The American formation included a vanguard of destroyers, five cruisers, and two later-attached destroyers in the rear. The cruiser force mixed New Orleans, Pensacola, Brooklyn, and Northampton classes, while the lead destroyers were also a varied group. The two rear destroyers had joined too late to practise with the formation, so they were kept behind the cruiser column. The composition gave the United States substantial firepower, but the radar uncertainty around USS Maury mattered to the planned opening attack.
Chapter · 38:58-43:37
Task Force 67's powerful but mixed column
Task Force 67 brought four destroyers ahead of a cruiser-heavy column, but its ships came from several classes and not all had the same radar capability.
Brooklyn Class Light CruisersDestroyersFletcher Class DestroyersFormation TrainingGleaves Class DestroyersGridley Class DestroyersHeavy CruisersMahan Class DestroyersNew Orleans Class CruisersNorthampton Class Heavy CruisersPensacola Class Heavy CruisersRadarTask Force 67US NavyUSS FletcherUSS HonoluluUSS MauryUSS MinneapolisUSS New OrleansUSS NorthamptonUSS Pensacola