Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
405411
225022350
2008-07-11T14:36:19Z
Fulliyo
7440701
/* Background */
{{FixBunching|beg}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
|conflict=Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
|partof=the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theater]] of [[World War II]]
|image=[[Image:Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.jpg|300px|[[Smoke]] rises from two Japanese [[aircraft]]]]
|caption=[[Smoke]] rises from two Japanese [[aircraft]] shot down off Guadalcanal on [[November 12]] [[1942]]. Photographed from [[USS President Adams (AP-38)|USS ''President Adams'']]; ship at [[relative direction|right]] is [[USS Betelgeuse (AK-28)|USS ''Betelgeuse'']].
|date=[[November 12]] [[1942]] – [[November 15]] [[1942]]
|place=[[Guadalcanal]], [[Solomon Islands]]
|result=Decisive [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] strategic victory
|combatant1='''[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces including:'''<br/>{{flag|United States|1912}}<br/>{{flag|Australia}}
|combatant2={{flag|Empire of Japan}}
|commander1={{flagicon|USA|1912|size=25px}} [[William Halsey, Jr]]<br/>{{flagicon|USA|1912|size=25px}} [[Daniel J. Callaghan|Daniel Callaghan]]†<br/>{{flagicon|USA|1912|size=25px}} [[Willis A. Lee]]
|commander2={{flagicon|Japan|naval}} [[Isoroku Yamamoto]]<br/>{{flagicon|Japan|naval}} [[Hiroaki Abe]]<br/>{{flagicon|Japan|naval}} [[Nobutake Kondo]]
|strength1=1 [[aircraft carrier|carrier]], <br/>2 [[battleship]]s, <br/>5 [[cruiser]]s, <br/>12 [[destroyer]]s
|strength2=2 battleships, <br/>8 cruisers, <br/>16 destroyers
|casualties1=2 cruisers,<br/>7 destroyers sunk,<br/>36 aircraft destroyed,<br/> 1,732 killed<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 490 and Lundstrom, ''Guadalcanal Campaign'', 523.</ref>
|casualties2=2 battleships,<br/> 1 cruiser, <br/>3 destroyers,<br/> 11 transports sunk,<br/> 64 aircraft destroyed,<br/>1,900 killed<ref> Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 490. Frank's breakdown of Japanese losses includes only 450 soldiers on the transports, "a figure no American flier would have believed," p. 462, but cites Japanese records for this number. <br/>Miller, in [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/GuadC/gc-07.htm ''Guadalcanal: The First Offensive'' (1948)], cites "USAFISPA, Japanese Campaign in the Guadalcanal Area, 29–30, estimates that 7,700 troops had been aboard, of whom 3,000 drowned, 3,000 landed on Guadalcanal, and 1,700 were rescued." Frank's number is used here instead of Miller. Aircraft losses from Lundstrom, ''Guadalcanal Campaign'', 522.</ref>
}}
{{FixBunching|mid}}
{{Campaignbox Guadalcanal}}
{{FixBunching|mid}}
{{Campaignbox Solomons}}
{{FixBunching|end}}
The '''Naval Battle of Guadalcanal''', sometimes referred to as the '''Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island''', the '''Battle of the Solomons''' or, in Japanese sources, as the {{Nihongo|'''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 engagement in a series of [[naval battle]]s between [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] (primarily [[United States]]) and [[Military of Japan|Imperial Japanese forces]] during the months-long [[Guadalcanal campaign]] in the [[Solomon Islands]]. The action consisted of combined air and sea engagements over four days, most near [[Guadalcanal]] and all related to a Japanese effort to reinforce land forces on the island.
Allied forces, primarily from the U.S., had landed on Guadalcanal on [[August 7]], [[1942]] and seized an airfield, later called [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]], that was under construction by the Japanese military. Several subsequent attempts by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Navy]], using reinforcements delivered to Guadalcanal by ship, to recapture the airfield failed. In early November 1942, the Japanese organized a transport convoy to take 7,000 infantry troops and their equipment to Guadalcanal to attempt once again to retake the airfield. To allow the convoy to approach the island and deliver its cargo, the Japanese navy sent several warship forces to bombard Henderson Field with the goal of destroying Allied aircraft stationed at the airfield that posed a threat to the troop convoy. Learning of the Japanese reinforcement effort, U.S. forces prepared to interdict the Japanese convoy and warships with aircraft and warship attacks.
In the resulting battle, both sides lost numerous warships in two extremely destructive nighttime surface engagements, with the U.S. suffering more warships sunk or heavily damaged than the Japanese. The U.S., however, was successful in turning back attempts by the Japanese to bombard Henderson Field with battleships. Air attacks by Allied aircraft also sank most of the Japanese troop transports and prevented the majority of the Japanese troops and equipment from reaching Guadalcanal. The battle turned back Japan's last major attempt to dislodge Allied forces from Guadalcanal and nearby [[Tulagi]], resulting in a [[military strategy|strategic]] [[Strategic victory|victory]] for the U.S. and its allies and deciding the ultimate outcome of the Guadalcanal campaign in favor of Allied forces.
== Background ==
The six-month [[Guadalcanal campaign]] began [[August 7]] [[1942]], when Allied forces (primarily U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and the [[Florida Islands]] in the [[Solomon Islands]], at the time a colonial possession of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|United Kingdom]]. The landings were meant to deny the islands' use by the Japanese as [[Military base|bases]] for threatening the [[materiel|supply]] routes between the U.S. and [[Australia]], and to secure them as starting points for a campaign to isolate the major [[Empire of Japan|Imperial Japanese]] military base at [[Rabaul]] and support of the Allied [[New Guinea campaign]]. The Japanese had [[Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942)|occupied Tulagi]] in May 1942 and began constructing an airfield on Guadalcanal in June 1942.<ref>Hogue, ''Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal'', p. 235–236.</ref>
By nightfall on [[August 8]], the 11,000 Allied troops [[Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo|secured Tulagi]], the nearby small islands and a Japanese airfield under construction at Lunga Point on Guadalcanal (later renamed Henderson Field). Allied aircraft operating out of Henderson were called the "[[Cactus Air Force]]" (CAF) after the Allied code name for Guadalcanal. To protect the airfield, the US Marines established a perimeter defense around Lunga Point. Additional reinforcements over the next two months later increased the number of US troops at Lunga Point to more than 20,000.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 14–15, Miller, ''Guadalcanal: The First Offensive'', p. 143, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 338. and Shaw, ''First Offensive'', p. 18.</ref>
In response, the Japanese [[Imperial General Headquarters]] assigned the Imperial Japanese Army's 17th Army, a [[corps]]-sized command based at Rabaul and under the command of Lieutenant-General [[Harukichi Hyakutake]], with the task of retaking Guadalcanal. Units of the 17th Army began to arrive on Guadalcanal on [[August 19]] to drive Allied forces from the island.<ref>Griffith, ''Battle for Guadalcanal'', p. 96–99, Dull, ''Imperial Japanese Navy'', p. 225, Miller, ''Guadalcanal: The First Offensive'', pp. 137–138.</ref>
Because of the threat by CAF aircraft based at Henderson Field, the Japanese were unable to use large, slow transport ships to deliver troops and supplies to the island. Instead, they used warships based at Rabaul and the [[Shortland Islands]]. The Japanese warships, mainly light [[cruiser]]s or [[destroyer]]s from the [[IJN 8th Fleet|Eighth Fleet]] under the command of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Gunichi Mikawa]], were usually able to make the round trip down "[[The Slot]]" to Guadalcanal and back in a single night, thereby minimizing their exposure to CAF air attack. Delivering the troops in this manner, however, prevented most of the soldiers' heavy equipment and supplies, such as heavy artillery, vehicles, and much food and ammunition, from being carried to Guadalcanal with them. These high speed warship runs to Guadalcanal occurred throughout the campaign and were later called the "[[Tokyo Express]]" by Allied forces and "Rat Transportation" by the Japanese.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 202, 210–211.</ref>
