December 29th, 1942
Ironbottom Sound, 00:14 - Fearing (with foresight!) that there are people behind the two destroyers running away in front of him, Ohmae turns back. He calls back to him the CLTT
Oi, while reporting to Goto that he has spotted and put to flight two enemy destroyers.
At this point, Goto hesitates for a few minutes. Perhaps these two destroyers are isolated? Or maybe they are just a small force that Ohmae's flotilla will be able to repel? Finally, he refuses to put the transports at risk. He orders Nishimura to continue toward Henderson Field with the heavy cruisers
Atago and
Takao, the light cruiser
Nagara and the 4th Destroyer Division (
Maikaze, Samidare, Tanikaze and
Tokitsukaze). At any rate, he charges the 10th Destroyer Division (
Akigumo, Kazagumo, Makigumo and
Yugumo) to go and cover the transports, off Tassafaronga. On its side, with the heavy cruisers
Aoba,
Furutaka, Haguro and
Myoko, the light cruiser
Kinu and the destroyers
Hayashio,
Kuroshio and
Oyashio, he heads west at 20 knots.
Japanese Destroyer IJN Yugumo, Battle of Tassafaronga, December 1942
Between Savo and Guadalcanal, 00:36 - While Goto hesitates, Crace continues on course heading 140, still in two groups (destroyers in line ahead, then cruisers in line behind), at cautious speed - 15 knots, which has the advantage of reducing the visibility of bow waves.
In order not to disturb the layout of the destroyers (the two best radars were placed at the two ends of the formation), he ordes the two Frenchmen to come and stand behind the line of cruisers. However, unaware of what is in front of him - perhaps only a few destroyers? - he decides not to recall Scott's task group.
However, Scott also picks up the signal from
Le Hardi. He immediately concludes that the Japanese are in force in the Bay, that Crace had been too slow to act - he is right, even if he is basing his decision more on a hunch than anything else - and he decides on his own that he will not wait for Crace's permission to stop patrolling between the Russells and Guadalcanal. He orders his six ships to increase to 25 knots and heads for Cape Esperance. In sight of land, the flotilla should follow the Guadalcanal coastline as closely as possible (instead of the Savo-Guadalcanal Passage). Scott hopes to avoid an enemy force between the coast and him from escaping his radar, which is disrupted by the echoes of the land.
He also refrains from informing Crace, "
in order (he explained later) not to report [his] presence to the Japanese eavesdroppers".
Between Savo and Guadalcanal, 00:49 - As soon as he reaches the
Oi, Ohmae set a new course to 310, i.e. towards the enemy that, following the example of his master Tanaka, he feels is approaching. He decides to separate his ships into two groups as soon as he has spotted the bulk of the enemy fleet; the six destroyers would head north, towards Savo, while the
Kiso (which had reloaded its tubes) and the
Oi would head west towards Guadalcanal. The idea is to catch the ships between two torpedo launchers.
Between Savo and Guadalcanal, 01:09 - The lookouts of the
Kiso spot the bow waves of half a dozen small ships. Understanding that this is the vanguard of a large force, Ohmae immediately orders his flotilla to split up.
01:16 - The radar of the
Arunta, on the left wing of the Allied destroyers, spots the Japanese destroyers just as the latter had separated from the two cruisers and set a course to 355. The
Arunta immediately reports to her fellow ships: "
25 knots, by the left coming to 85°, formation One [in line]". At this moment, the
Isaac Sweers, on the right wing of the destroyers, spots the two Japanese light cruisers on a course to 265 and immediately reports them. The
Arunta's commander replies, "
Order maintained" - Australian light force tradition has it that he added, "
Charge!" In any case, the six ships indeed charge the Japanese destroyers. The
Arunta simultaneously signals Crace to beware of the two enemy ships that are heading towards the coast of Guadalcanal.
Of course, the Japanese destroyers know they had been spotted, but they are waiting for their adversaries. For his part, Ohmae, on the
Kiso followed by the
Oi, could believe that he had gone unnoticed.
South of Savo, 01:34 - It is a real duel at close range between two flotillas of destroyers. A textbook case taught in all naval academies. The Japanese are experienced, but their opponents are no longer the unfortunate Americans slaughtered a year earlier at Balikpapan or Tourane. The ships are equal to each other. The Australian and Dutch crews are as experienced as their opponents. Under Crace, they have been training for weeks in night combat and, between ships that have seen and identified each other, at close range, the advantage of the Long Lances is limited compared to the British torpedoes that equip the ships.
