"Iron Bottom Sound": Guadalcanal Sea Battles.

Sorry for my late reply, busy weekend.

Which map is that???

 

This one:

 

The maps in Grace's and Hammel's books are much more accurate.The battle was nealy impossible to track, but we do know that the US forces were well into a starboard turn to the North when visual contact was made.

 

Some of those books are long out of print. The books on the Helena and O'Bannon were published in 44 and 45 and are incredibly hard to find. They are also very inaccurate, due to wartime censors and unverified info. 

 The Ballard book is great, some new info from a Japanese perspective included. The undersea renderings and charts make it a great buy if you can find it.

 Hammel and Grace can still be had at most military book shops. Third Savo was somewhat of a dispapointment as it's is somewhat unorganized and random. The Morrison books are good but somewhat dated and do not benifit from more recent findings on the various battles. 

To my mind, the series of battles in and around Guadalcanal represented the truest battle between the US and Japansese fleets.  If ever Yamamoto was looking for a place for his 'decisive battle,' it was here (though he did not see fit to view it that way)....... I can think of example after example where, with a little more committment, a little heavier firepower, the Japanese could have prevailed, and thus at least delayed the US 'island hopping' campaign by at least a year, or perhaps even more.  And thus goes the influence of 'the fog of battle'.........

ModelWarships wrote:

Here are a few more books on the Guadalcanal sea battles: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal Night Action 13 November 1942 by James W. Grace. The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal by Robert D. Ballard Third Savo Battle for Guadalcanal by Turner Publishers Guadalcanal Decision at Sea by Erik Hammel Guadalcanal The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle by Richard B. Frank The Struggle of Guadalcanal August 1942 February 1943 by Samuel Eliot Morison The Fightin'est Ship The Story of the Cruiser Helena by LT. C.G. Morris and Hugh B. Cave Action Tonight The Story of the Destroyer O'Bannon in the Pacific by James D. Horan Tin Can Sailor Life aboard the USS Sterrett 1939-1945 by C. Raymond Calhoun South Pacific Destroyer The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr. Battleship at War The Epic Story of the USS Washington by Ivan Musicant Destroyer Squadron 23 Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force by Ken Jones  The best ones are by Grace and Hammel.   BTW that scan that shows the map of the Friday the 13th battle is wrong. The US ships were in the process of turning to starboard when the battle began and most were on a northerly heading before the fighting broke out.

Nice list of books---thanks. 

"BTW that scan that shows the map of the Friday the 13th battle is wrong. The US ships were in the process of turning to starboard when the battle began and most were on a northerly heading before the fighting broke out."

The map you are referring to is a little vague, as it is very difficult to capture a running fight on one map (sea or land) but if you look closely, there is an arrow at the top of the column of ships that seems to indicate that the line was turning right (North) at the time of contact...also, the scattered sinkings of US ships on the map follow that presumed course that is somewhat paralell with the Japanese line...they should have just placed a larger arrow there showing the movement of the column...

Hi,

Thanks for the scans. What is the title / author of this book?

Cheers, Rick

P.S.  I think the map being referred to is the third scan you show with the text at the top reading "Cruisers: Key Warships..."

ModelWarships,

Thanks for the excellent list!  Are most of these still in print?

Cheers, Rick

"BTW that scan that shows the map of the Friday the 13th battle is wrong. The US ships were in the process of turning to starboard when the battle began and most were on a northerly heading before the fighting broke out."

 Which map is that???

ModelWarships wrote:

Here are a few more books on the Guadalcanal sea battles: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal Night Action 13 November 1942 by James W. Grace. The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal by Robert D. Ballard Third Savo Battle for Guadalcanal by Turner Publishers Guadalcanal Decision at Sea by Erik Hammel Guadalcanal The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle by Richard B. Frank The Struggle of Guadalcanal August 1942 February 1943 by Samuel Eliot Morison The Fightin'est Ship The Story of the Cruiser Helena by LT. C.G. Morris and Hugh B. Cave Action Tonight The Story of the Destroyer O'Bannon in the Pacific by James D. Horan Tin Can Sailor Life aboard the USS Sterrett 1939-1945 by C. Raymond Calhoun South Pacific Destroyer The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr. Battleship at War The Epic Story of the USS Washington by Ivan Musicant Destroyer Squadron 23 Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force by Ken Jones  The best ones are by Grace and Hammel.   BTW that scan that shows the map of the Friday the 13th battle is wrong. The US ships were in the process of turning to starboard when the battle began and most were on a northerly heading before the fighting broke out.

I just finished the second book (Lost Ships Of Guadalcanal) last night, and can recommend it to anyone. The underwater photos are really nice, and the paintings as well. How anybody survived I don't know!

gary

Here are a few more books on the Guadalcanal sea battles:

1. The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal Night Action 13 November 1942 by James W. Grace.
2. The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal by Robert D. Ballard
3. Third Savo Battle for Guadalcanal by Turner Publishers
4. Guadalcanal Decision at Sea by Erik Hammel
5. Guadalcanal The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle by Richard B. Frank
6. The Struggle of Guadalcanal August 1942 February 1943 by Samuel Eliot Morison
7. The Fightin'est Ship The Story of the Cruiser Helena by LT. C.G. Morris and Hugh B. Cave
8. Action Tonight The Story of the Destroyer O'Bannon in the Pacific by James D. Horan
9. Tin Can Sailor Life aboard the USS Sterrett 1939-1945 by C. Raymond Calhoun
10. South Pacific Destroyer The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.
11. Battleship at War The Epic Story of the USS Washington by Ivan Musicant
12. Destroyer Squadron 23 Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force by Ken Jones

 The best ones are by Grace and Hammel.

 

BTW that scan that shows the map of the Friday the 13th battle is wrong. The US ships were in the process of turning to starboard when the battle began and most were on a northerly heading before the fighting broke out.

JMart wrote:

great set of scans, thnks Manny!

You are welcome---after reading more about these engagements--I began to realize how big these guys' balls were...

great set of scans, thnks Manny!

searat12 wrote:

Probably the finest single source for the various Naval campaigns in the Pacific war is the book 'A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1941-1945' by the unfortunately named Paul S. Dull.  Very little illustration of ships, but a lot of charts that outlined the different movements and an excellent and well-researched narrative.  It's pretty much the Bible on the subject!

Unfortunate indeed!

Another good read on the subject is "Guadalcanal" by Edwin Hoyt. All aspects of the campaign; land, sea, and air are covered.

Probably the finest single source for the various Naval campaigns in the Pacific war is the book 'A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy 1941-1945' by the unfortunately named Paul S. Dull.  Very little illustration of ships, but a lot of charts that outlined the different movements and an excellent and well-researched narrative.  It's pretty much the Bible on the subject!