[[Image:HendersonField.jpg|250px|thumb|left|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 first Japanese attempt to recapture Henderson Field failed when a 917-man force was defeated on [[August 21]] in the [[Battle of the Tenaru]]. The next attempt took place from [[September 12]] through [[September 14]], ending in the defeat of the [[Kawaguchi Detachment|6,000 soldiers]] under the command of Major General [[Kiyotake Kawaguchi]] at the [[Battle of Edson's Ridge]].<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 141–143, 156–158, 228–246, & 681.</ref>
In October, the Japanese again tried to recapture Henderson Field by delivering 15,000 more [[Japanese Imperial Army|army]] troops, mainly from the [[2nd Division (Imperial Japanese Army)|2nd Infantry Division]], to Guadalcanal. In addition to delivering the troops and their equipment by Tokyo Express runs, the Japanese also successfully pushed through one large convoy of slower transport ships. Enabling the approach of the transport convoy was a nighttime bombardment of Henderson Field by two battleships on [[October 14]] that heavily damaged the airfield's runways, destroyed half of the CAF's aircraft, and burned most of the available aviation fuel. In spite of the damage, Henderson personnel were able to restore the two runways to service and replacement aircraft and fuel were delivered, gradually restoring the CAF to its pre-bombardment level over the next few weeks.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 315–3216, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 171–175, Hough, ''Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal'', p. 327–328.</ref>
The next Japanese attempt to retake the island with the newly arrived troops occurred from [[October 20]] to [[October 26]] and was defeated with heavy losses in the [[Battle for Henderson Field]].<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 337–367.</ref> At the same time, Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]] (the commander of the Japanese [[Combined Fleet]]) defeated U.S. naval forces in the [[Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands]], driving them away from the area. The Japanese carriers, however, were also forced to retreat because of losses to carrier aircraft and aircrews.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 134–135.</ref> Thereafter, Yamamoto's ships returned to their main bases at [[Chuuk|Truk]] in [[Micronesia]], where he had his headquarters, and Rabaul while three carriers returned to Japan for repairs and refitting.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 44–45.</ref>
The Japanese army planned another attack on Guadalcanal in November 1942, 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 from the 38th Infantry Division, their [[ammunition]], food, and heavy equipment from Rabaul to Guadalcanal. He also sent a warship support force from Truk on [[November 9]] that included two battleships. The two battleships, ''[[Japanese battleship Hiei|Hiei]]'' and ''[[Japanese battleship Kirishima|Kirishima]]'', equipped with special [[fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] [[Shell (projectile)|shells]], were to bombard Henderson Field on the night of [[November 12]] — [[November 13|13]] and destroy it and the aircraft stationed there in order to allow the slow, heavy transports to reach Guadalcanal and unload safely the next day.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 225–238, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 41–46. The eleven transport ships provided to carry the troops, equipment, and provisions included ''Arizona Maru'', ''Kumagawa Maru'', ''Sado Maru'', ''Nagara Maru'', ''Nako Maru'', ''Canberra Maru'', ''Brisbane Maru'', ''Kinugawa Maru'', ''Hirokawa Maru'', ''Yamaura Maru'', and ''Yamatsuki Maru''.</ref> The warship force was commanded from ''Hiei'' by recently-promoted Vice Admiral [[Hiroaki Abe]].<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 93.</ref>
[[Image:Solomons1942.gif|250px|thumb|right|The Solomon Islands. "The Slot" ([[New Georgia Sound]]) runs down the center of the islands, from Bougainville and the Shortlands (center) to Guadalcanal (lower right).]]
Because of the constant threat by Japanese aircraft and warships, it was difficult for Allied forces to resupply their forces on Guadalcanal, who were often under attack from Japanese land and sea forces in the area.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 28.</ref> In early November 1942, Allied [[Military intelligence|intelligence]] learned that the Japanese were preparing again to try to retake Henderson Field.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 37.</ref> Therefore, the U.S. sent Task Force 67, a large reinforcement and resupply convoy, split into two groups and commanded by [[Rear Admiral]] [[Richmond K. Turner]], to Guadalcanal on [[November 11]]. The supply ships were protected by two [[task group]]s, commanded by Rear Admirals [[Daniel J. Callaghan]] and [[Norman Scott]], and aircraft from [[Honiara International Airport|Henderson Field]] on Guadalcanal.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 79–80, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 38–39, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 227–233, 231–233, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 429–430. The American reinforcements totaled 5,500 men and included the 1st Marine Aviation Engineer Battalion, replacements for ground and air units, the 4th Marine Replacement Battalion, two battalions of the US Army's 182nd Infantry Regiment, and ammunition and supplies. The first transport group, TF 67.1, was commanded by Captain Ingolf N. Kiland and included [[USS McCawley (APA-4)|''McCawley'']], [[USS Crescent City (APA-21)|''Crescent City'']], [[USS President Adams (APA-19)|''President Adams'']], and [[USS President Jackson (APA-18)|''President Jackson'']]. The second transport group, part of TF 62.4, consisted of [[USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11)|''Betelgeuse'']], [[USS Libra (AKA-12)|''Libra'']], and [[USS Zeilin (APA-3)|''Zeilin'']].</ref> The transport ships were attacked several times on [[November 11]] and [[November 12]] near Guadalcanal by Japanese aircraft based at Buin, [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]], in the Solomons, but most were unloaded without serious [[damage]]. Twelve Japanese aircraft were shot down by [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] fire from the U.S. ships or by [[fighter aircraft]] flying from Henderson Field.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 432, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 50–90, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 229–230.</ref>
==First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13==
===Prelude===
Abe's warship force assembled {{convert|70|mi|km}} north of Indispensable Strait and proceeded towards Guadalcanal on [[November 12]] with an estimated arrival time for the warships of early morning, [[November 13]]. The convoy of slower transport ships and 12 escort destroyers, under the command of [[Raizo Tanaka]], began its run down "[[The Slot]]" (New Georgia Sound) from the Shortlands with an estimated arrival time at Guadalcanal sometime during the night of [[November 13]].<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 234, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 428, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 92–93. Morison lists only 11 destroyers in Tanaka's convoy escort group, namely: [[Japanese destroyer Hayashio|''Hayashio'']], [[Japanese destroyer Oyashio|''Oyashio'']], [[Japanese destroyer Kagero|''Kagero'']], [[Japanese destroyer Umikaze|''Umikaze'']], [[Japanese destroyer Kawakaze|''Kawakaze'']], [[Japanese destroyer Suzukaze|''Suzukaze'']], [[Japanese destroyer Takanami (1942)|''Takanami'']], [[Japanese destroyer Makinami (1942)|''Makinami'']], [[Japanese destroyer Naganami|''Naganami'']], [[Japanese destroyer Amagiri|''Amagiri'']], and [[Japanese destroyer Mochizuki|''Mochizuki'']]. Tanaka states that there were 12 destroyers (Evans, ''Japanese Navy'', p. 188).</ref> In addition to the two battleships, Abe's force included the [[light cruiser]] [[Japanese cruiser Nagara|''Nagara'']] and 11 [[destroyer]]s: [[Japanese destroyer Samidare|''Samidare'']], [[Japanese destroyer Murasame|''Murasame'']], [[Japanese destroyer Asagumo (1938)|''Asagumo'']], [[Japanese destroyer Teruzuki|''Teruzuki'']], [[Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze|''Amatsukaze'']], [[Japanese destroyer Yukikaze|''Yukikaze'']], [[Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi|''Ikazuchi'']], [[Japanese destroyer Inazuma|''Inazuma'']], [[Japanese destroyer Akatsuki|''Akatsuki'']], [[Japanese destroyer Harusame|''Harusame'']], and [[Japanese destroyer Yudachi|''Yudachi'']].