Battle of the Coral Sea
At 06:25 on 7 May, TF 17 was  south of Rossel Island (). At this time, Fletcher sent Crace's cruiser and destroyer force out. When Crace's warships left, this reduced the anti-aircraft defenses for Fletcher's carriers. Fletcher wanted to make sure the Japanese invasion forces could not sneak through to Port Moresby while he was fighting with the Japanese carriers.