Neptune's Inferno_ The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal Part 9

TF 17 (Hornet) RADM WILLIS A. LEE.

Task Force 64 (Was.h.i.+ngton) RADM NORMAN SCOTT.

Task Group 64.4 Cruiser Striking Force (later 67.4) (San Francisco) [image]

As Ghormley returned to Pearl Harbor to take the post of commandant of the 14th Naval District in Hawaii, President Roosevelt was watching events in the South Pacific with something more than a commander in chief's typical remove. After standing forcefully for the idea that aid to Russia was essential to defeating the Axis, and supporting a Europe-first strategy, his interest in the Solomons campaign was vigorous. His oldest son, James, was serving on Guadalca.n.a.l. Despite the potentially disqualifying handicap of being handed, at age twenty-eight, a reserve commission as a lieutenant colonel, which in time he rejected, Major James Roosevelt set himself to emulating the example of his father's rough-riding fifth cousin. A capable and popular officer, he urged the creation of a new type of commando unit, Marine Raiders, which under the leaders.h.i.+p of Evans Carlson and Merritt Edson would go on to distinguish themselves at Guadalca.n.a.l and elsewhere. James served as the executive officer of the 2nd Marine Raiders on Guadalca.n.a.l despite chronic physical ailments.

On October 24, FDR wrote to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "My anxiety about the Southwest Pacific is to make sure that every possible weapon gets into that area to hold Guadalca.n.a.l, and that, having held in this crisis, that munitions and planes and crews are on the way to take advantage of our success. We will soon find ourselves engaged in two active fronts and we must have adequate air support in both places, even though it means delay in our commitments, particularly to England. Our long-range plans could be set back for months if we failed to throw our full strength in our immediate and impending conflicts."

Roosevelt's urgent sense of events in the South Pacific developed not a moment too soon for King, Nimitz, and Halsey. On the very day he urged his Joint Chiefs to redirect their energies westward, and seven days into Halsey's tenure in command of the theater, the j.a.panese turned loose what would be their most ferocious and concentrated attack yet on America's island foothold.

22.

"Strike-Repeat, Strike"

ON GUADALCa.n.a.l, "SOMETHING IS IN THE AIR," HERBERT MERILLAT wrote. "I am not sure what it is but can make the obvious guess. All signs point to increased j.a.p activity, and soon. I expect it will be a pretty mighty blow-the climax of their efforts to retake this place. They have powerful naval forces to the northwest and have been building up a reserve of planes for more than two weeks. So look out for bombs and fourteen-inch naval sh.e.l.ls and artillery. I'll bet they open up with field artillery from the hills. In short, it looks like a very hot time for the next few days. Operations officers and the command have suddenly become very secretive. There is an undercurrent of excitement in the CP." wrote. "I am not sure what it is but can make the obvious guess. All signs point to increased j.a.p activity, and soon. I expect it will be a pretty mighty blow-the climax of their efforts to retake this place. They have powerful naval forces to the northwest and have been building up a reserve of planes for more than two weeks. So look out for bombs and fourteen-inch naval sh.e.l.ls and artillery. I'll bet they open up with field artillery from the hills. In short, it looks like a very hot time for the next few days. Operations officers and the command have suddenly become very secretive. There is an undercurrent of excitement in the CP."

The new theater commander did not long ponder how he would use the discretion Nimitz had allowed him. Just six days into his tenure as South Pacific commander, his desk covered with sighting reports of enemy s.h.i.+ps in the waters northeast of the Solomons, Halsey ordered the Enterprise Enterprise and and Hornet Hornet to venture farther north than they had gone since August and seek battle. Doubling down on his aggressive willingness to take risks, he stood ready to send Rear Admiral Willis Lee's force, the battles.h.i.+p to venture farther north than they had gone since August and seek battle. Doubling down on his aggressive willingness to take risks, he stood ready to send Rear Admiral Willis Lee's force, the battles.h.i.+p Was.h.i.+ngton Was.h.i.+ngton and his cruisers, all the way up the Slot to bombard j.a.panese harbors south of Bougainville. and his cruisers, all the way up the Slot to bombard j.a.panese harbors south of Bougainville.

Lee, commanding the surface striking force from the flags.h.i.+p Was.h.i.+ngton, Was.h.i.+ngton, with the cruisers with the cruisers San Francisco, Helena, Atlanta, San Francisco, Helena, Atlanta, and ten destroyers, operated separately from the two carrier groups. Cruising south of Guadalca.n.a.l and east of Rennell Island, he prepared to sortie at sunset and enter Ironbottom Sound from the west. His force would sweep the area off Cape Esperance and around Savo Island and-as the and ten destroyers, operated separately from the two carrier groups. Cruising south of Guadalca.n.a.l and east of Rennell Island, he prepared to sortie at sunset and enter Ironbottom Sound from the west. His force would sweep the area off Cape Esperance and around Savo Island and-as the Atlanta Atlanta's Lloyd Mustin put it in his diary-"smash anything we find.... Maybe a close-range, shotguns-across-the-dinner-table sort of affair." The convoys would get whatever ragtag escort Turner's staff could manage. The fleet's heavies had at last been unleashed to go hunting.

They didn't catch any prey on their first run, but they made their presence felt hundreds of miles to the north. Word that an American battles.h.i.+p was in Savo Sound led the 8th Fleet's planners to cancel the Tokyo Express bombardment run scheduled for the night of October 2526.

The naval forces the j.a.panese were bringing down from Truk dwarfed anything the Americans had seen in the South Pacific to date. It was the full-scale seaborne counteroffensive that the 17th Army headquarters at Rabaul had been envisioning since the failures of September: an Advance Force under Vice Admiral n.o.butake Kondo, including battles.h.i.+ps and cruisers earmarked to support the Army's triumphant capture of Henderson Field, and the aircraft carrier Junyo. Junyo. (Another carrier, the (Another carrier, the Hiyo, Hiyo, should have been with Kondo, too, but she had suffered an accidental fire on October 22 that forced her return to Truk.) With them, steaming two hundred miles to their east, came Chuichi Nagumo's Striking Force, comprising the carriers should have been with Kondo, too, but she had suffered an accidental fire on October 22 that forced her return to Truk.) With them, steaming two hundred miles to their east, came Chuichi Nagumo's Striking Force, comprising the carriers Shokaku, Zuikaku, Shokaku, Zuikaku, and and Zuiho. Zuiho. South of Nagumo plowed Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe's Vanguard Force, including the battles.h.i.+ps South of Nagumo plowed Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe's Vanguard Force, including the battles.h.i.+ps Hiei Hiei and and Kiris.h.i.+ma Kiris.h.i.+ma and three heavy cruisers. and three heavy cruisers.

Imperial plans were better coordinated than they had been two months ago leading into the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the campaign's first clash of carriers. They called for a bold combined a.s.sault: the heavy combatants descending on the island while the Army mounted an a.s.sault on Henderson Field, and the carriers sweeping the seas of American naval power. The fleet would move south and engage as soon as the Army sent word that it had seized the airfield. Yamamoto and his staff relished the thought of avenging Midway and luring the elusive American carriers to their destruction.

