November 21, 1942 - Saturday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner: 

John was still at home on leave.  

Guadalcanal Area

The bulk of the major sea battles for Guadalcanal were past, however, the Japanese still were using destroyers to supply their troops on Guadalcanal.  They were not adding new troops at this time.  The Navy presence near Guadalcanal and in the Slot would need to continue.

Although many of the damaged ships from recent battles were forced to return to US or Australian ports for repairs (and for some needed liberty for the crews), new ships were entering the area and a rethink of strategy produced a new task force alignment (as below).

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) remained in the Guadalcanal area.  Enterprise and escorts would return to being Task Force 16.
• Task Force 11 (Saratoga) sailed from Pearl Harbor on the 10th and was entering the area.  Saratoga and escorts reconstituted Task Force 11.
• Battleship Task Force 63 - South Dakota had to leave the area for repairs, but battleship North Carolina, (repaired from the torpedo hit on the day of the Wasp sinking), and new battleship Indiana would join Washington in Task Force 63.
• Battleship Task Force 64 - Two old battleships, Colorado and Maryland (repaired after the Pearl Harbor attack) would enter the area and become Task Force 64, 
• Task Force 66 was created from 8 destroyers, and Task Force 67 was created with 5 cruisers and 6 destroyers.
  

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 277-281.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 472-531.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 280-282.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 378-384.

 

NEXT POST: NOVEMBER 25TH