United States Navy in World War II was "sunk" at Pearl Harbor. It is correct to say that American industrial might was a deciding factor in World War II, and Admiral Yamamoto knew that a prolonged war for Japan was a losing war. The Battle of Midway, together with the Guadalcanal campaign, marked the turning point in the Pacific. Between June 4–7, 1942, the United States Navy decisively defeated a Japanese naval force that had sought to lure the U.S. carrier fleet into a trap at Midway Atoll. The Japanese fleet lost four aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy's one American carrier and a destroyer. After Midway,
Task Force 44 participated in the Battle of Savo Island. The next month, the unit served with the U.S. Navy's Task Force 18, centered on the aircraft carrier . When the Operation Pamphlet convoy sailed from Fremantle on 20 February 1943 it was escorted by the Australian light cruiser , as well as the Dutch cruiser and destroyer . It met the ships of Task Group 44.3, a component of Task Force 44, on 24 February in the Great Australian Bight. This force comprised the heavy cruiser and American destroyers , and , and had been dispatched from Sydney on 17 February to