Battle of Blackett Strait

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Blackett Strait


caption=USS "Montpelier" was Admiral Merrill's flagship
partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II
date=6 March 1943
place=Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands
result=U.S. victory
combatant1=flagicon|USA|1912 United States
combatant2=flagicon|Japan|alt Empire of Japan
commander1=flagicon|USA|1912 Aaron S. Merrill
commander2=flagicon|Japan|naval Masao Tachibana
strength1=3 cruisers,
3 destroyers
strength2=2 destroyers
casualties1=None
casualties2=2 destroyers sunk,
326 killed Nevitt, "Combinedfleet.com". [http://www.combinedfleet.com/murasa_t.htm "Murasame"] & [http://www.combinedfleet.com/minegu_t.htm "Minegumo"] .] |

The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦 Battle of Vila-Stanmore) 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 Guadalcanal campaign, 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 (USS "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 7 May, 1943, minelayers USS "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"

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 U.S. Navy but found by islander scouts Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in a dugout canoe.

Notes

References

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last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
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id = ISBN 1-55750-914-X
*cite book
last = Crenshaw
first = Russell Sydnor
authorlink =
year = 1998
chapter =
title = South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-55750-136-X
*cite book
last = D'Albas
first = Andrieu
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year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
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id = ISBN 0-8159-5302-X
*cite book
last = Dull
first = Paul S.
authorlink =
year = 1978
chapter =
title = A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945
publisher = Naval Institute Press
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id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
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last = Hara
first = Tameichi
authorlink = Tameichi Hara
year = 1961
chapter =
title = Japanese Destroyer Captain
publisher = Ballantine Books
location = New York & Toronto
id = ISBN 0-345-27894-1
*cite book
last = Kilpatrick
first = C. W.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1987
chapter =
title = Naval Night Battles of the Solomons
publisher = Exposition Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-682-40333-4
*cite book
last = Morison
first = Samuel Eliot
authorlink = Samuel Eliot Morison
coauthors =
year = 1958
chapter =
title = Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier", vol. 6 of "History of United States Naval Operations in World War II
publisher = Castle Books
location =
id = 0785813071
*cite book
last = Roscoe
first = Theodore
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1953
chapter =
title = United States Destroyer Operations in World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = 0870217267
*cite book
last = Hove
first = Duane T.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2003
chapter =
title = American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II [http://americanwarriorsfivepresidents.com]
publisher = Burd Street Press
location =
id = ISBN 1-57249-260-0

External links

* [http://www.navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Pacific/OOB_WWII_Blackett.htm Order of battle]
* [http://www.combinedfleet.com/desdiv15.htm Article at CombinedFleet.com about the sinking of "Oyashio", "Kagero", and "Kuroshio".]