The commander of the 17th Army, Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake, had planned to launch a multip.r.o.nged a.s.sault on Henderson Field on the twenty-second. Personally commanding the j.a.panese forces there-consisting of the 2nd (Sendai) Division, two battalions of the 38th Division, some survivors of Ichiki's and Kawaguchi's forces, as well as a regiment and three batteries of heavy field artillery, two battalions and one battery of field antiaircraft artillery, one battalion and one battery of mountain artillery, a mortar battalion, a tank company, and three rapid-fire gun battalions-Hyakutake began a.s.sembling his units and preparing to send them into position as soon as they piled ash.o.r.e from the transports.

The a.s.sault would begin with a diversionary artillery barrage from forces ma.s.sing in the west, across the Matanikau River. The main a.s.sault, undertaken by the Sendai Division marshaled in the tangled jungle south of Henderson Field, would follow. Still underestimating U.S. troop strength on the island-an intelligence report in late September pegged Vandegrift's garrison at seventy-five hundred men, well below half its actual number-Hyakutake apparently remained as c.o.c.ksure of his success as he had been on the day he ordered Colonel Ichiki's detachment to its slaughter.

From their positions on the west side of the Matanikau River, j.a.panese heavy artillery began firing on Henderson Field, and the diversionary infantry regiment tried to make its presence known to the Americans. With the preliminaries still under way, Hyakutake's staff radioed a confident message to 17th Army headquarters at Rabaul: "The victory is already in our hands. Please rest your minds." He instructed his aides to begin planning for an American surrender.

Words were words. The j.a.panese Navy wanted deeds. Frustrated by the Army's delays, and with Yamamoto threatening to haul the fleet back to Truk to refuel if ground commanders didn't get on with things, Kondo and Nagumo maintained course.

As the Imperial j.a.panese Army was stalking the jungles surrounding Henderson Field, torrential rains engulfed the island. And then it was over-or so claimed a dispatch that reached the Yamato, Yamato, moored at Truk, that night. It was after 1:30 a.m. on the twenty-fourth when the telegram was given to Admiral Ugaki as he was meditating by moonlight on the weather deck. It was a dispatch from the 17th Army, proclaiming, " moored at Truk, that night. It was after 1:30 a.m. on the twenty-fourth when the telegram was given to Admiral Ugaki as he was meditating by moonlight on the weather deck. It was a dispatch from the 17th Army, proclaiming, "2300 BANZAI!-A LITTLE BEFORE 2300 THE RIGHT WING CAPTURED THE AIRFIELD." "This settled everything," Ugaki wrote. He exhorted to his diary, "March, all forces, to enlarge the result gained! Hesitation or indecision at this moment would leave a regret forever."

And so the fleet pressed on. The announcement of the airfield's conquest led Vice Admiral Mikawa to send in the light cruiser Yura Yura and several destroyer divisions to blockade the sh.o.r.e and bombard in support of the advancing Imperial Army. Later that morning American planes from Henderson set upon the and several destroyer divisions to blockade the sh.o.r.e and bombard in support of the advancing Imperial Army. Later that morning American planes from Henderson set upon the Yura, Yura, the 17th Army's claim to have captured the airfield notwithstanding. The s.h.i.+p took a bomb from an SBD, as did a destroyer. Later that afternoon another flight of dive-bombers, joined by half a dozen B-17s, let fly against the wounded s.h.i.+p, which had to be scuttled. the 17th Army's claim to have captured the airfield notwithstanding. The s.h.i.+p took a bomb from an SBD, as did a destroyer. Later that afternoon another flight of dive-bombers, joined by half a dozen B-17s, let fly against the wounded s.h.i.+p, which had to be scuttled.

Though the Americans had little sense of where the j.a.panese ground forces were located-the mustering of the Sendai Division had gone undetected by U.S. ground patrols and search planes in the thick jungle south of Lunga Plain-American units were well positioned, with a perimeter divided into five regimental sectors.

General Vandegrift would not be present for the coming a.s.sault on his perimeter. Urged by General Thomas Holcomb, the commandant of the Marine Corps-who had picked an inopportune time to inspect Cactus-Vandegrift had traveled to Noumea to confer with Halsey. General Geiger, Vandegrift's aviation deputy, took temporary command of U.S. forces on the island.

On the night of October 2324, the j.a.panese offensive began with a diversionary attack from the west, across the Matanikau River. American artillery smashed up the leading wedge of tanks. The next night, south of the high ground recently named Edson's Ridge, just half a mile from the airstrip, elements of the Sendai Division sent two powerful forces at Henderson Field. Each consisted of three rifle battalions, and with three more in reserve, the j.a.panese plan envisioned a powerful two-p.r.o.nged surge toward the airfield. Owing to fatigue, confusion, and poor communications, the attack was launched piecemeal. Conceived in general contempt for their enemy, the j.a.panese attack followed the same routes of the disastrous September a.s.sault. On toward Edson's Ridge the j.a.panese charged now, poorly coordinated and straight into a murderous enfilade of artillery and rifle fire. Colonel Chesty Puller's seven-hundred-man battalion from the well-seasoned 7th Marines, joined with a battalion of the newly arrived 164th Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hall, put up a stout defense despite their lack of advance warning on enemy preparations. When the pup-pup-pup pup-pup-pup of small-arms fire finally faltered and died in the predawn hours of October 25, the first a.s.sault had failed. of small-arms fire finally faltered and died in the predawn hours of October 25, the first a.s.sault had failed.

The 17th Army's announcement that it captured the airfield might have been a deep misapprehension. It might even have been a lie. But on came the j.a.panese fleet. Encouraged by false reports of the Army's progress, Kondo and Nagumo kept their prows aimed south, searching for Halsey's fleet while standing by to hit Henderson Field, too. Their carrier planes were reporting nothing but empty expanses of ocean. The land-based planes of the 11th Air Fleet, flying from Buin and Rabaul, made several sightings of Admiral Lee's Was.h.i.+ngton Was.h.i.+ngton task force near Rennell Island, but the American heavy was too far away for j.a.panese aircraft to reach her. A superior j.a.panese force was advancing on bad intelligence. What result would flow from it was an imponderable that only another deadly trial by fire would solve. task force near Rennell Island, but the American heavy was too far away for j.a.panese aircraft to reach her. A superior j.a.panese force was advancing on bad intelligence. What result would flow from it was an imponderable that only another deadly trial by fire would solve.

CHESTER NIMITZ HAD developed a general approach for confronting a superior enemy. "Having inferior forces," he wrote early in the campaign, "we must count heavily on attrition, but losing no chance to come to grips with the enemy under the principle of calculated risk." Still, the principle's requirements were far from clear. How does one calculate, and what does one risk? developed a general approach for confronting a superior enemy. "Having inferior forces," he wrote early in the campaign, "we must count heavily on attrition, but losing no chance to come to grips with the enemy under the principle of calculated risk." Still, the principle's requirements were far from clear. How does one calculate, and what does one risk?

A doctrine so subjective offered little decision guidance at all. Its spirit was not prescriptive; it was merely advisory. But this seemed to be the American way of war. Commanders since the Revolution had enjoyed the freedom to act on their best personal initiative. This flexibility and discretion was the gift-and the burden-that Nimitz always bestowed upon his commanders. Admiral Halsey was free to act on his instinct now.