Then, it is a wild party, the lightning bolts that burst without interruption from the guns, the water that sometimes extinguished the fire caused by the shots, the superstructures ravaged by shells, the torpedoes that hit, lifting the ships that fall heavily on their broken structures, the flaming fuel oil that spills onto the surface, and, against this apocalyptic backdrop, sections of hull that point vertically before sinking forever.
.........
This legendary melee lasts about fifty minutes. At the end of the melee, the
Isaac Sweers and the
Van Nes had disappeared under the water, the
Arunta, lying on its side, is sinking, but the
Kawakaze and the
Takanami are devoured by flames. The four remaining Japanese retreat northwards (along the east coast of Savo) to reload their tubes.
If the
Umikaze and
Naganami are intact or almost so, the
Suzukaze has difficulty in controlling a fire and the
Makinami, quite severely damaged, cannot give more than 20 knots.
The
Warramunga and the two surviving Dutchmen (the
Van Ghent and
Witte de With), who had remained on the scene of the battle, rescue the shipwrecked men who are struggling amidst the debris. Obviously, both sides overestimate the losses caused to the opponent.
Off Guadalcanal, 02:03 - During this time, the two Japanese cruisers try to pass between the coast of Guadalcanal and Crace's main group, which they soon spot. Convinced they are invisible against the dark background of the coast, Ohmae orders a full broadside to starboard (twelve Long Lances from the
Oi and eight from the
Kiso). But soon afterwards, he notices, to his great dismay, that the enemy squadron is changing course!
Indeed, warned by his destroyers, Crace spots the two Japanese cruisers thanks to the very good radar of the
Renown. At the same time, he turns all his cruisers 90° to starboard (towards the south-west), transforming his line of fire into a front line. The Allied cruisers thus head on the two Japanese, opening fire with all their guns.
Understanding that his torpedoes would miss their target and that it would be suicidal to maneuver to allow the
Oi to launch its port torpedoes, Ohmae orders his two ships to accelerate to maximum speed, heading north-west, to get out of the way. The two Japanese ships go for it, zigzagging madly between sheaves of all sizes, from 6 to 15 inches.
02:30 - Unable to keep up with the two Japanese with the
Renown, Crace refuses to divide his forces to chase them. Indeed, he realizes that the Japanese (but how many?) had beaten him to the Bay when he thought he was the first, and he does not want to let go of his mission, which is after all to protect Henderson Field and to destroy possible transports - and he assumes there are other Japanese in the Bay.
The
Kiso and the
Oi go off into the night, pursued only by the shells of a last salvo from the
Renown...
Between Savo and Guadalcanal, 03:05 - Leaving the two light cruisers behind, Crace orders his five cruisers to continue to turn to starboard until they have made a 360° turn, then he resumes his line and its initial course of 140 (parallel to the Guadalcanal coast). This maneuver, difficult even in daylight, is a testament to the skill of the ABDF sailors. In order to avoid disorder and collisions, all the ships concerned have to turn at exactly the same time with the same radius of gyration, all under conditions of high stress due to the combat. At the end, everything is fine: "
It's like changing the guard at Buckingham Palace," says a delighted officer of the
Tourville.
It is only at this point that we realized that the two French destroyers, which had been following the five cruisers with a significant time lag, continued straight ahead and are now in front of the cruisers. Having no clear news from the Australian-Dutch destroyers, Crace asks them to open the way. His line becomes:
Le Hardi, Foudroyant, Achilles, Brisbane, Renown, Australia, Tourville.
At the entrance to Ironbottom Sound, 03:35 - As he heads back southeast, Crace is unaware that the
Renown had successfully near-missed the
Oi with one of the 15-inch shells from her last salvo.
The light cruiser's old hull (twenty-two years old and with two major refits), which was launched at full speed, began to vibrate and the rivets that broke successively made it look like a sieve. On the
Kiso,
Ohmae, seeing the damaged
Oi (her top speed drops to 18 and then 12 knots), decides to escort her to safety.
At the same time, Scott, who passed Cape Esperance with his task-group, heads at 25 knots along the coast of Guadalcanal, as close to shore as he can safely get. Without knowing it, he catches up to Crace, who, after his 360°, is following a parallel course at 15 knots, but much further offshore.
When he reaches the bay itself, the English admiral asks the two French destroyers which had been sent to reconnoitre the passage north of Savo and are at that moment to the north-east of the island (
L'Adroit and
Casque) to sail along Savo from the east to assist the destroyers, of which he has no news (the two leading ships had been sunk and the survivors are busy collecting the shipwrecked and repairing the damage). On his side, he is cautiously climbing at 18 knots.
