Guadalcanal Campaign - 1st Savo Island (IJN 1 : 0 USN) 

Pinned post for Q&A :)

My parents made me learn English like any other native would since I was born, even though I'm from a non English speaking nation and they both don't speak English. 20 years later I get to enjoy every single moment of Drach along with his subtle humor sprinkled in. I really owe them big time

Ship Command: Your job is to keep an eye out and tell us if the enemy shows up. Watch: The enemy showed up Command: You're wrong and also an idiot. Watch: We are literally on fire. Command: It must be the wind.

Small note, the S class submarine used the WW1 vintage Mk 10 torpedo rather than the dud prone Mk 14 because their tubes were too short to fit the newer weapon.

I love the lieutenant who beat up a shark, I respect that man.

Long term series you say? *This is where the fun begins*

I just recently learned that my grandmother worked in the factory assembling torpedoes in Chicago. I have it on good authority that it wasn't her fault.

"We lost four cruisers, Turner took everyone left and headed for open sea. We're it for now. A zero crashed into her (the Elliott's) midship, they couldn't control the fires so they scuttled her. She went down with half the battalions ammo, most of our grub and medical supplies, and all of our ass wipe." - Lt. Corrigan, The Pacific Part one.

When you put on a Drach vid in hopes that his soothing voice will help lull you to sleep, only find the subject matter so interesting you stay awake another 43 minutes...

2:42 Map: South of Florida Island, shows the location of the sinking of the BOW of the USS Minneapolis. This is my favorite detail so far.

When I was young in the Navy at Pearl Harbor we would volunteer (or voluntold ) to help the old timers on Pearl Harbor Day. One guy in a wheelchair was a 40mm reloader, told some funny and crazy stories.

As one historian wrote: "Admiral King decided to set up a toll booth on Guadalcanal."

Never realized how close Kirishima and Hiei’s wrecks were. Sisters to the end, I suppose.

Poor HMAS Canberra. The crew got a lot of flak when they returned home, all of it undeserved. RIP my fellow countrymen, you did good.

I admire the confidence of the Quartermaster who overrode the arrogance of the Lieutenant. Warrant Officers have Saved Bacon throughout history. So easy to get arrogance confused with confidence, especially in the USN of 1942. Remarkable that even after the logistical truimph of Pearl Harbour (even if it was strategically insane in the long term) USN contempt for the Japenese wasn't at least tempered by wary acceptance of their abilities. Usually nothing educates like disaster, in that case the USN couldn't get past the insult and shake off their complacency. Excellent relating of the event as usual, I look forward to the next chapters.

My Grandfather was on Quincy. All he would tell me about Savo was that they were being hit before they even knew the IJN was there. The look in his eyes told me not to ask anymore. Thanks Drach for this video I'd been hoping you'd get to it. Ill pass the link on to my Mom and Aunt so they can hear about their Dad's ship.

Ironically, the S-Boats had the best chance against surface targets in 1942, as they were still using WWI-era Mark 10 torpedoes. While these also tended to run deep, they lacked the problematic magnetic and contact exploders of the Mark 14, and could actually be counted upon to function in the event of a hit.

The Nobleman has posted. We may rest the bosom of knowledge now.

The Marines on Guadalcanal called this battle of the 5 Sitting Ducks.

The Battle of Savo Island and the entire Solomon campaign is easily the most interesting part of WW 2. Have studied it, read about it in many books for years. So much happened and it seemed in the 'less important' parts of the war compared to - Coral sea, Midway, Leyte, etc, etc yet there was more naval action and more 'balance' between the powers during this time. I find it fascinating and learn a bit more each time I study it. thanks for posting and covering this

Anyone here going through this series again? Drach at his best

The Battle of Savo Island was so disastrous for the U.S Navy, that the surviving sailors were returned to the United States, and confined to base to hide the seriousness of the losses suffered. It was only in October of '42 with the campaign shifting in Allied favor, that the War Department allowed the truth of the defeat to be published. That same month, the Mayor of Quincy MA, Thomas S. Burgin wrote to the Secretary of the Navy asking to have the then under construction USS St Paul at the local Bethlehem Fore River shipyard, renamed the USS Quincy to honor the city's slain namesake. "The loss of the United States cruiser Quincy,is keenly felt by the citizens of this city for which the ship was named. Maintaining the traditions of the United States Navy, our ship went down fighting during the fierce attack on the Solomon Island. She had made a distinctive record for herself since being built here at the Fore River Shipyard. Acting in behalf of our 80,000 citizens, I earnestly suggest that you authorize one of the new heavy cruisers being built at the Fore River plant in Quincy to be named Quincy as a tribute to the officers and men of the Navy who were lost on the Quincy..." USS Quincy ( CA-71) was a Baltimore-class Heavy Cruiser , that served during both Overlord and Dragoon, ferried FDR to the Yalta conference, was the sight of a historic agreement between the U.S and Saudi Arabia, screen fast carriers in both the Pacific theater, and five years later was dusted off to do the same in Korea. CA-71 had a hell of a lot to live up to, but her officers and crew would have made both the former Quincy, and her crew alive and dead, proud.

