bigpigeon.us webpage WWII - Japan > Japan Overreaches > Coral Sea, updated by RAC 18 May 2022.
Operation MO --> Battle of the Coral Sea - 4-8 May 1942
Operation MO --> Battle of the Coral Sea - 4-8 May 1942
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In May 1942, As the first step in isolating Australia, Japan sent an invasion fleet into the Coral Sea to seize Port Moresby, the major town in eastern New Guinea, and a locality with both harbor and air facilities.
The Japanese fleet was intercepted by the US Navy in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first sea battle fought exclusively by carrier-launched aircraft. Although Coral Sea was a draw tactically with equal losses on both sides, it was an Allied victory as the Japanese fleet turned back, leaving the base of Port Moresby undamaged and in Allied hands. |
The Coral Sea
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Sources for the Coral Sea webpage:
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Coral Sea:
† O’Dell, Charles Henry, SN 316-78-35, US Navy, Pott. Co.
- The Coral Sea map is courtesy of https://geog.ucsb.edu at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- The June 1942 Japanese Naval Operation MI is courtesy of pinterest.com
Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - Coral Sea:
- Taken from the bigpigeon.us WWII Roster module.
† O’Dell, Charles Henry, SN 316-78-35, US Navy, Pott. Co.
- Aircraft Carrier USS Lexington (CV-2); KIA 8 May 1942, Coral Sea, South Pacific, ~ 500 miles E of Cairns, Australia; Lexington sunk by Japanese planes, 216 dead; Japan Overreaches > Battle of the Coral Sea; BNR.