Leonard W. Thornhill - Battle of The Coral Sea

Battle of The Coral Sea

At 1135, VT-2 encountered the light carrier Shoho and immediately launched a well coordinated attack in conjunction with Bombing Squadron (VB) 2. While VB-2 took some of the fighter pressure off the torpedo bombers, Thornhill and his comrades split formation and attacked the carrier from both directions astern. All 12 planes made their runs and drops successfully and without loss to themselves. The "Devastators" claimed nine hits from 12 drops, one of which was credited to Lt. (jg.) Thornhill. The coordinated attacks of VT-2 and VB-2 sent Shoho to the bottom—the first enemy carrier sunk by American forces in World War II.

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