At 0330, Jintsū departed Rabaul as flagship of Rear Admiral Shunji Isaki, with the destroyers Yukikaze, , , ,  and destroyer-transports , ,  and  with 1,200 troops to reinforce Japanese positions on Kolombangara island, in the Solomon Islands.
At 0330, Jintsū set sail from Rabaul as flagship of Rear Admiral Shunji Isaki, accompanied by escort destroyers and transport vessels, bound for Kolombangara island in the Solomon Islands to bolster Japanese defenses.