Another interesting piece of info on Guadalcanal.
http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dyn...uadalcanal.htm The Strange Balance
After the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, a unique, bizarre strategic balance prevailed around Guadalcanal. At Savo the Japanese had demonstrated their superiority in night surface battle, and the US fleet was not prepared to challenge them during the hours of darkness. But the threat from Henderson Field's aircraft meant that Japanese ships would almost always retire before dawn. During the night the Japanese could run in supplies and reinforcements to their forces ashore, and bombard US positions - including the airfield. By contrast during the hours of daylight the Americans could bring up their own reinforcements and supplies, and could themselves shell enemy positions with impunity.
This strange balance meant that the campaign for the island was to last far longer than either side had ever anticipated. It would be dominated by Japanese attempts to capture or else to neutralize Henderson Field, and by US action to defeat such attempts.
Japanese aircraft flying down from Rabaul would - almost daily- attack the airfield, but would suffer heavy losses, and would never succeed in putting the field out of commission. Bombardment by cruisers and destroyers would cause damage and impair Henderson's operations, but would also never succeed in putting the airfield out of action - only bombardment by Japanese battleships was ever to do this.