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Battle of Cape Esperance in 1942...
Battle of Cape Esperance in 1942...
Item # 595713
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October 13, 1942
THE NEWS, Frederick, Maryland, October 13, 1942
* Battle of Cape Esperance
* Savo Island, Guadalcanal
* World War II
The front page has a nice banner headline: "Marines Extend Gains On Guadalcanal; Two Enemy Cruisers Damaged; 15 Jap Planes Are Destroyed" with subheads (see photos). Coverage the Battle of Cape Esperance and Savo Island, Guadalcanal.
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day throughout with much on World War II. Complete in 10 pages, a little margin wear, mainly along spine, otherwise good condition.
wikipedia notes: The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the Sea Battle of Savo Island, took place October 11 – 12, 1942, and was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. 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 Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
On the night of October 11, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area, 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 the Allied airfield on Guadalcanal (called Henderson Field by the Allies) 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 Guadalcanal 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.
Category: The 20th Century
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