While j.a.panese scout pilots were revealing to their astonished command that Henderson Field, contrary to dispatches, had not been seized, Willis Lee's surface striking force, including the Was.h.i.+ngton Was.h.i.+ngton and the heavy cruiser and the heavy cruiser San Francisco, San Francisco, marked time about thirty miles east of Rennell Island, ready to run north for a sweep of Savo Sound. On the twenty-fourth, Rear Admiral Norman Scott was transferred from the marked time about thirty miles east of Rennell Island, ready to run north for a sweep of Savo Sound. On the twenty-fourth, Rear Admiral Norman Scott was transferred from the San Francisco San Francisco to the antiaircraft cruiser to the antiaircraft cruiser Atlanta. Atlanta. His new flags.h.i.+p would soon be detached from Lee's Task Force 64 and, leading a striking force of destroyers, be thrown directly into the fight for Guadalca.n.a.l. His new flags.h.i.+p would soon be detached from Lee's Task Force 64 and, leading a striking force of destroyers, be thrown directly into the fight for Guadalca.n.a.l.

Meanwhile, Halsey's two carrier groups-Task Force 16, with the Enterprise Enterprise and and South Dakota, South Dakota, and Task Force 17, with the and Task Force 17, with the Hornet Hornet and a quartet of cruisers-under the overall command of Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (who flew his flag in the and a quartet of cruisers-under the overall command of Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid (who flew his flag in the Enterprise Enterprise), moved toward the suspected location of the j.a.panese carrier fleet as if by the attraction of gravity.

LATE IN THE NIGHT of October 24, in his cabin in the of October 24, in his cabin in the Argonne Argonne in Noumea harbor, Halsey prepared to adjourn his conference with General Vandegrift, Kelly Turner, and senior Army and Marine officers. The ground commanders articulated the woes of the long-suffering garrison on Guadalca.n.a.l. They said morale was deteriorating under constant attacks and a sure, intuitive sense that more enemy forces were ma.s.sing at Rabaul and Truk. According to Halsey, "They began to echo the question that the public had asked in the weeks following Pearl Harbor, 'Where is the Navy?'" in Noumea harbor, Halsey prepared to adjourn his conference with General Vandegrift, Kelly Turner, and senior Army and Marine officers. The ground commanders articulated the woes of the long-suffering garrison on Guadalca.n.a.l. They said morale was deteriorating under constant attacks and a sure, intuitive sense that more enemy forces were ma.s.sing at Rabaul and Truk. According to Halsey, "They began to echo the question that the public had asked in the weeks following Pearl Harbor, 'Where is the Navy?'"

It was late by the time the litany of the riflemen ended. Halsey asked Vandegrift and Major General Millard F. Harmon, the senior U.S. Army officer in the South Pacific, "Are we going to evacuate or hold?"

Vandegrift responded, "I can hold, but I've got to have more active support than I've been getting." To this, Kelly Turner reacted defensively, pointing to difficulties of defending shoal-cluttered waterways with a fleet that was attriting as surely as the garrison was. Knowing no choice remained but to hold fast, Halsey took Vandegrift's statement differently. According to the historian Richard B. Frank, "If Vandegrift had fired an arrow into Halsey's chest he probably could not have wounded him more. It was simply unacceptable to Halsey for the Navy to be viewed by the Marines as not carrying its end." He told Vandegrift, "All right. Go on back. I'll promise you everything I've got."

For starters, Halsey reconsidered a plan, long on the boards, to use Army troops to occupy Ndeni in the Santa Cruz Islands. Ghormley had authorized the operation even though General Harmon, the Army's SOPAC chief, considered it a wasteful diversion. So Halsey canceled it, redirecting the soldiers earmarked for it to Guadalca.n.a.l.

Halsey's more immediate task was deciding what to do about the threat from the Combined Fleet. Surveying intelligence and reconnaissance reports suggesting the approach of a j.a.panese carrier force, he concluded that "action was obviously a matter of hours." He took stock of the needs of the Marines and the capabilities of his naval force. He liked his chances a great deal better now that two carriers were on hand. "Carrier power varies as the square," he wrote in his memoirs. "Two carriers are four times as powerful as one." In a two-carrier task force, one carrier could be designated as the "duty" carrier, sending out air searches and providing combat air patrols and anti-submarine patrols, while the other carrier held a fully armed and fueled strike ready on deck. One carrier operating alone could do none of those things very effectively, and her crews were especially hard-pressed to switch between roles. "Until the Enterprise Enterprise arrived, our plight had been almost hopeless. Now we had a fighting chance," Halsey added. arrived, our plight had been almost hopeless. Now we had a fighting chance," Halsey added.

Determined to intercept Nagumo, Halsey ordered Kinkaid to ring up twenty-two knots and take the Enterprise Enterprise and and Hornet Hornet task forces northwest from their patrol position east of Santa Cruz. A reprise of Midway, a curtain call for Coral Sea, the next collision of American and j.a.panese carrier airpower would go down as the last aerial engagement between the fleets until U.S. troops were on the beaches of Saipan and in the hedgerows of Normandy. task forces northwest from their patrol position east of Santa Cruz. A reprise of Midway, a curtain call for Coral Sea, the next collision of American and j.a.panese carrier airpower would go down as the last aerial engagement between the fleets until U.S. troops were on the beaches of Saipan and in the hedgerows of Normandy.

Ash.o.r.e, the j.a.panese hammer had struck the American anvil. It was the hammer that would crack. The fleets, meanwhile, prepared for their own reckoning.

Just before midnight on October 24, as his marines ash.o.r.e were battling the j.a.panese a.s.sault, Halsey radioed his princ.i.p.al naval commanders, Kinkaid and Lee, with a galvanizing message that would echo through the pa.s.sageways and compartments of every s.h.i.+p in the South Pacific Force. The four syllables, bereft of any operational specificity or doctrinal nuance and apropos of no particular target, placed a clean vector through everyone's mind that ordered and oriented their next moves.

"STRIKE-REPEAT, STRIKE."

23.

Santa Cruz EVEN WITH KNOWLEDGE THAT AN ENEMY FLEET WAS NEAR, LOCATING and attacking it effectively was no small challenge for a carrier commander. Aircraft fuel was dear, range limited, weather variable, and intentions of opposing commanders ever unknowable. The doctrines that governed the mechanics of carrier operations-how many planes to send out searching, how many to retain in reserve for a strike, and how many to keep aloft nearby as a defensive umbrella for the fleet-were in a state of constant experiment and evolution. Then there was nature to contend with: Given that strikes had to be launched into the wind to get heavy airplanes aloft, which compa.s.s heading did one need to pursue, and was the day too far gone to retrieve the aircraft during daylight? and attacking it effectively was no small challenge for a carrier commander. Aircraft fuel was dear, range limited, weather variable, and intentions of opposing commanders ever unknowable. The doctrines that governed the mechanics of carrier operations-how many planes to send out searching, how many to retain in reserve for a strike, and how many to keep aloft nearby as a defensive umbrella for the fleet-were in a state of constant experiment and evolution. Then there was nature to contend with: Given that strikes had to be launched into the wind to get heavy airplanes aloft, which compa.s.s heading did one need to pursue, and was the day too far gone to retrieve the aircraft during daylight?