1 of the best books written on the naval battles off Guadalcanal was James Hornfischer's "Neptune's inferno."

Interesting fact: Crutchley had commanded HMS Warspite at Narvik.

Drach in the middle of the night Glorious

Drach to start the day. Glorious

Drach to end the day. Glorious.

I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sense that individual ships were the combatants while their crews are secondary characters. Hooray, the ship made it home! Too bad about the hundreds of men who died in the dark or in fire to get it there...You do a better job than most of highlighting the human cost of naval warfare.

Thank you for this presentation. My grandfather Gene Morningstar was a Fire Tender in the boiler room of USS Minneapolis. After action, they had taken many hits and even lost their Bow. The ship was abandoned more than once before it was realized that she wasnt going down. The boilers were relit and she was nosed into a lagoon at Tulagi (as memory serves) and the crew used materials found on the island to cover enough of the bow to make it to pearl for a more fitting bow and then on to Mare Island for refit. My grandfather had suffered a collapsed lung for the fight, but miraculously his lung reinflated in the 1950s while working as a pipe fitter in California. Before service on the Minny, he had served on the USS Bushnell sub tender.

The Cyclops, "Nobody is flying their scout planes over us. Nobody is blowing up our Sothern force. Nobody is shining their search lights at us. Nobody is shooting holes in our hull. Nobody is blowing up our fire control system." The other Cyclops, "Why are you shooting at those ships? stop that." Those ships, "My name is Imperial Japanese Navy, not Nobody!"

The early war naval battles are sooo interesting. it really showed that the Japanese were not pushovers who were in over their heads like many believe from late war actions.

23:57 The one time USN torpedoes decided to actually worked...

Drach in the middle of the day Glorious

My father was on USS Selfridge, DD357, during this campaign. Looking forward to later mentions of his ship. Thanks for this series and keep up the good work!

The lessons of war are always paid in blood, and most often forgotten in the peace between wars. As the RN veterans of the Falklands campaign can tell you.

Drach, you're the best! Excellent breakdown of the Battle of Savo Island (I). Looking forward to the next installments. A great book that covers the Guadalcanal navel engagements is " Neptune's Inferno" by James D. Hornfischer, as you've noted.

"Mission failed! We'll get them next time!" -USN.... probably

I've been waiting for this one !Gonna be a good day!

Marines CO: We are invading Florida Marines: Wait, what.

Back in 1984 in college I had a professor who was a Marine on the crew of the USS Wasp. In the Atlantic and Pacific

A most excellent, accurate, and concise analysis of one of the most devastating naval battles of WW II. Not a pretty picture, but an indicator of many lessons learned. Thanks much, Drachinifel!

Thoroughly enjoyable. I like this format. Just hard facts, and good narration. No comic voice over impersonations and no sound of the "typewriter from hell". Just one man's opinion. As always, thank you for your content.

For Finns 'Savo' is a funny name as one of the inland regions of Finland - mostly lake-land consisting of (thousands of) lakes and islands - is also known as 'Savo' (in English term 'Savonia' is used and in Swedish 'Savolax').

I remember reading about this when I read Robert Ballard's book he wrote after poking around in Ironbottom sound. A damn, terrible shame.

I am thoroughly enjoying this playlist. Please continue and consider assembling more.

I really enjoy this material and as I've just this minute read an article on the Japanese submarine campaign at Guadalcanal, this one couldn't be better timed. Excellent content as ever.

That feeling when, you hope and comment a couple of time for a video subject, and Drachinifel delivers just a few weeks after

Informative AND entertaining! Looking forward to the rest of this series, keep up the good work.

Excellent! Thank you for making these videos Drach.

My barber growing up was a crewman on one of the little destroyer transports (WWI era four piper) in this fleet. He saw the battle and everyone was sure that the cruisers stomped the Japanese. He said that the next morning with the fleet high-tailing it out was a stunner to him and his crewmates. His ship spent the next few months supporting actions in the Solomons. Quite a ride he had!

