{"id":29615109,"date":"2026-10-26T10:28:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/battle-of-santa-cruz-islands-1942-hornet-enterprise-carrier-air-battle\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:28:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:28:42","slug":"battle-of-santa-cruz-islands-1942-hornet-enterprise-carrier-air-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/battle-of-santa-cruz-islands-1942-hornet-enterprise-carrier-air-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands: The Carrier Duel That Sank Hornet"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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Thirteen minutes later, a Japanese scout found USS <em>Hornet<\/em>. From that moment it was a race, and whoever got their bombers into the air first would probably win it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Eighty-four years ago today, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands became the fourth carrier battle of the Pacific War, after the Coral Sea, Midway and the Eastern Solomons. Like the others, it was fought almost entirely by aircraft. The surface ships never saw each other in daylight.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Japan won the day. <em>Hornet<\/em> sank and <em>Enterprise<\/em> limped away with a jammed elevator and bomb damage below decks. Yet the Imperial Japanese Navy came home with its carrier air groups gutted, and that turned out to matter far more than the tonnage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Battle:<\/strong> Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, part of the Guadalcanal campaign<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date:<\/strong> 26 October 1942 (fleet movements 25 to 27 October)<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>US carriers:<\/strong> <em>Hornet<\/em> and <em>Enterprise<\/em>, about 136 operational aircraft, under Rear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Japanese carriers:<\/strong> <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em>, <em>Zuikaku<\/em>, <em>Zuih\u014d<\/em> and <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em>, about 200 aircraft<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft types:<\/strong> Wildcat, Dauntless and Avenger against Zero, Val and Kate<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Ships sunk:<\/strong> USS <em>Hornet<\/em> (sank 01:35 on 27 October) and destroyer USS <em>Porter<\/em>; no Japanese ships sunk<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft lost:<\/strong> US 81; Japan 97 to 99<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircrew lost:<\/strong> US about two dozen; Japan 148<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">One carrier against four<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Santa Cruz grew out of the struggle for Guadalcanal and its precious airstrip, Henderson Field, home of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cactus-air-force-guadalcanal-henderson-field-1942\/\">Cactus Air Force<\/a>. By October 1942 the US Navy had lost <em>Wasp<\/em> to a submarine and seen <em>Saratoga<\/em> torpedoed and sent away for repairs. For weeks <em>Hornet<\/em>, the carrier that had launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/doolittle-raid-1942-b-25-uss-hornet-tokyo\/\">Doolittle Raid<\/a>, was the only American fleet carrier active in the South Pacific.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Enterprise<\/em> rushed back from repairs at Pearl Harbor with a brand-new air group and joined her on 24 October. Under Rear Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, the two carriers embarked around 136 operational aircraft: <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f4f-wildcat\/\">F4F Wildcat<\/a> fighters, <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/sbd-dauntless\/\">SBD Dauntless<\/a> dive bombers and new <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/tbf-avenger\/\">TBF Avenger<\/a> torpedo bombers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Against them came four Japanese carriers, the Pearl Harbor veterans <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em> and <em>Zuikaku<\/em>, the light carrier <em>Zuih\u014d<\/em> and the converted liner <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em>, with roughly 200 aircraft between them. Their crews included some of the most experienced naval aviators in the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/santa-cruz-1942-a6m-zeros-launch-shokaku-26-october.jpg\" alt=\"Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters lined up on a carrier flight deck ready for take-off, probably aboard Shokaku on the morning of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeros ready for take-off from a Japanese carrier, probably <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em> on the morning of 26 October 1942. Japan launched its first strike against <em>Hornet<\/em> minutes before the American aircraft got away. US Navy photo 80-G-176150 \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">First blood to two scouts<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>A radar-equipped <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/pby-catalina\/\">PBY Catalina<\/a> had found the Japanese carriers in the dark at 03:10, but its report took two hours to reach Kinkaid, who held back his strike until fresher news came in. Japan launched first. By 07:40 a strike of 64 aircraft was heading for <em>Hornet<\/em>: 21 <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/d3a-val\/\">Aichi D3A Val<\/a> dive bombers, 20 <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b5n-kate\/\">Nakajima B5N Kate<\/a> torpedo bombers and 21 <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/a6m-zero\/\">A6M Zero<\/a> fighters, led by Lieutenant Commander Shigeharu Murata, the man who had led the torpedo planes at Pearl Harbor. More waves followed