The Guadalcanal campaign had several naval battles throughout the months of fighting, the largest of which include Savo Island, the Battle of Cape Esperance, the First and Second Naval Battles, the Battle of Tassaforonga. These naval battles would come together to form the basis of one of the most famous campaigns that would take place in the Pacific War.
The Japanese forces had suffered a tremendous defeat at the Battle of Midway, losing four of its major fleet carriers. But the Japanese still had a large fleet available when the Americans landed on Guadalcanal. The Japanese quickly launched a replenishment force, and a small striking force led by Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa.
The landings on Guadalcanal were covered by Task Force 62, under the command of Rear Admiral Richmond Turner. Australian Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley’s screening force would be responsible for covering the landing troops. Once the landings were complete, Task Group 62.4 and Crutchley’s screening force were responsible for protecting the troops on the island. In order to do this, Rear Admiral Turner needed to split his force into three parts. One part would be responsible for defending the area to the east of Guadalcanal. A second force would cover to the north of Savo Island, with the third force patrolling the water between Savo Island and Guadalcanal. All forces had smaller destroyers patrolling farther from the islands.
On August 9, 1942, barely after midnight, Gunichi Mikawa’s forces spotted Savo Island and the American destroyer Blue but didn’t open fire. The destroyer never reported the Japanese, and at 1:40 a.m., the ships patrolling south of Savo Island were spotted.
The Japanese ships launched several torpedoes at the cruisers Chicago and Canberra, damaging the Chicago and sinking the Canberra before either fired a shot. The Chicago soon helped the destroyer Patterson by engaging the Japanese cruisers Tenryu and Yunagi. This engagement ended quickly, and the Japanese ships headed north to engage the ships patrolling north of Savo Island. However, none of the Allied ships radioed the other forces to notify them of the enemy cruisers heading directly for them.
Finally, at 2:10 a.m., the destroyer Patterson reports the attack to the cruiser Vincennes, but that report never reached Captain Riefkohl, the commander of the Vincennes. As a result, the northern patrol force didn’t find out about the Japanese ships until the patrol force was illuminated by spotlights while the Japanese cruisers opened fire with their six- and eight-inch guns. The allied cruisers suffered heavy damage, and by 3:00 a.m., all of the three cruisers attacked by the Japanese force had been sunk, with the survivors being picked up by destroyers in the area.
The Japanese suffered minor damage to several cruisers, but since they weren’t aware of the allied presence near Guadalcanal, the force returned to New Ireland. In doing this, the Japanese missed a golden opportunity. The Japanese were not aware that the carrier forces, including the USS Enterprise were not where they were last reported, around Guadalcanal. This left the transport base vulnerable to attack. However, the Battle of Savo Island was over, with heavy allied losses. The force that patrolled the eastern waters near Guadalcanal escaped without a scratch. The Japanese won a victory, although they could have inflicted much more damage on forces in Guadalcanal.
The Japanese had minor damages inflicted upon them. The cruiser Chokai was hit by one shell, destroying a turret. The cruiser Aoba was moderately damaged. The only Japanese ship lost was the cruiser Kako, which was sunk by the American submarine S-44 while en route to the friendly waters of New Ireland. Upon the return to safe waters, the Japanese prepared for the next battle.
On October 11, 1942, Rear Admiral Norman Scott was patrolling near Savo Island at the entrance to Ironbottom Sound. Instead of the unsuccessful box format that was used in the battle of Savo Island, Rear Admiral Scott had his ships in a line ahead formation, which allowed him to use his destroyers to put the spotlight on targets, then using the cruisers to destroy them.
Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto’s reinforcement group headed to Guadalcanal. However, Admiral Goto wasn’t aware that Admiral Scott and Task Force 64 had been informed of his approach and was on an intercept course. Just after 11:30 p.m., Scott’s force made a left turn. This turn didn’t work out as planned when the cruiser San Francisco turned early, with the remainder of the ships following it. This error put the destroyers Duncan and a second destroyer between the American and Japanese ships. The Duncan chose to charge the Japanese ships when the fire control radar positively identified them as enemy ships.
