The Naval Battles for Guadalcanal 1942

by Mark Stille

  Light cruiser Atlanta, shown here on October 25,1942 in the South Pacific, was a capable anti aircraft ship with her battery of 16 5in. dual-purpose guns, but her light armor made her ill-suited for a surface engagement. As the lead cruiser in the American column in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, she was taken under fire by both sides and also hit by a Type 93 torpedo. She sank the next evening off Lunga Point; 170 men of her crew were lost. (Naval History and Heritage Command, 80-G-266844)

  Callaghan’s hesitation meant he lost control of the battle and forced his command into a close-range free-for-all. Yudachi had spotted Cushing and issued a warning to Abe. Lookouts on Abe’s flagship, Hiei, spotted enemy ships at 10,000 yards. Abe ordered Hiei to use her searchlights to illuminate the American force, and light cruiser Nagara and destroyer Akatsuki followed suit. The lead American cruiser, Atlanta, attracted this unwanted attention and in response her captain ordered his forward batteries to engage the source of the light. The time was 0150hrs.

  This first gunfire opened what was the most vicious, close-quarter night engagement of the war. Twenty-seven ships found themselves engaged in a life-and-death struggle. The details of this action are hard to reconstruct, and will never be fully and accurately known.

  The ships in the van of each formation were immediately caught up in a maelstrom of gunfire. One of the most heavily engaged was Atlanta. Since she was the biggest object immediately available, a number of Japanese ships selected her as a target. At least Hiei, Nagara, Inazuma and Ikazuchi sent shells at the cruiser, which was still illuminated by searchlights. In the span of only a couple of minutes, the cruiser took some 32 hits. Minutes later, the burning Atlanta came under fire from San Francisco, the next cruiser in line behind Atlanta. Unfortunately, San Francisco shot accurately, scoring 19 8in. hits on Atlanta. Among those killed was Admiral Scott. Following this barrage, one of the 12 torpedoes launched from Inazuma and Ikazuchi found Atlanta at 0153hrs. The torpedo hit on her port side in the forward engine room and soon primary power was lost. Atlanta survived the night, but the flooding could not be contained, and the cruiser finally succumbed off Lunga Point at 2015hrs the next night. Of her crew of some 670 men, 172 were killed and another 79 wounded.

  Akatsuki was a member of the last group of Special Type destroyers. She participated in the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal during which she was quickly overwhelmed by American gunfire after unwisely using her searchlights. Akatsuki was apparently unable to employ her torpedoes in the battle, and was sunk with heavy loss of life. (Yamato Museum, 071774)

  Destroyer Cushing was a Mahan-class unit that fought at the battle of Santa Cruz in October and was then assigned to Callaghan’s force before the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. As the lead ship in the American column, she was quickly targeted by ships from both sides and struck by shells at least ten times. Her burning hulk sank the next afternoon with 72 of her crew dead or missing. This is Cushing on July 15, before the battle. (Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 97852)

  Before being knocked out of the fight, Atlanta was able to land blows against the Japanese. She was actually the first ship to open fire when at 0150hrs, her fast-firing 5in. mounts took Hiei under fire. Other mounts aboard Atlanta engaged Akatsuki, the lead destroyer in Abe’s starboard destroyer group and a visible target since she was using her searchlights on Atlanta. Helena joined in with her 6in. guns and San Francisco added to the deluge with her 8in. guns. Akatsuki was shattered by gunfire, knocked out of action, and shortly thereafter sank by the stern. Of her crew of some 200, there were only 18 survivors.

  As the lead Japanese battleship and the biggest target, Hiei received the most attention from the Americans. The lead two American destroyers, Cushing and Laffey each engaged Hiei with torpedoes and gunfire. Cushing fired a single torpedo and raked the battleship’s looming superstructure with 20mm fire. Laffey opened fire against Hiei’s pagoda superstructure with her 5in. main battery and smaller automatic weapons. She also fired five torpedoes at the battleship, but none hit or was able to arm at such a short distance. Laffey barely missed being rammed by Hiei and was so close the Japanese could not depress their guns far enough to engage the American ship. At such short range, the Americans hit their target with devastating effect. Abe and the Hiei’s captain were both wounded and Abe’s chief of staff killed. The next destroyer, Sterett also hit the battleship with many 5in. shells, and launched four more torpedoes at the battleship, without success. In return, Sterett was engaged by Japanese destroyer gunfire and knocked out in action. Destroyer Aaron Ward directed ten 5in. gun salvoes at the battleship.