from <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em> and <em>Zuikaku<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At exactly that moment, two American SBD scouts, Lieutenant Stockton Strong and Ensign Charles Irvine, slipped past the Japanese fighter screen and dived on <em>Zuih\u014d<\/em>. Their 500-pound bombs struck her aft and left her flight deck unable to recover aircraft. Two scout planes had knocked a carrier out of the fight before the main event began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The American strikes went out in small groups rather than one massed formation, short of time and fuel. At 08:40 the opposing formations passed each other in mid-air. Nine Zeros from <em>Zuih\u014d<\/em> dived out of the sun on the <em>Enterprise<\/em> group and shot down three Wildcats and two Avengers, including the air group commander&rsquo;s, for the loss of four Zeros.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;I really thought I was on a suicide mission. I think we all did. Four fighters? We knew they couldn\u2019t handle the Zeroes.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Clayton Fisher<\/strong> &mdash; Lieutenant (jg), SBD pilot, Bombing Squadron 8, USS <em>Hornet<\/em>, recalling the escort of four Wildcats (oral history, The National WWII Museum)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Dive bombers over Sh\u014dkaku<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The <em>Hornet<\/em> dive bombers pressed on without most of their escort. Zeros from the Japanese combat air patrol shot down their leader, Lieutenant Commander Gus Widhelm, who ditched and survived. At 09:27, eleven SBDs led by Lieutenant James Vose rolled in on <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Their 1,000-pound bombs tore her flight deck apart. Accounts of the number of hits range from three to six, but the result was not in doubt: Nagumo&rsquo;s flagship was out of the battle and would not return to the front until July 1943. Other American aircraft found the heavy cruiser <em>Chikuma<\/em> and bombed her so badly that she had to withdraw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fwMkZH1Ku5g\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">An oral history interview with Clayton Fisher, a <em>Hornet<\/em> SBD pilot of Bombing Squadron 8 at Santa Cruz, from The National WWII Museum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Ten minutes that stopped Hornet<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The Japanese hit back harder. American radar picked up the incoming raid at about 35 nautical miles, and 37 Wildcats were airborne on combat air patrol. But radio confusion and primitive fighter direction meant only a few intercepted before the attack began.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At 09:12 the first bomb plunged through <em>Hornet<\/em>&rsquo;s flight deck near the island. Within minutes she had taken three bomb hits and two torpedoes, and two damaged Japanese aircraft had crashed into her, one striking her stack and signal bridge. Her engines stopped. The carrier was dead in the water and burning, though her damage-control teams had the fires under control by 10:00.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1585301478092247041&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The attackers paid heavily. Murata himself was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and by one count 25 Japanese aircraft were destroyed in that first attack against six American. The heavy cruiser USS <em>Northampton<\/em> later took the crippled carrier in tow.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/santa-cruz-1942-uss-northampton-tows-damaged-hornet.jpg\" alt=\"The heavy cruiser USS Northampton standing ahead of the damaged aircraft carrier USS Hornet as it attempts to take her in tow during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The heavy cruiser USS <em>Northampton<\/em> tries to take the crippled <em>Hornet<\/em> in tow after the morning attacks of 26 October 1942. The tow was under way at just five knots when <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em>&rsquo;s torpedo planes struck again. US Navy photo 80-G-33897 \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Big E fights alone<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The second Japanese wave found <em>Enterprise<\/em>, which had been hidden in a rain squall. From 10:08 she was attacked by dive bombers from <em>Sh\u014dkaku<\/em>. Two bombs hit her, killing 44 men and jamming her forward elevator in the up position, but ten of the 19 dive bombers were lost.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Next came 16 torpedo planes from <em>Zuikaku<\/em>. Lieutenant Stanley &ldquo;Swede&rdquo; Vejtasa of Fighting Squadron 10 tore into them in his Wildcat. He was credited with seven aircraft that day, two Vals and five Kates, though postwar research confirms fewer. Not a single torpedo hit <em>Enterprise<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/santa-cruz-1942-uss-enterprise-cv-6-flak-dive-bomber-attack.jpg\" alt=\"Anti-aircraft shell bursts fill the sky above USS Enterprise and her escorts as Japanese dive bombers attack during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Flak fills the sky as <em>Enterprise<\/em> (left) and her screen fire at attacking Japanese carrier aircraft on 26 October 1942. A bomb explodes off her stern while dive bombers are visible above her. US Navy photo 80-G-20989, Naval History and Heritage Command \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A third wave from <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em> arrived at 11:21 and hit the battleship USS <em>South Dakota<\/em> and the cruiser <em>San Juan<\/em>; eight of its 17 dive bombers did not return. At 11:35 Kinkaid decided he had done enough. With <em>Hornet<\/em> crippled and <em>Enterprise<\/em> damaged, he withdrew, recovering 57 of the 73 American aircraft still airborne on a damaged deck.