graduate Eastern Solomons. For Nagumo, the engagement resulted in the loss of Ryujo, one light cruiser, a destroyer, a troop ship, and 75 aircraft. Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Hickman, Kennedy. Radioing the position back to Nagumo, the Japanese admiral immediately began launching his aircraft. In addition, Enterprise was badly damaged, but remained operable. Two long range searches are planned, the H8K Emily's from Shortland search to the south and east of the Solomons, the Bettys from … Navy Department Office of Naval Intelligence. Solo Campaign Sequence - Battle of the Eastern Solomons After a considerable hiatus because of work on Bay of Bengal and the second edition standard rules of Solomon Sea, I finally managed to get on with the sequence, playing Eastern Solomons as the next battle. Combat Narrative The Battle of the Eastern Solomons oil, by John Hamilton. The next morning the battle was renewed when aircraft from Henderson Field attacked Tanaka's convoy. Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 23–25 August 1942. In that time, they had suffered supply shortages, bombing raids and naval bombardments, had annihilated an initial Japanese force sent to dislodge the Eastern Solomons. Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Conflict: The Battle of the Eastern Solomons was fought during World War II. 23-25 August 1942. During the battle, neither side was ever within sight of each other. Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 24 August 1942: A Japanese bomb exploding on the flight deck of USS Enterprise (CV-6), just aft of the island (80-G-17489). Through the rest of the morning, this report was followed by sightings of Kondo's ships and a cover force sent from Rabaul to protect Tanaka's convoy. As in the Coral Sea and at Midway, U.S. and Japanese ships never sighted each other during the course of this engagement—all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or shore-based aircraft. During the Battle of Guadalcanal, the fight for the eastern Solomons helped hasten … The Battle of the Solomons began with the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Aboard Saratoga, Fletcher was hesitant to launch an attack, preferring to husband his aircraft in case the Japanese carriers were located. World War II: Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Japanese casualties numbered around 290 and included the loss of valuable aircrews. This raid sank the destroyer Mutsuki. The Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 23-25 August 1942, early in the Guadalcanal campaign. Commencing their attack, the Japanese focused their assault on Enterprise. Yamamoto's Operation KA - the plan which precipitated the Eastern Solomons battle - had two objectives: to achieve the crushing victory over the American carriers which had escaped him at Midway, and to support the landing of the 3000 men being transported from Rabaul to Guadalcanal. Both of these were supported by Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe's Vanguard Force consisting of 2 battleships, 3 heavy cruisers, and 1 light cruiser and Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondo's Advance Force of 5 heavy cruisers and 1 light cruiser. Other articles where Battle of the Eastern Solomons is discussed: World War II: The Solomons, Papua, Madagascar, the Aleutians, and Burma, July 1942–May 1943: On August 23–25, in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Japanese lost a light carrier, a destroyer, and a submarine and sustained damage to a cruiser and to a seaplane carrier but sank an Allied destroyer and crippled a cruiser. By 7:45 PM Enterprise was able to resume flight operations. The Battle of the Eastern Solomons was the third carrier battle of the Pacific War, following the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4-8, 1942) and Battle of Midway (June 4-6, 1942). Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 24 August 1942: A Japanese bomb exploding on the flight deck of USS Enterprise (CV-6), just aft of the island (80-G-17489). Japan lost significant numbers of aircraft and experienced aircrew personnel, and ground reinforcements for Guadalcanal were delayed. Centered around the carriers USS Enterprise, USS Wasp, and USS Saratoga, Fletcher's force returned to the waters off Guadalcanal on August 21, to support US Marines in the wake of the Battle of Tenaru. It was fought during Operation Ka, the Japanese counteroffensive against Allied landings in the eastern Solomons. Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Aftermath . "World War II: Battle of the Eastern Solomons." Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Japanese forces (28 C, 12 F) Pages in category "Battle of the Eastern Solomons" This category contains only the following page. Scrambling 53 F4F Wildcats, Saratoga and Enterprise began evasive maneuvers after launching all of their attack aircraft with orders to seek targets of opportunity. AUGUST 24, 1942: Baptism of Fire – the Battleship’s first battle engagement. Unable to save the ship, Ryujo was abandoned by its crew. This attack was defeated by planes from Henderson. Seaman Mike Marko detailed in his diary, “Time is now 1740. With no confirmed reports about the location of the Japanese carriers, Fletcher released Wasp south to refuel. The Battleship’s first crew member killed in action was George E. Conlon on August 24, 1942. With Allied forces destroyed, the Japanese would be able to land reinforcements to clear Guadalcanal and retake Henderson Field. Hitting the light carrier with 3-5 bombs and possibly a torpedo, the American planes left the carrier dead in the water and on fire. All actions were carried out by carrier or land-based aircraft. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten supply routes between the U.S. 