with the presence of american aircraft carriers in the region and the swift destruction of the light carrier shoho on the morning of may 7th 1942 emerald inoye commander of task force mo has decided to turn the ammo invasion force north until the american carriers are eliminated for vice admiral takagi and rear admiral hara commanding the carrier striking force it's obvious from the number of aircraft used to sink the shoho that two american carriers are in the region these two carriers must be quickly eliminated if operation mo is to succeed therefore rear admiral hara chooses to gamble and at 4 15 pm launches a strike of 12 val dive bombers and 15 kate torpedo bombers 280 miles west in an effort to find and attack the american carriers the strike could potentially prove highly successful but many of the japanese pilots are tired after the strike on the nyosho and sims and now face a dangerous mission which will end with a tired landing back on their carriers the japanese aircraft fly the 280 miles west but are unable to find taskful 17 through the heavy cloud cover they release their ordinance and hope to make it back to their carrier safely but little do they know they have been detected by american radar and wildcat fighters are now being guided in to intercept them the wildcats who have positioned themselves behind the formation of japanese aircraft strike out of the setting sun and shoot down a vowel and six of the kates for the loss of three of the attacking wildcats flying through the dark and sighting carriers ahead some of the japanese aircraft even try to land on the american carriers as a japanese aircraft attempts to land on the yorktown the pilot finally realizes his mistake and hastily aborts the approach the us warships opened fire shooting down a further aircraft with nine of the 27 japanese shot down their mission is a costly failure with this encounter and with the japanese airmen reporting the position of task force 17 on their arrival back to their carriers it is now clear to both sides just how close they actually are to one another after days of searching for one another the atmosphere in both fleets is thick with tension both knowing that the following day will see the climax of the battle the following morning of may the 8th at 6 15 am seven kates launched from the japanese carrier striking force in search of the american carriers in turn 20 minutes later 18 dauntless sbd dive bombers launch a 360 degree search from task 417 at around 8 20 am both american and japanese aircraft find what they're looking for and simultaneously issue reports identifying the location of their enemies carriers crucially the bad weather that had been shielding the american carriers has now moved north to cover the japanese carriers the americans are first to launch a full strike at 9 25 am 15 wildcat fighters 39 dauntless sbd dive bombers and 21 devastator tbd torpedo bombers rumble into the air and head out towards the japanese carriers at the same time the japanese have launched their strike eighteen zero fighters 33 val dive bombers and 18 kate torpedo bombers are in the air and heading for task force 17. as the american aircraft head for the carrier striking force lieutenant commander dixon the commanding officer of scouting formation 2 from the lexington has left his assigned scouting path and flown towards the location of where the carrier striking force has been sighted on reaching its reported location heavy rain initially hides it from dixon's view but through a break in the rain cloud he finally spots it dixon shadows guiding the american strike onto the japanese carriers by continually correcting the force's reported course while japanese zeros flying combat air patrol move in to engage him he flies evasively through the heavy cloud maintaining contact with the carrier striking force over two hours continually updating the course of the japanese carriers to task 417 while being hunted down by the prowling zeroes at 10 32 a.m aircraft from the yorktown locate the japanese carriers but instead of making an immediate attack the commander of yorktown's dauntless dive bombers decides to wait 20 minutes for yorktown's devastator torpedo bombers to arrive so as to ensure they coordinate their attack on the japanese carriers however the wait allows the japanese time to launch more zeros with the arrival of yorktown's tbd's yorktown's aircraft finally begin their anvil attack on the still visible shikaku encountering only light anti-aircraft fire trailing a mile behind the zuikaku shikaku's only escort are the cruisers furataka and kunigaza sailing astern of the large japanese carrier as the seven sbds dive on her their bomb sites once again fog up as they had at tulagi and all seven aircraft miss hurried by zeroes the 17 sbds of vb5 then launch their attack as they power into their dives on the tightly turning shakaku their bomb sites also fog up but they press home their attack and an sbd strikes her bow with a 1 000 bomb as lieutenant john j powers dives the wing of his sbd is struck by a 20 millimeter round from a zero but powers pushes on releasing his bomb at just one thousand feet unable to pull up powers in his rear seat gunner are consumed by the massive explosion of their 1 000 pound bomb ripping through the carrier for sacrificing his life to ensure the accuracy