Few naval engagements in the history books are such a perfect symbol of the combination of technology, tactics, and raw firepower as the night battle between USS Washington (BB-56) and Japanese battleship Kirishima during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The battle was not only a turning point of the Pacific War—it showed how the highly radar-directed gunnery and modern battleship design could win in night battles.
The USS Washington, which was a North Carolina-class battleship commissioned in 1941, was the epitome of US naval engineering at the time. Constructed within the limits of the Washington Naval Treaty, she integrated heavy firepower, heavy armor, and heavy speed. With a length of 728 feet and more than 44,000 tons when loaded, Washington mounted nine 16-inch/45 caliber guns, each of which had the capability of shooting 2,700-pound shells across enormous distances.
Supporting her main battery guns were twenty dual-purpose 5-inch/38 caliber guns that could be used against both surface and aerial targets. She had an armor belt that was 12 inches thick, while her deck ranged from 1.5 to 6 inches, making her broad under enemy attack. She was steam turbine powered, and she had a maximum speed of 28 knots, which made it easy for her to work with fast carrier task forces.
Against her that evening stood Kirishima, a Kongo-class battlecruiser commissioned back in 1915 but rebuilt in the 1930s. The refit provided Kirishima with added thickness to her armor, enhanced engines, and superior armament. Her eight 14-inch main batteries, complemented by 6-inch and anti-aircraft guns, made her a multi-skilled, powerful adversary, with combat extending from Pearl Harbor to the Solomon Islands.
The fight took place amidst the bitter struggle for Guadalcanal, a struggle that lasted from August 1942 through February 1943. The island—and, particularly, Henderson Field—was ot a priority to capture. To the Allies, possession of the airstrip assured important lines of supply and projected air power deep into the enemy’s heart. To the Japanese, capture or elimination of Henderson Field was necessary to the preservation of their line of supply and to the halting of Allied advances.
Japanese forces in early November 1942 were determined to bomb Henderson Field and support their troops. Their task force, commanded by Kirishima and screened by two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and nine destroyers, would go for the knockout. Vice Admiral William F. Halsey responded aggressively and dispatched Washington and South Dakota, covered by four destroyers under Rear Admiral Willis A. Lee, a gunnery and radar warfare expert.
The evening of November 14-15, 1942, was one of confusion. Japanese troops quickly overran the American destroyers, sinking two and disabling others. South Dakota, lit up by surrounding blazes, was targeted with intense enemy fire and received 26 hits. Washington, on the other hand, lay concealed, her position shrouded by darkness and the devastation that hovered around her.
This is where technology proved to be the game-saver. Washington’s radar enabled her gunners to locate and hit foes with hitherto unimaginable accuracy in the dead of night. Washington’s radar-guided gunners fired a vicious broadside from her 16-inch guns as Kirishima drew within some 8,500 yards. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison has estimated that Washington fired some 20 shells onto Kirishima, which burned and was crippled. Japanese counterattacks with Long Lances did not work, and the other ships retreated, leaving Kirishima and one destroyer to go down.
Sinking Kirishima was more than a battlefield success—it badly weakened Japan’s Pacific naval force. Losing one of its few remaining battleships made it that much more difficult to challenge Allied dominance in the Guadalcanal arena. The battle also underscored the growing capability of radar and night-fighting strength, which marked the beginning of the classic daytime naval battles at sea.
At a larger scale, the battle revealed the way naval combat was changing. Radar gunnery, battleship construction, and fire control became paramount. The victory of Washington over Kirishima proved that the balance of sea power could be reversed in a dramatic manner with superior technology aided by effective tactics.
What had been gained at Guadalcanal affected naval strategy and shipbuilding later on, hastening the transition from battleship-oriented fleets to carrier-oriented task forces and combined air-sea battles. The victory of Washington remains a lasting reminder of how Allied success in the Pacific had depended upon innovation, flexibility, and close coordination.