| TK's staging site |
|
By tk *Agency works to open dredge site *Sydney Lanier Bridge work lingers *St Simons bridge toll end seen for residents *Blue crabbers say crabbing on the Caloosahatchee River is dead *Commission OKs sketchy sand solution
Solomons P 38 in our usual format. Canal to prop up the local garrison. Rear Admiral Callaghan with 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 6 destroyers were north of Espiritu Santo, plus Rear Admiral Norman Scott with a light cruiser, 4 destroyers, and 3 cargo ships crammed with avaition supplies and personnel. They arrived at Lunga Point on the 11th. their gaining the shore somewhat expedited by a dive bombing attack by aircraft from the carrier Hijo, somewhere west of Guadalcanal. Turner's contingent arrived the next day on the 12th. of November, and unloading had to be suspended for a time as an air attack took place. During this attack, the US destroyer Buchanan received a lit of upper deck damage from friendly AA fire, and then San Francisco had an enemy plane crash on board, wounding 50 men including the executive officer, Commander Mark Crouter. The wounded were moved to the transport President Jackson, but the executive officer remained with his ship, keen to stay on duty, but he should have gone, as his wounds soon took his life. Enterprise with 2 battleships, 2 cruisers and 8 destroyers were well clear of the area. The USN had some 24 submarines in the general area of the Solomons to provide indirect support. The Japanese over the period of the 2nd. to the 10th. of November were very busy, they ran into Western Guadalcanal some 65 destroyer and 2 cruiser loads of reinforcement troops. It all appeared to be building towrads another clash between opposing naval and land forces, As US forces tried to stay put and hang on to the most important real estate in the South Pacific, whilst the Japanese coveted it, and seemed prepared to wrest it from them, almost at any cost. Reports coming in indicated that heavy Japanese naval units were moving towrads the Canal, 2 battleships or heavy cruisers, 1 cruiser and 6 destroyers to the north about 335 miles away, 5 more destroyers 200 miles to the north north west, and still more, 2 carriers with 2 destroyers, 265 miles to the west. No sign of troop transports, seeming yo indicate that the surface forces were going after the US transports, or else aimed to bombard Henderson Field, or ven both of these options. To Turner, the odds did not look good, the enemy, 2 battleships, 2 to 4 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 12 destroyers, Rear Admiral Callaghan, 2 heavy, 2 light cruisers and 8 destoyers. Kinkaid and his group too far way to back up Callaghan.
|