<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 233–234, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 103–105. Rear Admiral [[Susumu Kimura]] commanded Destroyer Squadron 10, including ''Amatsukaze'', ''Yukikaze'', ''Akatsuki'', ''Ikazuchi'', ''Inazuma'', and ''Teruzuki'' from ''Nagara''. Rear Admiral [[Tamotsu Takama]] commanded Destroyer Squadron 4 which included ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', ''Samidare'', ''Yudachi'', and ''Harusame''.</ref> Three more destroyers ([[Japanese destroyer Shigure|''Shigure'']], [[Japanese destroyer Shiratsuyu|''Shiratsuyu'']], and [[Japanese destroyer Yugure|''Yugure'']]) would provide a rear guard in the [[Russell Islands]] during Abe's foray into "[[Ironbottom Sound]]" off the north coast of Guadalcanal.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 429.</ref> U.S. [[reconnaissance]] aircraft spotted the approach of the Japanese ships and passed a warning to the Allied command.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 235, Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 137.</ref> 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 [[seniority|senior]] to the more experienced Scott, and therefore was placed in overall command.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 83–85, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 236–237, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 92. Turner and the transport ships safely reached Espiritu Santo on [[November 15]].</ref> Callaghan prepared his force to meet the Japanese that night in the sound. His force comprised two [[heavy cruiser]]s ([[USS San Francisco (CA-38)|''San Francisco'']] and [[USS Portland (CA-33)|''Portland'']]), three [[light cruiser]]s ([[USS Helena (CL-50)|''Helena'']], [[USS Juneau (CL-52)|''Juneau'']], and [[USS Atlanta (CL-51)|''Atlanta'']]), and eight [[destroyer]]s: [[USS Cushing (DD-376)|''Cushing'']], [[USS Laffey (DD-459)|''Laffey'']], [[USS Sterett (DD-407)|''Sterett'']], [[USS O'Bannon (DD-450)|''O'Bannon'']], [[USS Aaron Ward (DD-483)|''Aaron Ward'']], [[USS Barton (DD-599)|''Barton'']], [[USS Monssen (DD-436)|''Monssen'']], and [[USS Fletcher (DD-445)|''Fletcher'']]. Admiral Callaghan commanded from ''San Francisco''.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 99–107.</ref>
During their approach to Guadalcanal, the Japanese force passed through a large and intense rain [[squall]] which, along with a complex [[Formation (military)|formation]] plus some confusing orders from Abe, split the formation into several groups.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 137–140, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 238–239.</ref> 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 [[radar|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]]. Callaghan did not issue a battle plan to his ship commanders.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 85, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 237, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 106–108. In Callaghan's column the distance between the destroyers and cruisers was {{convert|800|yd|m}}; between cruisers {{convert|700|yd|m}}; between destroyers {{convert|500|yd|m}}</ref>
===Action===
[[Image:NavalGuadalcanal1.gif|250 px|thumb|left|Approximate routes of Japanese force under Abe (red line) and U.S. force under Callaghan (black line) as they head towards each other early on [[November 13]] in [[Ironbottom Sound]] between Savo Island, Cape Esperance, and [[Lunga Point]] on Guadalcanal. The green area near Lunga Point on Guadalcanal marks the location of Henderson Field.]]At about 01:25 on [[November 13]], in almost complete pitch darkness because of the bad weather and [[Lunar phase|dark moon]], the ships of the Japanese force entered the sound between [[Savo Island]] and Guadalcanal and prepared to bombard Henderson Field.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 437–438.</ref> Several of the U.S. ships detected the Japanese ships on radar, beginning about 01:24, but had trouble communicating the information to Callaghan because of problems with their ship's radio equipment and lack of discipline with their [[communication]]s procedures.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 86–89, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 124–126, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 239–240.</ref><ref name="guadalcanal438">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 438.</ref> 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. ships and could not decide if he should momentarily withdraw to give his battleships time to change from bombardment ammunition to anti-ship ammunition or to continue onward. He decided to continue onward.<ref name="guadalcanal438" /><ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 140.</ref> Callaghan apparently intended to attempt to [[cross the T]] of the Japanese, as Scott had done at [[Battle of Cape Esperance|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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 89–90, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 239–242, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 129.</ref> Meanwhile, both forces' formations began to intermingle with each other as the individual ship commanders on both sides anxiously awaited permission to open fire.<ref name="guadalcanal438" />
[[Image:NavalGuadalcanalNov13.jpg|200px|thumb|right|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.<ref name="guadalcanal439">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 439.</ref>]]At 01:48, ''Akatsuki'' and ''Hiei'' turned on large [[searchlight]]s and lit up ''Atlanta'' only 3,000 yards (2.7 km) 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 (nautical)|port]]."<ref name="guadalcanal439" /> 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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 90–91, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 132–137, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 242–243.</ref> 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 [[Bar (establishment)|bar]]room [[brawl]] after the lights had been shot out".<ref name="guadalcanal441">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 441.</ref>
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'' was hit repeatedly and blew up and sank within a few minutes, but not before hitting ''Atlanta'' with shells and a [[type 93 torpedo]].<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 242–243, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 137–183, and Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 449. Only eight crewmen (out of a total complement of 197) (combinedfleet.com) survived the sinking of ''Akatsuki'' and were later [[Prisoner of war|captured]] by U.S. forces.</ref>
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 [[engine]]ering power.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 150–159.</ref> ''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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 96–97, 103, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 246–247, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 443.</ref> ''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.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 244, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 132–136.</ref>
''Hiei'', with her nine lit searchlights, 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 [[collision|colliding]] by 20 feet (6 m).<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 244, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 137–141. Jameson, ''The Battle of Guadalcanal'', 22 says, "Only by speeding up did the Laffey manage to cross the enemy's bows with a few feet to spare."</ref> ''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 {{convert|5|in|mm|sing=on}} shells and [[machine gun]] fire, causing heavy damage to ''Hiei''’s [[superstructure]] and [[Bridge (ship)|bridge]], wounding Admiral Abe, and killing his [[Chief of staff (military)|chief of staff]].<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 244, Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 146.</ref> Admiral Abe was thereafter limited in his ability to direct his ships for the rest of the battle.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 148.</ref> ''Sterett'' and ''O'Bannon'' likewise pumped several [[salvo]]s into ''Hiei''’s superstructure from close range, and perhaps one or two torpedoes into her [[hull (watercraft)|hull]], causing ''Hiei'' further damage, before both destroyers escaped into the darkness.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 142–149, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 244–245.</ref>
