The History of WWII Podcast · Ray Harris Jr

Episode 611-Battle of the Coral Sea: First Blood

March 20, 2026·26 min·2 clips

American dive bombers miss every bomb on the Azumasan Maru, revealing the shocking inexperience of early WWII pilots.

Fletcher's attack does not end at Tulagi. It knocks the Japanese carrier and surface groups into reactions from positions that do not really support one another, while the Port Moresby timetable keeps pulling the invasion force somewhere else. The first damage is to the plan. Soho races southeast, Tagagi divides his force, and the ships under attack get less help, with more water and burned fuel between everyone. The Japanese still have Tulagi, though. It stays on the map as a problem for later, after the American strike has passed. The MO invasion force keeps moving too. Its 11 transports and 10 escorts head south from Rabaul under Zeros from the 5th Air Attack Forces. Coordination starts to come apart. The forces meant to meet near Port Moresby are scattered, late, and searching south while still needing to move northwest. The host's dry aside fits: Japanese command now has to find Fletcher and somehow make a plan work when its pieces are pulling in different directions. Then both sides hunt. For two days they search, pause for fuel, and build shaky pictures from reconnaissance, losses, and guesses. On May 6th, the collision feels close. By sunset, both sides know contact is likely, but neither knows the other's real strength. Reports become the fight. A mistaken carrier sighting is corrected to four light cruisers and two destroyers. Hara recalls aircraft; Fletcher does not. At 10.22 a.m., Fletcher hears that a B-17 from Port Moresby has spotted a larger enemy force nearby, including a carrier, 10 transports, and 16 other vessels. The strike keeps going. If the report is right, Fletcher's aircraft may be chasing something much bigger than an oiler and destroyer, while the other carriers are still unresolved.

As heard by us

A tense, decision-focused account of how distance, fuel, and mistaken reports shaped the Coral Sea's opening phase.

Episode 611 follows the Battle of the Coral Sea as Admiral Fletcher's Task Force 17 strikes Tulagi, then shifts into the slower, nervier work of searching, waiting, and stopping to fuel.

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Why you'd press play

You can hear a carrier battle take shape through fuel stops, scattered forces, bad sightings, and Fletcher's choice to keep his aircraft moving.

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