NAVAL BATTLE OF GUADALCANAL

The 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal', sometimes referred to as the 'Third Battle of Savo Island' or, in Japanese sources, as the 'Third Battle of the Solomon Sea' (第三次ソロモン海戦), took place November 12-November 15, 1942, and was the decisive battle in a series of naval battles that took place between Allied (primarily U.S.) and Japanese forces during the months-long Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands. The battle consisted of a sequence of combined air and sea engagements spread over four days, most of them in the vicinity of Guadalcanal. All of the engagements were directly related to a single effort by the Japanese to reinforce their land forces on Guadalcanal, and are all therefore considered to be different parts of the same battle.
In two extremely destructive nighttime surface warship engagements, both adversaries lost numerous ships. Also, U.S. daytime air attacks over several days sank or damaged several Japanese warships and transport ships. The sum of these engagements was that the U.S. was successful in turning back Japan's last major attempt to dislodge Allied forces from their positions on Guadalcanal and nearby Tulagi. Thus, the battle resulted in a significant strategic victory for the U.S. and its allies.

Background

On August 7, 1942, Allied forces (primarily U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Islands in the Solomon Islands. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases for threatening the supply routes between the U.S. and Australia, and to secure the islands as starting points for a campaign with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at Rabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign. The landings initiated the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign.^[3]
Because of the constant threat by Japanese aircraft and warships around the Solomon Islands, Allied forces were unable to frequently resupply their forces on Guadalcanal, who were often under attack from Japanese land and sea forces in the area.^[4] In early November, 1942, Allied intelligence reports indicated that the Japanese were preparing another offensive to try to retake the islands from the Allies.^[5] Therefore, the U.S. mounted a major resupply and reinforcement effort by sending Task Force 67, a large reinforcement and resupply convoy commanded by Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner, to support its forces at Guadalcanal on November 11. The supply ships were protected by task groups commanded by Rear Admirals Daniel J. Callaghan and Norman Scott as well as aircraft from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.^[6] The Japanese conducted several air attacks on these supply ships at Guadalcanal on November 11 and November 12, using aircraft based at Buin, Bougainville in the Solomon Islands. However, most of the U.S. supply ships were unloaded without serious damage, and 12 of the Japanese aircraft were shot down^[7] by anti-aircraft fire from the U.S. ships or by fighter aircraft launched from Henderson Field.^[8]

Aerial view of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, late August 1942. The view looks northwest with the Lunga River and Lunga Point at the top of the image.

The previous major attempt to retake Guadalcanal and Henderson Field by the Japanese Army had occurred from October 20 to October 26 in the Battle for Henderson Field and had been defeated with heavy losses for the Japanese.^[9] At the same time, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet) had attempted to decisively defeat U.S. naval forces in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. In that battle, U.S. naval forces were defeated and driven from the area with the loss of one aircraft carrier and severe damage to another. However, the Japanese carriers were also forced to retreat because of crippling losses to their carrier aircraft and aircrews.^[10] Thereafter, Yamamoto's ships returned to their main bases at Truk in Micronesia, where he had his headquarters, and Rabaul on New Britain while three of the four Japanese carriers returned to Japan for repairs and refitting.^[11]
The Japanese army planned another attack on Guadalcanal, but further reinforcements were needed before the operation could proceed. The army requested assistance from Yamamoto to deliver the needed reinforcements to the island and to support their planned offensive on the Allied forces guarding Henderson Field. To support the reinforcement effort, Yamamoto provided 11 large transport ships to carry 7,000 army troops, their ammunition, food, and heavy equipment to Guadalcanal. He also provided a warship support force that included two battleships. The two battleships, ''Hiei'' and ''Kirishima'', equipped with special fragmentation shells, were to bombard Henderson Field and destroy it and the aircraft stationed there in order to allow the slow, heavy transports to reach Guadalcanal safely.^[12] The warship force was commanded from ''Hiei'' by recently-promoted Vice Admiral Hiroaki Abe.^[13]

