# Canonical recap data for Battle of the Coral Sea (1942)
# Source: https://recap.at/1942/coral-sea-battle
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: coral-sea-battle
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1942/coral-sea-battle"
title: Battle of the Coral Sea
subtitle: The first naval battle fought entirely by carrier-based aircraft, the Coral Sea halted Japanese expansion toward Australia and marked a strategic turning point in the Pacific War.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1942-05-04
endDate: 1942-05-08
datePrecision: day
year: 1942
decade: 1940
country:
name: Australia
slug: australia
summaryShort: The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle was the first naval action in which the opposing fleets neither sighted nor fi
summaryLong: The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the battle was the first naval action in which the opposing fleets neither sighted nor fired upon one another, attacking over the horizon from aircraft carriers instead. It was also the first military battle between aircraft carriers.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Large_explosion_aboard_USS_Lexington_%28CV-2%29%2C_8_May_1942_%2880-G-16651%29.jpg/1280px-Large_explosion_aboard_USS_Lexington_%28CV-2%29%2C_8_May_1942_%2880-G-16651%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Battle of the Coral Sea"
importance: 77
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea"
  title: Battle of the Coral Sea
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
metaDescription: The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United Stat
wikidataQid: Q207165
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260628072331/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-28
  label: Battle of the Coral Sea
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Coral_Sea"
