Battle of Cape Esperance 1942
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 11 October 1942 – 12 October 1942 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1942 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: Oceania) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | -9.1000, 159.6500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle of Savo Island (サボ島沖海戦), took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Navy. The naval battle was the second of four major surface engagements during the Guadalcanal campaign and took place at the entrance to the strait between Savo Island and Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Cape Esperance (9°15′S 159°42′E) is the northernmost point on Guadalcanal, and the battle took its name from this point.
On the night of 11 October, Japanese naval forces in the Solomon Islands area—under the command of Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa—sent a major supply and reinforcement convoy to their forces on Guadalcanal. The convoy consisted of two seaplane tenders and six destroyers and was commanded by Rear Admiral Takatsugu Jōjima. At the same time but in a separate operation, three heavy cruisers and two destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō—were to bombard the Allied airfield on Guadalcanal (called Henderson Field by the Allies) with the object of destroying Allied aircraft and the airfield's facilities.
Shortly before midnight on 11 October, a U.S. force of four cruisers and five destroyers—under the command of Rear Admiral Norman Scott—intercepted Gotō's force as it approached Savo Island near…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cape Esperance (revision 1379606400), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Tassafaronga 1942 · 23 km
- Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 1942 · 29 km
- Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse 1942 · 51 km
- Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo 1942 · 55 km
- Battle for Henderson Field 1942 · 57 km
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All 178 battles of the World War II →
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