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;There were only a few planes in the air in comparison with the numbers launched several hours before... The planes lurched and staggered onto the deck, every single fighter and bomber bullet holed&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Masatake Okumiya<\/strong> &mdash; Air staff officer of the carrier <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em>, on the return of the morning strikes (<em>Zero!<\/em>, 1956)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The last of the Hornet<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Northampton<\/em> had <em>Hornet<\/em> under tow at five knots and her crew was close to restoring power when, at 15:20, a strike of Kates from <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em> found her. One torpedo struck amidships and she took on a 14-degree list. Further attacks followed, and the crew abandoned ship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>American destroyers tried to scuttle her with torpedoes and hundreds of shells, but she would not sink. With Japanese warships closing in, they left her burning. The Japanese destroyers <em>Makigumo<\/em> and <em>Akigumo<\/em> finished her with torpedoes, and at 01:35 on 27 October <em>Hornet<\/em> went down, just over a year after she was commissioned. She remains the last American fleet carrier sunk by enemy fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x8n3wTIrx4Q\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Period footage of USS <em>Enterprise<\/em> under attack during the Battle of Santa Cruz, via CriticalPast.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A victory Japan could not afford<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>On paper Japan had won: the Americans lost a fleet carrier and a destroyer, the Japanese not a single ship. The bill came in the aircrew. The US Navy lost 81 aircraft but only about two dozen pilots and aircrew. Japan lost 97 to 99 aircraft, depending on the source, and 148 pilots and aircrew, including two dive-bomber group leaders and three torpedo squadron leaders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Nearly half the Japanese torpedo-bomber crews in the battle were killed, along with 39 percent of the dive-bomber crews. Japan lost more carrier aircrew at Santa Cruz than in any of the three earlier carrier battles. Even the undamaged <em>Zuikaku<\/em> had to sail home to rebuild her air group, leaving <em>Jun&rsquo;y\u014d<\/em> as the only Japanese carrier left to contest the Solomons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;Santa Cruz was a Japanese victory. That victory cost Japan her last best hope to win the war.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Eric Hammel<\/strong> &mdash; Historian, author of <em>Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942<\/em> (1999)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Enterprise<\/em>, patched up at New Caledonia, was back off Guadalcanal two weeks later, and her aircraft helped win the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November. With <em>Hornet<\/em> gone, she and <em>Saratoga<\/em> were the only operational American carriers in the entire Pacific, and her crew posted a sign on the flight deck that read &ldquo;Enterprise vs Japan.&rdquo;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Santa Cruz was a tactical win for the Imperial Navy, and historians still argue whether it was a strategic one. What nobody disputes is what it cost. Japan&rsquo;s carriers sailed away intact, but many of the men who had made them deadly did not, and they could not be replaced. Less than two years later, at the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/great-marianas-turkey-shoot-philippine-sea-1944\/\">Great Marianas Turkey Shoot<\/a>, the world saw what that meant.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WUA3OUwacgk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Kings and Generals&rsquo; animated documentary maps the strikes and counter-strikes of 26 October 1942.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands; USS Hornet (CV-8); Swede Vejtasa), US Naval History and Heritage Command (H-Gram 011), The National WWII Museum, Navy Times, Stars and Stripes<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands was a carrier battle fought on 26 October 1942 during the Guadalcanal campaign. American aircraft from Hornet and Enterprise and Japanese aircraft from four carriers attacked each other&rsquo;s fleets. Japan sank USS Hornet and damaged Enterprise, while American dive bombers crippled the carriers Shokaku and Zuiho.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who won the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Japan won the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands tactically, sinking the carrier USS Hornet without losing a ship. But Japan lost 148 pilots and aircrew and nearly 100 aircraft, losses it could not replace. Historians still debate whether the battle was a strategic victory or a costly, hollow one for Japan.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How was USS Hornet sunk at Santa Cruz?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">USS Hornet was hit on the morning of 26 October 1942 by three bombs, two torpedoes and two crashing Japanese aircraft, which left her dead in the water. A torpedo from a later Jun&rsquo;yo strike ended attempts to tow her. American destroyers failed to scuttle her, and Japanese destroyers sank her with torpedoes at 01:35 on 27 October.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How badly was USS Enterprise damaged at Santa Cruz?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">USS Enterprise was hit by two bombs from Shokaku&rsquo;s dive bombers on 26 October 1942, which killed 44 men and jammed her forward elevator, and later suffered a damaging near miss. No torpedoes hit her. She was patched up at New Caledonia and returned to fight in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal two weeks later.