Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office
Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office
Pacific Counterblow - Air Force Historical Studies Office
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over, bombing and strafing the enemy lines, and all through the<br />
day recurrent attacks were checked, although heavy afternoon rains<br />
grounded the planes at Henderson.<br />
At o8oo on the 25th, the men on Henderson Field were surprised<br />
to find five Zeros circling above their strip, making no effort to strafe.<br />
Soon this number swelled to 14 and a medium bomber, all awaiting<br />
the signal to land, apparently under the impression that the field was<br />
in Jap hands. No signal came, and as soon as the mud had dried<br />
sufficiently, eight Grummans left the field and shot down the whole<br />
force.<br />
The Express had put in an appearance during the early morning.<br />
One heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and four destroyers landed troops<br />
and supplies and began to support with shellfire enemy attacks on<br />
the embattled beachhead. The SBD's and the 67th went after this<br />
force, making four separate attacks. At 142o, Lieutenants Dinn,<br />
Purnell, and Jacobsen in P-39's caught the ships northeast of Florida<br />
Island, barely missing them with 500-pound bombs. Two hours<br />
later, these three and Captain Mitchell attacked once more, Lieutenant<br />
Jacobsen putting his bomb squarely on the heavy cruiser. Near<br />
misses on the light cruiser were obtained and the warships, trailing<br />
oil slicks, moved slowly off.<br />
On the 25th the enemy staged his attack from the south, striking<br />
along Lunga Ridge. Although the Marines and the 164th Infantry<br />
piled the attackers six deep, a night assault broke through until some<br />
enemy elements stood close to the south side of Henderson. The<br />
morning or the 26th a desperate American counterattack cleared the<br />
field. Three of the old P-4oo's and two P-39's did their bit, bombing<br />
and strafing the area south of the grass fighter strip. The counterattack<br />
of the morning of the 26th, as it turned out, ended the Japanese<br />
threat by land, but a major sea action was brewing.<br />
In the Japanese plans, possession of Henderson Field was apparently<br />
a prerequisite to a grand assault on Guadalcanal. With the strip harboring<br />
friendly carrier planes instead of the redoubtable Grummans,<br />
SBD's, P-39's, and P-4oo's, additional troops could be safely brought in<br />
for a mop-up. The Japanese fleet, meanwhile, could be expected to<br />
see that the American Navy did not interfere. Appreciation of the<br />
43