[SunkenCiv]

...one of the handful of major battles that crippled the Japanese fleet and led to retreat and kamikaze tactics. Thanks for posting this topic. Usually I wind up sneakin' in a day or more after, so this is a double treat. :')

[rmlew]

The battle was a tactical draw and a strategic defeat. Its importance only came in hindsight. We did manage to keep the see lanes open to Australia, but the cost was high. Trading the heavy carrier Lexington (80-110 planes) for the light carrier Shoho (30+) was seen as a disaster. Fortunately, the Yorktown was patched up (but not fully repaired) in time for Midway, while the Shokaku took longer to repair. The loss of Japanese aviators was also damaging in the long run.

Still, had the Japanese focused their forces at Midway instead of squandering 4 light carriers in the Aleutians, it is quite possible that they could have won. Had that occured, the Battle of the Coral Sea would have been for naught. Even after that, the loss of the Wasp and Hornet meant that we were dangerously overstretched in late 1942.