Carrier Operations World Tour - Eastern Solomons
On August 24, during the naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons between aircraft carrier forces of Japan
and the U.S. east of the Solomon Islands, Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo sent the
light carrier Ryūjō ahead of the main Japanese warship force to send an aircraft attack force
against Henderson Field. The Ryūjō mission was most likely in response to a request from Nishizo Tsukahara,
the naval commander at Rabaul, for help from the Japanese combined fleet in neutralizing Henderson
Field. At 12:20 and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Guadalcanal, Ryūjō launched six "Kate" bombers
and 15 A6M Zero fighters to attack Henderson Field in conjunction with an
attack by 24 "Betty" bombers and 14 Zero fighters from Rabaul. Unknown to the Ryūjō force,
however, the Rabaul aircraft had encountered severe weather and returned to their base at 11:30.
The Ryūjō aircraft arrived over Henderson Field at 14:23 and tangled with 14 Marine Wildcats and
four Army P-400s while bombing the airfield.
In the resulting engagement three Kates, three Zeros, and three Marine fighters were shot down and no damage
was done to Henderson Field. Two Marine pilots were killed in the engagement as well as eight Japanese
aircrew. All of the Japanese aircraft were eventually lost as, while they were attacking Henderson Field,
Ryūjō was sunk by aircraft from the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga, forcing the Japanese aircraft
to ditch in the ocean upon returning to the previous location of their carrier.
See the setup here:
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,359262.0.html or
here:
http://www.ahevents.org/events/sec/sec-setups/500-carrier-operations-world-tour-eastern-solomons.html
