<p>Battle of the Coral Sea, 8 May 1942: A U.S. Navy Douglas SBD-2 <i>Dauntless</i> of Scouting Squadron 2 (VS-2) passes through the "screen" for the aircraft carrier USS <i>Lexington</i> (CV-2) during the anti-torpedo plane patrol action of that day.<br></p>
The plane may be that of Lieutenant Junior Grade William E. Hall (who won the Medal of Honor that day) or Ensign John A. Leppla, (who won a Navy Cross). Previous captions state that this is a Japanese plane. The silhouette matches that of an SBD, however.
U.S. Navy
Official U.S. Navy photo <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/80-G-07000/80-G-7390.html">80-G-7390</a> from the U.S. Navy <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.history.navy.mil">Naval History and Heritage Command</a>