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The Battle of the Coral Sea, a major engagement of the Pacific Theatre of World War II, was fought 4–8 May 1942 in the waters east of New Guinea and south of the Bismarck Islands between elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States (U.S.) and Australia.

To extend their empire in the Pacific to the conquest of Australia, the Japanese first had to capture the naval and air center of Port Moresby on the southeast coast of New Guinea. In order to extend the reach of their air searches for Allied naval forces, they resolved to simultaneously establish a seaplane base at Tulagi in the lower Solomon Islands. The U.S. learned of the Japanese plan, known as Operation Mo, through signals intelligence and sent two United States Navy carrier task forces and a joint Australian-American cruiser force to oppose the Japanese offensive.

The result was a strategic defeat for the Japanese, since their principal goal of landing troops at Port Moresby was thwarted, but a tactical defeat for the Allies, who suffered more significant ship losses.

Because the Japanese assumed the tactical initiative, their forces are listed first.

Forces deployed

Losses in parentheses Ship Type IJN USN RAN Fleet carriers (CV) 2 2 (1) Light carriers (CVL) 1 (1) Heavy cruisers (CA) 4 6 1 Light cruisers (CL) 2 1 Destroyers (DD) 15 (1) 13 (1) Amphibious assault vessels 12 Auxiliaries 26 (3) 3 (1)

Japanese Forces

Task Force MO
Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue, Commander, Fourth Fleet in light cruiser Kashima anchored at Rabaul

Carrier Striking Force

Vice Admiral Takeo Takagi in heavy cruise Myōkō

Carrier Division 5 (Rear Adm. Chūichi Hara, Officer in Tactical Command in Zuikaku)

2 fleet carriers

Shōkaku (Capt. Takaji Jōjima)

Air Group (Lt. Cmdr. Kakuichi Takahashi)

21 Mitsubishi A6M "Zeke" fighters (Lt. Takumi Hoashi)

20 Aichi D3A Type 99 "Val" dive bombers (Lt. Masao Yamaguchi)

19 Nakajima B5N Type 97 "Kate" torpedo bombers (Lt. Tatsuo Ichihara)

Zuikaku (Capt. Ichihei Yokogawa)

Air Group (Lt. Cmdr. Shigekazu Shimazaki)

25 Mitsubishi A6M "Zeke" fighters (Lt. Kiyokuma Okajima)

22 Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers (Lt. Tamotsu Ema)

20 Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers (Lt. Yoshiaki Tsubota)

Cruiser Division 5 (Vice Adm. Takagi in Myōkō)

2 heavy cruisers

Both Myoko-class: Myōkō, Haguro

Destroyer Division 5

2 destroyers

Both Fubuki-class: Ushio, Akebono

Destroyer Division 7

4 destroyers

All Hatsuharu / Shiratsuyu-class: Ariake, Yūgure, Shiratsuyu, Shigure

1 oiler: Tōhō Maru

Invasion Forces

Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō in heavy cruiser Aoba

Tulagi Invasion Group

Rear Admiral Kiyohide Shima in minelayer Okinoshima

1 transport: Azumasan Maru

Embarking 400 troops from the 3rd Kure Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) plus a construction detachment from the 7th Establishment Squad.

2 minelayers: Okinoshima, Kōei Maru

2 destroyers: Kikuzuki (sunk by air attack 5 May), Yūzuki

5 minesweepers: Wa #1 (sunk), Wa #2 (sunk), Hagoromo Maru, Noshiro Maru #2, Tama Maru (sunk)

2 subchasers: Toshi Maru #3, Tama Maru #8

Support Group/Close Cover Force

Rear Admiral Kuninori Marumo in light cruiser Tenryū

Cruiser Division 18 (Rear Adm. Marumo)

2 light cruisers

Both Tenryū-class: Tenryū, Tatsuta

2 seaplane tenders

Kamikawa Maru

Air group: 12 aircraft

Kiyokawa Maru

Air group (attached)

3 gunboats: Keijo Maru, Seikai Maru, Nikkai Maru

Covering Group/Main Body Support Force

Rear Admiral Gotō in heavy cruiser Aoba

Cruiser Division 6 (Rear Adm. Gotō)

4 heavy cruisers: Aoba, Kako, Kinugasa, Furutaka

1 light carrier Shōhō (sunk by air attack 7 May)

Air Group (Lt. Kenjirō Nōtomi)

8 Mitsubishi A6M Zero and 4 Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" fighters (Lt. Nōtomi)

6 Nakajima B5N Type 97 "Kate" torpedo bombers (Lt. Michitarō Nakamoto)

1 destroyer: Sazanami

Port Moresby Invasion Group

Rear Admiral Sadamichi Kajioka in light cruiser Yūbari

Transport Unit (Rear Adm. Kōsō Abe)

5 Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) transports: Mogamigawa Maru, Chōwa Maru, Goyō Maru, Akiba Maru, Shōka Maru.

