November 13, 1942 - Friday - 80 years ago today

Status - John Skinner: 

John had probably by this time reached home at Clark's Hill.  There would be time to catch up with friends and family, but there would also be lots of work to do, as farm chores never stop, even when the harvest is over. He would have until early December before needing to report to a new ship; as Boston was where most of the new destroyers were being built, that would be his destination.  

The sinking of Wasp was still classified, and so John would not have been able to mention it even though it happened at the same time O'Brien was torpedoed.

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

The Japanese had decided to go all out to push the Marines off Guadalcanal.  Their initial force included two battleships,  The main action occurred overnight on the 12th-13th; it was a brutal nighttime slug-fest at close quarters between a Japanese fleet with two battleships and two US cruiser-destroyer fleets.  Two US admirals were killed and 2 cruisers and 4 destroyers were sunk.  Japanese battleship Hiei was damaged in the battle and later sunk by US warplanes.

The damaged US sailed for Espiritu Santo for repairs.  Light Cruiser Juneau was damaged during the battle, and on the way back was hit by two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine and exploded and sank in less than a minute.  All five of the Sullivan brothers, who had decided to serve together, were lost with the ship.

Several more naval actions would occur around Guadalcanal in the next few days.

U. S. Navy Task Forces:

• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) provided cover for Guadalcanal and the fleets involved in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
  
• Saratoga sailed from Pearl Harbor on on the 10th for Fiji.
• Combined Task Force 61 was in the Guadalcanal area.
  
• Task Force 16 (Enterprise) -> TF 61  
• 
  

More Information:

• Official Navy Chronology, pp. 273-275.
  
•  The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign,  John B. Lundstrom, pp 472-488.
• The Struggle for Guadalcanal, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 225-263.
• Neptune's Inferno, The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, James D. Hornfischer, pp. 246-334.

 

NEXT POST: NOVEMBER 17TH