The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 1942 - Animated

it's the early morning of november the 13th 1942 and an imposing japanese bombardment force of two battle cruisers one light cruiser and nine destroyers under the command of rear admiral arbay is sailing through a massive thunderstorm scattering elements of the japanese force on their way to bombard henderson field unbeknownst to the japanese an american task force of two heavy cruisers three light cruisers and eight destroyers under the command of rear admiral callahan is on a collision course with them the battle that follows would become one of the most savage nighttime naval battles of the second world war earlier in the year the first american offensive in the pacific theater began when the first marine division conducted an amphibious assault on the strategically important islands of tulagi gabutu tanambogo and guadalcanal where the japanese had been building an airfield almost immediately guadalcanal becomes the focus of savage fighting in the air land and sea throughout much of the guadalcanal campaign many in the japanese military downplay the scale of the american presence and commitment to retain guadalcanal but now after the failure of the latest japanese army attack against henderson field at the end of october the japanese understand the battle for guadalcanal represents a decisive moment in the war and decide to send a convoy of 11 large transport ships to provide the japanese army the resources they need to finally crush the us marines on guadalcanal to support this effort the japanese navy sets out to bombard the now u.s navy and marine used airfield on guadalcanal known as henderson field however what the japanese do not know is that despite recent losses the us navy has managed to scrape together a task force of cruisers and destroyers with the unenviable mission of trying to stop the japanese bombardment in the dark waters off guadalcanal events will soon spiral out of control having altered course just after midnight to avoid the worst of the thunderstorms abe's force becomes scattered and he is unaware that three of the destroyers he wants ahead screening his battle cruisers are actually behind him and the two that are ahead are not far enough ahead to provide adequate warning of american warships over at the american task force at 1 24 am radar on uss helena picks up the first of the japanese destroyers however admiral callahan on uss san francisco which lacks helena's superior sg radar is receiving only confused radio reports from his ships and without a clear understanding of what is happening at 1 37 am orders the task force to turn north hoping to cross the t of the japanese force however callaghan's task force is actually now heading straight towards the japanese fleet oblivious to what is unfolding arbay orders preparations for the bombardment to begin minutes later destroyer uss cushing spots the two lead japanese destroyers and turns left in readiness to bring them under fire the three destroyers following her also via left becoming overwhelmed with more and more radar reports callaghan attempts to gain control of the situation and at 1 45 am issues the order standby to open fire but then just two minutes later orders are returned to a northerly horse this throws the american formation into chaos as the cruisers have to veer to port to avoid the destroyers close by the japanese finally realize an american task force is almost on top of them and at 1 48 am searchlights from battle cruiser hie and destroyer atsuki illuminate the light cruiser uss atlanta almost immediately atlanta takes fire from the four japanese warships and responds by firing on the source of the searchlights in the darkness in the confusion atlanta receives fire from the heavy cruiser san francisco killing rear admiral norman scott a flame and taking a torpedo hit atlanta drifts away and later sinks spotlighting atlanta hie and atatsuki become the focus of heavy american fire atsuki soon sinks with a significant loss of life the forward american destroyers uss cushing and laffy launch torpedoes at hie but they are fired at such short range that they cannot arm in time they then pepper her superstructure with rapid gunfire setting her alight and wounding admiral arbay uss laffy is sailing so close to hie that she just misses a running by the big battle cruiser hie is unable to lower her guns enough to hit the determined american destroyer fellow destroyer uss sterett keeps up the attack on hie but in turn becomes the focus of heavy japanese fire and is forced to turn away lit in the night by the fire on her superstructure hie becomes the target of two american heavy cruisers uss san francisco and portland who pummel her with eight-inch fire at very close range one hit causes considerable flooding forcing the crew to switch to manual steering ea responds on san francisco killing her captain and admiral callahan who would both be awarded posthumous medals of honor nevertheless having taken an enormous amount of punishment he a is shattered and is forced to retreat to the north almost simultaneously light cruiser negara brings cushing under crippling fire and with destroyers asagumo and murasame joining in cushing's crew abandoned ship a stern of cushing laffy is hit with withering fire from three japanese destroyers then by a 14-inch shell from a japanese battle cruiser destroying her and leaving most of her crew dead at 1 58 am destroyer udachi launches a spread of torpedoes at the american cruisers with one hitting heavy cruiser portland disabling her rudder and leaving her unable to do anything other than circle still portland keeps firing whenever she can destroyer amit cicaze launches torpedoes against the rear four american destroyers the uss aaron ward swerves to avoid udachi forcing uss barton behind her to stop she is quickly split in half by two torpedoes taking most of her crew with her the wounded admiral arbay decides to cancel the bombardment at 2 am and to pull his force back battle cruiser kiroshima has taken negligible damage and is ordered away from guadalcanal however this does not stop the fighting seeing amer tsukaze engaging san francisco light cruiser uss helena engages her and quickly shatters her forcing her to retreat destroyer uss monson takes heavy fire by japanese destroyers and light cruiser negara and sings soon after light cruiser uss juno is knocked out of the fight by a torpedo and in reply udachi is hit by a torpedo and unable to move a few hours later the still helplessly circling portland finishes her off as the sun rises on the 13th the waters off guadalcanal are the scene of pure carnage as heavily damaged warships from both sides try to extricate themselves soon after 11am as the battered cruisers san francisco helena and juno leave the area a japanese submarine hits juno with a torpedo igniting her magazine and sending the 6 000 ton warship under in mere seconds ultimately leading to the death of 683 of her 700 crew throughout the day the japanese tried their best to protect the wounded hie and extricate her from the area whilst at the same time the americans do everything they can to sink her after numerous bomb and torpedo hits from american aircraft the battle cruiser is abandoned and sinks in the early hours of the 14th american sailors have died stopping the japanese bombardment of henderson