On 27 April, the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Yorktown CV-5 6 's Task Force 17 (TF 17), under the command of Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, sortied from Tonga and was joined by the U.S. carrier USS Lexington CV-2 6 's TF 11 300 nautical miles northwest of New Caledonia on 1 May. That same day, Fletcher detached TF 11 to refuel, expecting to rejoin with Lexington and her escorts on 4 May at a predetermined location in the Coral Sea.