Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Turning Point in the Pacific War

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Both sides were bringing their favored weapons into this battle. The American edge was in their new battleships, equipped with the latest SG radar, 16-inch guns, thick armor, and an admiral who understood the use of radar and big guns.

The biggest guns the Japanese had were 14-inchers on Kirishima, a battleship that, while fast (28 knots), was also old (built in 1914). But Kondo was attacking by night with well-trained crews, lookouts whose eyesight outranged American radar, and 90 Long Lance torpedoes, the finest in the world.

At dusk Lee ordered his ships to approach Guadalcanal. Washington’s Davis told his crew: ‘We are going into an action area. We have no great certainty what forces we will encounter. We might be ambushed. A disaster of some sort may come upon us. But whatever it is we are going into, I hope to bring all of you back alive. Good luck to all of us.’

The words settled down on Washington’s 1,500-man crew. In the secondary battery fire control, Ensign Hal Berc later said: ‘We had gone through a million drills, but who knew what a naval action was really about? When the captain finished his speech, there was a general sense of exhilaration. No one despaired.’

At 7:20, Lee ordered Task Force 64 to head northeast, to run past the western end of Guadalcanal. Up in Washington’s foretop Lt. Cdr. Harry Seely, main battery spotting officer, peered through massive lenses into the gathering dusk. At 7:45, lookouts saw gunfire flashes to port. Seely looked on and saw Tanaka’s transports and escorts in the distance, fighting off the last air attacks of the day.

Lee steamed northeast, passed Savo Island on the starboard side and turned east. From there on, Halsey’s orders stopped and Lee’s initiative took over. The night was beautiful, moonlit, warm, and the sea was dead calm. Lieutenant Stoodley said the ship seemed to’slide through the sea as though in heavy oil.’

As Lee’s ships sped through the night, his radio operators heard American radio traffic. PT-boats were reporting Lee’s moves in plain English, blaring, ‘There go two big ones, but I don’t know who they are.’ The PT-boats swung in to attack Lee’s ships.

Lee personally got on the TBS voice radio and called Guadalcanal, asking that the PT-boats be ordered to pull out. Guadalcanal, however, didn’t believe Lee was who he claimed to be.

Lee bellowed his Annapolis nickname: ‘This is Ching Chong China Lee! Chinese, catchee? Refer your boss about Ching Lee. Call off your boys!’ Lee’s temper did the job. Guadalcanal answered, ‘Identity established. We are not after you.’

At the precise moment that Lee turned east, Kondo’s ships swept in behind Task Force 64 and split into three units. Kimura swung off in his flagship Nagara, while Hashimoto in Sendai did the same. Just as the convoy split, lookouts on the destroyer Shikinami spotted enemy ships bearing 200 degrees, just west of south. Uranami lookouts had them in sight, too, and identified them as ‘new-type cruisers.’ Hashimoto took his ships clockwise around Savo, with one destroyer, Ayanami, heading counterclockwise to sweep for enemy vessels.

At 10:31, Atago, Kondo’s flagship, picked up the enemy. By 11 p.m., Kondo had a flurry of reports. At 11:07, Sendai flashed that the Americans were heading due west, south of Savo.

Kondo, sure that the enemy comprised four destroyers and two cruisers, ordered his light forces to attack first so that his battleship could shell Guadalcanal. Kondo was afraid that Kirishima would, as Hiei had, fall victim to enemy light forces. More important, his battleship was loaded with Type 3 14-inch anti-aircraft shells, excellent for shelling airfields, but useless for hitting armored warships. Kondo swung his ships around in a countermarch just north of Savo, back to the west.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Historical Conflicts, Naval Battles, World War II

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