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Battle of the Coral Sea: A Strategic Turning Point in World War II

Here's What You Need to Know: Such confusion existed on both sides during the battle that naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison labeled Coral Sea the “Battle of Naval Errors.”

World War II was less than six months old when the American public, already stunned by the debacles at Pearl Harbor and Guam, faced one of its darkest moments. Thousands of miles across the Pacific, the American commander in the Philippines, Maj. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, surrendered to the Japanese. “With broken heart and head bowed in sadness but not in shame,” he radioed on May 6 to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from his bastion at Corregidor, “I report to your excellency that today I must arrange terms for the surrender of the fortified islands of Manila Bay.”

But the tides of war often turn dramatically. Within 72 hours, American ships, planes, and sheer guts would turn gloom and despair into optimism and hope in a little-known portion of the South Pacific. The naval encounter in the Coral Sea, the lustrous waters bordering Australia’s northeast coast, would knock the Japanese back on their heels and give both the American public and its military cause to celebrate.

The Japanese steamed into the Coral Sea with every reason to believe that another success lay before them. They had triumphed everywhere in the Pacific since December 7, 1941, when they had administered a crushing blow to ill-prepared American naval units at Pearl Harbor. What could possibly halt them now?

Intercepting the Japanese Plans

Three Japanese naval forces converged on the Coral Sea. A left arm under Rear Admiral Kujohide Shima, featuring one minelayer, two destroyers, a transport, and various smaller craft, would seize the small island of Tulagi off Guadalcanal’s northern coast in the Solomon Islands for use as a seaplane base. At the same time, Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka’s right arm of 12 troop transports, escorted by the new light carrier Shoho and four heavy cruisers, would advance south from Rabaul, steam through Jomard Passage in the Louisiades, and seize Port Moresby on the southeast coast of New Guinea. This bold thrust would place Japanese forces within easy range of Australia itself and threaten vital American supply lines to the distant Allied nation.

To the east of the Coral Sea, Vice Admiral Takao Takagi led two carriers, Shokaku and Zuikaku, proud veterans of Pearl Harbor, escorted by two heavy cruisers and six destroyers, to intercept any American naval force trying to halt the Port Moresby invasion. Most Japanese commanders doubted that any American carriers remained in the region. They fully expected to achieve their objectives before the United States could mount an effective answer.

The United States, however, was more aware of the unfolding events than the Japanese realized. Due to the tireless efforts of American code breakers, analysts could read up to 15 percent of the Japanese JN-25 code, their most widely used code. Radio analysis plotted Japanese movements by studying the location, volume, and pattern of intercepted messages, giving Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, vital information on enemy troop movements.

By early April, the Navy’s intelligence team at Pearl Harbor under Lt. Cmdr. Joseph J. Rochefort was able to provide Nimitz with details of the Japanese plans for the Coral Sea offensive. Rochefort estimated that the Japanese had no intention of invadeing Australia itself, but that they would shortly launch an operation to seize the eastern end of New Guinea. This move would be quickly followed by a vast operation in the Pacific that would involve most of the Combined Fleet.

The news greatly concerned Nimitz, whose capabilities were hampered by the absence of Admiral William Halsey and two carriers, then taking part in the Doolittle air raid of mainland Japan. At a time when he most needed every resource at his disposal, a key component of Nimitz’s air arm was busy on a bombing raid against Tokyo. He had two remaining carriers to deploy, but if he committed them to the Coral Sea, he left an unprotected Pearl Harbor open to further attack.

Nimitz’s intelligence officer, Commander Edward T. Layton, reassured him that no enemy naval forces were steaming toward Hawaii. Nimitz decided to gamble. The enemy may have more powerful forces to commit to battle, but Nimitz knew their plans in advance and thus had the element of surprise on his side. He could place his ships at optimum positions to halt the Japanese advance.

