The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign. Allied landings were directly supported by three U.S. aircraft carrier task forces : TF 11 centered around USS Saratoga, TF 16 based on USS Enterprise, and TF 18 formed around USS Wasp.
About Battle of the Eastern Solomons in brief
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign. The Allied landings were directly supported by three U.S. aircraft carrier task forces : TF 11 centered around USS Saratoga, TF 16 based on USS Enterprise, and TF 18 formed around USS Wasp. The aircraft from the three carriers provided close air support for the invasion forces and defended against Japanese air attacks from Rabaul. After several damaging air attacks, the naval surface combatants from both America and Japan withdrew from the battle area without either side securing a clear victory. However, the U. S. and its allies gained tactical and strategic advantage. Japan’s losses were greater and included dozens of aircraft and their experienced aircrews. Japanese reinforcements intended for Guadal canal were delayed and eventually delivered by warships rather than transport ships, giving the Allies more time to prepare for the Japanese counteroffensive and preventing the Japanese from landing heavy artillery, ammunition, and other supplies. After a successful landing, they remained in the South Pacific Area charged with four main objectives: guarding the line of communication between the major Allied bases at New Caledonia and Espiritu Santo; giving support to Allied ground forces at Guadal Canal and Tulagi against possible Japanese counteroffensives; covering the movement of supply ships aiding GuadalCanal; and engaging and destroying any Japanese warships that came within range.
The counteroffensive was called Operation Ka, from the first syllable in the Japanese name for Guadelcanal. The naval forces had the additional objective of destroying Allied warship forces in theSouth Pacific Area, specifically the U S. carriers. On 16 August, a Japanese convoy of three slow transport ships loaded with 1,411 soldiers from the 28th Infantry Regiment, as well as several hundred naval troops from the 5 Yokosuka Naval Landing Force departed the Lagos base at Truk. The transports were guarded by the light cruiser Jintsō Jints, with the escort force of four heavy cruisers and four patrol boats, commanded by Rear Admiral Raizō Tanaka, who flew his flag in Jintsou. These were the same cruisers that had defeated an Allied naval force in the earlier Battle of Savo Island, which had been defeated by an old, relatively old, heavy cruiser, less than a month earlier. The landings on the Solomon Islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten supply routes between the US and Australia, and secure the islands as launching points for a campaign with an eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at Rabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea campaign. After the landings, the Allied control of Henderson Field became the key factor in the entire battle for Guadalcanals.
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