The First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Cruiser Night Action or the Naval Battle of Friday the 13th was a battle like no other; there literally has never been anything like it before or since!
For example compare and contrast the three highest US casualty battles in all of US naval history (all three were in WWII, all three were against the Japanese). The worst, at over 3,000 dead was Pearl Harbor; the 3rd worst, at over 1,000 dead was the Battle of Savo Island, at Guadalcanal only 3 months prior, the USN's worst defeat in a fair fight. Both were absolute catastrophes, but compare them now with the 2nd worst, at nearly 1,500 dead, the Battle of Friday the 13th. This was a US victory (despite the Japanese losing less than half as many dead as the Americans), it was also the crucial battle (along with the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Battleship Night Action two days later) that won the campaign for Guadalcanal and actually turned the tide in WWII in the Pacific. (From Pearl Harbor to Midway Japan was winning, from Midway to this battle it was dead even, from this battle on Japan was losing.) It was also the most confusing naval battle in US history, despite taking place in the age of radar, and beyond the obvious indicators of US victory: Japanese battleship sunk, Henderson Field not bombarded, neither side had any idea of how much damage they had actually done to the enemy (both sides ridiculously exaggerated reported enemy sinkings) until after the war when accounts could be compared. Three quarters of a century later and we are still trying to figure out exactly what happened!
Author James W. Grace has an old childhood memory:
"More than forty years ago, when I was in grade school, I read a book entitled 'Ships of the Fleet'. In words and pictures, it explained the different types of ships. A passage under 'Cruisers' stuck in my mind. It stated that while cruisers were never intended to fight battleships, that had actually happened at Guadalcanal, and the U.S. cruisers had WON."
This is the story of that remarkable battle and to his credit author Grace with outstanding access to new Japanese sources has solved a couple of lingering mysteries: when and how did the Japanese switch their battleship shells from airfield shelling high explosives to ship killing armor piercing (they claimed to have done so before the fight started, but the evidence, not to mention the sheer survival of many US ships says otherwise, the answer was in the details) and why did the IJN Kirishima not continue the bombardment mission alone (she had the ammo, was lacking in damage, and US opposition as far as they knew had been cleared; what she didn't have was the time). Author Grace also details the carnage on the IJN Hiei: a combat bridge torn to pieces by 5 inch and 50 caliber machine guns (!) from 3 destroyers and the cruiser San Francisco while its 8 inch guns were aiming DOWN after loading in order to pummel the battleship's waterline!
It would make a Hell of a movie! Too bad no one will ever make it.
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