First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13

Prelude

Abe's warship force and the transports assembled near the Shortland Islands^[14] and proceeded down "The Slot" towards Guadalcanal on November 12 with an estimated arrival time for the warships of early morning, November 13, with the slower transport ships travelling some distance behind.^[15] In addition to the two battleships, the Japanese force included the light cruiser ''Nagara'' and 11 destroyers: ''Samidare'', ''Murasame'', ''Asagumo'', ''Teruzuki'', ''Amatsukaze'', ''Yukikaze'', ''Ikazuchi'', ''Inazuma'', ''Akatsuki'', ''Harusame'', and ''Yudachi''.^[16] Three More destroyers (''Shigure'', ''Shiratsuyu'', and ''Yugure'') would provide a rear guard in the Russell Islands during Abe's foray into "Ironbottom Sound" off the north coast of Guadalcanal.^[17] U.S. reconnaissance aircraft spotted the approach of the Japanese ships and passed a warning to the Allied command.^[18]
Thus warned, Turner detached all usable combat ships to protect the troops ashore from the expected Japanese naval attack and troop landing and ordered the supply ships at Guadalcanal to depart by early evening November 12. Callaghan was a few days senior to the more experienced Scott, and therefore was placed in overall command.^[19] Callaghan prepared his force to meet the Japanese that night in the sound. His force comprised two heavy cruisers (USS ''San Francisco'' and USS ''Portland''), three light cruisers (USS ''Helena'', USS ''Juneau'', and USS ''Atlanta''), and eight destroyers: USS ''Cushing'', USS ''Laffey'', USS ''Sterett'', USS ''O'Bannon'', USS ''Aaron Ward'', USS ''Barton'', USS ''Monssen'', and USS ''Fletcher''. Admiral Callaghan commanded from ''San Francisco''.^[20]
During their approach to Guadalcanal, the Japanese force passed through a large and intense rain squall which, along with a complex formation plus some confusing orders from Abe, split the formation into several groups.^[21] The U.S. force steamed in a single column around Ironbottom Sound, with destroyers in the lead and rear of the column, and the cruisers in the center. Five ships had the new, far-superior SG radar, but Callaghan's deployment put none of them in the forward part of the column, nor did he choose one for his flagship.^[22]

Action

At about 01:25 on November 13, in almost complete pitch darkness because of the bad weather and dark moon, the ships of the Japanese force entered the sound between Savo Island and Guadalcanal and prepared to bombard Henderson Field.^[23] Several of the U.S. ships detected the Japanese ships on radar, beginning about 01:24,^[24] but had trouble communicating the information to Callaghan because of problems with their ship's radio equipment and lack of discipline with their communications procedures.^[25] Several minutes later, both forces visually sighted each other about the same time, but both Abe and Callaghan hesitated ordering their ships into action. Abe apparently was surprised by the proximity of the U.S. ships²⁴ and could not decide if he should momentarily withdraw to give his ships time to change from bombardment ammunition to anti-ship ammunition or to continue onward. He decided to continue onward.^[26] Callaghan apparently intended to attempt to cross the T of the Japanese, as Scott had done at Cape Esperance, but — confused by the incomplete information he was receiving, plus the fact that the Japanese formation consisted of several scattered groups — he gave several confusing orders on ship movements. The U.S. ship formation began to fall apart, apparently further delaying Callaghan's order to commence firing as he first tried to straighten out his ship's locations.^[27] Meanwhile, both forces' formations continued onward and began to intermingle with each other.²⁴

Position of Japanese (red arrows) and U.S. (black) ships at 01:45 on November 13. Both sides opened fire at 01:48 as the formations of the two adversaries intermingled and then quickly disintegrated into a confused free-for-all.^[28]