Admiral Goto’s ships mistakenly thought that they had met up with the transport group, and didn’t fire on the ships. The USS Helena opened fire on the ships and brought an abrupt end to this belief. The Duncan joined in, but was disabled before making the successful attack. A minute afterwards, Admiral Scott ordered a cease fire while targets were picked. In the opening moments, the Aoba was hit on the bridge, mortally wounding Admiral Goto, and the Furutaka placed itself between the American forces and the Aoba, and was sunk as a result. The flagship of the wounded Admiral Goto would retreat under a curtain of smoke, thanks to the sacrifice of the Furutaka. However, the order to cease fire wasn’t obeyed by all ships, and Admiral Scott even needed to make a personal trip to the bridge of the San Francisco to stop the firing. Once the lead destroyers were located, the order to resume firing was given and the battle continued. The Kinugasa turned north and fired shells which damaged the Boise before San Francisco maneuvered in between the two ships and received only slight damage by the Kinugasa before the Japanese ships were out of range and returning to friendly waters with the wounded Aoba. The destroyer Fubuki was sunk before the battle was over as well.
The Japanese managed to inflict damage on the Americans as well. The Boise was heavily damaged when a couple of 8-inch shells from the Furutaka hit it, detonating the two forward main batteries. The hit could have been worse, since there wasn't a lot of ammunition exposed. The Furutaka may have sunk the Boise, but the San Francisco got between the cruisers, and while hit, the San Francisco had the least of the damage among these two cruisers. The Duncan was sunk by shells from both American and Japanese ships when charging the approaching enemy, and the destroyer Farenholt was damaged by gunfire as well.
With both forces returning repairs, each prepared for a third encounter. During the battle, Japanese troop transports landed on Guadalcanal, successfully reinforcing the island. This action led to a strategic draw, but the tactical victory was on the side of the Americans. Both sides would need to prepare to meet again, only the next time would be in Ironbottom Sound, the area that was attempting to be protected by forces in both battles so far, the battle of Savo Island and now the battle of Cape Esperance.
On November 13, 1942, Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan was patrolling near Ironbottom Sound in an unusual formation. The destroyers Cushing, Laffey, Sterett, and O’Bannon were in the lead, followed by the Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Helena, and Juneau, with the remaining ships trailing. What was odd about this force was that the majority of the ships with the best radar systems equipped were in the center or rear of the formation. However, this would form Task Group 67.4, which would be responsible for patrolling the entrance to Ironbottom Sound that night.
The Japanese force didn’t look any better either. The ships were arranged in a diamond formation with the main striking force in the center, which consisted of the battleships Hiei and Kirishima as well as several cruisers, leaving the destroyers to form the corners of the diamond. Once the forces neared Guadalcanal, the Hiei and Kirishima loaded their 14-inch guns with Type 3 shells, designed to bombard Henderson Field.
At 1:24 a.m., the Helena picked up the Japanese ships. Twenty minutes later, Cushing visually sighted a pair of enemy destroyers and made a left turn, followed by the other three leading destroyers. In order to avoid hitting the turning destroyers, the Atlanta turned left as well. The battle then began, and for the next 40 minutes, many ships on both sides would be sunk or damaged.
The battleship Hiei spotted the Atlanta directly ahead and once the searchlights homed in on the incoming cruiser, the Atlanta opened fire on the battleships searchlights and several other destroyers nearby. The Atlanta hit the Akatsuki before being damaged by several torpedoes and shells from Akatsuki started fires raging throughout the ship. The crippled Atlanta drifted away from the battle.
Next, the destroyer Cushing came as the lead attacker. The Cushing fired 6 torpedoes and several 5-inch shells at Hiei and Amatsukaze, but none of them hit the enemy ships. The Hiei then crippled Cushing with 10 direct hits from 14-inch guns.
The Laffey was next, and began hitting Hiei with machine guns. One of these hits killed Hirokai Abe’s chief of staff, Masakane Suzuki. Laffey then fired a torpedo at Hiei, but the torpedo didn’t arm and bounced harmlessly off Hiei's hull. The Laffey was then sunk by a torpedo fired from the destroyer Teruzuki, which blew off the stern, and a 14-inch shell from Kirishima that exploded in the boiler room. The order to abandon ship was given, and many of the crew were in the water when the Laffey exploded, killing most of the crew both on the ship and in the water.
Several more ships charged the Japanese formation. The Sterett lined up to hit Nagara before it lost its radio and radar capabilities. The Sterett then used its last torpedo to destroy the Akatsuki before drifting away. Next came the destroyer O’Bannon, which passed Sterett and open fire on Hiei.
The San Francisco switched to engage another Japanese destroyer. However, the drifting Atlanta drifted near the enemy destroyers and the shells from the San Francisco exploded on the Atlanta's superstructure, destroying it and killing Admiral Scott. After seeing this, Admiral Callaghan ordered a cease fire to re-group. Then, once all ships were regrouped, Callaghan ordered his ships to focus on the larger ships first.