Meanwhile, further east, Goto, having learned from a message from Ohmae that a large enemy force is entering the Bay, speeds west at 30 knots to get between Crace and the transports. After some thought, he decides to recall Nishimura's force, which is headed for Henderson Field.
East of Savo, 03:58 - Moving south along Savo, the
Adroit and
Casque run without warning into the four Japanese destroyers, which are just reloading their torpedo tubes and are still heading north, trying to reach Ohmae to ask for instructions.
Very nervous (understandably so) after a fierce and almost hand-to-hand fight, the captain of the
Naganami, who has taken command of the four ships, is convinced that the two adversaries that he sees on the starboard bow on a collision course are followed, as in the south of Savo, by a whole squadron. He immediately orders to launch a salvo (20 torpedoes, because the
Suzukaze had only one operational mount and the
Makinami, damaged, could not reload) and to accelerate. Opposite, almost at the same time, the French launch five torpedoes each and shoot down sharply to the east.
The exchange is fatal for the
Casque, which did not move away fast enough and is disintegrated by three torpedoes, and the
Makinami, who could not accelerate with his sectionals and receives two torpedoes, too many for him.
The surviving opponents lose sight of each other. Shortly after, the
Naganami,
Suzukaze and
Umikaze, who have no more torpedoes, receive a call from their direct leader on the
Kiso, who asks them to join him northwest of Savo to escort the wounded
Oi with him. It is true that Goto also called but according to the Japanese norm, the "real" commander of these destroyers is Tanaka, replaced for the moment by Ohmae.
For its part, the
Adroit, which has only two torpedoes left, eventually finds the Australian and the two remaining Dutch southeast of Savo - the
Warramunga,
Witte de With and
Van Ghent.
They too have only two torpedoes left... and quite a few shipwrecked men on board.
Ironbottom Sound, 04:03 - For half an hour, Crace and Goto spin toward each other at nearly 48 relative knots (Crace is heading southeast at 18 knots and Goto is heading northwest at 30 knots). The Allies are still in line:
Le Hardi, Foudroyant, Achilles, Brisbane, Renown (flag)
, Australia, Tourville. Goto prefers to organize his squadron in two parallel lines: a line of heavy cruisers to port: CA
Aoba (flag),
Furutaka, Haguro and
Myoko; the 10th Destroyer Squadron to starboard: CL
Kinu, DD
Hayashio, Kuroshio and
Oyashio.
Both admirals know or suspect that they are running to the enemy, but have no information about the composition of the opposing force.
The first to know is Crace, thanks to the
Renown's radar, which is placed high enough not be masked by the four smaller ships in front of him. He immediately orders the ship to shoot down to the northeast (perpendicular to the coast) to block the Japanese T. Once this is done, he orders to open fire, while reminding everyone to beware of Japanese torpedoes, even at distances that would seem too large for a torpedo attack.
Ironbottom Sound, 04:09 - This is when the Japanese lookouts sound the alarm.
Goto realizes that the enemy is blocking his T and that Allied shells are already flying towards his ships. Stunned to have been spotted before discovering the enemy, Goto reacts very quickly. As the first sprays of shells began to fall around his ships, he orders his heavy cruisers to take a course parallel to the Allied line and launches the
Kinu and its three destroyers in a torpedo attack that he hoped would be decisive.
Opposite, the charge of the
Kinu and the destroyers is immediately spotted and Crace orders the two French destroyers and the
Achilles to counter-attack, while the two lines explain themselves, four against four. A dignified confrontation ensues, despite the limited number of ships, battle lines of the First World War, or even those of the sailing navy!
To the north of the battlefield, the four Japanese, the destroyers following the cruiser in line as like in an exercise, try to outflank the Allied line to get into a position to launch on the main squadron. The Achilles blocks the T while the two French destroyers set off to meet them.
Of course, the New Zealander targets the first ship in the enemy line, which is also the largest. The
Kinu has eight Long Lances, but the poor disposition of its artillery makes it very difficult for it to return fire effectively, especially when it is barred from the T. The Japanese try to maneuver, but his course changes disorients the destroyers that follow him, and the exchange of fire is still very unfavorable.
With the
Kinu out of the way, the destroyers clash. The
Hardi and the
Kuroshio exchange blows without any clear result. The
Hayashio and the
Oyashio concentrate on the
Foudroyant, which is suffering. He is saved - temporarily - when the
Achilles, having knocked out the
Kinu, targets the
Hayashio. Both sides then try to finish off with a torpedo attack, but the targets zigzag mostly too fast, while the launches are generally observed.
