BATTLE OF BRITAIN ‘LACE’
The annual National Ceremony commemorating the Battle of the Coral Sea, a defining World War II victory, has been held at the forecourt of the Australian-American Memorial in Canberra.
Immediate Past Vice President of the Air Force Association (AFA), AIRCDRE Peter McDermott AM CSC (Ret’d), attended the ceremony, representing the AFA and laying a wreath to pay tribute to the Allied forces’ heroism.
Fought from 20 April to 10 May 1942, this landmark battle reshaped the Pacific theatre. Though the opposing fleets never saw each other, airmen were the linchpin. RAAF’s 11 Squadron earned Battle Honours for daring operations against Japanese aircraft and ships. RAAF reconnaissance, alongside Allied aircraft and Australian coastwatchers, delivered critical intelligence, enabling US aircraft to sink the Japanese light carrier Shōhō on 7 May, halting Japan’s advance on Port Moresby.
Intense air strikes over 7 to 8 May saw both sides lose a carrier and suffer heavy damage. By 10 May, depleted air forces forced a withdrawal. In a final strike, a RAAF 32 Squadron RAAF Hudson damaged a Japanese submarine, sealing the Allied effort.
The ceremony, a powerful nod to the Australian-US alliance, celebrates the bravery that turned the tide in 1942.
