Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office

over, bombing and strafing the enemy lines, and all through the
day recurrent attacks were checked, although heavy afternoon rains
grounded the planes at Henderson.
At o8oo on the 25th, the men on Henderson Field were surprised
to find five Zeros circling above their strip, making no effort to strafe.
Soon this number swelled to 14 and a medium bomber, all awaiting
the signal to land, apparently under the impression that the field was
in Jap hands. No signal came, and as soon as the mud had dried
sufficiently, eight Grummans left the field and shot down the whole
force.
The Express had put in an appearance during the early morning.
One heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and four destroyers landed troops
and supplies and began to support with shellfire enemy attacks on
the embattled beachhead. The SBD's and the 67th went after this
force, making four separate attacks. At 142o, Lieutenants Dinn,
Purnell, and Jacobsen in P-39's caught the ships northeast of Florida
Island, barely missing them with 500-pound bombs. Two hours
later, these three and Captain Mitchell attacked once more, Lieutenant
Jacobsen putting his bomb squarely on the heavy cruiser. Near
misses on the light cruiser were obtained and the warships, trailing
oil slicks, moved slowly off.
On the 25th the enemy staged his attack from the south, striking
along Lunga Ridge. Although the Marines and the 164th Infantry
piled the attackers six deep, a night assault broke through until some
enemy elements stood close to the south side of Henderson. The
morning or the 26th a desperate American counterattack cleared the
field. Three of the old P-4oo's and two P-39's did their bit, bombing
and strafing the area south of the grass fighter strip. The counterattack
of the morning of the 26th, as it turned out, ended the Japanese
threat by land, but a major sea action was brewing.
In the Japanese plans, possession of Henderson Field was apparently
a prerequisite to a grand assault on Guadalcanal. With the strip harboring
friendly carrier planes instead of the redoubtable Grummans,
SBD's, P-39's, and P-4oo's, additional troops could be safely brought in
for a mop-up. The Japanese fleet, meanwhile, could be expected to
see that the American Navy did not interfere. Appreciation of the
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