Nevertheless, the
Foudroyant is finished by a torpedo (which was probably not intended for it) and the Japanese are able to break away to the east, with the
Kuroshio and the
Oyashio covering the burning
Kinu, which can only give 10 knots, and the
Hayashio, which is hit quite hard.
But the most intense part of the battle takes place between the eight largest ships.
The first few minutes are very favourable to the Allies, who are in an ideal tactical situation. After a few salvos, the six 8-inch ships of the
Aoba are overwhelmed by the twelve 6 inches of the
Brisbane. For each shell fired, the Japanese receive three, and at the relatively short distance where the fight is taking place, the advantage of caliber does not compensate for the number of the projectiles. Goto is killed on his bridge. Knocked out by shells, the Japanese are devoured by several fires.
Paradoxically, it seems that the
Furutaka held up a little better against the
Renown, but before it could even open fire, it had already received a 15-inch shell that did a lot of damage. The Japanese ship tries to torpedo its opponent, but on Crace's orders, the battlecruiser's lookouts are on the lookout for launches and the
Renown demonstrates that, despite its size, it is very maneuverable. The
Furutaka's fate seems to be sealed.
However, the other half of the battle is to the advantage of the Japanese. Faced with the two large cruisers, the two "Washingtons"
Australia and
Tourville, less armed and less armoured, are in a bad position. Both use their starboard torpedoes, but without success - as a result, the
Haguro and
Myoko return fire in the same way and with greater accuracy than their teammates. The
Australia, already badly damaged by several 8-inch shells which have destroyed its central chimney, receives a torpedo in the rear. It leaves the line, rudder blocked, speed dropping to 12 then 10 knots, burning in the middle - it makes an involuntary 180° turn and moves away to the southwest. A little less badly beaten, the
Tourville's bow is demolished by a Long Lance, but the inner bulkheads hold up well: it has to slow down to 12 knots.
At that moment, what was supposed to happen to the
Furutaka happens - a shell from the
Renown pierces her hull and explodes in the front boiler room, starting a violent fire, which soon becomes uncontrollable. The cruiser slows down abruptly and begins to zigzag. The
Haguro, which follows it, chooses to shoot down on starboard to overtake it and the
Myoko does the same.
Having seen the
Australia disappear and receiving bad news from the
Tourville, Crace decides to take advantage of the gap between his opponents to withdraw, regroup his forces and wait for Scott to arrive. The
Renown, the
Brisbane, the
Achilles, the
Hardi, painfully followed by the
Tourville, soon head northwest.
With Goto killed, the
Furutaka dying, the
Aoba, the
Kinu and the
Hayashio in flames, the Japanese do not pursue. They wait for Nishimura and the rest of their forces.
French Heavy Cruiser MN Tourville, Battle of Tassafaronga, December 1942
Ironbottom Sound, 05:00 - Thus ends a traditional night surface fight, as taught in naval academies since Tsushima, with no air intervention, only gunfire and torpedoes. But the night is not over...
On the outskirts of Tassafaronga, 05:09 - Since the beginning of the main squadron battle, Crace asked Scott to join him. But, convinced that the Americans are still far back, he did not specify his exact position.
In fact, the Americans, still skirting the coast of Guadalcanal, had practically caught up with the ABDF. It is at this point that they hear the cannonade.
Leaving his destroyers to explore the coast, Scott (cautiously) cruises with his two cruisers when he sees what looks like a large cruiser with two smokestacks on the bow, coming towards him at 8 or 10 knots and not responding to his reconnaissance signals. And it is the poor
Australia, whose crew is trying to extinguish the fire while plugging the waterways, who receives a shower of 5 and 6 inch shells. The result of the Australians' is was reduced to nothing. In a few moments, several other fires break out; the cruiser stops and takes a worrying list while the Americans are only beginning to realize their mistake!
But Scott does not have time to dwell on this terrible mistake, because a signal from his destroyers indicate to him that they had really met the enemy.
On the outskirts of Tassafaronga, 05:24 - Indeed, while Scott was executing the
Australia, his destroyers come across the convoy's escort, alerted by the sound of cannon fire. Although the decks of the old cruiser
Kashii are crowded with soldiers, the leader of the close escort rouses the DE
Yunagi, Hasu, Kuri and
Tsuga and heads for the enemy. The 10th Destroyer Division Destroyers fall behind - time enough to alert the 10th Squadron's leader, Rear Admiral Kimura, who, on the
Nagara, is with Nishimura's force. A battle begins, with each side taking turns to gain the advantage.
