The Battle of Tassafaronga by Russell Crenshaw Jr

Author:Russell Crenshaw Jr. [Crenshaw Jr., Russell]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781612515519
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2013-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

Pilot house instruments of Japanese destroyer Yukikaze showing the prominent location of two pedestal-mounted, 20-power lookout binoculars at the conning officer’s station, indicating the emphasis the Japanese put on optics and night vision. Photo from National Archives.

Looking north across Iron Bottom Bay, with a U.S. destroyer silhouetted against the shadows of Florida Island, indicating the difficulty of seeing a ship against a land mass in the background. U. S. Naval Institute Photo.

VII

THE TOKYO EXPRESS

Rear Admiral Raizo Tanaka stood on the bridge of his flagship Naganami in the late afternoon of 30 November 1942, and studied the rain squall blocking his view of Santa Isabel on his starboard bow. He had been steaming at 30 knots for the last four hours to make his rendezvous off Tassafaronga and he could not afford a delay. But it was getting dark and there was nothing he could do but push ahead as fast as he could. The success of the operation required that his ships deliver their cargo on time. He thought back on his experiences so far.

As commander of Destroyer Squadron Two, he had been in the forefront of the Japanese operations since the beginning. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor his squadron had consisted of his flagship, light cruiser Jintsu, and Destroyer Divisions Eight, Fifteen, Sixteen, and Eighteen, with a total of 16 destroyers. In January 1942 he had led his squadron to protect the invasion forces during the Menado operations in the Dutch East Indies, then shifted to the invasion of Ambon. His ships had continued their operations to support the capture of Surabaya and to complete the seizure of the Indies. In mid-March they had returned to Japan for overhaul, but were sent to sea briefly after the Doolittle raid.

The entire squadron was next assigned to escort the invasion force for the Midway operation, but after the unbelievable loss of four of the big carriers, the invasion was called off and he had to share the disgrace as he led his ships back to Japan. When the transports and cargo ships were safe, the squadron was sent to the Aleutians to support the capture of Kiska. On the day of the American invasion of Guadalcanal, however, it was ordered back to Yokosuka to prepare for South Seas operations.

In mid-July Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa had been put in command of a newly formed Eighth Fleet, to be based at Rabaul and responsible for operations in the Solomon Islands area. As Tanaka approached Truk from the home islands on the 11th of August, with only Jintsu and Kagero of his squadron, he was ordered to report to Mikawa and become the Commander of the Guadalcanal Reinforcement Force. On the 15th at Truk, while trying to gather his ships and provision them, he received detailed orders from Mikawa to land the Army’s renowned Ichiki Detachment at Cape Taivu on Guadalcanal, 18 miles east of Henderson Field. The first 900 of these battle-tested troops were to be transported in six

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