 |
| Bomb #3 hits the Enterprise |
The USS
Enterprise
returned to Pearl Harbor for a month of rest and repairs. She then supported troop landings in the
Solomon Islands and worked to protect communications in the Solomon Island
area.
At 09:50 on August 23rd, a
PBY Catalina sighted a Japanese carrier force.
The next day, Japanese dive bombers attacked the USS
Enterprise
which
immediately went into evasive maneuvers.
Due to these maneuvers and heavy anti-aircraft, the first 9 bombers
missed the carrier. At 16:44, however, a
bomb hit the Enterprise, killing 35 men, wounding 70, and penetrating the
flight deck, exploding below the waterline.
Thirty seconds later, a second
bomb hit 4.6 meters from the first one and started a fire. A third bomb exploded on impact and created a
3 meter hole in the deck.
Damage
control crews worked effectively and with quick repairs, the Enterprise was
able to return to harbor under her own power.
In
spite of the damage inflicted on the Enterprise, the
Battle of the Eastern Solomons is
generally considered a victory for the United States. Planes from the USS
Saratoga sank
the Japanese carrier Ryujo, and Japan faced more losses in the
battle than did the Americans.
The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands
 |
| The Japanese carrier Zuiho |
After
repairs, the Enterprise returned
to the high seas, this time accompanied by the USS
Hornet,
the only other still operational carrier in the Pacific.
Early
in the morning of October 26, 1942, a Catalina sighted the Japanese force.
At 6:45 a U.S. scout plane sighted the main Japanese carriers. Thirteen minutes later, a Japanese scout
plane sighted the Hornet.
Both sides scrambled to launch their strike aircraft.
The
Japanese planes were in the air first.
By 7:40, they had launched 64 aircraft toward the Hornet. Meanwhile, U.S. scout aircraft wasted no time
in harassing the Japanese carriers. While other scouts distracted the Japanese
combat air patrol, two U.S. SBD Dauntless scout aircraft dropped their bombs
into the carrier Zuiho, heavily damaging it so it could not
land planes.
 |
| USS Enterprise during the Battle of Santa Cruz |
At
08:00 , the Hornet launched its first strike group of 15
dive bombers, 6 torpedo bombers, and 8 fighter planes (Wildcats). At 8:10,
the Enterprise
launched 18 planes.
Also
at 8:10, the second wave of Japanese planes took off.
At
8:20, 24 more planes from the Hornet took off.
The Japanese third wave was in the air by 8:40 and by
9:10, the Japanese had 110 planes on their way towards the American carrier
force.
At
8:40, the Japanese and American aircraft groups passed within sight of each
other. Nine Zeros attacked the group
from the Enterprise out
of the sun, and in the resulting conflict, 4 Zeros, 3 Wildcats, and 2 U.S.
torpedo bombers were shot down.
Dive
bombers from the Hornet hit the carrier Shokaku
with 3 bombs, ruining the flight deck and
damaging the interior of the ship. The
torpedo bombers from the Hornet and Enterprise
failed to find the Japanese carriers, and caused little or no damage on the
ships they attacked. Other torpedo
bombers and dive bombers from the American carriers attacked and severely
damaged the heavy cruiser Chikuma,
forcing it to turn back for repairs.
 |
| A near miss to the USS Enterprise |
Meanwhile,
the Japanese succeeded in hitting the Hornet with
3 bombs. A damaged Japanese dive-bomber
hit the Hornet’s
stack. Two torpedoes knocked out the
engines, and another damaged dive bomber intentionally crashed into the
carrier’s side, starting a fire. Fires
were under control by 10:00, and attempts were made to tow the Hornet to
safety.
Meanwhile,
planes from both carriers landed on the Enterprise.
The Japanese planes, returning to their
carriers, spotted the USS Enterprise and
reported her position. The second wave
of Japanese planes attacked the carrier.
Two 250 kg bombs crashed into the Enterprise and
another Japanese bomber scored a near-miss.
Twelve of the nineteen bombers were shot down. Twenty minutes later, Japanese torpedo
bombers were sighted, but their attack was ineffectual. Next, at 11:21, came another wave of dive
bombers. They scored one near miss. Many were shot down, and the survivors returned
to their carriers to tell of “unbelievable opposition, of skies chocked with
anti-aircraft shell bursts and tracers.”
 |
| The USS Hornet sinking |
At
14:45, the cruiser Northampton began slowly towing the Hornet. The Hornet’s
crew were on the verge of restoring partial power to the ship when at 15:20
another wave of enemy planes arrived. A
torpedo struck the Hornet, destroying the repairs and causing heavy flooding and a 14 degree list. The crew abandoned the ship, and all men had
lift the ship by 16:27. Two more bombs
hit the ship. She was scuttled and
abandoned, and American forces retreated.
The
Japanese had won a tactical victory, but not a strategic victory. As Historian Eric Hammel put
it, “Santa Cruz was a Japanese victory. That victory cost Japan her last best
hope to win the war.”
The USS
Enterprise
was now the only functioning U.S. aircraft carrier left in the Pacific. Her crew defiantly hung out a banner which
read,
“Enterprise vs. Japan”
Part 4: Victory and Enterprise VIII will be posted tomorrow.
