The Tokyo Express was the nickname given by United States sailors and marines to the Japanese attempts to reinforce and resupply their forces during the battle of Guadalcanal and subsequent operations in the Solomon Islands in World War II. Airplanes from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal made it too dangerous for Japanese ships to approach during the day, so at night small groups of fast destroyer transports would race east through "The Slot" — the narrow sea between Santa Isabel and Savo Island — unload, and race back again. Attempts by the American navy to interdict these convoys led to a series of naval battles, beginning with the battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942 and continuing until the battle of Cape St. George on 26 November 1943 put an end to the Tokyo Express and so to Japanese resistance in the Solomons.