Page 109 - NS-2 Textbook

102 MARITIME HISTORY

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AUSTRALIA
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HEBRIDES
CORAL SEA

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AUSTRALIA nautical miles

The Battle of the Coral Sea. This was the world's first all-carrier air and sea battle. It turned back the Japanese advance into the South Pacific
and kept open the supply route to Australia.

ported that another attack was needed to destroy the were shot down in flames before they could score a hit.
run,vays there. Their sacrifice would not be in vain, huwever. Nagumo
At almost the same time, Nagumo received word of had now huned back eight attacks in three hours with-
the American carrier task force. He changed course to ap- out a scratch. But his luck had run out. About to launch
proach it and ordered that the bombs that had been the counterattack, the four Japanese carriers huned into
loaded on aircraft for the second Midway attack be re- the ,vind. At that monlent another American wave of
placed with torpedoes for an attack on the U.S. carrier dive bombers from the Enterprise and Yorktown came
force. The bombs were left lying on the deck. At the same screaming down on a high-altihtde dive-bombing attack.
time.. the first Mid\vay attack ,,,,ave returned, and They met almost no resistance from the Japanese combat
Nagumo ordered that the planes be recovered before air patrol, which had been pulled down to meet the pre-
latmching the second wave. vious Anlerican low-level torpedo attack.
Naguffio's force V\Tas no,,,, attacked by three 1m,v and The Americans caught the Japanese carriers with
slow waves of U.S. carrier torpedo planes, all of which planes on their flight decks about to take off, other planes