The American destroyers first demonstrated that they too had learned to use their torpedoes. Having seen the
Kashii and her retinue on their radar, they give them a nice welcome...Tanaka style. A salvo of torpedoes sends the small cruiser and its unfortunate passengers to the bottom, as well as the escort
Hasu. But the Americans make the mistake of running after the surviving escorts without being suspicious, and they were surprised by the arrival of the 10th Destroyer Division.
Destroyer Division. Once again, the Long Lances claim their due - the DD
Blue is struck by two torpedoes, the
Jarvis is hit only once, but will not survive. The
Helm and
Ralph Talbot escape. The Japanese pursue them, when they are hit by "a rain of fire", as one of the commanders of the destroyers said. It is the
Helena and
Nashville that, this time, do not miss their target. In front of the starting lights of thirty 6-inch and eight 5-inch guns, the Japanese believe they are dealing with four cruisers! Before they can escape, the
Yugumo and
Makigumo are set on fire by a large number of hits, because the fire of the American cruisers is not only powerful, it is also precise ! The first destroyer sinks a little later, the second one has to be scuttled.
In a few minutes, six ships are eliminated. But the battle ends abruptly.
Scott finally decides to comply with Crace's appeals - who is at this point completely unaware of the relative situation of each other and frantically asks him to join him south of Savo. He is of course unaware that the four Japanese transports are within reach... Good for him: as soon as his task-group has turned around, Nishimura's ships appear, which decided that it was better to protect the convoy than to chase the squadron driven back by the dead Goto's ships.
.........
Sunrise is near. Crace gathers his people and retreats. The poor
Tourville, limping low, trails behind, escorted by his two compatriots,
Le Hardi and
L'Adroit.
At the same time, Nishimura takes command of the Japanese squadron and tries to shelter the four transports, overflowing with exhausted soldiers who can hardly believe their luck.
Eastern Solomons - The fighting delayed the departure of the Japanese transports, but, thanks to the maximum effort by the Japanese air force (bomber attacks against Henderson Field and fighter cover) and to a still poor weather, nearly seven thousand men will reach Rabaul without difficulty. On the other hand, the
Oi, despite the light cruiser and the three destroyers that accompany it, does not escape the Dauntless. Two bombs are enough to finish it off. An identical fate awaits the
Aoba, which drags Goto's body into the depths.
As for the
Kinu, it is scuttled.
.........
At the end of the day, fate strikes again on both sides of the ships that had been spared by the air attacks.
Reduced to 10 knots with its bow demolished and trailing a plume of smoke, the
Tourville is crucified by two torpedoes from the
I-26 - commander Minoru Yokota thus obtains a second success in a month after the torpedoing of the
Murphy.
Le Hardi and
L'Adroit, which were escorting their compatriot, fight hard for more than an hour, can only damage the Japanese before going to rescue the shipwrecked crew - about two thirds of the crew can be saved.
Shortly before sunset, the
I-26, which had been badly shaken, surfaces on a deserted sea and announces its victory by radio. But Commander Yokota assumes he is lucky - captured in Rabaul, the transmission abruptly stops. It is a marauding Swordfish seaplane that surprises the submarine while, with all hatches open, it was trying to renew the air invaded by toxic gases released by the damaged batteries. The
Tourville and the
Murphy are avenged...
Finally, as night falls, the
Hayashio, which is trying to return to Rabaul alone, hits a mine and sinks immediately.
Final score
The Allied admirals did not know it, but the curtain had just fallen on the last naval battle of the Guadalcanal campaign. The Imperial Navy had, for the most part, succeeded in its gamble: nearly seven thousand soldiers have been evacuated (a few hundred more will be evacuated in small groups, in the following two weeks).
But this success - which the sailors would not fail to claim in Tokyo - came at a price.
Two small heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, one light torpedo cruiser, one school cruiser, six destroyers, a destroyer escort and a submarine... Without doubt, the Allies lost two heavy cruisers (one Australian, one French) and seven destroyers (two Dutch, one Australian, two French, two American), not counting the
Murphy. But given the imbalance of naval forces, this virtual draw was a Japanese defeat.
This is how the historian sees the battle of Tassafaronga today - but at the time, what makes the most noise is the loss of the
Australia, which was killed by American shells. The diplomats specially sent by Washington will apologize, promise that a Baltimore-class cruiser would be offered to the Australians, Scott's mistake will not soon be forgotten. It would shatter the promising path of the admiral's career and cast a shadow on U.S.-Australian relations that would not dissipate for a long time.
As for the ABDF-Fleet, it had lived. Most of its remaining ships are in need of repairs. In 1943, it was replaced by a squadron of Australian, New Zealander and Dutch ships... But this is another story.