  By 0156hrs, several levels of Hiei’s superstructure were aflame. The two American heavy cruisers, San Francisco and Portland, both selected the well-armored Hiei as their target. At one point, the two flagships, Hiei and San Francisco, were only 2,500 yards apart as they blasted away at each other. Both ships scored hits, but the Type 3 incendiary shells fired by Hiei failed to penetrate the cruiser’s armor. A total of between 28 and 38 8in. shells were estimated to have struck Hiei during the battle, but the most important, probably from San Francisco, struck the battleship at about 0154hrs on her starboard quarter and created a large hole in the hull. Significant amounts of water entered the ship as she maneuvered at high speed. The water entered the generator room, shorted it out, and as a result Hiei lost steering power. The captain switched to manual steering, and the ship was able to complete a turn to the north. Topside, the ship was in shambles from the 8in. shells and an estimated 70–74 5in. shells. With electrical power largely out and fire control equipment knocked out, the battleship’s primary and secondary guns were useless. However, since the damage was largely confined to above the waterline, and the ship was still able to make 10 knots, the Japanese had reason to believe Hiei would survive as she limped north out of the battle.

  Destroyer Laffey, shown here packed with survivors from carrier Wasp after the latter had been torpedoed on September 15, was the second ship in the American column at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. She began the battle by engaging Akatsuki with 5in. gunfire, and then shifted fire to battleship Hiei. Two of her torpedoes bounced off the battleship’s hull because they had been launched too close to arm. Her 5in. turrets raked the battleship’s superstructure, causing damage and personnel casualties. After avoiding a collision with Hiei, Laffey was engaged by three Japanese destroyers and battleship Kirishima, and then finished off by a Type 93 torpedo. For her fearless performance, Laffey earned a Presidential Unit Citation. (Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 97865)

  Amatsukaze, a member of the Kagero class, was a 2,000-ton destroyer equipped with six 5in. guns and eight torpedo tubes, and capable of high speed. At the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal she torpedoed and sank an American destroyer before being damaged by cruiser gunfire and forced to miss the rest of the campaign. (Yamato Museum, 071778)

  Hiei was able to deal punishing blows before she was forced out of the fight. Her 14in. and 6in. secondary batteries took San Francisco under fire and her main battery scored three hits on its third salvo. The cruiser’s superstructure was shattered and casualties were heavy. Admiral Callaghan and the San Francisco’s captain were killed; both were awarded posthumous Medals of Honor.

  The lead American destroyer group also suffered heavily. Cushing was taken under fire by light cruiser Nagara’s 5.5in. guns, and the veteran cruiser scored numerous hits, destroying Cushing’s guns and steering and leaving her without power. Minutes later, destroyers Asagumo and Marusame came across the crippled American destroyer as they belatedly joined the battle, and scored additional hits. Cushing’s skipper ordered the remaining crew to abandon ship. The ship sank with a loss of 59 killed and 56 wounded.

  Barton, shown here on her commissioning day May 29, 1942, had a short career. She was sunk by two torpedoes from Japanese destroyer Amatsukaze during the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Of her crew, 165 men were lost. (Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 97869)

  B
ehind Cushing was destroyer Laffey. After engaging Hiei at short range, at least three Japanese destroyers, Asagumo, Marusame and Samidare, combined their 5in. gunfire against Laffey and scored many hits. A torpedo, probably from Asagumo, hit Laffey aft and left the ship without propulsive power. A 14in. hit, probably from Hiei, finished off the destroyer. Loss of life was very heavy, and included her captain.

  Benson-class destroyer Monssen, shown here in May 1942 with carrier Enterprise, spent the first phase of the Guadalcanal campaign assigned to carrier screening duties. Present at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, she was pummeled by almost 40 shells and sank the next afternoon with the loss of 145 men of her crew. (Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 97817)

  After nearly colliding with the lead American destroyer at the start of the action, destroyer Yudachi had veered to port. At 0158hrs, Yudachi gained a solution against the American cruisers and fired a full torpedo salvo. One of these hit Portland on her starboard side aft, destroying the two starboard shafts and jamming her rudder in a starboard turn. The cruiser circled helplessly for the remainder of the action, but was able to fire four salvoes from her forward two turrets against Hiei.

