How was the Battle of Coral Sea different from previous battles that involved the Japanese?
1 Answer
It was the first time aircraft carriers fought each other and the first time that no ship in either fleet spotted the other - it was completely an air battle.
Explanation:
Prior to WW2, the aircraft carrier didn't exist. The Wright Brothers had flown their airplane for the first time only 40 years before and even in WW1 military aviation involved dropping things on to people's heads and shooting with primitive machine guns.
By the time WW2 came around, flight had advanced to a tremendous degree. But the ability to project air power in a naval theatre of war was still a very novel idea. When the Japanese sank the battleship fleet stationed in Pearl Harbour, one quick way to get ships out and fighting quickly was to convert them into aircraft carriers (building battleships was very time consuming but putting a platform onto an existing ship was quite quick).
There was a shift in dynamics, then, in how the two nations fought - the Japanese tended to favour the traditional battleship whereas the US started favouring aircraft carriers. This is not to say that the Japanese didn't have carriers of their own - it's just that they weren't as favoured.
The Battle of Coral Sea started as a result of a surprise attack by American air power on a Japanese fleet. The Japanese sent their aircraft carriers in pursuit of the American ones and when the two fought, it was the Battle of Coral Sea. It was the first time aircraft carriers fought each other and the first time that no ship in either fleet spotted the other - it was completely an air battle.
