Severely damaged by Japanese bombers and torpedo planes during the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942, during the Guadalcanal campaign, the stricken carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) lists to port. A second attack inflicted further damage and the ship was sent to the bottom by US surface units. With the loss of Wasp (CV-7) and damage to Saratoga (CV-3) in the earlier battle of the Eastern Solomons (August 2, 1942), Enterprise remained the sole operational US carrier in the south Pacific.
