Battle of Guadalcanal
When the morning light comes, the waters of Guadalcanal are full of smoke, and several burning vessels can still be seen. Close to Lunga Point, the Atlanta, still being kept afloat by constant pump work, is taken under tow by the tug Bobolink. At 1400 she is anchored off Kukum, but it is soon apparent she can not be kept afloat long. There are no drydocks in Guadalcanal, so the decision is made to scuttle her in deep water 3 miles off Lunga.
The Portland is taken under tow by Bobolink in the afternoon and brought into Tulagi Harbor on the morning of 11/14.
The ships Helena, San Francisco, Juneau, O'Bannon, Sterret and Fletcher set out for safety of the New Hebrides. It's a sorry procession, the San Francisco with her upper works shot away, the others limping with scores of wounds. They can make only 18 knots and move through quiet seas toward safety. The Sterret is down to 2 guns, having taken 11 hits and survived. The O'Bannon's sound gear is disabled among other damage. They move on under the tactical command of the Helena's captain, G. C. Hoover, the 2 admirals having been killed the night before. The O'Bannon signals Adm Fitch for air cover as the ships are in no condition to be alert for attack. The men aboard are concered about survival, treatment of the wounded and the repair of emergency facilities.
Around noon the Juneau is hit by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-26 which apparently hits the ship's magazine. A huge explosion results and the ship sinks immediately. No one thought there would be any survivors so ships steam to get away from the Japanese submarine. The next morning a search plane spots about 100 men still alive in the water. It takes rescuers too long to reach them and when a PBY does, the survivor count is down to 6. A destroyer picks up a single survivor on a raft a week later and 3 other men make it to a small island where friendly natives save them.
Back in The Slot, the destroyers Cushing and Monssen continue to burn. Late in the afternoon they both sink. The Aaron Ward, dead in the water, is spotted in the morning by Hiei which lies just north of Savo Island, guarded by 3 Japanese destroyers. The Hiei begins firing on the Aaron Ward and continues until search planes from Cactus Air Force come over and attack her. The Aaron Ward sits still in the water until the afternoon when a tug hooks her up and tows her toward safety.
Cruiser Portland finds the crippled Japanese destroyer Yudachi in the morning and sinks her before she has a chance to be towed off.
The Hiei is attacked by dive bombers from Henderson Field about 0600. One bomb hits amidships and and another a near miss. An hour later 4 marine torpedo bombers appear and deliver the first torpedo attack by marine pilots. One torpedo hits Hiei. Just after 1000 6 more dive bombers appear and drop bombs, but the result is only a near miss. 6 F4Fs come in a strafe the ship and then marine torpedo bombers return and put another torpedo into the ship.
The 11th Air Fleet sends a number of Zeros to cover the battleship and they engage in air fights with the American planes. The F4Fs claim to have shot down 7 Zeros. Late in the morning 9 torpedo bombers from Enterprise arrive and put 3 more torpedoes into her. The 11th Bombardment Group of US Army Air Force sends 14 B-17s to bomb the ship. 56 500-lb bombs are dropped, 1 hits, at 1100. A few minutes later more planes from Henderson Field attack and score more hits with 1000-lb bombs. 2 torpedoes also hit. The Hiei is still floating and fighting, but at least half of her AA guns out. At 1435m the Enterprise torpedo bombers return and score 3 more torpedo hits. Just before sunset marine dive bombers are back and score one near miss on a destroyer in the screen.
Aboard the Hiei, her captain and admiral have been wounded, and 450 of her crew killed. Yamamoto orders the destroyer Kirishima to tow her back to Truk. Those orders are disregarded, however, and she is scuttled that night. Survivors sail north in destroyers. Yamamoto furious when he learns, calls for a court of inquiry. Adm Abe and Capt Nishida are forced to retire.
Yamamoto is upset that the plan to bombard Henderson and take it with troops from the 38th Div failed order Adm Kondo, who is then 500 miles east of Rabaul, to rescue the Hiei and go bombard Henderson Field on the night of the 14th.
Shelling by the cruisers Suzuya and Maya begins about 0130. The fire about 1,000 rounds of 8-in ammunition. The shells miss the installations on the bomber strip at Henderson Field, but do a lot of damage in the 'cow pasture'. 2 F4Fs are set on fire by incendiaries, 15 others damaged by fragmentation shells.
Carlson sends out several patrols from Asamana to ambush a number of small Japanese units. The marines also capture a number of landing craft and 15 tons of rice. This hurts the Japanese who are extremely short of supplies.
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