At 01:48, the Japanese ships ''Akatsuki'' and ''Hiei'' turned on large searchlights and lit up ''Atlanta'' only 3,000 yards away—almost point-blank range for large naval artillery. Several of the ships on both sides spontaneously opened fire. Realizing that his force was almost surrounded by Japanese ships, Callaghan ordered, "Odd ships fire to starboard, even ships fire to port."²⁸ Most of the remaining U.S. ships then opened fire, although several had to quickly change their targets in order to comply with Callaghan's order.^[29] As the ships from the two sides intermingled, they battled each other in an utterly confused and chaotic melée at close distances. Afterwards, an officer on ''Monssen'' likened it to "a barroom brawl after the lights had been shot out".^[30]
At least six of the U.S. ships, including ''Laffey'', ''O'Bannon'', ''Atlanta'', ''San Francisco'', ''Portland'', and ''Helena'', fired at ''Akatsuki'', which drew attention to herself with her illuminated searchlight. ''Akatsuki'' blew up and sank within a few minutes, but not before hitting ''Atlanta'' with shells and a type 93 torpedo.^[31]
Perhaps because it was the lead cruiser in the U.S. formation, ''Atlanta'' was the target of fire from several Japanese ships, probably including ''Nagara'', ''Inazuma'', and ''Ikazuchi'', in addition to ''Akatsuki''. The gunfire caused ''Atlanta'' heavy damage, and the torpedo hit cut all of her engineering power.^[32] ''Atlanta'' drifted into the line of fire of ''San Francisco'', which accidentally fired on ''Atlanta'', causing even greater damage, and killing Admiral Scott and much of the bridge crew.^[33] ''Atlanta'', without power or able to fire her guns, now drifted out of control and out of the battle as the Japanese ships passed her by. The lead U.S. destroyer, ''Cushing'', was also caught in a crossfire between several Japanese destroyers and perhaps ''Nagara''. She too was hit heavily and stopped dead in the water.^[34]
''Hiei'', with her nine lit searchights, huge size, and course taking her directly through the U.S. formation, became the focus of gunfire from many of the U.S. ships. ''Laffey'' passed so close to ''Hiei'' that they missed colliding by 20 feet (6 m).^[35] ''Hiei'' was unable to depress her main or secondary batteries low enough to hit ''Laffey'', but ''Laffey'' was able to rake ''Hiei''’s superstructure with 5-inch shells and machine gun fire, causing heavy damage to ''Hiei''’s superstructure and bridge, wounding Admiral Abe, and killing his chief of staff.^[36] Admiral Abe was thereafter limited in his ability to direct his ships for the rest of the battle.^[37] ''Sterett'' and ''O'Bannon'' likewise pumped several salvos into ''Hiei''’s superstructure from close range, and perhaps one or two torpedoes into her hull, causing ''Hiei'' further damage, before both destroyers escaped into the darkness.^[38]

