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SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT TYPES OF

THE GUADALCANAL CAMPAIGN

Combat Aircraft

U.S.

Bell P-39/P-400 Airacobra Fighter

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Heavy bomber

Consolidated B-24 Liberator Heavy bomber

Consolidated PBY Catalina Flying boat

Douglas SBD Dauntless Dive-bomber

Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter

Grumman TBF Avenger Torpedo bomber

Japan

Betty (Mitsubishi G4M Type 1) Medium bomber

Kate (Nakajima B5N Type 97) Torpedo bomber

Mavis (Kawanishi H6K Type 97) Flying boat

Val (Aichi D3A Type 99) Dive-bomber

Zeke (Mitsubishi A6M Type 0) Fighter

Rufe (Nakajima A6M2-N) Zeke floatplane variant

Combat Ships

BB Battleship CVL Light carrier

CA Heavy cruiser CVS Seaplane carrier

CL Light cruiser DD Destroyer

CLAA Antiaircraft cruiser DMS Destroyer-minesweeper

CV Aircraft carrier PT Patrol torpedo boat

NAVAL BATTLES OF

THE GUADALCANAL CAMPAIGN

AUGUST 9, 1942

The Battle of Savo Island

Allied losses: heavy cruisers Vincennes, Quincy, Astoria, HMAS Canberra sunk; heavy cruiser Chicago, destroyers Patterson and Ralph Talbot damaged

Japanese losses: heavy cruisers Chokai and Aoba damaged

Allied KIA: 1,077

AUGUST 24

The Battle of the Eastern Solomons

U.S. losses: carrier Enterprise damaged

Japanese losses: light carrier Ryujo sunk; light cruiser Jintsu damaged

U.S. KIA: 38

OCTOBER 11

The Battle of Cape Esperance

U.S. losses: destroyer Duncan sunk; heavy cruiser Salt Lake City, light cruiser Boise, and destroyer Farenholt damaged

Japanese losses: heavy cruiser Furutaka, destroyers Fubuki, Murakumo, and Natsugumo sunk; heavy cruiser Aoba damaged

U.S. KIA: 163

OCTOBER 25

The Battle of Santa Cruz

U.S. losses: carrier Hornet, destroyer Porter sunk; carrier Enterprise, battleship South Dakota, heavy cruiser Portland, AA cruiser San Juan, destroyers Smith, Hughes, and Porter damaged

Japanese losses: carriers Shokaku, Zuiho, cruiser Chikuma, and four destroyers damaged

U.S. KIA: 262

NOVEMBER 13

Cruiser Night Action (First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal)

U.S. losses: AA cruiser Atlanta, destroyers Cushing, Laffey, Barton, and Monssen sunk; heavy cruisers San Francisco and Portland and destroyers Aaron Ward and Sterett damaged; AA cruiser Juneau damaged and later sunk

Japanese losses: battleship Hiei, destroyers Akatsuki and Yudachi sunk; three destroyers damaged

U.S. KIA: 1,439

NOVEMBER 14–15

Battleship Night Action (Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal)

U.S. losses: destroyers Walke, Preston, and Benham sunk; battleship South Dakota and destroyer Gwin damaged

Japanese losses: battleship Kirishima, destroyer Ayanami sunk; heavy cruiser Atago damaged

U.S. KIA: 242

NOVEMBER 30

The Battle of Tassafaronga

U.S. losses: heavy cruiser Northampton sunk; cruisers Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Pensacola damaged

Japanese losses: destroyer Takanami sunk

U.S. KIA: 395

TOTAL NAVAL LOSSES AT GUADALCANAL

SOURCE NOTES

Unless otherwise indicated, all times mentioned in the narrative are local time on Guadalcanal, or GMT–11. American reports use three times zones variously, GMT, GMT–11, and GMT–12, which was local time in Fiji and New Zealand. Japanese reports use Tokyo time (GMT–9).

Note that 12 noon Greenwich Mean Time is 11 p.m. local (GMT–11) and midnight GMT–12.

Prologue: Eighty-two Ships

Battle lessons: USS Salt Lake City, “Report of Action of USS Salt Lake City Against Japanese Surface Naval Units, Night of October 11–12, 1942, Off Savo Island, Solomon Islands,” 26; COMINCH, “Battle Experience, October 1942,” 20–28. “They will live a long time”: Michener, Tales of the South Pacific, 3.

PART I:

Sea of Troubles

1: Trip Wire

“The Pacific: Of itself”: Courtney, “We Must Win the Pacific,” 67. Martin Clemens on Guadalcanal: Lord, Lonely Vigil, 22–23. “If I lose control”: Sears, “A Coastwatcher’s Diary.” Pacific strategy: Stoler, Allies in War, 79. “The air is saturated”: London, “The Terrible Solomons,” 78. Geography of southern Solomons, Commander, Naval Base Guadalcanal, “History of U.S. Naval Advanced Base Guadalcanal, 1942–1945,” 19; Soule, Shooting