The final day of the battle started with sun up. At 0615 the Japanese fleet sent out scouts to find the American carriers. Both carrier groups were in clear skies with plenty of good visibility. This was perfect fro the attackers, not so well for the defenders.

At 0820 American scouts found the Japanese carriers. Approximately two minutes later Japanese scouts located the American carriers. Both sides turned toward one another and began to launch attacks.

The American planes hit first. They attacked both of the fleet carries with a mixture of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes. Shōkaku was hit and damaged while Zuikaku was untouched.

Meanwhile the American carries came under attack by the Japanese planes. The Japanese attacked with dive bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes as well. They could not put p a full torpedo attack due to losses from the previous day. Both American carriers were hit by bombs and damaged by near misses. Yorktown was hit by a single bomb and soon erupted in fire. The fires were controlled, but a spark reignited the fires.

Both sides began to evaluate their respective positions. Japan had lost many aircraft in the attacks. Along with loosing the planes they lost experienced aircrews. The Americans believed there were still two undamaged Japanese carriers in the area. With this misinformation Fletcher withdrew from action fearing he would be attacked by a superior force. Japan withdrew because of its low number of operational aircraft.

Lexington continued to burn and soon had to be scuttled by torpedoes from the USS Phelps. The American fleet now had to deal with a fuel shortage due to the loss of the oiler Neosho. Japan’s planned invasion of Port Moresby was stopped. She had lost many aircrews, a small carrier, and destroyer. Several of her warships were damaged, but did return to action. The US lost a carrier, oiler, and destroyer along with 648 sailors. Japan technically won the engagement, but they had lost the goal of the operation.

Yorktown limped back to Pearl Harbor for extensive repairs. Both Shōkaku and Zuikaku returned to Japan needing refit, repairs, and rearming. The US took many lessons from the battle and changed tactics which would benefit the next major battle in a month. Japan lost aircrews and sailors. They could replace the aircraft, but veterans were hard to come by. Both carriers involved in the battle would sit out the next engagement.

So, who won? Japan or the Allies? Both won and both lost. Japan had been stopped. The losses they suffered were less than the Allied fleet. The allies had broken the myth of the perfect war machine and in the end affected the next battle that look place at Midway. The allies learned from their mistakes and took steps to correct them. In the end the lines stopped moving south toward Australia and east toward Fiji.