| Original caption: “Gunfire support by day, torpedoes by night, was destroyer routine during November and December off Guadalcanal. This picture shows a five inch gun giving aid and comfort to Marines on shore.” United States Navy destroyer opens fire on Japanese positions ashore with 5-inch (127 millimeter) aft guns. Cape Esperance is in the background. At the beginning of the amphibious war, Guadalcanal was characterized not only by a poor appreciation of the potential of naval gunfire support but also by a complete absence of any technique for employment of this formidable weapon in conjunction with troops. The lack of adequate charts and maps at Guadalcanal demanded early corrective measures. It was necessary to have complete charts of the objective area to the proper scale. There was little or no photointelligence at Guadalcanal. Fortunately for the United States Marines, the Japanese on Guadalcanal had poor defenses. Later on the Marines learned to rely upon photographic coverage of enemy held objectives to disclose likely targets for gunfire. Up to the Guadalcanal campaign, United States Navy officers in general had not concerned themselves with amphibious operations. Most of them felt that battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were provided primarily to fight enemy ships of similar types. Few considered the use of these same ships as carriers of weapons that could be employed in support of landings on hostile shores. Naval gunfire preparation for the landings on Tulagi began with 5 inch fire from the destroyer USS Monssen (DD-436), directed at a hill on a promontory of Florida Island, west of Tulagi, in the vicinity of the scene of the 2nd Marines’ 1st landing. 60 rounds were expended on the target between 0727 and 0732 Hours. In the meantime, both USS Buchanan (DD-484) and USS San Juan (CL-54), an anti-aircraft cruiser, were pumping a 100 rounds each into nearby targets, the former concentrating on another point of land east of Haleta, also on Florida Island, while San Juan directed its attention to a small island directly south of the same point of land. British Solomon Islands Protectorate Defence Force Coastwatcher Captain W. F. Martin Clemens (April 17, 1915 – May 31, 2009) directed fire from an American destroyer off Cape Esperance as part of his liaison duties with the Americans. He remembered the joy of receiving a bacon and egg sandwich after suffering deprivations that were so harsh that he went barefoot after his shoes disintegrated. Photo by Marine Gunner John F. Leopold (November 21, 1902 – April 9, 1973) who later landed on Betio, Tarawa in the Gilberts during Operation Cartwheel with the 2nd Marine Division’s Photo Unit. He was Executive Officer under Captain Louis C. Hayward (March 19, 1909 – February 21, 1985). | |
| Image Filename | wwii1682.jpg |
| Image Size | 2.18 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 5826 x 4564 |
| Photographer | John F. Leopold |
| Photographer Title | United States Marine Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 7, 1942 |
| Location | |
| City | Tulagi |
| State or Province | Guadalcanal |
| Country | Solomons |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 127-GR-14-88-53439 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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