imported>MrBeebo at 12:53, 18 March 2025

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{More footnotes|date=May 2009}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= Task Force 17
|image=USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the Battle of the Coral Sea, April 1942.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption= {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}} and Task Force 17 operate in the Pacific Ocean in February or March 1942.
|dates= 1941–1942 ?
|country= United States
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|role= Seizing and maintaining [[Command of the sea]]
|size= Aircraft Carriers USS Lexington and Yorktown
|command_structure=[[United States Pacific Fleet]]
|garrison= [[Pearl Harbor]], Hawaii{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}
|garrison_label=
|battles=[[Marshalls-Gilberts raids]]<br>[[Invasion of Lae-Salamaua]]<br>[[Battle of the Coral Sea]]<br>[[Battle of Midway]]<br>[[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]]
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=

|notable_commanders= [[Frank Jack Fletcher]]
}}
'''Task Force 17''' (TF17) was an [[aircraft carrier]] [[task force]] of the [[United States Navy]] during the [[Pacific War|Pacific Campaign]] of [[World War II]]. TF17 participated in several major carrier battles in the first year of the war.

TF17 was initially centered around {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|6}}. With ''Yorktown'', TF17 engaged [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] forces in actions at the [[Marshalls-Gilberts raids]], [[Invasion of Lae-Salamaua]], [[Battle of the Coral Sea]], and the [[Battle of Midway]]. ''Yorktown'' was sunk at Midway.

Reformed around {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}} and commanded by RADM [[George D. Murray|George Murray]], TF17 supported Allied forces during the [[Guadalcanal campaign]]. At the [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]], ''Hornet'' was sunk. After the battle the task force ceased to exist, the remaining ships (the cruiser and destroyer escorts) were then dispersed to other duties.

== Operational history ==

=== Battle of the Coral Sea ===
{{Further|Battle of the Coral Sea}}
In late April 1942, Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered for Rear Admiral [[Aubrey Fitch]], commander of [[Task Force 11]] (TF11) centered on {{USS|Lexington}}, to travel to the [[Coral Sea]] to join Fletcher's Task Force 17. An additional cruise force, [[Task Force 44]], was deployed from the south.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Straczek |first=Joe |editor-last=Perryman |editor-first=John |title=Battle of the Coral Sea |url=https://seapower.navy.gov.au/history/feature-histories/battle-coral-sea |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=Royal Australian Navy}}</ref>

The rendezvous took place on 1 May, but Fitch advised Fletcher that he "did not expect to complete fueling till noon on 4 May." Fletcher moved TF17 further to the northwest. RADM Fitch was advised by RADM Fletcher of a second rendezvous, scheduled for 4 May and would have the Australian cruisers [[HMAS Australia (D84)]] and [[HMAS Hobart (D63)]] join with TF44.<ref name=":0" />

As the American Task Forces were refueling, attempting to move to favorable positions in order to intercept incoming Japanese forces, Japan launched the [[Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)|Invasion of Tulagi]], part of [[Operation Mo]]. Upon receiving notice regarding the Japanese invasion of Tulagi, RADM Fletcher ordered TF17 to head there, hoping for arrival on the morning of 4 May.<ref name=":0" />

By 06:30, 4 May, ''Yorktown'' made the first of three strikes at around 08:15, assaulting Japanese shipping in the harbor. After completing the strikes, Fletcher moved south to rendezvous with Fitch and RADM [[John Gregory Crace]] or TF44.<ref name=":0" />

''Lexington'' was lost during the battle while ''Yorktown'' was hit by a bomb. The hit reduced ''Yorktown''<nowiki/>'s speed to 24 knots. By 12:30 TF17, with the remainder of ''Lexington''<nowiki/>'s aircraft on ''Yorktown'', were forced to return to Pearl Harbor. For the Japanese aircraft carriers, ''Shokaku'' had been severely damaged and returned to Truk. The second carrier, ''Zuikaku'', also left, as it was low on aircraft, fuel, and personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of the Coral Sea |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1942/battle-of-coral-sea.html |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]}}</ref> As a result, Admiral Inouye ordered for the Moresby invasion to be postponed and for the ships to retire.<ref name=":0" />

Fletcher and TF17 returned to Pearl Harbor where ''Yorktown'' was serviced in preparation for the Battle of Midway.<ref name=":0" />

=== Battle of Midway ===
{{Further|Battle of Midway}}
TF17, under the command of Rear Admiral [[Frank Jack Fletcher]], was to depart from [[Pearl Harbor]], and did so on 30 May, to join [[Task Force 16]] (TF16), centered around {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6}} and {{USS|Hornet|CV-8}}, northeast of Midway Island. TF16 and TF17 joined about 350 miles northeast of Midway on 2 June, when Fletcher became officer in tactical command. The three aircraft carriers, supported by cruiser-launched floatplanes, provided 234 aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Midway, 4–7 June 1942 |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-ii/1942/midway.html |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]}}</ref>

''Yorktown'' was lost during the battle; damaged by aircraft (bombs and torpedoes) from [[Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū|Japanese aircraft carrier ''Hiryū'']] 4 June 1942, torpedoed by [[Japanese submarine I-168|Japanese submarine ''I-168'']] on 6 June 1942, and capsized and sank on 7 June 1942.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Battle of Midway, 3-6 June 1942; Composition of U. S. Forces; United States Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/composition-of-us-forces.html |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]]}}</ref>

==References==

===Books===
*{{cite book
| last = Cressman
| first = Robert
| year = 2000
| title = That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5)
| publisher=Pictorial Histories Publishing Company
| location = Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.
| isbn = 0-933126-57-3
| version = 4th printing
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2006
| title = Black Shoe Carrier Admiral: Frank Jack Fletcher at Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal
| publisher=[[Naval Institute Press]]
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| isbn = 1-59114-475-2
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2005|edition=New
| title = First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| isbn = 1-59114-472-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| year = 2005|edition=New
| title = The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
| publisher=Naval Institute Press
| location = Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.
| isbn = 1-59114-471-X
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| author-link = Samuel Eliot Morison
| orig-year = 1958| year = 2001
| title = The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 – April 1942'', vol. 3 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=Castle Books
| isbn = 0-7858-1304-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| orig-year = 1949| year = 2001
| title = Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942 – August 1942, ''vol. 4 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=University of Illinois Press
| location = Champaign, Illinois, US
| isbn = 0-252-06995-1
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| year = 1958
| title = The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943'', vol. 5 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]]
| location = Boston
| isbn = 0-316-58305-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Rose
| first = Lisle Abbott
| year = 2002
| title = The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War
| publisher=Bluejacket Books
| isbn = 1-55750-008-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Stille
| first = Mark
| year = 2007
| title = USN Carriers vs IJN Carriers: The Pacific 1942
| publisher=Osprey
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-1-84603-248-6
}}

===Web===
*{{cite web
| url= http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar//USN/USN-CN-Raids/index.html#CONT
| title= Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean: February 1 to March 10, 1942
| last= United States Navy
| first= Office of Naval Intelligence
| year= 1943
| work=Combat Narrative
| publisher=Publication Section, Combat Intelligence Branch}}

=== Citations ===
<references />

[[Category:United States Navy task forces]]
[[Category:Battle of Midway]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the United States Navy in World War II]]

{{US-navy-stub}}

Task Force 17 - Revision history

imported>MrBeebo at 12:53, 18 March 2025