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 USN August 9, 1942  Daley August 9, 1942  USN August 9, 1942 |
Location The Battle of Savo Island occurred in Iron Bottom Sound off Savo Island between Guadalcanal to the south and the Florida Island and Tulagi Island to the north in the Solomon Islands. Also known as the First Battle of Savo Island or First Battle of the Solomon Sea. The battle was a surface action between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the Allies including the U.S. Navy (USN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The Battle of Savo Island was first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign during the night of August 8, 1942 until the early morning of August 9, 1942 and resulted in a Japanese victory. Wartime History On August 7, 1942 the Japanese were unprepared for the U.S. landings at Tulagi and Guadalcanal and planned a reinforcement by two transports but both were recalled when the Allied force was revealed to be stronger than initially reported. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) 8th Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa planned sortied a force of heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers for a night engagement with the Allied warships to avoid attacks by U.S. aircraft. The Japanese force includes Chokai the flagship of Vice Admiral Mikawa plus light cruisers Tenryū, Tubari and destroyer Yūnagi that sortied from Rabaul. Enroute, joined by heavy cruisers Aoba, Furutaka, Kako and Knugasa from Cruiser Division 6 under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto that sortied from Kavieng. By evening, the Japanese force proceeded via Staint Georges Channel when spotted by USS S-38 that reported "two destroyers an three larger ships of unknown type" but was unable to attack. The Japanese proceeded to the north of Buka Island then followed the eastern coast of Bougainville when spotted by a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Hudson that reported "three cruisers, three destroyers, and two seaplane tenders" followed by another Hudson but neither report were relayed to the Allied warships until the late afternoon of the next day. On August 8, 1942 in the morning, the force waited off Kieta for six hours during daylight hours then proceeded via Bougainville Strait then down "The Slot" of the central Solomon Islands after dark to avoid detection by Allied planes and was not detected. Arriving from the west, the Mikawa planned to attack south of Savo Island attack the Guadalcanal anchorage and Tulagi anchorage then withdraw north of Savo Island. In the afternoon, altered to the expected arrival of the Japanese Navy surface force, Allied cruisers and destroyers began patrolling off Savo Island to screen for the transports still unloading and defended against the expected arrival of the Japanese Navy surface force. The Allied force was divided into a "northern escort force" of USS Astoria (CA-34), USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Quincy (CA-39). The "southern force" included HMAS Canberra (D33), USS Chicago (CA-29) and destroyers USS Patterson (DD-392) and USS Bagley (DD-386). At 1:00am the "southern force" heard the sounds of seaplanes overhead but no warning was issued, it was assumed they were friendly planes. In fact, they Japanese floatplanes from cruisers that dropped flares that silhouetted HMAS Canberra (D33) and USS Chicago (CA-29) as the Japanese cruisers released torpedoes and commenced gunfire at the start of the Battle of Savo Island. Meanwhile, the "northern escort force" spotted flares and star shells to the south and heard the sounds of gunfire and went to general quarters. At 1:55am Japanese cruiser searchlights illuminated USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Quincy (CA-39). and a confused battle began with the Japanese quickly scoring hits on all three U.S. cruisers. After the initial engagement, Mikawa, feared his force would be attacked by U.S. carrier planes at dawn and decided to withdraw in the darkness and did not engage the U.S. transports. This was a missed opportunity and the Japanese would never again have such an opportunity. The battle was an overwhelming Japanese Navy victory that resulted in the loss of four Allied cruisers. USS Quincy (CA-39) sunk 2:38am,, USS Vincennes (CA-44) sunk at 2:50am. Damaged HMAS Canberra (D33) was scuttled at 8:00am and damaged USS Astoria (CA-34) sunk at 12:16pm. As a result of these losses, the Allied decided to withdraw before fully unloading. USS Quincy (CA-39) Sunk August 9, 1942 at 2:38am during the Battle of Savo Island. USS Vincennes (CA-44) Sunk August 9, 1942 at 2:50am during the Battle of Savo Island. USS Astoria (CA-34) Damaged during the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942 sunk at 12:16pm HMAS Canberra (D33) Damaged during the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942 and scutted at 8:00am by U.S. destroyers. References Combined Fleet: Guadalcanal Naval Battles #1. Savo Island (August 9, 1942) Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) - The Battle of Savo Island August 9th, 1942 Strategical and Tactical Analysis Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) - Surface Lessons of Guadalcanal (map Battle of Savo Island) Contribute
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