Japanese battleship ''Hiei'' in 1942

Unable to fire her main or secondary batteries at the three destroyers causing her so much trouble, ''Hiei'' instead concentrated on ''San Francisco'' which was passing by only 2,500 yards away.^[39] Along with ''Kirishima'', ''Inazuma'', and ''Ikazuchi'', the four ships made repeated hits on ''San Francisco'', disabling her steering control and killing Admiral Callaghan, Captain Cassin Young, and most of the bridge staff. The first few salvos from ''Hiei'' and ''Kirishima'' consisted of the special fragmentation bombardment shells, which reduced damage to the interior of ''San Francisco'' and may have saved her from being sunk outright. Not expecting a ship-to-ship confrontation, it took the crews of the two Japanese battleships several minutes to switch to armor-piercing ammunition. Nevertheless, ''San Francisco'', almost helpless to defend herself, managed to momentarily sail clear of the melee.^[40] However, she landed at least one shell in ''Hiei''’s steering gear room during the exchange, flooding it with water, shorting out her power steering generators, and severely inhibiting ''Hiei’s'' steering capability.^[41] ''Helena'' followed ''San Francisco'' to try and protect her from further harm.^[42]
Two of the U.S. destroyers met a sudden demise. Either ''Nagara'' or the destroyers ''Teruzuki''^[43] and ''Yukikaze''³⁰ came upon the drifting ''Cushing'' and pounded her with gunfire, knocking out all of her systems. Unable to fight back, ''Cushing’s'' crew abandoned ship. ''Cushing'' sank several hours later.^[44] ''Laffey'', having escaped from her engagement with ''Hiei'', suddenly encountered ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', ''Samidare'',^[45] and, perhaps, ''Teruzuki''.^[46] The Japanese destroyers pounded the ''Laffey'' with gunfire and then hit her with a torpedo which broke her keel. A few minutes later fires reached her ammunition magazines and she blew up and sank.^[47]
''Portland'', after helping sink ''Akatsuki'', was hit by a torpedo from ''Inazuma'' or ''Ikazuchi'', causing heavy damage to her stern and forcing her to steer in a circle. After completing her first loop, she was able to fire four salvos at ''Hiei'' but otherwise took little further part in the battle.^[48]
''Yudachi'' and ''Amatsukaze'' independently charged the rear five ships of the U.S. formation. Two torpedoes from ''Amatsukaze'' hit ''Barton'', immediately sinking her with heavy loss of life.^[49] ''Yudachi'' planted a torpedo in ''Juneau'', stopping ''Juneau'' dead in the water, breaking her keel, and knocking out most of her systems. ''Juneau'' then turned east and slowly crept out of the battle area.^[50]
''Monssen'' avoided the wreck of ''Barton'' and motored onward looking for targets. She was accosted by ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', and ''Samidare'' who had just finished blasting ''Laffey''. They proceeded to smother ''Monssen'' with gunfire, damaging her severely and forcing the crew to abandon ship. The ship sank sometime later.^[51]

''Amatsukaze'' approached the ''San Francisco'' with the intention of finishing her off. However, while concentrating on ''San Francisco'', ''Amatsukaze'' did not notice the approach of ''Helena'' which fired several full broadsides at ''Amatsukaze'' from close range and knocked her out of the action. The heavily damaged ''Amatsukaze'' escaped under cover of a smoke screen^[52] and while ''Helena'' was distracted by an attack by ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', and ''Samidare''.^[53]
''Aaron Ward'' and ''Sterett'', independently searching for targets, both sighted ''Yudachi'', who appeared unaware of the approach of the two U.S. destroyers.^[54] Both U.S. ships hit ''Yudachi'' simultaneously with gunfire and torpedoes, literally blasting her out of the water and forcing her crew to abandon ship.^[45] However, the ship did not sink right away. Continuing on her way, ''Sterett'' was suddenly ambushed by ''Teruzuki'', heavily damaged, and forced to withdraw from the battle area to the east.^[56] ''Aaron Ward'' wound up in a one-on-one duel with ''Kirishima'', which the destroyer lost with heavy damage. She also tried to retire from the battle area to the east but soon stopped dead in the water because the engines were damaged.^[57]
Robert Leckie, a Marine private on Guadalcanal, described the battle:
After nearly 40 minutes of brutal, close-quarters fighting, the two sides broke contact and ceased fire at 02:26 after Abe and Captain Gilbert Hoover (the captain of ''Helena'' and senior surviving U.S. officer at this point) ordered their respective forces to disengage.^[58] Admiral Abe had a decisive victory in his grasp. He had one battleship (''Kirishima''), one light cruiser (''Nagara''), and four destroyers (''Asagumo'', ''Teruzuki'', ''Yukikaze'', and ''Harusame'') with only light damage that could continue fighting (''Inazuma'', ''Ikazuchi'', ''Murasame'', and ''Samidare'' were damaged enough that their fighting ability was somewhat impaired).^[59] The U.S. had only one light cruiser (''Helena'') and one destroyer (''Fletcher'') that were still capable of effective resistance. The way was clear for Abe to bombard Henderson Field, and, perhaps, finish off the U.S. naval forces in the area, clearing the way for the troops and supplies to be landed safely on Guadalcanal.
However, at this crucial juncture, Abe chose to abandon the mission and depart the area. Several reasons are conjectured as to why he made this decision. Japanese commanders, from the beginning of the war, were constantly and strongly reminded of the crucial need to conserve fuel, ammunition, and to not risk ships unnecessarily.^[60] Thus, the damage to his flagship, ''Hiei'' and his other ships plus his expenditures of fuel and ammunition during the battle may have heavily concerned Abe. His own injuries and the deaths of some of his staff from battle action may have affected his thought processes. Perhaps he was also unsure as to how many of his or the U.S. ships were still combat-capable because of communication problems with the damaged ''Hiei''. Furthermore, his own ships were scattered and would have taken some time to reassemble for a coordinated resumption of the mission to attack Henderson Field and the remnants of the U.S. warship force. For whatever reason, Abe called for a disengagement and general retreat of his warships, although ''Yukikaze'' and ''Teruzuki'' remained behind to assist ''Hiei''.^[61] ''Samidare'' picked-up survivors from ''Yudachi'' at 03:00 before joining the other Japanese ships in the retreat northwards.^[62]

