Who won the battle?
What were the outcomes?
The US fleet suffered greater losses in the battle. US losses:
- One carrier destroyed, one damaged, one oiler and one destroyer sunk, 66 aircraft lost, and 543 men killed or wounded.
- One small carrier destroyed, one carrier severely damaged, one destroyer and three small naval ships sunk, 77 carrier aircraft lost, and 1074 men killed or wounded.
Why did it turn out the way it did?
A lot of the victory had to do with Japanese failure of naval thinking. They underestimated the strength of the U.S forces. In addition, the Japanese did not approach the invasion with as much strength that was available to them. Japanese had made strategic mistakes as they wasted searching time attacking unimportant targets. Looking at the other side, Americans had advantages by knowing what the Japanese were planning and found out Japan's secret codes. However, the battle ended with Japan's invasion of Port Moresby a month later on Americans fleet to Midway. The Allied fleet was stronger than they thought and Japan was defeated.