The Race to the Coral Sea

On April 25, Nimitz met in San Francisco with Admiral Ernest King, commander of the U.S. Fleet and chief of naval operations. King and Nimitz both worried that Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher, who commanded the two available aircraft carriers, was too timid, but they doubted that the more aggressive Halsey would return from the Doolittle Raid in time to be involved in the coming action. Called “Whiskey Jack,” Fletcher was aboard the carrier Yorktown when his orders arrived. He was to rendezvous with Rear Admiral Aubrey Fitch’s TF-11, anchored by the carrier Lexington, 300 miles south of Tulagi at a position called Point Buttercup. There they were to join four cruisers coming from Australia under Australian Admiral Sir John Crace and halt the Japanese, even though Fletcher commanded a mere half of the firepower his opponent could bring to bear.

As Fletcher churned to the Coral Sea, Halsey returned from his raid. On April 25, he entered Pearl Harbor with Hornet and Enterprise, only to learn that he would soon be on his way to the South Pacific. He was to depart no later than April 30 and race 3,500 miles across the Pacific to the Coral Sea. If Halsey arrived in time to participate in the battle, he would be the senior commander and would take charge of all four carriers, including Fletcher’s Yorktown and Lexington. Halsey was six days away from the Coral Sea.

On May 3, the Japanese occupied Tulagi, and Fletcher hurried north on his own rather than rendezvousing with Fitch or Crace. This bold move divided his forces, leaving him vulnerable to a strong Japanese attack, but luck was on his side as a massive cold front containing rain squalls and winds up to 35 knots hid him from enemy search planes.

“Some Fun!”

Twelve Devastator torpedo planes and 28 Dauntless dive-bombers lifted off Yorktown shortly after 7 am on May 4, flying without fighter protection, which Fletcher needed to hold back in case the carrier was attacked. An hour later, Lt. Cmdr. William O. Burch led the bombing raid against Tulagi. Most of the Dauntlesses’ bombs fell wide of their marks, in part because their windows and gun sights had fogged over when the planes dropped from cooler temperatures in the upper altitudes to the warmer climes below. The Devastators proved ineffective as well, hitting only one minesweeper with 11 torpedoes. Two subsequent runs produced similarly disappointing results, with most bombs hitting far from their targets.

Fletcher, encouraged by accounts that his aviators had innocently exaggerated, reported to Nimitz that he had sunk two enemy destroyers, three gunboats, and a cargo ship and damaged several others. “Some fun!” he told Nimitz. His commander radioed back: “Congratulations and well done to you and your force. Hope you can exploit your success with augmented force.” Fletcher, in truth, had inflicted only minor damage. The Japanese lost the destroyer Kikuzuki, two light minesweepers, and a merchant minesweeper.

The air attack on Tulagi spurred the Japanese to action as they now knew, much to their consternation, that at least one American carrier was operating in the area. In response, the Japanese sent Admiral Takagi with Shokaku and Zuikaku from Rabaul, escorted by two heavy cruisers, around the eastern end of the Solomons into the Coral Sea. They had one thought in mind—find and destroy the American carriers.

For two days the opposing forces scoured the Coral Sea without success, coming within 70 miles of each other on May 6 without realizing it. One Japanese land-based search plane sighted and correctly reported Fletcher’s position that day, but that resulted in no response when the report was routed through Rabaul instead of directly to Takagi.

Drawing Off the Japanese Attack

Fletcher and Takagi sent search planes out again on the morning of May 7. A Japanese pilot spotted the tanker Neosho and her escort, the destroyer Sims, at 7:36 am, but in his excitement the pilot reported the pair as a carrier and a cruiser. Armed with this misleading information, Takagi launched all planes from both his carriers, and it was not until they arrived over the American vessels that the Japanese realized they had not found the aircraft carriers.

The two American ships below were helpless against the onslaught that followed. Four planes broke off from one wave of Neosho attackers to strafe and bomb the tanker, spitting bullets topside and against the hull. Other aircraft rocked Sims with three bombs. The first landed on the no. 2 torpedo mount and exploded in the forward engine room, the second hit the after upper deck house and exploded in the after engine room, and the third bomb smashed onto the no. 4 gun. Within a minute, Sims split in half and began to sink. As the destroyer disappeared, a sailor in the water saw the captain, Lt. Cmdr. Willford M. Hyman, on the bridge, “riding her down like one of the captains of old.” A huge explosion lifted the ship 10 feet out of the water, leaving only 68 survivors.

References

Battle of the Coral Sea: A Strategic Turning Point in World War II (https_nationalinterest.org)