Aftermath

At 03:00 on November 13, Admiral Yamamoto postponed the planned landings of the transports, which returned to the Shortlands to await further orders.⁶² Dawn revealed three crippled Japanese (''Hiei'', ''Yudachi'', and ''Amatsukaze''), and three crippled U.S. ships (''Portland'', ''Atlanta'', and ''Aaron Ward'') in the general vicinity of Savo Island.^[63] ''Amatsukaze'' was attacked by dive-bombers but managed to escape to Truk and eventually returned to action several months later. The abandoned hulk of ''Yudachi'' was sunk by ''Portland'', whose guns still worked despite the other damage to the ship.^[64] The tugboat USS ''Bobolink'' motored around Ironbottom Sound throughout the day of November 13, assisting the crippled U.S. ships, rescuing U.S. survivors from the water, and, reportedly, shooting Japanese survivors floating in the water.^[65] ''Hiei'' was attacked repeatedly by Marine TBF Avenger torpedo planes from Henderson Field, TBFs and SBD Dauntless dive-bombers from the carrier USS ''Enterprise'', and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the United States Army Air Forces 11th Heavy Bombardment Group from Espiritu Santo. Abe and his staff transferred to ''Yukikaze'' at 08:15. ''Kirishima'' was ordered by Abe to take ''Hiei'' under tow, escorted by ''Nagara'' and its destroyers, but the attempt was cancelled because of the threat of submarine attack and ''Hiei's increasing unseaworthiness.^[66] After sustaining more damage from air attacks, ''Hiei'' sank northwest of Savo Island, perhaps after being scuttled by her remaining crew, in the late evening of November 13.^[66]
''Portland'', ''San Francisco'', ''Aaron Ward,'' ''Sterett'', and ''O'Bannon'' were eventually able to make it back to rear-area ports for repairs. ''Atlanta'', however, sank near Guadalcanal at 20:00 on November 13.^[68] Departing from the Solomon Islands area with ''San Francisco'', ''Helena'', ''Sterret'', and ''O'Bannon''^[69] later that day, ''Juneau'' was sunk by Japanese submarine ''I-26''. ''Juneau's'' 100+ survivors (out of a total complement of 650) were left to fend on their own in the open ocean for eight days before rescue aircraft belatedly arrived. While awaiting rescue, all but 10 of ''Juneau''’s crew died from their injuries, the elements, or shark attacks. The dead included the five Sullivan brothers^[70]
Because of the confused nature of the battle, the U.S. believed that they had sunk as many as seven Japanese ships.^[71] This, plus the Japanese retreat, caused the U.S. to believe at the time that they had won a significant victory. It was only after the war that the U.S. learned that they had suffered what most see as a crushing ''tactical'' defeat.^[72]
Nevertheless, most historians appear to agree that Abe's decision to retreat turned his tactical victory into a strategic defeat. Henderson Field remained operational with attack aircraft ready to deter the slow Japanese transports from approaching Guadalcanal with their precious cargoes.^[73] Plus, the Japanese had lost an opportunity to eliminate the U.S. naval forces in the area, a result which would have taken even the comparatively resource-rich U.S. some time to recover from.^[74] Reportedly furious, Admiral Yamamoto relieved Abe of command and later directed his forced retirement from the military. However, it appears that Yamamoto may have been more angry over the loss of one of his battleships (''Hiei'') than he was over the abandonment of the supply mission and failure to completely destroy the U.S. force.^[75] Shortly before noon, Yamamoto ordered Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo, commanding the Second Fleet, to form a new bombardment unit around ''Kirishima'' with fresh ships and attack Henderson Field on the night of November 14–November 15.
Including the sinking of ''Juneau'', total U.S. losses in the battle were 1,439 dead. The Japanese suffered between 550 to 800 dead.^[76] Analyzing the impact of this engagement, historian Richard B. Frank states,

