Tanaka's destroyers reversed, laid smoke, and launched torpedoes toward the flashes from the American cruisers. Lacking radar, they used those visible flashes to establish the direction of their targets. Their manoeuvring contrasted with Wright's cruisers continuing on course and speed. By the end of the exchange, forty-four Japanese torpedoes were moving toward targets that had not yet taken evasive action.
Chapter · 1:07:48-1:10:20
Japanese destroyers fire by the cruisers' gun flashes
Without radar, the Japanese destroyers used the American gun flashes as aim points and sent a mass torpedo attack toward a steady cruiser column.