Embarking approximately 500 troops from the 3rd Kure SNLF plus construction specialists from the 10th Establishment Squad

6 Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) transports: Asakasan Maru, China Maru, Mito Maru, Matsue Maru, Taifuku Maru, Hibi Maru

Embarking South Seas Detachment of approximately 5,000 troops

5 minesweepers: W-20 (Wa #20), Hagoromo Maru, Noshiro Maru #2, Fumi Maru #2, Seki Maru #3.

1 minelayer: Tsugaru (Capt. Inagaki Yoshiaki)

1 salvage tugboat: Woshima

2 oilers: Hoyo Maru, Irō

Screen

1 light cruiser: Yūbari (Capt. Masami Ban)

6 destroyers: Oite, Asanagi, Uzuki, Mutsuki, Mochizuki, Yayoi

1 or 2 unidentified patrol boats

Submarine Force

Captain Noboru Ishizaki

Patrol/Scouting Group: I-21, I-22, I-24, I-28, I-29

Raiding Group: Ro-33, Ro-34

Air Forces

25th Air Flotilla

Rear Admiral Sadayoshi Yamada

4th Air Group (based at Rabaul)

17 Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 "Betty" land attack bombers

Tainan Air Group (based at Lae and Rabaul)

18 Mitsubishi A6M Zero "Zeke"

  6 Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" fighters (Capt. Masahisa Saitō)

Yokohama Air Group (based at Rabaul, Shortland Islands, and Tulagi)

12 Kawanishi H6K "Mavis" reconnaissance seaplanes

  9 Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" seaplane fighters

Genzan Air Group (based at Rabaul)

25 Mitsubishi G3M Type 96 "Nell" land attack bombers

Allied Forces

Task Force 17

Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher in Yorktown

Carrier Air Group (TG 17.5)

Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch, Officer in Tactical Command (OTC)

2 fleet carriers

Yorktown (Capt. Elliott Buckmaster)

Air Group (Lt. Cmdr. Oscar Pederson)

VF-42: 17 F4F Wildcat fighters (Lt. Cmdr. Charles R. Fenton)

VB-5: 18 SBD Dauntless dive bombers (Lt. Wallace C. Short)

VS-5: 17 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Cmdr. William O. Burch, Jr.)

VT-5: 13 TBD Devastator torpedo bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Joe Taylor)

Lexington (Capt. Frederick C. Sherman) (scuttled 8 May following severe damage from air attack)

Air Group (Cmdr. William B. Ault†)

VF-2: 21 F4F Wildcat fighters (Lt. Cmdr. Paul H. Ramsey)

VB-2: 18 SBD Dauntless dive bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Weldon L. Hamilton)

VS-2: 17 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Robert E. Dixon)

VT-2: 12 TBD Devastator torpedo bombers (Lt. Cmdr. James H. Brett, Jr.)

4 destroyers

All Sims-class (4 × 5-in. main battery)

Morris (Cmdr. Harry B. Jarrett)

Anderson (Lt. Cmdr. John K. B. Ginder)

Hammann (Lt. Cmdr. Arnold E. True)

Russell (Lt. Cmdr. Glenn R. Hartwig)

Attack Group (TG 17.2)

Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid

5 heavy cruisers

3 Astoria-class (9 × 8-in. main battery)

New Orleans (Capt. Howard H. Good)

Astoria (Capt. Francis W. Scanland)

Minneapolis (Capt. Frank J. Lowry)

1 Portland-class (9 × 8-in. main battery)

Portland (Capt. Benjamin Perlman)

1 Northampton-class (9 × 8-in. main battery)

Chester (Capt. Thomas M. Shock)

Screen (Capt. Alexander R. Early)

5 destroyers

1 Porter-class (8 × 5-in. main battery)

Phelps (Lt. Cmdr. Edward L. Beck)

4 Farragut-class (5 × 5-in. main battery)

Farragut (Cmdr. George P. Hunter)

Dewey (Lt. Cmdr. Charles F. Chillingworth, Jr.)

