Crommelin was worried. He had no idea if Henderson Field was American-held after the vicious battle, and his planes would not be able to abort back to Enterprise. His eyes were wet as he briefed his aviators.

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Coffin’s Avengers swung in on Hiei at 11:20 a.m., right on time. The sky was full of black smoke, tracer fire and buzzing planes. Hiei fired back with everything she had, even Type 3, 14-inch shells, unfired in the previous night’s surface battle. The Avenger pilots saw the big shells fountain in the sea in an even row several miles astern.

The Avengers flew at full throttle just over Hiei’s burned and scorched decks. Seconds later, three torpedoes hit, causing explosions. But Hiei remained afloat.

Coffin flew to Henderson Field and found a friendly reception from Marines and Seabees. While Coffin’s aviators dined on gummy Australian bully beef and Spam, other American squadrons hit Hiei, including some Boeing B-17 high-altitude bombers. These ran into Japanese fighters and shot down three, while pouring in three more bomb hits.

The damage was not great, but the constant attacks disrupted Nishida’s efforts to save his ship and prevented Hiei’s crew from placing collision mats over shell holes in the steering machinery compartments so they could be pumped out.

At 8:15 a.m., Abe transferred to the destroyer Yukikaze and ordered Hiei towed to the Shortlands. By now Abe was exhausted and devastated. At 10:20 a.m., he ordered Nishida to beach his ship on Guadalcanal. Nishida pleaded with Abe to rescind the order. Abe did. But at 12:35, Abe again ordered Hiei’s crew removed. Once again, Nishida got the order canceled.

At 1:30 p.m., Coffin’s planes took off again to hit Hiei. Once again they torpedoed her, dropping their fish half a mile from the wounded battleship. Three torpedoes hit, but only one exploded. Coffin’s planes returned to Guadalcanal safely.

Coffin’s afternoon attacks were the last straw for Abe. He again ordered Hiei abandoned. Nishida pleaded his case, but Abe was adamant. When an erroneous report came to Nishida of engine damage on Hiei, Nishida gave up. Hiei’s Kingston valves were opened, and the crew assembled forward. After three banzais, the ensign was lowered and everybody scrambled down floater nets over the side onto waiting destroyers. Nishida made sure the emperor’s portrait was saved.

By 6 p.m., Hiei’s crew–minus 300 dead–was off the battleship. At 6:38, Yamamoto signaled Abe not to scuttle Hiei. Yamamoto figured the ship could divert American attention long enough for the convoy of troops to arrive after all.

It was too late. Hiei was listing 15 degrees to starboard and sinking slowly by the stern. The Japanese ships dipped flags and retired. Hiei sank sometime during the night, the first battleship Japan lost in the war.

Abe returned home minus two destroyers, a battleship and 552 dead sailors, claiming victory. Certainly he had scored an impressive tactical triumph, sinking two American cruisers and four destroyers, but Yamamoto was furious.

Hara wrote later, "Strategically the enemy had won because the Abe force failed to deliver a single incendiary shell to Guadalcanal airfields." Abe and Nishida faced a secret court of inquiry. They offered no defense for their actions or their mistakes. Both were forcibly retired, allowed their pensions but barred from public office.

Second-guessers were at work on both sides. Callaghan and his sailors had shown ample determination and valor, but closer inspection revealed that Callaghan’s moves were highly questionable. Admittedly, Callaghan’s team was an ad hoc force, but he made no real battle plan. He did not communicate with his subordinates and wasted one, Scott. Orders like "Give them hell" made good copy, but were not sound tactics. Callaghan did not use radar well, relied on one radio channel, which broke down, and wasted time.

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