American Forces

Task Force 64
  • Rear Adm. Willis August Lee
  • DD 416 Walke (sunk)(sunk)
    Notes: Sunk by gunfire and one Long Lance, 75 killed.
  • DD 397 Benham (sunk)(sunk)
    Notes: Bow blown off by Long Lance, eventually sank.
  • DD 379 Preston (sunk)(sunk)
    Notes: Sunk by gunfire, 116 killed.
  • DD 433 Gwin (damaged)(damaged)
    Notes: Damaged by gunfire.
  • BB 56 Washington
  • BB 57 South Dakota (minimally damaged)(minimally damaged)
    Notes: Entered battle with only seven main guns working. Hit by twenty-seven shells, extensive but superficial damage; 38 killed, 60 wounded.

Japanese Forces

Volunteer Attack Force
  • Vice Adm Nobutake Kondo

Emergency Bombardment Force

  • Vice Adm Nobutake Kondo

Sentai 11

  • Kirishima (seriously damaged)(seriously damaged)
    Notes: Struck by at least nine 16in shells and forty 5in shells, 250 killed. Later finished off by aircraft from Henderson Field.

Sentai 4

  • Atago (fleet flagship)(fleet flagship) (minimally damaged)(minimally damaged)
  • Takao

Direct Escort

Destroyer Squadron 10
  • Rear Admiral Kimura Satsuma
  • Nagara (force flagship)(force flagship)

Destroyer Division 9

  • Asagumo
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Tooru Iwahashi

Destroyer Division 11

  • Hatsuyuki
    Commanding officer: Lt. Cdr. Tatsuya Yamaguchi
  • Shirayuki
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Rokorou Sugawara

Destroyer Division 61

  • Teruzuki
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Tsuneo Orita

Other

  • Samidare
    Commanding officer: Lt. Cdr. Noboru Nakamura
  • Inazuma
    Commanding officer: Lt. Cdr. Masamichi Terauchi

Ahead Sweeping Force

Destroyer Squadron 3
  • Rear Admiral Shintaro Hashimoto
  • Sendai (force flagship)(force flagship)

Destroyer Division 19

  • Shikinami
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Kawahashi Akifumi
  • Uranami
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Hagio Tsutomu
  • Ayanami (sunk)(sunk)
    Commanding officer: Cdr. Eiji Sakuma
    Notes: Sunk by gunfire, 196 survivors.

Sources

  • A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy by Paul S. Dull
  • The Naval Battles for Guadalcanal 1942: Clash for Supremacy in the Pacific by Mark Stille
  • Nihon Kaigun web site
  • Warship Losses of WWII by David Brown