It is a little unfair to disparage S-38's chances at the beginning of Mikawa's sortie due to her torpedoes. As an old S-class, her Mk X torpedoes, while not without issues, were not as prone to failure as the newer boat's Mk XIVs - as demonstrated by S-44 sinking Kako on the Japanese force's voyage returning to base.

Im coming back here after listening to the unofficial history podcast. Your video does sooo much better in a) using some maps b) giving an intro into the general situation at the outset - grat work, fantastic video !!!

Just getting around to this one. Thanks for this riveting detailing of the disaster at Savo Island. It's complicated and tough to track in a book. But your detailed walkthrough with accompanying Graphics and photos really tells a compelling story. Thanks again for all of your work towards the preservation of History.

The dry wit and charm you add to this amazing story would make Hornfischer proud. Keep up the amazing work!

Drach, have you read "The Shame of Savo"? It is an interesting book explicitly on this battle. Although primarily a detailed analysis of the sinking of HMAS Canberra, of necessity it covers the whole battle. I met a former crewman of Canberra, and his recollections, although limited to his experience, are not too different to the book's documentation of events. To say that Bode was not liked by the Canberra's crew following that battle would be a vast understatement. That turn she made to port was seen as outright cowardice. After the battle, by using fire hoses from the two US Destroyers, in his opinion the crew were bringing the fires on board under control. Until the Chicago turned up with guns blazing. His description was of the foremost destroyer alongside "doing 30 knots standing still" as the crew chopped through the ropes and hoses linking her to the Canberra. By the time those destroyers were back alongside, the fires had blazed back up, and the ship was in a much worse position. I got the impression that the episode with the Chicago, combined with the demand to sink their ship, had a very bad effect on the spirit of the Canberra's crew. His last experience at Savo was being placed on board one of the US transports for return to Australia. The Canberra's crew entered the recently vacated bunk area to find the bunks littered with "all sorts of drugs" that they had never seen. This did little to improve their already poor opinion of US servicemen of the time; but the use of Benzedrine by several military forces in WW2 is now more widely understood. He did not tell me if any of the Australian sailors sampled those drugs. Later the Chicago was sitting in Sydney Harbour when the Japanese launched a midget submarine attack, with her as the prime target. Bode won no friends there either. Regardless of the wisdom of his action, steaming out at the first sign of trouble had all the harbour defenders asking "Where is the Chicago?" the next morning.

Good work on this, well done & thanks Drach. I look forward to the next installments since reading James Hornfischer's books.

Excellent and interesting video, as usual. Thanks Drach! Keep 'em coming!

Overconfidence of the USN, as a problem, was also shared by the RAF squadrons who later fought against the Japanese. They, too, believed their aircraft and tactics, having been honed in Europe against the Luftwaffe, were vastly superior. They suffered a similar end.

Coming from Montemayor, so I have high expectations... He didn't disappoint. Quite the opposite in fact

Excellent vid and looking forward to more. I also watched your panel discussion on WoWs channel with Jingles on this battle. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Outstanding video. Total ineptness of the US Navy surface fleet in the early war. Thankfully they turned it around quickly. Looking forward to the series. Well done, Sir!

More like this, please. I get that they take a long time to read, research, write and record, but they really are wounders.

Ok this was good vid with easy to understand presentation, cant wait for the next.

This is awesome as usual Drac! Keep it up and keep them coming please!

Wonderful video full of important information. Thanks Drach, I look forward to the rest of this topic

OH MAN!!! I've been waiting for this since the robot voices! :D THX DRACH! Also BTW: If you are further interested in this battle the content creator MONTEMAYOR has some excellent videos that cover these engagements as well with some very nice graphics too!

Anyone remember Microprose TaskForce1942. It Was the starting battle of the campaign. I've rehearsed this battle in the sim dozen of times from allied and japanese side. And yes pushing for the Transports with the cruisers was a garant for winning the campaign for Japan. S! To Drac for adding his spice to the tale, making it so entertaining.

Neptune's Inferno was two books ago for me, this is the most excited I've been about any of your videos.

Nice one Drach...a worthy subject for a series and probably the most interesting warfare location of the Pacific War. The air battles over the Solomons and then up the Slot were epic. Looking forward to your assessments and commentary as this famous campaign unfolds.

Ooh, a Guadalcanal series? Sign me up! Can’t wait to see how you take captain Gatch over the coals! (deservedly)

The allies paid in blood for not being better prepared. These lessons were learned the hard way. Read “Neptune’s Inferno” to have your hair stand up on end before leaving you sad for the good men lost. Good job Drach.

Outstanding! Really good narrative of this initial engagement and the first outcomes.

Fantastic video! Well delivered with some witty one liners thrown in for historical accuracy! Perception check indeed!!!

