Coral Sea - An Important Battle

1086 words - 5 pages

In the spring of 1942, Japan's leaders faced a dilemma. Their conquest had progressed faster than expected; the problem was what to do next.Some military leaders suggested that Japan strike the wartorn British Empire in India and the Middle East, then link up with German forces in Southern Russia and North Africa. Take Australia, counseled the Japanese Navy, this was the obvious starting point for an Allied counterattack.The Army opposed both ideas. Japan's ground troops were already stretched thin. Either campaign would weaken them even more. In early March, a less grandiose plan was accepted. Japan would extend its empire southeast, cutting the sea lanes between Australia and America ...view middle of the document...

But on the morning of May 7, an excited Japanese search pilot reported a U.S. carrier and cruiser. Dozens of bombers were launched from the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, only to find two small U.S. ships, the destroyer Sims and the oiler Neosho. Disappointed Japanese pilots flew off to find the main U.S. force. When that quest failed, they returned to bomb the two small ships. The Sims went down in less than a minute; the Neosho was left burning and helplessly adrift.Thirty minutes later, 200 miles to the northeast, Lieutenant Commander W. L. Hamilton from the Lexington was flying at 15,000 feet when he spotted "a number of thin white hairs on the blue sea." Following the wakes with his field glasses, he sighted the carrier Shoho with its escort of cruisers and destroyers, 30 miles away.Air Group Commander William Ault led his bombers down first. Numerous bombs and torpedoes ripped into the small carrier. Flames seared the flight deck. Half an hour into the attack, the Shoho's power died, the water pumps failed, and fires spread out of control. The order was given: abandon ship. Four minutes later, nothing remained but an oily black stain on the emerald waters. For the first time in history, a Japanese carrier had been sunk.Back on the U.S. carricrs, sailors and air crews crowded around radios for news of the atrack. Snatches of pilot conversations conveyed more transmission static than information until Lt. Commander Robert Dixon's voice suddenly burst through loud and clear. "Scratch one flattop." The men roared i n triumph.Rain clouds temporarily halted the hostilities, but planes from both fleets took off early the next morning in search of the enemy. By noon, both sides scored. Thirry-nine planes from the Yorktown descended on the Japanese carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku. But the American pilots, making their first attack on a well-defended carrier, fared poorly. Dive-bombers waited for torpedo planes to get into position, which gave the Shokaku time to launch several Zer...

More like Paper On Coral Sea - An Important Battle

Coral Bleaching And The Effects It Has On Humans - Long Beach City College - Essay

768 words - 4 pages ... speech to you now.The coral reefs are an important role in the ocean they provide o2 to the surface and protects the mainland from ocean storms and strong currents,the coral itself is a marine creature that provides a safe haven for smaller fish and others. In an article provided by NOAA states the process of coral bleaching (in 2005 ,the US lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one year due to a massive bleaching event.).One factor in ...

The Great Barrier Reef Assignment

2096 words - 9 pages ... (invertebrates with jointed legs e. g. prawns, lobster, crabs) perform an important role in recycling nutrients within the reef system. Coral reefs are tropical systems New ecosystems have only formed in the last 10000 years ago. Things from the iceage, glaciers that cover continents, ice from Antarctica, More water held on land, and when that the water has risen and depressed some of the countries. The coast of Queensland was well extended out - 40km out ...

World War II - Kelvin Grove - Essay

2183 words - 9 pages ... Australia and the nature of the Japanese threat during World War 2 Focus Questions What was Japanese policy concerning an invasion of Australia? What was the significance of the Battle of Kokoda in the context of Japanese Policy and the battles of the Coral Sea, and Midway? Was the Battle of Kokoda a battle of military tactical significance? Thesis – Although the Battle of Kokoda is an important part of Australia’s military history ...

Research Paper On The History Of Oceanography

3099 words - 13 pages ... . Reefs also need a good circulation of sea water to bring them oxygen and food, so strong wave action is beneficial to them.Coral is an animal which reproduces very quickly by splitting, to form colonies of coral. Each animal has a chalky skeleton which is joined to neighboring skeletons, forming the strong framework of the reef. In some coral colonies, such as brain coral, it is impossible to see each individual animal; but in other colonies, the ...

The Developement Of The Silk Road During The Han Dynasty

2876 words - 12 pages ... for trade to flourish. Political stability is also an important factor since trade is vulnerable to war and bandits. The second important point which must be looked at is commodities that were traded. The supply and demand for commodities is what motivates trade, analyzing the commodities traded could reveal the factors which promoted the trade of goods.The Han DynastyThe Han Empire was one of China's strongest empires, during this time China ...

