Battle of Kolombangara

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Kolombangara


caption=USS "St. Louis" and HMNZS "Leander" firing
partof=the Pacific Theater of World War II
date=12 July, 1943 – 13 July, 1943
place= Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands
result=Japanese victory
combatant1=flag|United States|1912 flag|New Zealand
combatant2=flag|Empire of Japan
commander1=flagicon|United States|1912 Walden Ainsworth
commander2=flagicon|Empire of Japan|naval Shunji Isaki †
strength1=3 light cruisers,
10 destroyers
strength2=1 light cruiser,
5 destroyers
casualties1=1 destroyer sunk,
3 light cruisers heavily damaged,
89 killed [Morison, "Breaking the Bismarcks", p. 186 & 189.]
casualties2=1 light cruiser sunk,
482 killed [Hackett & Kingsepp, "Combinedfleet.com", [http://www.combinedfleet.com/jintsu_t.htm "Jintsu"] & Morison, "Breaking the Bismarcks", p. 184.] |

The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12 July–13 July, 1943, off Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands.

Background

A Japanese "Tokyo Express" reinforcement force, commanded by Rear Admiral Shunji Izaki and comprising the light cruiser "Jintsu", the destroyers "Mikazuki", "Yukikaze", "Hamakaze", "Kiyonami" and "Yugure" and the destroyer transports "Satsuki", "Minazuki", "Yunagi", and "Matsukaze", made a run down "The Slot" from the upper Solomons to land troops at Vila on Kolombangara by way of Kula Gulf on the night of 12 July 1943.

An Allied force, commanded by Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth and comprising the light cruisers USS "Honolulu", USS "St. Louis" and HMNZS "Leander", and the destroyers USS "Nicholas", USS "O’Bannon", USS "Taylor", USS "Jenkins", "USS Radford", USS "Ralph Talbot", USS "Buchanan", USS "Maury", USS "Woodworth" and USS "Gwin", were deployed in a single column with five destroyers in the van followed by the cruisers and five destroyers in the rear.

The United States had landed troops of the 37th Infantry Division on New Georgia to attack Munda the week before and had just placed Marine Raiders ashore at Rice Anchorage on its northern shore to seize Bairoko. Admiral Ainsworth's mission was to protect the north shore beachhead from attack by the "Tokyo Express" and if possible to prevent reinforcements from landing.

Battle

At 01:00 on 13 July, the Allied ships established radar contact about twenty miles (30 km) east of the northern tip of Kolombangara at coord|7|50|S|157|21|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title. Ainsworth assumed he had complete surprise, but the Japanese had been aware of the Allied force for almost two hours. The destroyers increased speed to engage the Japanese force while the cruisers turned to deploy their main batteries, but the Japanese destroyers had already launched torpedoes and turned away. "Jintsu" engaged the Allied ships, but all American fire was concentrated on the largest ship. "Jinstu" was reduced to a wreck while "Leander" was struck by a torpedo and, severely damaged, retired from the battle escorted by "Radford" and "Jenkins". "Jintsu" was finally broken in two by torpedo hits and sank at about 01:45, with the loss of nearly the entire crew, including Admiral Izaki.

Ainsworth pursued the Japanese destroyers, but both "St. Louis" and "Honolulu" were struck by torpedoes and damaged while "Gwin" was struck amidships and scuttled at 09:30 the next morning.

Aftermath

"Honolulu" and "St. Louis" were out of action for several months while "Leander" was under repair for a year and never returned to action.

Except for "Jintsu", the Japanese force escaped damage, and the transport destroyers successfully landed 1,200 men at Vila. The Japanese had won a tactical victory, but of the action the naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison wrote: "A string of such victories added up to defeat."

Though at a severe cost, Ainsworth also accomplished his mission of preventing an attack on the Marines, and combined with the earlier Battle of Kula Gulf, successfully deterred the Japanese from future use of Kula Gulf in reinforcing Munda. After the battle off Kolombangara the Japanese chose to use Vella Gulf, Blackett Strait, and the more constricted passage at Wana Wana, resulting in a series of nightly attacks by U.S. destroyers and PT Boats against their reinforcement efforts.

Notes

References

*cite book
last = Brown
first = David
authorlink =
year = 1990
title = Warship Losses of World War Two
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
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
authorlink =
year = 1965
title = Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II
publisher = Devin-Adair Pub
location =
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
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-097-1
*cite book
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 = Lacroix
first = Eric
authorlink =
coauthors = Linton Wells
year = 1997
chapter =
title = Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War
publisher = Naval Institute Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-87021-311-3
*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 = McGee
first = William L.
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2002
chapter = Operation TOENAILS
title = The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville--Pacific War Turning Point, Volume 2 (Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII)
publisher = BMC Publications
location =
id = ISBN 0-9701678-7-3
*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 = Parkin
first = Robert Sinclair
authorlink =
year = 1995
title = Blood on the Sea: American Destroyers Lost in World War II
publisher = Da Capo Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-306-81069-7
*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

External links

*cite web
last = Parshall
first = Jon
coauthors = Bob Hackett, Sander Kingsepp, & Allyn Nevitt
year =
url = http://www.combinedfleet.com/kaigun.htm
title = Imperial Japanese Navy Page (Combinedfleet.com)
work =
accessdate = 2006-06-14
* [http://www.microworks.net/pacific/battles/kolombangara.htm Description by Vincent O'Hara]
* [http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=8 WW2DB: Solomons Campaign]