Scarcely had american forces consolidated their positions on guadalcanal after the successful landing of 7 august 1942, when the japanese. Charles cooks excellent the battle of cape esperance 1968. Battle of cape esperance is part of the guadalcanal campaign series, a featured topic. Aug 05, 2019 the battle of cape esperance was the first allied triumph over the japanese in a night battle. Responsible for this lack of action was partially the imperial navy submarines had accounted for wasp, damaged saratoga and north carolina, while carrier air units.
The battle of cape esperance the national wwii museum blog. By david alan johnson one large, two small vessels, one six miles from savo off northern beach, guadalcanal. Dec 23, 2014 donald a bertke, gordon smith, don kindell. Nov, 2018 at the battle of cape esperance, on the night of october 1112, rear admiral norman scott attempted to achieve better command and control by arraying his task force 64 in a close order, linear formation and turning off the radar on his flagship san francisco ca38. A tactical victory for hall, the engagement had little strategic significance as jojima was able to deliver his troops. The battles of cape esperance, 11 october 1942 and santa cruz islands, 26 october 1942. Scott did not trust the relatively new technology after its apparent failure. This is identified as among the best series of articles produced by the wikipedia community. Omni badge battle of cape esperance history alphascript publishing 20101024 isbn. Encounter at guadalcanal hardcover december 1, 1992 print length. Nov 24, 2020 excellent book on the battle of cape esperance. Excellent book on the battle of cape esperance navweaps forums. Since the book is short at only 150 pages, the reader can easily read this in a few hours and understand a little on the guadalcanal campaign, especially the naval side. It was the second of the string of battles fought in ironbottom sound off guadalcanal, and pitched a small japanese force of cruisers and destroyers against a slightly larger.
Primary sources hh104 american naval history research. The battle of cape esperance buks historical ad hockery. Strategy, command, and the solomons plans, preparations, and approach the landing the battle of savo island first days ashore the tenaru the battle of the eastern solomons two weeks of sparring the battle of edsons ridge reinforcement and reassessment battles on the matanikau the battle of cape esperance the. Ossian on the night of 89 august 1942, a combined australianamerican naval force, screening the amphibious landings in the southern solomon islands, was completely surprised and thoroughly defeated by a numerically inferior imperial. Although strategically unimportant, the american victory at cape esperance proved to be a much needed morale boost for the us navy. The battle is also known as the second naval battle of savo island, and is recorded by the japanese as the sea battle of savo island. Tmp excellent book on the battle of cape esperance topic. Helen durand, an army nurse and his sweetheart, is trapped behind enemy lines, fighting for the resistance on mindanao. It was the first night attack in the south pacific of american naval forces, led by admiral scott on the san francisco but scarcely controlled by him.
Battle of guadalcanal, vella gulf, and empress august bay were tactical victories for american forces that prevented the japanese. The battle of cape esperance, also known as the second battle of savo island and, in japanese sources, as the sea battle of savo island, took. Note the forward 6inch47caliber triple gun turret trained to starboard. Buy this book if you are at all interested in the naval side of the guadalcanal campaign. At the battle of cape esperance, on the night of october 1112, rear admiral norman scott attempted to achieve better command and control. The battle of cape esperance, also known as the second battle of savo island and, in japanese sources, as the sea battle of savo island, took place on 1112 october 1942, in the pacific campaign of world war ii between the imperial japanese navy and united states navy. Oct 11, 2017 uss boise after the battle of cape esperance, nov 1942 courtesy of the us navy just like nimitz, yamamotos biggest issue in the south pacific was fuel. The battle of cape esperance encounter at guadalcanal. The battle of cape esperance was the first allied triumph over the japanese in a night battle.
Rear admiral norman scott, victor of the battle of cape esperance. Ive got a book somewhere about stonehenge by rjc atkinson which has the reverse. The battle of cape esperance 1112 october 1942 was a clash between american and japanese forces both covering supply convoys heading towards guadalcanal. Dec 17, 2018 this describes both sides at cape esperance, with the usn winning because it was only less confused, made less mistakes, and was barely able to keep the initiative. Through the entire month of september, japanese transportation runs, made by destroyers, went unopposed by anything but sporadic air attacks from henderson field. He gets few facts wrong he calls the soc floatplanes kingfishers but leaves some important things out notably any reference to the japanese viewpoint. The number of ships sunk in the area around guadalcanal, tulagi and savo island led to the area being nicknamed iron bottom sound. Scarcely had american forces consolidated their positions on guadalcanal after the successful landing of 7 august 1942. Orders of battle battle of cape esperance battles of the. The gun club gives a brief, clear summary of the battle, based, according to the author, largely on capt. Encounter at guadalcanal wayne hughes and charles cook. Boise cl47 arrives at the philadelphia navy yard in november 1942 for repair of battle damage received during the battle of cape.
Battle of cape esperance in the second world war 19391945 the. Excellent book on the battle of cape esperance page 3. As commander of naval aviation units throughout the war, he also led the seaplane tenders that participated in the defense of guadalcanal during the guadalcanal campaign including the battle of cape esperance and japanese efforts to recapture henderson field in. Was this a mistake or was this a proper way to make the turn. Battle of cape esperance, 11 october 1942 boise cl47 arrives at the philadelphia navy yard in november 1942 for repair of battle damage received during the battle of cape esperance. The result was the japanese were bested in this battle, with moderate losses. Feb 18, 2002 thrown into two epic naval battles of early world war ii, the battle of cape esperance and the battle of the santa cruz islands, a young but already battle weary todd ingram is also in the middle of a personal nightmare.
