"Death of Battleship HIEI: Sunk by Gunfire or Air Attack?" Topic
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| Tango01 | 23 May 2020 8:48 p.m. PST |
"Among naval historians and enthusiasts there are few naval battles of World War II that provoke as much controversy and fascinating reconstructions as the savage night battle known as `Friday the 13th'and the `First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ' to the Allies, and the "Third Battle of The Solomon Sea" to the Japanese. This action, which took place after the midnight hour of 12/13 November 1942, was itself part of an unfolding battle that lasted four days. However, it is the night action of the 13th and what happened to the survivors in the day that followed, that appears to provoke the most interest. The reasons are not hard to discover. The Japanese battleship HIEI, and the American cruisers ATLANTA and JUNEAU (of the five ill-fated "Sullivan's brothers" renown) are among the famous ships that went down that night. In the years since, each sinking has raised its own set of questions and debates. Those surrounding HIEI concern her condition after the gunfire phase had ended; Namely, was HIEI already a doomed total loss, perhaps foundering already, when hit by air attack off Savo Island the following day? As recently as summer of 1992 a major undersea expedition led by the renowned Dr. Robert Ballard explored many of the celebrated wrecks. However, the mighty HIEI appears to have eluded discovery. In burial site – as in dying – the HIEI wears a tantalizing cloak of ambiguity. This article endeavors to lift that cloak at least in part by presenting and analyzing what the Japanese records reveal when cross-referenced with Allied sources. It is outside the scope of this inquiry to describe the night battle in detail, a task left to a collaborative study to be posted by this writer and Mr. Allyn Nevitt at a future date. The basic facts are well known. On the late afternoon of 12 November 1942 a powerful Japanese battle force from Truk was closing Guadalcanal to bombard the important Henderson air field. This airfield, begun by the Japanese, and finished by the Americans upon landing at Guadalcanal in August, was judged to be key to the continued survival of the beachhead…"
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