Battle of Rennell Island

Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Rennell Island

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Solomon Islands campaign
Guadalcanal – Savo I. – Eastern Solomons – Cape Esperance – Santa Cruz Is. – Naval Guadalcanal – Tassafaronga – Rennell I. – Blackett Strait – Operation Cartwheel – New Georgia – Kula Gulf – Kolombangara – Vella Gulf – Horaniu – Vella Lavella – Naval Vella Lavella – Treasury Is. – Choiseul – Empress Augusta Bay – Cape St. George – Green Is. – 2nd Rabaul – Bougainville

The Battle of Rennell Island was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 29 January – 30 January 1943 between a United States task force and land-based Japanese bombers, near Rennell Island south of Guadalcanal. The Americans lost the heavy cruiser Chicago in the battle.

Background

On August 7, 1942, Allied forces (primarily U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida Islands in the Solomon Islands. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as bases to threaten the supply routes between the U.S. and Australia, and to use them as starting points for a campaign with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at Rabaul while also supporting the Allied New Guinea and New Britain campaigns. The landings initiated the six-month-long Battle of Guadalcanal.

The last major attempt by the Japanese to drive Allied forces from Guadalcanal and Tulagi was defeated during the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November, 1942. Thereafter, the Japanese Navy was only able to deliver subsistence supplies and a few replacement troops to Japanese Army forces on Guadalcanal. Due to the threat from Allied aircraft based at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, plus nearby U.S. aircraft carriers, the Japanese delivered these supplies at night, usually by destroyer or submarine,Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 526. in operations the Allies called the "Tokyo Express." However, these supplies and replacements weren't enough to sustain Japanese troops on the island, who, by December 7, 1942, were losing about 50 men each day from malnutrition, disease, and Allied ground or air attacks.Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 527. On December 12, the Japanese Navy proposed that Guadalcanal be abandoned. In spite of opposition from Japanese Army leaders, who still hoped that Guadalcanal could eventually be retaken from the Allies, Japan's Imperial General Headquarters, on December 31, agreed to the evacuation of all Japanese forces from the island and establishment of a new line of defense for the Solomons on New Georgia.Dull, Imperial Japanese Navy, p. 261.

The Japanese titled the evacuation effort of their forces from Guadalcanal Operation Ke and planned to execute the operation beginning January 14, 1943.Dull, Imperial Japanese Navy, p. 268. An important element in the operation's plan was an air superiority campaign set to begin on January 28 with the objective of inhibiting Allied aircraft or warships from disrupting the final stage of the Ke operation, which was the actual evacuation of all Japanese troops from Guadalcanal.Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 541.

Allied forces misinterpreted the Ke preparations as the beginning of another Japanese offensive to try to retake Guadalcanal.Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 351. At this same time, Admiral William Halsey, Jr., overall commander of Allied forces involved in the battle for Guadalcanal, was under pressure from his superiors to complete the replacement of the U.S. 2nd Marine Division on Guadalcanal, which had been involved in the fighting since the initial landings in August, with fresh U.S. Army troops.Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 577. Halsey decided to try to combine a large-scale reinforcement and replacement effort to Guadalcanal in conjunction with what he believed was a major Japanese offensive as an opportunity to try to draw Japanese naval forces into a large-scale battle.McGee, The Solomons Campaigns, p. 216. Thus, Halsey prepared and sent, on January 29, 1943, towards the southern Solomons area five warship task forces to cover the relief convoy and to be ready to engage any Japanese naval forces that came into range. These five task forces included two fleet carriers, two escort carriers, three battleships, 12 cruisers, and 25 destroyers.Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 352.

In front of this array of task forces was the troop convoy (Task Group (TG) 62.8), consisting of four transports and four destroyers.Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 577-578. Between the troop convoy and Guadalcanal was a close support group called Task Force 18 (TF 18), under Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, which consisted of heavy cruisers Wichita, Chicago, and Louisville, light cruisers Montpelier, Cleveland, and Columbia, escort carriers Chenango and Suwanne, and eight destroyers. Admiral Giffen commanded TF 18 from Wichita.Crenshaw, South Pacific Destroyer, p. 62 The Enterprise task force steamed about 250 miles behind TG 62.8 and TF 18. The other carrier and battleships task forces were about 150 miles further back, and thus too far away to participate in the upcoming battle. Admiral Griffen, along with cruiser Wichita and the two escort carriers, had just arrived in the Pacific after participating in Operation Torch in the North African Campaign.Morison, Struggle for Guadalcanal, p. 352-353. Also, Chicago had just arrived back in the South Pacific, after completing repairs from damage suffered during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, almost two-months before.Crenshaw, South Pacific Destroyer, p. 62

Battle

Prelude

In addition to protecting the troop convoy, TF 18 was charged with rendezvousing with a force of four U.S. destroyers, stationed at Tulagi, at 21:00 on January 29 in order to conduct a sweep up "The Slot" north of Guadalcanal the next day to screen the unloading of the troop transports at Guadalcanal.Frank, Guadalcanal, p. 578. However, the escort carriers were too slow (18 knots) to make the scheduled rendezvous, so Giffen left them behind and pushed on at 24 knots (44 km/h), expecting to get air cover from planes at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal once he made the rendezvous. But he was being tracked by Japanese submarines, who passed on TF 18's position to G4M "Betty" torpedo bombers stationed at Munda and Buka.

Action on January 29th

At about 19:00, the bombers made a first pass, launching several torpedoes, none of which hit, and strafing the ships. They then dropped flares to mark the position and course of the task force, and at 19:30 another run started, this time scoring a crippling hit on Chicago. Giffen changed course at 20:00 and took measures to keep the ships from presenting lit-up targets, and by 20:15 the bombers were mostly gone.

Action on January 30th

Louisville took Chicago in tow, the escort carriers moved up to provide combat air patrol, and aircraft of the nearby Enterprise also joined in. The CAP caught most of a flight of 12 "Bettys" going after Chicago on the afternoon of the 30th, but several got through and hit Chicago with four torpedoes, sinking the cruiser. A final attack force of Japanese aircraft failed to find the remaining U.S. ships, ending the battle.

Aftermath

Due to Japanese air assets being tied-up in the battle with TF-18, the Allied transports were able to complete their mission of replacing the 2nd Marine division on Guadalcanal unmolested. The Japanese successfully evacuated all of their remaining forces from Guadalcanal by February 7, and Allied forces declared the island secure on February 9, 1943.

References

Notes

Books

• Online views of selections of the book:[link]

External links

• — Article originally printed in World War II magazine.

 

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