Battle of the Eastern Solomons
The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons took place on 24–25 August 1942 and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II and the second major engagement fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the Guadalcanal campaign. As at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway, the ships of the two adversaries were never within sight of each other. Instead, all attacks were carried out by carrier-based or land-based aircraft.
USS Enterprise maneuvering radically under aerial attack and afire on 24 August 1942. Anti-aircraft shell bursts are visible above the carrier.
U.S. carriers Wasp (foreground), Saratoga, and Enterprise (background) operating in the Pacific south of Guadalcanal on 12 August 1942
The disabled Ryujo (just right of center) under high-level attack by B-17 bombers on 24 August 1942. The destroyer Amatsukaze (center bottom) is moving away from Ryujo at full speed and Tokitsukaze (faintly visible, center right) is backing away from the bow of Ryūjō to evade the falling bombs.
A Japanese D3A dive bomber, believed to be piloted by Yoshihiro Iida, is shot down by anti-aircraft fire directly over Enterprise.
Task Force 11 is a designation that has been used by the United States armed forces for two separate units.
TF 11's Saratoga (foreground) conducts aircraft operations with Task Force 16's Enterprise in the South Pacific in August 1942.
The first US team to enter the Tora Bora mountain range
