1942-11-15
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, battleship night
Off Savo Island, Guadalcanal
This is the second night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 14-15 November 1942, not the cruiser fight of the 13th. Lee, in Washington, had South Dakota astern and four destroyers ahead: Walke, Benham, Preston, and Gwin. Kondo was coming to shell Henderson Field, with his flag in Atago, Takao and Kirishima behind him, Nagara and Sendai, and nine destroyers. The Japanese cruisers and destroyers sank Walke and Preston, wrecked Benham, and damaged Gwin. Kirishima and the cruisers then hit South Dakota more than two dozen times. She was not sunk. Washington had not been seen. She opened with 16-inch guns at about 8,400 yards and wrecked Kirishima, who capsized at 03:25. Washington was not hit. Ayanami was sunk by battleship gunfire, credited to Washington. Tanaka's transports were not in the night fight.
A diagram of how this fight went will go here.
