"Maya" was also at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands participating in night combat operations resulting in the sinking of the American aircraft carrier . On 3 November, "Maya" and were sent to reinforce the IJN 8th Fleet at Shortland Island and participated in the second bombardment of Henderson Field on 14 November. On the return from the mission, "Maya"s task force was attacked by the submarine , which missed the cruiser with six torpedoes. Later, a United States Navy Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber from VB-10 of the aircraft carrier dropped a 500-pound (227 kg) bomb astern of "Maya". The near miss caused no damage, but the wing of the Dauntless clipped "Maya"’s mainmast, and the plane crashed into the port side of the cruiser, igniting 4.7-inch shells and killing 37 crewmen. "Maya" was forced to jettison her torpedoes as a precaution while putting out the fires, and was forced to return to Yokosuka for repairs at the end of the year.