The first U.S. torpedoes hit the water about a minute after their Japanese counterparts, with "Nicholas" engaging "Jintsū" at a range of just under . "Jintsū" turned on her searchlight and engaged the Allied ships, but was subjected to concentrated Allied fire from a range of around , with 2,630 rounds being fired under the direction of spotting aircraft overhead. After minor corrections to their fall of shot, the Japanese cruiser was heavily damaged. After losing steerage around 01:17, "Jintsū" came to a dead stop. It was eventually reduced to a wreck, broken in two by several torpedo hits, and sank at about 01:45, with the loss of nearly her entire crew, including Isaki. On the Allied side, "Leander" was hit by a shell from "Jintsū". The damage was light, but severed radio communications. Several Japanese torpedoes were spotted, and the Allied ships began evasive action. These counter maneuvers were hampered by faulty communications and thick gunsmoke that reduced visibility. Consequently, several ships turned wide to avoid collisions, including "Leander", which was struck by one of the Japanese torpedoes. Severely damaged, the New Zealand cruiser retired from the battle escorted by "Radford" and "Jenkins".