Naval Action at Guadalcanal

[Panzermacher]

To coincide with my USS Juneau post, in the Arsenal Area, I have decided to go with some of the Naval action around the 'canal. There were many Naval skirmishes fought in this area between Japan, Australia, and the U.S.Fleets. And the Allies didn't always come out looking good.

When I was in the Navy, a task force of about 7 ships from various nations who participated in the Actions around the 'canal, visited "Ironbottom Sound". We each held a memorial service for ALL the men and ships at the bottom of that sea. A List of the sunken follows
Sunken ships

Allied

* Aaron Ward (US Gleaves-class destroyer)
* Astoria (US New Orleans-class cruiser)
* Atlanta (US Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser)
* Barton (US Benson-class destroyer)
* Blue (US Bagley-class destroyer)
* Canberra (Australian Kent-class cruiser)
* Colhoun (US Wickes-class destroyer)
* Cushing (US Mahan-class destroyer)
* De Haven (US Fletcher-class destroyer)
* Duncan (US Gleaves-class destroyer)
* George F. Elliot (US Heywood class transport)
* Gregory (US Wickes-class destroyer)
* Jarvis (US Gridley-class destroyer)
* John Penn (US miscellaneous class Attack Transport)
* Kanawha (US Kanawha/Cuyama class fleet oiler)
* Laffey (US Benson-class destroyer)
* Little (US Wickes-class destroyer)
* Moa (New Zealand Bird class corvette)
* Monssen (US Gleaves-class destroyer)
* Northampton (US Northampton-class heavy cruiser)
* Preston (US Mahan-class destroyer)
* PT-37 (US PT boat)
* PT-44 (US PT boat)
* PT-111 (US PT boat)
* PT-112 (US PT boat)
* PT-123 (US PT boat)
* Quincy (US New Orleans-class cruiser)
* Seminole (US Navajo-class oceangoing tug)
* Serpens (United States Coast Guard-manned Liberty ship)
* Vincennes (US New Orleans-class cruiser)
* Walke (US Sims-class destroyer)
* YP-284 (US Yard Patrol craft)

Japanese

* Akatsuki (Japanese Akatsuki-class destroyer)
* Ayanami (Japanese Fubuki-class destroyer)
* Fubuki (Japanese Fubuki-class destroyer)
* Furutaka (Japanese Furutaka-class cruiser)
* Hiei (Japanese Kongō-class battleship)
* Hirokawa Maru (Japanese military transport)
* Kasi Maru (Japanese freighter)
* Kinugawa Maru (Japanese military transport)
* Kirishima (Japanese Kongō-class battleship)
* Makigumo (Japanese Yugumo-class destroyer)
* Takanami (Japanese Yugumo-class destroyer)
* Teruzuki (Japanese Akizuki-class destroyer)
* Toa Maru (Japanese military transport)
* Yudachi (Japanese Shiratsuyu-class destroyer)


The Number of sunk ships in this area surely attests to the ferocity of the Naval Fighting!

The following is a list of battles that took place in this small area of the Solomon Sea.
Battles

* Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942
* Battle of Cape Esperance, 11–12 October 1942
* Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 13–15 November 1942
* Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November 1942
Wikipedia ......Naval Battle of Guadalcanal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Damage to Battle II and Sky Aft of USS San Francisco as a result of actions of 12 and 13 November, taken shortly after the battle. From Jameson, Colin G. (1944) The Battle of Guadalcanal, 11–15 November 1942, Publications Branch, Office of Naval Intelligence, United States Navy.


Photo taken during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 14-15, 1942, showing the U.S. battleship Washington firing upon the Japanese battleship Kirishima. The low elevation of the barrels shows how the close range of the adversaries; only 8,400 yards, point blank range for the 16"/45 caliber main armament of Washington. Photo source identifies photo as U.S. Navy.



And of course, one of the most well known losses of the actions in the Solomon Sea and Guadalcanal, the 5 Sullivan brothers.

