Changes

The first day of the carrier battle of Coral Sea saw the Americans searching for carriers they knew were present and the Japanese looking for ones they feared might be in the area. The opposing commanders, U.S. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi and Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara, endeavored to "get in the first blow", a presumed prerequisite to victory (and to survival) in a battle between heavily-armed and lightly-protected aircraft carriers. However, both sides suffered from inadequate work by their scouts and launched massive air strikes against greatly inferior secondary targets, which were duly sunk, leaving the most important enemy forces unhit.

The first day of the carrier battle of Coral Sea saw the Americans searching for carriers they knew were present and the Japanese looking for ones they feared might be in the area. The opposing commanders, U.S. Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher and Japanese Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi and Rear Admiral Tadaichi Hara, endeavored to "get in the first blow", a presumed prerequisite to victory (and to survival) in a battle between heavily-armed and lightly-protected aircraft carriers. However, both sides suffered from inadequate work by their scouts and launched massive air strikes against greatly inferior secondary targets, which were duly sunk, leaving the most important enemy forces unhit.

Japanese scouting planes spotted ''Neosho'' and her escort, the destroyer USS ''Sims'' (DD-409), before 0800 in a southerly position well away from Admiral Fletcher's carriers. Reported erroneously as a "carrier and a cruiser", these two ships received two high-level bombing attacks during the morning that, as would become typical of such tactics, missed. However, about 1200 a large force of dive bombers appeared. As was normal for that type of attack, these did not miss. ''Sims'' sank with very heavy casualties and ''Neosho'' was reduced to a drifting wreck whose survivors were not rescued for days.

Japanese scouting planes spotted ''Neosho'' and her escort, the destroyer USS ''Sims'' (DD-409), before 0800 in a southerly position well away from Admiral Fletcher's carriers. Reported erroneously as a "carrier and a cruiser", these two ships received two high-level bombing attacks during the morning that, as would become typical of such tactics, missed. However, about 1200 a large force of [[Aichi D3A|dive bombers]] appeared. As was normal for that type of attack, these did not miss (Japanese dive bombers had an 80% success rate at this point in the war). ''Sims'' sank with very heavy casualties and ''Neosho'' was reduced to a drifting wreck whose survivors were not rescued for days.

Meanwhile, a scout plane from ''Yorktown'' found the Japanese Covering Group, the light carrier ''Shoho'' and four heavy cruisers, of which faulty message coding transformed into "two carriers and four heavy cruisers". ''Yorktown'' and ''Lexington'' sent out a huge strike: fifty-three scout-bombers, twenty-two torpedo planes and eighteen fighters. In well-delivered attacks before noon they overwhelmed ''Shoho'', which received so many bomb and torpedo hits that she sank in minutes. Her passing was marked by one of the most famous radio messages of the war: "Scratch one flattop!"

Meanwhile, a scout plane from ''Yorktown'' found the Japanese Covering Group, the light carrier ''Shoho'' and four heavy cruisers, of which faulty message coding transformed into "two carriers and four heavy cruisers". ''Yorktown'' and ''Lexington'' sent out a huge strike: fifty-three scout-bombers, twenty-two torpedo planes and eighteen fighters. In well-delivered attacks before noon they overwhelmed ''Shoho'', which received so many bomb and torpedo hits that she sank in minutes. Her passing was marked by one of the most famous radio messages of the war: "Scratch one flattop!"