4.+++++++The+Battle+of+Coral+Sea

Joe Goense Block 1 October 20, 2008  The Battle of Coral Sea   The Battle of Coral Sea was one of the most significant yet comical naval battles ever fought for America. The Japanese were planning to take over Port Moresby, an allied port located in New Guinea (Springer 1). Before the Battle of Coral Sea, the two fleets clashed while seeing each other unlike the Coral Sea where neither the U.S. fleet nor the Japanese fleet saw each other which makes it an almost comical battle (Springer 1). The other so called comical part of this battle was the fact that the whole battle was fought by aircraft (Springer 1). The fighting or the battle raged on from May 4 to May 8 (Springer 1). In the end of the battle, the U.S. aircraft would prove to be the more powerful. Both sides were harmed by the battle. Both the Japanese and American aircraft were reduced to 39 aircraft from about 69 aircraft (Battle 2). The boats leading the Japanese attack were two carriers that were veterans of the Pearl Harbor attacks known as the Shokaku and Zuikaku (Battle 1). On the other side, the America carriers, the Lexington and the Yorktown were opposing the Japanese veterans (Battle 1). In the end of the battle, the carriers finally spotted each other and opened fire. The Lexington was set on fire and eventually would sink while the Yorktown continued air operations although suffering some severe damage (Battle 2). The U.S. strike would badly damage the Shokaku and its air operations were all but destroyed while the Zuikaku escaped any amount of damage (Battle 2). All in all, the Americans won the battle because the Japanese withdrew from the area of Port Moresby and New Guinea (Battle 1). The Americans made an important stand and would foil the Japanese plans and invasion. 