battle of the coral sea

One of the first naval battles of the Pacific theatre of operations in World War II fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy in May 1942, it was the first naval battle between aircraft carriers and their air groups. It was fought without the ships engaging each other directly.

It ended in an apparent Japanese tactical victory due to the sinking of the American aircraft carrier the USS Lexington (CV-2) , but also in a decisive, but costly, American strategic victory due to the delay of the Japanese island hopping campaign and experience that helped their later success during the Battle of Midway.