Monaghan (Lt. Cmdr. William P. Burfor

Aylwin (Lt. Cmdr. Robert H. Rogers)

Support Group (TG 17.3)

Rear Admiral John Gregory Crace, RAN

2 heavy cruisers

1 Northampton-class (9 × 8-in. main battery): Chicago (Capt. Howard D. Bode)

1 County-class (8 × 8-in. main battery): Australia (Capt. H. B. Farncomb, RAN)

1 light cruiser

1 Leander-class (8 × 6-in. main battery): Hobart (Capt. H. L. Howden, RAN)

2 destroyers

1 Mahan-class (5 × 5-in.main battery): Perkins (Lt. Cmdr. Walter C. Ford)

1 Sims-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): Walke (Lt. Cmdr. Thomas E. Fraser)

Fueling Group (TG 17.6)

Captain John S. Phillips

2 oilers

Neosho (sunk by air attack 7 May), Tippecanoe

2 destroyers

Sims (sunk by air attack 7 May) (Lt. Cmdr. Willford M. Hyman†), Worden

Search Group (TG 17.9)

Commander George H. DeBaun

1 seaplane tender

Tangier

Patrol Squadron 71 (VP-71): 6 PBY-5 Catalinas

Patrol Squadron 72 (VP-72): 6 PBY-5 Catalinas

South West Pacific Area

General Douglas MacArthur

Allied Naval Forces

Vice Admiral Herbert F. Leary

Task Group 42.1 (Capt. Ralph Waldo Christie in submarine tender USS Griffin at Brisbane)

Subdiv 53 (Lt. Cmdr. Elmer E. Yeomans): S-42, S-43, S-44, S-45, S-46, S-47

Subdiv 201 (Cmdr. Ralston B. Van Zant): S-37, S-38, S-39, S-40, S-41

Task Force 44 – temporarily assigned to Task Force 17, see Task Group 17.3 above

Allied Air Forces

Lieutenant General George Brett

United States Army Air Forces

8th Pursuit Group: 26 P-39 Airacobra fighters at Archerfield, Brisbane

35th Fighter Squadron at Port Moresby

36th Fighter Squadron at Port Moresby

49th Pursuit Group: 90 P-40 Tomahawk fighters at Darwin

7th Fighter Squadron at Darwin

8th Fighter Squadron at Darwin

9th Fighter Squadron at Darwin

3rd Light Bombardment Group

8th Light Bombardment Squadron: A-24 Banshee dive bombers at Port Moresby

13th Light Bombardment Squadron: B-25 Mitchell bombers

90th Light Bombardment Squadron: B-25 Mitchell bombers

19th Bombardment Group: 17 Boeing B-17 bombers at Townsville (Lt. Col. Connally (first name unknown))

30th Bombardment Squadron

40th Reconnaissance Squadron

93rd Bombardment Squadron

435th Bombardment Squadron

22nd Bombardment Group: 48 Martin B-26 Marauders

Royal Australian Air Force

No. 11 Squadron: Consolidated PBY Catalinas

No. 20 Squadron: PBY Catalinas

No. 24 Squadron: 3 CAC Wirraways at Townsville

No. 32 Squadron: Lockheed Hudsons at Port Moresby

No. 75 Squadron: 3 Curtiss P-40s at Port Moresby

Port Moresby garrison

Major General B. M. Morris

Approximately 5,000 troops

30th Infantry Brigade

39th Infantry Battalion

49th Infantry Battalion

53rd Infantry Battalion

13th Field Regiment

23rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery

Detachment, 1st Independent Company

30th Infantry Brigade Signal Section

30th Infantry Brigade HQ Defence Platoon

Moresby Fixed Defences

Moresby Fixed Defences Fortress Engineers

Moresby Fixed Defences Anti-Aircraft Artillery (six 3-inch guns)