The Americans had a considerable advantage in Admiral Fitch's land-based PBY Catalina patrol bombers and B-17 Flying Fortresses operating out of Espiritu Santo and other area island groups. They had the ability to fly at night and their range, at up to eight hundred miles, was peerless. On the morning of October 25, a flurry of sighting reports reached American commanders. At nine thirty, a B-17 spied the Junyo Junyo northeast of Malaita. Mere minutes later, a PBY spotted the battles.h.i.+ps and cruisers of Abe's vanguard. This was followed by a third sighting ten minutes later, reporting three j.a.panese carriers. At the time of these sightings, the j.a.panese were about three hundred miles northwest of the Santa Cruz Islands. Kinkaid's and Murray's task forces were about an equal distance east of the islands. northeast of Malaita. Mere minutes later, a PBY spotted the battles.h.i.+ps and cruisers of Abe's vanguard. This was followed by a third sighting ten minutes later, reporting three j.a.panese carriers. At the time of these sightings, the j.a.panese were about three hundred miles northwest of the Santa Cruz Islands. Kinkaid's and Murray's task forces were about an equal distance east of the islands.

Realizing he had been discovered, Admiral Nagumo, furious that his scouts hadn't yet found the U.S. carriers, decided to reverse course to the north, taking his three valuable carriers out of range of potential attack. It was a wise and fortuitous move. A flight of B-17s was summoned from Espiritu at first contact, and the Enterprise, Enterprise, too, launched a strike. Nagumo knew all too well that the first carrier to be seen was usually the first to be sunk as well. The fact that the American strikes missed him was testimony to the value of caution. The pilots from the too, launched a strike. Nagumo knew all too well that the first carrier to be seen was usually the first to be sunk as well. The fact that the American strikes missed him was testimony to the value of caution. The pilots from the Enterprise, Enterprise, meanwhile, encountered the terror that beset even the most experienced pilots returning to their s.h.i.+p after dark. Attemping to land on the small flight deck at night, eight aircraft were lost, either forced to ditch or suffer damage on hard landings. Two pilots were killed. meanwhile, encountered the terror that beset even the most experienced pilots returning to their s.h.i.+p after dark. Attemping to land on the small flight deck at night, eight aircraft were lost, either forced to ditch or suffer damage on hard landings. Two pilots were killed.

Through the night, Fitch's snoopers kept up a determined effort to relocate the j.a.panese carriers on the night patrol. On Guadalca.n.a.l that night, the j.a.panese Army renewed its a.s.sault on Henderson Field, using the same general approach for a similarly grim result. General Hyakutake's infantry, blistered by machine-gun, mortar, and canister fire, was forced to retreat. j.a.panese deaths were as many as thirty-five hundred. American fatalities in what would be known as the Battle for Henderson Field numbered around ninety.

As Vandegrift's men held again, the first report from the PBYs reached Kinkaid around midnight and pa.s.sed to Halsey. Dispatched shortly after 3 a.m. on the twenty-sixth (by a courageous Catalina pilot who doubled down on his luck by trying to bomb the Zuikaku Zuikaku), the report did not reach Kinkaid for two hours. When it finally did, the vintage of the news persuaded him to hesitate. He would not launch his attack until fresher information came.

The Enterprise, Enterprise, as the duty carrier, sent up the dawn patrol to resume searches to the west and north of the task force. At 6:17 a.m., two Dauntlesses working the western search sector spotted battles.h.i.+ps, Abe's Vanguard Force, about eighty-five miles out. But it was the carriers that were prized most highly. Less than thirty minutes later, two other as the duty carrier, sent up the dawn patrol to resume searches to the west and north of the task force. At 6:17 a.m., two Dauntlesses working the western search sector spotted battles.h.i.+ps, Abe's Vanguard Force, about eighty-five miles out. But it was the carriers that were prized most highly. Less than thirty minutes later, two other Enterprise Enterprise aviators. .h.i.t pay dirt, spying Nagumo's carriers to the west-northwest of Kinkaid, about two hundred miles away. aviators. .h.i.t pay dirt, spying Nagumo's carriers to the west-northwest of Kinkaid, about two hundred miles away.

Unfortunately for Kinkaid, his decision to await better information before striking took place just as one of Kondo's scout planes finally located him. As a consequence of the American commander's delay and his bad luck in being spotted, the j.a.panese launched their princ.i.p.al attack about twenty minutes ahead of the Americans. At seven thirty-two, the Hornet, Hornet, operating about ten miles from the operating about ten miles from the Enterprise Enterprise task force, began launching her first deckload of aircraft. task force, began launching her first deckload of aircraft.

Because Kondo was heading southeast, directly into the wind, whereas Kinkaid's carriers were steaming with the wind and thus had to reverse course into the wind in order to launch or recover aircraft, the j.a.panese were quicker on the draw by about thirty minutes. By seven forty, sixty-four j.a.panese planes-a nearly even mix of Kate torpedo bombers, Val dive-bombers, and Zero fighters from the Shokaku, Zuikaku, Shokaku, Zuikaku, and and Zuiho Zuiho-were airborne and outbound.

[image]

U.S. Navy Combat Task Forces in the South Pacific (as of October 26, 1942) [image]

Carrier Task Force (Task Force 61) Rear Adm. Thomas C. Kinkaid TASK FORCE 16.

Enterprise (CV) (CV) (Rear Adm. Kinkaid) South Dakota (BB) (BB) Portland (CA) (CA) San Juan (CLAA) (CLAA) Cus.h.i.+ng (DD) (DD) Preston (DD) (DD) Smith (DD) (DD) Maury (DD) (DD) Conyngham (DD) (DD) Shaw (DD) (DD) Porter (DD) (DD) TASK FORCE 17.

Hornet (CV) (CV) (Rear Adm. George D. Murray) Northampton (CA) (CA) Pensacola (CA) (CA) San Diego (CLAA) (CLAA) Juneau (CLAA) (CLAA) Morris (DD) (DD) Anderson (DD) (DD) Hughes (DD) (DD) Mustin (DD) (DD) Russell (DD) (DD) Barton (DD) (DD) Battles.h.i.+p Task Force (Task Force 64) (off Rennell Island) (off Rennell Island) Rear Adm. Willis A. Lee Task Force 64 Was.h.i.+ngton (BB) (BB) (Rear Adm. Lee) San Francisco (CA) (CA) (Rear Adm. Norman Scott) Helena (CL) (CL) Atlanta (CLAA) (CLAA) Aaron Ward (DD) (DD) Benham (DD) (DD) Fletcher (DD) (DD) Lansdowne (DD) (DD) Lardner (DD) (DD) McCalla (DD) (DD) [image]

The American scout pilots who spotted Nagumo's carriers were quickly intercepted and driven into the clouds by the enemy combat air patrol. Two other Enterprise Enterprise Dauntlesses heard the sighting report, navigated to locate the enemy fleet, and winged over into steep dives. Targeting the light carrier Dauntlesses heard the sighting report, navigated to locate the enemy fleet, and winged over into steep dives. Targeting the light carrier Zuiho, Zuiho, Lieutenant Stockton B. Strong and Ensign Charles B. Irvine planted a five-hundred-pound bomb into the after part of her flight deck. The fifty-foot hole would knock her out of the fray, but her strike pilots were already aloft, winging toward Kinkaid's carriers. Lieutenant Stockton B. Strong and Ensign Charles B. Irvine planted a five-hundred-pound bomb into the after part of her flight deck. The fifty-foot hole would knock her out of the fray, but her strike pilots were already aloft, winging toward Kinkaid's carriers.

