Battlestations: Pacific/2nd Battle of Guadalcanal

This is one of the few missions in which all three methods of fighting in Battlestations Pacific – air, sea, and undersea – are all ravelled in a single mission.

Primary Objectives
 * Sink all transports.
 * Prevent them from reaching the southern base.
 * The USS Narwhal must survive.
 * Dive to crush depth.
 * Sink the enemy fleet.

Secondary Objectives
 * Both US battleships must survive.

Hidden Objectives This mission is fairly straightforward, even for those with little submarine experience. In terms of unit unlocks, the best upgrade is to replace the South Dakota-class with the Iowa-class. The mission places you behind the controls of the USS Narwhal. Your mission objective is to simply start sinking the enemy convoy, which is right in front of you. With no patrol boats nearby, it is even possible to surface and sink a few enemy ships with cannonade. Be careful around the Japanese troop ships though – unlike the cargo ships they sport a deck gun that can cause considerable damage to you. Make sure to sink the troop transport and finish the convoy off with a few blasts from your deck gun. Upon sinking the tiny fleet, you'll receive news that a small fleet of Gyoraiteis is moving in from the southern base to your position. Your next objective is simple – escape to crush depth with your submarine. Unfortunately, most of the region is too shallow for a dive that deep – use your TacMap to locate the green striped areas which represent areas deep enough. Make a beeline for any of these regions and crash dive to crush depth to continue. Keep in mind your submarine is faster on the surface; if you're not under any immediate pressure, surface first, run to a safe spot, then dive. Once your submarine has escaped, you lose control of her and gain the control of a small group of Elco PTs, Warhawks, and a B-25 squad. Of the three, the Warhawks are the most important – keep them alive at all costs, as they can single-handedly finish the next stage. Using your Warhawks, have them strafe down all the enemy PT boats in your territory and then proceed on to the convoy proper. Out of all the ships in the convoy, only a single destroyer is immune to machine gun fire; take advantage of their vulnerability and sink all enemy ships with strafing runs. Unlike nearly every other LST in the game, the ones featured in this mission are vulnerable to machine guns – strafe them just as you would any of the larger ships and sink them as well.
 * Destroy all parked E13A Jakes.

As you close in on the northern section of the convoy, you'll encounter a group of E13A Jake recon planes docked at an island. When you close in to investigate them, they become targets and start to take off. Shoot down all three E13As to accomplish the mission's hidden objective. When the enemy convoy is down, you'll switch control to the USS South Dakota. Your new objective is to sink the entire enemy fleet. The first wave shouldn't be too difficult, as the strongest enemy vessel afloat is the heavy cruiser Takao. This section of the mission doesn't require a lot of finesse, but be careful – the enemy likes to employ torpedoes at close range. As soon as you get control of South Dakota, therefore, be ready to repair for water damage. Upgrading to the Iowa-class does wonders here, and is extremely encouraged. If you forgot to destroy the E13A Jakes stationed at the island, you can attack them now with your AA weapons and accomplish the hidden objective this way.

Once you manage to destroy the Takao and her fleet, you'll encounter a second enemy task force, consisting of the Mogami, several Fubuki-class destroyers, and the battleship Kirishima. Fortunately, around this time, you'll also receive reinforcements in the form of the USS Washington and four additional destroyers. As South Dakota has probably taken multiple hits and is a burning wreck, you'll want her to withdraw so you can finish the secondary objective. If you're skillful with dodging torpedoes, however, and South Dakota is in a good shape, have her assist the Washington for a single-handed victory against the Kirishima.

Sink the Kirishima to complete the mission.