Guadalcanal naval order of battle



On 7 August 1942, US and Australian naval forces undertook the invasion of the Japanese-held islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the lower Solomon Islands chain, the first Allied offensive in the Pacific Theatre. The landing of the US 1st Marine Division on the beaches of Savo Sound began the unexpectedly long and extremely arduous Guadalcanal Campaign, lasting officially until 9 February 1943.

The naval forces dedicated to Operation Watchtower were minuscule compared to those deployed for later Allied offensives such as the invasion of the Gilberts and the capture of Okinawa. This is owing to the commitment the United States had made to Great Britain to undertake the invasion of North Africa in the fall of 1942, a commitment which essentially left the Guadalcanal operation with the naval leftovers. For this reason, American sailors and Marines referred to the invasion as "Operation Shoestring".

🇺🇸 US Navy combat ships: 3 fleet carriers, 1 fast battleship, 9 heavy cruisers, 2 anti-aircraft light cruisers, 31 destroyers

🇺🇸 Amphibious assault vessels: 13 transports, 6 attack cargo ships, 4 destroyer transports

🇺🇸 Auxiliaries: 5 fast minesweepers, 5 oilers

🇦🇺 Australian Navy combat ships: 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser

Theater command
The roles of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA) and Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC), were both exercised by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from his headquarters at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Since the Solomons lie in the Southern Pacific, the landings of 7 August 1942 on Guadalcanal were the responsibility of the South Pacific Fleet, led by Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley from his headquarters at Noumea, New Caledonia. Adm. Ghormley's pessimism, inadequate staff work and unwillingness to visit the front led Adm. Nimitz to replace him with the much more aggressive and hands-on Vice Admiral William F. Halsey on 18 October 1942.

Operational command
Operational command of the invasion was assigned to Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, who also had direct command of the covering force, designated Task Force 61, where he flew his flag aboard fleet carrier Saratoga. This embodiment of two levels of command in a single officer enabled a decision-making process that left the Marine forces on Guadalcanal essentially stranded and short-supplied. The amphibious forces, Task Force 62, were led by Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner aboard transport McCawley.

Bitter disputes between the two men arose during both the planning and execution of the invasion over how long Fletcher's aircraft carriers would stay in the vicinity of Guadalcanal to provide air cover for the Marines ashore. Fletcher decided the matter after multiple assaults on the Allied amphibious task force by bombers from the Japanese base at Rabaul on D-Day and D+1. These attacks convinced Fletcher that his crucial aircraft carriers could not be risked in the waters of the Solomons any longer and he ordered his carriers along with Turner's still-half-full cargo ships out of the area on the night of 8 August. This decision resulted in much hard feeling among the Marines ashore, who felt that the Navy had abandoned them.

Expeditionary Force (Task Force 61)
Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher

Air Support Force (Task Group 61.1) Rear Admiral Leigh Noyes
 * Task Unit under Vice Admiral Fletcher
 * Vice Admiral Fletcher
 * 1 fleet carrier
 * USS Saratoga (CV-3) (Capt. DeWitt C. Ramsey)
 * Air Group (Cmdr. Harry D. Felt)
 * VF-5: 34 F4F Wildcat fighters (Lt. Cmdr. Leroy C. Sampler)
 * VB-3: 18 SBD Dauntless dive bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Dewitt W. Shumway)
 * VS-3: 18 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Louis J. Kirn)
 * VT-8: 16 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers (Lt. Harold H. Larsen)
 * 2 New Orleans-class heavy cruisers
 * USS Minneapolis (CA-36) (Capt. Frank J. Lowry)
 * USS New Orleans (CA-32) (Capt. Walter S. DeLany)
 * Screen (Capt. Samuel B. Brewer)
 * 1 Porter-class destroyer (8 × 5-in. main battery): USS Phelps
 * 4 Farragut-class destroyers (5 × 5-in. main battery): USS Farragut (DD-348), USS Macdonough (DD-351), USS Dale (DD-353), USS Worden (DD-352)


