Navy Department Communique No. 158

OCTOBER 17, 1942

South Pacific (all dates below are east longitude).

Although large numbers of Japanese troops are known to be on Guadalcanal Island, there has been, as yet, no full-scale land fighting.
Our land, sea, and air forces of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps are engaged in meeting a serious enemy assault, the outcome of which is still undecided. Our losses in the current fighting, to date, have been minor, but in a battle of this nature losses must be expected.
The following additional details of the action in recent days have been received:
- (a) During the air attack on Guadalcanal, shortly after noon on October 15 (reported in Navy Department Communiqué‚ No. 154), three enemy bombers and five fighters were shot down.
- (b) During the night of October 15-16, enemy surface vessels bombarded our positions on Guadalcanal for about an hour. Naval aircraft made a night torpedo attack on a group of enemy vessels to the eastward of the Solomons. One torpedo hit on an enemy cruiser was reported.
- (c) During the morning of October 16th, our aircraft from Guadalcanal attacked enemy troop positions along the northwest coast of the island. During the late afternoon Navy and Marine Corps dive bombers attacked two enemy transports and accompanying destroyers in the area west of New Georgia Island. Direct hits damaged and set fire to one transport and the second is believed to have been damaged by near misses.

All information on the fighting in the Solomons which is not of value to the enemy is being announced as soon as possible after being received.