Battle of Vella Gulf

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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

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 Vella Gulf 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.

Contents

1 Background
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 References

4.1 Books
4.2 External links

5 Notes

Background

After their victory in the battle of Kolombangara on July 13 the Japanese had established a formidable garrison in Vila, the principal port on that island, using fast destroyers as transports. Three supply runs on 19 July, 22 July, and 1 August were successful, although the last of these resulted in a battle with fifteen PT boats in which the destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank PT-109.

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.

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, 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.

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 Japanese could no longer supply the garrison on Kolombangara, and the Allies bypassed it, landing instead on Vella Lavella to the west.

References

Books

-Firsthand account of the battle by Japanese squadron commander aboard Shigure.

External links

Notes

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