 * Task Unit from old Task Force 16
 * Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid
 * 1 fleet carrier
 * USS Enterprise (CV-6) (Capt. Arthur C. Davis)
 * Air Group (Lt. Cmdr. Maxwell F. Leslie)
 * VF-6: 36 F4F Wildcat fighters (Lt. Louis H. Bauer)
 * VB-6: 18 SBD Dauntless dive bombers (Lt. Ray Davis)
 * VS-5: 18 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Turner F. Caldwell, Jr.)
 * VT-3: 14 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Charles M. Jett)
 * 1 North Carolina-class fast battleship
 * USS North Carolina (BB-55) (Capt. George H. Fort)
 * 1 Portland-class heavy cruiser
 * USS Portland (CA-33) (Capt. Laurance T. DuBose)
 * 1 Atlanta-class anti-aircraft light cruiser
 * USS Atlanta (CL-51) (scuttled after heavy damage, 13 Nov 1942) (Capt. Samuel P. Jenkins)
 * Screen (Capt. Edward P. Sauer)
 * 2 Gleaves-class destroyers (5 × 5-in. main battery): USS Gwin (DD-433) (sunk 13 July 1943), USS Grayson
 * 1 Gridley-class destroyer (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Maury (DD-401)
 * 1 Benham-class destroyer (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Benham (DD-397) (sunk 15 Nov 1942)
 * 1 Porter-class destroyer (8 × 5-in. main battery): USS Balch (DD-363)


 * Task Unit under Rear Admiral Noyes


 * Rear Admiral Noyes
 * 1 fleet carrier
 * USS Wasp (CV-7) (scuttled after being torpedoed, 15 Sep 1942) (Capt. Forrest P. Sherman)
 * Air Group (Lt. Cmdr. Wallace M. Beakley)
 * VF-71: 29 F4F Wildcat fighters (Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Shands)
 * VS-71: 15 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Cmdr. John Eldridge, Jr.)
 * VS-72: 15 SBD Dauntless scout bombers (Lt. Cmdr. Ernest M. Snowden)
 * VT-7:  9 TBF Avenger torpedo bombers (Lt. Henry A. Romberg)
 * 1 New Orleans-class heavy cruiser
 * USS San Francisco (CA-38) (Capt. Charles H. McMorris)
 * 1 Pensacola-class heavy cruiser
 * USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) (Capt. Ernest G. Small)
 * Screen (Capt. Robert G. Tobin)
 * 2 Benson-class destroyers (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Laffey (DD-459) (sunk 13 Nov 1942), USS Farenholt (DD-491)
 * 1 Gleaves-class destroyer (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Aaron Ward (DD-483) (sunk 7 Apr 1943)
 * 3 Benham-class destroyers (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Lang (DD-399), USS Sterett (DD-407), USS Stack


 * Fueling group
 * 5 oilers
 * USS Cimarron (AO-22), USS Platte (AO-24), USS Sabine (AO-25), USS Kaskaskia, USS Kanawha (AO-1) (sunk 8 Apr 1943)

South Pacific Amphibious Force (Task Force 62)
Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in transport McCawley


 * Convoy (Task Group 62.1)
 * Captain Lawrence F. Reifsnider in transport USS Hunter Liggett
 * Embarking US 1st Marine Division SSI.svg 1st Marine Division (Maj. Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, USMC, Commander ground forces)


 * Transport Group "X-Ray" – Guadalcanal Landings
 * Captain Reifsnider
 * Transport Division A (Capt. Paul S. Theiss)
 * Embarking 5th Marines less 2nd Battalion (Col. LeRoy P. Hunt, USMC)
 * 2 transports: USS Fuller (AP-14), SS American Legion
 * 1 attack cargo ship: USS Bellatrix (AKA-3)
 * Transport Division B (Capt. Charlie P. McFeaters)
 * Embarking Division HQ and 1st Marines (Col. Clifton B. Cates, USMC)
 * 3 transports: USS McCawley (APA-4) (sunk 30 Jun 1943), USS Barnett, USS George F. Elliott (AP-13) (sunk 8 Aug 1942)
 * 1 attack cargo ship: USS Libra
 * Transport Division C (Capt. Reifsnider)
 * Embarking part of Support Group, Special Weapons Battalion, 5th Battalion / 11th Marines, part of 3rd Defense Battalion
 * 1 transport: USS Hunter Liggett (APA-14)
 * 3 attack cargo ships: USS Alchiba, USS Fomalhaut, USS Betelgeuse (AKA-11)
 * Transport Division D (Capt. Ingolf N. Kiland)
 * Embarking 2nd Marines less 1st Battalion (Col. John M. Arthur, USMC)
 * 3 transports: USS Crescent City, USS President Adams, USS President Hayes
 * 1 attack cargo ship: USS Alhena


