World War II: Fleets Clash in the Eastern Solomons!

August 24-25, 1942 - Allied and Japanese fleets fight the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Following the Allied invasion of Guadalcanal, Japanese naval leaders began planning a counteroffensive to regain complete control of the island. Steaming south from Truk, several Japanese formations approached the Solomons with the goal of landing reinforcements on Guadalcanal and drawing the Allied carriers in the area into battle. Led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the Japanese Main Body consisted of the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, the light carrier Ryujo, and their escorts. The Allies countered with the carriers USS Enterprise and USS Saratoga, under the command of Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. In late August, both fleets actively began searching for each other with little success. On the morning of August 24, Nagumo detached Ryujo with orders to strike at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Around 9:35 AM, this force was spotted by American aircraft. Believing that the Japanese knew his location, Fletcher delayed in attacking Ryujo, preferring to husband his aircraft for when the Japanese heavy carriers were sighted. Finally at 1:40 PM, he dispatched a 38-plane strike force from Saratoga to attack the Japanese light carrier. Less than an hour later, the US carriers were spotted by a Japanese scout plane. Upon receiving this news, Nagumo promptly launched his aircraft. As they were flying towards Fletcher's ships, the planes from Saratoga attacked and sank Ryujo. At 4:30 PM, the Japanese planes began their assault and focused on Enterprise. Despite taking evasive action and the efforts of US fighters, three bombs hit the carrier inflicting heavy damage (left). Though wounded, Enterprise was able to quickly resume flight operations. The battle resumed the next day when aircraft from Henderson Field attacked a troop convoy headed for Guadalcanal. Inflicting heavy damage, they forced it to turn around. Following this fight, both sides elected to break off the action and withdraw from the area.

Photograph Courtesy of the US Naval Historical Center