Coral Sea 1942

By Richard Freeman

After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbour, the Americans suffered setback after setback in the Pacific.

In May 1942, the Japanese were poised to take Port Moresby in New Guinea, and at all costs the Americans had to stop them. Admiral Frank Fletcher was dispatched with two aircraft carriers – Yorktown and Lexington – with orders to destroy the Japanese invasion force.

The fate of the Pacific was in the balance.

Coral Sea 1942 is a brilliantly concise and insightful guide to one of the greatest naval battles of the 20th-century.

Richard Freeman graduated in mathematics before following a career in distance education. He now writes on naval history. His other books include Britain’s Greatest Naval Battle and A Close Run Thing: The Navy and the Falkland War.