In July 1942, Lieutenant Shirane was transferred to the carrier "Zuikaku" and became its fighter squadron leader. On 24 August 1942, he participated in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. He led nine A6M Zeros that escorted the second strike on the US carriers, consisting of 27 Aichi D3A dive bombers under the command of Lieutenant Sadamu Takahashi ("Zuikaku" dive bomber squadron leader and Hikōtaichō). However, they could not locate the enemy carriers since Takahashi failed to receive an updated report on the position of the US fleet. Nevertheless, the carrier "Enterprise" was badly damaged by Lieutenant Commander Mamoru Seki's first strike, which included Shirane's academy classmate, Lieutenant Keiichi Arima, as a division leader.