Here are 10 photographs showing Japanese air attacks following the Guadalcanal landings during World War II. The photographs were taken from the U.S.S. Ralph Talbot. The destroyer was assigned to Task Group 62.6 (TG 62.6), and it sailed to Guadalcanal, arriving on the morning of August 7. On the 8th the destroyer took up patrol station north of Savo Island and on the 9th received word of three enemy ships inside Savo Island. Soon the shelling started, the Ralph Talbot was hit by a friendly destroyer, but within minutes an enemy cruiser appeared. Both ships opened fire and the Ralph Talbot took a hit in the chart house which destroyed radar equipment, cut fire control circuits, and ignited fires. Three more shells came in close succession, hitting the wardroom, the starboard quarter, and the underside of gun Number 4. Among the twelve dead were the doctor and the chief pharmacist's mate. When the enemy disappeared, the crew started dealing with damage caused by the shelling. Fire enveloped the bridge and the ship listed heavily to starboard. Slowing to one-third speed, the ship turned toward Savo. All radio communications to and from the vessel ceased, and twenty minutes later it stood in close to the shore where the crew worked to save the destroyer. With fires and flooding under control repair work began. Soon after communications were reestablished and repairs, including mattress patches on the hull, were sufficient to begin the journey back to the United States for repairs.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Japanese air attacks following the Guadalcanal landings - 7