The San Francisco advanced on the Hiei, and the ships exchanged fire. The Hiei’s first salvo were Type 3 shells, which were high explosives and not designed to penetrate armor, and as a result, did little damage except for killing most of the crew on the deck. The third salvo hit the bridge, killing Admiral Callaghan and most of the bridge crew. While damage crews worked on repairing the damaged ship, Lieutenant Commander Bruce McCandless turned the ship to rejoin the battle, knowing that if the flagship San Francisco left, the rest of the force may follow.
The Portland was next in line, following the San Francisco. Portland was hit in the propeller by a torpedo that locked the cruiser in a right turn. After the Portland’s first loop, the Hiei was waiting and the two ships exchanged fire. The Portland hit the battleship several times before continuing around on its loop.
The Helena followed Portland, with the Juneau afterwards. Helena engaged the Akatsuki, which was too busy firing at the disabled San Francisco to see the Helena approaching. The Helena pummeled the Japanese destroyer until the cruiser was driven off by three other Japanese destroyers.
Next came the cruiser Juneau. The Juneau attempted to engage enemy ships. While searching for a target, the cruiser was hit by a torpedo that removed the cruiser from the battle.
The four trailing destroyers came next. The Aaron Ward was hit 9 times by enemy shells while trying to avoid the crippled Sterett. The Barton also had to avoid a wreck, and was almost immediately sunk by two torpedoes, one of which was launched from Amatsukaze After Barton sank, the Monssen took on two destroyers . Two starburst shells exploded, lighting the area. The captain of the Monssen, believing that the shells were fired from American ships, turned on the recognition lights and was sunk by 47 Japanese shells. Fletcher managed to escape damage altogether.
The Japanese also took heavy damage. Yudachi, like the Monssen, lit the regonition lights, but stayed afloat until survivors get picked up. Akatsuki was sunk after severely damaging the Atlanta. The Amatsukaze was damaged by the Helena while the Japanese crew was busy firing at the crippled San Francisco, which had lost all of the weapons aboard and couldn’t fire back. Hiei took over 85 hits and stayed afloat. It took an additional torpedo and three bombs before the Hiei was ordered sunk by Admiral Isoroku Yamaoto. The destroyers Amatsukaze, Ikazuchi, and Murasame were also damaged. Admiral Hara and the Amatsukaze made a safe return, although Hara was deeply disturbed by the deaths aboard his ship.
Four people from the San Francisco were awarded the Medal of Honor, more than any other ship would receive in a single battle yet today. All ships returned for repairs in their home ports. The undamaged forces would again collide in Ironbottom Sound the next day.
On the next day, November 14, 1942, a second bombardment force approached Ironbottom Sound. This force focused on the battleship Kirishima, a survivor of the previous nights engagement.
This time the Americans were ready though. Two battleships were waiting, along with the standard destroyers. Together, these ships formed the patrol force that would cover Ironbottom Sound that night. The four destroyers would be responsible for engaging the enemy, with the battleships providing long range fire support.
The Japanese forces are spotted on an approach to Guadalcanal at 10:55 p.m. Shortly afterwards, the destroyers were ordered to attack, and left to deal with the force. These ships suffered the greatest damage of all the American ships and most of the Japanese ships that night. Three of the four destroyers were sunk, and the fourth destroyer, the USS Gwin, was heavily damaged.
The battleships begin to fire shortly afterwards. At 11:17 p.m., the Washington and South Dakota opened fire. However, the South Dakota was of little use, since the battleship was plagued with a series of problems and system malfuctions which would later eliminate it from the battle. The South Dakota would be the primary target for the ships. The American battleship sustained moderate damage before returning for repairs.
While the crew of the Kirishima was firing at the wounded battleship, the Washington slipped up alongside the Kirishima and fired devastating salvos of 5- and 16-inch shells into the side of the battleship at 12:05 a.m. In the next 7 minutes, the Kirishima was nearly totally devastated, and later sank. The Washington managed to sink the destroyer Ayanami before retiring from the battle.
Each side returned returned for repairs, with both sides suffering from heavy damage. The Japanese lost the second battleship of the war, the first being Hiei on November 13, only two days before the Kirishima was sent to the bottom of the same area. American forces lost three destroyers, with a fourth heavily damaged, and a battleship. While the battles demonstrated superior night-fighting tactics for the Japanese, the frequent conflicts were beginning to take their toll on both sides.