The action In the Solomon sea was a desperate time for the US and Australian Navies. With the Northern Coast of Australia in danger of Invasion, and the Guadalcanal Landing forces in Danger of being cut off from supplies and support, it was a fight the Allies could ill afford to lose. Some how with determination and a "Can Do" attitude the Allies managed to Derail the "Tokyo Express", Stop the IJN, and beat back the threat. And Guadalcanal became the first US victory in the PTO.

Edit: Ok I just found MY "Ironbottom Sound" photos. These were taken shortly after the ceromony was finished and everyone had left the deck but us ole WW2 hounds!
Ok I HOPE my memory is right on the captions, so bear with me if it is not! I was going by a Navy map we got that morning when I took the Pics.

Miser tower of the USS Blue Ridge, looking Forward from the Flight Deck. Guadalcanal off the Starboard bow.

Florida Island off Port After Flight Deck.

Savo Island

Our Ship's Helo with what I believe to be Guadalcanal in the background.

Me with Guadalcanal in the Backround.

[Jim O]

Do you have a sense of how many were lost in all of those sinkings?


Here are some photos of naval action off Guadalcanal:

g32367.jpg
USS President Jackson (AP-37) maneuvering under Japanese air attack off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. In the center background is smoke from an enemy plane that had just crashed into the after superstructure of USS San Francisco (CA-38), which is steaming away in the right center.
Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38).
Note the anti-aircraft shell bursts.


g32366.jpg
Smoke rises from two enemy planes shot down during a Japanese air attack on U.S. ships off Guadalcanal, 12 November 1942. Photographed from USS President Adams (AP-38).
Ship at right is USS Betelgeuse (AK-28). That at left, barely visible beyond President Adams' structure, is USS Libra (AK-53). Smoke in the center distance appears to be a smoke screen.


Of course we should recognize the Marines who fought there as well:

troops_blackandwhite_147k.jpg


h97750.jpg
Raising the Colors on Guadalcanal after the initial landings, circa 7 August 1942.
Officer standing second from right in this group appears to be the First Marine Division commander, Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift, USMC.

[Panzermacher]

Originally Posted by Jim O

Do you have a sense of how many were lost in all of those sinkings?

Nice pics Jim! All the sources I have found list about 4000 sailors of All Combatant Nations died in the Naval Actions around the Solomons. In Iron Bottom Sound where my pics are from, is where the majority now lie, with the ships they served on. It was a solemn ceremony that day, and it touched all of us who were there. 4000 sailors, in a scope you can understand....thats the entire population of my home city and our sister city, all gone.....dead. And that don't even go into Marine, Army, and IJA losses on the Island. A lot of Sacrifice for a place many had never even heard of before August 1942. But it helped to save Northern Australia from Imminent invasion and turn the tide on Japanese Expansion in the PTO.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by Panzermacher

And Guadalcanal became the first US victory in the PTO.

There was another Aussie/US victory at Buna/Gona New Guina at about
the same time as Guadalcanal.


In Morison's "The struggle for Guadacanal" he gives the following ship
losses (for warships destroyer size and up) in the campaign:

IJN
----
2 Battleships
1 light aircraft carrier
3 heavy cruisers
1 light cruiser
11 destroyers
6 submarines

135,000 tons sunk

Allied
------
IJN
----
2 aircraft carrier
6 heavy cruisers
3 light cruiser
15 destroyers

126,000 tons sunk


Not all of these were lost in "Ironbottom Sound" .

[Panzermacher]

The Juneau wasn't even lost at Ironbottom......she was on her way out. The majority of ships tho...lie in Ironbottom. A testament to the intense fighting in that area. Somewhere I saw a listing of all the ships lost in the whole of the campaign, but I can't remember just where I saw it....but it looked similar to your list brett, but went by names...

Guadalcanal was the First US Victory to hit the Mainland news. Buna didn't get the press/coverage that the 'canal did. The one thing I always see about the Buna campaign were the "Infamous" pics of the US dead at the landing sight.(Maybe the reason it didn't get the press??) Sadly, both Buna/New Guinea and Guadalcanal both dragged on beyond the claimed victory dates as the Allies had to go into Jungles, swamps and Mangroves and root out the die hard defenders.