  Destroyer Amatsukaze with her aggressive captain, jumped into the fray at 0154hrs with a full salvo of eight torpedoes. Their target was the rear group of four American destroyers. The lead Japanese destroyer, Yudachi, had cut in front of this column of four destroyers. Aaron Ward swerved to avoid a collision with the Japanese ship, and the next destroyer, Barton, had to stop to avoid a collision with Aaron Ward. Two of Amatsukaze’s torpedoes hit the stopped Barton, which quickly broke in two and sank at 0159hrs with the loss of all but 42 of her crew. In the span of less than ten minutes, two Japanese and six American ships had been sunk, were in the process of sinking, or were heavily damaged. At 0200hrs, the wounded Abe was forced to cancel the bombardment mission. He ordered a withdrawal to a position north of Savo Island. Nagara stood by the wounded Hiei, but Abe ordered Kirishima, which had taken only a single 8in. hit that caused little damage, to clear the area.

  Despite the fact that the Americans had fulfilled their mission of stopping the bombardment, and Abe had ordered a withdrawal, the deadly close-range combat between the intermingled warships continued. As Amatsukaze engaged San Francisco, Helena brought the destroyer under fire and knocked out her main guns and steering. Amatsukaze, with 43 dead crewmen, was forced to leave the battle.

  Destroyers Yukikaze and Teruzuki and cruiser Nagara engaged destroyer Monssen with gunfire after the American ship had launched an unsuccessful torpedo attack on Hiei and a gun attack on either Ikazuchi or Inazuma. The concerted and accurate Japanese gunfire soon brought Monssen to a halt. She sank with the loss of over half her crew.

  The last ship to be reduced to scrap was the Yudachi, which had played such an important role in breaking up the American formation at the start of the battle. At about 1220hrs, she engaged Sterett with Teruzuki, disabled the American ship and killed 28 of her crew. At about 0226hrs, Yudachi was hit by a single torpedo and brought to a stop. Other ships damaged during the night included Ikazuchi which took at least six hits, knocking out her forward 5in. mount and killing 21. Murasame suffered damage to her forward boiler room. In exchange, the destroyer hit Juneau at 0204hrs with a single torpedo that put the cruiser out of action. On the American side, Helena suffered minor gunfire damage from three 5in. hits.

  The next morning

  By daybreak, as the remaining operational ships from both sides were withdrawing, there were several cripples left afloat on Iron Bottom Sound. Portland, still circling as a result of rudder damage, sighted Yudachi at 12,500 yards and directed six 8in. salvoes in her direction at about 0430hrs. Yudachi rolled over and sank, but most of her crew was rescued by Samidare. At 0610hrs, Hiei spotted and engaged the crippled Aaron Ward at the range of about 26,000 yards. Hiei was able to straddle Aaron Ward on her third two-gun salvo, but the destroyer was not hit. The American ship was towed clear of the area after Hiei came under air attack and had to cease firing.

  The remaining American ships still able to maneuver, the damaged cruisers San Francisco, Helena and Juneau, joined by the damaged Sterett and the unscathed O’Bannon and Fletcher, were heading out of the area when a Japanese submarine spotted the column. At 1101hrs, submarine I-26 fired a spread of torpedoes at the withdrawing Americans. One torpedo hit Juneau, which caused a catastrophic magazine explosion sinking the 6,000-ton cruiser in seconds. Some 115 of her crew of almost 700 survived the explosion, but rescue efforts did not begin for days after the event. In the end, a total of ten crewmen survived her sinking. The total number of crewmen lost on Juneau was 683, a significant proportion of the 1,439 American sailors lost in this single action.