 * Transport Group "Yoke" – Tulagi Landings
 * Captain George B. Ashe
 * Transport Division E (Capt. Ashe)
 * Embarking 2nd Battalion / 5th Marines, 1st Battalion / 2nd Marines, 1st Parachute Battalion, Co. E / 1st Raider Battalion (Brig. Gen. William H. Rupertus, USMC)
 * 4 transports: USS Neville, USS Zeilin (AP-9), USS Heywood, USS President Jackson
 * Transport Division 12 (Capt. Hugh W. Hadley)
 * Embarking 1st Raider Battalion less Co. E (Lt. Col. Merritt A. Edson, USMC)
 * 4 destroyer transports: USS Colhoun (APD-2) (sunk 30 Aug 1942), USS Little (APD-4) (sunk 5 Sep 1942), USS McKean (APD-5), USS Gregory (APD-3) (sunk 5 Sep 1942)


 * Escort (Task Group 62.2)


 * Rear Admiral Victor A.C. Crutchley, RN
 * 3 heavy cruisers
 * 🇦🇺 HMAS Australia (D84) (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN)
 * 🇦🇺 HMAS Canberra (D33) (sunk night of 8-9 Aug) (Capt. F.E. Getting, RAN)
 * USS Chicago (CA-29) (sunk 30 Jan 1943) (Capt. Howard D. Bode)
 * 1 light cruiser
 * 🇦🇺 HMAS Hobart (D63) (Capt. H.A. Showers, RAN)
 * Screen (Capt. Cornelius W. Flynn)
 * 1 Porter-class (8 × 5-in. main battery): USS Selfridge (DD-357)
 * 8 Bagley-class (4 × 5-in. main battery): USS Bagley (DD-386), USS Blue (DD-387) (sunk 22 August 1942), USS Helm, USS Mugford (DD-389), USS Ralph Talbot (DD-390), USS Henley (DD-391) (sunk 3 Oct 1943), USS Patterson (DD-392), USS Jarvis (DD-393) (sunk 9 August 1942)


 * Fire Support Group L (Task Group 62.3)
 * Captain Frederick L. Riefkohl'''
 * 3 heavy cruisers
 * 2 New Orleans-class: USS Vincennes (CA-44) (sunk night of 8-9 Aug 1942) (Capt. Riefkohl), USS Quincy (CA-39) (sunk night of 8-9 Aug 1942) (Capt. Samuel N. Moore)
 * 1 Astoria-class: USS Astoria (CA-34) (sunk night of 8-9 Aug 1942) (Capt. William G. Greenman)
 * 4 destroyers
 * 2 Benham-class (4 × 5 in. main battery): USS Ellet, USS Wilson
 * 2 Farragut-class (4 × 5 in. main battery): USS Hull (DD-350), USS Dewey (DD-349) (Lt. Cmdr. Charles F. Chillingworth, Jr.)


 * Fire Support Group M (Task Group 62.4)
 * Rear Admiral Norman Scott
 * 1 anti-aircraft light cruiser (Atlanta class)
 * USS San Juan (CL-54) (Capt. James E. Maher)
 * 2 destroyers (both Gleaves-class (5 × 5-in. main battery, then 4 × 5-in.)
 * USS Monssen (DD-436) (sunk 13 Nov 1942), USS Buchanan (DD-484)


 * Minesweeper Group (Task Group 62.5)
 * 5 fast minesweepers (ex-Clemson-class destroyers)
 * USS Hopkins (DMS-13), USS Trever, USS Zane, USS Southard, USS Hovey