The two American carriers embarked 137 operational planes between them (64 fighters, 47 dive-bombers, and 26 torpedo bombers). Their four j.a.panese counterparts carried 194 (76 fighters, 60 dive-bombers, 57 torpedo bombers, and a reconnaissance plane). But more important than numbers was the speed with which planes could locate and strike their targets. With this small but telling first blow, which destroyed the Zuiho Zuiho's arresting gear and robbed her ability to recover aircraft, the Battle of Santa Cruz was joined.

[image]

The j.a.panese in the Battle of Santa Cruz [image]

Support Force Vice Adm. n.o.butake Kondo ADVANCE FORCE.

Vice Adm. Kondo Junyo (CV) (CV) Kongo (BB) (BB) Haruna (BB) (BB) Atago (CA) (CA) Takao (CA) (CA) Myoko (CA) (CA) Maya (CA) (CA) 10 destroyers STRIKING FORCE.

Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo Shokaku (CV) (CV) Zuikaku (CV) (CV) Zuiho (CVL) (CVL) k.u.mano (CA) (CA) 8 destroyers VANGUARD FORCE.

Rear Adm. Hiroaki Abe Hiei (BB) (BB) Kiris.h.i.+ma (BB) (BB) Suzuya (CA) (CA) Tone (CA) (CA) Chik.u.ma (CA) (CA) Nagara (CL) (CL) 7 destroyers [image]

For commanders making split decisions amid great uncertainty, it was far from clear which approach prudence urged: sending out planes to strike as quickly as they left the carrier deck, or having them gather in strength near their carriers before turning out after the enemy. With the two U.S. task forces operating independently, separated by about ten miles, it was not easy to combine the aircraft formations in any event. The pilots on the Enterprise Enterprise received conflicting instructions on that score. What ensued was far from an orderly affair. received conflicting instructions on that score. What ensued was far from an orderly affair.

With the j.a.panese two hundred miles distant, fuel was too precious to burn circling to rendezvous. The princ.i.p.al strikes from the Hornet Hornet and and Enterprise Enterprise were hastily launched and ordered to seek the j.a.panese as soon as they were airborne. An were hastily launched and ordered to seek the j.a.panese as soon as they were airborne. An Enterprise Enterprise flight deck crewman held aloft a sign-" flight deck crewman held aloft a sign-"PROCEED WITHOUT h hORNET"-indicating that each carrier's strike group was on its own. By eight twenty, a gaggle of twenty-seven Dauntlesses, twenty Avengers, and twenty-three Wildcats, loosely organized in three groups, was winging after Kondo.

The leading American planes were airborne for barely thirty minutes when the j.a.panese strike came within view on a reciprocal flight path. Thus began an impromptu melee as nine Zeros peeled off from escort duty and dove down on the American flight about sixty miles northwest of the U.S. carriers.

The commander of Torpedo Squadron 10, Lieutenant Commander John A. Collett, flying in the leading four-plane section of Avengers, felt his aircraft shudder and his starboard wing dip. As the turret gunner opened up with his fifty-caliber machine gun, Collett's radioman, Thomas C. Nelson, Jr., got no response from his pilot over the intercom. Collett, forced to abandon his burning c.o.c.kpit, threw back his canopy and crawled out onto the starboard wing. As Collett was whisked away into the airstream, never to be seen again, Nelson abandoned the radioman's compartment in the belly of the plane. He was the only survivor. The aerial scrimmage cost the Enterprise Enterprise air group four Wildcats and four Avengers shot down or forced to turn back. The babel of voices on the pilots' radio frequency told Admiral Kinkaid in the air group four Wildcats and four Avengers shot down or forced to turn back. The babel of voices on the pilots' radio frequency told Admiral Kinkaid in the Enterprise Enterprise of the fracas that developed as the outbound American and j.a.panese air strikes ran into each other. Connecting the dots, he sketched a picture of an inbound attack and ordered his carriers, still steaming about ten miles apart, to hustle the rest of their planes into the air. of the fracas that developed as the outbound American and j.a.panese air strikes ran into each other. Connecting the dots, he sketched a picture of an inbound attack and ordered his carriers, still steaming about ten miles apart, to hustle the rest of their planes into the air.

Shortly before nine o'clock, the inbound j.a.panese strike was bathed in the transmissions of the air-search radar of the heavy cruiser Northampton, Northampton, a.s.signed to escort the a.s.signed to escort the Hornet Hornet in Task Force 17. Somehow neither the in Task Force 17. Somehow neither the Hornet Hornet's nor the Enterprise Enterprise's electronic eyes ever saw the bogeys. The Northampton Northampton's skipper, not knowing this, relayed word to the Hornet Hornet in a leisurely way, by signal flags rather than by a faster but less secure radio broadcast. As a result, the in a leisurely way, by signal flags rather than by a faster but less secure radio broadcast. As a result, the Enterprise Enterprise never received word at all. Worse, the never received word at all. Worse, the Enterprise Enterprise's inexperienced fighter director officer, responsible for guiding the combat air patrol to its targets, whiffed completely. He reported the angle of approach of the j.a.panese strike with reference to the relative heading of his s.h.i.+p. Such a pole star was of little use to any pilot who couldn't see the reporting vessel. And so on that cloudy day most of the thirty-seven Wildcat jockeys flying combat air patrol failed to intercept the attack before it was already over their carrier. Fortunately for the Enterprise, Enterprise, she found concealment in a rain squall. As a result, the first j.a.panese air strike fell on the perpetrator of the Doolittle raid, the she found concealment in a rain squall. As a result, the first j.a.panese air strike fell on the perpetrator of the Doolittle raid, the Hornet. Hornet.

As the Hornet Hornet's outbound strike group left its task force behind, some of the pilots saw the black puffs of flak dotting the skies behind them. That's when they knew the j.a.panese had found their s.h.i.+p. A flight of twenty-one Val dive-bombers from the Zuikaku, Zuikaku, under command of Lieutenant Sadamu Takahas.h.i.+, were the first to attack the under command of Lieutenant Sadamu Takahas.h.i.+, were the first to attack the Hornet. Hornet.

To the dismay of the carrier's crew, half of her powerful five-inch antiaircraft battery was effectively disabled when the young officer who supervised the after five-inch battery "drove the guns into the stops," freezing them in a horizonal elevation just as the first enemy dive-bomber appeared overhead. "Believe you me, the gun captains took this very, very personal. All his training, everything, right out the window," gunner's mate first cla.s.s Alvin Grahn remembered. "Five of our most lethal guns now sat with their barrels locked in place. They would have made mincemeat out of that plane."

As the Wildcats on combat air patrol tangled with the escorting Zeros, the j.a.panese dive-bombers concentrated on their target, hitting the Hornet Hornet with three bombs. A Val struck by antiaircraft fire fell burning and crashed into the island superstructure in a wash of flames. The plane penetrated several decks, spreading fire as it went, straight down into a squadron ready room one deck below the flight deck. Its five-hundred-pound bomb was found later, unexploded and rolling around in a pa.s.sageway outside. As the Vals were doing their work, torpedo bombers from the with three bombs. A Val struck by antiaircraft fire fell burning and crashed into the island superstructure in a wash of flames. The plane penetrated several decks, spreading fire as it went, straight down into a squadron ready room one deck below the flight deck. Its five-hundred-pound bomb was found later, unexploded and rolling around in a pa.s.sageway outside. As the Vals were doing their work, torpedo bombers from the Shokaku Shokaku were down low on the water, closing on the were down low on the water, closing on the Hornet Hornet from two directions, off the starboard bow and the port quarter. The textbook "anvil" attack would expose the carrier to torpedoes from one group of Kates or the other, no matter which way she turned. In short minutes, two torpedoes were cras.h.i.+ng into the carrier's starboard side, flooding both fire rooms and snuffing out her propulsion and power. The time was 9:15 a.m. from two directions, off the starboard bow and the port quarter. The textbook "anvil" attack would expose the carrier to torpedoes from one group of Kates or the other, no matter which way she turned. In short minutes, two torpedoes were cras.h.i.+ng into the carrier's starboard side, flooding both fire rooms and snuffing out her propulsion and power. The time was 9:15 a.m.