"ocean Fantasy" Vipoo Srivilasa - College South Campus - Essay

425 words - 2 pages ... starfish, jellyfish and shellfish that live on the seaside inspired all his artworks. One of the three artworks was a sculpture called “Queen of Corals”. It stood roughly 30cm tall on top of a platform giving the feeling of importance. It was decorative not functional like his other artworks as it can not hold water. It looks like coral with realistic details interwoven into the arms of the royal blue coloured coral. Its shape and form gives an ...

Global Warming

3442 words - 14 pages ... The atmosphere is something that is around us everyday, but do we really think about the changes that occur in it. It isn't that we just aren't paying attention, but more of the fact that it is hard to notice slight changes over long periods of time. Everyday gases are released into the air by all living material. The gases in the air are used for many important things. For example, hydrogen is released by volcanoes, which can give energy to the ...

The Strength Of The Japanese Navy During World War II - St. Robert Chs/grade 10 - Historical Investigation

2008 words - 9 pages ... include the Battle of  Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea, crucial battles that would ultimately prove to be the turning point in the Pacific  theater. This knockout blow along with a series of defeats, gained them the control of the Western Pacific and the  Imperial Navy would collapse by the end of the war. But, would the Imperial Navy really move on into Canada? Turns  out primary documents revealed that the Japanese did not have plans to ...

Russo-japanese War And Outcomes

495 words - 2 pages ... fought in Northeast Asia, which has been and remains an important cockpit of conflict. As such it may provide a useful starting point for thinking about potential regional conflicts in the future. Second, Japan's successful conduct of this limited war can be profitably compared and contrasted with Prussia's conduct of the German Wars of Unification. Third, featuring as it did significant actions both on land and at sea, the Russo-Japanese war raises ...

Crown Of Thorns Starfish

849 words - 4 pages ... and gorgonians (sea whips) to echinoids (sea urchins), clams and algae. They have also been observed to eat each other. A single COTS can consume up to 6 square meters of living reef per year.During normal conditions, these starfish pose little threat to the reef on a large scale, but when an outbreak occurs the result is catastrophic. If it is not re-infested, a reef may recover a COT outbreak in 10 to 20 years but many reefs become re-infested ...

World War II Resources Events Student Handout B Answers - World History - Assignment

1341 words - 6 pages ... ​blitzkrieg​ tactics to drive into Russia. However, they were stopped by the Russian winter. Resource H:​ In their 1939 non-aggression treaty, Hitler promised Stalin a part of Poland and guaranteed Russia a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. In return, Stalin pledged not to attack Germany. Resource I:​ To protect Australia from Japan, the United States fought the battle of the Coral Sea, which was fought entirely by carrier-based aircraft. It was ...

Bay Of Pigs Invasion - Worth It? - Kingsway - Research Paper

1644 words - 7 pages ... was a retaliation against the Soviet Union’s alliance with Cuba, where the United States (U.S.) recruited exiled Cubans to invade the Bay of Pigs. Unfortunately, the invasion was an utter embarrassment of the U.S.: ​The United States failed to execute this attack due to the limitations of the operation, miscommunication, and careless mistakes; in other words, a rushed pace and disarray caused the Bay of Pigs Invasion to be a trainwreck ...

Persuasive Essay Climate Change - Dover Bay - Essay

1081 words - 5 pages ... devastating to the human society. People can face severe crop failures and livestock shortages that will cause civic unrest, food riots, famines, and political instability in the whole world. Global warming threatens our future health conditions. Humanity will experience an increase in tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases. The sea-level rise accelerates 0.12 inches per year in overage worldwide. This trend will continue if gas emissions remain ...

Canada's Role In The Second World War - St. Elizabeth CHS - Essay

1443 words - 6 pages Free ... remarkably much on land, and in many other ways too. Additionally, contribution was greatly made to the Allied war effort in the air and at sea. For example, the Battle of Britain was a prominent battle for Canadians. Due to the fact that the British troops left most of their equipment back in Dunkirk, the first Canadian Division assumed a very important role because they possessed bulk of equipment. Many Canadians were part of several squadrons by the ...

Battle Of Britian

886 words - 4 pages Free ... them. The British would continue to play an important role in the war after the Battle of Britain. Their nation would serve as the launching pad for the Allied invasion of Europe in 1944, and their harbors were needed to get supplies and men between there and America, but in 1940, the British gave their all to last out the fire that fell from the sky.The Germans moved in on the British air, the Royal Air Force (RAF) destroyed the German planes at ...