It was the Battle of Midway.
1. It was a carrier battle. 2. It was decisive.
salamis
Between modern steel warships; only the Battle of Tsushima in May of 1905 was a decisive "battleship" FLEET action. For "cruisers", the Battle of the Java Sea in February of 1942 was a decisive FLEET action. Although the Coral Sea was history's first clash of carrier fleets; it was at Midway that carriers fought the first "decisive" Carrier FLEET action. "New Era...?" The new era in naval warfare was airplanes fighting naval battles instead of the big guns of the battleships and cruisers.
The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval battle in the Pacific. Some historians consider it to be the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare.
Sea Battle, Naval Engagement, Naval battle, Naval Action, Sea Fight, Sea Engagement, Surface Engagement, Surface Action, to name a few.
The greatest Japanese Naval Commander is Admiral Togo, whose Battleship Fleet defeated the Russian Battleship Fleet at the, "Battle of Tsushima", on 27 May 1905. Admiral Togo, is the ONLY naval commander in history, to have won a DECISIVE modern BATTLESHIP FLEET action. Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, commander of the Russian Battle fleet at Tsushima, is the only other naval commander in HISTORY, to have fought a DECISIVE (steel battleships) BATTLESHIP FLEET ACTION! Note* The Battle of Jutland (WWI, 1916) was NOT decisive. Individual battleship engagements during WWII are NOT "fleet" engagements.
Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought from June 4 to June 7, 1942, was the most decisive naval action of World War II in the Pacific. This pivotal battle resulted in a significant defeat for the Japanese navy, losing four aircraft carriers and shifting the balance of power in the Pacific in favor of the Allies. Midway marked a turning point in the war, as it halted Japanese expansion and allowed the United States to begin a series of offensive operations.
The Battle of the Java Sea Was a decisive naval battle of the Pacific campaign of WWII that sealed the fate of the Netherlands East Indies.
This is one battle where a ship actually sunk in the naval action.
Leyte Gulf.
The Naval Battle at Manila Bay.