Several hundred miles to the north, Admiral Nagumo was in no place to celebrate. Overhead, pilots from the Hornet Hornet's two Dauntless-equipped squadrons had found his carriers.

As the commander of Scouting Squadron 8, Lieutenant Commander William "Gus" Widhelm, surveyed the fleet below, four Zeros from the Shokaku Shokaku piled in to intercept. Cagey and determined, the American dive-bombers, no match for j.a.panese fighters in air-to-air combat, avoided the slas.h.i.+ng head-on pa.s.ses and high-side runs of the j.a.panese combat air patrol. When the leader of the j.a.panese fighter section dove on Widhelm from twelve o'clock high, the American pulled back his stick and turned loose with his fifties. If a dive-bomber seldom beat a fighter in an aerial duel, a veteran could occasionally pick his spot. The converging planes were just a short football field apart when the Zero's engine caught fire and exploded. Widhelm flew through the debris and continued closing with the piled in to intercept. Cagey and determined, the American dive-bombers, no match for j.a.panese fighters in air-to-air combat, avoided the slas.h.i.+ng head-on pa.s.ses and high-side runs of the j.a.panese combat air patrol. When the leader of the j.a.panese fighter section dove on Widhelm from twelve o'clock high, the American pulled back his stick and turned loose with his fifties. If a dive-bomber seldom beat a fighter in an aerial duel, a veteran could occasionally pick his spot. The converging planes were just a short football field apart when the Zero's engine caught fire and exploded. Widhelm flew through the debris and continued closing with the Shokaku Shokaku ahead. ahead.

As Zeros and Dauntlesses engaged in their murderous dance, a j.a.panese pilot lined up Widhelm's plane and pulled a burst from his twenty-millimeter cannons. As Widhelm's squadron mates were hurtling down upon the Shokaku Shokaku in seventy-degree dives, heads hunched forward peering into their bomb sights, dive brakes gripping the air, it was a sure mark of their spirit that as Widhelm's engine coughed smoke and died, his comrades found their hearts on fire listening to his Navy-grade cussing about the lack of effective help from the in seventy-degree dives, heads hunched forward peering into their bomb sights, dive brakes gripping the air, it was a sure mark of their spirit that as Widhelm's engine coughed smoke and died, his comrades found their hearts on fire listening to his Navy-grade cussing about the lack of effective help from the Hornet Hornet's fighters as he guided his smoking aircraft into the sea. Surviving the crash landing, Widhelm would be left to observe the exploits of his comrades from a bobbing yellow life raft.

It wasn't long before Lieutenant James E. "Moe" Vose, the leader of the Hornet Hornet's second flight of Dauntlesses, from Bombing Squadron 8, found Nagumo's carriers. Radioing a sighting report, they pushed over on the Shokaku Shokaku and piled in. Dauntlesses flying search or "scouting" missions carried a half-sized five-hundred-pound bomb, the better to extend their range. Dauntlesses armed for strikes carried a thousand-pound egg. Vose's aviators were loaded for bear. As they dove down on the speeding, swerving and piled in. Dauntlesses flying search or "scouting" missions carried a half-sized five-hundred-pound bomb, the better to extend their range. Dauntlesses armed for strikes carried a thousand-pound egg. Vose's aviators were loaded for bear. As they dove down on the speeding, swerving Shokaku, Shokaku, the veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack gamely skidded out of the path of the first three or four big bombs. The next few, all of them thousand-pounders, scored heavily, shattering the carrier's flight deck and destroying her center elevator. By nine thirty, with fires sweeping through her hangar deck, the the veteran of the Pearl Harbor attack gamely skidded out of the path of the first three or four big bombs. The next few, all of them thousand-pounders, scored heavily, shattering the carrier's flight deck and destroying her center elevator. By nine thirty, with fires sweeping through her hangar deck, the Shokaku Shokaku was no longer capable of flight operations. She could still make thirty-one knots, but she, like the was no longer capable of flight operations. She could still make thirty-one knots, but she, like the Zuiho Zuiho before her, was out of the fight. before her, was out of the fight.

The heavy cruiser Chik.u.ma, Chik.u.ma, less valuable than the less valuable than the Shokaku Shokaku but an important naval a.s.set nonetheless, took a couple of bombs from but an important naval a.s.set nonetheless, took a couple of bombs from Hornet Hornet Bombing Squadron 8 aviators, and two near misses from Bombing Squadron 8 aviators, and two near misses from Enterprise Enterprise Dauntless jockeys, and was left battered and burning but navigable, with almost two hundred dead. Dauntless jockeys, and was left battered and burning but navigable, with almost two hundred dead.

Thirty minutes after the U.S. attack pilots first set upon their targets, they were finished with their attacks and bound for home.

DURING THE LULL that followed the first attacks on the that followed the first attacks on the Hornet, Hornet, the the Northampton Northampton maneuvered to take the crippled carrier under tow. Several miles away, in Task Force 16, Admiral Kinkaid learned of the maneuvered to take the crippled carrier under tow. Several miles away, in Task Force 16, Admiral Kinkaid learned of the Hornet Hornet's ill fortune when the word reached him that his flags.h.i.+p, the Enterprise, Enterprise, was to land all returning planes, including those from the was to land all returning planes, including those from the Hornet. Hornet. The Big E was preparing another air strike at the time, her ordnancemen loading bombs onto racks, pulsing fuel hoses everywhere. If an enemy attack arrived in that vulnerable window, it could be disastrous. As it happened, it was an American plane that drew first blood from the The Big E was preparing another air strike at the time, her ordnancemen loading bombs onto racks, pulsing fuel hoses everywhere. If an enemy attack arrived in that vulnerable window, it could be disastrous. As it happened, it was an American plane that drew first blood from the Enterprise Enterprise task force. task force.

