The outcome was a disaster for the Japanese Navy. The battle exacted a terrible toll from the Japanese naval air arm, costing them most of their few remaining experienced pilots. The Combined Fleet was no longer capable of serious offensive operations after this engagement. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison characterized it this way:
This was the greatest carrier battle of the war. The forces engaged were three to four times those in preceding actions like Midway, and victory was so complete that the Japanese could never again engage on such a scale. ... above all the skill, initiative, and intrepid courage of the young aviators made this day one of the high points in the history of the American spirit.[1]
Since the Japanese assumed the tactical offensive, their forces are listed first.
^Ro-104, Ro-105, Ro-106, Ro-108, Ro-116 all sunk by destroyer escort
England
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1953), New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 – August 1944, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, vol. VIII, Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1970). U.S. Warships of World War II. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co.
ISBN0-8702-1773-9.
Stille, Mark (2016). US Navy Light Cruisers, 1941-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN978-1-4728-1140-0.
Watts, A.J. (1966). Japanese Warships of World War II. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Ltd.
ISBN0-7110-0215-0.
The outcome was a disaster for the Japanese Navy. The battle exacted a terrible toll from the Japanese naval air arm, costing them most of their few remaining experienced pilots. The Combined Fleet was no longer capable of serious offensive operations after this engagement. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison characterized it this way:
This was the greatest carrier battle of the war. The forces engaged were three to four times those in preceding actions like Midway, and victory was so complete that the Japanese could never again engage on such a scale. ... above all the skill, initiative, and intrepid courage of the young aviators made this day one of the high points in the history of the American spirit.[1]
Since the Japanese assumed the tactical offensive, their forces are listed first.
^Ro-104, Ro-105, Ro-106, Ro-108, Ro-116 all sunk by destroyer escort
England
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
^These cruisers were intended as destroyer leaders when designed. After the first two to be used in this role,
Atlanta and
Juneau, were lost at the
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, this mission was rejected and the anti-aircraft mission adopted.[6]
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1953), New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 – August 1944, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, vol. VIII, Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
Silverstone, Paul H. (1970). U.S. Warships of World War II. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co.
ISBN0-8702-1773-9.
Stille, Mark (2016). US Navy Light Cruisers, 1941-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN978-1-4728-1140-0.
Watts, A.J. (1966). Japanese Warships of World War II. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Ltd.
ISBN0-7110-0215-0.