field two light cruisers and four destroyers are sunk and the two heavy cruisers are heavily damaged in comparison the japanese have lost a battle cruiser and two destroyers with two more heavily damaged by preventing the bombardment of henderson field callaghan's task force would at great cost to themselves if american aircraft the opportunity to devastate the japanese transport convoy heading to guadalcanal but respite is fleeting and the japanese are far from finished they are still determined to get their transport convoy safely to guadalcanal and so at 1 30 am on the 14th of november now with only cruisers and destroyers the japanese bombard henderson field however their bombardment is largely ineffective and the next day american aircraft sink six of the transports and force another to retreat after the failure of the previous night's salty another japanese bombardment group of one battle cruiser and two heavy cruisers with two light cruisers and nine destroyers in support is assembled under the command of vice admiral condo additional japanese battle cruisers and heavy cruisers are in the area but at this crucial juncture they are not brought forward over on the american side with their cruisers crippled vice admiral william halsey makes the brave decision to commit two fast battleships supported by four destroyers to defend henderson field on the night of the 14th of november ultimately halsey has little else left with which to confront the japanese at night under the command of rear admiral willis lee halsey knows sending battleships uss washington and south dakota to guadalcanal places them at huge risk of being torpedoed in the tight waterways around the island nevertheless with their 16-inch guns and state-of-the-art radar-guided fire control systems washington and south dakota possess the raw firepower to take on any japanese warship lee knows the japanese are on their way as they have been spotted earlier in the day by an american submarine in stark contrast although lee's force has been spotted by japanese reconnaissance aircraft they keep misidentifying the battleships as cruisers leading japanese commander condo to underestimate the threat he will soon be facing as lee sails his force east of savo island a japanese sweeping unit led by light cruiser sendei with three destroyers moves in from behind and with their excellent night optics spot the americans at 11 13 pm the destroyer ayanami breaks off to check the waters west of savo island although the japanese have spotted lee's task force they are still yet to realize the american force has battleships not cruisers just after midnight american radar picks up the japanese sweeping unit and after visually identifying the japanese warships the american battleships prepare to fire kondo orders the japanese screening unit led by light cruiser negara with full destroyers to confront the american warships at 11 17 pm washington and south dakota unleash a barrage of 16 inch shells at the japanese sweeping unit who promptly lay smoke and retreat from the area minutes later ayanami is picked up by the radar aboard uss walk and takes fire from two american destroyers and washington's five-inch guns however very soon after spotting ayanami uss preston spots the japanese screening unit led by negara and along with two other american destroyers opens fire whilst their fire does little negara's return fire quickly sets preston aflame and after her torpedoes explode her captain orders abandoned ship at 11 32. preston burns a wave of japanese torpedoes slam into the american destroyers blowing the bow off both uss benham and walk which quickly sinks uss gwyn flounders under japanese gunfire lee's destroyer screen is being annihilated worse still south dakota is beginning to experience a string of crippling electrical faults that leave her temporarily unable to use her guns or radar as a result washington is the only american vessel effectively remaining in the fight and now she has japanese battlecruiser kiroshima in her sight but unaware of where south dakota is in the dead of the night lee holds washington's fire and instead orders damaged quinn and benham away with benham later being scuttled as the fighting temporarily subsides at 11 54 pm condo orders his bombardment group to move into position moments later the japanese screening unit reports citing an american battleship but kondo ignores the report heavy cruiser otago identified south dakota illuminating the battleship with her searchlights the entire japanese bombardment group opens fire on south dakota over a period of four minutes she suffers considerable damage to her top side yet luckily avoids the torpedoes launched at her with their attention firmly on south dakota the japanese failed to notice washington moving into position to fire and at midnight lee orders washington to target battle cruiser kiroshima washington pummels kiroshima with devastatingly accurate fire smothering her with 16-inch and five-inch shells kirishima tries in vain to respond but she can do little under the torrent of fire she is taking from washington not knowing where south dakota is and fearing friendly fire lee orders washington to hold fire leaving kiroshima crippled as fires and flooding begin to take hold firing hundreds of shells at the japanese warships with little impact south dakota's captain begins to move her away from the battle now washington faces the entire japanese force who are now maneuvering to try and launch torpedoes against her whilst both sides continue to track each other they hold fire so as not to expose themselves in the dead of night at 12 13 am atargo and takao launch a wave of torpedoes at washington but all miss at 12 32 a.m condo finally cancels the bombardment of henderson field nevertheless the japanese continue to track washington and launch torpedoes at her without success and by 1 40 am washington slips out to the west of guadalcanal soon after the flooding becomes too much for kirishima to take and the mighty battle cruiser rolls over and sinks a further 242 american sailors have died to defend henderson airfield this night three destroyers have been sunk and south dakota has suffered substantial damage 249 japanese sailors have lost their lives but whilst the american task force have sunk a japanese battle cruiser and a destroyer the real prize is protecting henderson field so crucial to the war effort in the area in the morning american aircraft from henderson destroy all the remaining japanese transports and with them the last japanese effort to achieve victory at guadalcanal whilst victory at midway checks japanese advances in the pacific it did not stop them and instead it was the long and hard-fought victory at guadalcanal that represented the beginning of the end of the empire of japan thanks to drakenfl for providing rare images and research material for this confusing and chaotic battle the knowledgeable and interesting naval history content please check him out on youtube

Channel: The Operations Room

Views: 1,767,461

Keywords: battleship, ww2, history, time-lapse, animated, time lapse, warship, second world war, documentary, uss washington, guadalcanal, us navy, war in the pacific, japanese navy, kirishima

Id: G_QhTdzWBJk

Length: 16min 29sec (989 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 07 2021

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