1st Army Troops Company

7th Field Company

1st Section, 1st Mechanical Equipment Company

8th Military District Survey Section

8th Military District Bomb Disposal Section

8th Military District Signals

8th Military District Defence and Employment Company

New Guinea Volunteer Rifles

Papuan Infantry Battalion,

8th Military District Section Intelligence Corps

15th Supply Personnel Company

8th Military District Bulk Issue Petrol and Oil Depot

A Section, 8th Military District Mechanical Transport Company

Base Hospital

3rd Field Ambulance

113th Convalescent Depot

8th Military District Dental Centre

45th Dental Unit

253rd Dental Unit

256th Dental Unit

274th Dental Unit

301st Dental Unit

421st Dental Unit

15th Optical Unit

8th Military District Depot of Medical Stores

16th Field Hygiene Section

8th Military District Ordnance Depot

19th Ordnance Ammunition Section

109th Infantry Brigade Group Field Workshop

109th Infantry Brigade Group Ordnance Field Park

30th Infantry Brigade Provost Platoon

8th Military District Accounts Office

8th Military District Postal Unit

8th Military District Records Office

8th Military District Stationery Depot

8th Military District Printing Section

8th Military District Graves Registration and Inquiries Unit

8th Military District Laundry and Decontamination Unit

8th Military District Army Field Bakery

8th Military District Base Depot

8th Military District Marine Section

8th Military District Canteen Services

8th Military District Training Centre

Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit

Notes

1. Flew in an Aichi D3A dive bomber.
2. Three aircraft were reserved for delivery to the Tainan Air Group.
3. Shimazaki flew in a Nakajima B5N torpedo bomber.
4. Five of the fighters were reserved for delivery to the Tainan Air Group.
5. From Cruiser Division 5.
6. From Destroyer Squadron 7.
7. From Destroyer Squadron 27.
8. Commanded by Captain Nomi Minoru and was flagship of Mine Division 19; sunk by US submarine S-42 10 May 1942 during Operation RY.
9. From Destroyer Squadron 6 (Bullard, p. 56 says Destroyer Squadron 23).
10. The latter three ships were from the 14th Minesweeper Flotilla.
11. From the 56th Submarine Chaser Squadron.
12. Kiyokawa Maru was under repair at Yokohama, Japan but its airgroup was at Rabaul and assisted Kamikawa Maru'ss airgroup in the invasion of Tulagi. When Kamikawa Maru departed Santa Isabel on 4 May to support the Port Moresby invasion from Deboyne, the Kiyokawa Maru aircraft remained at Santa Isabel and Tulgai and/or were attached to Kamikawa's airgroup for the Deboyne deployment.
13. Nikkai Maru and oiler Iro helped establish a Japanese port and seaplane base in the Shortland Islands on 28 April 1942 prior to participating in Mo.
14. Gotō was in tactical command of the Mo invasion forces.
15. On 8 May Furutaka and Kinugasa were attached to Carrier Division 5 and helped escort Zuikaku back to Truk. Aoba and Kako helped cover the Port Moresby invasion convoy's return to Rabaul.
16. Also commander of Destroyer Squadron 6.
17. Goyo Maru was later converted into an oiler.
18. Apparently, the Azumasan Maru was supposed to join from the Tulagi Invasion Group but did not, perhaps as a result of battle damage
19. The South Seas Detachment was primarily from the 55th Division commanded by Major General Tomitarō Horii and included troops from the 55th Infantry Group, centered on the 144th Infantry Regiment, as well as the 47th Field Anti-Aircraft Battalion and attached medical and water supply support units.
20. All the minesweepers from Shima's Tulagi Invasion Group were to have joined the Port Moresby Invasion Group. Only Hagoromo Maru and Noshiro Maru #2 survived the Yorktown's airstrikes to do so.
21. Member of Mine Division 19 with Okinoshima.
22. Iro and gunboat Nikkai Maru helped establish a Japanese port and seaplane base in the Shortland Islands on 28 April 1942 prior to participating in Mo. Iro and destroyer Uzuki remained at the Shortlands to refuel Gotō's Covering Group after it completed its support mission of the Tulagi invasion.
23. Flagship of Destroyer Squadron 6.
24. Oite and Asanagi were from Destroyer Squadron 29, Mutsuki, Mochizuki, and Yayoi from Destroyer Squadron 30, and Uzuki from Destroyer Squadron 23.
25. From Submarine Squadron 8. I-28 was sunk by the US submarine Tautog on 17 May as I-28 returned to base at Truk.
26. From the 21st Submarine Group.
27. Also called the 5th Air Attack Force; aircraft numbers are of 1 May 1942.
28. Six Kawanishi deployed from Rabaul to the Shortlands on 28 April.
29. Crave states the Genzan had 27 aircraft.
30. Both carriers together were designated Task Unit 17.5.1 under Fitch.
31. Ault flew an SBD not assigned to either of the SBD squadrons.
32. Task Unit 17.5.4 under Captain Gilbert C. Hoover.
33. Minneapolis and New Orleans were designated Task Unit 17.2.1 under Kinkaid and the other three cruisers were Task Unit 17.2.2 under Rear Admiral William W. Smith.
34. Task Unit 17.2.4 under Captain Alexander R. Early
35. From Task Force 44
36. Committed suicide after learning he would be held partially responsible for the debacle at the Battle of Savo Island.
37. Task Unit 17.3.4 under Commander Francis X. McInerney.
38. Based at Noumea
39. Reassigned because of difficult relationship with MacArthur.
40. Only S-38, S-42, S-44, and S-47 were involved in the battle.
41. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. M. Conran.
42. Consisted of four 3.7 inch stationary guns and three mobile 3 inch guns.
43. Commanded by Major W. T. Watson.

