Battle of Blackett Strait

Battle of Blackett Strait
Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II
USS Montpelier was Admiral Merrill's flagship
Date 6 March 1943 Location Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands Result U.S. victory
Belligerents
United States	Empire of Japan
Commanders and leaders
Aaron S. Merrill	Yōji Tanegashima
Strength
3 cruisers, 3 destroyers	2 destroyers
Casualties and losses
None	2 destroyers sunk, 174 killed

The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara Island and Arundel Island in the Solomon Islands.

Background

After the American victory in the battle of Guadalcanal, operations in the Solomon Islands shifted to the west, where the Japanese maintained a substantial garrison on Kolombangara. On the night of 5 March 1943 the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Yōji Tanegashima took supplies to the Japanese base at Vila, on Kolombangara.

Battle

As they withdrew after landing their cargo, the two ships encountered the American Task Force 68 of three cruisers (Montpelier, Cleveland , and Denver) and three destroyers (Conway , Cony , and Waller) commanded by Rear Admiral Aaron S. Merrill, that had been bombarding Japanese positions at Vila.

In a short battle, both Japanese destroyers were sunk. Fifty-three survivors from Murasame and 122 survivors from Minegumo managed to reach Japanese lines. Two other survivors from Minegumo were later captured by U.S. forces.

Aftermath

On May 7, 1943, U.S. minelayers Gamble, Breese, and Preble laid mines across Blackett Strait in an attempt to interdict Japanese ship movements traveling through the strait. The next day, Japanese destroyers Oyashio, Kagero, and Kuroshio all hit mines in that area. Kuroshio sank immediately. Kagero and Oyashio sank later that day after being attacked and further damaged by U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field.

PT 109

see main article PT-109

Another engagement occurred in Blackett Strait when 15 PT boats were sent to intercept the Tokyo Express destroyer supply convoy on 2 August 1943. The PT boats fired many torpedoes, but observed only a few explosions. On the return trip the Japanese destroyer Amagiri struck the American patrol torpedo boat PT-109 The captain of PT-109 was future U.S. president John F. Kennedy. His crew was assumed lost by the US Navy, but found by islander scouts Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in a dugout canoe.

References

Books

• Brown, David (1990). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
• 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.
• Kilpatrick, C. W. (1987). Naval Night Battles of the Solomons. Exposition Press. ISBN 0-682-40333-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Morison, Samuel Eliot (1958). Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, vol. 6 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Castle Books. 0785813071. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Roscoe, Theodore (1953). United States Destroyer Operations in World War Two. Naval Institute Press. 0870217267. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Order of battle
• Article about the sinking of Oyashio, Kagero, and Kuroshio.