Battle of Vella Gulf
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
The U.S. destroyer Sterett.
Date August 6, 1943 – August 7, 1943 Location Near Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands Result U.S. victory
Combatants
United States	Japan
Commanders
Frederick Moosbrugger	Kaju Sugiura
Strength
6 destroyers	4 destroyers
Casualties
None	3 destroyers sunk, 1,210 killed[1]

The Battle of Vella Gulf (Japanese: ベラ湾夜戦) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of August 6, 1943 – August 7, 1943, in Vella Gulf between the islands of Vella Lavella and Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Image File history File links Sterrett1943. ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... New Georgia Islands Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands. ... Frederick Moosbrugger (9 October 1900 - 1974) was an officer of the United States Navy eventually attaining the rank of Vice Admiral. ... The Solomon Islands Campaign was a large series of battles that occurred in the Pacific Theater of World War II. This was the first large-scale campaign in the War in the Pacific, and the victories achieved by the Americans in the battles of this campaign helped secure vital bases... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants United States Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Tonga[1] Solomon Islands[2] Empire of Japan Commanders Robert Ghormley William Halsey, Jr. ... Battle of Blackett Strait Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date 6 March 1943 Place Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands Result American victory The Battle of Blackett Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara... The eastern part of the Territory of New Guinea, and the northern Solomon Islands; the area in which Operation Cartwheel took place, from June 1943. ... To boost Japanese morale following the disastrous Battle of Guadalcanal, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy, decided to make an inspection tour throughout the South Pacific. ... The battle of New Georgia was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, and was fought in the New Georgia group of islands in the central Solomon Islands from 10 June 1943 to August 25, 1943 between forces of Japan and... The Battle of Kula Gulf was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought in the early hours of 6 July 1943, between United States and Japanese ships off the coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. ... Combatants United States New Zealand Japan Commanders Walden L. Ainsworth Shunji Izaki † Strength 3 light cruisers, 10 destroyers 1 light cruiser, 5 destroyers Casualties 1 destroyer sunk, 3 light cruisers heavily damaged, 89 killed[1] 1 light cruiser sunk, 482 killed[2] The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) was a naval... Battle off Horaniu Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date August 17, 1943 – August 18, 1943 Place Near Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands Result Japanese strategic victory The Battle off Horaniu was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of... New Zealand soldiers land at Baka Baka, Vella Lavella to relieve the U.S. 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division, on September 17, 1943. ... Battle of Vella Lavella Conflict World War II, Pacific War Date October 7, 1943 Place Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands Result Japanese victory The Battle of Vella Lavella was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of October 6, 1943 near... The Battle of the Treasury Islands was fought from October 25 to October 27 of 1943 between New Zealand and Japan in the Solomon Islands. ... Combatants United States Australia Empire of Japan Commanders Victor H. Krulak Harukichi Hyakutake Strength 750[1] 3,000-7,000[2] Casualties 13 killed[3] 143 killed, two barges sunk[4] The Raid on Choiseul was a small unit engagement that occurred from October 28 to November 3, 1943, during... The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay was a land and naval battle in the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 1-2 November, 1943 on Bougainville, an island in the Solomon Islands group, but part of the Territory of New Guinea. ... Battle of Cape St. ... Troops from New Zealand disembark from U.S. Landing Craft Infantry ship LCI-444 to occupy Green Island on February 16, 1944. ... Combatants United States; Australia; New Zealand Japan Commanders George Kenney (air forces) Frederick Sherman (naval forces) Mineichi Koga Strength 2 carriers, 97 carrier planes, 100+ land-based planes 10 cruisers, 11 destroyers, 100+ planes Casualties 10 carrier planes destroyed, 50+ land based planes destroyed 8 cruisers damaged, 3 destroyers damaged... Category: Possible copyright violations ... The French battleship Orient burns, 1 August 1798, during the Battle of the Nile A naval battle is a battle fought using ships or other waterborne vessels. ... Combatants Republic of China U.S.A. (from 1941) U.K. (from 1941) Australia (1941) Netherlands (1941) New Zealand (1941) Canada (1941) U.S.S.R. (from 1945) Empire of Japan Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin (from 1945) Hideki Tojo The Pacific War was... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Vella Gulf lies between the westernmost large island (Vella Lavella) and the large round island (Kolombangara). ... ... New Georgia Islands Kolombangara is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands. ...

Background

The Americans were in a campaign of island hopping their way towards Japan. They had taken Guadalcanal the past year. After their victory in the battle of Kolombangara on July 13 the Japanese had established a formidable garrison of 12,400 in Vila at the southern tip of the island. It was the principal port on that island, and supplied at night using fast destroyers as transports known as the Tokyo Express. Three supply runs on 19 July, 22 July, and 1 August were successful. By August, the Americans were driving the Japanese out of the airfield on the large island of New Georgia just south of Kolombangara. Island hopping refers to crossing an ocean by a series of shorter journeys between islands, as opposed to a single journey directly across the ocean to the destination. ... Operation Watchtower On August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division performed an amphibious landing east of the Tenaru River. ... Combatants United States New Zealand Japan Commanders Walden L. Ainsworth Shunji Izaki † Strength 3 light cruisers, 10 destroyers 1 light cruiser, 5 destroyers Casualties 1 destroyer sunk, 3 light cruisers heavily damaged, 89 killed[1] 1 light cruiser sunk, 482 killed[2] The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) was a naval... July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... For the Slavic nymphs of this name, see Slavic fairies. ... 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... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ...

see main article PT-109 PT-109 redirects here. ...

