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By tk *Broad River fishing pier, off S.C. 170 closed for inspection *Port of Brunswick dredging scheduled for early summer *The Schooner Freedom is centerpiece of this weekend's Menendez Birthday Festival *Federal shrimp aid bill shortchanges Alabama *Big Plans for Marina Solomons P 39. About sunset on the 12th. of November, Turner in McCawley lead the 4 transports and 2 cargo vessels from Scott's earlier group out of Iron Bottom Sound bound for Espiritu Santo. The damaged Buchanan, and destroyers Shaw and McCalla providing the escort, the latter 2 destroyers chosen as they were low on fuel. 2 minesweepers, Southard and Hovey completed this motley group, and they all made it back to Espiritu Santo by the 15th. of November. Rear Admiral Callaghan was joined by his junior, Rear Admiral Scott in Atlanta and her 2 destroyers. Now Callaghan formed all his ships up into a long snakelike column, with the van made up of the destroyers Cushing, Laffey, Sterett, and O'Bannon, in the centre of the line came the cruisers, Atlanta, San Francisco, Portland, Helena and Juneau, bring up th the rear were the destroyers Aaron Ward, Barton, Monsoon and Fletcher. It was a long in line column, similar to the way Scott had fought his ships at Cape Esperance, but once more, the best equipped radar ships were not in leading positions, Atlanta with a less efficient surface radar set than San Francisco led her, the other flaw in this line ahead formation, was the placing of the rear destroyers, they could not join their sister ships in the van if a torpedo attack was ordered. By 2200 ( 10PM ) Turner with his flock of non combatant ships was safely on their way, and Callaghan passed through Lengo Channel into Iron Bottom Sound. Weather. Japanese forces. The choice of high explosive shells indicated that Abe did not expect to face a US surface force where semi armour pierceing shells would be required, perhaps he reasoned that as in the past, the US naval forces would have retired at night, leaving the scene to the IJN. Solomons P 40. About midnight 12/13th. of November, Abe's raiders were north west of Savo and ran into a severe rain squall, the Admiral reversed course, not wishing to be restricted by lowered visibility off Guadalcanal. He then received a favourable weather report from Japanese sources on the ground at Guadalcanal, and he again altered course for Lunga Point, now running 40 minutes behind his planned bombardment run. Night Action. First Battle of Guadalcanal. Friday the 13th. of November, 1942. At 0124, ( 1.24 AM ) Helena reported separate radar contacts, one at 27,000 yards, the second at 32,000 yards, they spelled trouble, a leading screening force some 5,000 yards ahead of the main group of ships. The two contacts bore 312 and 310 degrees. Gallaghan ordered his 13 ship column to alter course 2 points to starboard to come to a course of 310 degrees. ( the 32 points of the compass divide into 360 degrees to allocate 11.25 degrees to each point. ) Helena reported the enemy at 0130 ( 1.30 AM ) at just over 7 miles, steaming on a course of 105 degrees, at 23 knots, the two forces were now rapidly closing each other at over 40 knots, any US suprise element by the early radar contact was being quickly whittled away. The TBS ( talk between ships radio ) was cluttered with Admiral Callaghan wanting enemy range and bearings from Helena and O'Bannon, and directions to the fleet for course, speed, and gun control, all competing for a time slot over the same net. The Japanese unemcumbered by radar being fitted in their ships, were totally unaware of the presence of US ships in the Sound. Action. Cushing suddenly altered course to port at 0141 ( 1.41 AM ) to unmask her torpedo tubes, all the following ships tending to bunch up as they were forced to turn, the destroyers with a tighter turning circle than the cruisers were lucky not to be trampled underfoot by the larger cruisers. Stokes had sighted the destroyers Yadachi and Harusame, all suprise now gone, before any torpedoes could be unleashed, both enemy destroyers had gone. Once again, much confusion in the US ranks, were targets being reported as true
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