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| Location The Battle of Tassafaronga occurred during the early morning hours of November 30, 1942 in Iron Bottom Sound off Tassafaronga on the north coast of Guadalcanal and south of Savo Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese refer to this action as "Battle of Lunga Point". Also known as the "Fourth Battle of Savo Island". Japanese Navy Force The Japanese destroyer force was under the command of Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka including eight destroyers from Destroyer Squadron 2 (Desron 2) Naganami and Takanami escorting six destroyers serving as transports: Kuroshio, Oyashio, Kagerō, Suzukaze, Kawakaze, and Makinami each transporting 200-240 drums to be release into the sea off Tassafaronga Point on Guadalcanal that were to be recovered by Japanese Army personnel ashore. Each transporting destroyer had their extra torpedoes removed to save weight. U.S. Navy Force On November 24, 1942 the U.S. Navy (USN) formed Task Force 67 (TF-67) under the command of Rear Admiral Carleton H. Wright at Espiritu Santo, comprising of four heavy cruisers: USS Minneapolis (CA-36), USS New Orleans (CA-32), USS Pensacola (CA-24) and USS Northampton (CA-26) plus light cruiser USS Honolulu (CL-48) and four destroyers: USS Fletcher (DD-445), USS Drayton (DD-366), USS Maury (DD-401), and USS Perkins (DD-377). On November 28, 1942 placed under the command of Admiral Thomas Kinkaid. Together, Wright and Kinkaid planned was to use TF-67's destroyer's to spot the enemy force on radar, make a torpedo attack then depart the area allowing the cruisers to open fire illuminated by flares dropped by their scout planes. On November 29 1942 the U.S. Navy intercepted a Japanese Navy message to the 17th Army alerting them to a supply run the next night and TF-67 departed Espiritu Santo bound for Guadalcanal to intercept the Japanese. Battle of Tassafaronga On November 30, 1942 during the early morning hours, eight destroyers, six with troops and supplies were sent to reinforce Guadalcanal. The Japanese force was spotted on radar by U.S. Navy Task Force 67 (TF-67) a force of heavy cruisers and destroyers but contact was lost due to their proximity to the northern coast of the island. The Battle of Tassafaronga began on November 30, 1942 at 11:20pm when three U.S. destroyers made a surprise torpedo attack against the Japanese force off Tassafaronga with every American warship opening fire at the enemy. Caught by surprise, the Japanese launched torpedoes but did not return fire for seven minutes. At 11:22pm, both USS Minneapolis (CA-36) and USS New Orleans (CA-32) sustained torpedo hits and withdrew. At 11:39 USS Pensacola (CA-24) was also hit by a torpedo and withdrew. The action continued with USS Northampton and USS Honolulu (CL-48) plus six destroyers continuing to attack. At 11:48pm USS Northampton (CA-26) was hit by a torpedo and sank three hours later. Meanwhile, Japanese destoyer Takanami sunk by gunfire. Losses The Japanese lost Takanami sunk with 197 killed. The U.S. Navy lost USS Northampton (CA-26) sunk. Damaged was USS Minneapolis (CA-36), USS New Orleans (CA-32) and USS Pensacola (CA-24) with a total of 395 killed. Result The Battle of Tassafaronga was a tactical victory for the Japanese as the "Tokyo Express" was able to complete their mission of resupplying Guadalcanal. The U.S. Navy sustained heavy damage but won a strategic victory as it was the last Japanese "Tokyo Express" run to resupply Guadalcanal. References Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) - Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November 1942 Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) - Surface Lessons of Guadalcanal (map Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November 1943) Combined Fleet: #5. Battle of Tassafaronga (November 30, 1942) Contribute
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 Map Nov 30, 1942 |
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