Operation SO and SE

Operation SO and SE (ソ作戦とセ作戦, SO Sakusen to SE Sakusen) were parts of an aerial offensive launched by Imperial Japanese forces against Allied forces staging around Guadalcanal area during the Solomon Islands Campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The aerial offensive took place between 7 and 16 June 1943 and was aimed at destroying Allied air power and shipping. Operation SE involved airstrikes against Allied ships around Guadalcanal that were preparing for Invasion of New Georgia. It was preceded by the First and the Second Operation SO, which both involved fighter sweeps against Guadalcanal from several air groups of Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (251st, 204th and 582nd Air Group). The resulting battles from these operations were dubbed as Lunga Air Battle (ja:ルンガ沖航空戦, Lunga-oki Kōkūsen) by the Japanese.