It was the fluky kind of thing that only seems to happen in wartime. Just before 10 a.m., the pilot of a damaged Avenger was waved off from his first approach on the Enterprise. Enterprise. Unable to circle for another landing attempt, he ditched near the destroyer Unable to circle for another landing attempt, he ditched near the destroyer Porter. Porter. As he and his crew scrambled into the life raft, the destroyer approached them and stopped. The deck force was preparing to take the flight crew aboard when a lookout yelled, "Torpedo wake on the port bow!" Pilots overhead spotted the missile, tracing a counterclockwise circle ahead of the As he and his crew scrambled into the life raft, the destroyer approached them and stopped. The deck force was preparing to take the flight crew aboard when a lookout yelled, "Torpedo wake on the port bow!" Pilots overhead spotted the missile, tracing a counterclockwise circle ahead of the Porter. Porter. They dove down and made two strafing pa.s.ses in an effort to detonate the weapon short of the s.h.i.+p, but onward it churned, finally striking port side amids.h.i.+ps. The blast killed fifteen sailors and left the s.h.i.+p fit only for scuttling. Though another destroyer would report a suspicious periscope as she was maneuvering to recover survivors, in fact the torpedo had come from the very plane that the They dove down and made two strafing pa.s.ses in an effort to detonate the weapon short of the s.h.i.+p, but onward it churned, finally striking port side amids.h.i.+ps. The blast killed fifteen sailors and left the s.h.i.+p fit only for scuttling. Though another destroyer would report a suspicious periscope as she was maneuvering to recover survivors, in fact the torpedo had come from the very plane that the Porter Porter was racing to save. It jarred loose on impact with the water. was racing to save. It jarred loose on impact with the water.

Just minutes later, the j.a.panese strike reached the Enterprise Enterprise group. From high above the six-thousand-foot cloud ceiling, from astern the group. From high above the six-thousand-foot cloud ceiling, from astern the Enterprise, Enterprise, fell a waterfall of Vals, unopposed by U.S. fighters. fell a waterfall of Vals, unopposed by U.S. fighters.

The newly outfitted South Dakota, South Dakota, the heaviest s.h.i.+p in the the heaviest s.h.i.+p in the Enterprise Enterprise's screen, joined by the antiaircraft cruiser San Juan San Juan and the heavy cruiser and the heavy cruiser Portland, Portland, put up a staggering volume of fire. "As each plane came down," an American pilot reported, "a veritable cone of tracer sh.e.l.ls enveloped it. You could see it being hit and bounced by exploding sh.e.l.ls." put up a staggering volume of fire. "As each plane came down," an American pilot reported, "a veritable cone of tracer sh.e.l.ls enveloped it. You could see it being hit and bounced by exploding sh.e.l.ls."

Radar-directed five-inch gunfire was lethal. The South Dakota South Dakota and the and the San Juan San Juan led the screen in downing a total of thirty-two enemy planes bearing down on Task Force 16. An officer on the led the screen in downing a total of thirty-two enemy planes bearing down on Task Force 16. An officer on the Junyo Junyo was stunned by the paltry number of aircraft that returned. "The planes lurched and staggered onto the deck, every single fighter and bomber bullet-holed.... As the pilots climbed wearily from their cramped c.o.c.kpits, they told of unbelievable opposition, of skies choked with antiaircraft sh.e.l.l bursts and tracers." A bomber squadron leader would return to the was stunned by the paltry number of aircraft that returned. "The planes lurched and staggered onto the deck, every single fighter and bomber bullet-holed.... As the pilots climbed wearily from their cramped c.o.c.kpits, they told of unbelievable opposition, of skies choked with antiaircraft sh.e.l.l bursts and tracers." A bomber squadron leader would return to the Junyo Junyo "so shaken that at times he could not speak coherently." But no defense could be perfect. Between ten seventeen and ten twenty, the "so shaken that at times he could not speak coherently." But no defense could be perfect. Between ten seventeen and ten twenty, the Enterprise Enterprise took three bombs through her flight deck. It was only by deft s.h.i.+phandling that her new captain, Osborne B. Hardison, who had replaced Captain Arthur C. Davis just three days before the battle, evaded the deadlier missiles released by the torpedo planes. Good work by firefighting and damage-control crews prevented the bomb explosions from burning the carrier beyond salvation. took three bombs through her flight deck. It was only by deft s.h.i.+phandling that her new captain, Osborne B. Hardison, who had replaced Captain Arthur C. Davis just three days before the battle, evaded the deadlier missiles released by the torpedo planes. Good work by firefighting and damage-control crews prevented the bomb explosions from burning the carrier beyond salvation.

At ten twenty, a pilot returning from attacking the j.a.panese fleet crash-landed his damaged Avenger near the South Dakota. South Dakota. Mistaking the aircraft's stout, cylindrical fuselage for a surfacing submarine, gunners on the battles.h.i.+p and nearby destroyers took the plane under fire. The destoyer Mistaking the aircraft's stout, cylindrical fuselage for a surfacing submarine, gunners on the battles.h.i.+p and nearby destroyers took the plane under fire. The destoyer Preston, Preston, maneuvering to rescue the pilot and his crew, had to veer away to escape being raked by fire from the battles.h.i.+p's secondary guns. maneuvering to rescue the pilot and his crew, had to veer away to escape being raked by fire from the battles.h.i.+p's secondary guns.

No feat of s.h.i.+phandling that day surpa.s.sed the one turned in by the captain of the destroyer Smith. Smith. During the air attack, a stricken j.a.panese torpedo plane, hotly pursued by a Wildcat, fell smoking toward the s.h.i.+p and crashed into her forecastle. As the flames engulfed the entire forward part of the destroyer, her skipper, Lieutenant Commander Hunter Wood, steered his burning vessel into the voluminous spray thrown up by the wake of the fast-stepping During the air attack, a stricken j.a.panese torpedo plane, hotly pursued by a Wildcat, fell smoking toward the s.h.i.+p and crashed into her forecastle. As the flames engulfed the entire forward part of the destroyer, her skipper, Lieutenant Commander Hunter Wood, steered his burning vessel into the voluminous spray thrown up by the wake of the fast-stepping South Dakota South Dakota ahead of him. The cascades of froth washed over the decks, bringing the fires under control. ahead of him. The cascades of froth washed over the decks, bringing the fires under control.

The stricken Hornet Hornet's chances were not helped by a signal that her captain had issued around noon via blinker light: "GO TO ENTERPRISE." Her commander had intended the signal for the many American pilots overhead who were looking for a place to land. When the Northampton Northampton's signal department repeated the signal, the Juneau Juneau's commander, Captain Lyman K. Swenson, believed the message was meant for him. At once the antiaircraft cruiser turned out of formation and rang up full speed to join Task Force 16 over the horizon. Task Force 17 badly needed the Juneau Juneau's heavy antiaircraft battery. In the thirteen-minute-long air attack that morning, her gunners claimed credit for a dozen of the many j.a.panese planes that were seen to fall around the task force.

The American command's insistence on operating its carriers separately doomed the Hornet Hornet to a lonely death. At 1:35 p.m., having recovered his returning strike aircraft, Kinkaid elected to withdraw south with Task Force 16. The to a lonely death. At 1:35 p.m., having recovered his returning strike aircraft, Kinkaid elected to withdraw south with Task Force 16. The Enterprise, Enterprise, with the with the South Dakota South Dakota and her other escorts, turned southeast. This was bad news for the and her other escorts, turned southeast. This was bad news for the Hornet, Hornet, for nearly an hour ago, j.a.panese pilots had spotted her and reported a target of opportunity. The for nearly an hour ago, j.a.panese pilots had spotted her and reported a target of opportunity. The Enterprise Enterprise departed the scene, taking her protective umbrella of fighter aircraft with her; another j.a.panese strike, this one launched by the departed the scene, taking her protective umbrella of fighter aircraft with her; another j.a.panese strike, this one launched by the Junyo, Junyo, arrived later. With the appearance of more enemy planes, the arrived later. With the appearance of more enemy planes, the Northampton Northampton cast off her towing wire to the cast off her towing wire to the Hornet Hornet in favor of renewed evasive maneuvering. With a fifteen-degree list and a rudder jammed to starboard, the in favor of renewed evasive maneuvering. With a fifteen-degree list and a rudder jammed to starboard, the Hornet Hornet was a poor candidate for salvage in any event. Adrift, she faced yet another attack. was a poor candidate for salvage in any event. Adrift, she faced yet another attack.

