Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office

north. One large and three small transports, escorted by a heavy
cruiser, light cruisers, and four destroyers, presented a fat target.
Thousand-pounders gutted the large transport and damaged the heavy
cruiser. Eight additional B-17's, leaving distant Espiritu at o617,
broke the back of either a cruiser or a destroyer with three direct hits
from 500-pounders and at iOl5 saw her sink. By noon of the 2 5 th
the Japanese were making all speed to the north and Guadalcanal was,
for the moment, secure.
From this telling action, the iith returned to the tedium of search
duties and primitive operational conditions. The enemy reverted to
a pattern of harassing attacks and minor reinforcement efforts. At
noon on the 25th, 21 Jap bombers pounded Henderson Field, and that
evening destroyers landed reinforcements at Cape Esperance and came
down Sealark Channel, guns ablaze. By this time, however, Guadalcanal
had the means to defend itself, partially at least, against such
measures; Marine fighters and dive bombers were based on the island
and elements of the USAAF's 67th Fighter Squadron had arrived.
The Jagstaffel
E XCEPT for lone, cruising B-17's, the Marines saw few friendly
aircraft for almost a fortnight after the withdrawal of the Navy
carriers on the night of 8 August. Meanwhile, back-breaking
labor was completing the unfinished Japanese air strip, and on the
afternoon of the 20th, the stubby little carrier Long Island, from
some 200 miles southeast of Guadalcanal, catapulted two Marine
squadrons, VMF-223 with 19 F4F-4's (Grumman Wildcat fighters)
under Maj. John L. Smith and VMSB-2 32 with 12 SBD- 3's (Douglas
Dauntless dive bombers) under Lt. Col. Richard C. Mangrum.' These
were followed in 2 days by five long-nosed Army fighters, P-4oo's
of the 67 th Fighter Squadron, under Capt. Dale Brannon.
The P-4oo's which flew into Henderson on 22 August inaugurated
a route over which many an Army fighter was destined to pass before
the Japanese were driven from the Lower Solomons. In none too
short hops they had flown all the way from New Caledonia, employing
the Atlantic technique-fighters, equipped with belly tanks,
shepherded by bombers or transports.
STBF's, Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers, later appeared on Guadalcanal.
17