The battle of cape esperance, also known as the second battle of savo island. What the navy learned from guadalcanal the sextant. The miniatures page logo excellent book on the battle of cape esperance topic. Digital copies of group photographs, scrapbooks, autograph books. Young yet battle weary todd is also caught in a personal nightmare. Question about the battle of cape esperance, wwii history hub. Search results for battle of cape esperance morebooks. The battle of cape esperance 1112 october 1942 was a clash between american and japanese forces both covering supply convoys. The battle of cape esperance, 1942 orkney wargames. Part one of jeffs talk in the cal state fullerton historical lecture series on october at miniwars 2018 blog. Encounter at guadalcanal hardcover december 1, 1992 by charles orson cook author 4. Scarcely had american forces consolidated their positions on guadalcanal after the successful landing of 7 august 1942, when the japanese indicated their resolve to regain control of the southern solomons.
The battle of cape esperance seemed manageable, as it was fairly small, but it involved a few novelties such as night fighting, radar, and lots of torpedoes. The battles of the eastern solomons, cape esperance, and santa cruz. The heavily damaged japanese cruiser aoba disembarks dead and wounded crew members near buin, bougainville and the shortland islands a few hours after the battle on 12 october 1942. Responsible for this lack of action was partially the imperial navy submarines had accounted for wasp, damaged saratoga and north carolina, while carrier air units had knocked enterprise out of the action. As commander of naval aviation units throughout the war, he also led the seaplane tenders that participated in the defense of guadalcanal during the guadalcanal campaign including the battle of cape esperance and japanese efforts to recapture henderson field in 1942. Remember, this is still the go to war with the navy you have part of the war. The naval battle was the second major surface engagements during the guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between savo island and guadalcanal. Duncan, october 8, 1942, four days before the battle at cape esperance. The night action of 1011 oct, sometimes know as the second battle of savo island but usually as the battle of cape esperance, is an. Battle of cape esperance captain tells of jap disater off savo contributed by swift c. Nov 24, 2020 i also have the book the battle of cape esperance to which fowler makes several references by charles cook, who was present at the battle as an officer aboard uss helena.
Jul 01, 2016 an entire range of diving shells was created, eightinch and larger. The turn left uss farenholt, uss buchanan and uss laffey in the rear of the column. This book is about the battle of cape esperance and how the us navy ship uss duncan was caught in a deadly crossfire between friendly forces and imperial. Other articles where battle of cape esperance is discussed. Encounter at guadalcanal by charles cook 1992, hardcover, reprint at the best online prices at ebay. Reinforcement and reassessment battles on the matanikau the battle of cape esperance the highspeed convoy the battle for henderson field the battle of the santa cruz islands retreats and.
Orders of battle battle of cape esperance battles of. This is the next in our series on the pacific battles of world war ii. The battles of cape esperance, 11 october 1942 and santa cruz islands, 26 october 1942 combat narratives. That time a bad radio call won the wwii battle of cape esperance. Cape esperance is the northernmost point on the island of guadalcanal. The battle of cape esperance, also known as the second battle of savo island and, in japanese sources, as the, took place on 1112 october, 1942, in the pacific campaign of world war ii between the imperial japanese navy and united states navy. Runnng estimate and summary, 19411945 nimitz gray book. Poor authored the account of the battle of cape esperance while the battle of the santa cruz islands was written by henry v. The naval battle of guadalcanal naval historical foundation. This book brings to life an important but littleknown battle that broke the stalemate in the long and bloody campaign for guadalcanal. The story of the strategic encounter conveys the confusion within the convoy, as officers under scott on individual. In spite of the confidence shown by japanese officers, the only known instance of a type 91 shell actually penetrating its target below the waterline was at cape esperance against uss boise. Excellent book on the battle of cape esperance navweaps. Navy and imperial japanese navy surface forces around guadalcanal in 1942 were almost always brief and bloody.
The author was an infant when his father, torpedo officer aboard uss duncan, lost his life in the am battle and has spent decades doing both deep archival research as well as interviewing numerous surviving participants in the battle. From september through november 1942, the allies defeated the axis forces on all active fronts. Thrown into a couple of epic naval battles during early world war ii, the battle of cape esperance and the battle of the santa cruz islands. Japans diving shells in the battle of cape esperance. The battle of cape esperance ensued from the struggle between american and japanese forces for the control of guadalcanal.
Jun 18, 2016 the battle of cape esperance took place on 1112 october 1942 in the pacific campaign of world war ii between the imperial japanese navy and united states navy. The misunderstood victory of admiral norman scott sons of heroes, call forth the steel. Just before the battle of cape esperance in wwii, admiral scott ordered the column to turn. Thats a responsible thing to do, but as you implicitly note its rare.
Battle of cape esperance naval history and heritage command. Prior to the battle of cape esperance, the imperial japanese navy was the uncontested master of the water around guadalcanal at night. The battle, along with the losses suffered during the battle of savo island, cape esperance and the naval battles of guadalcanal temporarily left the us navy with only four operational heavy cruisers and nine light cruisers in the entire pacific ocean. Dec 22, 2020 excellent book on the battle of cape esperance. Today marks the 70 th anniversary of the start of the battle of cape esperance, the second major naval battle to occur at night during the guadalcanal campaign. Battle of cape esperance and similar military conflicts. In assessing the battle, many of the american officers felt that chance had played a key role in allowing them to surprise the japanese. Tokyo is actually farther from the guadalcanal than pearl harbor, and like the americans, the japanese lacked sufficient tanker capacity. Battle of cape esperance unionpedia, the concept map. Today we look at the third major battle of the guadalcanal campaign, the battle of cape esperance. On the night of 11 october, the japanese dispatched an.
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