Show Coral Sea 1 The Battle of the Coral thirty two years ago this was the beginning of the turn of the tide in the Second World War in the for the United Japan had attacked warning and for six months swept the seas clean of all opposition THE Japanese Navy was superbly trained in possessed a better fighter than the United States then and a better The Japanese also used in night engagements this gave them a considerable BUT THE United States had enjoyed a bit of luck at Pearl American aircraft carriers were at sea when the sneak attack came in early on the morning of December Thus when the lor t Japanese sea pincer began to reach around the eastern Solomons toward New Guinea and the U.S. Navy had carriers with which to VICE Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher as a the first American admiral to engage the Japanese carriers ever seeing in an air With Rear Ad miral Aubrey W. Finch carriers Lexington and he checked the Japanese sinking one carrier and damaging two On the U S Lexington was lost and York-town losses were about But since this battle stopped the Japanese eastward advance it was a strategic American That victory came the day after General Jonathan surrendered on Corregidor in the From that low Coral Sea represented a turn of the |