References

1. ^ Lundstrom (2006), p. 138.
2. ^ Willmott, p. 87.
3. Lundstrom, p. 140; Willmott, p. 87.
4. ^ Lundstrom (2005), p. 188.
5. ^ Gillison, p. 525; Lundstrom (2005), p. 188.
6. Lundstrom (2006), p. 140; Willmott, p. 87.
7. Gill, p. 40; Willmott, p. 87; Bullard, p. 52.
8. Willmott, p. 87; Bullard, p. 52.
9. Willmott, p. 87; Bullard, p. 52; Dull, p. 135.
10. ^ Willmott, p. 84.
11. Bullard, p. 56; Jersey, pp. 58–60.
12. Hackett, Okinoshima.
13. Willmott, p. 84; Dull, p. 136.
14. Lundstrom (2005), p. 188.Bullard, p. 56; Willmott, p. 84.
15. Bullard, p. 56; Willmott, p. 84.
16. Hackett, Tenryu.
17. Gill, p. 40; Bullard, p. 52; Hackett, Tenryu and Tatsuta.
18. Hackett, Tenryu and Kiyokawa Maru.
19. Dull, p. 136.
20. Hackett, Tenryu; United States Army Center of Military History, p. 135.
21. ^ Willmott, pp. 85–86.
22. Bullard, p. 52; Willmott, pp. 85–86; Hackett, Furutaka; Gill, p. 40.
23. Dull, p. 136; Willmott, pp. 85–86.
24. Hackett, Yubari.
25. Willmott, p. 86; Bullard, pp. 56–57.
26. (Bullard, pp. 56–57). Willmott spells Akihasan Maru as Akibasan Maru.
27. ^ Iwashige (2009), p. 78–79
28. Bullard, pp. 56–57.
29. Bullard, p. 58, 64; Willmott, p. 86; Dull, p. 135; Hackett, Tsugaru. Asakayama Maru was equipped with extra anti-aircraft guns (Bullard). The IJA commander was on Matsue Maru (Bullard).
30. Rottman, p. 84.
31. Bullard, pp. 56–57; Willmott, pp. 85–86; Hackett, Tsugaru. Hackett does not list Seki Maru #3 as part of Abe's force.
32. Hackett, Tsugaru.
33. Bullard, pp. 56–57; Willmott, p. 86; Hackett, Tsugaru. Some sources spell this ship's name as Oshima. Her ship's side name is をしま, not おしま おじま.
34. Hackett, Ojima; Willmott, pp. 84, 86; Hackett, Tsugaru.
35. Willmott, p. 86; Dull, p. 135; Hackett, Yubari.
36. Bullard, p. 56; Willmott, p. 86.
37. Hackett, Ojima.
38. Willmott, pp. 84–85.
39. Bullard, p. 57.
40. Bullard, pp. 47, 61.
41. Bullard, pp. 47, 53, 61.
42. Bullard, pp. 47, 53–54, 61.
43. Lundstrom (2006), p. 138; Bullard, pp. 48, 52, 61.
44. Bullard, p. 61; Crave, p. 447.
45. ^ Willmott, p. 190; Lundstrom (2006), p. 519.
46. ^ ONI, p. 11; Lundstrom (2006), p. 519.
47. ^ Lundstrom (2005), p. 190.
48. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), p. 10; Lundstrom (2006), p. 519.
49. ^ ONI, p. 10; Lundstrom (2006), p. 519.
50. ^ Lundstrom (2006), p. 519.
51. Dull, p. 136; Hoyt, p. 13; Willmott, p. 190; Lundstrom (2006), p. 519; Morison, p. 20.
52. ^ Willmott, p. 191.
53. Gill, p. 42; Morison, p. 20; Willmott, p. 191.
54. Willmott, p. 192.
55. Willmott, p. 195; Crave, pp. 424–425.
56. ^ Willmott, p. 195.
57. Willmott, p. 195; Crave, pp. 411, 416.
58. Willmott, p. 195; Crave, p. 425.
59. Willmott, p. 195; Crave, p. 416; Salecker, p. 177.
60. Bowman, p. 85.
61. Salecker, p. 177.
62. Bowman, p. 85; Salecker, p. 177.
63. Crave, pp. 425, 448.
64. Willmott, p. 195; Crave, pp. 414, 425.
65. ^ Willmott, p. 196.
66. Willmott, p. 196; Gillison, p. 519.
67. Willmott, p. 143; McCarthy, p. 112.
68. ^ ""Order of Battle – Port Moresby Garrison", War Diary, New Guinea Force Headquarters, March–April 1942, AWM52 1/5/51" (PDF). Retrieved 28 November 2009.
69. McCarthy, p. 44.
70. McCarthy, pp. 43–44.
71. Willmott, p. 143.
72. ^ McCarthy, p. 45.
73. McCarthy, p. 42, 45.

