| Carrier task force at sea: Photographed from USS Enterprise (CV-6) in August 1942, during the Guadalcanal Campaign. USS Saratoga (CV-3) is in the center, with a Farragut-class destroyer to the left and a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser to the right. USS Saratoga was torpedoed by Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-6 on January 11, 1942; under repair until May 22, 1942, her 8-inch guns are removed her anti-aircraft artillery is upgraded. She rejoins the Pacific Fleet on June 6, 1942, too late for the Battle of Midway. With USS Enterprise and USS Wasp (CV-7), Saratoga provided air cover for the Guadalcanal and Tulagi landings on August 7. 1942. Withdrawing for refueling, the carriers are too far away for reprisals after the Allied losses at the Battle of Savo Island. Enterprise and Saratoga are the carriers present at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on August 24-25, 1942; her Air Group sinks Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Ryūjō. Imperial Japanese NAvy submarine I-26 torpedoes Saratoga on August 31, 1942; USS Minneapolis (CA-36) take her undertow until Saratoga’s engineers can restore power for 10 knots (11.5 miles per hour; 18.5 kilometers per hour). Repairs at Pearl Harbor take until November 10, 1942. Saratoga arrives in Nouméa on December 5, 1942. For the next 12 months, Saratoga operates in the vicinity of Nouméa providing air cover for minor operations and protecting the Eastern Solomons. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1883.jpg |
| Image Size | 560.35 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2313 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Navy |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 31, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Guadalcanal |
| Country | Solomons |
| Archive | Naval History and Heritage Command |
| Record Number | 80-G-K-557 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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