October 16, 1942 - Friday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner - USS O'Brien: 

O'Brien, with its escorts Cimmaron and Lang, reached Suva, Fiji on the 13th, and had only a broken plate as damage since being repaired at Noumea.  After repairs the ships left on the 16th toward American Samoa and then on to the West Coast.  There were two October 16ths, as the date line was crossed at midnight on the 16th and date was backed up a day.  Water leakage was increasing on O'Brien but was not yet considered serious.  War Damage Report #28 narration:

Task Group 66.3 arrived at Suva on 13 October. While there, damage and previous repairs to O'BRIEN were thoroughly inspected. Except for the broken plate on No. 6 port longitudinal no other evidence of failure or weakness in the repairs previously made was discovered. The broken plate was repaired by welding an angle to it, apparently along the top.

Departure from Suva was made about 1430 on 16 October. Shortly after departure and when in the open sea, rate of leakage again increased but not alarmingly so as one fire and bilge pump was more than adequate to control the leakage. Wind and sea were still very moderate.

At 0000, zone minus 12, October 17, the date was changed due to crossing the international date line and the 16th was repeated.

 Bombardment of Guadalcanal

The Marines were heavily bombarded for three consecutive nights, the first night Japanese battleships fired 14 inch shells into the airfield and surroundings.  Japanese heavy cruisers did more damage the second night.  The US Navy was unable to counter these attacks, and the Marines have not forgotten even to this day.  Most of the planes at the field were damaged or destroyed and the Japanese also landed several thousand more troops on the island.  This appeared to be another big Japanese offensive to push the Marines off the island.

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) sailed from Pearl Harbor on October 16th for the South Pacific.
  
• Saratoga remained at Pearl Harbor for repairs (sailed November 10th).
  
• Combined Task Force 61 remained on patrol in the Coral Sea near Guadalcanal.
  
• Task Force 17 (Hornet) -> TF 61 
  

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 262-264.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 298-321.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 172-182.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 191-199.
• U.S.S. O'Brien (DD415) Torpedo Damage and Loss South Pacific 15 Sept. - 19 Oct. 1942, War Damage Report #28, pp. 1-6
  

 

NEXT POST: OCTOBER 20TH