Battle of Rennell Island
Sailing again on 4 December, "Enterprise" trained out of Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, until 28 January 1943, when she departed for the Solomons area. On 30 January, her fighters flew combat air patrol for a cruiser–destroyer group during the Battle of Rennell Island. Despite the destruction of most of the attacking Japanese bombers by "Enterprise" planes, the heavy cruiser was sunk by aerial torpedoes.