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many aircraft were lost at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The US Navy lost 81 aircraft at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands but only about two dozen pilots and aircrew. Japan lost 97 to 99 aircraft, depending on the source, and 148 aircrew, including senior strike leaders such as Shigeharu Murata, who had led the torpedo planes at Pearl Harbor.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which aircraft fought at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">American carriers flew Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers at Santa Cruz. The Japanese carriers flew Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, Aichi D3A Val dive bombers and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers. PBY Catalina flying boats also scouted for the American fleet.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was Swede Vejtasa?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Lieutenant Stanley &ldquo;Swede&rdquo; Vejtasa was a US Navy Wildcat pilot of Fighting Squadron 10 aboard Enterprise. At Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942 he was credited with shooting down seven Japanese aircraft, two Val dive bombers and five Kate torpedo bombers, though postwar research confirms fewer. He received his third Navy Cross for the action.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands was a carrier battle fought on 26 October 1942 during the Guadalcanal campaign. American aircraft from Hornet and Enterprise and Japanese aircraft from four carriers attacked each other\u2019s fleets. Japan sank USS Hornet and damaged Enterprise, while American dive bombers crippled the carriers Shokaku and Zuiho.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who won the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Japan won the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands tactically, sinking the carrier USS Hornet without losing a ship. But Japan lost 148 pilots and aircrew and nearly 100 aircraft, losses it could not replace. Historians still debate whether the battle was a strategic victory or a costly, hollow one for Japan.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How was USS Hornet sunk at Santa Cruz?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"USS Hornet was hit on the morning of 26 October 1942 by three bombs, two torpedoes and two crashing Japanese aircraft, which left her dead in the water. A torpedo from a later Jun\u2019yo strike ended attempts to tow her. American destroyers failed to scuttle her, and Japanese destroyers sank her with torpedoes at 01:35 on 27 October.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How badly was USS Enterprise damaged at Santa Cruz?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"USS Enterprise was hit by two bombs from Shokaku\u2019s dive bombers on 26 October 1942, which killed 44 men and jammed her forward elevator, and later suffered a damaging near miss. No torpedoes hit her. She was patched up at New Caledonia and returned to fight in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal two weeks later.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many aircraft were lost at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The US Navy lost 81 aircraft at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands but only about two dozen pilots and aircrew. Japan lost 97 to 99 aircraft, depending on the source, and 148 aircrew, including senior strike leaders such as Shigeharu Murata, who had led the torpedo planes at Pearl Harbor.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which aircraft fought at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"American carriers flew Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers at Santa Cruz. The Japanese carriers flew Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, Aichi D3A Val dive bombers and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers. PBY Catalina flying boats also scouted for the American fleet.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Swede Vejtasa?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Lieutenant Stanley \\\"Swede\\\" Vejtasa was a US Navy Wildcat pilot of Fighting Squadron 10 aboard Enterprise. At Santa Cruz on 26 October 1942 he was credited with shooting down seven Japanese aircraft, two Val dive bombers and five Kate torpedo bombers, though postwar research confirms fewer. He received his third Navy Cross for the action.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/coral-sea-carrier-battle-1942-lexington-shoho-yorktown\/\">Battle of the Coral Sea: The Carrier Duel Fought Over the Horizon<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cactus-air-force-guadalcanal-henderson-field-1942\/\">The Cactus Air Force: Flying From the Mud<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/doolittle-raid-1942-b-25-uss-hornet-tokyo\/\">The Doolittle Raid: Sixteen B-25s That Were Never Coming Back<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/great-marianas-turkey-shoot-philippine-sea-1944\/\">The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot: The Day Japan's Carrier Air Arm Died<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 26 October 1942, Japanese and American carrier aircraft clashed off the Santa Cruz Islands. Japan sank USS Hornet but lost 148 irreplaceable aircrew.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":29614868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29615109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands: Hornet Sunk | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942: Japanese carrier aircraft sank USS Hornet, but Japan lost 148 aircrew it could never replace.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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