1942 USS San Francisco (CA-38)

on 7 october 1942, tf 64 (minus chester , minneapolis) departed espiritu santo, new hebrides, , moved solomons cover allied reinforcements , intercept similar operations japanese. on 11 october, @ 1615, ships commenced run northward rennel island, intercept enemy force of 2 cruisers , 6 destroyers reported heading guadalcanal buin-faisi, bougainville island area. force continued north approach savo island in slot southwest.

by 2330, when warships approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) northwest of savo island, turned make further search of area. few minutes after setting new course, radar indicated unidentified ships west, several thousand yards distant. @ 2345, battle of cape esperance began.

initial confusion caused both sides momentarily check fire in fear of hitting own ships. then, battle reopened , continued until 0020 on 12 october, when surviving japanese ships retired toward shortland islands. salt lake city, boise, duncan , farenholt, had been damaged. later, duncan went down. furutaka , destroyer had been sunk during surface action. 2 more enemy destroyers sunk on 12 october marine planes henderson field. after engagement, tf 64 retired espiritu santo.

on 15 october, san francisco resumed operations in support of guadalcanal campaign. on evening of 20 october, group ordered espiritu santo. @ 2119, submarine s torpedoes reported. chester hit amidships on starboard side continued under own power. 3 other torpedoes exploded: 1 off helena s starboard quarter; second between helena , san francisco; , third 1,200 yd (1,100 m) off san francisco s port beam. 2 others sighted running on surface.

san francisco reached espiritu santo on night of 21 october, departed again on 22 october intercept enemy surface units approaching guadalcanal north , cover friendly reinforcements. on 28 october, admiral scott transferred atlanta. next day, san francisco returned espiritu santo, , on 30 october, rear admiral daniel j. callaghan, commanding officer of san francisco when united states entered war, returned ship , raised flag commander, task group 64.4 (tg 64.4) , prospective tf 65.

naval battle of guadalcanal

on 31 october 1942, newly designated tf 65 departed espiritu santo, ships again headed solomon islands cover troop landings on guadalcanal. bombardment missions in kokumbona , koli point areas followed. on 6 november, transport group completed unloading, , force retired, arriving @ espiritu santo on 8 november. on 10 november, san francisco, flagship tg 67.4, got underway again toward guadalcanal.

just before noon, japanese twin-float reconnaissance plane began shadowing formation.

the force arrived off lunga point on 12 november, , transports commenced unloading. mid-afternoon, approaching japanese air group reported. @ 1318, ships got underway. @ 1408, 21 enemy planes attacked.

san francisco (center) after being hit japanese plane in naval battle of guadalcanal, 12 november 1942. ship @ left president jackson.

at 1416, already-damaged torpedo bomber dropped torpedo off san francisco s starboard quarter. torpedo passed alongside, plane crashed san francisco s control aft, swung around structure, , plunged on port side sea. 15 men killed, 29 wounded, , 1 missing. control aft demolished. ship s secondary command post, battle two, burned out reestablished dark. after anti-aircraft director , radar put out of commission. 3 20 mm mounts destroyed.

the wounded transferred president jackson, before approach of enemy surface force reported. covering force escorted transports out of area, reassembled , returned. @ midnight, san francisco, in company heavy cruiser uss portland, light cruisers atlanta, helena, , juneau, , 8 destroyers, entered lengo channel.

at 0125 on 13 november, japanese naval force discovered 27,000 yd (25,000 m) northwest. rear admiral callaghan s task group maneuvered intercept in became first engagement in naval battle of guadalcanal. @ 0148, in pitch darkness, san francisco opened fire on enemy cruiser 3,700 yd (3,400 m) off starboard beam. @ 0151, trained guns on small cruiser or large destroyer 3,300 yd (3,000 m) off starboard bow. in attempt locate other targets, san francisco accidentally targeted atlanta. san francisco s gunfire caused extensive damage atlanta, killing admiral scott , of atlanta s bridge crew. belatedly, san francisco realized firing on friendly ship , ceased fire. green dye san francisco used distinguish shells of other ships, later found stained on atlanta s superstructure before sank. shortly thereafter, hiei sighted , taken under fire, @ initial range of 2,200 yd (2,000 m).

at 0200, san francisco trained guns on kirishima. @ same time, became target of nagara off starboard bow , of destroyer had crossed bow , passing down port side. enemy battleship joined cruiser , destroyer in firing on san francisco port 5 in (130 mm) battery engaged destroyer put out of action except 1 mount. battleship put starboard 5 in (130 mm) battery out of commission. san francisco swung left while main battery continued fire on battleships which, cruiser , destroyer, continued pound san francisco. direct hit on navigation bridge killed or badly wounded officers, except communications officer, lieutenant commander bruce mccandless. command fell damage control officer, lieutenant commander herbert e. schonland, thought own efforts needed keep ship afloat , right-side , ordered mccandless stay @ conn. steering , engine control lost , shifted battle two. battle 2 out of commission direct hit port side. control again lost.

control reestablished in conning tower, received hit starboard side. steering , engine control temporarily lost, regained. communications dead.

soon thereafter, enemy ceased firing. san francisco followed suit , withdrew eastward along north coast of guadalcanal.

77 sailors, including rear admiral daniel j. callaghan , captain cassin young, had been killed. 105 had been wounded. of 7 missing, 3 subsequently rescued. ship had taken 45 hits. structural damage extensive, not fatal. no hits had been received below waterline. twenty-two fires had been started , extinguished.

at 0400, san francisco, compasses out of commission, joined helena , juneau , followed them through sealark channel sail espiritu santo initial repairs.

at 1000, juneau s medical personnel transferred san francisco assist in treating numerous wounded. hour later, juneau took torpedo on port side i-26, striking in vicinity of bridge. entire ship seemed explode in 1 mighty column of brown , white smoke , flame rose thousand feet in air. juneau literally disintegrated. san francisco hit several large fragments juneau. 1 man hit, both legs broken. nothing seen in water after smoke lifted. surviving ships ordered keep going without stopping survivors. unfortunately, survivors of juneau forced wait 8 days rescue while floating in ocean, undergoing intense shark attacks. ten survived.

on afternoon of 14 november, san francisco returned towards espiritu santo. participation in action of morning of 13th, , of night of 11–12 october, received presidential unit citation. on 18 november, cruiser sailed nouméa, and, on 23 november, got underway toward united states. reached san francisco on 11 december. 3 days later, repairs begun @ mare island naval shipyard.