TheBookie
Member
This lasted from May 3-May 8,1942.
May 3,1942-The Japanese occupy Tulagi.
May 4,1942-Admiral Fletcher has the USS Yorktown attack Japanese forces at Tulagi sinking a Destroyer,3 Minesweepers,barges and destroying several float planes.
May 5 and 6 1942-not much action as the IJN passes the Northern Solomon Islands and Fletcher refuels his Task force.
May 7,1942-Japanese search planes mistake Neosho and Sims for aircraft carriers and send a full attack sinking Sims and disabling Neosho.Neosho was later scuttled.
USN search planes find 2 IJN cruisers and the message was decoded wrong as 2 aircraft carriers.A full attack was sent and the mistake was remedied when a USAAF search found the Shoho.The strike force was deverted to attack Shoho which was sunk.Late afternoon Radar picks up IJN planes and the Wildcats shoot at least 5 down.
May 8,1942-Both forces attack each other.The IJN Shokaku gets hit by 3 bombs which put her flight deck out of action and she retreats from the battle.
The USN Lexington is hit by bombs and torpedoes and put out of action,she later explodes and is scuttled.
Yorktown is hit by bombs and retreats to Pearl.
This was the first naval battle where ships never saw each other.It was also the first time the IJN was stopped from reaching it's goal.
TheBookie
May 3,1942-The Japanese occupy Tulagi.
May 4,1942-Admiral Fletcher has the USS Yorktown attack Japanese forces at Tulagi sinking a Destroyer,3 Minesweepers,barges and destroying several float planes.
May 5 and 6 1942-not much action as the IJN passes the Northern Solomon Islands and Fletcher refuels his Task force.
May 7,1942-Japanese search planes mistake Neosho and Sims for aircraft carriers and send a full attack sinking Sims and disabling Neosho.Neosho was later scuttled.
USN search planes find 2 IJN cruisers and the message was decoded wrong as 2 aircraft carriers.A full attack was sent and the mistake was remedied when a USAAF search found the Shoho.The strike force was deverted to attack Shoho which was sunk.Late afternoon Radar picks up IJN planes and the Wildcats shoot at least 5 down.
May 8,1942-Both forces attack each other.The IJN Shokaku gets hit by 3 bombs which put her flight deck out of action and she retreats from the battle.
The USN Lexington is hit by bombs and torpedoes and put out of action,she later explodes and is scuttled.
Yorktown is hit by bombs and retreats to Pearl.
This was the first naval battle where ships never saw each other.It was also the first time the IJN was stopped from reaching it's goal.
TheBookie
