The American landing on Guadalcanal evoked a furious reaction from the Japanese, who sent their fleet to reinforce the Japanese garrison on Guadalcanal. Fletcher's carriers had the mission of protecting the sea lanes to the Solomons. The two carrier forces clashed in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Kinkaid disposed his carrier task force in a circular formation, with "Enterprise" at the center, the cruisers at 10 and 2 o'clock and the battleship aft at 6 o'clock. This proved to be a mistake. With a top speed of , the battleship fell behind the carrier when the latter accelerated to while under attack, depriving itself of the protection of the battleship's guns. "Enterprise" came under direct attack by Japanese aircraft, taking three bomb hits that killed 74 of its crew. Extraordinary efforts permitted the carrier to continue operating aircraft, but it was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. In his report after the battle, Kinkaid recommended that the number of fighters carried by each carrier be further increased. For his part in the battle, he was awarded his second Distinguished Service Medal.