[[Image:Hiei1942.jpg|275px|thumb|left|[[Japanese battleship Hiei|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 (2.3 km) away.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 444.</ref> Along with ''Kirishima'', ''Inazuma'', and ''Ikazuchi'', the four ships made repeated hits on ''San Francisco'', disabling her steering control and killing Admiral [[Daniel J. Callaghan|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 shot and shell|armor-piercing]] ammunition. Nevertheless, ''San Francisco'', almost helpless to defend herself, managed to momentarily sail clear of the melee.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 160–171, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 247.</ref> 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.<ref>combinedfleet.com</ref> ''Helena'' followed ''San Francisco'' to try and protect her from further harm.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 234.</ref>
Two of the U.S. destroyers met a sudden demise. Either ''Nagara'' or the destroyers ''Teruzuki'' and ''Yukikaze'' came upon the drifting ''Cushing'' and pounded her with gunfire, knocking out all of her systems.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 246 and Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 146.</ref><ref name="guadalcanal441" /> Unable to fight back, ''Cushing''’s crew abandoned ship. ''Cushing'' sank several hours later.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 180–190.</ref> ''Laffey'', having escaped from her engagement with ''Hiei'', encountered ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', ''Samidare'', and, perhaps, ''Teruzuki''.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea''.</ref><ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 146–147.</ref> 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 [[Magazine (artillery)|magazines]] and she blew up and sank.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 244, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 191–201.</ref>
''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.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 247–248, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 172–178.</ref>
''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.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 144–146, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 249.</ref> ''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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 94, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 248, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 204–212.</ref>
''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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 95, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 249–250, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 213–225, 286.</ref>
[[Image:IronbottomSound.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Ironbottom Sound. The majority of the warship surface battle of [[November 13]] took place in the area between Savo Island (center) and Guadalcanal (left).]]''Amatsukaze'' approached ''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 [[broadside]]s at ''Amatsukaze'' from close range and knocked her out of the action. The heavily damaged ''Amatsukaze'' escaped under cover of a [[smoke screen]] and while ''Helena'' was distracted by an attack by ''Asagumo'', ''Murasame'', and ''Samidare''.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 449.</ref><ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 149.</ref>
''Aaron Ward'' and ''Sterett'', independently searching for targets, both sighted ''Yudachi'', who appeared unaware of the approach of the two U.S. destroyers.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 147.</ref> Both U.S. ships hit ''Yudachi'' simultaneously with gunfire and torpedoes, heavily damaging the destroyer and forcing her crew to abandon ship.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea''.</ref> The ship did not sink right away, however. Continuing on her way, ''Sterett'' was suddenly ambushed by ''Teruzuki'', heavily damaged, and forced to withdraw from the battle area to the east.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 246–249.</ref> ''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.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 250–256.</ref>
[[Robert Leckie]], a [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] private on Guadalcanal, described the battle:
{{Cquote|The star shells rose, terrible and red. Giant [[tracer ammunition|tracers]] flashed across the night in orange arches. ... the sea seemed a sheet of polished [[obsidian]] on which the warships seemed to have been dropped and were immobilized, centered amid [[concentric]] circles like shock waves that form around a stone dropped in mud.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'' p. 451, quoting Leckie's ''Helmet for my Pillow''.</ref>}}
After nearly 40 minutes of the 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.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 451.</ref> Admiral Abe 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). The U.S. had only one light cruiser (''Helena'') and one destroyer (''Fletcher'') that were still capable of effective resistance. Although perhaps unclear to Abe, the way was clear for him to bombard Henderson Field and finish off the U.S. naval forces in the area, clearing the way for the troops and supplies to be landed safely on Guadalcanal.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 449–450.</ref>
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. Much of the special bombardment ammunition had been expended in the battle. 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''.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 153.</ref> ''Samidare'' picked-up survivors from ''Yudachi'' at 03:00 before joining the other Japanese ships in the retirement northwards.<ref name="guadalcanal452">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 452.</ref>
===Aftermath===
[[Image:HieiB17Nov13.gif|265px|thumb|left|''Hiei'', trailing oil, is bombed by U.S. B-17 bombers from high altitude north of Savo Island on [[November 13]], [[1942]].]]At 03:00 on [[November 13]], Admiral Yamamoto postponed the planned landings of the transports, which returned to the Shortlands to await further orders.<ref name="guadalcanal452" /> 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.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 270.</ref> ''Amatsukaze'' was attacked by U.S. dive-bombers but escaped further damage as she headed 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.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 272.</ref> The [[tugboat]] [[USS Bobolink (AM-20)|''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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 98, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 454.</ref>
''Hiei'' was attacked repeatedly by Marine [[TBF Avenger]] torpedo planes from Henderson Field, TBFs and [[SBD Dauntless]] dive-bombers from [[USS Enterprise (CV-6)|''Enterprise'']], which had departed [[Noumea]] on [[November 11]], 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.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 79 and 97–100, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 298–308.</ref> 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]].<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 298–308, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 259–160. ''Enterprise'' and her escorting warships were designated Task Force 16 (TF16) and was commanded by Rear Admiral [[Thomas C. Kinkaid]]. TF16 consisted of ''Enterprise'' plus battleships [[USS Washington (BB-56)|''Washington'']] and [[USS South Dakota (BB-57)|''South Dakota'']], cruisers [[USS Northampton (CA-26)|''Northampton'']] and [[USS San Diego (CL-53)|''San Diego'']] and ten destroyers.</ref>
[[Image:portland.jpg|225px|thumb|right|''Portland'' undergoing repairs in dry dock in Sydney, Australia a month after the battle]]''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]].<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 274–275.</ref> Departing from the Solomon Islands area with ''San Francisco'', ''Helena'', ''Sterret'', and ''O'Bannon'' later that day, ''Juneau'' was torpedoed and sunk by [[Japanese submarine I-26|Japanese submarine ''I-26'']] ({{coor at dm|10|32|S|161|2|E|scale:3000000}}). ''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]].<ref>Kurzman, ''Left to Die'', Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 456, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 257, Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 101–103.</ref>
Because of the confused nature of the battle, the U.S. believed that they had sunk as many as seven Japanese ships.<ref>Jameson, ''The Battle of Guadalcanal'', 35.</ref> 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.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 399.</ref>
