Battle of the island of Savo

The battles of Savo is a naval Bataille of the Guerre in the Pacific during the Second world war, which took place the August 9th 1942 between a squadron of cruisers of the Japanese imperial Marine and the allied naval forces.

Context

The Japanese forces were gathering to bring a support to their forces within the framework of the combat of the New Guinea near.

At the time of the attack allied on Guadalcanal, the vice admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue ordered air raids on Guadalcanal and the allied fleet starting from Rabaul.

In addition, a Task force of 7 Cruiser S (the Chokai , the Aoba , the Furutaka , the Kako , the Kinugasa , the Tenryu and the Yubari ) and of a Destroyer, under the command of against admiral Gunichi Mikawa, was sent to attack the allied fleet.

The Battle

August 8th, the admiral Fletcher made the decision to withdraw his Task force 61 (the door planes '' Saratoga '', '' Enterprise '' and Wasp like their squadron) because of a lack of fuel and loss of 21 planes during the Japanese raids of the August 7th and 8th.

Consequently, the commander of Task force 62, the admiral Turner, private on the aerial cover of the aircraft carriers, decided to withdraw all the ships of transport and the cargo liner of the zone to 06:00 the next morning and informed the Vandegrift general of it at the time of a conference on the US McCawley , flagship of Task force 62.

This decision posed new and thorny problem with Vandegrift. Indeed, all the plans had been based the fact that the ship of the TF would remain there during four days during which the whole of the supplies would be unloaded on Guadalcanal. The evening of August 8th, nearly 1.400 Marines had not unloaded and more half of the supply of Vandegrift was still in the holds of the ships.

In fact, even if the whole of the supply had been unloaded on the beach, the Division of Vandergrift would have been in a delicate situation, considering the small quantity of support which could have been embarked in the urgency of the preparation of the mission.

The decision to stop the unloading of what was not thus that a strict minimum returned for Vandergrift to a catastrophe, but the admiral Turner did not change an opinion.

This night there, of the 19 ships of transport from the Task force, 14 were anchored close to Guadalcanal, 5 close to Tulagi.

Was also present at the meeting on the McCawley against admiral Crutchley, ordering TG 62.2 (Group of escort), TG 62.3 (Group of support fire Guadalcanal) and TG 62.4 (Group of support fire Tulagi).

Whereas its flagship, the HMS Australia , was close to the McCawley , with 40 kilometers of Guadalcanal, its Groups Task patrolled in three groups distinct in the surroundings from the island of Savo.

The squadron of Mikawa arrived at height of the island of Savo towards 01:00 on August 9th. He saw and succeeds in passing, without being noticed, the destroyer Blue who supervised the accesses of the island, and approached the TG 62.2.

The Canberra noticed the approach of vessels not identified. Its commander, the captain Frank Getting, called at the stations of combat and operated to position his ship between the intruders and of not armed transport of troop. With 1:44, whereas the gunners of the Canberra were on the point of making fire, a broadside of shell reached the building. In a few minutes, 27 shells had reached the ship which started to burn. Quickly, the Chicago was also reached by torpedes and shells. The two ships had undergone such damage that they were unable to answer or to warn the two other allied squadrons present in trimmings.

Fifteen minutes later, Japanese started the combat with the TG 62.3 (Group of North), ordered by the captain Frederick L. Riefkohl. The advantage of the surprise played completely, and the three cruisers were quickly run.

Two Japanese cruisers, the Aoba and the Chokai , were however damaged, seriously for the Chokai of which one of the turrets had been destroyed and 34 men killed.

Japanese, not knowing that the aircraft carriers of the TF 61 were not any more around Guadalcanal, did not want to try their front chance. In addition, the room of the operations and the charts of the Chokai , the building of Mikawa, had been destroyed, which made somewhat hazardous navigation in the channel between Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The squadron made half-turn then, missing an occasion which would not arise any more, since nothing was drawn up any more between it and the 19 ships of transport anchored close to Guadalcanal and Tulagi.

Continuations of the battle

In addition to the run cruisers, the Canberra was so seriously damaged that it had to be evacuated and cast with blows of gun by the other Alliés ships. The Getting captain and 83 team members had perished. The survivors of the ship were helped by American destroyers.

The battle of Savo humiliating was demolished the most that the Marine of the United States ever underwent. In the future battles of the countryside of the Solomon Islands, she would learn with American that it was necessary to respect the capacity of Japanese to fight of night. It was the first of a series of naval battles which would be worth with the Détroit of News-Georgia its nickname of bottom of scrap because of many wrecks which would paper it soon.

Now, the Navy was only found on Guadalcanal. Deprived of the air support of TF 61, which had moved away, they were tackled the every day about midday (the “Tojo time” as would call it the Navy) by Japanese aviation which launched its air raids of Rabaul. Worse, without the naval support of the TF 62, rolled by naval engagement, the Navy had to undergo during days of the bombardments starting from Japanese cruisers or destroyers out of reach their guns. The whole of these attacks concentrated on Henderson Field in order to prevent the startup of the tracks for the United States Air Force, while small troops of Japanese reinforcement unloaded.

However, fortunately for the Navy, they are only two weeks later that Japanese would make a first serious attempt unload reinforcements. During this operation, which would lead to the Bataille of Salomons Eastern, the fortune of the weapons would turn somewhat.

Meanwhile, the TF 61 had returned to keep Guadalcanal and starting from August 15th, the convoys of supply for Guadalcanal had begun again, dispatched by fast convoys covered by planes sent of the New Hebrides. Japanese had not thus succeeded in correctly benefitting from leu victory in the battle of the island of Savo.

Sources

See too

External bonds

• Battle order

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