Allied Naval Operations in the Solomon Islands 1942 – Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Part 2) – Friday the Thirteenth

Allied Naval Operations in the Solomon Islands 1942 – Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (Part 2) – Friday the Thirteenth

Vol. 1 No.12

November 13, 2013

            It was now just after midnight on the morning of Friday, 13 November 1942, the last day of life for eight ships and many hundreds of sailor including two rear admirals. At 0124 Helena made radar contact with the enemy formation which appeared as two “blips” at distances of 27,000 and 32,000 yards and bearing 310˚ and 312˚ respectively. Callahan maintained a course of due north and did not change course to starboard and cross the enemy’s “T” as he had planned. Valuable time passed, without any call to action, as the two forces continued on a collision course, closing at nearly 40 knots.

On board San Francisco, Callahan, blind for want of an adequate radar image, was further handicapped by having to make range and bearing requests of his seeing-eye dog Helena, via the overtaxed talk between ships (TBS) radio. As the distance closed the American’s radar advantage evaporated and so did the element of surprise.

At 0145 Callahan finally gave the order to “Stand By to Open Fire”. Cushing, the lead destroyer, then turned suddenly hard to port, after sighting Japanese destroyers just 3000 yards distant, throwing the column into disarray. Five minutes passed before the order to open fire was given but not before a Japanese destroyer searchlight latched on to Atlanta. The misnamed “Lucky A” was deluged with 14-inch shells and destroyer gunfire, killing Admiral Scott and everyone on the bridge. Destruction of the light antiaircraft cruiser would have been complete and instantaneous had the battleship hoists be loaded with armor piercing shells instead of thin skinned, high explosive bombardment rounds.

The element of surprise lost, Callahan chose to block and block hard. The America column split Abe’s formation in two as the CTO ordered even ships in column to action on the port and odd ships to starboard. From then on, the two forces mingled like minnows in a bucket.

 Destroyers Cushing, Laffey and O’Bannon tangled with Hiei at ranges so close that the battleship could not depress its guns enough to hit them with 14-inch shells. In return the Americans sprayed Hiei’s pagoda-like superstructure with 1.1-inch anti-aircraft and 20mm machine gun fire.

At that moment Callahan issued the order to “Cease firing own ships” fearing that in the melee the Atlanta, dead in the water, had drifted into the heavy cruiser’s shell fire. The conjecture that some of San Francisc’s struck Atlanta was later confirmed by the presence of green dyed shell fragments on Atlanta’s deck.

San Francisco was the first to suffer during the cease fire as Kirishima, on her starboard hand, dealt a heavy blow killing Admiral Callahan and Captain Young. The next three ships in line; Portland, Helena and Juneau, came to San Francisco’s defense trading salvos with the battlewagon and checking fire as their range became fouled by friendly ships. In these moments both Portland and Juneau were struck by single Japanese torpedo. 

Admiral Abe, having disposed of a cruiser (Atlanta) and two destroyers (Cushing and Laffey) and feeling uncomfortable, his bridge being sprayed with machine gun fire, ordered a general retreat.

In the van of the American column Fletcher, with its superior radar, ignored the cease fire order and continued to engage the battleships with gun fire as range began to open. Several destroyers attempted a coordinated torpedo attack but their fish were chasing the Japanese tails and failed to score any hits.

As dawn broke on the thirteenth, a different type of struggle raged as damage control parties on both sides attempted to save their damaged ships. Atlanta, Portland and Aaron Ward drifted as Cushing and Monssen burned , all within sight of the disabled Yudachi. To the northeast of Savo Island, Hiei and Yukikaze struggled to get underway and escape the inevitable early morning airstrike. Both ships would be sunk later that day by the very planes Abe’s bombardment had intended to destroy.