Bibliography

Printed sources

• Bowman, Martin (2003). B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Pacific War. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-481-7.
• Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
• Hoyt, Edwin Palmer (2003). Blue Skies and Blood: The Battle of the Coral Sea. I Books. ISBN 0-7434-5835-4.
• Jersey, Stanley Coleman (2008). Hell's Islands: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-616-2.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2006). Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-475-2.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) . Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942, vol. 4 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06995-1.
• Rottman, Gordon L. (2005). Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941–42. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-789-1.
• Salecker, Eric (2001). Fortress Against the Sun: The B-17 Flying Fortress in the Pacific. United States: Da Capo Press. ISBN 1-58097-049-4.
• Willmott, H. P. (1983). The Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies February to June 1942. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-535-3.
• Iwashige, Tashirō (2009). The visual guide of Japanese wartime merchant marine. Japan: Dainippon Kaiga. ISBN 978-4-499-22989-0.

Web

• Bullard, Steven (translator) (2007). Japanese army operations in the South Pacific Area New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43. Senshi Sōshō (translated excerpts). Canberra: Australian War Memorial. ISBN 978-0-9751904-8-7. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
• Crave, Wesley Frank; James Lea Cate (1947). Volume I: Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Washington DC: Office of Air Force History. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
• Gill, G. Hermon (1968). Volume II – Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 2: Navy. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
• Gillison, Douglas (1962). "Chapter 26 – Coral Sea and Midway". Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force, 1939–1942. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 3: Air. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (1998–2005). "IJN Minelayer Okinoshima: Tabular Record of Movement". Combinedfleet.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2009). "IJN Tatsuta: Tabular Record of Movement". Junyokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2009). "IJN Tenryu: Tabular Record of Movement". Junyokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Peter Cundall (2007). "IJN Minelayer Tsugaru: Tabular Record of Movement". Fusetsukan!. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Peter Cundall (2007). "IJN Repair Ship Ojima: Tabular Record of Movement". Kyunansen Ken Eisen. Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp; Allan Alsleben; Peter Cundall (2009). "IJN Seaplane Tender Kiyokawa Maru: Tabular Record of Movement". Tokusetsu Suijoki-Bokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
• Hackett, Bob; Sander Kingsepp (2009). "IJN Yubari: Tabular Record of Movement". Junyokan!. Combinedfleet.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
• McCarthy, Dudley (1959). Volume V – South–West Pacific Area – First Year: Kokoda to Wau. Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 1: Army. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
• Office of Naval Intelligence (1943). "The Battle of the Coral Sea". Combat Narrative. Publications Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy. Archived from the original on 24 December 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
• United States Army Center of Military History. "Japanese Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, Volume II – Part I". Reports of General MacArthur. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2006.

• World War II orders of battle
• Pacific Ocean theater of World War II