After covering the landings on Tulagi on 3 May, Shōhō headed north to cover the invasion convoy the next day and was not present when aircraft from the American carrier Yorktown attacked Japanese shipping at Tulagi.
This air strike confirmed that at least one American carrier was in the vicinity, but the Japanese had no idea of its location.
They launched a number of reconnaissance aircraft the following day to search for the Americans, but without result.
US Army Air Force (USAAF) aircraft spotted Shōhō southwest of Bougainville Island on 5 May, but she was too far north to be attacked by the American carriers, which were refueling.
That day, Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher received Magic intelligence that placed the three Japanese carriers known to be involved in Operation MO near Bougainville, and predicted 10 May as the date of the invasion.
It also predicted airstrikes by the Japanese carriers in support of the invasion several days before 10 May. Based on this information, Fletcher planned to complete refueling his ships on 6 May and move closer to the eastern tip of New Guinea to be in a position to locate and attack Japanese forces on 7 May.
American reconnaissance aircraft reported two Japanese heavy cruisers northeast of Misima Island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of New Guinea at 0735 and two carriers at 0815 on 7 May. An hour later Fletcher ordered an airstrike launched, believing that the two carriers reported were Shōkaku and Zuikaku.
Lexington and Yorktown launched a total of 53 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and 22 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers escorted by 18 F4F Wildcats.
The 0815 report turned out to be miscoded, as the pilot had intended to report two heavy cruisers, but USAAF aircraft had spotted Shōhō, her escorts and the invasion convoy in the meantime.
As the latest spot report plotted only 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) away from the 0815 report, the aircraft en route were diverted to this new target.

Shōhō and the rest of the Main Force were spotted by aircraft from Lexington at 1040.
At this time, Shōhō's combat air patrol (CAP) consisted of two A5Ms and one A6M Zero.
The first dive bomber attacks all missed and the CAP shot down one Dauntless after it had dropped its bomb.
The second squadron of Dauntlesses followed shortly afterwards and they hit Shōhō twice with 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs.
These penetrated the ship's flight deck and burst inside her hangars, setting the fueled and armed aircraft there on fire.
A minute later the Devastators of VT-2 began dropping their torpedoes from both sides of the ship.
They hit Shōhō five times and the damage from the hits knocked out her steering and power.
In addition, the hits flooded both engine and boiler rooms.
Yorktown's aircraft delivered the coup de grace with another eleven hits from 1000-pound bombs in addition to two more torpedo hits.
After his attack, Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Dixon, commander of VS-2, radioed his famous message to the American carriers: "Scratch one flat top!"

Shōhō was ordered abandoned at 1131 and sank four minutes later.
Some 300 men successfully abandoned the ship, but they had to await rescue as the remaining ships of the Main Force headed north at high speed to avoid any further airstrikes.
Around 1400, the destroyer Sazanami returned to the scene and rescued only 203 survivors, the rest of her crew of 834 died during the attack or in the water awaiting rescue.
Shōhō was the first Japanese aircraft carrier lost during the war.

Zuihō led the Support Fleet during the Battle of Midway and did not engage American carriers directly.
Her aircraft complement consisted of six Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" and six Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" fighters, and twelve Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers.
After a brief refit in July–August, the ship was assigned to First Carrier Division with Shōkaku and Zuikaku on 12 August.

The division sailed to Truk on 1 October to support Japanese forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign and left Truk on 11 October based on the promise of the Japanese Army to capture Hen
After covering the landings on Tulagi on 3 May, Shōhō headed north to cover the invasion convoy the next day and was not present when aircraft from the American carrier Yorktown attacked Japanese shipping at Tulagi. This air strike confirmed that at least one American carrier was in the vicinity, but the Japanese had no idea of its location. They launched a number of reconnaissance aircraft the following day to search for the Americans, but without result. US Army Air Force (USAAF) aircraft spotted Shōhō southwest of Bougainville Island on 5 May, but she was too far north to be attacked by the American carriers, which were refueling. That day, Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher received Magic intelligence that placed the three Japanese carriers known to be involved in Operation MO near Bougainville, and predicted 10 May as the date of the invasion. It also predicted airstrikes by the Japanese carriers in support of the invasion several days before 10 May. Based on this information, Fletcher planned to complete refueling his ships on 6 May and move closer to the eastern tip of New Guinea to be in a position to locate and attack Japanese forces on 7 May.
American reconnaissance aircraft reported two Japanese heavy cruisers northeast of Misima Island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of New Guinea at 0735 and two carriers at 0815 on 7 May. An hour later Fletcher ordered an airstrike launched, believing that the two carriers reported were Shōkaku and Zuikaku. Lexington and Yorktown launched a total of 53 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and 22 Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers escorted by 18 F4F Wildcats. The 0815 report turned out to be miscoded, as the pilot had intended to report two heavy cruisers, but USAAF aircraft had spotted Shōhō, her escorts and the invasion convoy in the meantime. As the latest spot report plotted only 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) away from the 0815 report, the aircraft en route were diverted to this new target.
Shōhō and the rest of the Main Force were spotted by aircraft from Lexington at 1040. At this time, Shōhō's combat air patrol (CAP) consisted of two A5Ms and one A6M Zero. The first dive bomber attacks all missed and the CAP shot down one Dauntless after it had dropped its bomb. The second squadron of Dauntlesses followed shortly afterwards and they hit Shōhō twice with 1,000-pound (450 kg) bombs. These penetrated the ship's flight deck and burst inside her hangars, setting the fueled and armed aircraft there on fire. A minute later the Devastators of VT-2 began dropping their torpedoes from both sides of the ship. They hit Shōhō five times and the damage from the hits knocked out her steering and power. In addition, the hits flooded both engine and boiler rooms. Yorktown's aircraft delivered the coup de grace with another eleven hits from 1000-pound bombs in addition to two more torpedo hits. After his attack, Lieutenant Commander Robert E. Dixon, commander of VS-2, radioed his famous message to the American carriers: "Scratch one flat top!"
Shōhō was ordered abandoned at 1131 and sank four minutes later. Some 300 men successfully abandoned the ship, but they had to await rescue as the remaining ships of the Main Force headed north at high speed to avoid any further airstrikes. Around 1400, the destroyer Sazanami returned to the scene and rescued only 203 survivors, the rest of her crew of 834 died during the attack or in the water awaiting rescue. Shōhō was the first Japanese aircraft carrier lost during the war.
Zuihō led the Support Fleet during the Battle of Midway and did not engage American carriers directly. Her aircraft complement consisted of six Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" and six Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" fighters, and twelve Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers. After a brief refit in July–August, the ship was assigned to First Carrier Division with Shōkaku and Zuikaku on 12 August.
The division sailed to Truk on 1 October to support Japanese forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign and left Truk on 11 October based on the promise of the Japanese Army to capture Hen
Zuihō-class aircraft carrier