  With the arrival of daylight, the fate of the damaged Hiei still hung in the balance. Five destroyers were ordered to provide protection to the crippled battleship and Japanese fighters were able to provide sporadic air cover throughout the day, but with the battleship unable to maneuver effectively and Henderson Field so close, there was little reason for the Japanese to be optimistic about her survival. Up until 0600hrs, the ship moved slowly to the north until flooding forced the crew to abandon the manual steering compartment. This resulted in a wide starboard turn, which kept Hiei circling in the same spot. The air attacks began at 0615hrs and 70 sorties were flown throughout the day against Hiei. Abe ordered Kirishima to return to the area at 0930hrs and take Hiei under tow. The scope of American air attacks forced him to abandon this scheme later, and, at 1020hrs, he ordered Hiei’s captain, Nishida Masao, to beach the battleship. Nishida refused this order since his ship was in no immediate danger of sinking. The first series of air attacks mounted by Marine dive-bombers, torpedo bombers from Henderson Field and carrier Enterprise, and even B-17s from Espiritu Santo were ineffective.

  The First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13, 1942. The battle begins situation at 0150 hours

  Aaron Ward was a 2,060-ton Bristol-class destroyer commissioned in March 1942. This view of the ship was taken on August 17,1942 as she was screening carrier Wasp. The ship is in the Measure 12 (modified) camouflage scheme. On top of the mainmast is the SC radar and the radar fire control director is evident above the bridge for the battery of four 5in. guns. Aaron Ward was present at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal and was in the thick of the action. She engaged a Japanese destroyer with gunfire, but was struck by nine shells and lost steering and finally power. Towed to Tulagi, she survived the battle. In April 1943, she was sunk by Japanese air attack off Guadalcanal and her wreck was discovered in 1994. (Naval History and Heritage Command, 80-G-12263)

  A torpedo plane attack just after noon placed two torpedo hits on Hiei, but the ship was still in no danger of sinking and the crew continued work on an emergency rudder. At 1235hrs, Abe ordered Nishida to get his crew off the ship during the next lull, but again he refused. The efforts of Hiei’s crew seemed to be on the verge of success, with the fires being extinguished and progress made on pumping out the steering room. However, an attack at 1430hrs hit the battleship with two more torpedo hits on her starboard side. The ship developed a list and was down by the stern. All hope of repairing the steering was lost. An hour later, Abe ordered Nishida to abandon ship and this time the admiral remained firm in the face of protests. Despite the pounding she took, only 188 of Hiei’s crew were lost. Just as Abe was preparing to scuttle Hiei with destroyer torpedoes, orders were received from Yamamoto not to scuttle the ship so she could act as a decoy the next day to draw more American air attacks. Abe cleared the area at 1900hrs with his five destroyers, and when he returned at 0100 hrs, Hiei was gone, the first Japanese battleship to be lost during the war.

  The Americans had paid a high price, but their sacrifice meant that the Japanese bombardment of the airfield was turned back. This allowed the aircraft from Henderson Field to savage the large convoy. American losses totaled two light cruisers and four destroyers sunk; both heavy cruisers sustained severe dam
age. Callaghan lost the opportunity to exploit his early detection of the Japanese, but following this indecision ordered an advance straight into the Japanese force where his lighter ships could do damage to the Japanese battleships. Though most of Abe’s force was still combat ready after the battle, he had lost the action. Hiei was sunk, as well as destroyers Akatsuki and Yudachi. Amatsukaze and Ikazuchi were damaged and out of the fight, but Abe retained a second battleship, the redoubtable Nagara and seven combat-ready destroyers, most with their torpedoes still on board. His premature withdrawal cost the Japanese a chance for a greater tally of American ships.

  The battle builds

  As bloody as the encounter of the night of November 12–13 was, it did not bring a decision. In response to the failure of his first bombardment attempt, Yamamoto changed the arrival of the 11-ship convoy to the 14th. Supporting the arrival of the convoy was still Yamamoto’s primary objective and he ordered Kondo and Mikawa to renew efforts to bombard the airfield. The first attempt to do so resulted in failure. On the night of November 13–14, two of Kondo’s heavy cruisers, Maya and Suzuya, along with a light cruiser and four destroyers, entered Iron Bottom Sound and began to shell the airfield at 0130hrs on November 14. Though the force conducted the bombardment virtually unopposed and dispatched a total of 989 8in. shells at the target, the main airfield was missed. Only three aircraft were destroyed at the nearby auxiliary airfield, known as Fighter One. Mikawa had cautiously held back his two available heavy cruisers, Chokai and Kinugasa, from the bombardment in case the American fleet again intervened.