Nevertheless, most historians appear to agree that Abe's decision to retreat turned this tactical defeat into a strategic victory for the U.S. Henderson Field remained operational with attack aircraft ready to deter the slow Japanese transports from approaching Guadalcanal with their precious cargoes.<ref name="guadalcanal400">Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 400.</ref><ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 258.</ref> 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. 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. Shortly before noon, Yamamoto ordered Vice Admiral [[Nobutake Kondo]], commanding the Second Fleet at Truk, to form a new bombardment unit around ''Kirishima'' and attack Henderson Field on the night of [[November 14]]–[[November 15]].<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 401, Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 156.</ref>
Including the sinking of ''Juneau'', total U.S. losses in the battle were 1,439 dead. The Japanese suffered between 550 to 800 dead.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 459–460.</ref> Analyzing the impact of this engagement, historian [[Richard B. Frank]] states,
{{Cquote|This action stands without peer for furious, close-range, and confused fighting during the war. But the result was not decisive. The self-sacrifice of Callaghan and his task force had purchased one night's respite for Henderson Field. It had postponed, not stopped, the landing of major Japanese reinforcements, nor had the greater portion of the (Japanese) Combined Fleet yet been heard from."<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 461.</ref>}}
==Other actions, November 13–14==
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]], Tanaka and the 11 transports resumed their journey towards Guadalcanal. A Japanese force of cruisers and destroyers from the [[IJN 8th Fleet|8th Fleet]], based primarily at Rabaul and 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. The battleship ''Kirishima'', after abandoning its rescue effort of ''Hiei'' on the morning of [[November 13]], steamed north between [[Santa Isabel Island|Santa Isabel]] and [[Malaita Island]]s with her accompanying warships to rendezvous with Kondo's Second Fleet inbound from Truk to form the new bombardment unit.<ref>Evans, ''Japanese Navy'', p. 190, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 465, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 298–308, 312, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 259.</ref>
[[Image:AobaClassCruiser.jpg|250px|thumb|left|U.S. Navy recognition drawing for Japanese Aoba-class heavy cruisers which included ''Kinugasa''.]]The 8th Fleet cruiser force, under its commander, Vice Admiral [[Gunichi Mikawa]], included the heavy cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Chōkai|''Chōkai'']], [[Japanese cruiser Kinugasa|''Kinugasa'']], [[Japanese cruiser Maya|''Maya'']], and [[Japanese cruiser Suzuya|''Suzuya'']], light cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Isuzu|''Isuzu'']] and [[Japanese cruiser Tenryū|''Tenryū'']], and six destroyers. Mikawa's force was able to slip into the Guadalcanal area uncontested because the battered U.S. naval forces had withdrawn. ''Suzuya'' and ''Maya'', under the command of [[Shōji Nishimura]], 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).<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 108–109, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 234, 262, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 313, combinedfleet.com.</ref> The 35-minute bombardment caused some damage to various aircraft and facilities at the airfield but did not put it out of operation.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 316, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 263. One dive-bomber and 17 fighter aircraft were destroyed on Henderson Field by the bombardment.</ref> The cruiser force ended the bombardment around 02:30 on [[November 14]] and cleared the area to head towards [[Rabaul]] on a course south of the [[New Georgia]] island group.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 109, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 318.</ref>
At daybreak, aircraft from Henderson Field, Espiritu Santo, and ''Enterprise'', stationed {{convert|200|nmi|km|abbr=on}} 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 ''Kinugasa'', killing 511 of her crew, and damaged ''Maya'', forcing her to go to Japan for repairs.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 110, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 264–266, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 465, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 327, combinedfleet.com. An [[SBD Dauntless]] accidentally crashed into ''Maya'', killing 37 of her crewmen and causing heavy damage. ''Maya'' was under repair in Japan until [[January 16]], [[1943]]. ''Kinugasa'' sank 15-miles south of [[Rendova]] Island.</ref> Repeated air attacks on the transport force overwhelmed the escorting Japanese fighter aircraft, sank six of the transports, and forced one more to turn back with heavy damage (it later sank). Survivors from the transports were rescued by the convoy's escorting destroyers and returned to the Shortlands. A total of 450 army troops were reported to have perished.[[Image:KondoKirishimaNov14.jpg|240px|thumb|right|Kondo's bombardment force heads towards Guadalcanal during the day on [[November 14]]. Photographed from heavy cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Atago|''Atago'']], battleship ''Kirishima'' is in the center followed by heavy cruiser [[Japanese cruiser Takao|''Takao''.]]]] The remaining four transports and four 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.<ref>Evans, ''Japanese Navy'', p. 191–192, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 345, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 467–468, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 266–269, Jersey, ''Hell's Islands'', p. 446. In the attacks on the transports the US lost five dive bombers and two fighters and the Japanese lost 13 fighters. The transports sunk were ''Arizona'', ''Shinanogawa'', ''Sado'', ''Canberra'', ''Nako'', ''Nagara'', and ''Brisbane''. ''Canberra'' and ''Nagara'' were sunk first, with ''Sado'' forced to turn back for the Shortlands escorted by ''Amagiri'' and ''Mochizuki''. Next, ''Brisbane'' was sunk, followed by ''Shinanogawa'', ''Arizona'' and ''Nako''. The seven transports totaled 44,855 tons and carried a total of 20 anti-aircraft guns.</ref>
Kondo's ad hoc force rendezvoused at [[Ontong Java]] on the evening of [[November 13]], then reversed course and refueled out of range of Henderson Field's bombers on the morning of [[November 14]]. The US submarine [[USS Trout (SS-202)|''Trout'']] stalked but was unable to attack ''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 (SS-229)|''Flying Fish'']] which launched five torpedoes but scored no hits, then reported its contact by radio.<ref name="ontongjava"> {{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/Kirishima.htm| title = Senkan! IJN Kirishima: Tabular Record of Movement| format = | work = |publisher = combined fleet.com| accessdate = 27 Nov| accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 271, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 469, and footnote to Chapter 18, 735. Frank states that Morison attributed both submarine contacts to ''Trout'' but was in error.</ref>
==Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 14–15==
===Prelude===
[[Image:GuadalcanalMapNov14.gif|250px|thumb|left|First phase of the engagement, 23:17–23:30, [[November 14]]. Red lines are Japanese warship forces and black line is U.S. warship force.<ref name="guadalcanal474">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 474.</ref>]]To cover the unloading of the transports at Guadalcanal, the Japanese fleet made its third attempt to neutralize Henderson Field, sending the force of warships under Admiral Kondo through [[Indispensable Strait]] to bombard Guadalcanal on the night of [[November 14]]–[[November 15]]. The force included [[Japanese battleship Kirishima|''Kirishima'']], heavy cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Atago|''Atago'']] and [[Japanese cruiser Takao|''Takao'']], light cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Nagara|''Nagara'']] and [[Japanese cruiser Sendai|''Sendai'']], and nine destroyers, some of the destroyers being survivors (along with ''Kirishima'' and ''Nagara'') of the first night engagement two days prior. Kondo flew his flag in the cruiser ''Atago''.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 234, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 349–350, 415.
