Battle of the Pips

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The Battle of the Pips refers to an incident that occurred on July 27, 1943, as part of the Aleutian campaign of World War II. In preparation for the attack on the island of Kiska planned for that coming August, the US Navy formed TG 16.22 under command of Rear Admiral Griffin, which was then centered on the battleships USS Mississippi and USS Idaho.

On July 27, 80 miles west of Kiska, TG 16.22 began to pick up a series of unknown radar contacts. The order was given to open fire, and 518 14” shells from both battleships were expended, but there were no hits.

Radar was still a new and unreliable technology at that time, and weather conditions around the Aleutians were characteristically bad. Visibility was atrocious, as is normal for the area. No Japanese warships were within 200 miles.

[edit] References

1. Stern, Robert C. US Battleships in Action Part 1. Vol. 1. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1980. 10-11.

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