The Battle of Eastern Solomon Sea
    Aug 24, 1942
    Saving Guadalcanal

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    The Japanese underestimated the number of Americans on Guadalcanal but could not underestimate the need to remove them. Major elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy were sent to escort only 1,500 troops, which was thought to be sufficient to destroy the Marines on the island and any defending naval force as easily as they had destroyed the screening force at Savo Island.

    The Imperial fleet comprised three carriers : both remaining fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku and light carrier Ryujo ; three battleships : Mutsu, Hiel and Kirishima ; 13 heavy cruisers ; 3 light cruisers ; seaplane carrier Chitose ; and 31 destroyers.
    These were escorting auxiliary cruiser Kinryu Maru with Naval Landing Force of 800 men and four APDs with an army detachment of 700 soldiers.  Land air support was 100 operational aircraft ; underwater were 10 submarines.

    The American defenders under VAdm Fletcher had three fleet carriers: Saratoga (CV-3), Enterprise (CV-6), and Wasp (CV-7)1 ; one battleship, North Carolina (BB-52) ; five heavy cruisers Minneapolis (CA-36), New Orleans (CA-32), Portland (CA-33), San Francisco (CA-38) and Salt Lake City (CA-25) ; two new anti-aircraft light cruisers : Atlanta (CLAA-51) and San Juan (CLAA-54); and 18 DDs.
        Land air support was 23 Marine planes that had arrived a few days before at Henderson Field; 39 PBY reconnaissance planes from seaplane tenders ; and 30 B-17's from the New Hebrides. Three picket lines of submarines kept watch for the Japanese fleet.
        Although the Japanese were known to be coming, they refueled at sea and arrived before expected -- Wasp was on refueling rotation ; she and her task force escorts, 3 cruisers and 7 DDs ; one third of the already outnumbered US fleet missed the fight.

        The Japanese had the light carrier ahead of the strike fleet. She opened the battle with an air strike on Henderson Field. Fletcher sent dive and torpedo bombers to attack and Ryujo was successfully sunk without loss. Meanwhile scouts from both sides found each other's two big carriers. The ensuing battle was essentially a giant aerial dog fight interspersed with ship borne antiaircraft fire. The US lost 20 planes, the Japanese lost 70. Enterprise took a couple of bombs and Chitose was nearly sunk, but survived. There was superficial damage to North Carolina and Shokaku, but major damage to two Japanese light cruisers, a DD, and 2 subs.

        When steering control was returned to Enterprise, Fletcher retreated in the direction of Wasp for the night. The Japanese fleet, expert in night warfare charged forward and found nothing ; destroyers bombarded Guadalcanal.

        Next morning Marine pilots attacked the transports and eight B-17's from Espiritu Santo sank a destroyer while stopped to rescue troops. Wasp advanced to the scene but found nothing. Without air cover, the Japanese had retreated without delivering the troops or destroying an American fleet half its size. The third of the five great carrier battles of the Pacific War had ended with the Japanese minus a carrier, destroyer, submarine and an air group.

        Enterprise transferred her bombers to Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, and returned to Tongatabu for temporary repairs before heading for Pearl Harbor.   The Japanese gave up on major fleet actions to deliver troops and initiated the Tokyo Express in which destroyers delivered reinforcements and supplies at night and retreated beyond US air range by daylight.
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      1 . These are the carriers that Fletcher had saved the third day of the invasion of Guadalcanal.
    Milne Bay
        At the same time the IJN failed to reinforce Guadalcanal, a Japanese naval landing force was put ashore on the tip of New Guinea to take Milne Bay. Initial advances were made during rain storms, but out numbered ten to one and with Australian aircraft able to attack when the weather cleared, the Japanese were forced to withdraw on the third day. The Japanese general staff had decided that reinforcements had to be sent to Guadalcanal. The Japanese had overextended ; the priority became to expel the Americans. That effort continued until February 1943 when they were forced to begin the long retreat from the Pacific.   The New Guinea campaign resisted MacArthur until May 1944.
    Aleutians
        Up North the Japanese transferred their garrison at Attu to Kiska.
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    About this page: EastSol.html - The third of the four carrier battles of 1942 repelled the Japanese fleet's attempt to reinforce Guadalcanal.
    Last updated on June 28, 2002
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