some exciting sports event. The battle of the Coral sea is an important event that paved the way for the then-ongoing World War II. Let us check out the history of this war.

It was a four-day war that took place on May 4, 1942, and ended on May 8, 1942. The naval and air force battle took place between the Japanese navy of the axis powers against the American and Australian navy of the allied powers.

This is a unique battle as in this war, for the first time, aircraft carrier ships engaged against each other with neither ship knowing the location of the other and thus not directly firing at each other.

The conquest of the Pacific Ocean was a strategic move to capture certain areas of the ocean and thereby maintain a high pressing blockage against the opposing groups. The Japanese invasion force decided to attack and capture some highly strategic points like Tulagi and Port Moresby.

Tulagi was virtually undefended as the small amount of Australian troops left before the charge from Japanese forces came. The Japanese army immediately started forming their base and setting up communications posts.

This invasion was, however, observed by the allied naval forces, who decided to launch a sudden and unexpected attack on the Japanese navy from the air force. Around 60 aircraft launched a heavy attack on the Japanese naval forces and sunk the destroyer along with other ships and aircraft.

No allied warships were damaged; however, they lost a few torpedo bombers, which were later recovered.

Though initially suffering heavy damage from the attack of the allied power, the Japanese force continued building their base. On the next day, the allied navy sunk down a Japanese sea boat, a Japanese aircraft that failed to relay the message back to the Japanese.

The US navy also received messages from Pearl Harbor that the Japanese attack was concentrated at Port Moresby. However, the Japanese troops, with their aircraft carriers, fighter aircraft planes, and torpedo planes, entered the Coral sea.

The allied powers, still thinking that the opponent was still in their original place was completely baffled. A Japanese fly boat observed the enemy positions and informed the base; however, the Japanese didn't attack as the aircraft carriers were long out of range.

Therefore, they readied some carrier forces along with some Japanese torpedo planes to attack at dawn.

In the late evening on May 6, the two aircraft carriers were the closest to one another without neither knowing of the other. They were just 70 mi (112.7 km) away.

The next day, on May 7, both the opposing forces started attacking one another with an air attack. The Japanese carrier thought it was attacking the US carrier and vice-versa, but that was not the case.

Both the parties attacked different unites of the opposing army. The naval battle saw the loss of a few Japanese ships like the light Japanese carriers, a light cruiser.

In comparison, the US lost one of its destroyers and a fleet carrier.

Ultimately, the war ended on May 8 after both sides retired owing to huge damages suffered to their ships and aircraft operations. Since the air cover was lost, the Japanese also retreated from Port Moresby but vowed to attack the strategic point again in the future.

Importance Of Battle Of The Coral Sea

Every war that has occurred on the planet has yielded something of importance to both or either of the fighting parties. Here, in the case of this battle, that has been largely confined to the allied powers. So let us check out the importance of this battle.

This battle marked and developed a very well-established strategic relationship between the Australian and the US forces. This battle also gave the opportunity for the US navy to get on a head-on collision with equal forces against Japan.

Previously, the US navy had practiced long carrier strike force attacks from aircraft carriers. This war gave a chance to the allied navy to prove their worth in the naval attack.

The outcome of the result of this battle was huge for both the fighting parties. It strategically changed the planning and the future events of the war for both the Japanese forces as well as that of the allies.

Why was the battle of the Coral sea a victory for the United States?

There has been quite a confusion as both parties claimed victory after the conclusion of the battle of the Coral of World War II. So let us find out why the US navy were the actual victors of this battle.

In terms of tactics, Japan was the winner as they sunk and destroyed more ships and carrier aircraft planes. However, in terms of strategy, the allied forces were the actual winners.

This was the first time that the Japanese navy had to retreat after unsuccessfully launching an attack. This also served as a huge boost for the allies as they successfully stopped a Japanese attack for the first time.

In terms of strategy, Japan retreated from Port Moresby; thus, it reduced the threat for supply lines of the US navy from Australia. With no hindrance at NewGuines, that is Port Moresby, the allied powers took control of a hugely strategic point in the Pacific zone which served as a massive garrison point for the US and Australian navy.

Why was the battle of the Coral sea a turning point for the allies?

Every battle that has been fought has altered the course of history, and the same can be said for the battle of the Coral sea. This battle proved to be a vital victory for the allied powers and ultimately led to them being victorious in World War II.

The importance and significance of the battle of the Coral sea is enormous and played a key role in ending the war. After suffering damages to the Japanese carrier and the Japanese aircraft carriers, the invasion of Port Moresby and Tulagi was retracted.

As a direct result, the strategy of Japan to exhaust the supply lines of the allied powers did not take place and effectively strengthened the relationship between America and Australia.

The battle of the Coral sea had a great effect on the allied powers. It showed the world that the Japanese navy was not invincible.

This served as a huge morale boost for the allied navy who had consecutively lost battles in the Pacific theatre of operations to Japan. This setback for Japan was capitalized by the allied forces and proved vital when Japan surrendered and thus ended the great war.

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