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. He has appeared on The History Channel as a featured expert. Though neither had success on the 22nd, an American PBY Catalina spotted Tanaka's convoy on August 23. American and Japanese forces clashed on August 24-25, 1942. The formerly classified combat narrative was originally published by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in January 1943; an HTML reproduction of the text is available in the Online Reading Room. Departing Truk on August 16, Tanaka steamed south aboard the light cruiser Jintsu. At 2:25 PM a scout plane from the cruiser Chikuma located Fletcher's flattops. Hickman, Kennedy. As these aircraft roared off the carrier's deck, the first strike from Ryujo arrived over Henderson Field. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Aftermath. World War II Pacific: The Japanese Advance Stopped, World War II: Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, World War II: Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, World War II: Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, World War II and the Battle of the Java Sea, World War II Database: Battle of the Eastern Solomons, Carriers Meet Again: Battle of the Eastern Solomons, M.S., Information and Library Science, Drexel University, B.A., History and Political Science, Pennsylvania State University, 2 fleet carriers, 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 2 fleet carriers, 1 light carrier, 2 battleships, 16 cruisers, 25 destroyers. https://www.thoughtco.com/battle-of-the-eastern-solomons-2361431 (accessed April 4, 2021). Enterprise steams past the burning wreckage of two Japanese dive bombers that were shot down while attacking during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, 24 August 1942. Reacting to this report, strikes took off from Saratoga and Henderson Field. Around 4:00 PM, Saratoga's planes commenced their attack on Ryujo. The Japanese realized that reinforcements were desperately needed on the island. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/battle-of-the-eastern-solomons-2361431. Enterprise (CV-6) War History, 7 December 1941–15 August 1945, Vignette: Chief Machinist William A. Smith and Enterprise (CV-6). In addition, Enterprise was badly damaged, but remained operable. The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal campaign. I am now looking at wounded man to see if I know him. One… The Battle of the Eastern Solomons As the forces steamed toward each other, the elaborate net spread out by search planes of both sides once more extended over the approaches to Guadalcanal. A tactical and strategic victory for the Allies, both commanders departed the area believing they had won a victory. The Japanese start the battle grouped into four task forces (containing, respectively, the two fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, the CVL Ryujo (to be kept a bit to the rear because it's so vulnerable), the transports, and the battleships which are to be used for bombardment. ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/battle-of-the-eastern-solomons-2361431. For Nagumo, the engagement resulted in the loss of Ryujo, one light cruiser, a destroyer, a troop ship, and 75 aircraft. 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Smith and. took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy … The battle of the Eastern Solomons (24-25 August 1942) was the second battle in the series of six naval actions linked to the fighting on Guadalcanal and was a carrier battle that ended as a minor American victory.. After their first small-scale counterattacks on Guadalcanal had failed the Japanese began to move reinforcements to the island. Battle of the Eastern Solomons: Attack on Ryujo, 24 August 1942 Scenario setup map. Due to further communication issues, the fighter cover had some difficulty intercepting the Japanese. By August 20, 1942, US Marines had been ashore on Guadalcanal Island for almost two weeks. The intent of Ka was to reinforce Japanese ground forces on Guadalcanal and destroy the naval forces directly supporting and screening the Allied landing forces. The overall Japanese plan called for Nagumo's carriers to locate and destroy their American counterparts which would allow Abe and Kondo's fleets to close and eliminate the remaining Allied naval forces in a surface action. Contributed by Richard Worth, David Williams, Richard Leonard and Mark Horan. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. After a series of air attacks, both sides withdrew their surface combatants from the battle area—neither was able to secure a clear victory, although U.S. forces gained tactical and strategic advantage. The following day both Fletcher and Nagumo launched scout planes in an effort to locate each other's carriers. As the attack on Ryujo was beginning, the first wave of Japanese planes was detected by Fletcher's force. On the U.S. side, Rear-Admiral McCain, COMAIRSOPAC, had planes at Guadalcanal (MAG23), at Espiritou Santo (PBYs and B-17s), and a small force of six PBYs on the island of Ndeni in the Santa Cruz Islands. The Battle of the Eastern Solomons cost Fletcher 25 aircraft and 90 killed. At 1:45 AM on August 24, Nagumo detached Ryujo, along with a heavy cruiser and two destroyers, with orders to attack Henderson Field at dawn. 23--25 August 1942. Battle of Eastern Solomons (August 23-25, 1942) The first major carrier battle over the Solomons occurred shortly after the American landings. Heavily damaging Jintsu and sinking a troop ship, the strike from Henderson was followed by an attack by B-17s based at Espiritu Santo. Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Background: In the wake of the Allied landings on Guadalcanal in August 1942, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto and the Japanese high command began planning Operation Ka with the goal retaking the island. 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