The Japanese had made the decision to abandon the losing battle in Guadalcanal. The now famous Tokyo Express was constantly making runs to drop off supplies and pick up soldiers. This job was given to Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka and 8 destroyers.
American ships are trying to stop the runs. Admiral Wright was in charge of the command of the task force, which was made up by nine ships, designated Task Force 67. These ships would be responsible for stopping any Japanese ships approaching Guadalcanal.
At 11:06 p.m. on November 30, 1942, the enemy destroyers are picked up on American radar. The radar operators work on picking targets, and at 11:16 p.m., the Japanese ships are 7,000 yards off and ships are requesting to fire torpedoes. Four minutes later, permission is given, and in the next minute, torpedoes are launched, and ships are firing with guns.
Admiral Tanaka’s destroyers realized that they had been discovered. Takanami was sunk by gunfire, but was the only Japanese ship damaged or sunk in the battle. The destroyers turned and fired torpedoes at the ships, by using the flashes of gunfire to aim. The deadly Long Lance torpedoes struck their targets soon after, with devastating results. Four of the the five cruisers were damaged, one of which was sunk, and the other three were heavily damaged. The light cruiser Honolulu was the only cruiser to escape damage by the deadly torpedoes.
The battle was over almost as suddenly as it had begun. The Japanese destroyers retreated after discovering the ambush, leaving behind them a massive arrangement of wrecked cruisers. The Japanese suffered minor difficulties compared to the American task force. This would be the last major naval conflict over the island of Guadalcanal.
The battle for Guadalcanal was one of the toughest battles for one island in World War Two. Worse battles would follow, but Guadalcanal helped to boost Allied morale and also protected the route between the United States and Australia, which was a major launching point for many of the battles in the Pacific War. Guadalcanal was one of the first battles of the Pacific War that the Allies were on the offensive, and from Guadalcanal on, the Allies would have a string of victories that eventually led to the victory through the new island-hopping campaign that was used.
Cruisers:Chokai(Damaged), Aoba, Kako(Sunk by S-44 while returning to New Ireland), Kinubasa, Tenryu, Furutaka, Yubari
Destroyers: Yunagi
Cruisers: Atlanta
Destroyers: USS Fletcher, USS Aaron Ward, USS Lardner, USS McCalla
Cruisers: HMAS Australia(Did not participate in battle), HMAS Canberra(Sunk), USS Chicago(Damaged), USS Vincennes(Sunk), USS Quincy(Sunk), USS Astoria(Sunk)
Destroyers: USS Patterson(Damaged), USS Bagley, USS Helm, USS Wilson, USS Blue, USS Ralph Talbot(Damaged)
Cruisers: Aoba(Damaged), Furutaka(Sunk), Kinugasa
Destroyers: Hatsuyuki, Fubuki(Sunk)
Cruisers: USS San Francisco, USS Boise(Damaged), USS Helena, USS Salt Lake City
Destroyers: USS McCalla, USS Farenholt(Damaged), USS Duncan(Sunk), Laffey, USS Buchanan
Battleship: Hiei(Sunk after battle) and Kirishima
Cruisers: Nagara
Destroyers Akatsuki(Sunk), Yudachi(Sunk), Amatsukaze(Damaged), Ikazuchi(Damaged), Murasame(Damaged), Harusame, Samidare, Asagumo, Inazuma
Cruisers: USS Portland(Damaged), USS San Francisco(Damaged), Atlanta(Sunk), USS Helena(Damaged), USS Juneau(Damaged)
Destroyers: USS Aaron Ward(Damaged), USS Barton(Sunk), USS Laffey(Sunk), USS Monnsen(Sunk), USS Cushing III(Sunk), USS Fletcher, USS O’Bannon, USS Sterett(Damaged)
Battleships: Kirishima(Sunk)
Cruisers: Nagara, Atago, Takao, Sendai
Destroyers: Ayanami(Sunk), Teruzuki, Hatsuyuki, Shirayuki, Asagumo, Samidare, Uranami, Shikinami
Battleships: South Dakota(Damaged) and Washington
Destroyers: Preston(Sunk), Walke(Sunk), Benham(Sunk), Gwin(Damaged)
Destroyers: Takanami(Sunk), Kagero, Naganami, Kuroshio, Oyashio, Suzukaze, Zuzukaze, Makinami
Cruisers: New Orleans(Damaged), Minneapolis(Damaged), Pensacola(Damaged), Northampton(Sunk), Honolulu
Destroyers: Fletcher, Perkins, Maury
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