page_title: Battle of the Coral Sea
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of the Coral Sea / Battle / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) operating in the Pacific in February 1942, photographed from a Douglas TBD-1 torpedo plane that has just taken off from her deck. Other TBD and SBD aircraft are also ready to be launched. A F4F-3 "Wildcat" fighter is parked on the outrigger just forward of the island. The other ships in company include the fleet oiler USS Guadaloupe (AO-32), a destroyer and a heavy cruiser. This view has been retouched to censor the CXAM-radar antenna mounted atop Yorktown's foremast.
context_page_description: The Battle of the Coral Sea was a battle fought during 4–8 May 1942. It was a major naval battle in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The battle was between the Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first battle between aircraft carriers. It was also the first naval battle in which the warships of neither side actually saw the warships of the other side. Instead, each side sent planes to attack the ships of the other side.
  Japanese forces made a plan to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. When the U.S. discovered this plan, it sent two Navy aircraft carrier groups and a combined Australian–American cruiser force.
  On 3–4 May, Japanese forces invaded and occupied Tulagi. The Japanese aircraft carriers entered the Coral Sea to try to destroy the Allied naval forces.
  On 7 May, the carrier forces from the two sides sent planes to attack the ships of the other side. The first day, the U.S. sank the Japanese light carrier Shōhō, while the Japanese sank a U.S. destroyer.
context_section_description: During late April, the Japanese submarines RO-33 and RO-34 searched the area where landings were planned. The submarines explored Rossel Island and the Deboyne Group area and the route to Port Moresby. They did not see any Allied ships and returned to Rabaul on 23 and 24 April.
  The Japanese Port Moresby Invasion Force, commanded by Rear Admiral Kōsō Abe, included 11 transport ships carrying about 5,000 soldiers from the IJA's South Seas Detachment plus 500 more troops.
  This included one light cruiser and six destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka. Abe's ships departed Rabaul for the 840 nmi (970 mi; 1,560 km) trip to Port Moresby on 4 May and were joined by Kajioka's force the next day. The ships, planned to arrive at Port Moresby by 10 May.
  The Allied forces at Port Moresby had 5,333 men, but only half of these were infantry and all had poor equipment and little training.
  Leading the invasion of Tulagi was the Tulagi Invasion Force. It was commanded by Rear Admiral Kiyohide Shima. It consisted of two minelayers, two destroyers, six minesweepers, two subchasers, and a transport ship carrying about 400 troops. Supporting the Tulagi force was the light carrier Shōhō, four heavy cruisers, and one destroyer, commanded by Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō.
  There was a separate force commanded by Rear Admiral Kuninori Marumo. It consisted of two light cruisers, the seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru, and three gunboats. Inoue directed MO from the cruiser Kashima. He arrived on 4 May.
  Gotō's force left Truk on 28 April and stayed near New Georgia Island. Marumo's support group left New Ireland to establish a seaplane base on 2 May to support the Tulagi attack. Shima's invasion force left Rabaul on 30 April.
  The Carrier Strike Force with carriers Zuikaku and Shōkaku, two heavy cruisers, and six destroyers left from Truk on 1 May. The strike force was commanded by Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi (flag on cruiser Myoko).  Rear Admiral Chūichi Hara, on Zuikaku, commanded the carrier air forces.
  The Carrier Strike Force was to enter the Coral Sea south of Guadalcanal. Once in the Coral Sea, the carriers were to provide airplanes for the invasion forces, destroy Allied airplanes at Port Moresby, and destroy any Allied naval forces in the Coral Sea.
  Takagi's carriers were to deliver nine Zero fighter aircraft to Rabaul. Bad weather during two attempts to make the delivery made the aircraft to return to the carriers. One of the Zeros crashed in the ocean.
  To find out if any Allied naval forces were coming, the Japanese sent submarines to wait southwest of Guadalcanal. Fletcher's forces got into the Coral Sea area before the submarines arrived and the Japanese did not see them. Another sub was sent to explore around Nouméa. It was attacked by Yorktown aircraft on 2 May.
  On the morning of 1 May, Fletcher sent TF11 to refuel. TF 17 completed refueling the next day. Fletcher took TF 17 northwest towards the Louisiades and ordered TF 11 to meet TF 44 on 4 May. TF 44 was a joint Australia–U.S. warship force under MacArthur's command. It was led by Australian Rear Admiral John Crace. It was made up of the cruisers HMAS Australia, Hobart, and USS Chicago.
caption: Yorktown conducts aircraft operations in the Pacific sometime before the battle. A fleet oiler is in the near background.
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