The complete Japanese order of battle: battleship [[Japanese battleship Kirishima|''Kirishima'']], heavy cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Atago|''Atago'']] and [[Japanese cruiser Takao|''Takao'']], light cruisers [[Japanese cruiser Nagara|''Nagara'']] and [[Japanese cruiser Sendai|''Sendai'']], and destroyers ''[[Japanese destroyer Hatsuyuki|Hatsuyuki]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Asagumo (1938)|Asagumo]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Teruzuki|Teruzuki]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Shirayuki|Shirayuki]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Inazuma|Inazuma]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Samidare|Samidare]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Shikinami (1929)|Shikinami]]'', ''[[Japanese destroyer Uranami (1928)|Uranami]]'', and ''[[Japanese destroyer Ayanami (1929)|Ayanami]]''. Rear Admiral [[Shintaro Hashimoto]] commanded Destroyer Squadron 3, consisting of ''Uranami'', ''Shikiname'', and ''Ayanami'' from ''Sendai''.</ref> The force approached Guadalcanal around midnight, and a quarter moon provided moderate visibility of about seven kilometers.<ref>Evans, ''Japanese Navy'', p. 193, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 351, 361.</ref>
Low on undamaged ships, Admiral [[William Halsey, Jr.]], detached the new battleships [[USS Washington (BB-56)|''Washington'']] and [[USS South Dakota (BB-57)|''South Dakota'']], of ''Enterprise''’s support group, together with four destroyers, as Task Force 64 under Admiral [[Willis A. Lee]] to defend Guadalcanal and Henderson Field. It was a scratch force; the battleships had only operated together for a few days, and their four escorts were from four different divisions—chosen simply because, of the available destroyers, they had the most fuel.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 270–272, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 351–352, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 470.</ref> The U.S. force arrived in Ironbottom Sound in the evening of [[November 14]] and began patrolling around Savo Island. The U.S. warships were in column formation with the four destroyers in the lead, followed by ''Washington'', with ''South Dakota'' bringing up the rear. At 22:55 on [[November 14]], radar on the ''South Dakota'' and ''Washington'' began to detect Kondo's oncoming ships near Savo Island around 18,000 m range.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 352, 363, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 270–272.</ref>
===Action===
Kondo split his force into several groups, with one group, commanded by [[Shintaro Hashimoto]] and consisting of ''Sendai'' and destroyers [[Japanese destroyer Shikinami (1929)|''Shikinami'']] and [[Japanese destroyer Uranami (1928)|''Uranami'']] ("C" on the maps), sweeping along the east side of Savo Island, and destroyer [[Japanese destroyer Ayanami (1929)|''Ayanami'']] ("B" on the maps) sweeping counterclockwise around the southwest side of Savo Island to check for the presence of Allied ships.<ref>Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 234, 273–274, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 473.</ref> The Japanese ships spotted Lee's force around 23:00, though Kondo misidentified the battleships as cruisers. Kondo ordered the ''Sendai'' group of ships, plus ''Nagara'' and four destroyers ("D" on the maps) to engage and destroy the U.S. force before he brought the bombardment force of ''Kirishima'' and heavy cruisers ("E" on the maps) into Ironbottom Sound.<ref name="guadalcanal474" /> The U.S. ships ("A" on the maps) detected the ''Sendai'' force on radar but did not detect the other groups of Japanese ships. Using radar targeting, the two U.S. battleships opened fire on the ''Sendai'' group at 23:17. Admiral Lee ordered a cease fire about five minutes later after the radar returns on the northern group appeared to disappear from his ship's radar scopes. However, ''Sendai'', ''Uranami'', and ''Shikinami'' were undamaged and circled out of the danger area.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 116–117, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 274, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 362–364, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 475.</ref>
[[Image:GuadalcanalMap2.gif|250px|thumb|right|Second phase of the engagement, 23:30–02:00. Red lines are Japanese warship forces and black lines are U.S. warships. Numbered yellow dots represent sinking warships.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 480.</ref>]]Meanwhile, the four U.S. destroyers in the vanguard of the U.S. formation began engaging both ''Ayanami'' and the ''Nagara'' group of ships at 23:22. ''Nagara'' and her escorting destroyers responded effectively with accurate gunfire and torpedoes, and destroyers [[USS Walke (DD-416)|''Walke'']] and [[USS Preston (DD-379)|''Preston'']] were hit and sunk within 10 minutes with heavy loss of life. The destroyer [[USS Benham (DD-397)|''Benham'']] had part of her bow blown off by a torpedo and had to retreat (she sank the next day), and destroyer [[USS Gwin (DD-433)|''Gwin'']] was hit in her engine room and put out of the fight.<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 118–121, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 475–477, Morison, ''Struggle for Guadalcanal'', p. 274–275, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 368–383.</ref> However, the U.S. destroyers had completed their mission as screens for the battleships, absorbing the initial impact of contact with the enemy, although at great cost.<ref name="guadalcanal478">Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 478.</ref> Lee ordered the retirement of ''Benham'' and ''Gwin'' at 23:48.<ref name="guadalcanal478" />
''Washington'' passed through the area still occupied by the damaged and sinking U.S. destroyers and fired on ''Ayanami'' with her secondary batteries, setting her afire. Following close behind, ''South Dakota'' suddenly suffered a series of electrical failures, reportedly during repairs when her chief engineer locked down a [[circuit breaker]] in violation of safety procedures, causing her circuits repeatedly to go into [[Series and parallel circuits|series]], making her radar, radios, and most of her gun batteries inoperable. However, she continued to follow ''Washington'' towards the western side of Savo Island until 23:35, when ''Washington'' changed course left to pass to the southward behind the burning destroyers. ''South Dakota'' tried to follow but had to turn to right to avoid
''Benham'' which resulted in the ship being silhouetted by the fires of the burning destroyers and made her a closer and easier target for the Japanese.<ref>Lippman, ''Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal'', Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 477–478, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 384–385, Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 275–277.</ref>
Receiving reports of the destruction of the U.S. destroyers from ''Ayanami'' and his other ships, Kondo pointed his bombardment force towards Guadalcanal, believing that the U.S. warship force had been defeated. His force and the two U.S. battleships were now heading towards each other.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 479.</ref>
Almost blind and unable to effectively fire her main and secondary armament, ''South Dakota'' was illuminated by searchlights and targeted by gunfire and torpedoes by most of the ships of the Japanese force, including ''Kirishima'', beginning about 00:00 on [[November 15]]. Although able to score a few hits on ''Kirishima'', ''South Dakota'' took 25 medium and one large-caliber hit, some of which did not explode, that completely knocked out her communications and remaining gunfire control operations, set portions of her upper decks on fire, and forced her to try to steer away from the engagement. All of the Japanese torpedoes missed.<ref>Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 277–279, [http://www.dcfp.navy.mil/mc/museum/War_Damage/57.pdf Scan of original report]. The "Gunfire Damage Report" made by the [[Bureau of Ships]] showed 26 damaging hits and can be found at [http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/57b.htm 6th and succeeding photos], Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 385–389.</ref> Admiral Lee later described the cumulative effect of the gunfire damage to ''South Dakota'' as to, "render one of our new battleships deaf, dumb, blind, and impotent."<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 480.</ref> ''South Dakota'''s crew casualties were 39 killed and 59 wounded, and she turned away from the battle at 00:17 without informing Admiral Lee, though observed by Kondo's lookouts.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 482.</ref><ref>Lippman, ''Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal'', 9. Lee stated he felt "relief", but Capt. Davis of ''Washington'' said ''South Dakota'' "pulled out" without a word.</ref>
[[Image:NavalGuadalcanalWashington.jpg|250px|thumb|left|''Washington'' fires upon ''Kirishima'' during the battle on [[November 15]]. The low elevation of the gun barrels is because of the relatively close range of the two adversaries.<ref>NavSource.com</ref>]]The Japanese ships continued to concentrate their fire on ''South Dakota'' and none detected ''Washington'' approaching to within 9,000 yards (8 km). ''Washington'' was tracking a large target (''Kirishima'') for some time but refrained from firing since there was a chance it could be ''South Dakota''. ''Washington'' had not been able to track ''South Dakota''’s movements because she was in a blind spot in the ''Washington''’s radar and Lee could not raise her on the radio to confirm her position. When the Japanese illuminated and fired on ''South Dakota'', all doubts were removed as to which ships were friend or foe. From this close range, ''Washington'' opened fire and quickly hit ''Kirishima'' with at least nine main battery shells and almost forty secondary ones, causing heavy damage and setting her aflame. ''Kirishima'' was hit below the waterline and suffered a jammed rudder, causing her to circle uncontrollably to [[port (nautical)|port]].<ref>Kilpatrick, ''Naval Night Battles'', p. 123–124, Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 278, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 388–389, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 481.</ref>
At 00:25 Kondo ordered all of his ships that were able to converge and destroy any remaining U.S. ships. However, the Japanese ships still did not know where ''Washington'' was located, and the other surviving U.S. ships had already departed the battle area. ''Washington'' steered a northwesterly course towards the [[Russell Islands]] to draw the Japanese force away from Guadalcanal and the presumably damaged ''South Dakota''. The Japanese ships finally sighted ''Washington'' and launched several torpedo attacks, but by adroit maneuvering by her captain, ''Washington'' avoided all of them and also avoided grounding his ship in shallow waters. At length, believing that the way was clear for the transport convoy to proceed to Guadalcanal (but apparently disregarding the threat of air attack in the morning), Kondo ordered his remaining ships to break contact and retire from the area about 01:04, which most of the Japanese warships complied with by 01:30.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 483–484.</ref>
===Aftermath===
Both ''Kirishima'' and ''Ayanami'' were [[scuttling|scuttled]] and sank by 03:25, [[November 15]].<ref>Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 281, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 391.</ref> ''Uranami'' rescued survivors from ''Ayanami'' and destroyers ''Asagumo'', ''Teruzuki'', and ''Samidare'' rescued the remaining crew from ''Kirishima''.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 484, ''Atago'', ''Takao'', and ''Nagara'' returned to Japan for repairs, with all three being out of action for about one month. ''Chōkai'' was repaired at Truk and returned to Rabaul on [[December 2]], [[1942]]. (combinedfleet.com). ''Gwin'' and ''South Dakota'' were repaired and returned to action a few months later: ''Gwin'' in April, 1943, and ''South Dakota'' in February, 1943.</ref> In the engagement, 242 U.S. and 249 Japanese sailors died.<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 486.</ref> The engagement was one of only two battleship-against-battleship surface battles in the entire Pacific campaign of World War II, the other being at the [[Battle of Surigao Strait|Surigao Strait]] during the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].