"With our air cover gone, the j.a.ps had it pretty much their own way," gunner's mate Alvin Grahn recalled. "Dive-bombers and torpedo planes, like I say all mixed up. There were destroyers and cruisers zig-zagging all over the place and firing their guns like mad, and the j.a.p torpedo bombers had trouble trying to line up on the Hornet Hornet with so many other vessels in the way. The torpedo planes finally were able to find an opening along our starboard side and that's when we really caught h.e.l.l. One of them dropped a torpedo and then swooped up and over the flight deck. Somebody hit him good and he caught fire. Just a ma.s.s of flames, with the landing gear falling off and all. The pilot layed his plane right over and made a tight circle and came back and smashed into the port side.... The plane's engine and fuselage penetrated four or five staterooms and kept right on going and ended up in the forward elevator pit. All this punishment left us without power or water pressure, dead in the water and fighting fires with bucket brigades." with so many other vessels in the way. The torpedo planes finally were able to find an opening along our starboard side and that's when we really caught h.e.l.l. One of them dropped a torpedo and then swooped up and over the flight deck. Somebody hit him good and he caught fire. Just a ma.s.s of flames, with the landing gear falling off and all. The pilot layed his plane right over and made a tight circle and came back and smashed into the port side.... The plane's engine and fuselage penetrated four or five staterooms and kept right on going and ended up in the forward elevator pit. All this punishment left us without power or water pressure, dead in the water and fighting fires with bucket brigades."

The Enterprise Enterprise task force came under a final attack, too. For all the withering resistance their brothers had met over the American carrier task forces, the pilots who flew on Kondo's final strike of the day, launched by the late-arriving task force came under a final attack, too. For all the withering resistance their brothers had met over the American carrier task forces, the pilots who flew on Kondo's final strike of the day, launched by the late-arriving Junyo, Junyo, braved the gauntlet once again. They put a five-hundred-pound bomb into the braved the gauntlet once again. They put a five-hundred-pound bomb into the San Juan San Juan that penetrated her thin decks and exploded beneath her, wrecking her rudder. Another bomb hit the forward turret of the that penetrated her thin decks and exploded beneath her, wrecking her rudder. Another bomb hit the forward turret of the South Dakota. South Dakota. Exploding atop the heavily armored roof, this blast had nowhere to go but up and out. Exploding atop the heavily armored roof, this blast had nowhere to go but up and out.

Every officer on the battles.h.i.+p's bridge except one hit the deck. That officer was Thomas Gatch. The s.h.i.+p's captain was standing on a catwalk forward of the conning tower, watching the Enterprise Enterprise ahead of him through the evening mist. The popular commander, who prized a certain kind of honor from studying Napoleon's wars, the literature of Shakespeare, and the history of the War Between the States, would say later that "it was beneath the dignity of a captain of a U.S. man-of-war to duck for a j.a.panese bomb." The reward for his bravado was a spray of shrapnel that nicked his jugular vein. As the chief quartermaster hastened to pressure the wound, the s.h.i.+p's doctor made his way to the bridge. Rumors flew that Gatch was near death. For him, readiness to do battle put everything else belowdecks. Spit and polish-out. Regimentation for its own sake-out. Discipline as a means of encouraging anything other than fighting efficiency-out. His medical condition was the chief topic among the crew for days. ahead of him through the evening mist. The popular commander, who prized a certain kind of honor from studying Napoleon's wars, the literature of Shakespeare, and the history of the War Between the States, would say later that "it was beneath the dignity of a captain of a U.S. man-of-war to duck for a j.a.panese bomb." The reward for his bravado was a spray of shrapnel that nicked his jugular vein. As the chief quartermaster hastened to pressure the wound, the s.h.i.+p's doctor made his way to the bridge. Rumors flew that Gatch was near death. For him, readiness to do battle put everything else belowdecks. Spit and polish-out. Regimentation for its own sake-out. Discipline as a means of encouraging anything other than fighting efficiency-out. His medical condition was the chief topic among the crew for days.

As the Hornet Hornet foundered and listed, her fires out of control, carrying 111 dead, two American destroyers were detailed to ease her into death. The foundered and listed, her fires out of control, carrying 111 dead, two American destroyers were detailed to ease her into death. The Mustin Mustin and the and the Anderson Anderson trained out their torpedo batteries on the carrier and fired, but each failed to put her under. The destroyers then turned to their guns, popping five-inch rounds into the trained out their torpedo batteries on the carrier and fired, but each failed to put her under. The destroyers then turned to their guns, popping five-inch rounds into the Hornet Hornet's waterline. After several hundred rounds, her fires were all the hungrier, but still she refused to go. It was after the Americans had left her to the night-around 1:30 a.m., with fires raging so badly that she would be of little use even if the j.a.panese seized her as a war prize-that Kondo's men-of-war closed with the hulk. It was j.a.panese destroyers that finally put the Hornet Hornet under with their torpedoes. under with their torpedoes.

The foregoing, evidently, was enough drama for one day. Disliking his chances with one damaged flattop against two unscarred enemy carriers-the Zuikaku Zuikaku and and Junyo Junyo were at large and dangerous, and he knew nothing of the shredded state of their air groups-Kinkaid continued retiring. He would face stern second-guessing for his decision to abandon the were at large and dangerous, and he knew nothing of the shredded state of their air groups-Kinkaid continued retiring. He would face stern second-guessing for his decision to abandon the Hornet. Hornet.

Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe, the commander of the Vanguard Force, would be censured for caution, too. He elected not to pursue Kinkaid's withdrawing Enterprise Enterprise task force as night fell on October 26. The decision couldn't have been for lack of motivation. He had been present at the Battle of Cape Esperance, where his lifelong friend Aritomo Goto had fallen. He had heard tell of Goto's dying profanities- task force as night fell on October 26. The decision couldn't have been for lack of motivation. He had been present at the Battle of Cape Esperance, where his lifelong friend Aritomo Goto had fallen. He had heard tell of Goto's dying profanities-"Bakayaro!" (idiots!)"-as the cruiser (idiots!)"-as the cruiser Aoba Aoba was smashed by forces he had believed were friendly. was smashed by forces he had believed were friendly.

AS THEIR s.h.i.+P SLUGGED SOUTH in the company of the battered in the company of the battered Enterprise, Enterprise, the crew of the the crew of the South Dakota South Dakota turned to the ceremonies by which they honored their dead. After dark, Captain Thomas Gatch ordered the engines slowed and came to a stop so that a proper burial at sea could be conducted for her first two dead. The night was black, and a feeling of gloom pressed down like a weight. The chaplain, Commander James V. Claypool, kept a strong grip on the belt of the nearest pallbearer, lest he stumble and fall overboard as he intoned the words. "Forasmuch as the spirit of the departed has returned to G.o.d who gave it, we therefore commit his body to the depths of the sea.... " Captain Gatch was belowdecks and for all the celebrants knew he might well be next off the slab. Untold hundreds of men lay dead on other s.h.i.+ps or were already within the sea's embrace. As