Lake City. The Japanese, however, whose warships were not equipped with radar, remained unaware of Scott's presence. Order of battle Imperial Japanese Navy Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotō 3 heavy cruisers 1 : () 2 : (), Top speed: 33 knots Main battery: 6 × 8-inch Secondary battery: 4 × 4.7-inch Anti-aircraft battery: 8 × 25mm, 4 × 13mm Torpedo tubes: 8 × 24-inch 2 destroyers Both : (), Top speed: 34 knots Main battery: 6 × 5-inch Anti-aircraft battery: 2 × 13mm Torpedo tubes: 9 × 24-inch United States Navy Rear Admiral Norman Scott 2 heavy cruisers 1 : Top speed: 32.7 knots Main battery: 9 × 8-inch guns Secondary battery: 8 × 5-inch/25-cal. dual-purpose 1 : () Top speed: 32.7 knots Main battery: 10 × 8-inch guns Secondary battery: 8 × 5-inch/25-cal. dual-purpose 2 light cruisers Both : (), Top speed: 34 knots Main battery: 15 × 6-inch guns Secondary battery: 8 × 5-inch/25-cal. dual-purpose 5 destroyers 3 : , (), 2 : (), Top speed: 37 knots Main battery: 4 × 5-inch guns Torpedo tubes: 10 × 21-inch Action At 23:00, the San Francisco aircraft spotted Jojima's force off Guadalcanal and reported it to Scott. Scott, believing more Japanese ships were likely still on the way, continued his course towards the west side of Savo Island. At 23:33, Scott ordered his column to turn towards the southwest to a heading of 230°. All of Scott's ships understood the order as a column movement except Scott's own ship, San Francisco. As the three lead U.S. destroyers executed the column movement, San Francisco turned simultaneously. Boise—following immediately behind—followed San Francisco, thereby throwing the three van destroyers out of formation. At 23:32, Helenas radar showed the Japanese warships to be about away. At 23:35, Boises and Duncans radars also detected Gotō's ships. Between 23:42 and 23:44, Helena and Boise reported their contacts to Scott on San Francisco who mistakenly believed the two cruisers were actually tracking the three U.S. destroyers that were thrown out of formation during the column turn. Scott radioed Farenholt to ask if the destroyer was attempting to resume its station at the front of the column. Farenholt replied, "Affirmative, coming up on your starboard side," further confirming Scott's belief that the radar contacts were his own destroyers. At 23:45, Farenholt and Laffey—still unaware of Gotō's approaching warships—increased speed to resume their stations at the front of the