The last last of these runs resulted in a unsuccessful battle for the US which did not merit a name from military historians. It would become the infamous topic of magazine articles, books, movies and political campaigns when of fifteen PT boats which did not score a single sinking, the destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank future president John F. Kennedy's PT-109, and was remarkably found by two natives in a dugout canoe. PT boats in line astern. ... Many people know the story of how the PT-109 commanded by future United States President, then Lieutenant, John F. Kennedy was cut in half by a destroyer in the Blackett Strait on the night of 2 August 1943. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... PT-109 redirects here. ...

Battle

On the night of 6 August they sent a force of four destroyers under Captain Kaju Sugiura (Hagikaze, flagship, Arashi, Shigure and Kawakaze) carrying 950 troops and supplies. The Japanese airfield at Munda on New Georgia, which the force at Vila was tasked with reinforcing, was on the verge of being captured (it would fall later that day) and the Japanese anticipated that Vila would become the center of their next line of defense. August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... Hagikaze Wind Before the Horn Clover Blooms) was a Kagero-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Arashi was a Kagero-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Shigure was a Shiratsuyu-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Kawakaze (河風) was a Shiratsuyu-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Munda is the largest settlement on the island of New Georgia in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. ... Categories: Oceania geography stubs | Solomon Islands ... For the Slavic nymphs of this name, see Slavic fairies. ...

The U.S. Task Group 31.2 of six destroyers (Dunlap, Craven, Maury, Lang, Sterett, and Stack) commanded by Captain Frederick Moosbrugger was lying in wait and made radar contact at 23:33. Having incorporated lessons of night-fighting after the Battle of Tassafaronga and the PT boat debacle, the Americans did not give away their position with gunfire, but waited until their torpedoes were in the water. All four Japanese destroyers were hit. Hagikaze, Arashi and Kawakaze burst into flames and were quickly sunk by gunfire. The torpedo that hit Shigure was a dud, damaging the rudder only, and she escaped in the darkness. 1,500 Japanese troops and sailors were lost. 300 reached Vella lava and were later tranferred to Kolombangara. USS Dunlap (DD–384) was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Robert H. Dunlap. ... The third USS Craven (DD-382) was a Gridley-class destroyer in the United States Navy. ... The second USS Maury (DD-401) was a Gridley-class destroyer in the United States Navy. ... The first USS Lang (DD-399) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for John Lang. ... The second USS Sterett (DD-407) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy. ... USS Stack (DD-405) was a Benham-class destroyer in the United States Navy. ... Frederick Moosbrugger (9 October 1900 - 1974) was an officer of the United States Navy eventually attaining the rank of Vice Admiral. ... The Battle of Tassafaronga was a naval battle fought between United States and Japanese forces on 30 November 1942. ...

Aftermath

The battle, coming less than one month after the night action at Kolombangara, was the first U.S. victory in a torpedo duel. The six destroyers had accomplished what a squadron of 15 PT boats could not, sink the Tokyo Express with torpedoes with no friendly losses. The Japanese could no longer supply the garrison on Kolombangara, and the Allies bypassed it, landing instead on Vella Lavella to the west. PT boats in line A PT boat was a motor torpedo boat (hull classification symbol PT), a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. ... 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...

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Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

References

Books

• Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
• Calhoun, C. Raymond (2000). Tin Can Sailor: Life Aboard the USS Sterett, 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-228-5.
• Crenshaw, Russell Sydnor (1998). South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-136-X.
• D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
• Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
• Hara, Tameichi (1961). Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1.-Firsthand account of the battle by Japanese squadron commander aboard Shigure.
• Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons. Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-40333-4.
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. 0785813071.
• Roscoe, Theodore (1953). United States Destroyer Operations in World War Two. Naval Institute Press. 0870217267.

Tameichi Hara Tameichi Hara (原 為一 Hara Tameichi 1900—?) was an Imperial Japanese naval commander during the Pacific War and the author of the IJN manual on torpedo attack techniques, famous for his high skill (particularly in torpedo warfare and night fighting). ... Ballantine Books, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine, is a major book publisher and is currently owned by Random House. ... Shigure was a Shiratsuyu-class destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... RAdm Samuel Eliot Morison (1887-1976), USN historian Samuel Eliot Morison, RAdm, USNR (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian, notable for producing scholarly works that were both authoritative and highly readable, an ability recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. ... The History of United States Naval Operations in World War II is a 15-volume account of the United States Navy in World War II, written by eminent historian Samuel Eliot Morison and published by Little, Brown and Company between 1947 and 1962. ...

External links

• Parshall, Jon; Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt. Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
• Description by Vincent O'Hara
• Order of battle

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ...

Notes