The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal took place from November 12, 1941 to November 15, 1942 and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles between Allied and Imperial Japanese forces during the months-long Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands. The action consisted of combined air and sea engagements over four days and related to a Japanese effort to reinforce land forces on the island.
Allied forces had landed on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942 and seized an airfield that was under construction by the Japanese military. Several subsequent attempts by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy to recapture the airfield failed. In early November 1942, the Japanese organized a transport convoy in an attempt to once again retake the airfield.
To allow the convoy to approach the island and deliver its cargo, the Japanese navy sent several warship forces to bombard the airfield. U.S. forces intercepted the Japanese convoy and warships with aircraft and warship attacks. In the resulting battle, both sides lost numerous warships in two extremely destructive nighttime surface engagements, with the U.S. suffering more warships sunk. However, the U.S. was successful in turning back attempts by the Japanese to bombard the airfield.