Other actions, November 13–14

U.S. Navy recognition drawing for Japanese Aoba-class heavy cruisers which included ''Kinugasa''.

Although the reinforcement effort to Guadalcanal was delayed, the Japanese did not give up trying to complete the original mission, albeit a day later than originally planned. In the afternoon of November 13, the 11 transports resumed their journey towards Guadalcanal.^[77] A Japanese force of cruisers and destroyers, originally assigned to cover the unloading of the transports on the evening of November 13, was given the mission that Abe's force had failed to carry out—the bombardment of Henderson Field.^[78] The battleship ''Kirishima'', after abandoning its rescue effort of ''Hiei'' on the morning of November 13, steamed north between Santa Isabel and Malaita Islands to form the new bombardment unit.^[66]
The cruiser force, consisting of Eighth Fleet units under its commander, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa, included the heavy cruisers ''Chōkai'', ''Kinugasa'', ''Maya'', and ''Suzuya'', light cruisers ''Isuzu'' and ''Tenryū'', and six destroyers.^[41] Mikawa's force was able to slip into the Guadalcanal area uncontested because the battered U.S. naval forces had withdrawn. ''Suzuya'' and ''Maya'' bombarded Henderson Field while the rest of Mikawa's force cruised around Savo Island guarding against any U.S. surface attack (which did not occur).^[81] The 35-minute bombardment caused some damage to various aircraft and facilities at the airfield but did not put it out of operation.^[82] The cruiser force ended the bombardment around 02:30 on November 14 and cleared the area to head towards Rabaul via the Shortlands.^[83]
At daybreak, aircraft from Henderson Field, Espiritu Santo, and ''USS Enterprise'' (stationed 300 kilometers (200 mi) south of Guadalcanal), began their attacks, first on Mikawa's force that was heading away from Guadalcanal, and then on the transport force heading towards Guadalcanal. The attacks on Mikawa's force sank the heavy cruiser ''Kinugasa'',^[84] killing 511 of her crew,^[77] and damaged ''Maya'', forcing her to go to Japan for repairs.^[86] Repeated air attacks on the transport force sank six of the transports and forced one more to turn back with heavy damage. Survivors from the transports were rescued by the convoy's escorting destroyers. A total of 450 army troops were reported to have perished.^[87] The remaining four transports and undamaged destroyers continued towards Guadalcanal after nightfall of November 14 but stopped west of Guadalcanal to await the finish of the warship surface action (below) before continuing.^[88]
Kondo's ad hoc force rendezvoused at Ontong Java on the evening of November 13,^[89] then reversed course and refueled out of range of Henderson Field's bombers on the morning of November 14. The submarine USS ''Trout'' stalked but was unable to attack the ''Kirishima'' during refueling. The bombardment force continued south and came under air attack late in the afternoon of November 14, during which they were intercepted by the submarine USS ''Flying Fish'' which launched five torpedoes but scored no hits, then reported its contact by radio.^[90]