OMG your videos are so good!! You need your own show on the History Channel...oh wait, if you do that, within about a week you'll be hunting aliens and chasing ghosts..scratch that. You have earned a new Patreon subscriber. Well done!!!

like MacArthur, Drach has returned

Well done, Drach. I wish you had a couple more charts. Still, the overall presentation is superb and I look forward to the rest of your work in this series. Thanks again....

So excited! A series on the Guadalcanal Campaign. This year, Nov 13 also falls on a Friday, just as in 42, when USN cruisers and destroyers got into melee range with Hiei and Kirishima

I have the book "Neptune's Inferno." I need to crack the cover.

The Solomons naval campaign always reminded me of the Royal Navy's fight in the Mediterranean, especially during the Battle for Crete. Although the Italian Navy turned out to be nowhere near of the threat of the IJN, the German Lüftwaffe (particularly Fliegerkorps X) with some help from the Italians, managed to make the Eastern Mediterranean a living hell for RN surface units, with cruisers being lost at an alarming rate, as had been the case for the US Navy in the Solomons. It's fortunate that the US Navy wasn't facing Stukas and JU-88s in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons or at Santa Cruz, as no way could Enterprise or Saratoga have survived multiple hits from 1,000 kg bombs without armored flight decks. I'm very much looking forward to this series, as for over a year and a half, the surface and air engagements in the Solomons were unequalled in their ferocity before the learned skill and material might of the US Navy turned the tide.

Thanks for the great presentation. I look forward to the next episode. Cheers!

Finally caught up on all videos (dances in a crowded room) to be perfectly honest this is gonna be a great series of videos

You see, Mikawa was able to gather enough medals to upgrade his Yuubari to be able to carry Kouhyoutekis which made 5-1.. I mean the battle of Savo Island much easier

Constantly amazed about how few Americans know about Guadalcanal or Savo island battles nowadays. Its scary.

Best summary of the battle I have ever experienced. I've heard stories from men who saw the battle from shore. Great job -

Yet another video series that I had no idea I needed in my life until you announced it drach! I've not found any other blow-by-blow of naval events in the Pacific outside of midway on RU-vid, and although I've read about the guadalcanal campaign, and seen a lot about the land battles, this is so very necessary!

The first ever crushing defeat for the US Navy since their victory at Midway. I heard that several Australian ships took part such as the HMAS Canberra and HMAS Hobart

A heavy cruiser gave all her might As star shells lit up black night Her crew well drilled never would falter Even when enemy shells, tossed up water Blow after blow, and still she fought Until at last, she was caught In searing beams, that drew rapid fire Men fell to her decks as the toll grew higher. Torpedoes tore, her sides asunder Quickly, she began to go under Down she went with 370 men August 9th, was to be there end. And no more, was the Quincy.

Guadalcanal is unfortunately only remembered as a battle involving the USMC but more sailors died there than marines. Terrific video, Drach. Looking forward to Cape Esperence and Santa Cruz.

Drach when you start sipping your first tea in the afternoon... Glorious!

17:15 - To be fair, Radar Warning Receivers were being developed at the time and the Japanese did manage to field one on the Jintsu at the Battle of Kolombangara but I personally believe that that is something you don't act on without any sort of evidence.

You would think the investigation would also recommend installing captains that trusted radar.

Excellent analysis. Thanks so much for posting this.

good video... and your foreboding and foreshadowing is definitely effective. i already know the results and cant wait for the next video.

10:46 They may have done some good, as those were Mk10 torpedoes, which were at least somewhat more reliable than the Mk14 used by the fleet boats.

I think the author misunderstands the design philosophy of US torpedos. They were in fact kinetic weapons much like modern anti armour sabot rounds. (joke)

Drachinifel, to add insult to injury, The Chicago had her radar first installed during a refit, on September of 1940. ( Photos avail of the radar in Sept. 1940,at Mare Island, , and In Sydney Harbor March 1941)

Please do more videos on ijn and usn battles. I’ve watched all your videos. Your the best navy historian you tuber! Keep it up!

Note also that while the Hobart would have been useful, since it had AP rounds and 6" guns, the San Juan was an Atlanta class cruiser, and that design was never shown to be a good choice in a surface action against heavy cruisers. There was no AP round for the 5"/38, and while there was a "special common" projectile with some ability to penetrate armor, especially at close range, it's not clear that it had been introduced by mid-1942 or that San Juan carried any.

And if you were really unlucky that night you would see the ghost of an old russian ship and hear "Do you see torpedo boats?" calls before it vanishes into the darkness again 👻

Drach, wonderful video! Looking forward to more, and hopefully, to your eventual visit to the US.