Battle of Blackett Strait

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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 Aaron S. Merrill Yōji Tanegashima Strength 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers 2 destroyers Casualties and losses None 2 destroyers sunk, 174 killed [1]

v • d • e Solomon Islands campaign 1st Tulagi – Guadalcanal – Blackett Strait – Cartwheel – Operation Vengeance – New Georgia – Kula Gulf – Kolombangara – Vella Gulf – Horaniu – Vella Lavella – Naval Vella Lavella – Treasury Is. – Choiseul – Bougainville – Rabaul air raids – Cape St. George – Green Is.

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.

Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 PT-109 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.^[1]

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• 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. 
• 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. 
• Hove, Duane T. (2003). American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II [1]. Burd Street Press. ISBN 1-57249-260-0. 

[edit] External links

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

v • d • e Parts of the story of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 Air and water craft PT-109 • PT-109 Loss Report • PT-59 • PT boat • Elco • Japanese destroyer Amagiri • Fubuki class destroyer • Tokyo Express • Nakajima A6M2-N People John F. Kennedy • Arthur Reginald Evans • Coastwatchers • Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana • Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold W. Marney • Max Kennedy Places Solomon Islands • Kolombangara • Gizo • Kennedy Island • Lumbari Island • Rendova Island • Tulagi Battles Battle of Blackett Strait • Solomon Islands campaign • Battle of Vella Gulf Media PT 109 (film) • The Search for Kennedy's PT 109 • PT-109 (comic book) • PT-109 (song) • PT-109 (model) Museums, etc. John F. Kennedy Library • Battleship Cove