[[Image:BeachedTransports.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Two Japanese transports beached on Guadalcanal and burning on [[November 15]]]]The four Japanese transports beached themselves at Tassafaronga on Guadalcanal by 04:00, [[November 15]] and Tanaka and the escort destroyers departed and raced back up the Slot towards safer waters. The transports were attacked, beginning at 05:55 by U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field and elsewhere, and field artillery from U.S. ground forces on Guadalcanal. Later, destroyer [[USS Meade (DD-602)|''Meade'']] approached and opened fire on the beached transports and surrounding area. These attacks set the transports afire and destroyed any equipment on them that the Japanese had not managed to quickly unload. Only 2,000–3,000 of the troops originally embarked actually made it to Guadalcanal, and most of their ammunition and food supplies were lost.<ref>Evans, ''Japanese Navy'', p. 195–197, Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 282–284, Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 394–395, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', 488–490, Jersey, ''Hell's Islands'', p. 307–308. Morison and Jersey state that 2,000 Japanese soldiers landed with 260 cases of ammunition and 1,500 bags of rice. Lost were provisions for 30,000 men for 20 days, 22,000 artillery shells, thousands of cases of small-arms ammunition, and 76 large and seven small landing craft. Realizing that the transports wouldn't have enough time to unload before daybreak, Tanaka asked permission to run them aground. Mikawa rejected his request, but Kondo accepted it, so Tanaka ordered the transport captains to run their ships aground. The American artillery that shelled the beached transports was from the 244th Coast Artillery Battalion and 3rd Defense Battalion, including two 155mm guns and several 5-inch guns.</ref>
Yamamoto's reaction to Kondo's failure to accomplish his mission of neutralizing Henderson Field and ensuring the safe landing of troops and supplies was milder than his earlier reaction to Abe's withdrawal, perhaps because of Imperial Navy culture and politics. Kondo, who also held the position of second in command of the Combined Fleet, was a member of the upper staff and battleship "clique" of the Imperial Navy while Abe was a career destroyer specialist. Admiral Kondo was not reprimanded or reassigned but instead was left in command of one of the large ship fleets based at Truk.<ref>Hara, ''Japanese Destroyer Captain'', 157, 171.</ref>
==Significance==
The failure to deliver to Guadalcanal most of the troops and supplies in the convoy prevented the Japanese from launching another offensive to retake Henderson Field. Thereafter, the Japanese Navy was only able to deliver subsistence supplies and a few replacement troops to Japanese Army forces on Guadalcanal. Because of the continuing threat from Allied aircraft based at Henderson Field, plus nearby U.S. [[aircraft carriers]], the Japanese had to continue to rely on Tokyo Express warship deliveries to their forces on Guadalcanal. However, these supplies and replacements were not enough to sustain Japanese troops on the island, who by [[December 7]], [[1942]], were losing about 50 men each day from malnutrition, disease, and Allied ground or air attacks. On [[December 12]], the Japanese Navy proposed that Guadalcanal be abandoned. Despite opposition from Japanese Army leaders, who still hoped that Guadalcanal could eventually be retaken from the Allies, Japan's [[Imperial General Headquarters]], with approval from the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]], on [[December 31]], [[1942]], agreed to the evacuation of all Japanese forces from the island and establishment of a new line of defense for the Solomons on [[New Georgia]].<ref>Dull, ''Imperial Japanese Navy'', p. 261, Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', p. 527, Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 286–287.</ref>
[[Image:KinugawaMaru1.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The wreck of one of the four Japanese transports beached and destroyed at Guadalcanal on [[November 15]], [[1942]], photographed one year later.]]
{{Commons|Naval Battle of Guadalcanal}}
Thus, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal was the last major attempt by the Japanese to seize control of the seas around Guadalcanal or to retake the island. In contrast, the U.S. Navy was thereafter able to resupply the U.S. forces at Guadalcanal at will, including the delivery of two fresh divisions by late December 1942. The inability to neutralize Henderson Field doomed the Japanese effort to successfully combat the Allied conquest of Guadalcanal.<ref name="guadalcanal400" /> The last Japanese resistance in the Guadalcanal campaign ended on [[February 9]], [[1943]], with the successful evacuation of most of the surviving Japanese troops from the island by the Japanese navy in [[Operation Ke]]. Building on their success at Guadalcanal and elsewhere, the Allies continued their campaign against Japan, ultimately culminating in Japan's defeat and the end of World War II. U.S. [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin Roosevelt]], upon learning of the results of the battle commented, "It would seem that the turning point in this war has at last been reached."<ref>Frank, ''Guadalcanal'', pp. 428–92, Dull, ''Imperial Japanese Navy'', pp. 245–69, Morison, ''The Struggle for Guadalcanal'', 286–287.</ref>
[[Historian]] [[Eric M. Hammel|Eric Hammel]] sums up the significance of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal this way:
{{Cquote|On November 12, 1942, the (Japanese) Imperial Navy had the better ships and the better tactics. After November 15, 1942, its leaders lost heart and it lacked the strategic depth to face the burgeoning U.S. Navy and its vastly improving weapons and tactics. The Japanese never got better while, after November 1942, the U.S. Navy never stopped getting better.<ref>Hammel, ''Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea'', 402.</ref>}}
General [[Alexander Vandegrift]], the commander of the troops on Guadalcanal, paid tribute to the sailors who fought the battle:
{{Cquote|We believe the enemy has undoubtedly suffered a crushing defeat. We thank Admiral Kinkaid for his intervention yesterday. We thank Lee for his sturdy effort last night. Our own aircraft has been grand in its relentless hammering of the foe. All those efforts are appreciated but our greatest homage goes to Callaghan, Scott and their men who with magnificent courage against seemingly hopeless odds drove back the first hostile attack and paved the way for the success to follow. To them the men of Cactus lift their battered helmets in deepest admiration. <ref> The wording varies slightly from source to source: [http://www.destroyerhistory.org/goldplater/usscushing.html USS Cushing], [http://www.vectorsite.net/tw2guad_2.html#m5 LATE NOVEMBER 1942 TO FEBRUARY 1943: THE ENDGAME], [http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/4072/commendation.html Commendations for the Men who fought in the Naval Battle for Guadalcanal on November 13th, 1942.], [http://www.usshelena.org/communiques.html Communiqués ]</ref>}}
== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}
==References==
*{{cite book
| last = Dull
| first = Paul S.
