With the Main Body trailing behind the carrier striking force, "Hōshō" missed the major portion of the battle in which Nagumo's four fleet carriers were ambushed and fatally damaged by US carrier aircraft on 4 June. The next day, the carrier's aircraft helped guide the remnants of Nagumo's force to a rendezvous with the Main Body as well helped other Japanese warships to rendezvous during and after the battle, including the cruiser . Around the same time, one of "Hōshō"s aircraft discovered the burning, sinking . Photographs of the abandoned carrier have been described as "among the most dramatic of the war in the Pacific". The observer aboard the aircraft also reported seeing survivors left behind on "Hiryū" so the destroyer was sent to unsuccessfully search for the wrecked carrier. With the battle lost, a significant strategic defeat for Japan, the carrier returned to Japan with the rest of the fleet, arriving at the Hashirajima anchorage on 14 June.