[GATOR NAVY]

Nice post SAM. The first section was a good explination of the situation at Guadalcanal and why this battle was so important for us.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Gator Navy.

Guadalcanal and it's airfield (Henderson Field) was like a magnet that drew both the US Navy and the IJN into a series of major naval battles, both carrier and surface.

[snippy_about_it]

Welcome back.

I see you are back from Hawaii and obviously were not effected by today's earthquake. That's two pieces of good news.

How about the in-laws, are they okay?

[Light Speed]

Came across this article while researching todays thread.

IJN Destroyers Long Lance Torpedo launcher

Long Lance Torpedo

Historians mark how leathal the Long Lance Torpedo versions were...that Japan had put the platform into most of their surface fleet ..including Heavy Cruisers.

American gunfire crippled many Japanese surface combatants ..adrift with failing powerplants..they were able to get a final volley of torpedos off.
A burning Japanese warship on the horizon was not neccessarily out of action just yet.

Historians note the failure of the Japanese to use their submarine force more offensively...at Santa Cruz..the Japanese had 11 Submarines..with more involved in later weeks.

Failures in Command decision making figures prominently in the long Guadalcanal campaign.
At Santa Cruz..the Japanese had the numerics..they should have prevailed.
Yet their command was tenative....memories of Midway still plagued certain commanders.

Guadalcanal was a journey in Chaos....the U.S. regrouped better than the Japanese..who seemd vexed by their mental demons and fears..which lead to tenative projection in battle.