Salamaua-Lae raid hits an invasion at the beaches

Carrier aircraft crossed New Guinea to strike Japanese troops and shipping during the Salamaua-Lae landings, appearing where Japanese planners had not expected carriers to operate. The invasion succeeded, but three transports and a minesweeper were sunk. A light cruiser, two destroyers, a minelayer, a seaplane tender, and another transport were damaged. Two-thirds of the invasion transports were sunk or damaged. Beaching damaged transports close to shore prevented still greater losses, though many never returned to proper service. The attack disrupted an operation Japan had expected to carry out with limited support and demonstrated the reach of mobile carrier forces.