Location
Lat 9° 16' 0S Long 159° 41' 60E  Area on the north-west coast of Guadalcanal.

History
Occupied by the Japanese, and used as an area to land troops and supplies during the Guadalcanal campaign.

Battle of Cape Esperance (Second Battle of Savo Island)
Known to the Japanese as "Sea Battle of Savo Island". On October 11 – 12, 1942 the battle was the third of five major naval engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo and Cape Esperence on Guadalcanal.

Japanese naval forces under the command of Gunichi Mikawa, sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal. The convoy consisted of two seaplane tenders and six destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jojima. At the same time but in a separate operation, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō were to bombard Henderson Field with the object of destroying Allied aircraft and the airfield's facilities.

Shortly before midnight on October 11, a U.S force of four cruisers and five destroyers, under the command of Rear Admiral Norman Scott, intercepted Gotō's force as it approached Savo Island near Guadalcanal. Taking the Japanese by surprise, Scott's warships sank one of Gotō's cruisers and one of his destroyers, heavily damaged another cruiser, mortally wounded Gotō, and forced the rest of Gotō's warships to abandon the bombardment mission and retreat. During the exchange of gunfire, one of Scott's destroyers was sunk and one cruiser and another destroyer were heavily damaged. In the meantime, the Japanese supply convoy successfully completed unloading at Cape Esperence and began its return journey without being discovered by Scott's force. Later on the morning of October 12, four Japanese destroyers from the supply convoy turned-back to assist Gotō's retreating, damaged warships. Air attacks by U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field sank two of these destroyers later that day. Despite Scott's victory in the action, the battle had little immediate, strategic importance. Just two nights later two Japanese battleships bombarded and almost destroyed Henderson Field, and more Japanese reinforcements were successfully delivered to the island.

Japanese Evacuation
After a meeting in Tokyo on New Years Eve of 1942, Imperial HQ issued an order on January 4, 1943 to evacuate Guadalcanal via Cape Esperance. On the nights of February 1, 4 and 7, 1943 a total of 22 destroyers conducted the withdrawal from several locations, thus ended the brutal six-month Guadalcanal campaign, evacuating 12,198 Army and 832 Navy personnel. The superior American forces, who had local air supremacy never detected the withdrawal. The Japanese only lost one destroyer Makigumo sunk and three others damage. It is regarded as one of the great evacuations of the war in terms of success. The destroyer crews were amazed to see the surviving soldiers, starved living skeletons who had to abandonded their equipment, and had to waded out to the destroyers.

Ewan Stevenson adds:
"The Americans did a good job of 'cleaning up' the area. All Japanese equipment was taken back to "island depot". I never saw where the Japanese camps were along the coast. They were not easily identified."

Visale
Coastal settlement on Cape Esperance located at Takolenduna (Nugu Point). Occupied by the Japanese during the war, as part of their beachhead area around Cape Esperance.

Visale Catholic Mission
Founded in 1904 by the Cathloic missionaries. Occuupied by the Japanese, it was used as a radio station location by the Japanese Army. Bombed by Americans and destroyed. SBD pilot Geiger flew combat mission in a SBD and dropped a 1,000 lbs bomb through the roof of the mission. Postwar, the mission was rebuilt, and is again a peaceful place still in use to this day.

A6M2 Zero Tail 1130
Ditched in shallow water reef area, wreckage still present today

B-24D Liberator Serial Number 42-40646
Crashed in a ravine behind Visale after mission to Kahili

G4M1 Betty Tail Number 355
Crash site discovered in 1999

USS Jarvis DD-393
Sunk August 9, 1942 off Cape Esperence by D3A Val dive bombers

Veuru
Lat 9° 15' 0S Long 159° 40' 60E Coastal village on Cape Esperence.

Yamazuki Maru
Destroyed and beached at November 15, 1942

Type A Midget Submarine
Salvaged near Cape Esperence and moved ashore for study

PT-43
Damaged on January 2, 1943 scuttled by HMNZ corvette

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Last Updated
October 29, 2009