of his bomb powers is posthumously awarded the medal of honor with multiple large fires aboard shikaku is now attacked by vt5's 9 devastators but they launched their torpedoes at too great a distance to be effective and shikaku evades shortly after with many aircraft lost in the bad weather some of lexington's aircraft finally find shikaku and launch their own attack only four of lexington's dauntlesses actually attacked shikaku scoring another 1 000 bomb hit on the burning carrier 11 of lexington's devastators now move into attack they launch their torpedoes and pull out of their attack run believing a number of their torpedoes have struck true but once again shikaku evades all 11 torpedoes launched towards her by the time the american aircraft depart the area shikaku is severely damaged and cannot conduct flight operations as her damage control teams work to suppress her raging fires 108 of shikaku sailors have been killed and she is forced to withdraw from the area however with her watertight integrity intact she is at no risk of sinking as she steams for home american losses are light at three wildcats and two dauntlesses lost for two zeros shot down at almost the same time as yorktown's aircraft began their attack on the shikaku the japanese prepare to begin their own attack having been detected by radar 68 miles out nine wildcats have been scrambled to intercept them but failed to make the interception as they approach task force 17. as the japanese strike closes in the cate split into two groups in order to attack the american carriers from different directions in comparison to the american attack the japanese attack is much swifter but becomes subject to much heavier anti-aircraft fire zeros and wildcats tangle with one another in the skies of our task 417 as the strike aircraft move in the first to attack are the 18 kate torpedo bombers with 14 targeting the lexington and only two targeting the yorktown four are shot down on their attack run three kates drop their torpedoes against yorktown but all miss with kate's coming at her from either side the unwieldy lexington is able to maneuver enough to avoid the first five torpedoes even letting two of the torpedoes pass right by her on either side but her crew's luck runs out and lexington is finally hit by two torpedoes on her port side one causes flooding whilst the other will cause an ultimately mortal wound jamming her elevators and cutting small ruptures in her port aviation fuel tank that progressively fills the ship with gasoline vapor just minutes later 19 valves from the shikaku dive on the lexington under intense anti-aircraft fire and with wildcats desperately trying to defend their carrier despite only one vowel shot down on the attack run they only secure two 550 pound bomb hits causing no critical damage to the carrier fourteen vowels from tsuikaku are the next to make their attack in an attempt to hit the sharply maneuvering yorktown again under a fire and with two wildcats harassing the vows are only able to score a single 550 pound bomb hit on the carrier this time causing structural damage the fires are brought under control and yorktown soldiers on eight us aircraft have been shot down and 13 japanese with a further 19 rendered irreparable by the afternoon it is clear that the battle has been very costly for both carrier forces and that neither side is in any position to launch another substantial strike aboard the lexington the situation is deteriorating at 12 47 pm the forward section of the carrier is shaken by a large explosion with aviation fuel vapor spreading uncontrollably throughout the vessel as the afternoon goes on she is severely shaken by two more huge explosions despite the best efforts of her damage control parties the fires cannot be controlled and abandoned ship is ordered the venerable carrier is finally scuttled by torpedoes from an escorting destroyer upon being informed of the damage to the shikhaku and the air groups of the zuikaku and with the route to port moresby still blocked by rear admiral crazy's cruisers admiral inoye calls off the operation aware the ammo invasion force has turned north and having already lost one of the u.s navy's few aircraft carriers fletcher cannot jeopardize the safety of the yorktown and decides to move task 417 south so she can be repaired whilst the japanese remain in the area for a few days hoping to re-engage the americans they realize the chance has gone and leave the area at the battle of the coral sea the imperial japanese navy has lost the light carrier shoho a destroyer and a few auxiliary ships at tulagi the united states navy loses the fleet carrier lexington euler neosho and a destroyer both sides claim victory by tonnage of ships sunk the battle is a tactical victory for the japanese but by stopping the japanese capture of port moresby the battle of the coral sea is a strategic victory for the allies the japanese will now be forced to try and take port moresby by land over the owen stanley mountains via the kokoda trail where they will be ultimately stopped by predominantly australian forces task force 17 has inflicted enough damage to the shikaku and to the air groups of the zuikaku to ensure that neither carrier will be able to participate in the battle of midway in a few weeks time a potentially pivotal factor in its outcome you