USS San Francisco (CA-38)

USS San Francisco (CA-38): Point of the Spear at Guadalcanal

Commissioned on 10 February 1934, USS San Francisco was a New Orleans-class heavy cruiser that became one of the most celebrated ships of the Pacific War, not because she was the biggest or the fastest, but because of what she did on the night of 12–13 November 1942 in a point-blank brawl in the darkness off Guadalcanal that became the defining moment of American naval determination in World War II.

San Francisco entered the Pacific War immediately after Pearl Harbor and fought through the opening campaigns of 1942 with distinction. She was at Coral Sea, at Midway screening the carrier force, and at the Eastern Solomons. By November 1942, Guadalcanal had become the hinge of the Pacific War, whoever held the island and the surrounding waters would control the strategic initiative in the South Pacific.

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12–15 November 1942, was the decisive contest. On the night of 12–13 November, Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan led a mixed force of five cruisers and eight destroyers into the channel north of Guadalcanal to intercept a Japanese battleship force that intended to bombard Henderson Field and potentially end American air dominance. Callaghan chose to close to close range and mix it up, a desperate, aggressive gamble that produced one of the most chaotic night actions in naval history.

San Francisco was Callaghan's flagship. She entered a melee so close that ships on both sides were unsure which vessels were friendly. At one point, she exchanged fire with Japanese battleships at ranges of less than a mile, virtually point-blank for capital ships. Callaghan was killed on San Francisco's bridge by Japanese shellfire. Rear Admiral Norman Scott, aboard USS Atlanta, was also killed. Despite the loss of both admirals and devastating damage, San Francisco was hit by approximately 45 large-caliber shells, her crew kept fighting. She eventually sank the Japanese destroyer Akatsuki and contributed to damage that forced the Japanese battleship Hiei to withdraw and be sunk by American aircraft the following day.

San Francisco limped away from the battle riddled with shell hits, her bridge destroyed, her captain wounded, 107 of her crew killed. She was repaired and returned, fighting at Attu, the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, and through the final campaigns to Japan. Seventeen battle stars total.

Her bridge plating, perforated by Japanese gunfire from that night action, is on permanent display as a memorial at the San Francisco waterfront. Tactically Acquired's USS San Francisco (CA-38) collection honors the ship and every man who stood at their post that November night. They held when it mattered most.