![]() Two other pilots dove on Yugiri, and one of their bombs landed almost directly amidships, starting a large fire. It was hit amidships by a 1,000-pound bomb moments later it exploded, sinking quickly and taking the convoy’s commander to the bottom of the ocean. ![]() Shirakumo was soon struck by an American bomb, followed by Asagiri, the leading Japanese ship. Just after 6 pm they began their attacks. Flown by both Navy and Marine crews, these planes arrived over the Japanese force in half an hour. Barker was credited with hitting one of the destroyers on the stern, causing it to leak oil and lose power.īack on Guadalcanal, 11 SBDs took off to attack the convoy. Strangely the four ships did not try to maneuver or evade the attack, but just steamed ahead in line. As the American fliers back on the island began preparing a strike, Barker and Liffner attacked the small convoy on their own. The pilots, Jesse “Dog” Barker and Harry Liffner, spotted the warships and radioed back to Guadalcanal. If they arrived safely it would add to the Marines’ troubles, which included infantry assaults, snipers, air attacks, and bombardment from offshore.Īs the destroyers grew closer, a pair of American Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers on a scouting patrol appeared overhead. ![]() Each ship was packed with reinforcing troops for the forces struggling to throw the U.S. The destroyers were making a “Tokyo Express” run. The quartet of vessels-Amagiri, Yugiri, Asagiri, and Shirakumo-was 70 miles from the island and racing there at its best speed. The late afternoon sun still shone brightly overhead as four destroyers raced eastward toward the island of Guadalcanal. ![]()
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