| authorlink =
| year = 1978
| chapter =
| title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Evans
| first = David C. (Editor)
| authorlink =
| coauthors = [[Raizo Tanaka]]
| year = 1986 (2nd Edition)
| chapter = The Struggle for Guadalcanal
| title = The Japanese Navy in World War II: In the Words of Former Japanese Naval Officers
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location = Annapolis, Maryland
| id = ISBN 0-87021-316-4
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Frank
| first = Richard B.
| authorlink = Richard B. Frank
| year = 1990
| title = Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle
| publisher = [[Penguin Group]]
| location = New York
| id = ISBN 0-14-016561-4
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Hammel
| first = Eric
| authorlink = Eric M. Hammel
| year = 1988
| title = Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13–15, 1942
| publisher = Pacifica Press
| location = (CA)
| id = ISBN 0-517-56952-3
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Hara
| first = Tameichi
| authorlink = Tameichi Hara
| year = 1961
| chapter = Part Three, The "Tokyo Express"
| title = Japanese Destroyer Captain
| publisher = [[Ballantine Books]]
| location = New York & Toronto
| id = ISBN 0-345-27894-1
}}- Firsthand account of the first engagement of the battle by the captain of the Japanese destroyer [[Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze|''Amatsukaze'']].
*{{cite web
| last = Jameson
| first = Colin G.
| year = 1944
| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/USN-CN-Guadalcanal/index.html
| title = The Battle of Guadalcanal, 11–15 November 1942
| format =
| work =
| publisher = Publications Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy (somewhat inaccurate on details, since it was written during the war)
| accessdate = 2006-04-08
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Jersey
| first = Stanley Coleman
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| year = 2008
| chapter =
| title = Hell's Islands: The Untold Story of Guadalcanal
| publisher = Texas A&M University Press
| location = [[College Station]], [[Texas]]
| id = ISBN 1-58544-616-5
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Kilpatrick
| first = C. W.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| year = 1987
| chapter =
| title = Naval Night Battles of the Solomons
| publisher = Exposition Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-682-40333-4
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Kurzman
| first = Dan
| year = 1994
| title = Left to Die: The Tragedy of the USS Juneau
| publisher = [[Pocket Books]]
| location = New York
| id = ISBN 0-671-74874-2
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Lippman
| first = David H.
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.historynet.com/air_sea/naval_battles/3026056.html?page=6&c=y
| title = Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Turning Point in the Pacific War
| work = The HistoryNet.com
| publisher = World War II magazine
| accessdate = 2006-11-26
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lundstrom
| first = John B.
| coauthors =
| year = 2005 (New edition)
| chapter =
| title = First Team And the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 1-59114-472-8
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Morison
| first = Samuel Eliot
| authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
| coauthors =
| year = 1958
| chapter = The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12–15 November 1942
| title = The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943'', vol. 5 of ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]
| publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]]
| location = Boston
| id = ISBN 0-316-58305-7
}}
==External links==
*{{cite web
| last = Chen
| first = C. Peter
| year = 2004–2006
| url = http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=9
| title = Guadalcanal Campaign
| work = World War II Database
| accessdate = 2006-05-17
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Hough
| first = Frank O.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Ludwig, Verle E., and Shaw, Henry I., Jr.
| date =
| year =
| month =
| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/I/index.html
| title = Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal
| format =
| work = History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II
| pages =
| publisher =
| language =
| accessdate = 2006-05-16
| accessyear =
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Lippman
| first = David H.
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.historynet.com/air_sea/naval_battles/3026026.html
| title = Battle of Guadalcanal: First Naval Battle in the Ironbottom Sound
| work = The HistoryNet.com
| publisher = World War II magazine
| accessdate = 2006-11-26
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Miller, Jr.
| first = John
| year = 1948
| url = http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/wwii/GuadC/gc-07.htm
| title = "Decision at Sea", chap. 7, Guadalcanal: The First Offensive
| work = UNITED STATES ARMY IN WORLD WAR II, The War in the Pacific
| accessdate = 2006-05-02
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Mohl
| first = Micahel
| year = 1996–2006
| url = http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/57b.htm
| title = BB-57 USS SOUTH DAKOTA 1942 – Guadalcanal
| work = NavSource Online
| publisher = NavSource Naval History
| accessdate = 2006-04-08
}}
*{{cite web
| last = Tully
| first = Anthony P.
| year = 1997
| url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/atully03.htm
| title = Death of Battleship HIEI: Sunk by Gunfire or Air Attack?
| accessdate= 2006-05-03
}}Article on the battle of Friday the 13th that gives additional details to demise of ''Hiei''
*{{cite web
| last = Wright
| first = Howard F.
| year = 1998–2006
| url = http://www.usswashington.com/index.htm
| title = Battleship USS Washington BB56
| work = USSWashington.com
| publisher = USS Washington BB56 Associate Unit, Inc.
| accessdate = 2006-05-19
}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book
| last = Calhoun
| first = C. Raymond
| authorlink =
| year = 2000
| chapter =
| title = Tin Can Sailor: Life Aboard the USS Sterett, 1939–1945
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 1-55750-228-5
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Coombe
| first = Jack D.
| authorlink =
| year = 1991
| title = Derailing the Tokyo Express
| publisher = Stackpole
| location = Harrisburg, PA
| id = ISBN 0-8117-3030-1
}}
*{{cite book
| last = D'Albas
| first = Andrieu
| authorlink =
| year = 1965
| title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
| publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Generous
| first = William Thomas, Jr.,
| year = 2003
| title = Sweet Pea at War: A History of USS Portland (CA-33)
| publisher = University Press of Kentucky
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-8131-2286-4
}} Online views of selections of the book:[http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0813191211]
*{{cite book
| last = Grace
| first = James W.
| year = 1999
| title = Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Night Action, [[13 November]] [[1942]]
| publisher = [[United States Naval Institute|Naval Institute Press]]
| location = [[Annapolis]], [[Maryland]]
| id = ISBN 1-55750-327-3
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Lacroix
| first = Eric
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Linton Wells
| year = 1997
| chapter =
| title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
}}
*{{cite book
| last = McGee
| first = William L.
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| year = 2002
| chapter =
| title = The Solomons Campaigns, 1942–1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville—Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII)
| publisher = BMC Publications
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-9701678-7-3
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Parkin
| first = Robert Sinclair
| authorlink =
| year = 1995
| title = Blood on the Sea: American Destroyers Lost in World War II
| publisher = Da Capo Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 0-306-81069-7
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Stafford
| first = Edward P.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Paul Stillwell (Introduction)
| year = 2002 (reissue)
| chapter =
| title = The Big E: The Story of the USS Enterprise
| publisher = Naval Institute Press
| location =
| id = ISBN 1-55750-998-0
}}
{{featured article}}
[[Category:Battles involving Australia]]
[[Category:Pacific Ocean theater of World War II]]
[[Category:History of the Solomon Islands]]
[[Category:Military history of Japan during World War II]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving Japan]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1942]]
[[Category:1942 in Japan]]
{{Link FA|es}}
[[bg:Морска битка при Гуадалканал]]
[[cs:Námořní bitva u Guadalcanalu]]
[[de:Seeschlacht von Guadalcanal]]
[[es:Batalla naval de Guadalcanal]]
[[fr:Bataille navale de Guadalcanal]]
[[he:הקרב הימי על גוודלקנל]]
[[ja:第三次ソロモン海戦]]
[[pl:I bitwa pod Guadalcanalem]]
[[ru:Морское сражение за Гуадалканал]]
[[zh:瓜達爾卡納爾海戰]]